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Have you seen the green laser corys ? Look at ADG Facebook !
They look nice
Lovely, but too big :)....and expensive!!
I like panda corys, ive always wanted some and they like it a bit cooler too so would fit my current plans to run this at around 23c. Sawba resplendens would work with those temps too. Not set in stone though and plans can change ;)
I really like marginatus pencilfish but will have to see what happens regards the water chemistry with the seiryu. Also they like it warmer which I don't want to do ideally.
Cheerio
Ady
 
Yeah you are wright mate !!
Tell me, how seriyu influence water chemistry ?
And how will you manage and control it ?
I think it's mainly the white veining in the stone which is made up of calcium carbonate. This slowly dissolves in the water in turn increasing alkalinity and ph. Aquasoil tanks get away with the effects a little as the soil is a natural buffer counteracting the changes. However im not using a buffering substrate so won't benefit from this. Also the addition of Co2 gas acidifies the water increasing the rate at which the calcium carbonates dissolve and thus exaggerating the effects it has upon the water.
I have no real idea yet as to how much it will alter it over the course if a week, but ill monitor TDS and see.
Whilst ridding tannins from the wood I did test the changes over a four day period without co2 addition and it raised TDS by around 10ppm, not too bad, but ill expect this to be greater with the gas running.
You can counteract it with frequent water changes (with softer water), buffering substrates, or go with it and select appropriate livestock. Ill have to monitor it and see once the tank has settled a little whether I'm going to fight it or use it :)
Cheerio
Ady
 
Tank looks super professional mate. It'll only need 4 weeks for the moss to spread a bit and it'll look competition ready. Excellent hardscape positioning. :thumbup:
Very kind words Dan, much appreciated.....4 weeks then rescape it is!! ;)
 
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Ime pencil fish and open tops are a no no, they are expensive meals for your carpet. They are fine after they settle, but they jump for England!
 
Ime pencil fish and open tops are a no no, they are expensive meals for your carpet. They are fine after they settle, but they jump for England!
Thanks for the heads up Ian. I've been thinking about using an acrylic like cover that i can cut to fit where necessary, but worried about sagging. I may try one but quite thick and see how it goes. Don't want fish on the floor, its not good for the karma! I'm sure ill change my mind a thousand times about stocking over the next few weeks.
Looking great mate, I can see this looking awsome when grown in.

Cheers Ears
Thanks Aron :)
 
Id like to see a FTS showing off the new finish on the cabinet too
Not a fts, but some shots of the cabinet :thumbup:

970w.jpg


some shine.....from my baldy head :lol:
8gm3.jpg


Few more images:

56e8.jpg


5xe0.jpg


wgsi.jpg


Settling in and with a few mesh squares of round pelia and a couple of riccia stones to see if i like them:
3jta.jpg


flourescent lights:
55yu.jpg


LED lights for start and end of the photoperiod (i have one bulb out at the left side awaiting a replacement):
z2z9.jpg


Cheerio,
Ady.
 
wow! it looks great Ady... the finish on the cabinet is superb and really sets off the alloy on the kit very nicely. I really do think that this is the best scape you have done so far and you have done that new kit proud - I will be watching this with great interest.... well done so far :thumbup:
 
Looks tremendous.

I'd plan a mission to go and steal it, but to be honest I'm terrified of whatever it is that's casting that reflection. Looks horrendous! :p :lol:
 
Holy stuff!! That is a high gloss finish!!!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
Baldy heads got nearly as good a finish as the cabinet mate :lol: keep the pics coming ady, all round stunning setup mate.
Thanks guys....I do apply heavy coats of wax to my head ;)
wow! it looks great Ady... the finish on the cabinet is superb and really sets off the alloy on the kit very nicely. I really do think that this is the best scape you have done so far and you have done that new kit proud - I will be watching this with great interest.... well done so far :thumbup:
Cheers Gary, I also think it is my best scape, I hope I can improve on my plant growing too :)
absolutely stunning. looks mature from the start. Will be following this journal for sure
Thank you. Sourcing and using already mature plants such as the ferns, bolbitis and vallis nana which create the main structure have helped to give the aged look. Anubias 'en masse' also helped with the feel. Just need the mosses to fill in a little more naturally to give the rocks that mature feel too.
Looks tremendous.

