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I change around 30% weekly on my low tech tanks, I've found it keeps algae at bay and shrimps happy, find the best routine that works for you and the tank, if dosing ei ferts a 1/3 recommend dose should be plenty for a low tech or less.

White vinegar in a spray bottle or rubbed on with a cloth works for me.

First plant could be hygrophillia corymbosa, second plant is an amazon sword, not sure on sp type.

Nice thread :-) A couple of my tanks

Hi Paul, a comprehensive guide to using a soil substrate in this thread https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-soil-substrate-or-dirted-planted-tank-a-how-to-guide.18943/ Worth casting your eye over some of the other tutorials too, full of excellent info, please consider starting a journal for...

Maybe worth buying a large bin(if you have a garden outside area) to soak it in clean fresh water, change water daily and see if the smell goes.

Use a small paintbrush or toothbrush to sweep the hair grass and syphon off the debris as it's dislodged, baby shrimp should move away due to the disturbance cause by the brush.

The sale area will become visible after the op makes 25 posts, great idea though Ryan :-)

Hi John, scape is great for a first attempt especially in a trigon, honest opinion though( you did ask for it :-)) you are lacking foreground and mid ground planting, hair grass is notoriously slow growing (and disheartening) I would recommend adding some micranthemum Monte Carlo and helanthium...

Not a list but a nice British biotope maybe for inspiration, http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/a-great-british-biotope.8052/

Stretch it over one of the filter baskets, they work very well at removing fine particles, though they clog easily ime.

If you read the link I posted above the answer lies within ;-)

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/trading-rules-for-sale-swap-wanted-forum.13464/ 25 foxfish :-)

This is looking great Rob, black background makes the plant and fish colours pop, you seem to be well on top of your algae issues now mate, top job :clap:

Never being content is part of the progression, I always find things wrong with my scapes that I wish I'd done differently, plants never behave as I'd wish them too either, I tend not to change too much lately as long as the livestock are happy but I always rescape in the end and try and take...

Hose pipe straight out the window, refill straight from the tap, much better for my back than the 15 litre bucket I used to use for a 120 litre water change :lol: Much easier 12 litre water change on my kitchen nano. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Is the anubias shaded ? Mine tend to develop GSA under too much light, try the increase John and let us know how it goes.

Never used a phosphate test kit John so can't comment, double the dose of your fert and give it 4 weeks or so to see if the GSA stops. I tend to not worry so much if it's on the glass or hardscape, only if it starts to appear on plant leaves.

Hi mark, 12 hours is a rather long photoperiod, 6-8 is around the maximum most recommend (I run 6 on my high tech tanks) the green spot algae is an indicator of low po4, I would cut the lights to 6 hours, carry out 3-5 50% water changes per week whilst trimming, scrubbing and removing as much...

Not sure it'll go for the asking price :eek:

I've grown the Monte Carlo in just sand with a balanced fertiliser, tenelum is listed as easy so should be ok.

Hi cahal, nice inspiration tank ;-), the rocks are mini landscape rock aka seiryu stone, carpet plant is micranthemum Monte Carlo and the grass type plant is helanthium telenum, hope this helps.

I agree with marcel, lights are too intense, I only use 2x 39w t5s over my high tech 180 ltr

Hi Matt, plan sounds good, I've done many a rescape with fish in, plenty of water changes after for a week or two should see you right.

UKAPS ;-)

I have two cats both still quite young so far no tank dipped cats or fishing incidents, though they both sit on the stairs happily drinking out of my 3ft tank even when their bowl is full of water :lol:

I see Shaun is showing off his green thumb in the last picture :-) great wabi kusa :clap:

Mine are rarely planned, hardscape goes in on setup day followed by plants then I spend 6-12 months thinking how much I don't like the scape and should have planned it more :lol: then I normally end up with an impromptu rescape and the cycle begins again :lol:

I like the layout, my only comment would be that the main stone isn't big enough, it needs to dominate the others if you look at classic iwagumi scapes.

Do we get to see any photos then Bex, we all like setup photos :-)

It would be a superb way of starting your scape :thumbup:

Hi konsa, the brown algae sounds like diatoms which is common in new setups, it sounds to me your maybe lacking flow around the lower level of the tank which will mean the plants aren't receiving enough co2 & nutrients to establish themselves well, a picture or two of the tank/plants may help...

Really nice layout Rob, look forward to more updates.

Not that readily available in the uk yet either, beautiful plants http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/bucephalandra-all-in-one.26970/ worth a read and some stunning images.

Both good quality plant suppliers IMO, I find tropica potted stem plants more compact usually, which I find a good thing less plant to melt during transition to under water life.

