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Looks good in the vid mate, could've used more light. Beautiful island though. Bet you're well chuffed with how it's going. :thumbup:

Looks good mate. Can't imagine a tank with no hardscape materials. It takes skill to shape the plants like you have to create depth and an interesting landscape to look at. No interesting natural structures to draw the eye. Obviously you're enjoying this tank, and doing a good job. But do you...

:lol: No this looks like a keeper. Hope the you have more luck with the bolbitis than I had in the past. Good choice with Java moss too, I think most other mosses wouldn't contribute as well to the natural look this will have in a few weeks.

Tank looks super professional mate. It'll only need 4 weeks for the moss to spread a bit and it'll look competition ready. Excellent hardscape positioning. :thumbup:

Stunning hardscape mate, really amazing. Would suit epiphytes perfectly. Can't wait to see it full. Don't change the scape! :lol:

I like the first canyon style. Yes it's not a typical iwagumi but is that so bad? I always like scapes that feel/look like it would be interesting to watch fish swim around the hard scape and the plants sway in the water flow... I can imagine that 'canyon' scape being fun to watch. My opinion.

Insane growth Ian, can't wait 'till you start shaping the stems.

Exciting!!! I love this stage of a new scape. New ideas every second. Can't think about anything else. I look forward to seeing how you go with this one.

You should only adjust the working pressure when the gas is on, you may be doing this already but worth mentioning. It's normal for the atomisers to fill a bit with water. Mine used to get about 1/3 to 1/2 full, then when the gas came on it would push some of the water back through the ceramic...

Tank looks awesome... was suprised to see it was a 12 litre! :eek: The microsorum must be tiiiiiny. Shrimp are cool too. Want some.

I've always wanted to try african cichlids, and shelldwellers since I saw George's PFK feature a couple of years back I ended up taking all the plants out, except the Microsorum. Due to co2 issues and not being able to get more, the plants looked awful. I replaced with hydrocotyle japan and...

Nothing worth spamming your thread for :lol: had to empty the other day as moving this weekend. Looking forward to a new project with the tank. Planted or not, still unsure. Shell dwelling Cichlid biotopes have been tempting me for a while. I keep coming back to the latest shot of your tank...

Tank looks excellent mate :thumbup:

:eek: Must have that tank... This reminds me of Victor Lantos' 'Private Island' I remember seeing 'Harlequins Haven' maybe in PFK? Also very inspirational. All these amazing tanks are making me itch to rescape. :confused:[/IMG]

:lol: Don't we all. Looking seriously good. I think cyperus helferi would look nice as a background. Something a bit different to Vallis.

You could add an eheim tap halfway up the output pipe, or drill the holes on the spray bar so they are larger.

Definately one of the best nano tanks I've seen in a long time.

Looks really good, looking forward to seeing your fish choice. Have you noticed any adverse effects on the filter from having the atomiser on the intake?

Most luminaire's will come with feet/legs so they can stand on the side glass of the tank. Alternatively they can be hung from the ceiling. Most light units bought separately from a full set-up (like a Juwel tank) be they Halide, T5's or LED's will have several options. Assuming you want the...

There are quite a few tanks on here that have used LED's. I've used them for mine, check out my journal in my sig. If you want to see how they work in the hands of the pros, check out Ian Holdich's 'Under the Mangove Tree' Journal.... Or George Farmers 'Scree Evolution' Journal

Looks amazing. The colour of the Ludwigia looks good, do you find the white rendition of the 1500 better for reds?

That isn't TGM 'blue stone' by any chance is it? Looks really nice. Just out of interest Mark, where did you place with this one?

not sure, still haven't had time to check... a job for next weekend.

Try looking on charterhouse aquatics Dorian. They've got a pretty good selection. Should give you an idea of what prices you can expect for new lights.

