Like many of the people using this forum I seem to have caught this aquascaping bug by chance. The following dozen or so steps just about sum it up really:
Step 1. buy 'low maintenance' goldfish pet for daughter……Step 2. watch said 'low maintenance' pet die due to lack of maintenance (and ignorance of basic fish keeping rules)….Step 3. buy bigger tank and replacement fish…. Step 4. surf internet for information on how to not kill replacement fish ….. Step 5. while surfing find amazing examples of aquascapes…… Step 6. think 'I wish I could do that'…..Step 7. plant a few plants in tank ….. Step 8. watch plants fail due to lack of maintenance (and ignorance of basic plant keeping rules)….Step 9. Surf internet some more and discover Green Machine etc …. Step 10. visit Green Machine and see the real thing up close….. Step 11. Hooked …. Step 12. Decide to do it properly and commence the steady process of draining bank balance!
The above steps took place in the 9 months or so leading up to December 2013 when Step 12 commenced with purchase of a 35 litre ADA nano tank. The following notes and pictures show where I've got to in the following 5 months together with the ups and downs along the way!
I look forward to feedback from all of you who have walked this path ahead of me…………
So in line with what seems to be the convention I'll start with my current tank spec etc as of May 2014:
Tank - ADA 45P nano tank (approx 35 litres)
Filter - Tetratec EX400 external canister filter
Lighting - 2x Boyu T5 units (3x 8W bulbs each white/red mix). One on 8 hrs per day, Other 6 hrs.
Substrate - ADA Amazonia & Amazonia powder
Hardscape - grey/green greywake (from a local quarry)
CO2 - Sodastream bottle with dual stage regulator and mini-bazooker diffuser (8 hrs per day - on/off approx 1 hour before lights on/off)
Flora - HC, Riccia, Eleocharis mini, Hydrocotyle tripartita, Vesicularia ferriei 'weeping' moss
Fauna - 4x Ammano shrimp, 10x Crystal Red shrimp, No fish!
Fertilisers - Tropica Premium & Specialised liquid fertilizer (1x pump (1.2ml) per day on alternate days)
Water - very soft tap water ph 6.5. Temp 23 degrees C.
Heater - Hydor in line 200W unit
The above were reached with a fair few changes along the way …..
Tank - Having resisted the urge to start with a bigger tank (on the basis that there was a good chance I would end up with an expensive algae filled swamp) I initially went for a 45cm (30 litre) plain glass tank but the first symptoms of the aquascape bug caught hold and I returned it to the shop the next day and 'upgraded' to an ADA 45P optiwhite version….. I sign of things to come!
Filter - started with a basic 'hang on' filter but soon realised flow was really poor and stick from misses ref constant trickling noise and motor hum proved too much. Replaced after a month with really good value Tetratec EX400 unit (circa 54 quid) that is silent and low maintenance. Had to hacksaw down the pipework a bit to make it all fit in my small tank. So far I have resisted the urge to go with glass lily pipes as I quite like the surface rippling effect the spray bar gives.
Lighting - I struggled to find a 45cm T5 unit so had to settle for a 30cm unit. Started with just the one Boyu 24W (3x8W) which looks OK for the money (circa 24 quid) but realised after a few weeks that my HC were looking a little yellow and needed more light. Bought a second unit and after a some hacksaw modifications to the supporting brackets managed to fit this to the tank - The far tube actually hangs over the back of the tank but has by accident created a perfect back light! Lights have a mix of 3x white tubes and 3x red.
CO2 - Initially purchased a TMC nano set with disposable 95g cartridges + glass diffuser but soon regretted this as remembering to switch gas on and off every day quickly became a pain. Also these units seem extremely difficult to set and adjust to a constant flow rate. Looking at the way the glass diffuser works it also seemed to waste a lot of gas as bubbles seem to reach the surface before dissolving. After a month or so invested in a dual stage regulator fixed to a soda stream bottle and fitted with solenoid and timer. Complete set including high grade bubble counter and bazooka diffuser & gas cylinder was about 120 quid but money well spent as it seems to work really well. I am particularly impressed with the bazooka type diffuser as it makes really fine bubbles that all seem to be suspended or dissolved in the water. I am able to maintain desired ph levels with bubble rates circa 0.5 bps and my initial 500g gas bottle is still going strong after 4 months use. Only problem I had was an annoying 50hz buzz from the solenoid when activated … this was soon fixed after stripping down the unit and stretching the spring in the solenoid peg a little to give it more tension.
Heating - Started with usual 25W in tank heater but changed to a 200W Hydor unit once I had gone to an external canister filter. Probably a little big for the job but ready for a bigger tank in the future.
Anyway, enough words ………
At this point I'm going to stop as i don't think I have mastered the art of adding pictures from my flicr account to this thread (first go at this!). If anyone can drop me ante on how to do this I will continue!!!
