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Dou's Various Tanks (ADA 60P, Do!Aqua MiniM+Cube, 90x30x36, etc.)
- Thread starter cookie.dou
- Start date
alex08
Member
So, so nice! 
cookie.dou
Member
75CM Beginning: The feeling and idea that I'm trying to create is that of the edge of a forest and the emergence of an open clearing. It's been freshly planted - with lots of plants originally grown emersed (so I'm expecting some melt... but hopefully not too much). There are also some background plants that you can't see - in a few months hopefully they grow up and fill out to give more of a "covered" feel. Of course... I am bound to change my mind a bit and move things around (along with adding or removing plants), typical me x).
cookie.dou
Member
Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm gonna remove the majority of the stones there actually, it's a bit too much everywhere after sitting on it. And going to move a couple pieces of wood too.
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cookie.dou
Member
75CM Adjustments - 4 hours later... I think I'm happy for now, may tweak a couple things here and there but I feel that it looks much more natural. I was hesitant to go all in but with a little nudge, I ended up snapping a lot of branches (thanks to a friend for providing feedback)... There's also actually a bunch of crypt balansae planted in the very far back - which I am envisioning to fill the top section and take up space/provide more cover. Still looking for the elusive ferns.
cookie.dou
Member
I made more changes to the 75cm... but no photo yet. Buying a boom light to see if the photo comes out better..
In the mean time, updates to the 45P:
- Added Taiwan Bee Shrimps. I noticed as I was acclimating them they started to scurry like they were trying to escape, I tested the water and there was 0.25ppm ammonia - so I put them into a net and placed them into my Do!Aqua cube to hold. Its parameters were set for CRS/CBS so I wasn't too worried.
- I'm not sure where the ammonia came from, as my bucket of aged water also had some readings... but my paranoia in making sure they were okay helped me introduce them successfully. After doing a full 90% WC + remineralization + 8 hours later, ammonia levels were 0 and in they went to their new home. Hard to count but I don't think I had too many casualties.
- I also added an AC20 to the tank. The Eheim 150 that's currently running with it was also running for 3 months or so, so seeing the ammonia was a bit shocking. I read that using prime can also affect this reading, for now I am just being extra careful
- My foreground plants aren't doing as well as I thought they would, so I am now considering what I should do. I'm thinking that I may add more sand and add anubias petites up front. I am hesitant to make too many changes as I want to make sure its new inhabitants are as happy as can be.
In the mean time, updates to the 45P:
- Added Taiwan Bee Shrimps. I noticed as I was acclimating them they started to scurry like they were trying to escape, I tested the water and there was 0.25ppm ammonia - so I put them into a net and placed them into my Do!Aqua cube to hold. Its parameters were set for CRS/CBS so I wasn't too worried.
- I'm not sure where the ammonia came from, as my bucket of aged water also had some readings... but my paranoia in making sure they were okay helped me introduce them successfully. After doing a full 90% WC + remineralization + 8 hours later, ammonia levels were 0 and in they went to their new home. Hard to count but I don't think I had too many casualties.
- I also added an AC20 to the tank. The Eheim 150 that's currently running with it was also running for 3 months or so, so seeing the ammonia was a bit shocking. I read that using prime can also affect this reading, for now I am just being extra careful
- My foreground plants aren't doing as well as I thought they would, so I am now considering what I should do. I'm thinking that I may add more sand and add anubias petites up front. I am hesitant to make too many changes as I want to make sure its new inhabitants are as happy as can be.
cookie.dou
Member
Nikon D3200 with standard kit lens (18-55mm)... =D. My background is in graphic design so I know how to add detail back in, fix colours, etc. but no matter what I am still having trouble editing the photo to what I actually see in real life. This is probably because I don't have adequate lighting which I'm trying to fix... The other issue is that the lens causes distortion in the glass shape itself (like turns a square into a convex square) - so I actually warp it back into a square shape (along with fixing skewing, etc.). For the photos of fish and shrimp, I'm usually using a 35mm lens. I don't really know much about cameras themselves, only what I use now (and what my spouse teaches me haha).
cookie.dou
Member
I was fortunate enough to get budget at my workplace to maintain a tank for my coworkers =)! Here it is after a couple months, everything still growing in and at a good pace as it's low-tech, no CO2. Supplemented with a lot of my own materials. I wish we had access to more materials in Canada but I couldn't find any flat mini river pebbles (the Dennerle Yukon stone!). Those would've added the exact feeling I wanted (along with adding much needed detail to the foreground). I also couldn't find any larger round grains of "sand", like the other ADA sands (Mekong?) which would've also added more dimension/variety. Checked their website and it's no longer listed though 
. But this year, I am definitely going to be doing tons of exploring! Hopefully I can find stuff locally.
. But this year, I am definitely going to be doing tons of exploring! Hopefully I can find stuff locally.