Funny thread... Started a new tank with the 'dry start method' ... grew plants carefully for about 3-4 weeks. Flooded the tank. In my excitement, forgot dry redmoor would float. It did. Taking many, many plants with it :facepalm:

I've just updated my journal... I tested the atomiser for leaks with soapy water, couldn't see any leaks so I put the CO2 on for the next day so I could test it in water when I got home from work. Guess what I found. An empty CO2 bottle :facepalm: so wherever the leak is coming from it seems...

Things aren't going so well unfortunately... Plant growth and general health isn't great, probably due to a lack of CO2 and stable conditions. My UP atomiser has developed a leak (well hopefully it's the atomiser and not my reg) so now I have no CO2 and I won't be able to get any more for a...

Cheers Nath, I'll test in water at the weekend and see if it's leaky or not. Those metal clips may be the way to go.

Right, I just tried the soapy water trick, can't see anything but it's difficult to see all parts of the atomiser inside the cabinet. I'll have to try to submerse the atomiser when it's on to see if there's a leak. One question about that... If the atomizer is completely disconnected from the...

I'm going to test the unit tonight. The co2 has been off for a couple of days so I'm waiting for the pressure to build up inside the atomiser. I'll let you know what the result is.

I've been thinking. Could it be possible that when my canisters are filled, the temperature or some other external factor is having an effect on the amount of co2 going in? If that makes sense?

Looks excellent. All your time and effort has clearly paid off :clap:

I haven't had a chance to test yet. I'll have a look tuesday night. I think there must be a leak as I've gone through 1kg of co2 in just over 2 weeks and I doubt it ended up in the tank. Mist wasn't as much as when I started and the shrimp are fine. I got an e-mail from Tankscape today saying...

I was asking for prices for a 90 before I decided to go planted and get a 60. I don't remember the prices being too bad. Best thing to do would be to get a WxDxH combo that would allow for them to use the thinner glass. Reduces cost of the tank by up to £100 maybe? Get the cabinet with plain...

Hi all, I have been using the JBL CO2 kits with 500g refillable canisters on my tank (journal in my sig.) I have been going through canisters pretty quick, especially the last couple of weeks. I investigated and can hear a clear hissing noise coming from my UP inline Atomizer. I've changed...

Looks set to be another amazing one George, I hope DSM goes well.

I paid under £400 for mine, inc tank (60x45x40), cabinet in a colour of my choice, light arm and shipping. Pretty good value. I may have considered the TMC signature range if that was out when I bought mine.

Thanks for your comments guys. I will start doing large W/C's on friday and sat. I'll order some Purigen, it seems that only packs of 100ml are bagged. Would I need to buy a filter bag if I want to use more than that? Say around 250-300ml? Are there any disadvantages to using more than...

Hi James, Set-up looks really nice, interesting to see you went with NA's aqua soil. I was tempted to try this stuff when I ordered my tank, I hope 10 litres of substrate is enough :nailbiting: . Looking forward to seeing the hardscape stage. Best of luck. Dan

Update time, pretty much 2 months in now. Here's a few shots of the tank and plants: (Poor pictures, just quick snaps) Front Right - 2 months by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr HC - 2 Months by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr Plants - 2 Months by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr Left side - 2 Months by...

Thanks guys, I decided not to cut ferts in the end, hopefully this helped. Don't know what I was thinking really.

Looks really good mate, classic NA. The set up looks really nice. Silicone is much neater than my Natural Aquario tank.

Hi all, Just thought I'd update quickly. Things are moving pretty slowly at the moment, which is not necessarily a bad thing. After my week trying to fight off the diatoms not much changed really. I hadn't really noticed any difference in the amount of algae in the affected areas like the HC...

Thanks mate :) pleased to hear you've liked it so far. Glad to hear you like the NA stuff. I wish I'd ordered some glassware from them when I ordered my stuff, such good value. It's funny that when I found Natural Aquario, I thought not many people knew about them but apparently they're quite...

Wasn't sure when I saw the bowl, but then I scrolled down. It looks so cool, I don't normally like these tanks but yours is great. Excellent planting :thumbup:

Second that. I think the latest hardscape layout is really good, can't help but think it doesn't create as much depth as the ones before though due to the large stone front left. But that's without plants.

