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Tidy Jungle II, III and IV

SO, you might not know but I don't take defeat easily. I'm not a sore loser by any means but I hate being defeated by seemingly achievable tasks.

I got down on my knees with a box saw and a drill, and hacked at this heffa for 2 hours.

HE SHALL NOT, HE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!
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Awesome piece of wood! By the way @Courtneybst you may have started a new branch (pun intended!) of aquascaping - heavy duty hardscape whittling!

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Second hand?
Yeah, I got it from a guy on eBay. Although, it's never been used! It's still in the original shrink wrapping.
Awesome piece of wood! By the way @Courtneybst you may have started a new branch (pun intended!) of aquascaping - heavy duty hardscape whittling!

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Thanks mate! 😅

I wanted to get a piece that was just bold enough to speak for itself, but also functional to allow me to wedge plants into and for fish to use. As much as I love manzanita, it never comes with many crevices and so attaching is usually a tying or glueing job. Bog wood is also way cheaper than manzanita!

I wonder what I could have whittled with a chainsaw...
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Yeah, I got it from a guy on eBay. Although, it's never been used! It's still in the original shrink wrapping.

Thanks mate! 😅

Nice find! The older Evolution Aqua version of the Aquascaper tanks are definitely the way to go if you like the invisible silicone seams. I recently took delivery of a 1500 of the newer DD version, and had to send it back. The silicone work was like something from 20 years ago, with a massive thick bead down the inside corners, and a 10mm overlap on the front glass:

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The new Aquascaper tanks aren’t what they were under EA - buyer beware!

I wanted to get a piece that was just bold enough to speak for itself, but also functional to allow me to wedge plants into and for fish to use. As much as I love manzanita, it never comes with many crevices and so attaching is usually a tying or glueing job. Bog wood is also way cheaper than manzanita!

I wonder what I could have whittled with a chainsaw...
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Yeah, I’m going that way myself, I have a good stash of manzanita and talawa wood that I’ve picked up off eBay, but I stumbled across a couple of massive pieces of corbo root when I visited Proshrimp that’ll I’ll be using in the new tank, that - as you say - just sit there and speak for themselves, no messin’!
 
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The older Evolution Aqua version of the Auqascaper tanks are definitely the way to go if you like the invisible silicone seams.
I have to say the silicone on this one is immaculate! ADA quality for sure.
I recently took delivery of a 1500 of the newer DD version, and had to send it back.
Oh damn, that silicone work is pretty poor, I don't blame you!

Also, you're plotting a new 150cm? 👀
when I visited Proshrimp
I like the sound of your plan. I didn't realise Pro Shrimp had a physical shop!
 
Also, you're plotting a new 150cm? 👀

Yeah, been plotting it for about 2 years - the wife made me move house before I could have it though! 😆

Now the universe is conspiring against me with this DD Aquascaper debacle - so its back to the back of the queue at Aquariums 4 Life - ETA end of July early August.

I didn't realise Pro Shrimp had a physical shop!

Yeah, it more a public access warehouse, but they have a lot of stock. Lots of plants, and you can cherry pick the best ones, in amongst all the crap ones that haven’t been stored so well.
 
After a bit of a drawn out delivery I finally got my new lights for the rescape! I went with the Chihiros WRGB II Slim 120cm for a few reasons;
1. I prefer single candy bar lights rather than two smaller units on big tanks.
2. It was cheap.
3. I think the WRGB slim is quite aesthetically pleasing.
4. I won't be growing anything too demanding so although the WRGB II would have been more future proof, this should be more than suitable? One hopes lol.

I used the Photone app to test the PAR and it was reading 156 at the bottom of the tank in the centre, 55cm from the light unit, without water. I don't know how much water will reduce this but I figured even if it's 50% less (78 PAR) that's fine for me, considering it's right at the bottom of the tank! Most of the plants will be at least halfway up.

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Nice find! The older Evolution Aqua version of the Aquascaper tanks are definitely the way to go if you like the invisible silicone seams. I recently took delivery of a 1500 of the newer DD version, and had to send it back. The silicone work was like something from 20 years ago, with a massive thick bead down the inside corners, and a 10mm overlap on the front glass:

View attachment 189627

View attachment 189629

View attachment 189628

The new Aquascaper tanks aren’t what they were under EA - buyer beware!



Yeah, I’m going that way myself, I have a good stash of manzanita and talawa wood that I’ve picked up off eBay, but I stumbled across a couple of massive pieces of corbo root when I visited Proshrimp that’ll I’ll be using in the new tank, that - as you say - just sit there and speak for themselves, no messin’!
Wow that silicone work is terrible 😳 thats shocking
 
After a bit of a drawn out delivery I finally got my new lights for the rescape! I went with the Chihiros WRGB II Slim 120cm for a few reasons;
1. I prefer single candy bar lights rather than two smaller units on big tanks.
2. It was cheap.
3. I think the WRGB slim is quite aesthetically pleasing.
4. I won't be growing anything too demanding so although the WRGB II would have been more future proof, this should be more than suitable? One hopes lol.

I used the Photone app to test the PAR and it was reading 156 at the bottom of the tank in the centre, 55cm from the light unit, without water. I don't know how much water will reduce this but I figured even if it's 50% less (78 PAR) that's fine for me, considering it's right at the bottom of the tank! Most of the plants will be at least halfway up.

View attachment 189904
Cant wait for this i am thinking i now want a larger tank now , maybe a 120cm 😅 as @Wookii said i would have to move house , currently mine is sold just seeing if anything comes up 🤔 cant wait to follow along @Courtneybst
 
Cant wait for this i am thinking i now want a larger tank now , maybe a 120cm 😅 as @Wookii said i would have to move house , currently mine is sold just seeing if anything comes up 🤔 cant wait to follow along @Courtneybst
Thanks Deano!

As much as I love smaller tanks for their ease of maintenance and ability to rescape, I wouldn't be without at least one big display tank. You can't beat it! After 18 months my current setup is quite stable and it's a shame to take it down but I've learnt a lot since then, so it's time to get sexy.
 
Love corbo. All the pieces I've seen have natural holes and caves in them, perfect for stuffing epiphytes into!

Yeah I like it too, though it can be tricky to find the right looking pieces. A lot of them are a bit OTT and have too many branches coming out, or are too thick on the trunk, and can look a bit unnatural when plonked in the aquarium.

I actually popped over to Proshrimp again on Friday to pick up a small tank to use as a QT tank, and they had another nice piece of thin corbo root lying down that looked like a fallen branch, so I grabbed that too. I'm starting to wonder whether hardscape addiction could actually be a medical condition! :D
 
I'd like to have shown the progression of this new scape, but truth be told I couldn't do much until the old one was taken down (which only happened the day before!).

A pound of flesh
The beginning of the day required sheer muscle and brain power - all your credentials were worthless at this point. How much mass can you move??!

@shangman and @i.am.adonis helped me move my old (not even fully drained lol) tank and swap it with the new one before the sexy bit started. It took some fandangling and a solid Thai lunch, but we got there!

We had a few plays with the hardscape but the first arrangement was the clear favourite. One thing I love about aquascaping is that you can practice until the cows come home but nothing is more valuable than going with the energy you feel on the day. The new position is much nicer than the original plan in my opinion! I guess that's also the beauty of being forced to wait 3 weeks to scape.

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It's a mix of 'bog wood' and Galapagos Rock from Riverwood Aquatics/Maidenhead Aquatics, Druid stone from WIO and speckled sand (which I actually really love and think is underrated) from Maidenhead Aquatics.

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More is more.
My intention for this scape was to not buy any new plants and reuse my old ones but in a more purposeful way to the Tidy Jungle II. In the end I only bought 3 new plants (Ludwigia ovalis, Lilaeopsis brasilliensis and floating plants). The rest are all reincarnations.

We were definitely not short of plants by any means. Microsorum 'Needle Leaf' in particular was growing like a weed in my old tank and borderline invasive. There was enough plants to plant a tank twice this size, which explains my CO2 consumption as of late!

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We started planting with the intention that all the things I had acquired over time will get a deliberate and considered position in the tank, where they could show off their beauty. Some examples; Cryptocoryne nurii 'Rosen Maiden', Cryptocoryne spiralis 'Tiger' and 'Red', Barclaya longifolia... just to name a few.

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One thing this wood was really great for is the many holes and crevices. It is perfect for wedging plants into since I wanted minimal super glue used. Hopefully that will have a positive impact on the mature appearance, with plants growing mainly in spaces they'd be able to naturally.

Bring the rains!
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Now there's water in this tank, the initial graft begins. Thankfully I'm mostly off this week so I can be attentive, but also rest and be creative again. I've have had a few terrarium project in mind for weeks that I've just not had time for. Anyway, as you can see there's a fair bit of tint! Carbon is now in the filter and the water changes will help dilute this further, as well as the ammonia.

I'm also convinced that this style of tank allows for nicer photos. Even using my camera felt different - the photos just looked much nicer. Here's some more...

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Oh my god! I havent been this excited about a tank layout in a long long time 😍
Absolutely awesome, and I love the negative space under the arch

If your tank goes missing I didn't have anything to do with it
Thank you @Hufsa !!

This definitely feels like my kind of hardscape. Obnoxiously bold but pretty and functional haha. You can bet your bottom dollar the the glass catfish will head straight for that archway and hang there. I can't wait to see the community gatherings that take place there and all the fish sifting away in the sand! I'm gonna do my best to keep the area clear.

You can't see it in the pictures, but this is what the room looks like when lights are out, for that very reason...
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Water Under the Bridge
It's been 9 days since the tank was setup and I'm appreciating it but can't help feel slightly on edge...😅
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First off what a massive difference it makes having a tank of this size rimless and low iron. It's made a big impact on the space and I love rimless because it encourages you to get your arms wet more often!

I had really bad melt across the trident fern and mini bolbitis so I've cut most of the leaves off and will just have to play the long game with those. The windelov melted a bit but wasn't totally wrecked. Interestingly, the Microsorum needle leaf... totally unphased.
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There's also been a bit of melt on some of the Cryptocoryne but really not bad at all, considering the way crypts can melt if blahblahblahblah ain't right! Unfortunately, in the rescape chaos I lost track of where I put my pink flamingo since it all turned green in storage. I think it's in there somewhere but no idea where! I may look at getting another...

All the fish and shrimp are now back in and are loving their new crib. The 'place to be' is right under the archway - that's where all the cool fish hang. 😎
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I'm suspicious of the lack of diatoms and wood fungus. I know it's early days and they could still come but right now I'm enjoying the pristine-ness of it all.

This light also makes everything pop much more than the T5 ever did. The fish and plants are WHAM in your face.

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Hi all,
All the fish and shrimp are now back in and are loving their new crib. The 'place to be' is right under the archway - that's where all the cool fish hang. 😎

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Assuming you are using CO2? Looking at the gill colour on the Loach I might dial the CO2 down a bit and see if it becomes less contrasty or the fish become more active.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,

Assuming you are using CO2? Looking at the gill colour on the Loach I might dial the CO2 down a bit and see if it becomes less contrasty or the fish become more active.

cheers Darrel
Hey Darrel,

Do you think it looks inflamed? I know the Chihiros lights really oversaturate anything on the red/orange spectrum but I hadn't noticed the gills until you mentioned it. Maybe it is high. The loaches are still very active however.
 
Love the scape and the negative space, looks like a nice easy to maintain and high impact layout well done @Courtneybst 👏 , i currhave a 90cm but we talking about changing living room around and i think i would have to down size😬 a 60cm or so would look tiny to me after having this for so long are you loving the size of the tank ?

Thanks dean
 
Love the scape and the negative space, looks like a nice easy to maintain and high impact layout well done @Courtneybst 👏 , i currhave a 90cm but we talking about changing living room around and i think i would have to down size😬 a 60cm or so would look tiny to me after having this for so long are you loving the size of the tank ?

Thanks dean
Thanks Dean!

So far it looks it will be fairly easy to maintain. My main job will be hoovering detritus from the many pockets and crevices and keeping the sand under the wood clean. I was thinking to get a hang on filter for that + moss trimming but I think I'll use my Filtosmart 100 until it gets tedious 😅.

I mean, needs must but I wouldn't be without a big tank. It just has a whole different feel compared to smaller tanks. There was a campaign brewing to get a 150cm but that was squashed after seeing the significant price difference! It was MORE than double the price. Plus everything gets more awkward (equipment wise) when you go over 120cm.

This more or less the same size my old tank with some reversed dimensions, but the rimless design can't be beat!

Even with a 60cm, as long as you have some kind of aquarium!
 
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