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Thanks. Yes I am running a CO2 reactor inside the cabinet. I did not use a heat mat. No need here where I live. Humidity is naturally high in the Azores. Yet, I used cling film with some openings to allow the exchange of air and thus prevent mould. By the way, the tank is still up and should...

Only 1-word: Fantastic!!!!

red-cherry, otocinclus sp., and 6 celestial pearls are in (they went in on different times) all looks good. Plant growth is moderate as I wanted. No algae. the pearls are still very shy though. They only come out to play when we are not in room or some metres away. I hope they are getting the...

Yes I hope the trim helps the transition. Let's see how the plants react. They have been emerged for nearly 3 months so they were well adapted and had developed a strong root system (visible on the side and back glasses). I am using the empty 1-2 grow pot to grow glosso emerged. Thanks...

Gave it a trim to get rid of some of the emerged growth Before After And a few more

Alternatively, they just produce plants emersed (or emerged; I do not know which is correct) because there is no algae translating into a greater profit. They also cut on the expenses with light and water (much lower levels needed). The agar option is probably even a cheaper option once...

I think basalt rocks look very similar as well

Nice cabinet but.... what about your last scape?

You could make a drill on it and attach some rocks to the bottom. That's what I did. See here

If you do not want the initial melt you should avoid the 1-2 grow plants as they are grown emersed... It's like dry-starting...

A long time has passed since I last updated this topic.... After few problems I finally had the chance to fill this little boy in. Plants are due a trim already but I was thinking of let them adapt to the submersed conditions for a week or two prior to trimming. Or would it be better to trim...

It looks like Rotala rotundifolia but at this distance is hard to be sure.

Olá Nuno, thanks. yes I know. I'd like to put some water in as well but I am still waiting for the furniture. It's been a pain :mad: cheers GM

I had an old tank sitting by and decided to put it to good use. There some scratches on the glass... but such is life. I hereby port my recent creation for your consideration. It is still as a drystart as I am waiting for some furniture to put it on. Tank: 50 x 25 x 30 cm Light: PLL 2 x 18W...

Lovely!!! Nice to see you around here Brancaman ;) GM

My experience with Borara is that they are beautiful but very shy. So they tend to hidden out of sight most of the time. What about the Paracheirodon simulans?

Just turn the back righ stone to the right so that it points to the right side of the tank. I think it will look better. Anyways, really good work and very inspiring.

Looks great! One question: did you attach the hydrocotyle to the wood?

Any updates on this? Is it still running?

Hi, I've been following this tank since its beginning and it is a pleasure to see how it has evolved. When the Eleocharis fills in it will look brilliant! cheers GM

Thanks, I didn't know they could be regulated. That's good to know.

How did you find the cristal profi e 700 on a 12 L tank? Overkill? GM

I have used 3-day black-outs with great success to get rid of a persistent problem with BGA. No other plants suffered. Actually, they all grew while covered. IME, a black-out has little to no effect for algae other than BGA and maybe diatoms. GM

Actually I see in my tank that many species of plants "close" themselves (leaves become in an upright position) when lights are due to switch off. And have no dimmer. So this probably indicates that plants know exactly when the lights are going off. I should know better but as far as I recall I...

+1 GM

Cuba and hairgrass were showing signs of growth so today I trimmed the old growth back. I hope it promotes the growth of the immersed leaves. Also trimmed some old leaves of the E. tenellus. One of the plants is already sending a runner :) Rotala seems be growing as well, bug Staurogyne seems...

Going through the diatom phase. The problem is that I am cracking the CO2 up so I cannot add amanos or any other fauna. It tends to go away on its own right? Although most plants came from emersed conditions I am yet to see any melting. I thing that the high level of CO2 is key :) The only...

Here: http://www.coverleaf.com/#Home&Document=71688

Nice variety of leaf shape and colours to play with. This month's ADA journal is dedicated to stems, in case you want to have a read. Some Eleocharis parvula in between rocks may make a good complement to H. callitrichoides as well. GM

Looks good so far. I would only suggest to give a bit more slope from the edges to the centre... Will follow cheers GM

I was not complaining. I do like basalt... a lot! cheers GM

Thanks for your kind words guys. Olá Paulo. Yes these were collected locally on the upper shore of a cobble beach. I am lucky that I have access to all types of basalt rock here in the Azores (roudend, sharp edges, smooth texture, with grooves). Not so good if you want other types of rock...

