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Welcome :) Tell us about yourself

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hello from south africa!

hi all,

i have been lurking since march, finally decided to say hi 😀 my name is raymond and i am currently living in cape town.

the way south africa has been playing against the english lately, i am a little embarrassed 😳 to show my face here but luckily this forum is about aquatic plants not rugby...

i have 3 tanks currently, busy working on a fourth, i have bad mts.

i have a 400l juwel rio, high light with pressurized co2, a 100l bowfront lowlight also with co2 and i have a 16l nano, no co2.

i am busy with a diy ada style stand for a 90x45x45 that i would like to do as an iwagumi with just hairgrass or maybe hc and hairgrass, havent decided yet...

i have been aquascaping for about 2yrs now so still learning loads, looking forward to learning lots here and seeing some awesome setups!
 
Hi Matt an UKAPS and to all its members

Just been introduced to this amazing site. Obviously I’m new to the site and thought I would introduce myself.

First off I’m Dyslexic and will apologise now for any errors and typos. 🙁

My name is Stephen Baker - 29 year old - I live in the Northwest of England in Liverpool. :wave:

I’m new to the site and checked it out about a 2 weeks ago, was informed to check out the site by Robert from Maidenhead Aquatics in Liverpool (thanks Rob) :thumbup: after showing him some pictures of my tank on my phone (sad I know) so I thought I would have a look and see how other people set up there tanks and find some inspiration and advise on planted tanks. I have been on nearly every night since.

I’ve got a 36” x 12” x 15” tank that I have had since I was around 13 years old. Like most people I started of with a Goldfish I won at the fare which came with a small bowl. (I know it cruel but I was young, anyway the fish or Goldey lived to a ripe old age of 11) and was my inspiration was to give him some more space an introduce him to some fish friends. I talked my dad into getting me a tank for which I started of introducing him to some other common goldfish, comet’s and some fancy Veiltails. I decorated the tank with plastic plants, castles and a cherub that looked like he was weeing bubbles.

About 5 years ago I got into Tropical fish, never looked back. Early set up was still with the plastic plants and cheesy accessories. However I started to add real or live plants about a year ago, starting off with Java ferns. I have read various books and on occasions PFK to seek out how to setup tanks and displays. I always wanted a planted tank since I saw the Dutch style scapes but was a bit scared of the prospect of all the technical equipment I would need (CO2, fertilisers etc) and with my lack of imagination.

I have been a regular customer in Maidenhead Aquatics for about 8 months now and started to slowly convert over to the dark side (or should that be the green side) with growing plants with a Flora-Grow CO2 (aerosol type) and somehow managed not to kill all my plants.

As of last week I finally gave in an bought a CO2 ProFlora m602 – which is on a plug-in timer for the CO2 solenoid. Today I managed to take out my last remaining plastic plant, and have only real plants in the tank. I have still a long way to go with the tank, but will hopefully get the look that I can picture it in my head.

Thanks for reading and will hopefully speak to some of you soon. :wave:

Stephen
 
Welcome aboard, Stephen 😀 Dyslexia wouldn't have even crossed my mind. Looking forward to seeing those pics.
 
Hello everyone,

Thought I would finally say hello; I have been posting, but mainly observing for a while now and realised it was the polite thing to do to say a more formal 'hello' 🙂

I am Neil, and I live in Winchester studying Graphic Design at Winchester School of Art. At the start of this year I came across George Farmers Little Mountain with an internet search and just thought 'Wow'. It struck me how clean and modern and 'graphic' it looked which completely contradicted my uneducated view of fish tanks being stuffy and old. After this I found the work of Amano. The planted tank really appealed to my aesthetic vision of the world, especially strong shapes in hardscape combined with an ultra-modern rimless, braceless open topped tank. I enjoy making and looking at aquascapes in response to more external influences such as prints, pieces of design and nature in a more wider sense.



This is my first attempt, it failed due to lack of CO2 injection and also I knew I could do something better!
oldtank.jpg



This is my current set-up;
newtank001.jpg


newtank002.jpg

I am much more happy with this set-up. I hope to get some better images when its matured and I'll take more time over the photography. It will eventually get some tasty glassware and cabinet and I hope to keep you updated. Here is a link to my journal;
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8152&start=10

And finally this is my pico! It was started for the competition.
full001small.jpg


Hope that makes me a less shady character, and thanks for all your excellent advice, comments and banter.
Neil
 
Hello,

My name is Fluo from a very similar Dutch/Belgian forum : http://www.aquaplantexchange.nl

Marco from Vivarium told us that some of you giving workshops in the Netherlands next year so I wanted to check out your forum.

I'm a planted tank freak, I like collecting rare species and integrating them into my scapes which are not really Dutch style, but rather Belgian style 😛
I have a large tank of 700 liters and from time to time I enter a competition with it. I have won the Belgian championship and the 1st edition of the Vivarium contest. I'm planning on integrating a real hardscape into my scape and I guess I'm in the right place here 😉

Hope to see you guys next year in Holland.
 
