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I just spoke with Seachem and they're sending me some Flourish Advance to try out on the tank since everything is either a) new, b) got hacked to the ground, c) moved, or d) a combination of b and c. I can't think of a better time to try out a product intended to enhance establishment and...

3.28.17 Photo dump-

Progen, The L size is an unknown Hygro and the S size is Hygro polysperma 'Tiger'. Those look exactly like what I grew out. Both of those are Federally listed illegal plants in many states here in the US.

3.26.17 Update 2, admitting defeat- After doing a major water change and algae suck I noticed that the Trump Hair was a lot more pervasive than I'd originally thought. After three outbreaks the ref called TKO and the bout was finished. Algae 1, Phil 0. The result was I took out all of the...

Thankfully they weren't sold as HC seeds. They came in as part of a sample one of my bosses got at a major Chinese trade show. It's a pretty plant, but had to go. Perhaps I'll try it again sometime. Then again maybe I won't; H. polysperma is federally banned where I live. ;)

Even if it's "been done before" I'd love to see some pictures of your system. There's always something to learn from other people. I'm curious, why do you have trouble getting levels balanced again? LOL, I've had a lot of those since I was 15. Sadly, I had to get rid of most of my...

3.16.17 Photo dump- Wabi Kusa a couple days after making About a week later(?) Some new growth is starting to show. Various attempts at getting macro shots without a true macro lens. There are a number of really little shoots starting to grow that are a bit too small for my camera to...

3.16.17 Photo dump; not much to see here- Not a whole lot changes in SSS1, the Crypts are still in stasis and the UG is slowly growing. Taken about a week ago Taken this morning I'm starting to seriously consider taking the UG that's under water and putting it in the 80g now that...

3.16.17 photo dump- I'm heading out for a work trip until the 26th and am leaving all the tanks in the care of my wife. I figured it would be a wise thing to get some before-trip and after-trip pictures. I trust her ability to follow directions and am not worried about some disaster from...

3.16.17 photo dump- I'm heading out for a work trip until the 26th and am leaving all the tanks in the care of my wife. I figured it would be a wise thing to get some before-trip and after-trip pictures. I trust her ability to follow directions and am not worried about some disaster from...

Million, I work in the aquatics industry. The first few pictures are of real-deal ADA wabi kusa I kept in Japan. The stems were cut into bits and just wrapped on. Some stems and things like hairgrass and Crypts are stuck into the straw rather than being chopped and wrapped. I bet if you...

Tom, What part of Japan are you in? My wabi kusa did just fine outside during the Shizuoka spring, summer, and early fall until the stems started going to seed and dying. I think they'd definitely need to be covered somehow during winter or mid-summer with heat and AC running. Cheers, Phil

3.11.17 Update- The lenses are coming, the lenses are coming...well, actually they're already here. It looks like I'll be doing an inadvertent comparison run between the standard 80 and 120 degree lenses. The last screw on the 2nd light was stripped just enough to prevent changing the lens...

Hello everyone, I thought I'd share pics of my most recent project. I'm not quite sure if it belongs here or in another section. Mods; I do plan on updating photos on a regular basis, but please move the thread of you feel the need. The company I work for is sponsoring a wabi kusa workshop at...

Go right ahead mate, we're here to help each other. If you do, please make sure to post a link here so we can do some growth comparisons etc. Regards, Phil

SSSSS2 originally started as a holding tank for plants I got from the nursery to use in tanks at work but ended up having no room for. After a rescape of the 80 gallon all the moss I had to remove got tossed in there to live or die. One day while preparing some of the moss to grow in trays I...

This little guy was set up late last year as a means of encouraging a dear friend and very talented aquascaper who was feeling down and uninspired after not doing as well as expected in a live aquascaping competition. I challenged myself to set it up from an empty tank to finish in 60 minutes...

