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This is the tank currently 🙈 ... fell in love with my fish again and currently only have room for my zebras 🦓 lol ... plants have taken a back seat Im afraid 😬

.... so around 60 bristlenose, 20 corydoras, 3 adult bristles, angelfish, rummynose ....🤦‍♂️ ah stop 🤣

I have a few short videos if i can figure out how to post them lol

So in the end up, I had to rehome a few bristlenose plecos and that was a year of fun! Aquascaping took a backseat lol

Hi Mike, I used all the epiphytes I had from previous scapes, so various buce, anubias, microsorums, bolbitis

So I haven't been on here in ages for various reasons. However Ive always had a tank going for most of that time. I bought an Aquascaper 900 in 2019 and this is the evolution and how it has ended up 5 years later. This was my 2nd aquascape in the tank

Done a wee clear out off plants and sold them to fellow aquascapers on here so I know they went to a good home. Added some new plants aswell ..... najas roraima, persicaria porto velho, eriocaulon malayatoor, pogostemen octopus, pogostemon yatabeanus, ludwigia inclinata cuba

I cant believe I have never heard of them before after sooo many years trolling the internet about aquascaping related topics here which as you can imagine came up empty. Which is why I have in the process of researching products etc for a new business here. I will be contacting them soon to...

I am still adding plants to the tank and taking stuff out, moving things around. Just trying a carpet of staurogyne repens at the front and making room for some stem plants at the back. I have removed the vallis and lots of trident and bolbitis. Will get a few pics when I have things the way I...

I haven't posted anything in ages but I think since time and alot of water changes plus I got a new Ati sunpower dimmible, things are starting to improve vastly. I think Im going to strip this tank down soon and start a new scape knowing that everything is going the way I want it to. Here is a...

I did buy filter wool and have to change it everytime I clean filters ..... are eheims filter wool better? I need to try something fast or else I am tearing this scape down and starting from scratch but don't want the expense or hassle tbh

I've seen others using them getting growth after a week and so have I in the past. This has been 3 weeks now. Also lost my rotala macranda to the shrimp. They seem to love red plants

Also got a new 120 ati dimmable sunpower ordered, as I think 80cm arcadia led isnt enough

Still getting some brown dirt on the glassware and pipes from my last scape when I used dragonstone. Must be coming from the substrate. I thought purigen would have sorted that out but no. Got some 1-2 grow! Plants that haven't grew at all and haven't died at the same time. I have an image of...

Got my 1-2 Grow! Planted yesterday and added anubia barteri var. Coffeefolia. I also just splashed out on a new 120 ATI sunpower t5 :) Going to buy the bulbs seperately from lampspecs or similar. Any suggestions as to what 54w bulbs I should get?

I will get better pics up later

Amano shrimp, bristlenose plecos, s.a.e and a shoal of something but undecided

Set-Up Tank :120cm x 50 x 50 Optiwhite Filters: 2 x 1200xl jet filters (3 x bio rings, foam, filter wool and purigen) Lighting: 80cm Arcadia otl led (6 hours) Co2: 2kg FE via UP inline diffuser 24/7 50% water changes every other day on week 1 Ferts: Tropica specialised after I added the 1-2...

I haven't posted in a couple of months as my tank has not went the way I had wished, mainly down to the leeching of the dragon stone. I will be removing the rocks in the coming weeks and possibly the sand aswell and going for a carpet along the front. Front view I got a surprise when I noticed...

It was crumbling when I got it so jet washing it would pulverize it lol A wee video of my amanos having dinner ..............

My dragon stone are giving off a serious amount of dirt and this is the tubing and lily pipes after a week since they where cleaned(see below). Water also clouds up alot from time to time so I think that is why my growth is slower than it should be. Thankfully everything is growing but it would...

Yeah I have been trying to think of a way of seperating it but cant find any sieve that has holes the right size.

Had so many issues recently with the dreaded white scum from the new wood getting all round the tank and delaying the growth. Also had the light too high but have it 15cm from surface. Only got amanos in tank so far but im making sure growth is correct before adding fish

Some good growth stu. What is your lighting period and on/off with the Co2 and have you done any ph tests?

Im going to do it on sunday morning when I am off work and can add them early and let them acclimatise before Co2 comes on at 2pm and then I can intervine if I see them struggling. I dont want to mess with the Co2 and will have to lower the injection rate already and it could set me back with...

Yeah was going to wait until I am at home all day so sunday morning might be a good idea .... hopefully I can find my test kit in the meantime PS I know not to add to the tank when there is high levels of Co2 going in, I just meant in general terms as in having a high tech tank ;)

Also got some Amano & Bumble Bee shrimp at the weekend but going to hold off putting them in just incase there is still some ammonia leeching from the soil. One filter was on my other tank for a good month or more so should be able to handle everything but I can't find my test kit to check the...

