NA 120cm - Asian Dreams-IAPLC # 251

[Ady34]

In this vein ive been looking over a lot of Amanos 2 island tanks and he seems to run 2 filters pointing directly at each other across the front of the tank.?! While this seems crazy im thinking to give it a try for a couple of weeks to see what happens as there are definite areas that flow is very low in and around the wood that could be improved.

Ha, i know how you feel mate. I just added my second filter last night and was up till past 1 trying to sort a decent flow pattern that got an even spread of micro bubbles, but didnt lay my vallis flat 😡
Looking at some of Victors tanks too, they also seem to have water flow directed at each other, difficult to tell exactly whats happening from the photos though. I tried it last night, but it doesnt work well with my hardscape layout, i think yours will be better

Dont mention the TMC's otherwise ed is going to get started again But no, TMC called me back after testing the first one for 4 weeks and they cant get it to fail? Second one was fine for several weeks and now it has started playing up again. I going to try running it from another socket as when the housemate was on holiday and not using his computer which runs from the same sockets i had no issue.... maybe coincidence, only one way to find out.

Bummer, worth a try on a different socket though, hope it sorts it. I think the TMCs are ideal with the dimmable feature, just need them to work properly. NA lights look great, and certainly have plenty of oomph....just need a dimmer on the flourescents to be perfect 😉

I wouldnt go without the skimmers now, its nice to have crystal clear surface and adds a little flow to the 60.

thinking of getting one of these for aeration at night and ive developed a very fine oily film which i dont like. Ive had the same film on my shrimp nano and the plants in there are ok so hoping its not a bad sign 😱


More photos please 😀
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[Iain Sutherland]

Yes I found that my skimmer used to attract the shrimps, they would still be alive inside feeding on the sponge... but once let out they would soon find the way back in again!
What type of moss are you using again?

yeah, still get the odd one but not like it was first few weeks, one day there must have been 10 inside it all healthy which more than i can say for the taiwan bees when i put one in the shrimp tank for an hour... 3 dead.

Good old Java Gary, im quite pleased with the wilder look of it opposed to weeping, xmas etc

 

[Iain Sutherland]

Ha, i know how you feel mate. I just added my second filter last night and was up till past 1 trying to sort a decent flow pattern that got an even spread of micro bubbles, but didnt lay my vallis flat Looking at some of Victors tanks too, they also seem to have water flow directed at each other, difficult to tell exactly whats happening from the photos though. I tried it last night, but it doesnt work well with my hardscape layout, i think yours will be better

only one way to find out..... FIGHT!

Bummer, worth a try on a different socket though, hope it sorts it. I think the TMCs are ideal with the dimmable feature, just need them to work properly. NA lights look great, and certainly have plenty of oomph....just need a dimmer on the flourescents to be perfect

yeah, i do feel like im an LED man now though, mainly because of thedimming and fact they are directional the light spill is minimal. When sat on the sofa i can see underneath the 60 lights which makes me see stars for a minute but not so with the leds.

thinking of getting one of these for aeration at night and ive developed a very fine oily film which i dont like. Ive had the same film on my shrimp nano and the plants in there are ok so hoping its not a bad sign

Im not sold on the fact its caused by poor plant health, sure that will cause it but it seems equally likely for it to appear on a healthy tank (at least what appears to be healthy) Im yet to have a tank without scum build up over the course of a week, which in turn effects the gas exchange, but still dont know why...?

 

[Iain Sutherland]

couple of quick images from tonight, still plodding along... have tried to slow it all down as im working away for the next 4-8 weeks with just the odd trip home.


25 by iainsutherland24, on Flickr


26 by iainsutherland24, on Flickr


27 by iainsutherland24, on Flickr

 

[zanguli-ya-zamba]

Hi Iain,
Nice mate !!
Can't wait to start mine 🙂. I have done the hole on my roof the hang the light.
Tell me, I wanted to know if in your inlet of your flow steel, you have a piece of steel from the production process ?
When I received mine I heard a metallic sound, so I looked with I a light an have seen that piece of steel. I asked NA and they told me that it is part of the process web they cut the pipe with the laser. So just wanted to know if I am not alone 😉.

