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10 years gone - Aquascaper 900

TBRO

Member
Joined
8 Feb 2009
Messages
947
Well it’s approximately 10 years since my last serious aquascaping efforts.

I’m hoping I’m a bit older with more patience!

In that vein I’ve been waiting for an Aquascaper 900 for few weeks on order. Hoping it will come next week along with the Matt Anthracite cabinet.

I still have a lot of gear from previously but need to source CO2 cylinder + a few more bits.

I’ve found lots of bits of oak at my Dad’s place which has been soaking and leaching crazy amount of tannin!

I mocked up a scape box and was surprised how big it looks, 50 cm, front to back is deep.

What do you think of these Oak stumps, are they too “dominant” I envisage them being heavily covered in moss, ferns etc?

I also have some branchy stuff but it doesn’t look right with the stumps.

Also I can’t decide if the foreground should be a carpeting plant or sand seems popular these days?

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I think the rocks need more texture - maybe Seiryu stone could work. I like the the oak though!

Thanks, I know what you mean about the stone. Weird how rounded river stones don’t work so well in an aquarium?

I really like the oak too, it’s got tons of grain character. Hopefully it will stop leaching tannin....

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Making some progress, the other problem with being older is more responsibilities! Less time for hobbies but hopefully more patience....

Got the tank and the light system.

Had to be brave and drill holes in the cabinet to install the EA light hanging kit. Not too bad one that psychological hurdle crossed.

Took a while to decide on how to rig the Kessil lights. The 160s annoyingly have the power cord coming out of the dead center, this makes hanging them straight a bit tricky, got a satisfactory result from a combination of split rings and zip ties.

Put some of the wood in to help plan the planting. A whole lot of wood to cover! I’ve got a small tank running with some shrimp, hopefully propagate some moss too

Any suggestions on plants for the wood, I’m leaning towards pin leaf/trident Java fern but wondering if there are newer options these days?

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Thanks for looking. T


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You might find some inspiration in George Farmer videos

Staurogyne repens on wood

Check out Tropica Aqua Decor plants

note that with some of these non-epiphyte plants on wood etc, water column fertilization needs to be spot on, CO2 also improves success
(quite a few examples of HC & MC on wood etc)

Jurijs mi JS recently included this moss in a dry start - mixed moss & soil & ? - then painted on rock

Of course I rather like the character of wood so would leave most of it free of plant contamination ;)
 
Looking good, I like the tank with only the wood in it, has good impact and the hollow space below the wood is interesting, if it was me I would probably just use the wood alone with some nice gravel of various sizes
 
Agree with dcd - not a fan of those rocks with the wood

You can of course use the rock for support & just hide with plants/moss
 
Cool thanks for the advice, think I might try and come up with a design that hides a couple of pockets to plant in behind the wood, while trying to preserve the look of the wood arch.

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Some side and above views. So much Front to back space in this tank.

I really like the idea of staurogyne sp on the wood, will definitely use CO2 and ferts.

The wood is still a bit floaty so got time to think about it.

T



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OK so I’m planning to use just the wood over some sand/gravel. The wood will be heavily planted. Basically nothing will be planted in a substrate.

I’ve been soaking the wood in the tank, while the filters cycle and I get the CO2 gear together.

The wood is giving off large amounts of tannin.

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I’ve read that water changes and activated carbon can remove tannin.

I’m wondering if running activated carbon while trying to fertilize the water column is a highway to nowhere?

Will the wood ever stop leaching?

Thanks T


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Hi
Purigen will sort your tanins out and U can regenerate it with thin Tesco or similar unscented beach when it gets exhausted.
Much better alternative to carbon as mops up also any unwanted organic polutants too.
Great stuff!
Regards Konsa
 
Hi
Purigen will sort your tanins out and U can regenerate it with thin Tesco or similar unscented beach when it gets exhausted.
Much better alternative to carbon as mops up also any unwanted organic polutants too.
Great stuff!
Regards Konsa

Thanks for your reply. I was wondering if purigen or AC would mop up any fertilizer or liquid carbon I put in?



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Thanks that’s really useful info there! I’ll do a water change and add some activated carbon. Getting a second filter so will probably add purigen to that!


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Let us know how you get on.. Stunning bit of oak, did it sink straight away or have you glued it down?
How longs it been soaking for? getting any better?

Just read up on Purigen as i've never heard of the stuff, some pretty bold marketing claims.

"Purigen® is a premium synthetic adsorbent that is unlike any other filtration product. It is not a mixture of ion exchangers or adsorbents, but a unique macro-porous synthetic polymer that removes soluble and insoluble impurities from water at a rate and capacity that exceeds all other competing products by over 500%. Purigen® controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds. Purigen’s impact on trace elements is minimal. It significantly raises redox. It polishes water to unparalleled clarity. Purigen® darkens progressively as it exhausts, and is easily renewed by treating with bleach. Purigen® is designed for both marine and freshwater use."
 
Hi Barbara, I did put the wood in the tank while cycling the filters. It did do a good job of turning everything tea colour!

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It had been soaking about 4 weeks and was mostly sinking. The tall upper spike was still a bit buoyant, which annoyingly caused the whole lot to rotate.

I tried adding both purigen and activated carbon to the filters with no dramatic effect. The purigen did clear the haze but not the colour.

I decided to remove the wood and soak it separately. Think the tannin leach must be temperature dependent, in a tub of water it’s leaching much less rapidly than in the tank!

No short cut, apparently. Hope it does at some point stop leaching as I really want to use it. Last time I was into scaping I found some nice wood from the bottom of a reservoir- that was well soaked and didn’t leach a bit.

I do have a big stock pot. Worst case scenario, I might cut into chunks and boil it. Seems that rapidly removes tannin.....

I really hope it works as I plant to plant it with all sorts of goodies.


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