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I'm pleased to say that this tank got world ranking #175 in the 2013 IAPLC competition - very surprising as you had to enter a full front shot of the tank which is not its best angle ! Heres the entry pic. Tony

Hi Ian - this is beautiful. The sense of scale is brilliant - it looks like a much bigger tank in the pic above :clap: Those venezuelan corys are a very nice addition too, attracting the viewers attention without taking anything away from the scape. Tony

Nice Mark - very nice :) I'm loving the slightly overgrown look, maybe just let it run wild for a few weeks after your final pics ;) Tony

Hiya Ady, thanks a lot. I think your right - if the hardscape is OK then theres an infinite number of planting possibilities to be had. I'm quite happy to try different planting of the same hardscape. I was wondering when someone would pick up on the little red plant :) Its an Alternanthera...

Thanks Whitey, I was trying to keep it even more minimal but am happy with how its worked out. Re the sp Japan, I wouldnt say its "merely a weed", but once established it is a weed - this stuff needs trimming at least once a week :) Thanks Ian, good to be back - I hope to be around alot more...

Stunning as ever Mark - look forward to the flash lit shots. The colour combinations in the foreground work particularly nicely. Gonna give you a call to catch up this week too :) Tony

Hi, Ive been meaning to start a journal of this tank for some time, but life has been awfully busy for the past few months - hence my general absence from the forum :( Anyhows, this tank is the 200L optiwhite that was previously Peacocks Crypt Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - The End | UK Aquatic...

Congrats on another great tank and journal mate - your best yet in my opinion. Your photo & video skills seem to just get better and better with every scape too - amazing stuff :) Be sad to see it go, but as always look forward to the next one. Tony

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Ripple testing That's exactly right George, Nikon are going after the medium format pro market, and Canon will do the same with the next 5d too. Of course the medium format manufacturers are pushing things way beyond this - I'm working on shots at the minute shot on the...

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Ripple testing Ordered mine today George :) Back to the world of Nikonians for me ! Anyone want to buy my Canon / Zeiss kit !!

Re: Stu's 90x45x45 Dragon Stone Scape (Video Page 7) Hi Stu - looking great :) Re the flickering, you need to match the shutter speed to the mhz of the power supply which changes around the world, so in the UK, shutter speed of 1/50th should stop it :) Tony

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 The Plan! Great scissor work Mark ! The new growth will look great I'm sure :) Just keep it going for a while please ;) Tony

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 getting close to the end. Feedback on ste Apologies on marks behalf for the lack of daily updates, but he can't get onto the forum tonight for some reason, and is suffering withdrawal symptoms :wink: :D

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Thats it until 2012 Count me in pal - I'll bring me lights ;)

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 now with 300w of metal halide Superb vid Mark - the combination of the 5dmk2, the uber-crystal clear water, and the hyper-healthy plants is sparkling :) Tony

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Why you should syphon! vid added Hey mark, tanks looking awesome as ever ! Nice tip and vid on the syphoning too :) Can you PM me a copy of the link you used to embed the vid please - i can suss it out :( Cheers Tony

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 new video added :clap: Mark, you inspire us all to make both our scapes and our pics/vids better, and that is an amazing skill 8) Tony

Re: NA Style Baby... (Some more life granted... Backlit shot Great stuff Ed - this tank looks amazing in the flesh, as all the visitors to Aquatics live will testify - one of the stars of the show :) You could try whacking the exposure up on the backlight Ed ;) Tony

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 fish have to go. Long tailed white cloud mountain minnows ;)

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 @ 1 week old. I got plenty spare if you're missing them ;)

Re: GA in-store display 120P Iwagumi - Fly above the giant c Hi Viktor Congratulations on a beautiful tank and a great journal too - sad to see it end, though all good things must (or so they say) ! For me this is one of the best tanks of the year, and goes to show that simple can be...

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Spot the CRS Great work mark - its shaping up very nicely already !

