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Aftermath.

Ady34

Global Moderator
UKAPS Team
Joined
27 Jul 2011
Messages
5,097
Location
Co. Durham
Hi,
with the end of the Re-education journal (Re-education.....) I thought it right to share the replacement set up.

I opted to downsize the 1500 in favour of a smaller unit to go with the existing ea600, ‘Always room for just one more’ journal tank (Always room for just one more....)
I wanted to streamline the tanks in the front room on to one wall and also wanted options for more creativity and also less maintenance demands. The smaller tanks are easier to maintain when the family have gone to bed, or maintenence can easily be split into manageable durations to fit with family life.

Thanks to forum sponsors @horizonaquatics for saving a remaining Aquascaper 900 with anthracite cabinet for me for quite some time. This cabinet matches that of the ea600 so works well and also works within the living room setting with existing decor.

Some time ago I purchased a good amount of the beautiful frodo stone from a fellow hobbyist who was closing their tank down. I have added to this collection whenever I found a nice piece, again from Horizon aquatics, who source the rock from Polish Aquascaper Adam Paszczela.
There are some quite large pieces of rock within the collection and I had initially purchased with a view to the future and scaping the 1500 again, however I decided to see if I could make them work in the 900.
With the success of the ea600, I decided upon Tropica soil again, and I had aTwinstar e line light given to me as a Christmas gift from my wife which matches that over the 600 also. The colour rendition is great, I really like the light and the continuity is good.
After adding a lightscreen to the 600 I found I really liked the effect so have added a lightground to this tank also.
The filter and co2 is brought over from the 1500, the co2 art pro se regulator and inline diffuser via one of the fluval g6 filters I have had for some years. The tank is heated via inline hydor heater to keep in tank equipment minimised.
I was keen to revisit the iwagumi style, a form of scaping I haven’t really experimented with too much.
So with a plan made and substrate purchased I got the rocks out and started to play.......

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I relitively quickly came up with a scape I liked but saw some floors with symmetry and a lack of a definite main stone. That said I really quite liked the shape and could envisage several planting schemes.
After looking at the rocks for a few days and trying to envisage the stones I had in different positions, I decided that I wouldn’t get the height I wanted by switching them and therefore as I liked it and could see it planted I would go with it.

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Once my mind was set, I began trying to dial in exactly what I wanted from the planting scheme. I wanted something fairly traditionally iwagumi with lower growing species, and although I did strongly consider a single or three species carpet, I opted for something slightly unusual.
The plant list is:
Micranthemum Monte carlo
Helanthium tenellum green
Helanthium Bolivianum Vesuvius
Rotala indica bonsai
Hygrophila araguaia

I felt that some of the slightly taller species in the rotala and hygrophila would help balance the stones more and also offer perhaps more interest and longevity than a traditional iwagumi carpet.
I added more substrate to get the levels at the rear where I wanted them to be, topped with Tropica powder to allow the smaller plants to root easier, and was ready to plant.
I planted over two nights, the mid and rear ground the first night and the Monte Carlo foreground carpet the second. I regularly misted the plants during planting and overnight I covered with cling film to retain humidity.

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The tank was then filled and equipment set up to fully operational. That is where I am with the tank to date.

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There were a couple of floaters, I wedged them by the lily pipe and will plant them with the first water change to prevent uprooting more around them.

Oh, and when thinking about creating the journal I realised I would need a name. The rocks look like an image of an explosion to me with the rocks radiating from a meteor strike or some similar disaster. With that in mind and then the resultant re-growth around such an event I have called it Aftermath.

Cheerio,
Ady.
 
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Stunning Hardscape along with a mellow pleasing planting set up !! Pleasing to the eye Ady.
When are you due to do a water change ? I look forward with interest to see. How this flourish.
Very Nice indeed Ady.
 
That's so pleasing to look at, it looks so neat! Great job looking forward to following along ,👍
Thanks Sammy, I think with iwagumi they tend to look neat as there is a definite line of clarity in the upper regions. It helps give that crisp appearance that so many are drawn too. Fingers crossed it maintains that look and doesn’t get unruly.


Stunning Hardscape along with a mellow pleasing planting set up !! Pleasing to the eye Ady.
When are you due to do a water change ? I look forward with interest to see. How this flourish.
Very Nice indeed Ady.
Cheers, I liked it so went with it. It fits the viewing angles within the room so perhaps works better in person than as a correctly set out iwagumi. The plants should fit quite well as long as I keep on top of the rotala and hygrophila and don’t let them get too high and full. There is some continuity with the little 600 beside it also with the planting which I think will be nice.
I have just carried out a 90% water change and will do large water changes daily for the first week.
Cheerio,
 
Tank looks really nice @Ady34 that frodo is beautiful was it hard to work with or did it make the layout process easier the back lights make both tanks pop can't wait to see it developing into a fully grown in iwagumi
A little gutted to see re education gone as it was such an inspirational tank to many of us on here 😢
Can understand the need for change though
 
Looking forward to seeing this one growing in @Ady34 . I really like the Indica Bonsai, I think it will make for a really nice feature plant in this scape.