Cheers

 

[Iain Sutherland]

Not that I know of, can you shake it out?
Maybe poke something down to give it a nudge......?

 

[zanguli-ya-zamba]

Hi no can't shake it out, because it have the length of the of the cutting so it won't passé where the pipe is bend. I will try to get it our from the cutting.

Cheers

 

[Iain Sutherland]

that doesnt sound ideal, it will make cleaning them a pain and no doubt catch leaves, moss etc as it pulls them in.
Should think NA will sort it if you cant.

 

[Iain Sutherland]

Evening all, figure im well over due an update on this journal.
About 6 weeks ago i sold the TMC multi control with the plan to get a different controller, at the same time i got a promotion at work and my life has gone mad so no new controller. As such the tank has been running on 2 tiles with one power lead meaning half leds on each...ultra low light....ultra slow growth. I have a plan to get a new light unit soon but still tossing around options... the geissemann futura has been teasing me, uber sexy but price tag to match lol Most likely end up with the ATI dimmable, unless anyone has a better idea for LEDS. The up side of running one tile on a 120cm is the tank only needs a WC every 3 weeks.

Ive wanted to add to the Denisonii Barbs for a while but couldnt find any of a decent size so made the decision to rehome my two larger ones and buy 7 new smaller ones. Sadly one jumped on day one but the other 6 are settling ok and will colour up nicely as they grow.
Otherwise not a lot to report. Really want to capture a movie but struggling to find the time.


IMG_3537 by iainsutherland24, on Flickr


IMG_3520 by iainsutherland24, on Flickr

 

[Iain Sutherland]

Little image from water change today. Looking closer to how i wanted it but needs more mass.


IMG_3564 by iainsutherland24, on Flickr

Want to try putting a black background behind each island and sides which i think may create some more depth through shadows??

 

[Nice]

looking really clean and fresh, i see it turn better and better as time goes by.

keep it updated please 😀

 

[Gary Nelson]

It looks stunning mate - really, really nice! what are the fish again at the bottom? (last but one pic) also how do you keep the sand looking so good? do you hover it and turn it over regularly?

 

[Iain Sutherland]

thanks nice, ill try to keep the updates coming. Got a new camera so keen to give it some use also.

Hey gary, fish are 'Puntius' rhomboocellatus aka snakeskin barbs. They are my favorite barbs so far, as nice as five banded barbs but less shy and skittish.
The sand never seems to get too bad, i guess as there are heaps of amanos in the tank along with the loaches it gets moved around a lot any way but i do stir it all up at water change in order to move it away from the glass to clean.

 

[tim]

It's looking absolutely superb Iain, shame you keep us waiting so long for updates 😉

 

[George Farmer]

Lovely mate. I really like the contrast in the textures and colour between the moss and the grasses.

Superb fish choice too.

One of the best 'scapes on here right now, for sure.

 

[Deano3]

stunning mate looks great and very healthy the wood and moss looks amazing

Dean

 

[Alastair]

Beautiful ian. Really nice mate. Who'd have thought 2 years ago or just over it was juwel vision scaping ha. Youve shot right up the ranks mate.

 

[Iain Sutherland]

Wow, thanks for the praise folks it means a lot and is very encouraging, it keeps me striving to have a tank that I'm 100% happy with.... if that's even possible lol
I'm also having another crazy night at work so to see such positive feedback in a ciggie break is very welcome.

So being constructive I would love to hear what you guys would do differently, additional plants, hard scape imbalance etc as it helps develop the rigid way I think of things...

Cheers all.

 

[viktorlantos]

Looks very nice my friend 🙂

 

[Mark Evans]

lain, mate this is such quality. I must agree with George, saying, this is currently one of the best layouts on the forum.

Very reminiscent of an Amano layout from a few years back. If the picture didn't have your name on it, I'd of said it was one of his!

The final picture is amazing mate. I'm not sure how familiar you are with Photo Shop?....adjustments to the whites really brings things back! I took the liberty of having a go...sorry 😳 I wont post it, as that would be rude of me.