Some of the plants in my low tech were tissue culture plants http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/low-tech-40x40x30-scape.38640/ I found they took a while to get going, as long as you choose plants that aren't too demanding they should be fine.

Think he injected co2, as long as you keep your plant list with liquid carbon in mind I think you'll have a cracking scape mate, look forward to your journal :-)

Blackboard paint works well for the background, also worth searching trigon journals by members on here Gary Nelson has put together some awesome scapes in his trigon.http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/natures-corner-naturalis-trigon-190-now-closed.26802/

Like it without those white pebbles, maybe some crypt beckettii petchii between the eleocharis and alternanthera, would be nice transition between the foreground and background planting.

May require a double or triple dose for a highly planted tank, some plants and fish/shrimp do not do well at higher doses, not as efficient as gas so may not be able to grow all plants, help with the doubt mate :-)

Hi aqua360, from the trigon threads I've followed flow around the tank seems to be the main issue, you could supplement the plants with a liquid carbon product like excel, what lighting does the tank have at the moment ? Tropica lists there plants into 3 categories http://tropica.com/en/plants/...

Always worth keeping an eye on the for sale section for used co2 setups etc.

Plants will be fine under that bulb IMO.

Hi jag, 1 50% for 6hrs sounds spot on (max co2 levels) 2 half ei dose should be fine for a couple of weeks 3 I would still carry out the daily water change routine after a drystart, alternate dosing of macros and micros your aquasoil will contain nutrients and you won't remove them all with a...

Probably not the easiest option anyway, just I've always chosen to do things the hard way :banghead: :lol:

You could scape it plant it fill it up and get the plants well on the way to being settled, drain it cover with cling film for the move, move it fill up and away you go add livestock maybe a week after the move :-) that would be my approach because I can not stand looking at an empty tank ;-)

My favourite of the year http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/stus-120x45x45-tank-sponsored-by-tropica.36083/ Great to see stu worrall back in the top 100.

:-(

Got some nice Baltic rock from my kids :-) bit big for the tank I had in mind so my have to get a bigger tank :lol:

:lol: sell them me for £50 ;-)

Looks similar to unipac red rainbow rock.

You may be gassing off your co2 with the spray bar pointing up, point it down slightly and use the power head to create surface movement, Ime you will use a 2kg co2 canister in around 6-8 weeks for your size tank, up the gas and see if you get the colour change ph drop closer to 1 point, only do...

Hi Matt, it's possible your plants are struggling due to lack of carbon, even though liquid carbon does a fair job it's not comparable to gas injection for some plants, you may need to replace a few plants and see what grows well with the liquid carbon or make the step up to gas injection FWIW...

Are you sure the drop checker fluid is 4dkh water with bromothymol blue ? Even low co2 should give some change in colour.

Toothbrush or small wire brush is the best way to keep them clean, Mot is spot on though 6-8 hour photoperiod is plenty IME, and will help slow the growth rate of algae.

I've been using the aquel ledy over a 40x40x30 low tech, it's a good light with a nice colour rendition IMO but as you say you may need 2 for a scapers tank.

I would like to get along to this, it's not far from home for me, will depend on work commitments though.

Hey Deano, good to see you back on here mate, congrats on the daughter :-). I would setup the 60p for low maintenance mate, ime shallow tanks with smaller water volumes will need more water changes and attention to keep them looking optimum, with the 60p once you've been through the first few...

I know what you mean, I was determined 1 filter would be enough for my 3ft tank but flow issues occurred to begin with, things seem to be settling down now though I have added in an ehiem skimmer not sure if it's the extra flow or the better gas exchange which has helped issues, see how it goes...

May work out ok, if you feel the filter isn't pushing flow all the way round the tank in a circular motion you could add in a power head such as the hydor korallia on the opposite corner pushing flow back across the front glass, or a full length spraybar mounted on the back facing forward.

I'll see if I can find the mesh tomorrow, I'm using the skimmer with out it at the moment as I have no livestock in the tank.

Hi wisey, I use a piece of stainless steel mesh bent round and popped inside, stops small fish and shrimp being sucked in.

That 11w light will be plenty for most plants to grow with liquid carbon Dave, not sure the Eden filter would have enough power for good flow, jbl cristalprofi e400 would do if you are set on an external, I would ditch the substrate as it does break down quickly ime, Ada Amazonia or tropica...

Was looking at the 60H as a possible replacement for my 3ft next year I would actually prefer it if it was only 40 high with the 45 depth so I may go custom made as I think the extra 5cm adds a touch more depth to the tank.

Massive influence to our hobby, sad times :-( my heart goes out to his family and friends at this sad time.

