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NeilW's 30cm Iwagumi - 'Mono'

Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono'

Time for another update.

All the plants now appear to be healthier, greener and algae free. I'm happy the moss in particular has lost its traces of BGA and is looking tidier. I gave it some TLC by giving it a prune, tying back down any that hadn't anchored properly and also keeping it clean and free of detritus/algae by 'blowing' it with a pipette every now and then. My pipette 'technique' is my tip of the day :lol:

Have also been dosing 0.1mls of Easy Carbo and double TPN+ at 0.4mls on the water change which has been every other day, seems to have done the trick. 😀 Also pruned back the hairgrass in the foreground. I've got a 9 watt lamp coming to replace the 11 watt and will then slowly cut back on both the liquid carbon and water changes until I reach low-tech.

Heres a full tank shot
frontncd.jpg


I hope to improve my photos by using one of the AquaQube lamps as a back light, getting a tripod and removing the lily's but you get the idea. The 'ADA hair dryer' works well though :lol:



Gravel Detail
img2190e.jpg


Natural daylighting 😱
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My girlfriends kitten loves moss :lol:
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Happy cat
img2195c.jpg


The Coral Pellia is doing a lot better now and looks great!
img2241d.jpg


The crypts have started going mad
img2251r.jpg



Cheers for looking,
Neil
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Ive not been on the forum for literally a couple of years, dart frog hobby took over 😛

And this has easily been my favourite "catch up" thread.

Really stunning tank mate.

Brilliant work.

Richie
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

R1ch13 said:
Ive not been on the forum for literally a couple of years, dart frog hobby took over 😛

And this has easily been my favourite "catch up" thread.

Really stunning tank mate.

Brilliant work.

Richie
Click to expand...

Cheers very much :thumbup: 😳

When I was dry-starting this setup I looked at it and thought having a go at a viv for dart frogs could look great! Did you end up using your 'planted tank' knowledge on the way?

Thanks again,
Neil
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Just got my 9 Watt in the post 😀 Thanks Plantedbox

Call me odd but I didn't like the 'stumpyness' of the 9watt unit so this is what I did;

img2255r.jpg

img2256op.jpg

img2257eh.jpg

Tada! :lol:

So in my journal if I go saying "I have a 9 watt" light I really do, its just pretending to be the 11watt!

I can't take credit for this idea, it was James M who made this discovery. Cheers mate :thumbup:
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Heres another shot a little bit better with a back light and the glassware removed.

img2281o.jpg

Definitely not ADA standard :lol: but I'm feeling happier with the result though from a compact 😳 . Next on the list is a tripod!
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

PM said:
Looking great! 😀

Is that cryptocorene parva? And xmas moss?
Click to expand...

Cheers mate!

Your right, at the back its a combination between crypt parva and crypt nevillii. The moss though is actually 'mini' spiky moss which is a bit more unusual.

PM said:
Also what's that green looking fish, not the otto, is it a Kilifish? Don't they jump?
Click to expand...

The other fish that isn't the otto is a Stiphodon 'Red' Goby. Really nice fish! They don't jump at all, in actual fact they do the opposite and go the other way; they dig! Theres some info I wrote up right at the bottom of this page if you were interested;
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=10577&start=170
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

fantastic nano 😀 .

nothing wrong with the pics 😉 .
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Great stuff Neil, are you using just eazy carb? previously I've found that the hairgrass doesn't do well without the injected CO2, will be intersted to see how it goes. Cute cat!
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Thank you guys for all the nice comments 😳

TBRO said:
are you using just eazy carb? previously I've found that the hairgrass doesn't do well without the injected CO2, will be intersted to see how it goes.
Click to expand...

I'm just using EC atm, got it down to standard recommended dosing of 0.1mls now the algae has gone, although the plan is to cut that down altogether as the coral pellia isn't meant to be a fan. I think it'd be soul destroying to see such gold dust die miserably :lol: , surprisingly it hasn't reacted so far and is actually doing better! So far its the nitrates that I've been struggling with, a combo of using tap water containing surprisingly little and mainly RO mix was the problem. Have been double dosing on the TPN+ to compensate for now and also feeding livestock more heavily (I normally feed every other day so increased this to everyday).

Now I've got hold of the 9watt lamp I'll slow down on the water changes and dosing and see what happens. The roots should be good as there is still Osmocote lurking in there somewhere.

TBRO said:
Cute cat!
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I wouldn't trust that innocent face :lol: Shes a terror who isn't scared of water.
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

hi,
I wonder if there is a big difference in the growth rate under the 11watt and 9 watt lamp.
Looking good 😉
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Jur4ik said:
hi,
I wonder if there is a big difference in the growth rate under the 11watt and 9 watt lamp.
Looking good 😉
Click to expand...

Thank you 🙂

I'm curious as to how fast it'll grow too. Mind you this tank has been a real slow grower even when it was emersed, especially the moss and pellia. Recently though the crypts have taken off and got a lot bigger and converted to their submerged form and the moss has sent out sporophytes which is interesting.

viktorlantos said:
lovely tank mate. no worry on the tripod this already cool. :thumbup:
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Thanks very much Viktor. Real nice comment from someone who produces such world class scapes!

Maybe I'll say no to a tripod and buy some more ADA treats or plants instead? :thumbup:
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Did I read right?....pictures from a compact? You've got to be joking mate :lol:

These images are better than a few who have DSLR's. forget the tripod, as my guess is, your compact is giving you fast enough shutter speeds to go without a tripod....probably.

I've mentioned before, that I love the scape Neil. It's class, no less. :thumbup:
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Fantastic work, quite inspiring in fact! :clap:

Neil, where did you buy your goby from? I noticed that you are local (ish) to me but havent seen goby's in ANY shop in the area.. :thumbdown:

Cheers

Dan
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Mark Evans said:
Did I read right?....pictures from a compact? You've got to be joking mate :lol:

These images are better than a few who have DSLR's. forget the tripod, as my guess is, your compact is giving you fast enough shutter speeds to go without a tripod....probably.

I've mentioned before, that I love the scape Neil. It's class, no less. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Thanks very much mate 😳

The thing I hate about the camera is just the noise and lack of details. I'm guessing it makes sense that a COMPACT camera has a COMPACT lense hence the lack in clarity so thats the price you pay. On this one I don't have control over the shutter speed but I do have control over the ISO so I dropped it down to 100 for those last few shots.

My uni were doing a deal to get a 50D with a lense, bag and tripod for £300 but I chose to get a Macbook Pro for £370 instead :thumbdown:

Dan Walter said:
Fantastic work, quite inspiring in fact! :clap:

Neil, where did you buy your goby from? I noticed that you are local (ish) to me but havent seen goby's in ANY shop in the area.. :thumbdown: I missed out!

Cheers

Dan
Click to expand...

Cheers Dan 😀

My goby is from the Maidenhead Aquatics thats just down the road from Basingstoke. They just had some in by chance. You could give Tropical Fish Finder a go and chase it up with a phone call to make sure? Just type 'stiphodon' in the search bar and you may find somewhere near to you;
http://www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/default.asp
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - 'Mono' (updated 12/8)

Love it, this tank just gets better and better!
 
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