Re-education.....

[DutchMuch]

That water level though



bravo sir, nothing is better than a tip top (pun intended) water level!


Lemme do a overall rating:
Lighting, 10/10
Stand: 20/10
Stock: 9/10
Water level: over 9000
Carpet floor: -2 points
Modern walls: 10/10 +3 points
Potted plants: +1 point 10/10

 

[Ady34]

Just wow

Thanks Kalum.

That water level though



bravo sir, nothing is better than a tip top (pun intended) water level!


Lemme do a overall rating:
Lighting, 10/10
Stand: 20/10
Stock: 9/10
Water level: over 9000
Carpet floor: -2 points
Modern walls: 10/10 +3 points
Potted plants: +1 point 10/10

Your posts are priceless, I’m not liking the carpet for the tank either, it’s too deep and I’m struggling to open the cabinet doors. I like the carpet under my feet though Seriously though, the cabinet doors are a bit of an issue, I don’t dare cut a bit off them as the open end will be like a sponge for any spilled water First world problems.....
I thought the water level was a bit low tbh, could have topped it up a few mm 😉

 

[Jayefc1]

Agreed looks amazing

 

[Andrew Butler]

Seriously though, the cabinet doors are a bit of an issue, I don’t dare cut a bit off them as the open end will be like a sponge for any spilled water

You could carefully trim them, treat the cut ends with a few coats of waterproof PVA or something similar then source some iron on edging - colour match wouldnt be so much of an issue as long as its close.

 

[Guest]

Stunning...and nice finish on the cabinet. The colour matches your carpet 😎
How's the position of the drop checker working out?

 

[Ady34]

Agreed looks amazing

Thanks @Jayefc1

You could carefully trim them, treat the cut ends with a few coats of waterproof PVA or something similar then source some iron on edging - colour match wouldnt be so much of an issue as long as its close.

I’ve thought about it but not sure I fancy it really. I may message evolution aqua to see if you can buy door kits seperately incase it all goes horribly wrong

Stunning...and nice finish on the cabinet. The colour matches your carpet 😎
How's the position of the drop checker working out?

Yeah it was all part of a planned colour scheme, the plant pot I just bought was a considered choice too in a light grey concrete finish




The drop checker is much the same although perhaps a little greener for early photoperiod:
4.30pm


5.30pm


6.20pm


Always time for a fts too with a bit of a filter



Cheerio,

 

[Lee iley]

Looks ace. Well done. A tank I could only dream of.

 

[akwarium]

do you aim for a certain C02 level?

 

[Jayefc1]

Got to admit I wouldn't wanna be touching the doors your only talkin 5ml or so is it worth it for a lil extra effort to open them

 

[Ady34]

Looks ace. Well done. A tank I could only dream of.

Thank you Lee I’m sure one day you will have your dream tank. If there’s one thing about UKAPS it’s an inspiring community which helps you get to where you want to be 🙂
I had my dream tank, not a planted aquascape but a tank I never thought I would own. I like long term aquascapes and my discus tank could have gone on forever I think......if we didn’t have to move home.....



Loved my discus, but i do love the aesthetics and clean lines of rimless braceless and of course the challenge of planted aquascaping.....I guess this tank is my new dream, love the aquascaper tank and cabinet and have enjoyed the creative process. Still a way to go though so I’m sure I’ll continue to enjoy the journey and the challenge which really is what it is all about 🙂

do you aim for a certain C02 level?

I always aim for around 30ppm, I doubt I ever really get there, but I don’t tend to use high lighting intensity for that reason

Got to admit I wouldn't wanna be touching the doors your only talkin 5ml or so is it worth it for a lil extra effort to open them

It would definitely be worth it as it’s really annoying and will damage the carpet.......I doubt I’ll do it though as I’m like you and don’t really want to wreck the doors. To be fair it’s only one that rubs badly......I knew I shouldn’t have got that thicker underlay

Cheerio,

 

[Lee iley]

Thank you Lee I’m sure one day you will have your dream tank. If there’s one thing about UKAPS it’s an inspiring community which helps you get to where you want to be 🙂
I had my dream tank, not a planted aquascape but a tank I never thought I would own. I like long term aquascapes and my discus tank could have gone on forever I think......if we didn’t have to move home.....

View attachment 121550 View attachment 121551 View attachment 121552 View attachment 121553 View attachment 121554

Loved my discus, but i do love the aesthetics and clean lines of rimless braceless and of course the challenge of planted aquascaping.....I guess this tank is my new dream, love the aquascaper tank and cabinet and have enjoyed the creative process. Still a way to go though so I’m sure I’ll continue to enjoy the journey and the challenge which really is what it is all about 🙂


I always aim for around 30ppm, I doubt I ever really get there, but I don’t tend to use high lighting intensity for that reason


It would definitely be worth it as it’s really annoying and will damage the carpet.......I doubt I’ll do it though as I’m like you and don’t really want to wreck the doors. To be fair it’s only one that rubs badly......I knew I shouldn’t have got that thicker underlay

Cheerio,

That is a beautiful discus tank. It's massive. How many litres was that.
Cheers Lee

 

[Ady34]

That is a beautiful discus tank. It's massive. How many litres was that.
Cheers Lee

Yeah it was 1200 litres, 8’x2.5’x2.5’.
Was sad to see it go.
On the bright side water changes are faster now

 

[Ady34]

Hi,
added to my collection of gold tetra yesterday and couldn’t resist the faces on these rabbit snails:



No everyone’s cup of tea but I’m a sucker for a pretty face

The tank isn’t lighting the world on fire with growth, the bolbitis could have done with trimming back to encourage new submerse growth when added as it seems to be static in the most part. Couple of issues with some anubias melting 😕 but I’ve added a few more plants to fill the voids.
Lighting is still maxed at 45% for 4 of the 8hr photoperiod which is still low imo. Interesting point from George Farmer in his twinstar vs kessil video about lumens and how bright a light looks to the human eye. The twinstar is definitely one of these as the light looks much brighter than the power and brightness percentage suggests.
Still not in the sweet spot with this tank, but happy to take it slow.

