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Don't want to jinx it but the Pogostemon helferi does seem to be doing well. Although, saying that it doesn't seem to grow much it just stays the same all the time. If it continues in that way then that's fine for me as it means very little maintenance required, no trimming etc. and it has to be...

And the Sodastream cylinder eventually ran out over Christmas: http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2016/aquascape-update/ That's about 4 months of use from it so the annual cost should be around £30.... So far I'm glad I went with the sodastream option as it's working well, was easy to set up and...

Time for a 2016 update. The Sodastream CO2 cylinder ran out of juice over the Christmas - that's about 4 months of use from it which I think is pretty good going I think and at £10 a refill from Argos that should work out at £30 a year which is doable. Otherwise, things are looking good. Here's...

Some photos now that the Pencilfish have settled in.

Decided to go with a shoal of 12 Golden (Beckford's) Pencilfish in the end - just to be a little different. They shoal just as well as Rummy Nosed Tetras and I love the way they just hang seemingly motionless in the water. I'll try to get some photos later in the week once they've settled in...

Just an update on what I actually did... I probably shouldn't admit it but I didn't really follow the advice here and did my own thing in the end - sticking with the internal filter that came with the tank and getting a Soda Stream CO2 system. I went down this route as it was the easiest to do...

Time for some more fish now as well to join the Oto's and shrimps. I'm thinking that a nice shoal of Rummy Nosed Tetras would look good in there. Al.

TIme for another update. I added a CO2 system back in August (http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2015/aquarium-update-wheres-the-carpet-and-adding-co2/) and things seems to be settling in now. Here's a couple of quick shots of how it's looking today. Any comments? Al.

Time for an update.... Still keeping the algae at bay and plants are looking healthy. Fish and shrimps doing well too. I’m now in two minds as to whether to keep the left hand side fairly free and open to create a sense of space or add more plants and height on this side simply because I...

Don't want to talk too soon, but I think with plenty of manual cleaning of algae and a slight reduction in light intensity I might just be getting on top of things on the algae front. I've managed to remove most of the algae from the Eleocharis and Echinodorus. The 'mountainous slopes' are...

Some photos.... Algae smothering the Eleocharis Algal Sludge on the pebbles Filamentous Algae on the Rocks Strange 'Brown Fuzz' on the Pebbles - This seems to be coating everything, is it coming from the substrate or is it yet another type of algae? Half of the Clean up Crew and...

Photo period during the dry start phase was 10 hours per day I think, but I've cut that down to a short 1.5 hour phase in the morning so that I can take a look in the tank while I'm getting ready for work (5:00-6:30am) and then an evening phase of 3.5 hours 6:30-10:00, so only 5 hours in total...

So, what should I do next? A few water changes first so that any ammonia from the substrate is removed over the next week or so, but how soon before I can introduce some shrimps / otos to clean up any algae? Al.

Things seem OK and the Aquascaping experiment continues. The pump that pumps water up over the top of the LED's is a little bit noisier than I would like but other than that the hardware seems OK and less than a week after flooding things seems to have settled down a little. I did a fairly large...

No photos yet - I've been rushed off my feet all day, but there's a slideshow of the tank being filled here: http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2015/fusion-aquascape-flooding/ Al.

Will try to post some photos of the tank now that it's flooded later. But, before I flooded the tank I noticed some new bits of moss / liverwort growing on some of the rocks in the tank. Does anyone know what they are? I'm hoping they'll grow nicely and look good in there, but we'll see as they...

Well, it's full.... I'll post some photos later in the week. Best start reading up on what to do next!!! :) Al.

The day has come.... I have a few more plants to add and then the flooding will start. Wish me luck!!! Al.

I can't wait either. I'm going away for a week next week though so thought it would be best to wait until after that. I might buy a few more plants on the way back home and then hopefully (fingers crossed) flood it sometime around April 14th. I'll be interested to see how the plants fare once...

Just another quick update I could be imagining it, but I'm sure there are some new shoots of Eleocharis popping up here and there. Al.

Thanks Roy... I had seen that before I think. Getting to the stage now where I need to start thinking about when to flood the tank. I might be away for a week or so around Easter so might leave it until I get back... But then again I might do it before as well! :) Al.

Just managed to get most of the water out, it had been building up as I sprayed the plants each day. I'll try again tomorrow with a syringe. I think I'll remove the stonee / gravel that has some green algae on it soon as well and give it a good scrub before I start thinking about flooding the...

Where??? Al.

Here you go... some photos of the progress over the past 3 weeks since first planting. I'm sure there has been some growth! I'm a little worried about the buildup of algae in the shallow pool of water at the front of the tank though. Has anyone got some advice on what to do about...