No problem :thumbup: adjust the scape and photo square on to see how it looks, once your happy plant it up drop me a PM if you want the anubias mate.

I like that a lot mate, constructive criticism, remove the lava stone rear left, And use the natural pool at the front left 1/3 for a nice light sand foreground add some moss to the crevices the lava creates and maybe wedge in some anubias petite here and there for texture (I can send a few bits...

Like that a lot Zozo:thumbup:

Acrylic cover for the tank add a few layers of window frosting to the acrylic to diffuse light.

You can raise the lily permanently, but you may have to increase co2 due to constant off gassing or just raise the lily after the photoperiod each day then lower again before co2 comes on, it's often a case of playing around to find the best solution that suits you/ your tank, whilst doing this...

Water changes and add some filter floss to your filter for a week or two, works for me after major uprooting etc.

I'm using the gush Opollen mini on a tank at the moment, positioned well gives good surface movement, cal Aqua Efflux f1 is also very good if you don't mind spending a bit more http://www.calaqualabs.com/Fluxus.html

Lovely colourful scape :-)

UK comp is a good thing, I hope it goes well and look forward to many more :-) I may enter one of my temporary tanks if I can knock it into shape in time.

Some moss can react badly to liquid carbon treatment fwiw.

He won't see that untill he's made more than 25 posts mate.

I agree the word tech leads to more confusion, personally I prefer George farmers terms of high and low energy tanks.

Pot scrubbers are a good substitute for coarse sponge ;-) sorry couldn't resist that one :-)

Hi Mick, question 2, as plant mass increases so does demand for co2 and nutrients this is normal, trimming regularly helps keep the demand lower as will lowering the intensity of the lighting if you can, always worth checking for leaks etc to make sure the set up is sound. Tanks looking lovely btw.

Maybe go custom made tank, cabinet & hood from nd aquatics, though light spill can be greatly reduced with LEDs on a dimmer so you can have them closer to the surface, I would think.

Turn it off at feeding time mick ;-), if the fish find it too much you can run it on a timer while the co2 is on to give the fish a bit of down time.

Plenty of scapes on the forum using Lilly pipes with nice carpets, IMO not all glassware is made the same, cal Aqua outlets give some of the best distribution IMHO.

Hi superdon, I think you should have plenty of hardscape layout options there with those rocks and the option to use or not use the wood, with the substrate I mean slope from front to rear, In the picture of the tank you linked you can see it's maybe an inch at the front To maybe 6 inches deep...

From my experience the more rocks to choose from the merrier, seller is selling a scape in a box so to speak so replication will work, I had over 10kg of mini landscape rock and still couldn't come up with a scape in my 12ltr tank, the sellers pic looks good but you would need to bank the...

Surely if you add more ferts under high light, you'll increase the plants need for carbon possibly past safe levels for livestock, correct me if I'm wrong.

It can be done, you need to add mould inhibitor and ph regulator, Google james planted tank for some good diy recipies you can make yourself, I'd link it but I'm on my phone. The apf all in one is good though.

It does indeed, I've used it before and it's good value for money IMO.

http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Fontinalisantipyretica'Willow'(003F)/4401 Maybe this ??

Looks epic, how did you resist filling up a suitcase, nice pics thanks for sharing.

Tmc signature do a 45x45x30 tank 60liters

I had eleo. Mini low tech, http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/buceps-bluff-thread-finished.30855/ painfully slow to put its roots down ime but once it gets going its a great plant, doesn't need to intense lighting low tech as hoggie stated can be a real algae magnet.

Probably sulking, trident not as easy as other microsorums ime, trim off the melt and as long as the rhizome stays firm you should see new growth.

Nice one mick, that's looking lovely and healthy :thumbup:

That's a fair drop, but only your plants can tell you if it's enough.

Hi Julia, I've kept cherry shrimp in several of my high tech planted tanks and haven't found any issues with co2 managed well, they also need copper in minute amounts as do all living things, dosed EI for two years and not had an issue so I would say that web site is mis-informed, plenty of...

Plus one for cherry shrimp fairly bomb proof for the beginner.

It's a nice scape, will look great grown in, not sure you should cut lilaeopsis back like that before planting, I've always planted it and just removed the leaves that don't transition well.

Wave maker or power head is worth a try, remove the damaged leaves as they won't recover and keep an eye on the new growth see if the issue is resolved, nice tank btw.

Looks like co2 deficiency at the lower levels of the tank, anyway to improve flow around the lower levels of the tank.

Yes it could do, you may find more of the mist escapes due to the smaller bubbles, either way it's worth trying anything to get co2 application right.