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Well it's been more than a week since I said I'd post an update with photographs. It's all going very well, I'm really happy with it. I have plucked out the odd bug, a small caterpillar, a woodlouse, a strange looking beetle and two slugs. But apart from that, it's doing very well. I did buy...

Thanks, I'll post an update with more photographs in a week's time. I'm using rain water in a spray bottle to mist it at the moment. Not sure if I should be adding any mineral or fertiliser to the rain water. There is an issue with the glass misting up, but I'll find a way to prevent that.

Now the 'yucky' bits... I've built up the layers using the Leca Clay Balls, Agricultural Potting Grit, Activated Charcoal which I hope will provide some natural drainage and stop it from going anaerobic, and stop any funny smells.

Well, this little project is now completed. Funny how your plans and expectations change as things progress. It isn't quite the Japanese Zen Garden I was originally planning, but after trying to go down that route it wasn't working out as I'd planned. So, it is now called, 'England's Green And...

This looks a pretty useful resource. https://mossandstonegardens.com/blog/knowing-your-acrocarp-from-you-pleurocarp-moss-rocks/

I just love watching these videos...

At £29.00 a kilo that sounds quite expensive, especially as the container I'm using is 25 litres..

Agree totally regarding the substrate in terms of growing the moss. I'm only interested in the clay as a means of sculpting the shape. I've got all the materials now, including the clay. I'm using a 25 litre Aqua Start Mini Aquarium with a lid and a small LED lamp built in as the container...

Well I looked, I saw, I ran away. Those D.I.Y. skills are way beyond my capabilities....:banghead::banghead::banghead:

Isn't that type if clay totally inert and lacking in nutrients? Usually used for pottery work only?

Hi everyone, I saw this video on Facebook and I am very excited about trying to do something similar. The guy is a genius at creating amazing scapes using different natural materials, but not aquascaping as we know it. They are in glass bowls, jars and similar containers using Mosses, small...

F£&@?£ genius idea mate

Re housing your SAE is the cheapest easiest option, but in my view only a short term solution. I've used the ADA Aqua Soil in the past and was impressed with the results and plant growth. However two and a half years down the line I had the same problems as you are having. The AS breaks down and...

Thanks guys, A long time ago I used the Tropica Soil and when it got wet it turned into a solid kind of mud. Whenever you tried to relocate a plant it made the water very dirty and took ages to clear. I am thinking of using the JBL, Plant Pro base substrate and the JBL Plant Pro On top.

Hi Guys, Anyone who knows me on here will remember my journal 'The Full Monty' As you will have read, the Full Monty gradually over two years became a semi planted Discus tank, and eventually, sadly into a bare bottomed Wild Discus tank. Well the Discus have all gone to a new home, so I am...

Hi John, Thanks for that useful reply and the picture is a great insight into what happens even after you have pre soaked it in a bucket for a few weeks. To be honest siphoning out the sand caused some cloudiness to the water but it soon cleared up with both filters going. So I guess it's just...

Thanks Tim, I was thinking of having it wet in a small jug, turn off the filters get my hand down to where I want to put it and let it pour out slowly into the spots where I need it. What do you think? Cheers, Steve

Hi All, I have been doing some maintenance siphoning out some La Plata sand from the front of the 'Full Monty' and I want to replace it with ADA Amazonia Powder. Not a massive amount, probably the equivalent of around a litre and a half just to fill in some gaps. Do you think It will be safe to...

Riccia Carpet without CO2 :o I have got to see this. Pictures :D

Check out the other link to the SERA Catalogue, it is an option, Sera Mineral soil or Mineral depot.

Thanks Clive, that explains a lot. I will leave it there for now and let uk bulldog crack on with his thread. Good luck uk bulldog, I am interested to to see how you get on. Start saving up your pennies for the ADA kit by the sounds of it. Did you check out the links I posted before? Cheers...

Hi UK Bulldog I tend to agree mostly with what daza 141 says here. The cheaper quick fix routes are not the best, although that said there are plenty of options that are not quite as expensive as the ADA route. Tetra, Dennerle to name a few have a pretty good mineral substrate to put under...

Clive, Thanks for that explanation. Yet another LFS myth put to bed. Does this now mean that I can adjust the PH setting on my PH sensor to say 6.30 and get more CO2 into the water without doing any damage? I only ask this because the setting of 6.50 does not seem to have much affect on the...

Hi Clive, I am not going to hijack the guys thread here, but would be very grateful if you could expand on the text highlighted in bold above. I have heard so many stories and people talking about a PH crash killing or being harmful to their fish. The PH Crash being due to the water's lack of...

Don't worry mate you are not the first and you won't be the last :D Welcome to the wonderful world of ceg4048 :D You have to love that guy :thumbup: Cheers, Steve

I thought the main nitrate source for Miracle Gro was derived from Urea which is not supposed to be good a good source. Steve

Sorry mate it is definitely not the same stuff I was using in Germany. I have used this stuff before but only when added to another substrate or medium. I would not use it on its own as I am pretty sure it will turn to mush after a while. Nightmare when re-planting.

If it is what I think it is I used the same stuff in Germany and it was brilliant as a substrate, grew bacteria and great for rooting plants in. It was a sort of whitish brown and quite porous. The only downside is it scratched the glass if you are not careful Any chance of a photo?

Hi, I'm loving the picture of the discus in the planted tank below this post. Are there any photo's to look at any where on the site? Cheers. Steve.

Hi, See my journal "Fallen Wilderness" and the use of Tropica Plant Substrate. I have also made reference to it in the "Substrate" section where there are some other comments you might find helpful. Cheers and good luck with the tank. Steve.

Saintly looks like you already thought of this before me. How much did you have spare after you used what you needed? Cheers, Steve.

Thanks for the tip, I have never been that keen on using multi type all in one products, so I would probably still go for the individual items just so that I could physically see what I am putting in form each product. It's the ex Army control freaky thing again I'm afraid. :roll: Thanks. Steve

Hi Nick, I but it from Mark and Jim at The Green Machine in Wrexham. It's not cheap, but its worth it in the end. There's no point in getting the tank finished and then sitting there wishing you had used a different / better / more expensive soil. It is false economy due to the amount of time...

I just read an article on a Malaysian ADA planting Demo. http://www.slipperylittlesuckers.com/ Very similar to the ADA Planting Demo at The Green machine they used a lot of "pre stuff" as part of the preparation on the glass base before they added the main substrates. The list below is the stuff...

It's been seven months now since I rescaped my tank using Tropica Mineral Soil. I have been fairly impressed with the results although I am not too keen on the way the soil turns to a mushy clay over time. I am guessing it is going to be a real messy job when I come to redo it in the Summer. I...

Hi Johnny, The plants are from the front left: Crypto Willis / Wendetti, Hair grass, and some remains of Glossistigma right over to Crypto Becketti, movingthrough the back with Willow fern, Tiger Lotus Lillies and Green Spatterdock. Left and right there are java ferns. Nothing special really...

Thanks Ed, Have you got any close up pictures showing the Amazon soil / substrate? Steve

Ed, You say it gives a lovely matt black effect? Is this soil just meant to be used on its own i.e. without any other substrate over the top to keep it together? Steve.

:oops: Doh!! Just when I thought I was getting the hang of it! :cry: Anyone able to move this for me? Ta. :|

Hello all, During this coming Whit Holiday at the end of May beginning of June I have got a week when my better half is away visiting family. So I am intending to strip out my Trigon 190. This is what it looks like now. As you can see the plants are not doing too badly but I think the old...