Darrel_B
New Member
Fantastic tanks! I'm running a similar light setup as your 60p with a Chihiros A-Series A601. At what setting is your dimmer at? I started off with 4 from the lowest setting then increased to 5, but started to get BBA and hair algae so I brought it back down. I'm trying to dial-in the correct light settings for my tank.
cookie.dou
Member
Thanks! My light is set to the second highest setting available. What helps is propping the light further up... but from my experience - only hair algae can be attributed to too much lighting. BBA is usually an imbalance of nutrients of some sort. Have no idea which.. sorry lol =(
Darrel_B
New Member
No worries! The algae problems subsided when I dimmed the light. I'm getting lots of pearling even at this light level, so that means I should be good. The Chihiros LED is seriously bright! Thanks for the info!
cookie.dou
Member
75CM Update:
- I re-adjusted things again (actually, multiple times over several weeks, this is like my 7th attempt). It just didn't look balanced. I moved the wood to the back to open up the space (as I was feeling a bit cramped). I also re-balanced a lot of it (was feeling way too in my face) along with snapping even more pieces (cried harder with each snap)
- I also went on a nature trail with my spouse and dog (inspired by Tom Barr), found quite a few interesting plants and have inserted them into the tank to see if they could grow/adapt to being immersed in slightly warmer water. I forgot my SD card for my camera so I was unable to snap photos =(. No idea what their names are.
- It is tempting to take it apart and try again (as I get better with each try) but I have a feeling I am just being impatient. Although it may look sparse now, if I let it grow out to what my mind envisions, it may turn out to be exactly what I want it to be.
- I switched to a 35mm lens, which seems to have made a huge difference in photo quality. I didn't even use a tripod and it is much clearer than my kit lens (and with less photoshop)... meaning that I am now slowly saving for the Nikkor 16-22mm. Thanks again for the guidance Ray Wong.
- I re-adjusted things again (actually, multiple times over several weeks, this is like my 7th attempt). It just didn't look balanced. I moved the wood to the back to open up the space (as I was feeling a bit cramped). I also re-balanced a lot of it (was feeling way too in my face) along with snapping even more pieces (cried harder with each snap)
- I also went on a nature trail with my spouse and dog (inspired by Tom Barr), found quite a few interesting plants and have inserted them into the tank to see if they could grow/adapt to being immersed in slightly warmer water. I forgot my SD card for my camera so I was unable to snap photos =(. No idea what their names are.
- It is tempting to take it apart and try again (as I get better with each try) but I have a feeling I am just being impatient. Although it may look sparse now, if I let it grow out to what my mind envisions, it may turn out to be exactly what I want it to be.
- I switched to a 35mm lens, which seems to have made a huge difference in photo quality. I didn't even use a tripod and it is much clearer than my kit lens (and with less photoshop)... meaning that I am now slowly saving for the Nikkor 16-22mm. Thanks again for the guidance Ray Wong.
tim
Member
The readjustment's have improved the depth of the scape greatly, this will be improved more when the plants behind the wood on the left grow out more, it's a stunning scape Dou imo, worthy of an entry to iaplc this year, do you plan to enter ? Photography is really good mate.
I really love the left side of the tank, well done!
IMO the two little branches in the middle that are like hands trying to shake are not natural looking, you may wanna try to add little branches but on the bottom of the tank?
Great photography btw, keep up! 🙂
IMO the two little branches in the middle that are like hands trying to shake are not natural looking, you may wanna try to add little branches but on the bottom of the tank?
Great photography btw, keep up! 🙂
cookie.dou
Member
Thanks Tim. I was considering it but it might not grow out in time... In which case I will stick with my original plan of entering my 90cm. The use of a different lens definitely helped!
I agree with you - I think I may end up lowering one of the pieces by an inch. Thank you for all the feedback, it really helps... need to give you more credit!
cookie.dou
Member
Sorry guys it's been a while - a lot has happened and I've been neglecting my forum activity for quite some time - along with visiting Japan! Seeing Takashi Amano's aquariums in person was just absolutely amazing... I realize in the photo below I should've stood to the left... but for some reason I stood right smack in the middle lol =(... If you're interested in seeing my Japan photos - feel free to go to my personal Facebook page (Facebook) - I have a full tank shot of the NAs at Sumida Aquarium (no photos allowed at the ADA NA Gallery). I think my photos are set to public so as long as you have an account you can see it.
I also redid my 75cm tank MANY times... too many times to count... and I have Taiwan Bee shrimp babies! Photo follow ups to come soon...
I also redid my 75cm tank MANY times... too many times to count... and I have Taiwan Bee shrimp babies! Photo follow ups to come soon...
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Jack Reilly
Member
I stood in the middle too.
I'm jealous you got to go to Niigata, it was just too awkward for me. Only being open on Sunday and being in the middle of nowhere made it hard.
Did you buy any tank equipment in Japan ?
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