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Does anyone know what has changed between the 2 models? I’ve got the version 2 and I have a suspicion it’s less green in its colour rendition than its predecessor.

I think left side forward and right side set back a bit. If the two mounds can start in two different layers it would be great for the tanks depth.

I think it would look better with the left side moved forward, with a sharp cliff, as this would increase the depth and make the scape even more dynamic. I think it looks great anyway and the aggression is really dramatic. I would prefer some plant with smaller texture than S.Repens in the...

Thanks Nuno, I won’t bother sending it back. C II on the left and E II on the right. Not much of a difference. I tried the light at home over my Wong Pond (credit to James Wong who up with the idea), compared to the desk lamp I’ve grown it under and a chihiros C series.

Has anyone got any experience or feedback for this light. I read in another thread that the colour rendition was pinkish which doesn’t sound great to me, as I prefer the green tint from the Twinstar E series, but made the decision to pick the cheaper option. If anyone has got any photos showing...

I’m entering the next year, only to force me to take a final photo, but I don’t expect anything from it. The results around 1000 are inconsistent IMO and I won’t deserve anything below 750 which I guess is where it gets a bit more meaningful.

Personally I think it looked better with a deprecation between the main stones (top left), but it’s gorgeous either way.

Microsorum Trident doesn’t seem to do well without CO2 from both my own experience and George Farmer’s. This is also true for Microsorum Needle Leaf, which is hard to get, but not for the more common Microsorum Narrow, which would be your best option for a fine textured Microsorum. I find that...

I’ve been wondering what PAR level you need for the reddest H’ra. I assume with decent flow and proportionate CO2 and Ferts, PAR is the main reason for red colours. So if you grew it and know the PAR values of that aquarium, or if you know what sort of range would suffice I’d be interested.

I was curious and checked some of their Instagram posts and found this comment:

I’ve just looked on aquasabi and the SA45-60 would be around budget. Would this be inadequate though in comparison to the S60? Just seen Nigel’s video on the RGB and having 2nd thoughts. Yet looking at the Green Aqua comparisons makes me question the green colour. Mon dieu. Anyway thanks for...

Iain’s is 45cm wide and although a low tech it ran at 30% if I’m not mistaken. Maybe I should just get a Chihiros and accept not doing red stems in the next few years. Anyway, I’ll be off at uni in a few years so I can just stick with green. The question of PAR for H’ra still stands.

What I’ve seen of Chihiros is the A series from Iain Sutherland’s Low Tech ‘Taiwan Bee Not So Nano’ and the RGB series from Julia’saquascape IG. I love the greens.

I’ve seen the colours of Twinstars before, though not bad I prefer the deep bluish green that Chihiros give, which is based of what I’ve seen on the internet. I’ll check at Aquadepot next week to see if the colours not as I like. Maybe a more refined question would be what PAR do I need for red...

Feel free to not read this paragraph. I just love the hobby, so writing about it makes me excited: Some of you will have seen my ‘Stone Age’ aquascape: simply put, it’s failed. It was a no CO2, B-tech 60P disaster; sort of. At some points it went well, but I couldn’t keep Hairgrass or...

My dad and I found it hilarious that Germany did even worse than us in the public vote. We only watched the vote to laugh at how biased it is highlights of the terrible music.

All determined by plant choice. As you would prefer a low tech choose the plants and scape accordingly. It will be easier to do a Ryoboku class NA style than an Iwagumi, but it’s still achievable and I have done so myself. Get a light (I don’t know which one maybe someone can advise you) a...

Got to agree. I’d love a garden meadow, but my dogs prefer a garden that looks like the moon’s surface

Pedro There is no filtration, just large water changes.

Edvet and Tim good insights. What do you mean by fast bucks. I assume you mean when screwing around with animals form and colour. Perhaps, also when using expensive patents like the gold rice scenario. Or even the expensive manufactured insulin in the US.

This has raised some unforeseen, but interesting questions. The way I see it is GMO is only bad if it negatively affects the organisms’ welfare or if it interferes with natural selection in nature. GMO is not inherently worse than selective breeding. The GMO Danios won’t experience any pain...