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Iwawoody. Haha, sounds like a great night in ! If it was easy we'd all be doing it ;) Tony

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Iwawoody. Good news mark - look forward to the pics :) Tony

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Iwawoody. Lovin' the wood on the right :) I feel a moss fest coming on :shock:

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Iwawoody. Hi Mark I guess you didn't make 'Boro yesterday :) Too inspired for that eh :lol: I was looking forward to Henge Mk2, but this looks awesome pal, and I can see where you are going with it in 6, 12 months ;) For me it needs a bit more wood on the right to...

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Iwagumi. 33minutes ! And you're going to keep us all waiting a month !?! :D

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Iwagumi. :D :D :D

Re: GA in-store display 120P Iwagumi - Fly above the giant c It looks superb Viktor - the compactness of the growth must be testament to your pruning skills ! I have a question ... what is the thing on the bottom of the right hand inlet pipe in the tank ??? Thanks Tony

Re: GA in-store display 120P Iwagumi - Fly above the giant c Great work Viktor, and well worthy of its placing. That HC is super healthy looking :) Tony

Re: GA in-store display 120P Iwagumi - Fly above the giant c Another tip for cleaning up fine prunings ... leave it a couple of hours so they gather on the surface, then use a couple of 'sucks' with a Vax wet vacuum, and they're all gone ;) Tony

Re: GA in-store display 120P Iwagumi - Fly above the giant c That's great info Victor, it's always nice to see folks recipes for success :). Thanks for posting. I'm planting an HC carpet next week so fingers crossed it's half as good as yours :D

Re: 'Blue Sky' Iwagumi @ 3 weeks second trim needed. Looking good Mark - big thumbs up from me for the black background too. It really makes the greens pop :) Tony

Re: 'Blue Sky' Iwagumi @ 2 weeks with ADA lighting Bloody amazing Mark ! Nice light too :) Look forward to seeing it trimmed ( and then stripped down when its 'finished' in another few days :lol: ) Tony

Re: NA Style Baby... (update 18.05) Beautiful ! Right up my street this :) I might have to rescape if those sakura's I just got from you came out of here - they'll feel like they've moved into a building site :lol:

Hi Stu, these are the ones I went for : http://www.coldenecastorsandwheels.co.uk/Standard_Duty_Polyurethane_Tyred_Plain_Bore_-_Fixed_Castor.asp I went for 6 of the 80mm / 150kg ones, in the fixed design as I only need to roll the cabinet in one direction. The supplier was really helpful in...

Funny you should say that Stu - the new scape will be rolling - I've had castors put on the cabinet so I can roll it in and out from the wall to allow me to play around with backlighting ;) Thanks for all the wonderful comments folks. It's great to hear that this scape inspired a couple of...

Re: 'Blue Sky' Iwagumi @ 7 days Looking good Mark - the ranunculus is lovely isn't it :) Are you using Toni's ferts on this one ? Cheers Tony

Re: Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - 200L The end of an era ! This was my first aquascape, and its been running for over 2 years now, but today I stripped it down. I'd been trying to do this for a while now but work and another project (http://www.restokab.com) have got in the way of doing so, and...

Re: GA in-store display 120P Iwagumi The tanks, and the gallery look superb Viktor - congratulations :) Tony

Re: NA Style Baby... Fantastic - my kinda scape 8) Just a carpet of mini glosso should do it ;) Ton

Re: Untitled Yet 300L optiwhite (19/02 pics and video) Your tank is looking beautiful :) Nice to see a video of it too - I've got to get on with shooting a video or two :thumbup: That hairgrass carpet is one of the best I've seen. What is you water supply like ? Are you using RO ...

Re: GA in-store display 120P Iwagumi Hi Victor Congratulations on the algae battle, the HC carpet and the shop - the pics on Flickr look fantastic :) I love the rockwork, and undulations in the substrate, though I'd probably have moved the centre rock a little to one side or the other - but...