Step 1. buy 'low maintenance' goldfish pet for daughter……Step 2. watch said 'low maintenance' pet die due to lack of maintenance (and ignorance of basic fish keeping rules)….Step 3. buy bigger tank and replacement fish…. Step 4. surf internet for information on how to not kill replacement fish ….. Step 5. while surfing find amazing examples of aquascapes…… Step 6. think 'I wish I could do that'…..Step 7. plant a few plants in tank ….. Step 8. watch plants fail due to lack of maintenance (and ignorance of basic plant keeping rules)….Step 9. Surf internet some more and discover Green Machine etc …. Step 10. visit Green Machine and see the real thing up close….. Step 11. Hooked …. Step 12. Decide to do it properly and commence the steady process of draining bank balance!
The above steps took place in the 9 months or so leading up to December 2013 when Step 12 commenced with purchase of a 35 litre ADA nano tank. The following notes and pictures show where I've got to in the following 5 months together with the ups and downs along the way!
I look forward to feedback from all of you who have walked this path ahead of me…………
So in line with what seems to be the convention I'll start with my current tank spec etc as of May 2014:
Tank - ADA 45P nano tank (approx 35 litres)
Filter - Tetratec EX400 external canister filter
Lighting - 2x Boyu T5 units (3x 8W bulbs each white/red mix). One on 8 hrs per day, Other 6 hrs.
Substrate - ADA Amazonia & Amazonia powder
Hardscape - grey/green greywake (from a local quarry)
CO2 - Sodastream bottle with dual stage regulator and mini-bazooker diffuser (8 hrs per day - on/off approx 1 hour before lights on/off)
Flora - HC, Riccia, Eleocharis mini, Hydrocotyle tripartita, Vesicularia ferriei 'weeping' moss
Fauna - 4x Ammano shrimp, 10x Crystal Red shrimp, No fish!
Fertilisers - Tropica Premium & Specialised liquid fertilizer (1x pump (1.2ml) per day on alternate days)
Water - very soft tap water ph 6.5. Temp 23 degrees C.
Heater - Hydor in line 200W unit
The above were reached with a fair few changes along the way …..
Tank - Having resisted the urge to start with a bigger tank (on the basis that there was a good chance I would end up with an expensive algae filled swamp) I initially went for a 45cm (30 litre) plain glass tank but the first symptoms of the aquascape bug caught hold and I returned it to the shop the next day and 'upgraded' to an ADA 45P optiwhite version….. I sign of things to come!
Filter - started with a basic 'hang on' filter but soon realised flow was really poor and stick from misses ref constant trickling noise and motor hum proved too much. Replaced after a month with really good value Tetratec EX400 unit (circa 54 quid) that is silent and low maintenance. Had to hacksaw down the pipework a bit to make it all fit in my small tank. So far I have resisted the urge to go with glass lily pipes as I quite like the surface rippling effect the spray bar gives.
Lighting - I struggled to find a 45cm T5 unit so had to settle for a 30cm unit. Started with just the one Boyu 24W (3x8W) which looks OK for the money (circa 24 quid) but realised after a few weeks that my HC were looking a little yellow and needed more light. Bought a second unit and after a some hacksaw modifications to the supporting brackets managed to fit this to the tank - The far tube actually hangs over the back of the tank but has by accident created a perfect back light! Lights have a mix of 3x white tubes and 3x red.
CO2 - Initially purchased a TMC nano set with disposable 95g cartridges + glass diffuser but soon regretted this as remembering to switch gas on and off every day quickly became a pain. Also these units seem extremely difficult to set and adjust to a constant flow rate. Looking at the way the glass diffuser works it also seemed to waste a lot of gas as bubbles seem to reach the surface before dissolving. After a month or so invested in a dual stage regulator fixed to a soda stream bottle and fitted with solenoid and timer. Complete set including high grade bubble counter and bazooka diffuser & gas cylinder was about 120 quid but money well spent as it seems to work really well. I am particularly impressed with the bazooka type diffuser as it makes really fine bubbles that all seem to be suspended or dissolved in the water. I am able to maintain desired ph levels with bubble rates circa 0.5 bps and my initial 500g gas bottle is still going strong after 4 months use. Only problem I had was an annoying 50hz buzz from the solenoid when activated … this was soon fixed after stripping down the unit and stretching the spring in the solenoid peg a little to give it more tension.
Heating - Started with usual 25W in tank heater but changed to a 200W Hydor unit once I had gone to an external canister filter. Probably a little big for the job but ready for a bigger tank in the future.
Anyway, enough words ………
At this point I'm going to stop as i don't think I have mastered the art of adding pictures from my flicr account to this thread (first go at this!). If anyone can drop me ante on how to do this I will continue!!!
Last edited by a moderator: