Search results for query: *

Thanks Sir. Thanks Gill. Sumatra driftwood, really good stuff.

Over the years yes but once you've got the ADA stuff it tends to last, my lily pipes are scratched, the tank is scratched, everything is a bit old but it keeps on going. It's a working tank in a sense. The expensive bit I find is the substrate system and ferts.

Hi everyone, I thought I would post this journal about my new layout, having not been on here for a good few years (but still keeping my eye on the hobby) I've decided try to share some of the progress with my tank. Not much has changed really, I've had a few different layouts in my little 60cm...

I have never managed to grow the plant successfully, I can't help feeling the Novea-Zealandiae would be easier, that seems to be the plant Amano has used in terms of Lilaeopsis.

Inspired insight!

Yeah those methods are good if you already have a tank with a snails infestation, I remember being someone telling me you can get some chemical which slows them down, I said erm catching them while they're moving isn't exactly the problem?!?!? :D what about washing plants?

This is why TGM is so unique, the attention to detail is spot on, for example they have a area with sand so you can select rocks for your layout and see how they look in that setting, really nice touch - let's face it have you ever seen something like that elsewhere? I certainly haven't. The...

Hey guys, hope everyone is well. I'm setting up a new tank over the next few weeks and wondered if you had any advice on getting rid of snails.....i.e terminating with extreme prejudice! Well I say this but obviously there is nothing in the tank at the moment and most of the plants I will be...

Since looking at your stuff and then I got to see Phillip Bloom's stuff as well, I really enjoy watching the things he does. The joke time lapse thing was hilarious and I love his attitude, there's a great one where just him and his mate visit this office and wind up the owner with a british...

Yes the empty exoskeletons while unsettling are a good sign ;)

Hello, I'm thinking of removing the supplied juwel filter and replacing it with an external. I'm an eheim guy really but am interested to see what else is available. I want to use it with a spraybar and inline diffuser, can't be bothered with glass lily pipes anymore. What do you guys...

The signs are the shrimp 'clustering' together in one place and not moving much, say if you have driftwood which reaches to the water surface I've seen shrimp all nested together there when you've really overdone it with CO2. Or on the outlet of a filter. Basically look for them grouped together...

I like the first image, the dog in the heather.

Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree I use Phyton Git all the time and consider it essential, it is as critical as Penac IMHO. It has many applications, just a few drops along the side of the iPhone 4 actually boosts the signal strength. :lol:

Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree Pale background for me, every time.

Re: Saintly's 120cm' Fraggle rock' Looking good sir. Not sure what fish I could suggest, I guess Tetras suit the rock type layouts the best. I saw some glowlight tetras in a tank t'other day and I thought they looked really cool.

Don't tempt me with reef mate :)

Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree You have placed the rocks in such a way as to not contradict their essence. Nice one.

Yeah I've not figured that out yet myself if I do grow moss I'm going to need the lights on and maybe co2 , if I grow nothing it's a weird one maybe just have the lights on for a few hours. If anyone has any thoughts on that it would be good to hear em!

Well I wouldn't get too excited the design I have planned might not even be valid to post on a site devoted to plants! It will just be sand wood stones and moss probably and look very sparse, what I have planned I wouldn't class as planted aquaria or a biotope, it will be for corys mainly and I...

Spot on that's exactly it. We have learnt these techniques and aquascape approaches but they can be applied to biotope setups and stuff like that.

Re: Saintly's 240L 'savannah dreaming' intensive treatment Every time I have tried to grow bolbitis it has always done something weird, IMO it's a really tough plant to maintain long term, maybe other people on here are experts with it or something. I have to say I think this picture of the...

Thanks appreciate it. I dunno I feel like I've ran an NA tank for so long I fancy a change. I find time is a factor and my laziness too, and I might feel differently about the hobby if I'm keeping more interesting fish than just tetras and ottos. I've had tetras for so long I can't remember what...

Well I went and bought a Rio 125 tonight because the shop near me was doing a deal where you could get the tank and they throw in the cabinet for free. So I thought I may as well get it even if it doesn't work out I can still sell it and probably make a lot of it back. Observations well they've...