Such a cool tank, congrats on such successful breeding. Plants look nice and healthy as well.

Nice shots of the rams mate. I nearly couldn't believe it when I looked at the start of the journal to see it started 4 months ago. You've done an amazing job of keeping it looking this good for this long. Can't wait to see the final photos.

Thanks guys :) I think that I've been pretty lucky with the Bonsai to be honest. I do think that the 1-2 Grow! plants are really good for a tank like this, due to the small size of the plant when new, it grows fairly quickly and very compact in this set-up. I've never used it before and it's one...

Just a small update. I've hacked back the Rotala and re-used the healthier stems to increase the density of the stems at the back. So in a month or so I can begin to shape the 'bush'. I've also trimmed the larger leaves off the Microsorum as it looked too big for the scape. I've upped the...

Thanks Iain, I've got a few days off this week so I'm doing some daily maintenance including 30-40% water changes. I have also decreased the lights intensity a bit and added more shrimps. I do agree that the Microsorum does look a bit out of place, I've now trimmed the large leaves off and it...

The TMC set-up looks really nice, I heard they were made in Portugal same as the Natural Aquario stuff. I was interested to see you decided to go with LED's again. Did you choose them over T5's or are you trying them out for TMC? I think the third scape looks the most natural, although it...

Thanks George, The main reason I used the Eheim pipework and still have it, is mainly down to flow. I just wanted to make sure that the flow was as good and even as possible, I figured a spray bar at the back is the best method. My plan is to use these pipes to make things simpler while I'm...

Unfortunately, I've been away from the tank for a week. Someone else has been dosing ferts for me but I haven't been able to sort the diatom issue. Most plants seem okay, the rotala needs a good trim, as does the fern. The plants that have been affected most are the HC carpet and the A.Bonsai...

Thanks guys :thumbup:

Hi all, The tank is now 1 month old :) The weekend before the new year I added some shrimp to the tank. 3 x Amano and 6 x sakura CRS. They've already seen off the hair algae, I didn't even have to get my easycarbo out. RCS 1 by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr RCS 2 by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr FTS...

Hi guys, thought I'd take some time to upload some growth shots from the first few weeks (all the pictures are showing the same plant/area of plants). Tank was filled on 03/12/12, so almost 4 weeks old. HC: H. Callitrichoides - Day 5 by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr HC - Day 7 by Dan.Mullan, on...

Thanks Andy. I've used corrugated plastic from TGM, it's visible in some of the pics of the A. Bonsai. Thanks for the heads up anyway. I can't think of anything worse than waking up to find the island is gone :eek:

Ah, well that's convenient. I've never used excel before. As for livestock I'll be getting some tomorrow hopefully. Otherwise I'll do it next weekend. Thanks for your comments guys, I'm glad people are enjoying my journal. Cheers, Dan

It had to happen eventually: Hair algae - 1 by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr Hair algae - 2 by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr I have raised the lights so they are about 2ft away from the water surface. I have also reduced the intensity to 75% output. So they go 0%-75%-0% over 6 hours. When I add...

Thanks Mark, the growth rates have definitely slowed for certain plants, but picked up for others. I'll be adding some live stock at the weekend, just a clean up crew of ottos and shrimp for now. No sign of diatoms yet, but I have noticed a bit of hair algae, on the hardscape towards the...

That oak is stunning, I hope all goes well with the cabinet build. Tank looks sweet as well. I like what you've done with the different height levels.

I've been waiting for an update on this. Looks really good, the hardscape and planting make the tank 'feel' much bigger than it is. The Lobelia is really nice, not seen it before. Bet you can't wait for the hairgrass to fill in the front a bit more.

Lots of posts this weekend. Trying to get the journal up to date. I began dosing dry ferts at the end of week 1. Using ei method. Here's my dosing regime. SAT- about 40-50% water change, then 1/4 tsp of KNO3, and 3/32 tsp of KH2PO4 SUN- 3/32 tsp TNC trace MON- 1/4 tsp of KNO3, and 3/32 tsp...