Video best viewed in the highest quality available as it’s just phone video quality.



Cheerio,

 

[Guest]

No everyone’s cup of tea but I’m a sucker for a pretty face

Crikey, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder...😀

Still not in the sweet spot with this tank, but happy to take it slow.

Still looking good Ady, and I agree, patience is a virtue especially with a relatively low plant biomass. I'm still running my Twinstar at 60% for 6hrs a day.

 

[Ady34]

Crikey, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder...😀

Still looking good Ady, and I agree, patience is a virtue especially with a relatively low plant biomass. I'm still running my Twinstar at 60% for 6hrs a day.

😛


Yeah I think the low plant biomass lengthens the stabilising and maturation of a tank, things are slowly settling but still having issues with melting anubias. I’m wondering about lcp and wether in fact running my lighting at such low intensity initially actually stalled growth rather than just the intended purpose of preventing algae and melt. I’ve just increased lighting intensity to 50% for a 3.5hr period after 6 weeks, maybe it was too slow and steady.....we shall see what happens next.

Noticed a small example of how sensitive high tech systems can be tonight.
One of my nerite snails somehow got itself plugged into the ea skimmer today, I saw it on the glassware this morning so I’m presuming it happened early on in the day. I didn’t think it would have managed to go up the skimmer portion but anyway, I came home tonight and could tell there was something amiss. The fish were more tentative. On closer inspection I saw the dc to be much yellower for the time of day and then noticed the skimmer portion of the glassware had a snail wedged in which in turn had sunk it below the water level. This had obviously effected the o2 levels within the tank and subsequently the fish were less active. They weren’t struggling by any means but had the twinstar also have failed for example, they may have been in more trouble. I didn’t take an image as I just wanted to rescue the snail and allow skimming to resume. The snail was fine fortunately and the fish recovered to full activity within a few hours. Just goes to show the effect a little imbalance can have on the system....

Photo just for interest. End shot:



Cheerio
Ady

 

[soggybongo]

stunning photos any.

 

[Geoffrey Rea]

I’m wondering about lcp and wether in fact running my lighting at such low intensity initially actually stalled growth rather than just the intended purpose of preventing algae and melt.

All of the scapes at Aquarium Gardens are ramped up steadily to full speed within the first month. Make of that what you will.

Glad to hear your snail lives @Ady34 , good you spotted him. Your scape looks amazing by the way

 

[TBRO]

I’ve found the same on my high tech set up. If the skimmer fails for some reason the drop checker goes yellow. Seems to be really important for gas exchange.

Wouldn’t worry about light intensity for anubias they seem to be able to grow in deep shade. Albeit slow!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Guest]

All of the scapes at Aquarium Gardens are ramped up steadily to full speed within the first month.

I'm guessing to get the plant growth, colour, and morphology needed to get the scapes showroom ready asap. Not recommended unless you absolutely know what you are doing.

 

[Ady34]

stunning photos any.

Cheers soggybongo, just off the old iPhone 8.

All of the scapes at Aquarium Gardens are ramped up steadily to full speed within the first month. Make of that what you will.

Glad to hear your snail lives @Ady34 , good you spotted him. Your scape looks amazing by the way

Thanks and yeah I feared the worst when I saw it in there, fortunately it was the large skimmer hole not the inlet slats on the glassware that seem to be death traps.
AG are pros, but yes I do think I may have started too slow, however I would rather that than the potential wipe out with higher lighting intensity. I remembered the struggle I used to have so wanted to ensure in didn’t lose all my plants from nuking them. The anubias I don’t think is light related be that too high or too low, especially given the low light I started at but I just don’t know. It spanks of co2 as it’s structural failure from the rhizome through to the leaves, but I have some that are doing absolutely great. It’s weird and something I’ve never experienced before.

I’ve found the same on my high tech set up. If the skimmer fails for some reason the drop checker goes yellow. Seems to be really important for gas exchange.

Wouldn’t worry about light intensity for anubias they seem to be able to grow in deep shade. Albeit slow!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I’ve had them under bolbitis before with very little light and they did great, some are but some just fail 😕

I'm guessing to get the plant growth, colour, and morphology needed to get the scapes showroom ready asap. Not recommended unless you absolutely know what you are doing.

Very true, they need the plants to look as good as they can as quickly as possible. They are there daily to adjust and tinker as necessary. I know it in principle however struggle in practice I’m up to 50% now though so only 50% to go

With 2x twinstar 600SP @45watts each suspended approximately 25cm above the water surface @50% intensity, I’m only running a maximum of 45 watts (of high par) led over a 460l tank currently which I guess is still really low. Unsure what the high par Nicha leds equate to but I’m sure I’m not using a lot of light, even if I get up to full intensity I don’t think it will be high lighting for this sized tank.

Cheers for the input everyone