Re: [IWAGUMI] Scree Evolution Nice work George. I think the Sozo Haishoku is a great concept to show just how different a tank can look via planting alone. I'm considering my own variation on the theme in my optiwhite, by rescaping with exactly the same hardscape and plants, but moving them...

Now that I'd like to see :) Do it :thumbup:

Re: "Prairie Lands"... getting ready for the big shoot Good luck with that !!!

Re: "Prairie Lands"... getting ready for the big shoot Good plan - you're gonna love 4 lights ! Nice glow on the back wall :wink: I'm putting castors on my new cabinet for that purpose :D Tony

Re: "Prairie Lands"... scape finished Thanks mark, I think it's bloody lovely mate In terms of a competition entry, I know what you mean about the right hand gourami, and I think if you want the best chance in the comps then I'd pull the gouramis out and shoot it again with more harlequinns...

Re: "Prairie Lands"... scape finished I'm quite sure its fine ! Email it over if you want a 2nd opinion. Tony

Re: "Prairie Lands"... scape finished Nice to hear you sate that mate - your usually way too hard on yourself !! Good plan, you should do it if you're not happy with the fish in the final pics - the scape deserves it ! I've a shoal of 30+ black neons to regime if you get stuck ;) Tony

Re: "Prairie Lands"... new video added (short) A really beautiful video Mark, super clean shots and great edit with the soundtrack too :thumbup: A super appropriate way to finish off the scape I think - I look forward to seeing the final shots, and the new scape too. Tony

Re: Untitled Yet 300L optiwhite (Trimmed) Thats a lovely looking tank - very healthy :) I agree with Paulo, uproot the blyxa, split it all down into new stems and replant it. Once established it grows like wildfire. tony

Re: "Prairie Lands"... trim of a life time Nice trim Mark - its taking on a really nice shape now, and won't look too manicured once it grows in again :thumbup: Knw what you mean about the right hand crypts - they jump out a bit, maybe nicer with brown leaved crypts in there :crazy: For...

Re: "Prairie Lands"... blue or white? Indeed ! I'm about to do a scape with rockery slate from the local garden centre - £2.50 each, no matter what size weight, and they've some 10kg+ bits :)

Re: "Prairie Lands"... blue or white? Tricky stuff Mark - I really think you need three 200w lights, 2 to light the tank and one for the background, and I reckon you need at least a couple of feet between the tank and the background so you can nicely light the background. For me its...

Re: 90x45x45cm - The Unknown IT was Taiwan Moss :wink: Looks great Stu, cant wait to see it filled up :) Tony

Re: Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - 200L Thanks George, its taking abit of getting used to though ! Yep you're right Fly' - I've thought about doing that, but the whole thing may be rescaped in the next month so I may not get round to it :oops: I think you're right Mark, I may trim back some of the...

Re: Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - 200L Thanks Sam and Paulo. The other journal will be updated later in the week - I'm waiting on the shoal of SAE's to prep that one for photos, but I think they're stuffed already :lol: Interesting observations mark, I'll give it a go :) When the second light...

Re: Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - 200L Hi Mark Its a 100cm luminaire with 2 x 39w Power-Glo's and 2 x 39w Life_Glo's, 2 of which are on 10am to 5pm, and the other 2 are 12pm to 2pm. The luminaire is 20cm above the water. Tony

Re: Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - 200L A long overdue update (again ! ) :) The mosses had all outgrown their holdings and were floating up off the roots, so they have all come out for now. I'm growing some new stuff, but I'm quite liking the 'lighter' look of the tank right now so may not use it...

