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Sweet wood man, really impressive work you did there! :)

I decided to change a bit the way I edit the photo, here's an update from today's water change and equipment cleaning. If you want some info please ask, I know you don't want to read walls of text. :) Cheers, Mike

A small photo update during the recovery after the last month algae bloom. Things are going ok atm, twinstar gone ... Changed the 865 t8s with 954 t8s .. the reds look better imo. Cheers, Mike

Hi ardjuna, it's a 64l - 60cmx30cmx36cm Cheers, Mike

Thanks guys. Tim, I had less algae than usual with it during the hot summer days and I think it gives me a bit more room to increase the CO2 levels. It didn't work against BGA which was my big issue this year even if I added nitrates like crazy, I had to rely on adding one pill of erythromycin...

Long time no see, I just wanted to post a picture with my current arrangement for my little ones, the tank was set 2 years ago and has gone through different plants arrangements, the soil was unchanged (OK Nature Soil) works a treat. Nothing fancy for a 60l, light 18w T8 with a reflector (wonder...

I'm sure the corys would like to do the sand maintenance for you :)

Nice one Ady, looks really really nice. :) Considering the plant choice I'd keep it low light, maybe turn the halide lamp only for 2-3 hours after a couple of months otherwise the sand and stones won't stay that clean :) Good luck with it! :thumbup: Cheers, Mike

Thanks mates, it looks a bit different now, I'll add a pic in a week or so, I need to decide if I'm gonna pull the rotala's out and leave only nesaea in the back. Can't belive that the last photo is from April, I'm sorry for not posting more pics but the last months were a bit stressful at work...

A quick text update for those following my saga into LC tanks, I had a GSA bloom lately followed by GDA and BBA on rocks, the large one looked nice covered in algae but the lilaeopsis brasilensis didn't so I decided to see if I can get rid of them, I started dosing phosphates along with the...

Cheers mate, found 3 shrimps, need to check the filter this weekend might be some there. Decided to skip IAPLC again, I'm not content with the looks, it doesn't look perfect :D, might give it a tweak this weekend and post a photo here and try my luck with AGA. Fiddling with the ferts a bit...

I won't post any new photos until september, get to prepare the iaplc photo next weekend, the tank's doing fine, trimming it every two weeks when rotalas reach the surface. Sadly there's only 1 shrimp left, guess they don't like liquid carbon. Gonna add a bit of CO2 using Tropica Plant Growth...

Since my inline heater got broken too and boiled some of the fishes I switched it to an Aquael heater even though it's black it's slim and small enough to fit nicely. Regarding the EL dosing use the EI article here on UKAPS. The tank looks nice, you need to give it a trim though. :) Cheers, Mike

Thanks guys, hope I can come up with a new full tank shot soon. Yes Ady, crazy critters crawling on the same rock :lurking: Actually I took around 30 pics before I got some with the eyes in focus. :) Trimmed rotala for the 5th time I think, crazy grower in low light. wish it didn't grow so...

A low grade orange shrimp

A quick one with an unknown shrimp, waiting for a new light unit next week and I'll do another full tank photo then. Cheers, Mike

Hi Zanguli, the tank's looking great, to improve the looks a bit more you can even the soil in front of the glass and keep it a bit thinner. Cheers, Mihai

Nice wood George, best of luck with your CRS. Can you post a close-up with the soil? Please don't use the iPhone :D Cheers, Mike

Thanks guys! Closing the gap was one of challenges, choosing the background plants is another, I wan't it a bit grown and more colorful in the back than usual iwagumis, in two-three weeks I hope I can show you what I have in mind. :) Stu, I'm dosing now 3.6ml daily using a the new Tropica...

Have some trial plants in the tank since yesterday, mostly because the other tank is having a reset next week. E. mini is growing a bit slow so I added some lilaeopsis brasilensis to the mix. Hydrocotyle sp. "Japan" is gone for now, I added some bits of anchor that I found creeping in the other...

