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A pine root planted randomness

Lauris

Lauris

Member
Joined
9 Sep 2013
Messages
578
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Hi all,

3 years back I had to make a decision to wrap up everything and store it in the attic until the right time and place will come again.

Bought a new house and the only place (pointed out by my wife) I was allowed to plan my next aquascape was in the kitchen.
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So a little prep was required before, to make a room for it...
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So once the obstacle was out of the way, it took no time for me to get into an attack and dust off the inventory.. (finally after 3 years of a wait)..
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And so my next aquascaping journey can kick off again. Picked up the tank and new cabinet last week (for me this is an exciting upgrade as all my previous scapes were only in 19-90L volumes).

So, here it is.. a fresh start..

Tank + Cabinet: AquaSys230 (12ml optiwhite)
Dimensions: 90x55x53cm
Volume: 230L

Soil-Substrate:
ADA Amazonia v2: 27L
ADA PowerSand: 12L
ADA La Plata sand: 16kg
ADA Aqua Gravel: 0.5kg

Hardscape:
5 Marsh Wood (different sizes)
35kg Dragon Stone

Other bits and pieces still in delivery -
Light: Chihiros Vivid 2 (10th anniversary)
Filtration: Oase Thermo 850
Surface Skimmer: Eihem skim 350
CO2 Reactor: AquaCare 50 External CO2 Reactor

Not sure if I missed something, there were a lot of bits and pieces on the shopping list, but I'll update once again when things will move closer to planting and flooding it.

So here it is, right at the end of the dining table. in the kitchen (p.s. still need a solution for the background, not sure if to get something like hang on on the wall or paint it just for the tank in a different colour, as I'm sure the green will not work well for contrast..)
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Thanks for reading... I'll be back soon with more updates :)
 
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Hello !

Super scape ! Agree for the background green color that may give you a strange effect. Either paint the wall or you can put a white sheet such as dibond or similar on the wall or attached to the tank (or even paint the back of the tank with white paint).

Look forward to new updates ! :)
 
I'd personally use that green wall to help create an illusion of extra depth; it's a good shade for that. If you graded the shade of green of the plants so lighter greens were at the front and darker greens and ones closer in tone to the wall were nearer the back I think it could work well. You can always add a background latter if you don't like the wall!
 
Myrtle said:
I'd personally use that green wall to help create an illusion of extra depth; it's a good shade for that. If you graded the shade of green of the plants so lighter greens were at the front and darker greens and ones closer in tone to the wall were nearer the back I think it could work well. You can always add a background latter if you don't like the wall!
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that's a very sensible approach.. I probably should try to balance the contrast with plants. My plan was to add a mix-and-match of Pogostemon, Rotala, and a few others that will develop red'ish/orange but with some mix of green and play with lighter green in the foreground..

.. and yes - if that won't work well, I can always change the background after.. thanks!
 
Tim Harrison said:
Welcome back @Lauris. Looking great so far 👍
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Thanks @Tim Harrison, It often looks good before gets planted (referring to "so far" ) :D that was always my scary part, to get it flooded and overcome the first algae breakouts. + My filter will have to be started from point 0 with absolutely no bacteria (but I will try my local shop in case I can get at least something to start with)

I have the EI salts, but not sure if I'm ready for those yet.. Probably will start with a lean fertilizing approach using some tropica "all-in-one" and see where it takes me
 
Getting prepared now..

Since my tap water measured at 444ppm tds an RO system need was a no-brainer.

I got my Dennerle 130 yesterday and installed it in the utility room. Got a 100L slim butt tank (which should do enough for 1 water change) and adjusted it with the reverse overflow pipe (have been there many times before.. forgetting to turn it OFF on time and running around the kitchen with lots of towels while my wife giving me looks :) )

Now all I need is a small submersible pump and my water changes will be quite convenient.

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Love that trolley! So neat and organized, good job!

One quick question: is the front side of the aquarium slightly overhanging? Won't that be an issue long term?
 
It is overhanging. It is designed to be that way by AquaOne. Will it be an issue or not it is difficult to tell. I assumed they know their business and I didn't question that part 🧐🤔
 
I suspected so, as I did see a good few videos and one tank here in the forum.. so assumed they are OK to buy :)

Thanks for reassurance :cool:
 
How do you stretch out the increase of your endorphins? You order your aquarium goods from different suppliers at different times :)

Received my Green Aqua order today:
- Chihiros WRGB, Vivid stands (33x56 cm)
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+ AquaCare 50 External CO2 Reactor 16/22, Seachem Matrix & Green Aqua GH Plus
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And a very nice touch from the Green Aqua team..
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The Chihiros RGB vivid 2 is already in the air somewhere between China and Ireland, hoping to get it by the end of this week. Then off to local shop after filter and plants 🥳
 
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My light is stuck somewhere in the Netherlands, so no planting before Christmas, Hopefully, next week. As plants are already waiting in the LFS.

Everything else arrived on time, so I sorted out the logic and convenience of the cabinet, + the pipework and cables. On a low start now.. cannot plant without the light

On the wall side inlet, outlet, auto-dosing, twinstar, ph controller probe & temp probe
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all fit in nicely
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+ enough space for trolley
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:cool:
just need to pick up the containers for fertilization to sit on the left side shelf below the doser. Will try a lean approach with Tropica specialized & premium dosing each on different days
 
Decided to fill this up today to start the filter and ensure everything is working as expected to avoid any unexpected surprises when the light and plants arrive..
Must say I'm quite happy with the Oase850, seems the flow is about right and it is very quiet in operation.

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p.s. my bad for the crappy photos.. was just too lazy to pull out my camera..
 
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