It definitely looks better than the typical all sand or all soil look. Well done, I look forward for the updates. Nice photography!

Beautiful and skillfully crafted aquascape with lovely composition and perspective. Great use of plants and textures, which reminds me of what Filipe Oliveira advocates. Also, I like the changes you made at the front which make the scape more unique and dissimilar to other scapes with the same...

Quick Update: (I wrote that before I started writing) I got some cherry shrimp, 11 in total. However all but 2 are missing in action and presumed dead. I will add some Celestial Pearl Danios when the Pogostemon gives them enough cover, which at this rate will be 2.5 months! I'm considering...

If you want a low growing carpet, perhaps Elatine Hydropiper would be a good idea. It's apparently demanding, but it's a smaller and slower growing lookalike to Glossostigma, or so I've heard. Love the look of low and dense carpets, looks much better than the typical rotting and detatching...

Look up 30cm Aquarium on Amazon and there's a cheap option with the same quality as an EA Aquascaper IMO. You could also call up Aquadepot or Aquarium Gardens and they'll order one in for you. Or you could order one of Aquasabi.

I've heard that Horned Nerite Snails are less likely to lay eggs than Zebra Nerites. They are impressive algae consumers and you should get more than 1, maybe 3-5.

That's an impressive aquascape for a first timer. What is your plant list? I think some Pencilfish would be perfect, but without a lid, it's not advisable, so Tetras seem like a good choice. Maybe if you fancy something different, Green Neon Rasboras or Threadfin or Psuedomugil Rainbowfish would...

I bought some Bucephalandra from aquasabi. I got Mini Catherinae potted and Mini Needle Leaf Invitro. The Mini Catherinae didn't melt apart from some peices I left floating (high light). The Mini Needle Leaf melted almost completely, but as long as the rhizome isn't rooted, leaves will grow...

Thanks for the advice. I'll get Tissue culture then. I think that Onama's idea sounds interesting. Allow the plants to gain some energy until they throw out roots trim all the emerged leaves. Although with tissue culture they are young and lack energy stores? So maybe they'll struggle? I...

I got it in one of the Tropica tubs and i took a bit to plant and left some to grow, then I planted the rest. I planted a small clump for about every 2cm square, but I worry that it won't grow back fast in a CO2 limited environment. Do you know if Tissue culture Eleocharis will melt? If so...

I'm going to be ordering some plants from Aquadepot as I'm going to the workshop in a weeks time and I wondered what I should get. I have a Seiryu Stone Iwagumi and as some of you might have seen I've struggled with a background plant. I had a relatively successful carpet of Helanthium Tennelum...

I'm pretty sure those Shrimp are a brackish water species. Shrimp often commit suicide when water parameters aren't good. They are also impressive climbers and I've had an Amano Shrimp travel nearly 10m, after my filter broke while I was on holiday, water level was halved and my mum was overfeeding.

Cool to see yet another 16 year old in the hobby. I got lampeyes and sadly they jump a lot, so a lid is a must. I also think that Boraras would probably want a more sheltered aquascape. I think Kubotai would suit your aquascape and in particular if you decide to get an oversized filter. If you...

It's 4 weeks today since I planted the aquarium. So far I've not had any algae issues. I have a little diatoms on some Anubias that melted after I left it floating (as did a lot of Bucephalandra) and a little on the top of the main rock, but nothing much. Only 2 stems of the Pogogstemon Erectus...

That's a good idea. I supose there are enough nutrients in the soil for these slow growing plants if they need it. I'll use a paper towel to scrub it out.

This Wabi Kusa / Terrarium was inspired by James Wong which I set up yesterday. The container is about 10cm in diameter and has a cork lid to keep the humidity up. I'm using Bucephalandra 'Mini Needle Leaf' and 'Mini Catherinae', Java Moss and a piece of Icelandic Lava Rock I collected on a trip...

It's a shame it won't be as fast growing as I hoped. I've started with quite a lot of it though and the filter media is established so I should have minimised algae in the first weeks. This is the top view to give an idea of the plant mass I've started with: The Monte Carlo is a little covered...

