George's TMC Signature

[O'Neil]

Another masterpiece George.

 

[Nathaniel Whiteside]

Nice. Reaaal nice.
Well done George

 

[andyh]

Wow! That looks Bitchin!
Glad you finally Flooded it😱

Firstly - Great Photo journal mate, lovely series of photos showing the transition! I think that the people of UKAPS are spoilt with the high level of photography skills, its something i really aspire to improve upon.

The riccardia and the moss, look great. I honestly thought Farmer had lost his mind when you started playing with yoghurt, but i admire that you do try stuff and give a warts and all journal. Its looks very natural and should create a pleasing effect.

I adopted the high CO2 and no livestock in my Green Beach scape for the first time. The results spoke for themselves, Its the only way i plan to start tanks going forward. Not convinced about the dry start yet, but yours does look like it has worked, especially on the moss and wood side of things.

Will the ludwigia stay that red?

Keep up the good work dude

Andyh

 

[George Farmer]

Wow! Thanks for all of the great feedback and questions. It's a real treat for me. 🙂

....any ideas what fish

Dean

I've narrowed it down to 5 or 6 contenders - mostly tetra or rasbora. But always remain flexible. 🙂

Any chance of a pic showing the height of the tile please?

Yes mate. I'll post one after this. 🙂

The colour of the Ludwigia looks good, do you find the white rendition of the 1500 better for reds?

I think the Ludwigia may change once adapted to its new underwater life. I have heard this species goes pink and keeps the small leaves. I'm looking forward to seeing it develop. I love these new LED tiles! Best LEDs I've used or seen over a planted tank yet, but haven't seen a Kessil in the flesh yet... 🙂

...did you leave the heating mat in place & if so, is it working?

Yes mate. Thanks for the advice on that. I think it could be better than an inline heater. I'm currently trying to reach a steady 23-24C but adjusting a plug-in-timer. I might invest in a external thermostat, but don't really want any gear in the tank.

...Will the ludwigia stay that red?

I doubt it mate. Apparently it might go pink. 🙂

 

[George Farmer]

Here you can see how high I'm suspending the lighting.


suspended by George Farmer, on Flickr

It's about 60cm from the water surface. This makes it perfect for tank maintenance. It's a real pleasure to work with this set-up. 🙂

The PAR is still almost 50 across most of the substrate, but my CO2 levels are very high and the dense CO2 mist is reaching every plant.

So far most of the plants seem to be adjusting well already after 2 days. I'm losing some melted Ammania - hopefully the remainder will survive.

Hopefully you can get an idea of the CO2 mist from this photo. I'll try to get a video too.


misty by George Farmer, on Flickr

 

[foxfish]

There are a lot of folk who get really negative & even rude at the mention of heating cables but in the 80s they were the norm & worked in the fact they did heat the tank & did not kill the plants!
I didn't like the the exposed cable running down the corner of my tank so - I installed my cable under the tank enclosed in an tediously cut out 1'' piece of polystyrene!
I am a fan of sumps nowadays so I can conceal my heater but I would use a heat mat if i did not use a sump.
The only issue would be if the mat failed as some of the cheap reptile mats are prone to do!

 

[Ady34]

Hi George, I noted from your above post that having the lights this high makes maintenance easy. Is this the only reason for doing so instead of having them closer to the tank and just reducing the intensity from the controller? I imagine there is a lot of light spill in the room this way rather than closer to the tank......i suppose the benefit being you can save money as you don't need to turn the kitchen light on! Lol
Looking great by the way, and that's a nice mist you have going! Seems a lot of members have issues with the up inline atomisers....what pressure are you using and do you have any issues with adjusting to lower bubble rates?
I know you have a shortlist, but have you considered ruby tetras for this scape, they are very subtle, yet very beautiful little fish with an interesting swimming behaviour.....I have some mixed with my ember tetras and they are great little fish 🙂
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[George Farmer]

Hi George, I noted from your above post that having the lights this high makes maintenance easy. Is this the only reason for doing so instead of having them closer to the tank and just reducing the intensity from the controller? I imagine there is a lot of light spill in the room this way rather than closer to the tank......i suppose the benefit being you can save money as you don't need to turn the kitchen light on! Lol
Looking great by the way, and that's a nice mist you have going! Seems a lot of members have issues with the up inline atomisers....what pressure are you using and do you have any issues with adjusting to lower bubble rates?
I know you have a shortlist, but have you considered ruby tetras for this scape, they are very subtle, yet very beautiful little fish with an interesting swimming behaviour.....I have some mixed with my ember tetras and they are great little fish 🙂
Cheerio,
Ady.

