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Dutchi-gumi

O'Neil

O'Neil

Member
Joined
16 Jan 2012
Messages
314
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
Hey Guys, I'm back after a few aquascaping distasters, I've taken my time planning, done alot of research and saved up some money and i'm ready to go.

I apologise in advance for the poor photo quality, it's on my list of things to sort out.

I absolutely love Iwagumi and Dutch style aquascapes and in this scape I'm going to try and have a bit of both, probably not the best idea for a beginner, but i'm feeling a bit more confident this time round.

1. Tank is A 98 ltr, nothing special really It's an old one I had lying round.

2. Substrate ADA Amazonia + some Africana that I salvaged from a prev' attempt.

3. Co2 (pressurised and fully automated). dosing 1 mil easy carbo aswell.

4. Filter - All Pond Solutions 1400EF.

5. Lighting - Standard 1 x 24w with reflector + on a timer, 6 hour photo period (lighting levels will be increased after the initial break in).

6. Hardscape - Black lava rock (from green machine).

7. Will be EI Dosing but no nutrients for the 1st 2 weeks (small amounts at first and gradually increasing)

8. ---------------------Flora:--------------------
Tropica 1-2-Grow Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini'.
Tropica 1-2-Grow Eleocharis sp. 'mini'.
Tropica 1-2-Grow Staurogyne repens.
Tropica 1-2-Grow Nymphoides sp. ''Taiwan''.
Hygrophila sp. ''Araguaia''.
Tropica 1-2-Grow Pogostemon erectus.
Diamond Red.

9. Fish/Inverts Still undecided, probably some Otocinclus, Cherry shrimp and Amano shrimp.

This is what I have so far not much to go on at the moment but plants arrive wednesday so watch this space.

photongq.jpg


As usual any advice/criticism is welcome
 
Any chance of some close ups on that black lava rock?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Seems I have miscalcualted a bit, I wasn't due to receive the plants today they were getting dispatched today, lol.

They were delayed initially but that's not TGM's fault, that was down to Tropica.

Will update again with some more interesting pics when I get the plants.

Just a side note to say that TGM have been brilliant as usual and I would strongly recommend them.
 
Found an app by tropica on the iphone and when I've been reading through it it says to add shrimps and snails on day 3.

Considering I'm using Amazonia substrate which I have read will leach ammonia is this not far too soon?

I have no intention of adding any livestock at the moment, but when would you recommend adding them?
 
As long as you keep on top of water changes, Id say yes, add a clean up crew. IMO this is just as important in a planted tank as it is in a sw tank.

Nice planting btw, this should look good once they all grow in.
 
Nice one cheers Ian, will get some today then.

I think another key factor will be, the trimming to try and achieve the look i'm after, as well as cutting and replanting to fill it all in.

I'm looking forward to it growing in, once the plants have had a good start I can then start to work on the dutch aspect of the scape, which I've left for now to avoid over shadowing.
 
Quick update.

Been discussing the above on another thread in the Inverts section, trying not to clutter this thread up too much but will link it incase it helps someone else in the future.

HELP !!!! Amano shrimp eating plants | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Apart from the problem with the Alternanthera everything seems to be going very well, some of the plants have shot right up.

The Alternanthera seems to have stopped degrading and I am now dosing easy carbo.
I have checked to see if any of my plants are sensitive to liquid based carbon products in the same way as some Vallis are and I haven't found anything to suggest it might be a problem, been dosing the carbo as per the instructions on the bottle.

And heres a nice picture :)

day10b.jpg


It doesn't look too much different but there is good growth on:

Nymphoides sp Taiwan
Pogostemon Erectus
Staurogyne repens
 
Looking nice mate.
Good idea to boost carbon availability with the liquid carbon :)
Sounds positive about the alternathera and I can see plenty of growth going on in there, keep up the good work.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
I'm quite pleased with it myself, it's great watching something you've thought about and planned for a long time coming together.
I now have 3 addictions coffee, nicotine and aquascaping, lol.
Thanks for all your time, help and advice mate. I hope to one day return the favour.
Finally if Mr Nelson is reading this, I will one day revisit the fluval nano he sold me and do it justice. ><
 
PORKSWORD!!

Mate I can comment untill I have asked you why the hell porksword is your username hahah

The regimental planting looks really good and will shine through as it grows it. Onto a winner...porksword LOOOLa
 
Lol, sorry for the slow reply mate, got the message this morning on tapatalk but didn't have good enough reception to reply, lol.

It's my old online gaming name for Call of Duty, it was deliberately ridiculous so that those that got spanked by me would remember when they saw me again.....it worked a treat.

I'm quite excited about this scape, I have previously tried twice with Nanos but both failed. Down to me really and I learned alot from them so feeling a bit confident about this one.

Thanks mate can't wait till it all grows in.
 
Don't let it fail!!! Haha 3rd time lucky!!

Porksword is another name or a blahblahblahblahblah I tonight haha
 
It won't mate don't u worry ><

Yeah that is another name for a ---bleep--- but it was a unique one at the time, lol
 
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