Thank Jim.... Was planning on posting an update soon, not that much has happened really. Staurogyne repens is settling in well and appears to be well rooted now, I think it has grown quite a bit already too. Pogostemon helferi seems to be quite happy too at the moment, as does the Echonidorus...

Thats some plants in the tank and things are taking shape. Fingers crossed they settle in and grow now. Al.

OK... Looks as though an external filter should be next on my shopping list instead then rather than CO2. The filter and pump that I have in the tank at the mo are rated at a total of 1450l/h. If I get an external filter I'll get rid of the internal (which also gets rid of the big black box at...

I knew the answer would be 'neither'!!! :) Getting FE cylinders refilled will be difficult here, I tried it once before and no one locally would do it. Inline diffuser - is that for use with an external filter? At the moment I only have an internal filter so can't use that. Exernal filter is...

Hello, I think I might treat myself to a CO2 system for my new tank (Journal here: http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/fusion.36180/ ) I've been looking at relatively inexpensive kits so that I have everything I'll need and will probably go with a soda stream cylinder as they should be easy to...

I'll take a look at the Maplin ones. The spacing on the extension lead I have in my cabinet is very tight which is a shame. Not sure that I can be bothered to change it though as it's not easy to get to and the cable is fixed nice and neatly to the wall. These from Argos (£14.99 for 3) look...

Anyone got any recommendations for reliable timer plugs? I could just get the basic mechanical ones from a local hardware store / Argos, but thought I'd see if anyone knows of anything better. I'd particularly like some 'low-profile' ones that will fit side-by side on a multi-socket extension...

I was about to suggest Ember Tetras as I read through this thread as well. Lovely little fish, nice bright colours, smaller than most tetras so you can have more of them and they are very active too. So, that's a +1 for Ember Tetras from me. Al.

Yeah, I was a bit worried about that as well. I guess I can always add some more rocks at a later date - I'm not under the impression that this aquascaping process is EVER 'finished' Al.

Phew, managed to get my DIY LED backlight contraption installed this evening. It's all in place and hopefully the LED strip will stay in place now. It's actually a better effect than before as I now have a full four strips of LEDs all facing upwards which provides a brighter light and better...

Thanks Ian, I don't think I'll face most of those issues as I'll be using the LEDS as secondary lighting just for effect. They'll be mounted outside the tank and should therefore stay completely dry. I have already faced the problem of the adhesive not being strong enough though. I've now...

Hmm, slight hiccup today. My RGB LEDs for the backlighting have fallen off. The 3M adhesive backing obviously wasn't up to much. They've fallen down the back of the tank which makes it a little tricky to get to them but I think I can get them out. My plan is to then cut a piece of wood to...

Thanks Alexander... Taking a look at those plant recommendations and I think you've hit it spot on. I might try Eleocharis sp. mini on the lower slopes, along maybe with a few 'tufts' of something else in amongst some of the pebbles to look like reeds along the stream edge. Helanthium tenellus...

And some more fiddling has resulted in this. Opinions and ideas please? I think its an improvement and I'm fairly happy with it. I quite like the effect of the stream emerging from a mountain gorge and I'm happy that the stream sort of disappears behind the rock on its left hand side at the...

A few more tweak to the hardscape today. Added a few rocks at the back at the top of the 'stream' to hopefully create the effect of mountain stream emerging from a gorge. Also add a few more stone to form boulders in the stream and help define the curve a little. And here's what it looks...

Yep, I'm hoping to go with a low carpet plant all over the left hand slope. I will use the same carpet plant between the gravel 'stream' and the sloping slabs on the right hand side and in the foreground on the right hand side. Monte carlo, dwarf hairgrass or maybe Echinodorus tenellus? Although...

A little worried that the rocks will be completely obscured once I start planting, but thats where you guys come in... I shall be asking for some planting suggestions soon. Al.

Well, this hardscaping malarky is certainly quite an art form - one that I've yet to master. These materials aren't easy to work with. But, for what its worth, here are my efforts from today. I'm sure it leaves a lot to be desired and it isn't quite what I was aiming for, but the materials...

Hmmm, I live in North Wales which isn't exactly renowned for its hot summers, in fact it;s farily well known for not having a summer at all! But as you said above, it is a lovely place to live with the beach on our doorstep and the mountains right behind us. I wouldn't say we were 'lucky' to...

Hi Alexander, It's manufactured by Aqautlantis: http://www.aquatlantis.com/index.php?id=400&tbl=registos It's just a pump then transports water from one end of the tank, up over the top of the LED unit and back out into the other end of the tank. According to the manufacturers it increases the...