I don't know if its just the images, but the backlight film looks a darker blue than the smaller tank, which I like better - is it an ADA one, or another brand?
 
Tank looks really nice @Ady34 that frodo is beautiful was it hard to work with or did it make the layout process easier the back lights make both tanks pop can't wait to see it developing into a fully grown in iwagumi
A little gutted to see re education gone as it was such an inspirational tank to many of us on here 😢
Can understand the need for change though
Hi Jay,
the frodo was good to work with but I think you need to hand pick pieces to suit the look you are going for as from what I have seen in stores it varies hugely in striata and shape. Some bits are flat and smooth, some look like concrete and some are unusually shaped with lots of detail.
I also like the backlight effect, i never used to be a fan of blue backgrounds but the graded film with the light is quite natural against the plants.
It’s really pleasing to hear that re-education was inspiring. That’s always the aim of sharing and why I continue to do so, it’s great to share the experiences and also have a script of each tanks journey to look back on.


Wow, really lovely. Hardscape, looks like it's emerging from the gravel, very organic. Also never appreciated how much effect a good background can have,
Thanks noodles, the backgrounds have a strong impact and I feel are worth the investment as they add depth and a nice colour backdrop which highlights the plants and hardscape more.

Looking forward to seeing this one growing in @Ady34 . I really like the Indica Bonsai, I think it will make for a really nice feature plant in this scape.

I don't know if its just the images, but the backlight film looks a darker blue than the smaller tank, which I like better - is it an ADA one, or another brand?
The indica bonsai was suggested to me by some friends and I really liked the idea as the leaf shape slightly mimics that of the Monte Carlo which helps balance the scape, especially given the more elongated forms of the background plants and the hygrophila araguaia.

You are right, the 900 does appear to be a darker blue. I have the lightground light on the rear of the 900. Personally I prefer that of the Ada lighscreen and for that reason I did buy an Ada graded film for the 900 again to try and achieve some continuity. I think the lightground light may be a slightly different white colour rendition which is throwing the colour slightly, either that or the slightly thicker glass is effecting it.

Cheerio,
 
Hi,
Little update.
This scape has and is proving far from straightforward. I have experienced a lot of plant melt particularly the h. Araguaia and rotala bonsai which have been replaced once and partially replaced again. The Monte Carlo also struggled but is starting to come good now I think.
I am unsure as to the reason behind this failure, I had been running huge amounts of co2 and limiting lighting intensity in the hope of a strong start.......just goes to show you can never take anything for granted nor predict success.
I am sticking with it though as I want to realise the vision and despite the troubles I still enjoy viewing the tank, especially after the addition of the Paraguay/sedge tetra.
I am awaiting the arrival of some good ottocinclus stock as the rocks have a healthy coating of diatoms and other green algae 😋

Anyway, please find below images, the two smaller tanks in the living room in place of the 1500 offer a better balance within the space and I’m currently enjoying the variety :)

the Paraguay tetra, lovely little fish:
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algae covered rocks:
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two contrasting styles, ryoboku and iwagumi:
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A current image:
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Cheerio,
 
Quick test of how to video share from Instagram. This is a much easier way to share short videos than using you tube, especially when you have an existing Instagram account :)
This is the two living room tanks a few weeks ago.
 
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Simply stunning

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
Thanks Dean :)
Very nice indeed! :cool::thumbup:
Thank you 🙌🏻
Those are great Ady, but I miss that 1500!! :)
Cheers Paulo, ha, I look at it frequently in the garage now I have to go in there to get the lawnmower out regularly. Makes me think about it more for sure 😃
Those light screens are amazing. I just love what they do to a tank.
Yeah, I really do like the aesthetic, they add a depth and contrast you don’t get any other way.

This tank has now turned a corner and settled with all plants growing well. I added 6 ottocinclus, 4 Hillstream loach and a small group of crs which helped hugely with clearing up the rocks and fine leaved plants. Perseverance has paid off and now the problem is keeping it under control. It is also time to remove the floating plants I feel.
I have slowly been increasing lighting intensity and now have the twinstar Eline on 100% for a couple of hours during the 7hr photoperiod. I may look at extending maximum intensity a little to give the Monte Carlo a little extra however all is well currently so if it isn’t broke…..

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Cheerio,
Ady.
 
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