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Hey Ady, any updates for us... or are you busy venturing into the reef world? ;)
Hi Gary,
apologies for my lack of contribution lately, ive had a few personal things going on, and yep ive also been scratching a salty itch and setting up a reef tank :)

The Mrs. is a saint allowing me to continually extend my hobby :angelic:, especially when it encroaches on our living room so much......the shrimp tank is going though so expect some crs for sale soon!

52fl.jpg


....and yes, that is a lot of hair algae growing on my rock, but things are still maturing and im only now starting to add a cuc and get things in order :p

The tank is going ok still, nothing groundbreaking, but its steady pace is in my favour really as it keeps things simple maintenance wise :)
Most things doing ok, mini pelia is my new crypt, as it seems to randomly brown/melt a little but always comes back :confused:, perhaps something to do with being emersed for a length of time during water changes.....but thats clutching at straws a little as others manage fine.
The main issue in this tank im pretty convinced ive narrowed down to distribution, but im not willing to splash out on spraybar glassware which i feel will add there own challenges regards splitting c02 lines and distribution to the rear of the tank behind the large hardscape. I have another gush lily to add instead of the stainless NA return which i feel will offer a little more versatility with flow, but i havnt got round to doing that yet.
The moss branches are pretty well matured now, but id like to alter the lower substrate areas around the base rocks to include more mosses/pelias for continuity instead of the few trial plants i added (staurogyne and Ranunculus).
Fish and shrimp are all doing well and im really enjoying watching them, the marine tank will hopefully offer more focus on the inhabitants, although i have tried to create something visually pleasing with the hardscape aswell, with a few gaps purposefully left for corals :p

Heres a few snaps ive taken over the last few weeks to show the filling in of the fissidens, pelias and mosses and finally the bolbitis which is improving but still not perfect.....
Oh, the aponogeton madagascariensis i added as very small bulbs to the rear of the tank have surprised me with some large leaves just getting up into sight now, so, in about another 10 months :lol:, i may be able to remove the vallis which has never really thrived in favour of this lovely plant which you still cant see in any of the images below :D .....

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kfc4.JPG


Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Your front room must resemble a night club with all those different lights going on :D

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......the shrimp tank is going though so expect some crs for sale soon!
Ohhhh, what a shame! I guess those CRS will need homes. I'd feel sorry for them to not experience my hospitality...;) All tanks are looking good mate. I'd recommend getting a blenny or goby in the reef mate, I've got a tailspot blenny and he's brilliant!
Cheers:)
 
Your front room must resemble a night club with all those different lights going on :D

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Lol, yeah, really fancying an 8000k Maxspect light for the NA tank too, they are very sleek and controllable, although they maybe a little out of price range for Santa Claus :)
Ohhhh, what a shame! I guess those CRS will need homes. I'd feel sorry for them to not experience my hospitality...;) All tanks are looking good mate. I'd recommend getting a blenny or goby in the reef mate, I've got a tailspot blenny and he's brilliant!
Cheers:)
Cheers James, when i eventually get my backside in gear and get the bits and pieces ordered to send the shrimp ill put an add up in the for sale section :)
Im thinking Yasha goby and pistol shrimp combo, they are cool to watch together.
Looking great mate! Proper gallery in the front room...


Ps, lend me your mrs.
Thanks Ian.
Ill lend you the Mrs no prob, but to coin a new phrase, 'every silver lining has a cloud' :lol:
 
Blimey Ady you have been busy... its looking great too... loving the reef! I see you opted for the Razor, they really are great bits of kit, I have yet to hear my cooling fan come on though.
Is your reef tank your old planted one?
 
Glad to see you back on Ady. Hope everything's ok now mate and getting back to normal.
Your electric bills must be huge ha ha

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Ha, i wouldnt want an itemised bill, put it that way!
Yeah, feeling ok now thanks Al :thumbup:

Good to see u back and with goodies in way of more tanks :) I might be interested in some shrimp when you get sorted ;)
Thanks, and no prob Brian, just let me know about the shrimp when i eventually start a sales thread.

all looking smart ady, a front room of eye candy now fella. Reefs looking good, how are you finding it??
Hi Iain,
yeah, really liking the reef, although ive only just added the first 'purchased' livestock, a couple of hermit crabs and turbo snails. Theres been loads of things creeping about :eek: and growing on the rock from the previous owner which i didnt want to loose, hence the lighting being on and the resultant algae as i was getting used to the lighting.
Scaping is quite difficult as youre on a timescale, fearful of killing your live rock so its a bit do your best as quick as possible.....you definitely need a plan before you start!
Seems everything you learn in planted tanks, just do the opposite in marine and your good to go :D
The biggest quandry is the testing, given everything ive learned about test kits here its a bit difficult to swallow the advice given on marine forums of test, test and test again!!! :banghead: .....but i guess they are ok as a guide during start up, and with experience they may help in identifying any issues.
Wasnt a fan of the blue hue lighting initially, but really like the contrast now between the two tanks. Having the versatility to go from a whiter light through to dark blue is nice. Really looking forward to adding some fish, but patience is a virtue.....
One thing i dont like is the flamin' noise.....the skimmer is just ridiculous and now makes me wish id invested a little more and added a sump to keep it all within the cabinet. Hey ho, got some ebay bargains so may look at upgrading this 'budget, starter, not getting too into it' set up in the future! lol

Blimey Ady you have been busy... its looking great too... loving the reef! I see you opted for the Razor, they really are great bits of kit, I have yet to hear my cooling fan come on though.
Is your reef tank your old planted one?
Thanks Gary, yeah the razor lights are great, i want an 8000k one for the planted tank eventually :greedy:. From what ive read, i dont think the cooling fans come on unless ran at 100% for some time which i doubt ill ever do :cool:


The reef is indeed the old studio tank, the rim nicely hides the tide line and the drilled base offers good options for sumps etc in the future, but currently its been ran on.....yes youve guessed it....another G6 (thanks Dan), with live rock rubble in the bio section. Will see how it goes......

Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Ha, i wouldnt want an itemised bill, put it that way!
Yeah, feeling ok now thanks Al :thumbup:


Thanks, and no prob Brian, just let me know about the shrimp when i eventually start a sales thread.


Hi Iain,
yeah, really liking the reef, although ive only just added the first 'purchased' livestock, a couple of hermit crabs and turbo snails. Theres been loads of things creeping about :eek: and growing on the rock from the previous owner which i didnt want to loose, hence the lighting being on and the resultant algae as i was getting used to the lighting.
Scaping is quite difficult as youre on a timescale, fearful of killing your live rock so its a bit do your best as quick as possible.....you definitely need a plan before you start!
Seems everything you learn in planted tanks, just do the opposite in marine and your good to go :D
The biggest quandry is the testing, given everything ive learned about test kits here its a bit difficult to swallow the advice given on marine forums of test, test and test again!!! :banghead: .....but i guess they are ok as a guide during start up, and with experience they may help in identifying any issues.
Wasnt a fan of the blue hue lighting initially, but really like the contrast now between the two tanks. Having the versatility to go from a whiter light through to dark blue is nice. Really looking forward to adding some fish, but patience is a virtue.....
One thing i dont like is the flamin' noise.....the skimmer is just ridiculous and now makes me wish id invested a little more and added a sump to keep it all within the cabinet. Hey ho, got some ebay bargains so may look at upgrading this 'budget, starter, not getting too into it' set up in the future! lol


Thanks Gary, yeah the razor lights are great, i want an 8000k one for the planted tank eventually :greedy:. From what ive read, i dont think the cooling fans come on unless ran at 100% for some time which i doubt ill ever do :cool:


The reef is indeed the old studio tank, the rim nicely hides the tide line and the drilled base offers good options for sumps etc in the future, but currently its been ran on.....yes youve guessed it....another G6 (thanks Dan), with live rock rubble in the bio section. Will see how it goes......

Cheerio,
Ady.
Look great ady glad ur doing well and amazing set ups as usual I would love to venture to the reef side one day but like you said patience is a virtue

Keep piping back and letting us know how it's going mate



Thanks Dean
 
How did you plant the Maidenhair Fern? I saw one in a local Dobbies today and was very tempted but didn't know how to actually plant it! Do you have a small pot for it?

ust superglue the roots to damp emmersed wood or plant just the roots in a planter in the tank. Its a lovely plant for above water
Hi James,
Als the expert regards this sort of thing, but to add to what he said i just removed it from its pot, split it into a reasonable sized portion, rinsed the roots of any potting soil, trimmed slightly and i wedged it behind the existing fishing line i had used to attach the moss to the same piece of wood. So tying with fishing line would work too :). I dont have it in a pot and the roots are really well established now, its going great guns and needs very regular thinning :thumbup:
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Hi James, Als the expert regards this sort of thing, but to add to what he said i just removed it from its pot, split it into a reasonable sized portion, rinsed the roots of any potting soil, trimmed slightly and i wedged it behind the existing fishing line i had used to attach the moss to the same piece of wood. So tying with fishing line would work too . I dont have it in a pot and the roots are really well established now, its going great guns and needs very regular thinning Cheerio, Ady.
Thanks Ady!:) I got one recently and unfortunately planted in a pot of compost but once it grows I will definitely try this method.
Cheers
 
Hello,
still running at a very slow but equally manageable pace thanks to the low lighting - 78w over 250l. The tank needs very little input except for water changes, glass cleaning and general husbandry. Plants need very little trimming, occasional thinning of the ferns to prevent stagnation, and because of this i think this scape could carry on indefinitely. It fits very well with life at the minute and although i strive to one day succeed with the beauty and impact of a high energy stem plant tank, for now I'm happy that this large tank is stable and reasonably healthy without too much effort.
My on/off timed c02 experiment seems to work for these plants at least, and it offers me a way to finally maintain good levels of c02 throughout the photoperiod, starting strong and not peaking too high for the inhabitants later in the day :) Another benefit is that you get frequent 15minute viewing windows where the c02 mist is off :D
Water changes are a minimum of 1x 60% per week, but if i can squeeze two in i do. I run no chemical media now (purigen or carbon) so the water gets quite tannin stained if its left a week between water changes which im sure the fish like, but I'm not so keen.
Heres a few images taken after tonights water change:

In the background you can see the brown roots of the maidenhair fern which needs trimming above water every week otherwise it practically makes the tank a no light set up :p
tzok.jpg


Anubias still going strong under a canopy of bolbitis:
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I've managed not to kill the staurogyne repens in this tank, although thats as much as its grown in months (i haven't trimmed it since putting it in):
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FTS, not a manicured scape by any means…...a little rough around the edges seems to be the way i keep my tanks :p Still need to swap out the ranunculus (which isn't doing well) for more pelias and will eventually pull the vallis nana too as thats another non performer in this tank, likely down to my very soft tap water. Even with the large amount of seiryu stone i manage to keep tds reasonably low (sub 220 at the end of the week inc. ferts etc) with regular water changes and it doesn't seem to effect the water as quickly as i thought it might:
hjy7.jpg


Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Thanks chaps :thumbup:
 
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