Hi Ady

I'm just a sucker for bright lights.

Seriously though, I love just being about to get in the tank with my tweezers or scissors pretty much every time I visit the kitchen. I'm very much a "little and often" maintainer, probably bordering on the OCD to be honest. There is a lot of light spill but we all like it - it makes a real feature of that part of the kitchen.

I've never had an issue with my Up Aqua. My working pressure is about 2.5 bar. I haven't tried lower bubble rates yet but it's never been an issue before. I wonder if them getting clogged up is the issue? I've seen some inline diffusers that have a removable ceramic, but haven't tried one yet.

I've not consider Ruby tetras yet - thanks for the heads-up! 🙂

 

[Ian Holdich]

I must borrow that par meter. That looks good George, I reckon that lud will surprise you and stay quite maroon. Mine has at the back, I'm really impressed with the reds under these LEDs. A lot better than the older grobeams/tiles. Presumably your running these at 100%?

Thanks for the pic mate!

 

[Ady34]

I've never had an issue with my Up Aqua. My working pressure is about 2.5 bar. I haven't tried lower bubble rates yet but it's never been an issue before. I wonder if them getting clogged up is the issue? I've seen some inline diffusers that have a removable ceramic, but haven't tried one yet.

Ahh, is your up inline the old style? I think it may be the newer double ceramic ones that cause more issue. plus you have 2.5bar pressure, and I think it's lower pressures that have resulted in difficulties.

Hi Ady

I'm just a sucker for bright lights.

Seriously though, I love just being about to get in the tank with my tweezers or scissors pretty much every time I visit the kitchen. I'm very much a "little and often" maintainer, probably bordering on the OCD to be honest.

I think we could all benefit from some of that OCD....every little helps!

I've not consider Ruby tetras yet - thanks for the heads-up! 🙂

🙂

it makes a real feature of that part of the kitchen.

.....understatement.....id want a 16hr photoperiod!!!
Cheerio,

 

[abloomer]

All I can say is wow!

Having the patience and skill to produce this is incredible. I am really looking forward to seeing the finished article.

 

[ghostsword]

It looks amazing.. 🙂 solid hardscape.

I would have left it like this:

 

[George Farmer]

Thanks guys! 🙂

I must borrow that par meter. That looks good George, I reckon that lud will surprise you and stay quite maroon. Mine has at the back, I'm really impressed with the reds under these LEDs. A lot better than the older grobeams/tiles. Presumably your running these at 100%?

Yes mate, I'm super-impressed with the 1500 tiles - yes, running at 100% 🙂

Interesting about the Ludwigia, thanks. The Ammania seems to be struggling for some reason. It will be interesting to see if it recovers in time.

Ahh, is your up inline the old style?

Yes mate. Works a treat for me!

 

[Ady34]

Yes mate. Works a treat for me!

I have one I purchased from another member a while ago.....should really get it installed to get more equipment out of the tank! I only have 1.5bar non adjustable but hopefully will be ok with the old style.....next time I clean the lily pipes il pop it on 🙂

Are you running ramp up/down periods within your photoperiod, if so what sort of timings are you using and how long is it on 100%?

A nice full set up shot would be very nice to see now too 🙂

Sorry for all the questions.

Cheers George.
Ady.

 

[clone]

As long as I know the UP atomisers start at 2-2.5 bars compared to the polen ones. The old style works just fine for me I read about how radicilous is the
design of the other "new" with double atomiser, which is actually un necessary.🙂

 

[clone]

Sorry to ask, but do you guys think, that overpowering the CO2 after DSM will actually make the RO water even softer and acidic so can affect somehow the plants ( in a bad way I mean)?

 

[cookie3985]

I think the volume of comments on this thread speak for themselves George, great scape. It will be very interesting to see how much the plants change after the DSM. This has tempted me to use it mind! 🙂

 

[Ionut Godea]

Stunning tank!

 

[Nick_593]

This tank looks awesome. And agree with Ghostworld about it being half full. Looking forward to the progress.

 

[George Farmer]

Cheers guys. 🙂

Are you running ramp up/down periods within your photoperiod, if so what sort of timings are you using and how long is it on 100%?

Hi Ady - I'm running 6 hours at 100% with 1hr ramp up and down either side.

Sorry to ask, but do you guys think, that overpowering the CO2 after DSM will actually make the RO water even softer and acidic so can affect somehow the plants ( in a bad way I mean)?

Good question. I don't think a low pH will bother the plants. Especially if there's plenty of CO2 and other nutrients. 🙂