This is my second aquascape and is a 35cm Cube Aqua Manta aquarium. Its inspired by Iceland, which I visited a year ago with a foot of snow, but I know how vibrant the greens are in summer. In particular it's inspired by some sea stacks at Reykjanes (I have some photos I just need to access from...

I've been staring at the hardscape for a while now and decided to move the Oyaishi to the left a little and the Fukuishi to the right a little. I was a little apprehensive about moving the Oyaishi towards the centre, but I think it looks more balanced now and there isn't an unnatural straight...

I'm hoping for some opinions on my hardscape. I'm pretty settled on the stones I've chosen already, but I'm interested to hear if you think I should make adjustments. It might be helpful to hear my planting choices: Monte Carlo (foreground), Pogostemon Erectus, Bucephalandra 'Mini Catheinae' /...

Knowing that Tropica only have the red and wavy green variety, if it was a Tropica pot then it's Bucephalandra Red. Thanks again for the prompt replies.

I've had a conversation with James and he confirmed that his success was achieved without sunlight using exclusively ikea grow light LEDs. He also has lilies in 4 different aquariums. Some of my confusion over wether they were updates or throwbacks shows that they were all updates. In some I saw...

Thanks for the reply. The unidentified Buce looks to me to be a deep purple or red, but it would be interesting to know where you got it from. Bucephalandras are beautiful, but it's irritating to find out what they are and where to get them. I'm not too worried by GCSEs except I've got mocks in...

I was wondering where the mini George went. Must admit I was a little envious of you :). Though not you doing GCSEs, because it's my turn now. Would love to know what Bucephalandra species you've got from left to right from the side view. Tank looks lovely btw.

It's only the success with the Lilly pond that I somewhat doubt. I had a conversation with Carlos Maglenda who is a Lilly specialist at Kew Gardens and credited with saving a Rwandan Lilly that was going extinct. He doubted the success with getting a Lilly to flower with lacking light. I felt...

Also I think that numbers 1, 3 and 6 are correct. This leaves me uncertain about numbers 2, 4 and also how to use colour. For example, for my own Aquascape I want to order Bucephalandra Deep Purple, Bucephalandra Mini Needle Leaf and Anubias Bonsai to create a sense of depth. Deep Purple has the...

Thanks, it's an interesting read. I think it confirms number 5 and 7. To elaborate on number 5, what I've taken from it is that a focal point nearer the front and converging lines towards a secondary focal point (natural flow of the eye) creates an enhanced sense of depth. Also, I would add that...

So recently I've come across aerial perpective concepts from my GCSE Art and wondered how we could apply it in Aquascaping. I remember when I came across this manifestation of the aquarium keeping hobby, I wanted rules that I could abide by to create an aesthetic Aquascape. However, all I found...

Lovely hardscape From front to back I would choose: Monte Carlo Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis Bucephalandra and Anubias in shaded areas on the wood Hygrophila Pinnatifida on top of the wood Rotala Wallichii just behind the focal point (1/3 from the left) Pogostemon Erectus

I understand the stuff about trial and error (sadly it's not a science). I've had previous experience with Monte Carlo; it started growing relatively well, but got hit by some algae after a left the lights on (overrode the timer over a couple of nights) and after the UK heatwave it melted a...

The catch is I'm without CO2, but I've seen James Wong use P.Erectus and Monte Carlo in his no tech pond.

I would keep the JBL soil, because Amazonia leaches tonnes of Ammonia and gets ground up more easily. Also it looks odd having two different coloured soils (the JBL is more grey and Amazonia is richer brown).

I've decided that I would rather stems over hairgrass. I think I'll choose Pogostemon Erectus and see how that goes. I considered Rotala Rotundifolia for a tinge of pink, but I hope that I'll have more success with the P.Erectus and use the Danios, Red Sakura Shrimp and Bucephalandra to...

Although I enjoy much of what I see on James Wong's Instgram feed according to Carlos Magdelena he doubts the success of his lily bowl with little light. To me it's unclear as to wether his 'updates' are more 'throwbacks'. Perhaps he simply bought a lily that had already flowered. Anyway, I...