2.26.17 Pre-WC Photo Dump- Switched up some things with the camera and shut the filter off. Still at the "really fancy point and shoot" stage, but learning and progress are being made. This Crypt is quickly becoming my favorite plant in the tank. Can't wait until it hits critical...

Happy news, 2.12.17- Ran a pH test this morning and got a 1 point drop, 7 to 6, in an hour. It was with an API test kit so the actual values are a bit suspect. A local friend is going to lend me his Hanna pH pen at some point so we'll see what the actual numbers are. Even so, it's a good...

Thanks Dave, The pump has a nominal discharge of 3200 lph, so accounting for head pressure I estimate it's pushing 2700 lph or so. The overflow's been handling it all like a champ. Sometimes I wish I'd gone with the next larger model simply to reduce turbulence in the weir, but so far it's...

Thanks Lindy. I don't want to jinx anything, but it's seeming like the corner has been turned. If it had been two weeks ago the Trump Hair Tank would have already come back. Just need to get the CO2 up enough to get the plants to the point where I see good pearling. That's one of my big...

2.9.17 photo dump- Sorry for the crap pictures, still getting used to the new camera and lower tank lighting. Pics taken on 2.7.17 Thanks for watching!

2.8.17 small update- Well, I got the whole tank (read: substrate) cleaned the hell out and rescaped on Sunday. I think there was 1/8 inch of fine silt in the tub after a drain/refill/drain cycle. Good thing the mrs. didn't see it (I hope). The hydrologist in me loved seeing the dendritic...

Thanks for the input Doubu. I've done just that, sort of. Reduced the light, have been doing 2x 70-80% WC per week and dropped my N input by half. All of the plants that root in the substrate have rooted, it's just that the pull from sucking the diatoms is strong enough to uproot them if...

That's definitely something I've considered and am open to either reducing peak intensity or decreasing photoperiod; perhaps both. Even though circumstances are rather frustrating at the moment I want to give it another week or so before making changes. It's difficult to be patient and make...

1.31.17 Update- Bad news: the diatoms are continuing to grow at an embarrassing rate. Nearly everything has at least some amount of infestation. The worst part is that the most affected plants are the ones that are most likely to uproot or get dislocated during cleaning/siphoning. That's...

So I lied when I said I wasn't going to make any changes to the system. I made a rookie mistake and forgot a fundamental rule of fluid dynamics...pressure increases dissolution and to create pressure you need to restrict the outlet...which I wasn't doing. All my tweaking had focused on...

I think you're spot on about the oxygen Edwin. That's one of the reasons I recently raised the outlet. I've also been seriously considering adding an air bubbler to the sump that'll run during the dark period. Back when I was an actual aquatic plant researcher (as opposed to an aquatics...

It's since gotten much worse Edwin. Anything that has fine structure; moss, fern roots, foreground plants, etc are getting covered by the stuff. The foreground now looks like our new President's hair. Thanks Tim. I was just talking with someone else on a US forum about how I've had diatoms...

1.25.17 Update Still battling the infectious, awful, horrible, extremely irritating stringy diatoms. It got so bad that I tore the whole tank down, took all the moss off the wood; cleaned it and tossed the dying parts, scrubbed the wood with a sponge, kept the worst of the affected plants in...

Thank you Costa. I normally estimate 50% death with Otos. At last count I was down to about 75%. I'll have to do another count next time I do a big trim.

Hey there Andy, Thanks for the kind words. Yes, it's a hang on the back overflow. I've used them with great success from the very first high tech tank I did through today and I couldn't be happier with the one I've got now. The worst thing about it is getting the mesh just right to keep the...

Captain's Log 12.22.16- Mixed reviews I've been having trouble with CO2 and algae since the last update. Thankfully, the shrimp arrived yesterday and a bunch of them quickly found their way into the overflow...of course. Time to make a new strainer! Also, there was some issue with CO2 and...

Thanks Rebel. I just did the first trim today. Some of the stems in the back had already reached the surface so it was time for a hack and fill-in-the-blanks. There'll probably be one more major hack down after this to get rid of emergent growth then it's all grooming.