Looks like the Monte carlo has a second lease of life and I am starting to see some new green shoots coming from the melted plants. Not too sure about some of Limnophilia but just going to leave it a little longer to see if any of it comes through. First time I have seen first hand the effects...

Limnophilia hippuroides back left, ludwigia Inclinata beside that and didiplis diandra before the sand. Rotala rotundifolia at back right behind the rock. Having some melt with the limnophilia and the micranthemum monte carlo that is at the front right, both at the end of the tank from the...

I have raised it to 40cm above the waterline and I think that should do it considering it is 50cm deep. I will keep a close eye on the plants and adjust again if I feel the need.

Good man ... I dont know if Mark is on here that much anymore though but good to know he was able to do it. I have just set the smaller leds to come on first until i can get home from work and sort it out then. Just wish I knew about it before buying it.

Having a few problems with the arcadia otl led light as when it is programmed it ramps up to the highest intensity of 24 even though it was set to a lower number. When googled I see that this can't be by-passed! It has to be done manually which is useless unless you are at home everyday to turn...

Pics from planting day ........

Good to know .... pics coming shortly :)

I think I might just wait in case I ruin it .... hope I haven't already by posting pics of the hardscape? Anyone know what the rules are generally regarding that?

All planted up and looking good but I am going to hold back on pics as I am thinking of entering a competition if things go well

It has been a long wait but I finally got my light and have been putting it through it's paces before I receive the plants tomorrow and start planting on friday. I have gone with the Arcadia Classica OTL LED 90cm and I am pretty impressed so far with the colours from it.

It has been a 'Journey' to get to this stage alright lol

So its been a month or more waiting on my light and plants so have had plenty of time to lay out the hardscape and this is my final scape. I just hope the wood doesn't float after been out of the water for a month as I had it soaking before hand and wasn't expecting the delay in getting the...

Looking good stu :)

That has really grown well for you, especially the moss :thumbup: I think harlequin rasboras would look well in there, shoal well and would just enhance the natural look of it. You say that the shrimp have bred for you and they are amano shrimp? Also how have you attached the light unit to the...

I've been playing around with the hardscape over the past couple of days and I think I am getting to something that I am happy with. I am trying to picture it with the plants grown in and what the critters might think of it considering all the nooks and crannys they will have to explore and...

The tank etc? It was from fireaq :)

I eventually found a proper black mat that was 120cm x 50cm, so replaced the polystyrene with it and it looks must better. If I'm gonna do it then I want to do it as right as i can. Just waiting on my light to come and was have been waiting on more dragonstone to come from zooplus (both .de...

No not yet:( .... hopefully soon though

Alastair has told me to let you all know that he hasn't been well of late and that is why he hasn't been able to reply or get on here for a few weeks.

Yeah it was my plan originally but I seen a tank recently exactly like the way I wanted it to go so thought about doing something different. I'm just going to go with something more natural as you would see in the wild. Biotopes are are foremost in my mind but don't want to go that way exclusively

So the hardscape materials that will be used so far are Manzanite wood (Tom Barr) and I am going for Dragon stone as I have a red wall behind the tank and I also want to succeed with a red plant and was thinking of volcanos and fire and going for a reddish look, maybe what mars might be like if...

Did the monte carlo come through in the end? Was it the light ?

Good to know, I had thought that although it looks close on the map it probably isn't lol

I might do if all the equipment works as expected, but a I will use my own shipping agent to deal with it. Couldn't go though that again lol ..... I might even be able to take some orders off here from you guys and give you a price etc .... we'll see

Just looking on the map, they aren't that far from you in Foshan, Guangdong

I didn't get a proper aquarium matt so just going to use some polystyrene sheets that I have had lying around for this purpose. I will probably just colour in the edge with black marker so as it doesn't stand out too much

The cabinet came like that and was designed so it can work with normal pipes and fittings or whatever you like. I could have asked for it to be altered I suppose but it was no biggie to just cut holes and leave the other holes for something else such as a spraybar in the future. I'm still...

The arrival of the 120cm x 50cm x 50cm tank and cabinet, plus 10 x 9l bags of amazon soil, 2 x 1200xl canister filters, assortment of scissors and pincets. Building the cabinet with chinese instructions lol The goods unpacked

I have been waiting to start a journal that I can be proud of and I still hope that it works out for me after gaining valuable knowledge on Ukaps. Like alot of people into aquascaping I couldn't afford a new ADA or NA set-up, so decided to look further afield and found a potential supplier in...

Looking good .... nice list :)

I've been having problems with BBA recently and as I can't 'Up' my Co2 input anymore without causing harm to the fish I have started using Liquid Carbon. I am hoping it will add that bit extra that i need. Other than that I have ordered some SAE from my lfs.