Re: "Prairie Lands"... more crypts!!! Hi Mark I haven't been around much, but catching up on things now - i love this scape and think the crypts are a great addition, just adds a bit more interest whilst not overcomplicating things. Great photography as always too :) Tony

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite 'Peacocks Crypt' Hi Paul Pleased you like it :) Here is the plant list... Cryptocoryne Balansae Cryptocoryne Wendtii Tropica Cryptocoryne Parve Echinodorus Tenellus Eleocharis Parvula Bolbitis Heudeloltii Microsorum Pteropus Windelov Peacock Moss Ectropothecium...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite 'Peacocks Crypt' Hell yeah ! Tell it like it is I say :lol: :oops: I did say For the final shots the brolly came off the right hand light, and I used it much harder, and more above the tank from the right. The left hand light stayed pretty much where you see...

Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 months Thats one great carpet mark :) That trim makes such a huge difference it should be a 'killer tip' on the forum :lol: Did you consider mosses on the branches ? You know I like em mossed up :) (but that of course is just me :)) Tony

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite 'Peacocks Crypt' Thanks Paulo. We'll see, top half would be nice :) Thanks George. Yep, a quickly mocked up snoot, black inside and out. I just used it to bring out some detail in the front lower areas. The moss is a bit overgrown, particularly the...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite 'Peacocks Crypt' The lights were still set up this morning, so I took a couple of detail shots so i could update the thread... Unfortunatley the detail shots look rather better then the full tank shot I entered :roll: A lesson learnt - dont leave it until...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite 'Peacocks Crypt' Thanks for answering that one Matt :) This tanks been going rather well, which is nice :) I gave it a good spruce up yesterday, and shot a pic of it for the IAPLC. I thought you might be interested in some snaps of the shooting yesterday... The...

Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 months Haha :lol: I'm not sure it'll ever be a masterpiece, and besides its taken me 15 months to get the optiwhite how I want it, so you'll probably have another 3 or 4 tanks done before mine is anything special :lol: Normally I'd urge you to stick...

Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 2 months Love the video Mark - really brings it all to life. The growth on your Bolbitis is amazing in just a couple of months, and super clean too. Now, wheres my old cine camera :?:

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Thanks garuf, it is TGM's fossilised wood Hogan, and it's mch nicer than he unipac petrified wood which is alot redder and can be broken up into smaller pieces. The TGM stuff is true fossilised wood, and has a metal-like 'ring' to it when you knock 2 pieces together...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Thanks guys, I quite like to show what goes wrong as well as what goes right - I'll look back at it one day and remember how I dealt with it (probably when the next algae outbreak occurs :lol: ) There is hairgrass all along the front, but its been taken over by the...

Re: 90x45x45 "LlÅ·n Peninsula" Thats some carpet youve got going on Stu - love it :) I've ben having trouble with BBA recently but found spot dosing the Excel worked really well, and stabilising the CO2 and flow has stopped it coming back :) How long do you plan to keep the scape going ? Tony

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite A wee update after a fortnight of successful BBA fighting :D I bought an 85L storage tank so I can prepare more water, and fitted up a couple of float switches from the RO and HMA filters, with a tap on each so I can adjust the flow to get an approximate 50/50 mix...

Re: Saintly's 120cm latest scape Tremendous rockwork Mark, and the wood aint half bad either - cracking pieces you got there :D For me I think the outer left and right bits dont sit quite right yet, but i know you'll move it all around by this time tomorrow anyway, in fact youve probably done...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Hi George - warts and all is the only way :lol: There are alot of crypt parva in the forground, which were originally surrounded by acicularis, but the tennelus has taken over somewhat and seen off the acicularis. That said I like the tennelus in the foreground...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Well, its been a while :oops: Life has been getting in the way of aquatics in general, and journal updating in particular, but things are getting back on track now, so I thought I'd update this one :D Having been away for 5 weeks at the start of the year, the...

Another great Saintly-Scape comes to an end ! I havent been around much lately Mark due to other commitments, but have just been looking through this thread, and the tank looked lovely - I'd hate to not have that in my own home :lol: As always I look forward to the next journal. Tony

Looking good Mark :D Thanks for the pics and notes on trimming too - all noted accordingly :D :thumbup: Tony

Re: 90x45x45 "LlÅ·n Peninsula" Looking good Stu - the colours in those rocks are really something :D Hi Ilaymir, I've noticed your 'constructive criticisms' in most of your 15 posts, and wondered when we are going to see some of your tanks. It would be nice to see where all of your...