I've noticed a bit of what look to be nibble marks, but they seem to be limited to the parts of the plants that are transitioning to submersed growth. They're probably rasping at any algae on those parts and end up cleaning them off the plant in the process. We'll wait and see what they do...

Rebel, I apologize for giving the impression that I was unwilling to continue discussion on this topic. The fact was that I was working for the company in question at the time and my participation in this thread was deemed too close to technical support/advertising for a non-forum sponsor to...

Captain's Log 12.4.16- Got stems and fish! After a few week's waiting, I was finally able to order stems and fish for the tank. It was about time too, with about 2 square feet of empty immature substrate things were starting to get a little brown around the petioles. It was more difficult...

Heya Martin, You may want to consider adding an airline to the powerhead venturi. During my research and in doing soil based tanks afterwards, I've found that aeration really helps add a little CO2 (atmospheric equilibration) and the additional O2 gives the plants something extra to pump down...

Alexander, I had originally requested a variety of stems for the background, but shipping dimensions and other considerations limited the amount of plants they could provide. I'm just grateful that they were able to provide the most important stuff; the midground anchor species and foreground...

Thanks for the info EdwinK, that's good to know. I agree, the plants are excellent and I'm really looking forward to working with them more in the future. For now I'm going to sit back, try to relax, and keep my hands out of the tank for a while. HAHAHA, good luck to that!

Captain's Log 11.10.16- The plants arrived yesterday morning! I have to say, I'm very impressed with the hardiness of the Aqvainnova plants. The poor things spent a week and a half in a box getting to my place from Europe, with a stop over in Chicago for a few days during a convention. The...

alto, could you explain what you're saying about spectral change with intensity change a bit more please? I've noticed that the intensity slider does increase or decrease as I've moved the CRI slider around. I'm no electrical engineer or programmer, but it seems to me they're using the word...

Heya folks, Quick update. I did a 24 hour PAR log run at 7K CRI, averaging readings taken every 30 seconds each hour. The sensor was in the front left corner of the tank where it's farthest from the light, both horizontally and vertically. With the pendant on 100% intensity, the average min...

Frustrated impatience is knowing that your plants are in the US, but not knowing exactly when you'll get them. It's pushing my ability to delay gratification to its limits. Even so, much love for Aqvainnova!

That's looking very nice Edwin! I love the nice big groups of plants you've got going, they give the whole tank a feeling of solidity and age that's rather appealing.

Thanks alto, it's good to be back here and participating more in the hobby again. I'm with you and Edwin, the small changes made to the wood arrangement have made a huge difference to the overall flow and feel of the hardscape. The planting plan really hasn't changed, but I hope the new...

Hey there Dr. Phantom, First off, I'd like to say how nice it is to see someone sticking closely to the Dutch style. Yours is one of the nicest I've seen outside of the group of Masters. Have you considered entering it in the AGA Dutch category? I think it would be well received there. If I...

Thanks Tim! I'm looking forward to seeing it planted too. Every new day brings delivery closer and makes me less and less patient. :mad:

EdwinK, The wood arrangement is very close to what it was before, with only some minor changes to make the hardscape slightly more linear. I think I actually only moved the two smaller pieces which were in front on the right group. That made a noticeable difference, but what really changed...

That's some awesome growth!

Nice start! Welcome to the hobby. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Guaranteed success? I like to live dangerously.

Captain's Log, 10/29/16- This past week has been one of great satisfaction and great frustration on the aquatic front. The pair of Radion XR15FW showed up on Thursday to replace the old(ish) T5 fixtures. This is something I've been wanting to do for some time now that LED technology has...

Thank you everyone, I appreciate the kind words. Since this is a mostly sponsored tank I'm feeling a lot of pressure to make it the best I've ever done. That's not an entirely bad thing though since it's really pushing me to up my game. Alexander, That's a Tom's Aqualifter brand peristaltic...