Aquadepot appears to stock ADA Aquasoil, Sands, Substrate Additives, Water Additives, Fertilisers, Mosscotton and most excitingly ADA 60P and various Aquasky models for 60cm aquariums and when I was at the Workshop about a month ago he had one of the CO2 systems. All the above is according to...

I'm planning on scaping an Icelandic Lava Rock Iwagumi -similar to Aquarium Gardens Galapagos Stone Iwagumi- and I need to decide on the plants to keep. I know for certain that I'm doing another Monte Carlo carpet and using some small Bucephalandras and perhaps Anubias Nana Petite. The fauna I...

If you look up James Wong Betta on Google Images or Instagram you'll see he's done a sort of Walstad method aquarium with a wall of capillary matting on a sheet of acrylic which wicked up water for plants which are pinned down with floristry pins.If you look up Jane Perrone she has covered this...

It's been a while now. Anyway, here is the dodgy iPhone photo; not enough to make you jealous, but enough to make me happy;). I really appreciate the help I've got from this forum and the useful resources it provides. Now for the Essay: The Helanthium Tenellum decided to melt away during the...

I also plan on doing a lava rock scape loosely based on some coastal stacks I photographed in Iceland. If you look up Galapagos Stone Iwagumi there is a nice example of one Aquarium Gardens created and it's on YouTube. Also, I think around page 7-9 of the journals there is one that is more of a...

Thanks for the replies. So for the glue, I guess that because I want to glue down to the substrate level it will be a 90% water change so should I remove the Shrimp and Snails and put them in a holding tank. I've been aiming to do 3 33% water changes a week, but because of holidays this won't...

Sorry it's been a while (it's now the 7th week), but I've got some updates. So much of the algae has gone especially from the plants (no more hair algae or cyanobacteria) even though I've been away on holidays. However there is still diatoms on the glass, but I've been removing quite a lot in...

It's a shame that Cyanobacteria is such a pain. I've seen it in Richmond Park before in summer months with warning signs about its toxicity to dogs. In the aquarium I've also experienced it with the solution appearing to be ecological balance, manual removal and lowering of light intensity. I've...

The water changes have been at least 2 gallons a week from the start and been more frequent maybe 5 gallons a week since I got algae issues after the 2nd week. The lighting started at 6 hours and I lowered it to 4 hours after the 3rd week, but I've left the lights on overnight maybe 3 times...

Now for the algae! One of the main reasons for me creating thread is for soaking up all your advice. So I've got algae and lots of it. I think I've spotted BGA, Hair Algae, Diatoms etc. I think it's been caused by: Ambient light (I've blocked most of it with a towel on the left side panel)...

This thread is of my first real attempt at an aquascape. I've had an aquarium for the past 3 years and in the past year I've been inspired to create an aquascape. I got this aquarium about 7 years ago when my parents were looking for an easy pet for us. They got scared of the concept of...

Just a final thought. This scape reminds me of one that juris_js (instagram) has just finished. He would probably be more helpful than me for ideas :).

Here are my thoughts in a picture I like the concept and you have some nice materials, but there isn't an obvious focal point. I decided for you ;) that where the circle is, should be your focal point. To make this more of a focal point I would move the main stone for the stone in the circle and...

Is this closer? I haven't got all the substrate in as I'm making a beach with sand and it will be more easy not to mix them when the hardscape is done and I've got some sort of barrier.

I think this is what you mean

I have finally got my act together (being a lazy teen) and went to get some more aqua-soil yesterday and I have played around with aquascaping today, which I'm fairly happy with, but I hope that with your input i will be able to make it better. At first i tried all the rocks form the previous...

Hades, I was going to ask what Buce varieties have you got because I'm getting a bit of Buce envy :) Thanks,

Thanks for your reply, I'll consider the Aqua Sky, especially its dimmablity. It's a little expensive for me, but i think I might get it. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

I got an Aqua Manta 35 aquarium at Christmas and it came with an LED light that after two weeks use has packed in. It is on a goose neck and I think the problem may have been me bending the unit too much. The LED still works, sort of and comes on with the timer, but it has been dimming after...