I've changed it completely now for different wood, just wasn't happy with the way it was progressing. I've been battling with the idea of scrapping the open topped 60cm ADA style tank and getting a Rio 125 instead. The closed top thing appeals to me because I find you get a lot of spilled light...

I agree, and what's really interesting is there is a style there, there is some kind of thought process happening and pushing the boundaries, you can tell the different layouts from different periods for example. I've got that book "Glass no Naka no Daishizen" Takashi Amano's complete works...

Hill Act, that's the one isn't it.

That'll go well with your 5D Mk II then eh? 8)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-MANFROTTO-055 ... 2ead0b9ef4 That setup is this thing above right, hmmmm, not too expensive either.

Helloooo, What do you guys think of this? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-MANFROTTO-190 ... 2ead0b1ef8 I've got a Manfrotto tripod at the moment but it's not too good, it's really for compact cameras and I find it wiggles around too much. Is it better to go for a ball head...

I like the detail you can see on it's front legs and also that eye is something else, what is going on there? Mental.

Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 6 weeks The video is amazing, I kinda want to just paddle in it :D although with my feet that would destory any living thing in there!

Some crackers there mate nice one.

Yeah agreed Tom. Good stuff. I've ended up getting a D90, been testing it over the weekend and it's pretty cool I think. I'm using my 35mm 1.8 on it only at the moment and it seems really good. The images I've got from it so far look better than the D40, not dramatically just more...'punchy' I...

Good point I don't know how Cartier-Bresson's work could possibly be improved.

If you find out let me know as I work quite near there and could get mine done as well.

Onwards and upwards! D700. Now where's my credit card...

Ah haaa right, so I should get a 12/16 then for my ecco. Sorted. Thanks.

The camera itself the D40 is behaving very oddly, basically when you try to fire the shutter the mirror at first wouldn't move, so I did a mirror lockup to see what it did and it did move but is now just stuck in place, I fire the shutter and I just hear faint click but nothing. It's been a...

You should deffo get a 5D Mk2 George you deserve one. You owe it to yourself! One of the guys at work is a wedding photographer and has a M2 and 5D as a backup, plus 24-70L and 70-200L that is some serious outlay on kit! The photography in PFK would be very interesting looking forward to that.

Yeahhhh but then how many shots would you take if you were using film and not a big memory card which can store loads of shots? It's true what they say film does slow you down and you spend a lot of time taking the right kind of shots, rather than just shooting willy nilly at anything (although...

I know what you mean using my rangefinder has been a very liberating experience, you just have a dial for shutter speed, aperture and focus on the lens, bit of AE lock, bit of exposure comp on it and aperture priority and that's it really, I mean it's film but that does make it a whole lot...

I'd like to try one of these diffusers, there is a size listed as 8/12mm where does the 8 come in? Both the hoses from my filter are 12mm? Confused as to the what the 8 denotes?

Solid advice guys thanks :thumbup: George is right the HD video is something which interests me a lot although I've read it can be a bit tricky to film with. I really liked using my D40 but I kinda feel I want a bit more from a DSLR now on the techie side, truth be told I want a top LCD...

Wow John that is some focal length! Great shots, I love your red kite shots as well :thumbup:

It would yes I can't use things without a viewfinder, the EP-1 just gets in there because of the hotshoe mounted opitcal viewfinder for the 17mm 4/3rds lens, it wouldn't give me any information just be something to compose with. That would be an issue against it IMHO.

I've looked at them a few times, very impressed with the build quality. Not sure about hiring one though I haven't managed to find a hire place which will let you hire relatively speaking cheaper stuff.

Hey guys, My beloved Nikon D40 has bitten the dust this weekend care of the concrete outside my apartment! I'm looking to replace the body with something better and was thinking about the D90. I figure this is a good bet, it's a nice upgrade from the D40 and I could use my existing lenses if I...

Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 5 weeks Wow thanks :thumbup: all I've ever done though is try to imitate Mr Amano's work (rather badly I might add). Your layout here is up there with the best of them mate, really fresh and clean.

Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 5 weeks Thanks man, I've been away for a long time but I'm getting back upto speed with things slowly. Your tank is blowing my mind at the moment I love the videos on vimeo as well wonderful stuff. :thumbup:

Re: Saintly's 'savannah dreaming' @ 4 weeks Beautiful tank mate really impressed. :thumbup:

I really like your aquascape in this tank, the rock placement and wood looks very natural, it has a rustic coastal type feel to me. The mixture of sand and stone is great. :thumbup:

The original is on my flickr, it's 1280 wide this one so it is rather large. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4058/4539015636_a63b00bf4f_o.jpg

Yeah it's probably a mixture of scum and bubbles from the pearling, towards the end of the photo period there is a lot of stuff on the surface so I have just been raising the lily pipe a bit to drive it off. The water has been a bit cloudy and scummy from believe it not the sand, I don't think...

Thanks very much Sir. I'm not sure about opti-white tanks either, there's a difference between it and float glass in terms of clarity, but to me it's more about the colour of the silicone and the lack of bracing. Thanks very much.

We shall see Sir, I will just keep on with it I'm not stressing over this tank. I'm pleased with the wood and stone arrangement so as long as that stays solid I'm happy. The Solar II; where do I start? Now it's working it's wonderful it is without a doubt a beautifully designed piece of...

Oi oi, At the request of Mr Farmer I'm putting up a thread here about my new layout. This is what it looks like ... I've had a lot of trouble setting up this aquarium over the past few months, I found out my heater had packed in, my inline heater, the light decided to stop working midway...

Sounds good mate. Second point nah that's not me.

Hi, yeah kinda, it's been winding down for ages and ages now. I'm starting to work on a new layout and I want to get things back to normal again, I haven't been doing much in the way of aquascaping or anything for ages. Still keeping my aquajournal subscription going at the moment, that's about...

BE REALLY CAREFUL removing braces. Dan's right the only way to remove the braces is with a bendy razor blade, but I would tape up one edge of it. I've done this before on a 60cm tank and my fingers looked like they'd been chomped at by a lunatic gerbil! After doing this and filling up the tank...

I'd by no means call myself that good a photographer but I found when I stuck to using prime lenses it really helped with composing shots and also moving around, getting in close to stuff etc. Often I guess limiting yourself forces you to get better. I still love the 50mm prime I have but...

You could maybe pick up a second hand Nikon D40 with the kit lens for quite cheap I reckon.

Sorry mate, I couldn't see you in my contact list that was what was confusing me, I've added you now. Some fantastic work there wow.

Just goes to show it's about the photographer not the gear.

Simpleviewer? ;) You've got some serious skills there mate your work is excellent, you should get on Flickr if you aren't already. I especially like the guy in the tube station with the blurred background and also the low down shot of the pebbles and stream in the landscape bit, really impressed!

Thats some skill you have there, great colours even on my crappy work monitor.

Really good images, love the first one, what camera do you use a 5D?

I'd get a G10, I think it's more the fact it has an optical viewfinder, I really couldn't use a compact without one. Best thing is to handle one I guess to see if you like it, if I were in the market to get a digital camera now I'd be serioulsy thinking about getting one due to the size really...

I'm a great fan of the mallard also :D

I am wondering if I can use spray paint on MDF? My cabinet at the moment I made out of MDF and used paint and roller to get a kinda finish on it. It looks OK but I've decided I want the same thing in white. Without having to paint my existing cabinet I want to do a new one I reckon. But I have...

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite (now featuring hardscape !) I'm liking the layout a great deal, a subtle choice of stones and the wood placement is very good. You've opted to do something a little different here and that is to be appreciated. 8)

..and I'm going to copy Luis and you for my next effort :d but using less plants so I don't have to do any maintenance!

The first shot of your lad is great.

I would agree with this comment myself. It's rare you see an original aquascape, most people just follow the trends. Look at us all using sand foregrounds and such, 5 years ago would we have? It would have been glosso and e tenellus all the way. I think this tank though of Luis is my fave...