Captain's Log, 10/25/16- Finally got the wood all mossed up and arranged. The plan is to run the tank barebottom on low-light mode until the plants arrive in two weeks or so, at which time I'll add the substrate and plants together. Oh yeah, I'll be adding the pair of Ecotech Radion XR15FW...

Thanks Lindy. This is something of a dream set up for me. I've been planning something like this and gathering the hardware/hardscape for years but have been too nomadic to really do anything with it. Now that I'll be in one place for a while it's time to finally put it all together...

Congratulations!!!

Nice apartment Tom! Mine was a bit smaller and had no tatami matting. :( It's much nicer to sleep on than carpeted flooring. Do you have pictures of your local store? Mine (in Shizuoka) was very neat, organized, and well stocked. My biggest shock was how much they were charging for plants...

Thanks Tim! I can't wait for November to get the plants. I've got something interesting coming. ;)

Captain's Log 10/4/16- Thank you for the kind words everyone! Well, the new tank and care package from Seachem arrived. With the nano reef taking up valuable real estate on the big stand (needed the light hanger) while I searched for an appropriate and affordable stand and light the plant...

Thanks Lindy, I appreciate it! The wood's soaking as I type this. <3 Now if the damned tank will just get here...

8.26.16- Update time! I was finally released from cryogenic stasis (my head decided it had had enough and broke, which got tossed in the psych ward for a little while), got married, moved, and got a new job. The original tank seen in the previous pics got chipped along the bottom seam during...

Hello ismayandi, There are three 1/2-inch holes for gas exchange. It still stays pretty humid in there and I'm considering increasing either the number or size of vents.

I'm with you Tim. Every time I lay on the couch and look at the tank I want to dump a bunch of shrimp and fish in there. It's not been easy to resist that temptation, let me tell you! I know it will all be worth it though when everything is finally in place and growing. I may toss a bunch of...

Thank you Alexander. It's still got a ways to go before it's time for the final aquascaping. I need to get some more wood, get everything mossed up and arrange the epiphytes before giving it some time to mature before finalizing everything. Hopefully that will only take a couple more months...

5.13.15 Update- Did a 100% water change and cleaning with the shop vac and replaced the water with 4 gallons from the 60gal. Removed dead or dying leaves and found my first ever C. zukalii spathe. Pretty happy with that one! Thanks for watching!

5.13.15 Update- Spent all morning Saturday tying 3/4 of a gallon of moss onto the wood. I think I need another gallon or gallon and a half to finish it and the rocks. :) It amazed me how much that one step changed the feel and appearance of the whole set up. Also, the hardscape layout plan...

Love the kitty! The rest is nice too. ;)

Yes, it's entirely doable if you're in an area where the night-time temperatures stay above 20C during the growing season. Just tie them onto some rocks or a pice of wood and put them in a covered transparent/translucent plastic storage container. If you want to get really fancy, make a raised...

Hey folks, I posted this pic in my aquarium build thread not knowing this sub-forum was here and thought I should start a journal in the appropriate location. :) Stats *Planted 5/4/15 *40x14x14 inch (estimated, not measured) plastic storage box *38 species of Cryptocoryne and Laegenandra...

Lovely tank Sanj! The sand helps give it a strong impression of an overgrown shoreline or river bank. You're pushing me ever closer to going with a sand foreground.

Nice rocks and rock work. Here's to patience and letting things grow in before giving in to the temptation to change things. :)

Looking great Iain!

5.8.15 Update- Got some plants in there. Some friends sent me a batch of Crypts to start growing and I had to float some extras for a little while. I was seriously tempted to plant them in the tank, but successfully resisted and went with the original plan of putting them outside. Disaster...

I've seen some pretty nice looking socket setups! :)

(Un)fortunately no petroleum deposits were found near my house so I couldn't get special interest funding for the project. HAHAHA Thanks Jim, I'll take that as a compliment. :) I intentionally went a bit overboard with the hardware for a few reasons: 1- I love sumps/wet-dry filters, have...