Here's a couple of cool shots taken on day 10. HC creeping - Day 10 by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis runner - Day 10 by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr Both my carpet plants seem to be growing nicely, the spread from the HC is much more noticable though. A couple of full tank...

Thanks mate, I really hope so. I really want to get this journal up to date, it's just finding the time to do it :crazy: I'll be doing another update tomorrow night though. Cheers Dan

Hi all, Just a quick update for now, I'll be taking some more shots today. These shots are from the end of week 1. The Rotala is doing well, definitely the fastest grower in the tank as expected. The stems were around 5cm tall when planted. Rotala - Day 7 by Dan.Mullan, on Flickr The...

I really like the rams mate, in such a green tank the blue is the perfect contrast. Nice choice. Also your lilaeopsis looks super healthy, along with all the other flora. Impressive stuff :thumbup:

The HC is sending out runners all over the place, each clump has almost doubled in size, on 2 weeks old. So I'm really happy so far. As for the red cotton, I thought it was brown. Colourblind moment, reds and browns look quite similar to me. Thought it was quite funny actually when the...

Hi all, today is day 10 for this tank :D ... Here's an update from the end of week one. So planting was successful and the tank didn't explode. Fortunately, unlike with some of my other planted tanks, I didn't come home to find all my HC had floated out of the substrate. Not a single plant...

Thanks mate :thumbup: I hoped the narrow leaf Microsorum would be a bit smaller, I used the smallest part of the plant. When it's grown some new, smaller leaves in a few months I may take it out and cut it down, and just re-attach the section with smaller, new leaves. I'm hoping to be able...

Cheers mate. The growth so far has been good. HC has grown well and the Rotala has taken off as it usually does. The Amannia Bonsai is my favourite so far though. Not too fussed about glassware at the moment. I'm sure I will be soon. I'm quite fond of the Eheim tubing,I'm sure I'll learn to...

I agree with Antipofish on this one. If the light intensity does not vary throughout the photoperiod, the plants aren't to know that the photoperiod is coming to an end. Therefore the nutrient uptake and co2 consumption should stay constant (assuming all other factors remain the same) But...

Time for an update :D When I'd come up with the final layout, next was to make sure I had all the bits of kit I needed and get my plants. I had to wait a while for Tankscape to get more stock of the UP inline atomizer for my co2, which gave me a chance to sort other things like filling my co2...

Cheers mate, the scape I've chosen is still my favourite, thankfully. I was worried I'd look back on these pictures and wish I'd stuck with another layout. I'm really glad I made the right choice. Also I soaked the wood in a bucket of water for quite a long time, I've made this mistake before...

Update time :thumbup: After the lights were mounted, I ordered some Aquasoil and a few more bits of bogwood from TGM. I had been planning layouts with the hardscape I already had and decided it wasn't enough to create the shape I wanted, trying to imagine how it would look a couple of months...

:lol: All will be revealed soon. I was looking for one of these to use: This is the solution for rails, the loop would hold the lights to the rail... but I decided I would rather have them fixed than just resting on the cable. The frame is part of the cabinet, all ordered from 'Natural...

Time for a little update. Once the tank was in place, I was ready to buy the lighting. I had already decided on TMC's freshwater Aquaray LED lighting, despite the price which initially put me off. I'd decided that it was smarter to invest a little more money than I originally wanted to, and not...

2x power controllers was a slightly cheaper option. Also I thought if ever I had 2 smaller tanks, I could use them separately, which is far more likely than me getting such a large tank that I'd need more than 2 tiles.

Here's a full list of kit for this tank: Tank - 60w X 45d X 40h (cm) Stand - 85cm tall (over 200cm with lighting arm) Lighting - 2 x TMC GroBeam 1000ND tiles run through power controllers, suspended with cables so the distance from the water surface is easily adjustable. Filter - Eheim pro 3...

Can't find the invoice now it was so long ago, was in the region of £400 inc shipping, really good value in my opinion. Cheers Ady, worst thing is I've had the tank in place but had to wait on other issues. Pretty much everything gone wrong so far. It's really bizarre to see the tank full of...