Ok, time to say hi and for me. I've been hanging around since this spring, looking at your beautiful scapes and more importantly reading and gathering all the information needed. My name is Edward, i am 26 years of age, i came to london from lithuania and decided that probably i will stay here. I used to keep fish for couple years when i was about 14, and now after seeing amanos works the bug got me totally. I am running 2 tanks now with different succsess and hope to show your my first works very soon.
Regards. :wave:
 
Season’s greetings, and all that stuff... My name is David Wells and I joined the forum a week or so ago, and thought it only polite to identify the lurker! I live in the sun-kissed Garden of England, although currently it feels like someone left the gate open. In the dim and distant past I kept tropical fish for a couple of years in my teens. I remember a Pearl Gourami and a beautiful Blue Acara, and I also remember the ultimately abortive efforts I made to recreate what I thought of as being their habitat. In those primitive days there was no Redmoor root wood, no Mapani wood, and my attempts to incorporate pieces of cork (yes, cork!!) inevitably led to tears not just for my vain efforts but for the consequent demise of my fishes.

Fast forward past a career spent afloat, and I have been thumbing through various websites, books, and magazines, and marvelling at just how far people have taken the hobby of keeping a little fish in a bowl. Japanese influences backed up by German technology, amongst many other factors, have opened up so many different avenues, and made this a hobby limited only by one’s own imagination.

Actually, to be perfectly honest, it’s also been limited by my wife’s lack of imagination in not agreeing to share my vision (I don’t think she will read this...). But I believe I may have worn her down a tad, so much so that I am on the brink of ordering an aquarium from Aquariums Ltd., a name I wouldn’t have been familiar with had I not spent so much time reading through these very forums (should that be fora...?).

So enough of this waffle, and at the risk of being yet another newbie who hasn’t read the answer to his questions in countless other topics, may I run a few ideas up the flagpole and see if they flutter...?

I really admire the Sanzon Iwagumi style and would love to create something on those lines, but wonder if that is so specialist and minimalist as to restrict my scope to learn and experience different plant and fish types. My vision is of a design that slopes down from high rear right to low front left, that uses rocks as the prime hardscape, and allows a limited variety of plant species to enliven the aquascape. Have you seen Andyh’s Kitchen Tank...? So have I and I’m wondering why I’m even bothering. Nevertheless, I’m confident that mine will be different (as in worse!).

I aim to position my tank in a suitable corner of the living room, convenient to power, sheltered from sunlight, and not a million miles from water. It will be of the order of 80-90 x 45 x 45cms, and will benefit from opti-white glass. (I haven’t seen this type, or been able to make a comparison with float glass, but just about every opinion I’ve read seems to favour the opti-white. As it will be viewed primarily from the left and front, is it worth having all other sides and base made from the cheaper float variety?). Is this a reasonable size to start with? I am balancing in my mind the stability of a larger water volume with the dubious ability of owner to manage it!

I would like to give myself the best possible chance of success in growing plants in this tank of mine, and noted the sound advice given by Dan Crawford to another newcomer (http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=8669). He reckons that pressurized CO2 injection is a no-brainer, and I would be happy to follow that advice. I just have that sneaking reservation that I have seen images of some stunning (mostly small) ‘scapes whose owners boast of the lack of those expensive CO2 bottles, gauges and the like...

I have already bothered Andyh with some sycophantic question about lighting, to which he gave a perfectly sensible answer about not needing to use quite as much as some formulae seem to dictate, but then he basks in the smile of the gods. Does anyone have a recommendation or advice for a mere mortal? I have seen the new Arcadia OT2 4-tube luminaires, and my Visa card had a momentary seizure, which thankfully passed quickly, but I’m willing to put it to the test.

I would like to use an external filter, preferably with an inbuilt heater (such as the Eheim 2324?) because I really dislike all the plumbing being too visible. Again, I’ve seen some very pertinent remarks about water flow, of which I have no knowledge, so I would really appreciate a steer on this subject.

Which basically leaves stuff like substrates, hardscape, etc., and I’ve been doing the rounds of LFS in the area, although none appear to specialize in planted aquaria or have anything to compare with the Green Machine, from what I’ve seen on their website. There aren’t many shop-keepers who can advise on that level, from what I have seen. Why is Wrexham so far away...?!

I’m not aware of whether this forum is modified, but assuming it is, could I please make a bid to be recognized as the longest introductory post, and if that fails, resubmit it under the ‘Most boring’category? If you’ve read this far, I’m sorry you have nothing better to do with your free time, but many thanks anyway, and any advice will be appreciated!

David
 
transfer your questions to a seperate topic in an appropriate area like the general planted tank discussions (as your Q's are varying)

(i think we need a newbie section)

that way we dont clutter up the introduction topic with masses of posts answering questions. (yes they will get answered)

also, have a trawl through some of the pinned topics, they are a wealth of info from experianced scapers.

Lastly, Welcome to the Forum. Hope to see you on here often. :wave:
A fish in a bowl, its soo much more than that now :lol: 😀
 
Nick,

Having just read Ed Seeley's excellent introduction, I regret my waste of column inches. Don't know how I missed that.