Thats you told Mark !! ( I think :roll: :?: )

Re: 90x45x45 "LlÅ·n Peninsula" I've just choked on my toast !

Re: 90x45x45 "LlÅ·n Peninsula" Looking good Stu - those are some fine and well placed rocks :D Tony

Good stuff mark :) Any chance of some sort of step-by-step record of your stem trimming please ? :). I for one would love to see how you go about it. Tony

Re: Saintly's 120cm private scape Looks stunning Mark - and great pics as always :D

Re: Saintly's 120cm private scape Great hardscaping Mark (as usual :lol: ). Hope you've got all the moss stones done in readiness for Plantday-Monday ! I look forward to the next pics. Tony

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Hi Mark Thanks for your kind comments, I'm pleased you like it. Unfortunately, due to a little neglect recently (due to our new babies arrival) the tank is not looking so good right now :( I've had alot of die off again with the bolbitis, and also with the...

Re: Saintly's 120cm private scape Dont be scared Mark, go WILD :D :D :D A nice splash of colour against those b&w walls will work a treat. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Tony

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Thanks keymaker :D Tony

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Hi Keymaker. Youre kind of right with the 2d 'look', though the real reason is that it reduces the convergence on the tank edges, which a wide lens would give you. I like straight graphic lines which the longer lens gives, though it does flatten the tank off alot...

Hi Mark I'm just catching up on things, after lasts weeks goings on :D Your pictures are looking fantastic, as is the tank - the colours and lighting are spot on. I think I might change to MH lighting on the optiwhite after reading this :D Shame to see it go, but I look forward to the...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Thanks Mark, and thanks Paulo for the newsletter pointer - I hadnt seen that :D I think there may be a couple of pics of it going in the October issue too :wink: :D I havent updated the thread for a while, as its been a busy month, and also not alot has changed...

Hi Mark Thanks for posting this - I've got GSA on my anubias at the mow, so its a well-timed tip :D Tanks looking great, and photography spot on as always. Tony

Looking great Paulo, I love the fissidens carpet - definately on my 'to do one day' list :D Breed up some of the black CRS for me would ya :D Cheers Tony

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Thanks guys :D I'm really liking the black neons George, they're not the best shoalers, but their understated looks seem to sit nicely in this tank. I'll probably double the size of the shoal in the coming weeks. Pleased you like the pics too - I was planning to...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Sorry its been a while folks :oops: I've had a pretty manic month. Thanks Helena :D Thanks flyga, I'm a bit more hands on with this tank, so less automation needed :lol: Thanks Laffers83 - its tried my patience at times :D Well I'm not sure where the...

Looking awesome Mark :D I know what you mean about needing one more light ! I really think you need 3 lights to get a nice overall top light, a good background light, and then a feature light to bring out some specific detail. Separate lights mean you can control the exposure of each area...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Soon Steve, soon :) the lights and camera are all set up in the garage at the minute, for the manzanita wood !

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Haha ! I'll come up and show you some tricks on Bones of the Earth soon :wink: I've added some Amano shrimp this weekend, and that hair-algae I was getting has disappeared overnight :D Tony

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Nikon D3X, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 @ 70mm, f22, 1/125th, ISO200, 2 x Bowens heads - one with 60cm softbox above, and front right of tank for general fill, and one with snoot at left hand side firing across the front of the scape 8) Shot RAW, processed in C1Pro, then in...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite Cheers all. If any of you are interested I've uploaded the hires file of the full tank shot to our server - you can download it here if you want a look :D Its a tiff file, about 40mb : https://mustardftp.sharefile.com/d-sd27e3d54bfe4e419 Tony