Two new photos, plants looking a bit yellowish, the color rendering of my cheap strobes is not the best, need to use my ColorChecker next time. :) Jack, your bowl looks great too. :)

That's a lot of soil there mate :)

Hi mate, great scape and it will look perfectly balanced without the vertical rock on the left, add some sand patches like on a golf course if you really want a tweak but forget the trees please, they are uber kitchy imho. :D The ph controller is nice but I found out that a drop checker needs to...

Thanks guys for the great comments, especially to Lloyd, I appreciate any advice. I need to have a little bit of patience though before doing any tweaks, I really want to run this one without any issues. So far everything's ok, added a bit of npk, still not sure how much should I add with this...

Thanks Dean for your comment :) A quick photo showing a little bit of growth in the back (rotala rotundifolia & egeria densa)

Hi Ian, thanks for the comment, yes you are right about that gap, I plan working with the plants to cover it, I have some ideas but for now I need to let them grow a bit. I still need to think about the background plants, the ones that are there are just planted temporary till I find some...

Hi guys, I know some people are wondering what is my next low tech project so here it is. Some specs: Tank: GA Opti-white 60x30x36 cm (big thanks Viktor) Filtration: JBL e700 Heating: Jager 75w Light: Resun 2 x 15w T8 Osram 865 Soil: Oliver Knott Nature Soil (Contra-Soil) + ADA Sarawak Sand...

Mornin'! Planned to start an emersed tank for a while and since the goods for the other tank arrived I gave it a go. 7l clear glass tank covered with a glass lid and plastic wrap to keep the moist in. Nature Soil ADA Sarawak Sand Dragon stone Plants: Juncus repens Rotala sp. "Colorata"...

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your comments. :thumbup: Jack I think you are referring to hygrophyla polisperma.

This is the last photo of this tank/scape. It really needs a replacement, some bits for the new scape are arriving this week and the rest hopefully next week. It will be also a liquid carbon tank but with more hardscape and some enriched soil. I also have 15kg of seiryu stone waiting. :)...

Short text update: - crypts are gone for good, they shade the lawn and prevent it from spreading around nicely. - replaced the new atomizer with the regular atomizer, although the latter has a fine mist comparing with the larger bubbles coming from the first one they both require more or less...

Nice one Luis :)

Thanks Ian, it was a pleasure running a low tech for so long, this one is celebrating 2 years with the same soil and still going strong. Had its ups and downs during the hot summer days but it recovered nicely in the past months. I was running it lately with 2x15w T8s, one pair I think is enough...

My little one is going to be upgraded soon. I'm preparing next week the final shot for my archive and then I'm tearing it down. Viktor if you are looking this one is going to be replaced so hopefully you have my gear ready in a couple of weeks. :)

Thanks Ian, yes there are a couple of nice plants out there. :) The hard part is to mix them :) The yellowish patch on the left in the first picture is supposed to be Ludwigia senegalensis emersed (anubias linea cup), I hope it will grow, now it looks kinda sad, I think it stayed too much in...

Thanks mate, this setup had always ups and downs hence the name :) Couple of new plants courtesy of Tobi (aquasabi) and I'm going to show you one now before it melts like all the one from this species I had before :lol: Eriocaulon sp. 'Japan Needle Leaf' and its little curly baby, I haven't...

I wonder if there's a way to keep them clean without any intervention. I'm working on some theories right now but I didn't fully test them yet. PM should work now Vik, I replied you while you were writing this post. Cheers, Mike

Told ya you shouldn't strip the tank, it turned out really well :)

Nice one with the mist. :) Great scape John!

Thanks mate. :) I don't know why but every time I add red plants I end in removing them a week later after I take a full tank photo. :) So many of the red plants gone, trimmed others, some stones and wood gone also, I might remove the larger stone too since it doesn't give me the natural look I...

Some new plants in the back, unfortunately they are growing soo slow, hope I can improve that by adding a second filter or maybe they still haven't adapted to my tank, they were all red when I planted them.