Stunning piece m8 .... look forward to the journal :)

Just been showing the wife these pics and looking up at our doorway and the look on her face was priceless :lol:

Pics look fab and nice health in the plants :thumbup:

The trials and tribulations of aquascaping ..... the end result shows us who is the master! Keep up the good work :)

Looking good, like the humour throughout. I would have used longer pieces of wood with maybe moss and trident on them. I dont understand your reasons for not planting straight away before you filled the tank with water. Even your mate Jim does that in his videos.

Maybe point your spraybar a little more towards the surface to create a ripple effect and then the scum wont appear

Looks good and will fill out nicely if you keep on top of the trimming ...... nice and bushy :)

Loving the video and obviously whats in the video lol ...... really can't wait until I get my new tank etc

Go you ! :thumbup: .... was thinking about setting up a little shrimp tank myself but I am moving house at the end of the month so will wait. I even was allowed a spot in the living room for my new tank :) Will keep an eye on this and maybe pick up some tips !

Amazing scape. I noticed the stems of the rotala in the substrate in one of the pics, did you just keep replanting cuttings to get it so dense?

Co2! This should look sweet when it gets going lol ..... loads of pics please :)

Looks well .... well maintained aswell :thumbup:

Some first attempts at pics from my new dslr before the major trim and some close ups of the newly planted Star Grass

Cheers Dan, hopefully a bit more growth and 1 or 2 more trims and I can get to work with my new Canon 700d and get some decent pics and maybe venture onto photoshop lol

I decided to change back to lily pipe and I am getting better results with Co2 distribution and I have had a couple of close calls to near gassing the fish and shrimps but as I was observing anyway I caught it in time and done a water change and turned it down a little. I can't push it any more...

Turned out really well :)

Great Growth! Could you go into more detail as to how you are injecting the Co2 into the tank. I see a spraybar at the back plus an internal filter at front right? I have a 2 x 39w luminare but one tube removed as i believe its too much for my 3 ft but you seem to have carried it off with no...

Looking good

Sorry to hear that m8, did you save any?

Cracker Stu! Loving the green against the black lava rock. Well done

No way! Sorry to see you stepping back Mark. Hope all is well and hopefully we see you back on the scene very soon !

The rocks are amazing!

I've moved a few things around such as removing the eleocharis and replacing it with micranthemum 'monte carlo' and filled out the alternanthera reineckii 'mini'. I added some hydrophilia polysperma over to the left aswell. I also added some more ottos and 6 Black phantom tetras as I've never...

I haven't seen them jumping as yet, so you think that is where they do the leap of faith from? There is a rim along the front and back but not down as far as the corners as its an old glass tank just. Hopefully not long until I get my optiwhite and I'll consider getting an acrylic top to stop...

How high are your lights above the waters surface?

Sweet set up, loving the stainless steel outlets. More pics !

So decided to fill it out a little more and ordered some plants last night, so for the left hand side I ordered some Limnophila aromatica. Then around where the heater is I will plant some Hygrophila polysperma, I've had great success with this before so aslong as I keep up with keeping it from...

I'm liking the lights, might have to invest in these as they are alot nicer on the wallet than the tiles. Scape is looking well Ian :)

Day 87 Just done my weekly water change and gave it a bit of a trim. I am having a little trouble with BBA but I am just cutting it away when I can. The cheery shrimp, ottos or panda Garras dont seem to deal with it but I am not overly concerned. I just got myself a JBL Cristalprofi e1501...

Very nice .... I too thought it was doomed when I seen you mention the melting but glad you got it back on track!

Sorry to hear of your plight mate, algae is an aquascapers nemisis but also makes us better aquascapers. On a happier note though, the video was stunning, what I wouldn't give to see my tank pearling away with decent flow and beautiful fish happy in their home. I'm off to rob the corner shop...

I know the feeling about all these competition tanks and I keep trying to achieve the 'look' when it is the dutch jungle tanks that I love best but haven't focused solely on one yet! Looking well Ian!

Thankfully it looks that way although I did fail with some plants for some reason, most likely high lighting, but I know that now. Hopefully won't have that problem when I get my bigger tank

Sweet! :)

Day 40 Most things growing well now, but did run out of Co2 and due to work couldn't get a refill for just over a day and some plants seemed to have died off but no major loss. Also got some Cherry shrimp off Kirk ;) but unsure where they all are lol ... probably lost in the filter! Also added...

'I'll never make it as a Hermit Crab'

loving it !

I've got more in a 2nd tank that I'm trying to grow aswell as I ordered to much. I guess I just need some patience lol

It's around Day 25/26 now and my main issues have been with my amano shrimp being too enthusiastic with pruning and nipping my very delicate plants and uprooting some newly bought HC for the 2nd time, so they had to go back to my lfs! I picked up some ottos to cope with the slight algae bloom...