I'd plan a mission to go and steal it, but to be honest I'm terrified of whatever it is that's casting that reflection. Looks horrendous! :p :lol:
Ha, thanks very much Rick ;) ......my Mum loves me!
You did it!! To be totally honest I didn't expect anything less actually,..:) Nice one Ady. Hope you have lots of fun with it.
Appreciate your confidence in me mate, I really enjoy the 'set up' stage, the hard work comes now :)

Thanks again for all the comments and likes, they are much appreciated.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Hi,
quick update.
Things going ok, i have the second filter up and running now and after a little fiddling with different out pipes i have decided upon the NA steel one running along the rear of the tank. The glass lily conflicted too much with flow from the other lily pipe and didnt provide the even flow around the tank that i wanted. The NA pipe is a jet type flow which helps circulate water around the tank, complimenting the flow from the Gush lily. Its the best i can get for now and should cope well even when plant mass increases.
I planned on running two inline diffusers, but one is faulty and im awaiting confirmation of a replacement, however now im undecided as to just leave the one running and keep the second as a spare for swapping when cleaning, especially given the c02 is being well circulated due to the positions of both in and out pipes. The benefit of running two diffusers is that it would reduce the bubble rate to a countable number in the bubble counter to help me set/reset when necessary.
I have been doing every other day 50% water changes, but am now trying every day 25-30% as an experiment. Im using water direct from the hose for ease and dechlorinating in tank during refilling. The water is obviously unheated and the temperature was dropping to below 20 celcius after a water change from around 26 celcius (which it is sitting at due to the warm weather were experiencing :eek:) Im doing 25-30% water changes now to try and reduce the temperature swing for the introduction of livestock.....last nights water change was a more reasonable drop to 23 celcius from 26 which should be manageable. When i plug the heater in this will help reduce any difference quickly.

The misting is reaching all parts of the tank, but i have to say it is a little distracting and i much prefer viewing the tank when the c02 is switched off....i can see why many opt for reactors.
Heres the Gush lily out pipe with a good amount of c02 mist clinging to the underside :)

7dbg.jpg


The moss and riccardia are starting to show growth. The fissidens on the mesh are also just beginning to sprout out above the fishing line ties:

g7w4.jpg


Heres some shots of the Java moss and riccardia tied with fine fishing line to the wood also starting to grow:

wdqd.jpg


wa3c.jpg


I am experiencing a slight oily film, which i also have always had on my shrimp nano tank. The plants in the nano tank seem fine so im hoping its not a bad sign. I dont like the look of it anyway so have just ordered an Eheim nano skimmer (as reviewed here: Ehiem micro skimmer 350 review. | UK Aquatic Plant Society) to try and alleviate the issue. Several members are using them and reporting good results. The added benefit is that i can run it overnight and it will aerate the water too :)

The oily film:

xtwu.jpg


Heres a FTS showing the contrasts created when using the halide lamp, there are many shaded areas and photos dont do justice to the feel and shimmer it gives. It is however extremely bright and im going to have to make a shade to prevent the family from burning their eyes when in use :cool:

acjx.jpg


Also im thinking i may now be safe to trim a few stray leaves from the microsorum trident at each end of the tank in particular, possibly also a couple of bolbitis leaves now it is sprouting some new ones.

My new LED bulb came to replace the broken one so this is what it looks like with just the LED's. They work well with the island scape and it will be nice to view fish under these. I use them for half an hour either side of the main 5hr fluorescents photoperiod for a kind of ramp up and ramp down effect:

x1zq.jpg


Cheerio,
Ady.
 
It's looking great Ady... I like the different variations of light you can have and the scape under the LED's looks really nice.

What glass ware are you running on the inlet and outlet?
 
Looks great slap head. The ehiem 350 won't disappoint, I run mine every night, the surface is alway sparkley clean.
 
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