Look forward to how the Monte Carlo does in a low tech tank. I'm hoping to try my luck at it in my own low tech.

Put it in a nice pot and give it some time to recover and voila, present for the GF.

It's a pink fittonia. Pull it out and put it in a pot :(

I reckon ADC has gone down hill since the move as well, but maybe they will bounce back

I feel there are too many red plants surrounding the wood, maybe it will soften when you throw in some green into the mix, but I think you should concentrate the red to make a focal point. I feel that too much red is too overpowering to look at, green is a lot easier on the eye. Is this going to...

I would angle the rocks on the left slanting them slightly lower leading the eye more to the side, more like the other side. I think bringing them closer was a good move and I hope your more pleased with your scape now.

I don't think your tank is fully stocked. If you start getting algae blooms or nitrates accumulate too high (not sure how high although definitely below 40ppm) you could be overstocked. Stock to a level you're comfortable with and the maintenance level. What temperature are you running it at as...

Sounds like this scape is really promising, I like what you've done. All my input is based on my eye, not my experience as Im just about to scape my first, but I'm glad you found it helpful. I've read that low levels of additional CO2 can be really helpful with keeping plants happy and can...

If you could, I think you should elevate the rocks even more with emphasis on the left hand side and bring the far left rock up slightly more above its neighbouring rock. An inch or 2 could make a big difference, but the positioning of the rocks looks really good to me. When planting on the...

Keith, I can't tell you a better method, but I can think of an easier and lazier method; you simply do it in the glass box. My situation is: I have 2 tanks, 1 is setup with fish, snails, shrimp, and plants floating around before I plant them. The scape I'm planning, is for that tank. I'm going...

Thanks for your replies everyone. I agree that the rocks feel a bit spaced out so will moving them a little closer and filling in with little stones -currently being used as support- create more of a sense of continuity. I would also like to know what you think about the placement of plants and...

Thanks for the feedback. It's a shame that you've not had a great experience with moss. Mine seems to be doing fine not sure it's growing fast but it's good enough for me. Perhaps it helps getting moss grown emersed as it may more readily adapt to extreme water conditions like hard water as my...

I've been playing around with some rocks for my first real go at aquascaping. I also placed some epiphytes on the rock and will also eventually add moss. The aquarium is 60 by 30 by 35cm lwh and I plan on having a beach of sand from the far right to the nearest rocks. I'm looking for some...

Thanks for the advice

I want to order some rocks online and I was unsure what on earth a 1kg rock looks like or a 3kg one etc. and wondered what size rocks I would get. I have been looking on TGM and are there any better places to order rocks online? I understand different rocks will have different density and I'm...

Thank you for all the replies. Darrell you seem to have a lot of information bottled up and so thanks for sharing. I don't think I'll have any more questions until I bite the bullet and tear down and set back up my tank (which will have to wait for I'm away for a bit and will have to order...

Thanks a lot Darrel that looked like a lot of effort. My understanding of it is that in a planted aquarium adding more bioload is not a problem as the plants will absorb the waste of the additional bioload. What sort of increase in the bio load is safe, say doubling the bio load on a tank? In...

Thanks for your time and replies The light replaced a single T8 15W and claims to have a light output of 3 times the old T8. I have no idea the accuracy of the statement but it is certainly brighter visibly. I don't think there are any ways of reducing light intensity or any suitable ways of...

Thanks Nick for trying to help, but the Thames Water website was total bull. I've kinda estimated/guessed that my water will be between 275-310mg/l of calcium carbonate. Cool stuff Darell on the plants and Cyanobacteria, is the oxygen released through the stoma on the underside of the plant. I...

I have quite a few questions. Firstly, I would like to replant and rescape my aquarium and maybe add a new substrate. It is an established aquarium with 4 lampeyes, 2 young platies, 4 nerite snails and 4 amano shrimp. I have a canister filter and a superfish retrofit T8 led light for a 35cm...