Re-education.....

[Ady34]

So, tonight I took the photo for iaplc.
It was actually really cool to do again. My family were in the room and my two boys were interacting taking their own images and my eldest helping with prep. Everybody agreed the tank looked really nice with all equipment removed and lighting turned up.
Yesterday I did an additional 50% water change and full sand siphon after the one already carried out on Monday. The glass was cleaned in the tank so that today all I had to do was remove equipment and lightly siphon the substrate.
I lightly siphoned the sand again to remove any obvious fish waste and cleaned the exterior glass. I made a makeshift light shade to prevent glare and colour wash out in the image. Realistically it should have been black and surrounded the sides of the tank too but the white polystyrene did help hugely. My son held a hairdryer to add surface movement which does add an extra touch to the image which is nice. All in all I’m happy with the phone camera attempt, I took images on my phone, the wife’s iphone 11 and my sons huawei. To be honest I think i may enter the image taken on my sons phone as colour representation looks closest to true on that. I will choose an image tomorrow and enter. It makes me realise how poor my iPhone 8 is in comparison.
Anyway it certainly could have been improved, the light shade could have been dark and a full surround, I could have used a proper camera and a tripod, but I utilised what I had and am happy with the final result. It’s nice to have a dedicated photo to keep and also to take part in the competition.

Action shot:


Cheerio and good luck to all that have entered.

 

[Jayefc1]

It's funny how much cleaner and crisper the tank.looks just by removing the hardware if the shot above is anything to.go by the I'm pretty sure the final shot is really nice and hope the tank does well for you mate you have put a lot of work in to it probs more over the last couple of months since you got your mojo back.for it lol.🙂

 

[Ady34]

It's funny how much cleaner and crisper the tank.looks just by removing the hardware if the shot above is anything to.go by the I'm pretty sure the final shot is really nice and hope the tank does well for you mate you have put a lot of work in to it probs more over the last couple of months since you got your mojo back.for it lol.🙂

Thanks Jay, I agree, it gets an extra dimension without equipment. The stillness of water and lack of co2 bubbles let you view it in a pure way. It is by no means perfect, nor professional but it surprised me in a positive way.
You are right, I think in regards to working on the tank more in the past few months it pretty much epitomises the journal title...... Re-education. This tank has illustrated that you get out what you put in, algae and untidiness can simply be overcome with effort and knowledge. There are mistakes in fish stocking, co2 needs attention, lighting is a balance and all of these things have a knock on effect in a planted tank. I have experienced these along the way and understand how to manage them. I love this tank, it is exactly what I wanted to achieve, longevity with a relative ease of sustainability.
If I ever rescape this tank there will be no Bristlenose plecs and I will try to resist fish that will definitely eat shrimp .........

 

[Jayefc1]

Your right the title is perfect bet you didnt really expect it to be so poignant when you named it

You are right, I think in regards to working on the tank more in the past few months it pretty much epitomises the journal title...... Re-education. This tank has illustrated that you get out what you put in, algae and untidiness can simply be overcome with effort and knowledge.

Totally agree with this and the knowledge part is pretty easy to.get when your here with so many willing member to help and advise but sometimes the effort part is a lot harder to maintain as we both know the passion comes and goes just glad yours came back for the 1500

 

[Ady34]

the knowledge part is pretty easy to.get when your here with so many willing member to help and advise but sometimes the effort part is a lot harder to maintain

Yep, we have a great community here but they can’t make you do your filter clean

 

[Jayefc1]

Haha my point exactly mate

 

[Ady34]

 

[Ady34]

End shot taken during the iaplc shoot with equipment removed......

 

[Ady34]

Snippet of the iaplc shot.....

 

[Ady34]

Doing maintenance today, involved pulling the ludwigia stems again and trimming. Replanting them by pushing the stems into the mass of bolbitis reminds me of my Mum flower arranging years ago pushing flowers into those floral foam blocks 💐 You can get just the right shape by pushing them in at just the right depth........



‘pushing’ was a popular word in that paragraph

 

[LondonDragon]

Stunning 👏 if only mine will look half as good as yours 😉

 

[Ady34]

Stunning 👏 if only mine will look half as good as yours 😉

I’m sure yours will look better mate, the colour contrasts, variety of textures and your ability to grow beautiful stems will make it a more stunning tank imo.

 

[Ady34]

Pile in the pictures......
Evolution Aqua Aquascaper 1500 with raw concrete grey cabinet.....


Cheerio,

 

[Deano3]

Stunning mate deserves to be highly rated so natural looking.

Dean

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

 

[Wookii]

Hey @Ady34 - quick question if I may. What thermostatic mixer are you using on your HMA unit? I can't seem to find one anywhere with the correct (20-25 degree) output temperature ranges, they all seem to be 36-45 degrees!

 

[Ady34]

Hey @Ady34 - quick question if I may. What thermostatic mixer are you using on your HMA unit? I can't seem to find one anywhere with the correct (20-25 degree) output temperature ranges, they all seem to be 36-45 degrees!

Hi,
It is a ‘bulldog TMV3/TMV2 Combined valve’
It is rated at 35-48 degrees Celsius temperature range however I believe this is due to there intended use for hot water supplies (showers, baths, basins etc) and not due to their inability to supply water mixed at lower temperatures as I have no issue lowering mine which is currently set at at about 24 Celsius. It is simply a valve that allows more or less hot and cold water through to maintain a temperature.
I wouldn’t worry about the temperature ratings, you just turn it down more

Stunning mate deserves to be highly rated so natural looking.

Dean

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

Thanks Dean, we shall see but I know that it will not place highly. It is nice to be in it though

 

[Ady34]

Here’s a Friday FTS and a bucephelandra tropica red.....




Cheerio,

 

[LondonDragon]

This is by far my favourite tank at the moment, now if only I had the space for one of these! lol

 

[Wookii]

This is by far my favourite tank at the moment, now if only I had the space for one of these! lol

Agreed, it’s a truly beautiful tank. The fact that @Ady34 has done with without a single grain of soil is truly inspirational - I’m seriously considering going that way myself.

@Ady34 have you found any downsides to growing the stems without soil? Can you grow pretty much any stem plant like this?

 

[Ady34]

This is by far my favourite tank at the moment, now if only I had the space for one of these! lol

Ah, thanks Paulo, very nice of you to say.

Agreed, it’s a truly beautiful tank. The fact that @Ady34 has done with without a single grain of soil is truly inspirational - I’m seriously considering going that way myself.

@Ady34 have you found any downsides to growing the stems without soil? Can you grow pretty much any stem plant like this?

Thanks @Wookii, with the ludwigia I haven’t really found any downsides but it is a relitively easy stem. I’m not particularly experienced with stems to be honest so unsure if all or most would be able to be grown in this way but realistically I see no reason why not with appropriate water column fertilisation. I’m sure green aqua used this method in their large display with some more advanced stems at one time but don’t quote me on that.