Yep, and maybe add a CO2 injection system too. Going to spend the afternoon cleaning and scrubbing the rocks we collected yesterday now. Again, would like to buy some more interesting rocks really, but when funds are tight and I'm surrounded by rock, buying some just seemed a little...

I agree, but it all comes down to funds at the moment I'm afraid.... Or lack of to be precise. Too many other things that I need to pay for at the mo and I've already spent a fair bit on this. The new tank wasn't a planned expense either, so it's all been a little bit of an unexpected strain on...

Some more photos and details of today's antics on my weblog here: http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2015/fusion-aquascape-attempt/ Al.

We also headed first to the beach in front of our house and then into the hills behind our house to collect some rocks for the hardscape.

It has begun, my first ever attempt at aquascaping and today was spent building the cabinet, positioning the tank and getting things in place. Tank Specs. Tank: Aquatlantis Fusion 102cm x 40cm x 60xm, 188 litres Cabinet: Aquatlantis Cabinet Light: Aquatlantis H2O LEDs 43w, 6800k, 3824 lumens...

Love it, especially the way you've based it on an iconic image. Good work. Al.

OK, that all sounds promising then... If its a fairly big jump from 75 Watts of T8 to these 44W LEDs then that should be good as they won't be replacing the T8's but will be going over a new tank which is a little bigger and most importantly in this respect a fair bit deeper than the ones I...

Aha... I think you've hit the nail on the head there - They must be the (slightly) less efficient T8's - They are quite old which means I've been using around 5250 lumens - although probably less than that lately seeing as the tubes themselves are quite old. Your comments are also reassuring...

Hmmm, thanks. Previously my 125 litre (32 gal) tank has had 3x 25 watt tubes... So 2.34 w/gal which sounds about right to me and has worked well for the past 10 years. Was the 85 lumens per watt for T5s a fairly accurate average or just a made up figure? If accurate that would work out to be...

Working out watts per gallon / litre is easy with standard T5's etc as the quoted watts on the tubes all seem fairly comparable - I realise that depth of water, distance of lights from the water surface, presence of condensation lids etc etc will make a difference, but if I have 50 watts of...

I've always run my planted tanks with a substantial siesta too. Mainly because when I first set up a tank about 20 years ago it was all the rage, but also so that I can actually see my tanks when I'm in the house. I leave for work at 6:45am and don't get home until about 7:30pm many days so tend...

Looking good... I like the 'high quality' approach and fitting in beautifully to a home. A nice tidy minimalist set up and even the cabinet is tidy and well organised. That's exactly what I'll be striving for with my new tank. But no doubt I'll end up with an uninspiring scape and tangle of...

Here are a few photos after a bit of a trim and a fair bit of crypt meltdown. I know it looked better before but I didn't want the Vallis to take over at the back. I'm also not too good at the photography aspect yet and this was a single shot whereas the one above was a photo montage which makes...

I've written most of this elsewhere on these forums, but as I'm now going to keep this tank I thought I'd start a journal for it too. Dimensions: 90 x 30 x 38cm Lighting: 3x 25W T5 Filtration: A tiny little internal filter that barely works... (In fact it hadn't been working at all for about 3...

Never really liked the idea of Nano's... But I could be persuaded. Looking good. I guess it's not really any cheaper to set up a Nano than it is a larger tank though is it? Al.

Don't worry they will all be of the utmost quality.... I was about to click the 'submit' button there, but I can't help waffling on. Think I'll try to sell the regulator and set up my new tank without CO2 at first to see how it goes. So, completely off topic, here's a bit of an intro...

Thanks guys.... I'm beginning to think that maybe a full system such as the one I linked to above from CO2art might be the best option for me, and maybe sell the Dennerle regulator... Better get making some posts here so that I can post on the For Sale section... damn, should have split this one...

OK, so to use the Dennerle Regulator (that I already have) I'll need the following: Locally source-able cylinder - possibly Soda Stream as we live in the middle of nowhere and getting hold of anything else might prove difficult Adaptor to connect Dennerle regulator to soda stream bottle...

Not sure what and 'fe' fit is, but I doubt if there is anywhere local where I could easily get it refilled... Is there anything wrong with the soda stream bottle idea? At least I could get hold of bottles for that easily either online or in a local Argos. How long would a soda stream style...

That's what I was thinking, but I'm having second thoughts as it has all been sat in the shed for about 10 years so I'm not too sure if there would be any safety concerns with using it. Also by the time I've bought a new cylinder, a few bits of hosing, a diffuser and such like, I might be...

Hi Everyone, I'm new here having just discovered the world of Aquascaping! I'm about to set up a new 100cmx40cmx60 tank. I was going to try to keep the cost down and go low-tech without CO2, however, I've just found this at the back of the shed - a Dennerle regulator and old cylinder from a 6ft...