• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

George's TMC Signature

flygja said:
Marvellous! How do you keep it so darned algae-free?
Click to expand...
Good question. It's not algae-free; I have lots of tiny tufts of BBA all over the exposed wood. I've learnt to live with it. 🙂

I'm a big believer in good maintenance practices and dedicate time for water changes and general cleaning duties. Thankfully I enjoy this part of the hobby so it's rarely a chore. I also believe more experienced aquascapers make decisions and tweeks here and there on an almost instinctive level. For instance they know that as the plant mass increases they may increase CO2 and ferts accordingly, as well as performing more water changes, filter maintenance and pruning. With experience these choices and decisions aren't hard, but for beginners sometimes they need to learn the hard way by making their own mistakes.

I hope that answers your question in a round about way! 🙂
 
Great pics George! Just checking that HC out and wow, that has grown like wildfire! This scape is probs my fave now, skree taking second place. Really well executed...this deserves a high iaplc placement, and I hope it does as you deserve it.
 
Ian Holdich said:
Great pics George! Just checking that HC out and wow, that has grown like wildfire! This scape is probs my fave now, skree taking second place. Really well executed...this deserves a high iaplc placement, and I hope it does as you deserve it.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Ian. Comments like that mean a lot. 🙂

I'm thrilled with the recent progress this layout is making.

Since increasing the lighting by suspending the LED tiles nearer the water the growth has gone pretty mental - in a good way. The Ludwigia is taking on a much nicer redness, and the other stems are more compact. The HC is spreading throughout the mini hairgrass and looks really natural. I'm also managing to grow Ammania sp. "Bonsai". 😀

I am changing 60% of the water every 2 to 3 days to ensure the extra organic waste produced from the plants is diluted sufficiently to prevent algae, and I am "super-dosing" ferts. Currently 5ml TPN+, 5ml Special-N, and 3ml Flowgrow Mikro daily. CO2 is just over 1BPS with the drop checker bordering on a yellow tinge. Shrimp are still breeding and fish are remaining very active though, presumably due to the high oxygen levels. Pearling is intense.

One of my favourite recent additions to my maintenance kit are these scissors from UKAPS sponsor, Aquarium Plant Food UK. They make pruning so easy, especially the lawn.

8716976142_8c82cb0def_o.jpg
large wave 1 by George Farmer, on Flickr

Later this week I'm away from home for 4 days at the London Pet Show (aquascaping tanks and giving talks to the public) so will have to go much lower-energy which will be a case of raising the LED tiles up to about 60cm above the water surface, and much lower dosing. This is one of the great advantages of suspending lighting - it's so easy to control growth rates.

8716975992_9064ecaca0_o.jpg
in-situ 6-5-13 by George Farmer, on Flickr

8716977678_8b4ddace7a_o.jpg
6-5-13 by George Farmer, on Flickr
 
This scape is real textural treat, which in turn adds to the sense of scale
The plants have filled in very nicely now, good decsion to loose the Cyperus btw.
You should beat me at the IAPLC now mate 🙂

Cheers,
James
 
Hi all,

Not much to report. The tank did really well during my time away and I've just done a plant prune/tidy and water change. The more observant of you will notice there's no Ammania now. Flippin' melted on me again! 🙁

Before prune
8739365790_f438b07852_o.jpg
before prune by George Farmer, on Flickr

During prune
8739366452_601b208384_o.jpg
during prune by George Farmer, on Flickr

After prune
8738246585_0040e4395a_o.jpg
after prune by George Farmer, on Flickr

Just over 2 weeks until the IAPLC deadline... 🙂
 
Love that before prune shot George. Im keeping my fingers crossed it does well.
Its really deceptive too as when its a full tank shot it looks a big tank then when you see you pruning the sense of scale changes massively.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2
 
That carpet is looking really good mate. Fingers crossed this gets the recognition that its deserved. I bet this scape means a lot to you...who'd have thought a year ago you was fighting for our country in one of the most dangerous places in the world, and you come back with this bad boy, and an excellent journal. For one I say, thank you.
 
Hi all,

Quick update. 🙂

I'm going to do the final photo shoot for this 'scape this weekend and I've done the last major prune (I'll follow up with some minor snippets here and there throughout this week).

To get the best out of the stems in the background I've added a Fluval Aqualife LED unit to the rear of the tank. This will allow the stems to grow in time and remain very compact. The red of the Ludwigia will really pop too. I've set this on a 12hr photoperiod, and left the TMC LEDs on their usual 7hr. The idea is that the other plants grow at their normal rate, resulting in all of the plants reaching their peak just at the right time. Well.... that's the plan, anyway! 🙂

8771481702_3d608fff98_o.jpg
final prep side by George Farmer, on Flickr

8766775301_0d84d68cd6_o.jpg
final prep front insitu by George Farmer, on Flickr

I realise you can't see much red of the Ludwigia at the moment - you'll just have to trust me that it will grow back post-prune full of reddy goodness!

I'll share some final photos this weekend hopefully, but obviously the final shot for the IAPLC will remain secret for a while. 😀
 
I love the texture and the hardscape! This must place well in IAPLC! Great tank and journal, full of nice and useful tips! Can't wait for the final pictures, George!
 
Absolutely the most stunning tank! For a completely clueless newbie like me, its incredibly exciting to see a competition tank being prepped for a final photoshoot... I had no idea they were put on a turbo mode in their last few weeks. It must be the ultimate aquatic balancing act!

This is probably one of those stupid newbie questions, but can a compition tank be sustained in its final photo state by taking down the lighting, ferts and CO2 for the long-term or will it always slowly return to a more 'fallow' state... and ultimately, what happens to a tank that's redlined for too long?
 
Epic. The density of the plants is awesome.
I cant believe the plants will have filled in again by the weekend for the final shoot :wideyed: Thats power growing!
Interesting to see your technique for ensuring it will be spot on for deadline date. Do you need to adjust any ferts or c02 for the extra lighting intensity and duration?
Sorry to bring it up, but what do you attribute the bba on the hardscape too, especially given the overall exceptional health of the tank and plants? 😕
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top