Hi, This is not justify the delay but to let you know that there has been an endless strike in Portugal from the people working on the transport system (don't know the proper word). So this may have had some impact on the delay... Anyways, if looks like you have everything sorted and I can't...

Hi guys, Due to summer laziness I had to teard down my last scape and so I just put another one running. This time, I break some basic rules and use an even number of rocks. I quite like though. The aqua was set up 2 weeks ago. All plantas but Rotala (which was planted this weekend) came from...

Really nice! What's the light?

Not sure but I think you have a non-aquatic plant in there. The one with the white nervures... Nice it cleared out. looks quite natural! Good job GM

Olá Paulo, those are basalt. You can find all kinds of them here. Just plan some visit to the Azores and you can collect, red to black, wrinkled, smooth,... with pits, no pits,... rounded, angular... whatever. abraço GM

maybe it's just me but those feel like ordinary basalt rocks to me. Some have holes in it, other don't; Some have a very wrinkled texture, others have a smoother texture; Some are dark grey/black, others are redish... some have a vitrieous look... Some have incrustacions (e.g. olivina mineral)...

Thank you for your kind words guys. I have put a lot a effort into this scape and a lot of planning was done one so it's nice to get some nice feedback. It was my idea to give it a try at IAPLC provided that the tank gets ready prior to the deadline. But I am still planning to make some...

Hey, Just a tiny update Hope you like it. Some more news hopefully next week... cheers GM

Hi Luís, Welcome to UKAPS. Lot's of good info around... Your tank is spot on... but you already know what I think ;) I believe it means you start doing something difficult without help or preparation. Like you have just registered and are already showing very nice scapes... cheers, GM

Thanks for your comments :) Litopotamus does not mean anything, however, I deliberately joined two words: Litos (greek) = Lithos = rock Potamus (greek) = from the river So it is basically a fancy word standing for "rock from the river" or "rocky river"... :) The water is still a bit cloudy...

Thanks Nelson Just a few more pics. This time without all the equipment. Hope you like it GM

The tank looks great. I just don't personally fancy that anubia on the tip of the branch. Other than that the tank is spot on :) Keep the pics coming. GM

Will wait a few more days to see if it clears up. The rocks are basalts. The age differes among islands and among areas within islands ranging from 50 years to 8 million years. The area where these were collected has 350 thousand years. so yeah, they are quite "fresh". cheers GM

The water was still a bit cloudy (whitish) this morning :roll: Is this normal? I hope it gets better with the daily wcs.

Hi, This weekend I decided to rescape my previous tank and thought it would be nice to create a journal so everyone can follow. Details: Tank: 30 x 20 x 20 cm Light: 18 W 8000K Blau Filter: hang-on eheim liberty 100 CO2: pressurized via blau difusor + excel (0.5 ml daily) Substrate: ADA...

co2 tubing is much better. regular air line will do for a short period of time, I suppose. but in the long run co2 will corrode it. cuba is fine with room temps. I have some emersed cuba outside in the garden now (around 14-15ºC) and it is doing great. It flowered the past month - such a tiny...

Re: My new scape. Hi, you call that a trim? I'd call it bulldozing :wink: Great scape and very inspiring. Cheers, GM

Re: First try - 65L planted hi, I'm sure you really enjoy sitting next to your tank and just stare at it for hours. It looks very healthy and good. Those close-up pics are really nice. Keep the pics coming cheers, GM

Hi, DCs are used as a proxy for the amount of CO2. They cannot be regarded as accurate tools. In my experience, HC is a heavy CO2-dependent. So this needs to be provided at large amounts. 1.5 bps sounds good but this measure is also very inaccurate so use your fauna as a guide as well. I find...

Impressive and quite refreshing too. Well done Juri4ik cheers, GM

Re: 10L NANO Hi Thanks for the comments guys. cozmoz - Just upgraded the light so I rather go the easy way and have high for now. I'll lower it if needed, but so far all is good and hc pearls a lot so I don't think it will be needed. :D a few more pics. A little larger this time :clap...

Re: 10L NANO Few updates. Added Cryptocorine "brown" and Staugoryne. The cuba has now filled in nicely. The tank is algae free. Last week I upgraded my lighting to 18w (previously it was 11W). Too soon to comment on growth rates but the asthetics has improved by 100%. Here are some pics...

