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The Forsaken World (Final photo.. scape now ended)

Day 57

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This is really starting to shape up! Absolutely love the inspired "Aztec ruins" look of this scape.
 
The colour contrast between the green of the plants and the yellowish hue of the rocks is fantastic. With the sky colour back drop, c'est magnifique!

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk
 
Thanks guys. Your words are truly appreciated.

parotet said:
I am going to show it to my wife right now... she will finally understand what I want to do with this 5 glass cubes I have at home! ;)
Click to expand...

I hope she'll like it or your dreams with aquariums will have a bad time :D
 
Hi Pedro:) . I have a question if you don't mind please. That is one big tank & with lots of hardscape,...& you have placed your stems behind them. You have but just one co2 thingee placed at the left front corner of the tank & i suppose the flow from that opposingly placed lily pipe outlet is distributing all the co2 bubbles. How do they reach the stems behind those huge rocks:banghead: :banghead: ? Do you have a magic spell that you chant prior to starting up your tanks:confused: . I would really love to know because i believe there lies the answer to the immaculate plants' health in your tank. Please do share the secrets of your co2 management. We keep hearing about more flow ,..and more filter turnover rate,...the better co2 distribution. But i have seen so many tanks with lesser flow,...more hardscape obstructing the plants and yet the plants look as fresh as salads from the morning market.:lol: Please,..please educate the lesser ones among us. AND,....you are just running the whole thing with 3bps:banghead: Waaaahhh:arghh:
 
faizal said:
Hi Pedro
clear.png
. I have a question if you don't mind please. That is one big tank & with lots of hardscape,...& you have placed your stems behind them. You have but just one co2 thingee placed at the left front corner of the tank & i suppose the flow from that opposingly placed lily pipe outlet is distributing all the co2 bubbles. How do they reach the stems behind those huge rocks
banghead.png
banghead.png
? Do you have a magic spell that you chant prior to starting up your tanks
clear.png
. I would really love to know because i believe there lies the answer to the immaculate plants' health in your tank. Please do share the secrets of your co2 management. We keep hearing about more flow ,..and more filter turnover rate,...the better co2 distribution. But i have seen so many tanks with lesser flow,...more hardscape obstructing the plants and yet the plants look as fresh as salads from the morning market.
icon_lol.gif
Please,..please educate the lesser ones among us. AND,....you are just running the whole thing with 3bps
banghead.png
Waaaahhh
arghh.png
Click to expand...

Faizal, what i write is just my opinions and things i’ve learned (on forums like UKAPs and on my local store - Aquaeden) and found out by myself. It’s not written in stone :)

I'll try to answer all your questions but please note that this is not rocket science (like Clive usually says - i think i never wrote on a thread where he writes but i’m a great reader of all his posts). And that's the first answer :) read and try to understand how this guys can make great aquariums or just maintain great plants (an aquascape is different from a planted aquarium - both need healthy plants).

This is not done on the first or second aquarium. This is done by learning and experimenting.
Things like using CO2 with 30 ppm or having no fear of fertilisers :) never comes with the first or second tank. I think that almost anyone of us remember to think that too much fert = algae.

I think you already read that i usually use Powersand and some ADA additives.
There’s some controversy about the need of using a fertile substrate below Aquasoil (always use it).
Like it or not, it gives some nutrients for the first weeks. I found out by myself that the duration of this supplement is not like many of us thought. It gives some nutrients for the first weeks. Period. It doesn’t last for months.
Well that’s my findings, probably some guys can have other opinions.

Using a Powersand is a must if you'll make the ADA fertilisation (that is "connected" to this bottom layer that PS and additives gives).

Aquasoil give us that initial boost of Ammonia, and that’s also perfect for plants. Some danger for shrimps if you have to put shrimps without waiting some weeks.

So, what i do is start to use liquid frets on the second week and always try to maintain some NO3 (>15 at the end of the week - rest day) and PO4 in the water and good micros (Fe tested).
CO2 in the light green and some pearling. Pearling doesn’t tell you that CO2 is good or that the tank is healthy but it’s a kind of good indicator.

I think that i’m a little above 3 bps, but if i am is about 4 bps. A 500g bottle lasts for some 2 months. I only have CO2 when lights are on (1h30 before until 1h before light out).
What i think it’s rather important is to find out as quickly as possible the amount of CO2 you need but incrementing gently. Don’t make a large increase of CO2 and then decrease. Adjust by increasing just a little, etc. Stability on the CO2 is rather important. Replacing a bootle on the same day, also. Three or four days without CO2 on a "high-tech-tank" is a suicide!

But the way you inject CO2 to you aquarium should also be a major issue.
I think that most guys on UKAPS uses atomisers or something like that. I use a diffuser! Is that better? No, i don't think so, but my diffuser is a great diffuser (on this aquarium a Do!Aqua from ADA) and that makes a lot of difference. Having the flow oriented in such way that can help distribute the CO2 that is being released by a diffuser, like this one, is a great advantage.

Regarding flow, i don't like plants flying around :) Good flow looks great on marine aquarium, but in a planted aquarium, plants looking like they are going to get out of the substrate, doesn’t give me a nice feeling when i look to my two aquariums. We’ve to get a nice and soft feeling looking to a school of tetras. That’s not what one gets when looking to a tetra that is fighting to go from one place to the other.

But i know that it is a problem, so how to make a good flown in a >80cm aquarium with hardscape and stem plants?
In my humble opinion, it's generally pipes with bad positions or hardscape related issues.
I love the circular flow that having inflow and outflow on the same side give us. You'll have a circular flow horizontal and vertical that can help do distribute nutrients on the aquarium.

I love the flow that a lilly pipe does. It's rather different that those pipes from Eheim. That too makes a difference.
There are many kinds of lilly pipes and different flows.
But a good lilly pipe also takes care of that nasty water surface “grease” - Unfortunatety my lilly pipe doesn’t do this very well, i guess that the filter doesn’t help either (a little stronger was better).

I have to say that i also thought that this hardscape will have the problem you describe. Fortunately that was no the case because water can circulate between the top of the hardscape and the water surface.
I also have to say that on the 2nd or 3rd week i used a pump for 4 weeks, when i started getting some Diatoms. I placed it near the outflow making good water circulation on the top of the aquarium.
I took it out 2 weeks ago and replaced it by a much smaller pump. It will get out on the near future. Like you see on the movie, my aquarium gives a nice feeling of gentle flow (forget feeding time :))

Lights are also important. I have 154w for 300l (well, much lesser with som much hardscape and substrate). I’m not using a "power plant" above my tank, so less algae problems!
(have to say that it was better to have 4x54 and not 4x39… but, maybe some more problems…)

I clean my filter every 3 months (or 2 and a half)... something like that. Too much cleaned filters and you get ammonia, and that's the only nutrient that give us algae.
Obviously that it's an external filter (Eheim 3). The bigger the better, without getting that "super" flow.

Sorry if what i write is not very useful :(

PS: Using Barrreport to get some great info (as a subscriber) is also a must ;)
 
Very detailed post, top work Pedro. I'm sure Clive will have some input on this but what you have written is very useful advice. Like you have said it's all about trial and error, making minor adjustments and PATIENCE :thumbup:
 
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