Hi all, Welcome to my journal for my new high-tech planted tank. I've recently replaced my entire set-up with a tank, cabinet and lighting arm from Natural Aquario, who are based in Portugal. I actually ordered the tank way back in June but due to what feels like an endless list of issues I've...

I've put it on 2.8 for now, I've still had to open the needle valve quite a lot to get a steady 1-2 bubbles a second. I'll see how things are tomorrow, this is something I'll monitor closely and make adjustments if need be. Thanks for all the help :thumbup: Cheers Dan

Yep, it's working. Thanks for all the help guys. The only thing now is how should I set it, does it make a difference? Hogan has it at 2 but Ian has his at 3. I'm not really sure what to set it to. Is there any way to judge or does it not matter as long as there's gas going through? Cheers

Also would I be right in assuming I want to turn the screw clockwise to increase pressure?

HAHA I'm such a Kev. I thought all the stuff I'd read online was referring to the plastic lug ON TOP of the reg. I've found it now. Can't believe that :oops: How slowly are we talking Ian? Also how far should I open the needle valve before I start adjusting the pressure?

Thanks for all the replies. I've tried to adjust the working pressure but can't get the needle up to 2 bar. It sits around 1.7-1.8. The canister is newly filled as well so it's not that it's running out of gas. I can see a slight mist of bubbles in the water but it isn't as much as I think it...

Hi all, Set up my new Natural Aquario set up yesterday (Journal begins soon), all is done apart from the CO2. My question is really two: 1. I have the reg that has a screw to adjust the working pressure on a 500g cylinder. The needle showing working pressure has been sat at just under 2 bar...

Looking good Ady :thumbup: It's funny how you've gone from hardscape only to full of plants :lol: looks really nice though. The planting adds a lot to the scape I think. That ADG discus tank is amazing, that's probably the best plant-less tank I've seen, but when you've got discus like...

Looks cool mate, nice ripple. The L.Brasiliensis looks long. Just out of curiosity how are you going to trim it? Seems to be spreading nicely.

I think this would look amazing with Anubias and some Microsorum at the base of the wood. Would be perfect for low light and low maintenance. The hardscape layout is excellent!

Well done mate :thumbup:

Wow... perfect example of an island scape. Congratulations for all your success at IAPLC this year :thumbup:

Hi Nath, I've done exactly the same as your proposing. I have put the two tiles on 1 x 490mm MMS rail, and used the MMS suspension kit. I am also using a rail above the tank that they hang from... Problem with the TMC suspension kit is you will have to drill into your hanging rail to fix the...

Looking good so far Ian, nice vid too. Seems very bright for just two grobeam 500's or did you use extra lighting?

Hi guys, I've fairly recently got my hands on a pair of TMC GroBeam 1000nd tiles. I bought them new and have unfortunately had a few problems. One of the first tiles had a faulty power adapter, the online retailer I purchased from suggested returning the whole unit for replacement, so I did...

Hi Guys, I was wondering if anyone here uses, or knows if you can use, an atomizer like a UP with a JLB CO2 kit. The kit I have is the JLB M602, and I'm not sure if the pressure is high enough to use one of the UP inline atomizers. The instructions say they can put out up to 6bar, but I doubt...

Hi guys, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one, but want to double check and hear peoples opinions on the matter... So I've got a hydor external heater (300W / 16-22mm) and I'm planning to use a UP Atomizer too. Is it okay to run both bits off the same hose (return hose, filter to...

Re: Rob's 300L (to be named) Glad you've come to a decision mate, I still haven't and I've got my set-up :oops: . Waiting 'till I get back from holiday before I start but I'm still undecided on lighting. For me it's been the most difficult decision I've got to make so far for my new set-up...

Love this tank. The carpet plants have grown in so well. I was wondering if you could let me know how you ran the lights on this tank. 2 x GroBeam tiles seems a lot for a tank this shallow. Did you run them at less than 100% for most of the day or just have them raised higher above the water...