Thanks Matt I've just received the plants in the back they still have to accommodate and change their colors as there's only one true red there. Regarding the apisto he has 4 females so there's no time to sit in a cave :) actually he doesn't really need any as there's no one to hide from and I...

Grown tired of fiddling with the CO2 using the drop checker, got a good price on it so I gave it a try. Works fine and plants are recovering nicely.

No contests again for me this year but who knows maybe I'll get lucky next time.

Re: 90x45x45 Optiwhite (not yet named) Keep them alongside with the ugly green piping :lol: Tank looks great mate! Mike

Re: Schruz's Works - Wabi Kusa, Emersed setups, Planted tank A break is always good mate to clear the mind and make more interesting projects. Saved your interview for later reading, back from vacation and still need to spend a lot of time to bring back on track my aquariums. Good luck with the...

Re: Fluval Studio 900...'Dragons Crypt', Decisions, decision Hi Ady, I know what you mean, I've been there myself. You can try Tropica substrate or JBL Aquabasis topped by Unipac gravel (1-2mm), just don't make it as deep as you did in this scape, 1-2 cm for the decorative sand in front of the...

Thanks Mark for your kind words, I really missed your comments :). Wish I can send this layout to Tropica when it's finished to change their ugly Hygro photos. :lol: I try to pic that plant that's not trendy and nobody uses for aquascaping, add one supporting plant, in this case some crypts and...

Re: Fluval Studio 900...'Dragons Crypt', splash of colour... Hey Ady, Just cover the affected wood with moss, it will take over the BBA eventually. Pull it out only if you plan a re-scape, it's too messy otherwise. Mike

Not so much of an update, just wanted to say that I replaced the eheim ecco 300 with 2075 and adapted it to 12/16 hose so I don't need to change the lilys, flow at 100% is perfect. Wished I bought it the first time. :) I also removed the atomizer, it wasn't working anymore, even after rising the...

Amazon swords, at first I hoped it was echinodorus quadricostatus but it grew from 10 cm to the size you see now. :)

Sorry mate, I don't have any interesting online. Might post some in the future. BTW yours look stunning. :) Cheers,

Sorry for the horrible looking photo but it's too hot today for any nice ones.

I have a little bit of cyanobacteria that usually appears on rotalas when I increase the light, even if I have high nitrates and especially when water temperature is rising above 27-28°C. It's a good time to test Easy Life Blue Exit that should arrive today. I'll tell you next week if the...

So ... Otto changed its position again. :) I removed the branches, some may have noticed them in the other tank; I did it mostly because I had a rhizo bloom. Mounted the surface extractor on a hang on, dunno why I didn't do it before ... :roll: that translated into more flow so I don't...

Tell ya later what's going' on. :)

Thanks John, "Dennerle Borneo brown sand" is the name you are looking for, you should find it in UK for sure. I used to cover 2/3 of the bulbs by bending the reflectors to give a dim light over the tank, glosso was doing OKish, it's more of a CO2 demanding plant than light but rotala...

Just a pic 'cause the other details might bore you to death :lol:

I was wondering where are the fish. What are you going to try next? :) The tank looks very nice Tom, I really like the contrast between plants and hardscape.

You know the song .. All eyes on me :) Cheers,

Thank you! :) I haven't had any issues with them staying aligned but there were other fish popping in when I was trying to get the picture, so yes, I did a couple. :)

My gang :)

Oh the fish :lol: ... Dunno why I was thinking about Hemianthus ... No, they never do that, they like meat. :)

Thanks guys I try doing my best. :thumbup: Not sure what you mean with nibbling. :) Cheers, Mike

Re: Fluval Studio 900... Plants. The tank looks great, staurogyne needs a bit of light to develop, might need to trim the plants that shade it. Keep up the good work! :)

Since the last journal of this tank doesn't feature any pics (had to remove them from flickr) I decided to open another fresh one after doing the last arrangement. The tank Eheim - 60cm long x 30cm wide x 35cm tall Soil - ADA Forest Sand Orinocco - Some regular white sand - JBL Manado...