I like it. simple but good-looking. Let's wait until it fills in. What light is that? Are you using co2/excel? cheers, GM

hi, cuba is not a problem. It has tiny roots and it can be grown epiphytically so no real need for a substrate. cheers, GM

Looks promising and good inspiration... Keep us updated GM

Re: 10L NANO Hi, thanks for commenting cozmoz. You're probably right although it will probably striped down to make a new composition in 1-2 months. This was kind of a test-tank to see how I managed in keeping a nano planted tank and to test wehther cuba could be grown to form a carpet with...

Re: A different approach - Lower Lighting Hi Tom, beautiful little tank. You're going to be fine with 11w. That's what I have on mine (same size) and all plants (including HC) are filling in nicely and the tank is algae-free. cheers, GM

Re: 10L NANO Playing with lights. Still lots to learn about how best to photograph a tank The HM has been trimmed recently so it's not at its best. Hope you like it cheers, GM

Re: My new scape. Hi, I like it too but I think that your rocks may be a bit small and once the plant fill in they will be hidden? Maybe not... cheers, GM

Re: A very English Spring...happy with the wood! Very healthy plants and nice pics. Well done! cheers, GM

Hi, it's been a while since I registered but so far have not posted any pic of my aqua. This is a learning aqua so the layout has been somewhat left behind. I have kept fish in the past and plants (low tech) as well (mosses, cryptocorine), I even tried with DIY CO2 but things did not work out...

Hi Faizal, I'm dosing 0.5 ml of exel per day on my 10l tank with no visible negative effects (even on shrimp). I have no mosses though. I think most people use 2-3x the recommended dose without major issues. cheers, GM

Hi Alexandre, I was also considering getting the Duo Boy light. What do you think of it so far? Nice scape BTW!!! cheers, GM

Certainly a great place for inspiration Andy. Among the best landscapes you can find in Portugal. Nice diving spots as well. The only problem is that water is freezing cold :mrgreen: Just a small correction. That would be Sado not Tagus. cheers, G

Hi Barturas, you're tank looks really healthy and those Blyxa are mad in a good way. Keep the pics coming. cheers, GM

Just wondering, what's the portuguese glass? I'm portuguese. Should I know what that is? :oops: I know we do have a nice (pretty famous) glass factory here (Glass from Marinha Grande), but I wouldn't think they make aquarium glass and stuff. cheers, GM

Re: opti-mike hi, just a thought. Those bumps in the substrate may not really show up when it's fully grown in with moss. It will all come up with prunning and trimming. I do not have that many experience though. When are you planting? cheers, GM

Re: Hi-tech Iwagumi Nano - questions, questions Hi, I've recently started a 12 litre tank as a DSM and with HC. I only have 11watts. So what I can say is. Under 11 watts, things grow but slowly. I have lots of CO2. Drop-cheker is pretty yellow and I've gased some red cherries now :(. My tank...

Re: opti-mike Hi, I like the dark one better but if you're planning to get the substrate covered then it really doesn't matter, does it? cheers, GM

Cai-me mas é o queixo!!! Lots of texture and colour.Nice and healthy tank Luís. GM

It should definetely reduce the pressure by half. Try connecting just one while closing the other one a see if it works. GM

hey Tom, despite all the trouble, I think you a fine little tank and it does look very nice GM

Looks good and promising!!! What's that in the filter? the small balls I mean. cheers, GM

Stunning plant growth!!! Everything looks great but the hardscape seems a bit under-sized for that tank, in my opinion. cheers, G

Waht a beautiful microhabtiats for shrimp. The tank is impec. :thumbup: Ain't the co2 difusor a bit high in the tank? should it not be placed closer to the bottom to maximise the contact between co2 and water? cheers, G

hi, does it have a shell? the pic is not great but it appears (to me) like a small freshwater limpet. If correct, they usually crawl on the glass grazing on algae. They should not be a problem to plants. G

this one I can handle :wink: As long as you dose after the water change you'll be ok. you'll never run out of nutrients as you replenish the tank after each water change. So yes, do follow the normal EI dosing regime. cheers, GM

Hi Tom, I'm pretty much a noob here but as a general picture I got after lots of reading maybe you should consider giveing a step back and lower your light (18W)? More light = more co2 + more ferts. Does this make sense? cheers, GM