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My New AquaScaper 600

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So i went to my lfs the other day and they gave me a great deal on an ista 2kg cylinder and solenoid! As i am a loyal customer they said i could have a discount, result! so this will be my new co2 system for my aquascaper 600, it’s currently on my 45L to grow out my plants, but that’s the co2 sorted and only £15 for a refill.
 
@seedoubleyou i’m going to get it refilled at my lfs, it would be a straight swap for a new cylinder each time with only a £15 cost, quite good for a 2kg cylinder, saves me buying multiple fire extinguishers, plus i like my lfs, so i think its a good way to support them as well
 
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So that was an eventual weekly maintenance 🤦‍♂️ I’ve snapped my evolution aqua surface skimmer intake pipe, so off i go to buy a replacement tomorrow. I’ve got the stock oase intake pipe in place for now, but i didn’t need all the hassle whilst trying to clean the pipe. Oh well! learning from my mistakes as i go along has taught me alot, so it’s not a massive problem. The main thing is that the plants are pearling, fish are happy and algae is under control. I’ve added some elochlaris to my monte carlo carpet as well, going to see what happens, oh and even though rotala macranda is a hard to grow plant, i have been successfull! so positives and negatives of this maintenance but moving on till the end of the month to get my new tank scaped.
 

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So only two more weeks until it’s time to scape, this has been a long and patient wait but i can’t wait! I have finally decided on my plant list and have sent it off to my local tropica dealer, and here it is.

The main plan is to have the monte carlo carpet with mixed in eloccharis mini and hellanthium tellenum green for accents, and the pogostemon helferi close to the rocks. The midground is going to have a mix of reds and green, and i have gone with staurogyne repens because i love the compact growth. Then comes the stem plants, which the majority are fast growers and will be trimmed to create compact growth towards the back of the tank. And of course, there are different species of bucephalandra and trident fern in there as well. I have already planned the scape, so it’s nearly time!
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So everything is bought, except from the plants, i’m waiting on a bigger order into my lfs for next week then i can set up everything. A big order from aquarium gardens today, including new scaping tools, aquario diffuser, glass drop checker and many different aquascaping maintenance equipment. My two bags of soil are sorted, so only one more trip to pick up the plants and everything is done! I have had massive success with my 45L nano, and all the healthy plants will be transferred across, here’s a snap of the tank after weekly maintenance today, nearly there now! I have also bought a wifi controlled extension lead to control all the timers from my phone so i will also do a review on that when i set everything up
 
So that was an eventual weekly maintenance 🤦‍♂️ I’ve snapped my evolution aqua surface skimmer intake pipe
Exactly same happened to me in the same week :banghead:.. but fair play to it as it did last me for 3 years.

... only then I realised how important this one is for keeping your water surface clean and what's more important - help with the gas exchange. I switched for few days to oase intake and I had to increase my ph controller from 6.3 to 6.5ph as fish could not handle it o_O
 
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So here it is, it’s been setup for two days now, sorry for the late post, i’m a bartender so i’ve been working a few lates over the past few days. I’m extremely happy with the results, over 22 pots of plants in there, so it will all be nice and dense. All of the equipment is setup, and the established filter has coped with the ammonia spike from the soil.
The planned stock is:
  • 5 galaxy rasbora
  • 5 cherry barbs
  • 2 gold rams ( centrepiece)
  • 6 ottos
  • amanos
  • and a selection of other shrimp

Overall i’m really happy with what i’ve achieved and i will continue updating this journal as it grows in, and also with any problems i encounter. Any questions feel free to ask!
 
Tanks looking great bud...Not even slightly jealous :p How are you finding the oase bio master thermo 250 ? looks a cracking bit of kit.


Cheers
 
H all,

How set are you on the Rams? I'm a dwarf cichlid (<"and Ram fan">) but the stock is disease ridden and they like warm, soft water.

cheers Darrel
I’m thinking about the rams, i really like the golden colours as a contrast between the red of the cherry barbs and a its a different pattern to the galaxy rasboras
 
Tanks looking great bud...Not even slightly jealous :p How are you finding the oase bio master thermo 250 ? looks a cracking bit of kit.


Cheers
I love the biomaster thermo 250, especially the prefilter. i’m running the filter with purigen as well and the water is crystal clear. i will probably upgrade the filter and lighting over time, and invest into a dosing system.
 
Hi all,
I’m thinking about the rams, i really like the golden colours
I'll be honest, I just wouldn't touch Gold Rams, unless you can find some-one who breeds them locally? All the selected forms of Rams (Long-fin, Balloon, Golden etc.) are even less healthy than the wild-type ones.
i really like the golden colours as a contrast between the red of the cherry barbs and a its a different pattern to the galaxy rasboras
If you could find the yellow head form of <"Apistogramma borellii">? They would be the right colour and a better match, temperature wise, for your other fish.

I might start with the shrimps, then the <"Cherry Barb"> and then the <"Galaxy "Rasbora">, you may find you have enough stock then without adding anything else.
I wouldn't add these <"until the tank is grown in"> and <"matured">. I have similar reservations for these as I have for Rams, they are sensitive fish, but in this case you really need to buy them from <"a fish-keeper with a shop">, not "a shop-keeper with fish". You will also need to <"feed them once you have them">.

If you are a person who really likes clean and tidy? I wouldn't keep them at all.

cheers Darrel
 
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Hi all,

I'll be honest, I just wouldn't touch Gold Rams, unless you can find some-one who breeds them locally? All the selected forms of Rams (Long-fin, Balloon, Golden etc.) are even less healthy than the wild-type ones.

If you could find the yellow head form of <"Apistogramma borellii">? They would be the right colour and a better match, temperature wise, for your other fish.

I might start with the shrimps, then the <"Cherry Barb"> and then the <"Galaxy "Rasbora">, you may find you have enough stock then without adding anything else.

I wouldn't add these <"until the tank is grown in"> and <"matured">. I have similar reservations for these as I have for Rams, they are sensitive fish, but in this case you really need to buy them from <"a fish-keeper with a shop">, not "a shop-keeper with fish". You will also need to <"feed them once you have them">.

If you are a person who really likes clean and tidy? I wouldn't keep them at all.

cheers Darrel
I’ll go with your advice, and wait with the stock, will start with shrimps 👍🏼
 
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So i decided today after having a chat with my lfs and my glossostigma growing very leggy due to a lower light intensity, i have decided to switch back to the monte carlo when it was back in stock. I also got my bucephelandra kedegang that i requested and it came as a massive bunch. It looks absolutely lovely!
 

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