Re: Fluval Studio 900... Disaster. I just wonder why this kind subjects have so many replies and the aquarscaping related have more or less none. Anyway, things fail and the critters die regardless of how much we try to avoid it ...

Well more or less sad day, fortunately I was waiting for someone in the morning so I haven't left early, otherwise ... One faulty 200w Hydor external heater turned the little tank >35 degrees. 3 neon tetra and 1 pink (the last one) dead and the little ones that hatched from the eggs above. So...

Two photos with my two of my 3 apisto males in this tank: A long time ago I thought I can only keep in this aquarium size 1 pair, well I have in here 3 males and 4 females, one currently breeding. Still waiting for some spare $$$ to buy the second filter & lily pipes.

You have a keen eye for detail mate. :) Added a shoal of neon tetras, nice looking fellows, need to wait for them to grow a bit as they are so little. I'll try and photograph them but now they seem to like the back of the tank, at least they are swimming in the upper part of the tank not like...

Thanks Cosmin, this tank looks a little bit barren now, things growing slowly as I keep it very low light ~2/3 of a 24w t5. Same ol tank: 70L x 35w x 30H, pressurized CO2, 2ml EC + 1ml TPN (switching it to PPS next week)/daily and sometimes a bit of ADA ECA / Green Gain. Filtration Eheim Ecco...

Sorry guys I don't have time to post more now. Mike

Re: Tom's 60P - Clive? Fancy a photo with the powerhead placement?

I think the cheapest are JBL (black) and Tetratec (grey -> viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2408) pipes, you can fit any of those of course. Mike

I really like the rock-work sanj and the wood placement looks great too. :) This will be a nice journal for sure. Hope ye planning on changing the green pipes. Cheers, Mike

Good mornin'!

ISO 1600 test with my new 600D

Thanks guys! :) Gary you are right, if you've got surface scum why not use a surface extractor, they aren't expensive and they work great especially if you find a way to tweak them to your needs. I had also the other chinese version (the black one) but it was a little bit too bulky. Hopefully...

My ugly punk snail :)

Yes it does the job and it's half the size of JBL Topclean. :) I'm using the intake from the e900/e700 to fit it on, had to cut it before because was a bit too long. If you want to fit it on the e1500 intake you need to cut a 16/12mm pipe and fit it inside the 22/16 one and it works...

For removing surface scum (it sucks the water from both surface and bottom of the tank), don't really like the looks when the scum traps the CO2 bubbles, I'll remove it when it stops developing. :)

The new skimmer:

Thanks Mike, a singing snail indeed, I'm wondering if I can get them to 1", this one is a juvenile the larger ones move a little too fast to catch a good photo of them. :)

Trimming session done so here's the full tank photo: One more month I think until the first real photo session, hope my new camera arrives in time.

And the last one for today ...

Some plant layers representing different stages of the aquarium.

I'm not sure mate what will be the final title of the scape, for now ... "Just Fun" I think it's OK. :) Some minor diatoms issues that'll go away soon :) Cheers, Mike

Thanks guys! Really appreciate your comments! :) Kris, I'm using on wood various mosses like anchor and taiwan, anubias petite, microsorum needle and hydrocotyle tripartita. Cheers, Mike

Hi Viktor, it's coming along nicely and for sure it will get a nice placement at IAPLC. :thumbup: I'd like to tell you to have a little bit of patience though, there are many places not covered by "clover" especially on the left side and in some there's a bit too much. I'd also pull out the...

Thank you, yes you're right, it costs as little as 3-4£/month to maintain this 60l tank, this includes fish food, fertilizers and water changed. Cheers, Mike

Re: Slow Cave ... NO Cave!? Thank you! One of my gold tetras, nice to have auto focus .. these little fellas are hard to catch. :)

The busy day, had to trim all the stems, hardly any fish had space for swimming. Now it's nice and tidy :) Mike

Re: Slow Cave ... NO Cave!? Thanks Ian. They came with the lamp :), it's a Resun DL-15 modified for t5s.