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Dutch (ish) cube

Ian Holdich

Member
Joined
18 Feb 2010
Messages
3,313
Location
lincoln uk
here goes...

tank - 20ltr cube

lighting - 11 watt arc pod

Filtration - Resun mini external

Substrate - Columbo florabase

Ferts - TPN plus daily

C02 - Yeast method

Plants - Ludwigia arcuata, Ludwigia peruviana, Cryptocoryne costata and Hygrophilla rosae Australis.

Livestock - 6x Ember tetras

first planted

cube8.jpg


after 2 weeks (just as the light came on)

closed.jpg


and 3 hours after the light came on

open.jpg


1 month down the line and things are growing, but now growing as fast as i would like!

crimboden2.jpg


crimboden.jpg


comment and suggestions welcome.
 
It melted pretty quick, and is now just beginning to get going, i chose this because of it's relative slowness. It obviously needs more growing, but i think i can see in my minds eye what i want it to look like.

I just need the back to get going, this should (i hope) give it's dutch (ish) appearance.
 
How are you finding your Red sea florabase. Dose it leave your cloudy water when disturbed , does it crumble easy, is it easy to slope, and final question do YOU think its good value for money ?.

Amazing looking tank by the way, keep it up :). I will be following this one.
 
hey lil-lynx
How are you finding your Red sea florabase

I really like it, it was easy to plant in. I didn't see an Ammonia spike either (i don't know whether that was to do with the plant mass.

Dose it leave your cloudy water when disturbed

It does a little bit, not as much as aquabasis.

does it crumble easy

Yes it does, however i have never used any other soil so i can't really compare.

is it easy to slope

Very easy.

do YOU think its good value for money ?

At this present moment in time 'yes', however the stuff is only useful for about a year, it then loses it nutrient values. I have also read that it crumbles into a soil after a couple of years or so. I'm not sure i'd us it on a larger scale.
 
Lil Lynx, this is the columbo flora-base, red sea's is a different product all together.
I can offer direct comparison to ADA, it's better than it, crumbles less and doesn't turn my water yellow like ADA loves to do. Also it leaches less ammonia and holds a slope better.
 
sorry lil-lynx, i presumed you meant Columbo. ^^that's a better critique of the product, lol. Cheers Garuf.

i'll edit as i have written Red sea.
 
o my bad people. Next time il try and explain a little more :(. Think before I talk comes to mind :) lol
So columbo flora-base is a good all round substrate ?
 
In my opinion it's one of the best on the market for most tanks. There are cheaper alternatives and of course there's the due release of the tmc aquasoil range which is much the same but I believe it will be cheaper.
As with anything though, good soil is only an aid, it's not the be all and end all magic bullet, if you don't know how to grow a tank without algae without it you won't be able to with it.
 
the Resun Cyclone mini external turned up today after 6 weeks! Its all hooked up, i have also pushed the crypts over to the far right side of the tank. I went out to east bridgford to get either some glosso or HC and the place was shut!

So...there is some riccia in the place of the crypts at the min. Just waiting for the water to clear and i'll get some pics up.
 
they better be ginger nuts, Mark!

here's a couple of pics with the Riccia.

newresun1.jpg


newresun.jpg


I also recommend the Resun Cyclone mini, it's a great little filter, and very cheap.
 
Wow!!! This is great, I've never paid much attention to the dutch side of things and this has really changed my mind
Will have to give it a try some time,

The plants look so healthy, congrats mate
 
Thanks very much nayr88!

I am enjoying this one as it's taking a lot of trimming and general pruning.

I'm now sussing out the macro shots on my new camera as well. Heres a couple of the Ludwigia pearling.

pearlinglud2.jpg


pearlinglud.jpg
 
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