Thanks for the welcome though...
 
Greetings from Malaysia 😀

Hello all UKAPS members, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 😀

I'm from Sabah, Malaysia....which is located in the Borneo Island 😛
I hope you are not mistaken by my nickname "Borneosucker" as some fool from Borneo 😀
It's actually a name of a fish, you can see the fish picture which I use it as my profile image or avatar 😛...haha, hope this clear some doubts 8)

Anyway, I was introduce here by my friend, kshitij. I would like to thank him for introducing me such a wonderful site 😀

:crazy: .....Uhh....I don't know how to introduce myself anymore...I always go blank when it comes to the introduction part :? ...maybe you guys can get to know more about me from my blog at http://borneosucker.blogspot.com :lol: maybe not much about me, but about my hobby 😀

Cheers from Malaysia 8) and Have a nice day
BorneoSucker
 
Hello
Am Rob from Warrington.Have two kids one boy one girl.Work in Landscaping as senior chargehand.Do all aspects of soft landscaping.Work takes me all over the NW so i get a chance to see alot of aquatic stores.Some good some bad.
Started Fishkeeping when as around 15 my dad had two big marine tanks which aways kept me quiet when i was younger.I started in trops with the normal run of mill fish.Everything was basic and simple.When i moved in to my own house,i had a passon for Malawis after alot of reseach i found a wholesaler who sold wild caught.The tank was set up as biotope with a 55 fish in and some crabs and synodontis.

I then moved on to marines i set up 500liter tank which i ran for about 18 monthe until my 1st born come along,I had to sell it because i cant give it the time and commitment it deserved.

We moved again and i decide i wanted something to keep me intrested in tthe hobby so i bought a 200 liter which am in the process of planting and stocking now.

I also keep keep chickens watch Warrington Wolves thats pretty much it.Looking after two youngers keeps me busy on my days off.
 
Hi I'm Gary

Grew up catching sticklebacks in Findern Derbyshire, then on to "daddy ruffs" in the canal with my Grandad's old school fishing kit, saw a neon tetra at a friends house and was amazed. My dad bought me a book on aquarium fish, got my first aquarium around 14, but had a bullfrog tadpole before then. Pretty much had an aquarium ever since.

Reading Takashi Anamo's books 1 and 2 was like being transported right back to the place where the stickebacks lived, and redefined my outlook on a hobby I'm so glad can be inspired by childhood yet still be learning more about every day.

To Takashi, Sticklebacks, and George Farmer's UK biotope! :thumbup:

cheers

Gary
 
Fluo said:
Hello,

My name is Fluo from a very similar Dutch/Belgian forum : http://www.aquaplantexchange.nl

Marco from Vivarium told us that some of you giving workshops in the Netherlands next year so I wanted to check out your forum.

I'm a planted tank freak, I like collecting rare species and integrating them into my scapes which are not really Dutch style, but rather Belgian style 😛
I have a large tank of 700 liters and from time to time I enter a competition with it. I have won the Belgian championship and the 1st edition of the Vivarium contest. I'm planning on integrating a real hardscape into my scape and I guess I'm in the right place here 😉

Hope to see you guys next year in Holland.
Click to expand...

Are you the same Fluo who won the VVV aquascaping contest in 2007? After a whole year, I still have a shot of your tank as my wallpaper on my lab workstation's desktop! Hope you don't mind! It serves as a reminder for me start a Dutch-styled tank one day... :lol:

I won't post the photo on this page since its your copyright and not mine 🙂
http://www.aquascapingworld.com/magazine/April-2008/Magazine/VVV-Aquascaping-Competition.html
 
Hello all!

I'm Assaye, a 21 year old student who is currently studying philosophy at the University of York.

I only got into fishkeeping in June but I think I've learned quite a lot! I now have a part-time job at a local aquatics centre - fishkeeping really has become a major obsession!

I started my main community tank as a planted tank, but I guess most of you would probably call it a tank with plants :lol:

I'm currently giving it a major overhaul (the peacock moss and fissidens fontanus came today, woop!) and I'll be daily dosing macro and micro ferts according to a newbie interpretation of the EI method and I'll be adding liquid carbon. Planning to go for sort of emerald jungle with mosses and wood. Lets hope it works!

In terms of other fishy stuff, I maintain 7 tanks (6 of mine and 1 of my partner's). We both keep betta splendens (we currently have 9) and I have my community fish (neon tetras and corys with female bettas), my frogs, my lone ghost shrimp, some snails and 5 firebellied newts. I'm also planning on taking an aquatics related BSc in the future!

I'm hoping to turn the newt tank into a serious paludarium when I have time after my exams, so I'm really looking forward to that!

In terms of non-fishy stuff, I am an experienced horse rider with two horses and I am an avid gamer. I like to mix the outdoors-in-the-sun-and-wind-and-rain stuff with the indoors-in-a-dark-room-for-hours stuff 8)
 
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