Gorgeous tank! Shallows for the win!

Thanks Ed. That was all emergent growth. I wish I'd had the ability to flood it and run it properly for a couple months before having to tear it down. I guess I could have, but it wouldn't have had a filter. :( I'm glad to be back and be wet again too!

Someone on another forum was asking for detail photos of auto-prime venturi I hooked up for the overflow. I figured if one person is asking other people are wondering too so here they are. Rigid airline U tube Airline running to the adaptor Adaptor for the surgical tubing going to the...

Here you go Ed, What she looked like before tear down. My company moved to a different state last year so I had to tear all the tanks down when it was time for me to go to the new facility. :( The Aquaman Cave is no more. Here's the 60 around the same time.

Awesome first aquascape! What a credit to your patience and motivation and the UKAPS folks

Thank you ADA and EnderUK, I've got some plants and new hardware here and will get updated pics tonight. Once the mould/fungus on the wood is gone I'll get pics with moss on it.

Thank you Kirk. It's going to be a few months before the aquascaping happens, but it's something I look forward to as well. :) Once I've decided if I want to keep the outlet as is or if I want to bring it up closer to the surface I'll probably end up painting it. I don't want to have to mess...

Repeat after me "Expelle algae"!

LET THERE BE FILTRATION!!! The dual downdraft sump cover arrived today so I'll be using that soon and finishing up the plumbing as designed. I was surprised to observe that there's been no issue having the full siphon line draining into the filter chamber and the open line draining into the...

Hello folks, Welcome to the most recent installment of "How long after setting up the tank will it be before Phil has to move again?". After 5 months without a tank I finally broke down and put one together. Rather than work on a couple different builds for testing and experimentation at the...

That's gorgeous Stu! How many L/hr does that filter put out and how's the flow working for you? I'm working on redoing my 120x60x33 and am trying to figure out which outlet to use of the many I've got floating around.

When are we getting a journal of the new system? Inquiring (Enquiring?) minds want to know...

Congratulations! I had the privilege of being on the pre-screening crew and was very happy to see your tank in the group. Well done!!

Now that I think about it, I think I'll seine the stream behind my house and see what comes up. Native fish are free and can handle the cold. :D

I have considered filling it, cutting the light in half, and running it filterless with a Korallia to see what happens. That may just be what happens when it starts cooling down. Right now the twisted and inter grown mess of plants is still doing its thing. If I could only be sure that...

Heya guys, Sorry about the absence, I have been really busy with things these days. To be honest, I'm pretty embarrassed to show off any of my tanks at the moment since the 60 is an algae infested mess (somewhat intentionally) and this 300 is a mess of emerged stems that I pretty much ignore...

That's some really nice wood. Try turning it in different directions and moving it left or right if possible to see how you like it when the main stump isn't directly in the middle of the tank. Otherwise, great find! It fits the dimensions of the tank nicely.

Did I see blood in the water there near the end? How're your fingers doing? ;)

In the past my fish routinely ate the dry salts I dumped into my tank. From technical grade all the way up to ACS reagent grade materials, nothing ever died from eating grains of stuff.

Those are really lovely tanks. I like the strong rock work in the FW one. It's going to look quite bold for such a small tank when it matures.

tmiravent, Yeah, it was quite the battle. It looks like it's over, knock on wood. Adding the FlorinBacter did a bang up job of helping to get the biofiltration and substrate microbial community firmly established. I haven't had any regrowth in the past week or so in the areas that I've...

Thank you Robert, I appreciate the kind words. I hope my poor aquascaping skills can do the tank itself justice.

Don't forget Old School. That's one heck of a DIY CO2 setup you've got there. :thumbup: Have you considered running the CO2 line into the powerhead's impeller, or would that be too noisy?

That's looking really nice. I love the way it fits into the nook so the chair can be right in front.