It's not a bad option, having refinished an electric guitar body a few years ago I'm not a bad sprayer. But the actual build of the cabinet aint that great. I think I need to make it out of some decent wood, something I can sand down.

Cheers dude, it don't look like this anymore though as that was taken in my old house. Not updated the old journal in a while I had better do that as the tank now looks nothing like it did in my last journal entry.

I did that with the one I have at the moment, the problem is I'm not happy with the finish. Thats it there, old picture but you get the idea.

It's a great job there he did, doing that formica thing though I reckon I would screw that up! Hmmm, looks perfect though.

Hey guys, I'm getting a bit bored of my cabinet and wanted to build another one with a better finish. I was looking at getting a kitchen cupboard type unit and trying to strengthen that on the inside. The other option is to get some conti board or similar which already has a finish on it, I am...

If you get the Mac I don't think you'll need it ;)

Whats a zip tie? tie wrap you mean? :p I don't mind using them my worry is they aren't too flexible, not like garden wire which you can bend round root shapes etc. Hmmm, I guess I will have to try it!

So rather than using an elastic band or cotton you can use tie wraps right? What about that garden twine which was mentioned on Sunday. Won't the metal inside the green plastic coating rust and pollute the water?

Good luck G, keep 'em heads ringin'

Superb sharp image

I'm thinking too of actually backing off using so many plants, simply using sand, wood, rocks, moss, ferns and crypts with soem rotala sp. green. I'm not sure what to do but I do really miss having the sand foreground.

It's good don't get me wrong, I guess the aquascape bit comes with choosing the different corals and stuff. Where's the form though to me it's just a big mound? It looks bloody impressive though. Thats what I think will be interesting; where you can take a marine tank in terms of design to make...

I'll have a look sure, as I say 5 years ago was when I was into it. If you can recommend any images I would love to see them.

Fantastic photography there George.

Applaud the biotope idea even if it is a bit worrying that you are looking at stuff which is none NA related. You've done a great deal for the hobby in the UK mate. Even if you look at it from one angle alone PFK has a lot more stuff related to NA tanks and stuff of that nature, we never had...

I never shoot in RAW, in fact I have never tried it, maybe I should. I try now to concentrate more on the composition and the idea behind the picture rather than the technical bits, but I'm like that with everything :D I liked reading Clives comments too, a lot of the time when people give you...

Used to be iPhoto now I'm a Lightroom junkie, it's a fantastic package. Would love to know how to use it properly though ;)

I am too, I've started shooting a lot with film and have really gotten into it, I've got an Olympus Om2 (which I really love using) the lens prices are bonkers, picked up a zuiko 135mm f3.5 for about £20 off ebay. But I have recently got a Voigtlander body, just need to get a lens for it but I...

Gutted :D

Get a Mamiya 7 on the case and shoot in RealRAW :D that's what you need.

Ah right bit pricey then LOL. Yeah the kit lenses get some stick and I used to think mine was rubbish but I've learnt a bit more since then and I now realise it's not, far from it.

Hello, Do you guys know anything about LED lighting, it looks to be really good but I'm not sure how many of them one needs, still in the old T8 / T5 / MH zone at the moment :D

Also bear in mind the kit lens at 55mm will focus VERY closely to the subject, I use it all the time now since I sold my 28mm prime. So you might get away with not needing a macro lens for the time being. Isn't this new D5000 out soon? That might be similarly priced but bear in mind you can...

Thanks for the responses dudes. I am going to search Garufs posts to see what happened now. I noticed last night there were about 5 shrimp left so I'm not doing too badly, I lost a lot of the bigger shrimp though which is saddening because I like to keep them first of all and secondly they do...

Bit of an update, I haven't been posting or looking at aquariums in while really but I had a rather nasty mishap with my tank. About a month ago I noticed suddenly the level had dropped a couple of cms and I had rather a lot of dead shrimp in the tank which had turned pink. Straight away I...

I love this tank George. It has the signature Farmer Ferns in the background which is good. But really the tank is very well thought out and would make an excellent display tank. There is a sense of 'fun' with it what I can't quite explain, it's a relaxed style, it may be the gouramis I don't know.