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That's what started this lol I took it out to scrub it then another and another and before I knew it I was playing with other stones lol totally unplanned but heyho see how it goes.

So.... yesterday's clean turned into a rescape.... I have no idea how it happened or what I even think of it but somehow general maintenance turned into far more lol Here is the tank today, I'm looking into plant options to suit it.

I haven't modded it yet but thinking about it it would be ideal if it was threaded so you could just make little turns to adjust and set it. I don't think it would have put me off buying it if I knew I would have the issue, however there is another that's becoming obvious. Because the flow is...

Quick bit of maintenance today

Totally neglected the tank since the last update as I just haven't had a chance to touch it, got a little staghorn on the Juncus behind the main stone which I assume is lack of flow due to the stone restricting it so I'll deal with that. Algae on the glass etc needs a clean but here's a quick...

Looking good Andrew.

It's a problem even with daily evaporation, I'm thinking a little o ring as is on the bottom adjuster would solve it. Although it stops it "auto adjusting" which it doesn't anyway so I think I'm going to try fixing it in place.

Sounds interesting but I can't see the photos which is a shame. Using mobile and chrome.

Everything's growing well, had to trim the DHG for the first time but it's sending out plenty of runners which is great. Starting to get a little frustrating having to play with the skimmer attachment to get it just right now after every water change.

Glass clarity.... When I got the TMC Signature it was my first optiwhite tank and I noticed a huge difference to anything I've had before, it then got me wondering about other brands which use optiwhite/ultra clear glass and if there would be any real difference in glass other than price. Now...

Nothing much to report yet, all settled in nicely.

Thought I would report back with pretty exciting news, I have just spotted a fry which I presume is from the rice fish which I watched spawn. I assume at least that one egg was attached/stuck to/in the Juncus as that is where it just popped up from.

Today the decision was made to stick with one tank and this will be the one, I've now moved from my Signature 60x45x30 into this. A bit cloudy still but the journey begins now.

Well after some thought and a talk with the Mrs setting up another tank just wasn't practicle with a baby on the way, so... I've moved into the ADA 60p and will be selling this Signature and light to focus on that from here on. Sadly this journal has come to it's end today, the continuation...

Hahahahaha well I don't see faces but that's funny as hell!! I put the scape together in about an hour, it seems the less I think about it the better it turns out.

I picked up an ADA 60P and ADA Aquasky 601 light unit for a bargain so here goes tank two.... I'm not sure what you would call the hardscape, not Iwagumi I think but not quite mountain either.... hey ho I like it lol This is all I have at the moment, no filter etc yet so will get it going...

Thought I'll chuck this in here as I think I'm decided on it, now to decide on adding co2 or not which will dictate the direction it goes in. I haven't even got a filter yet so it's a way off anything being done.

Well it's a month since I set this up with the changes from previous attempts, all I can say is they have worked perfectly. I am now 100% certain that matching the co2 to the natural light was the best thing I did, for a week now I have been running the aquasky 601 with all led's uncovered by...

Now I just need the seal of approval from the Mrs when she gets in from work..... While I'm here a couple of thoughts, the EA skimmer attachment. I think it needs a minimum flow of 800lph to really maximise both top and bottom inlets. 300 vs 450 deep, having the 60p next to my signature I...

So yesterday this happened lol a deal local enough and too good to miss.

Bloody hell, I never would have thought that about them. They breed so easily, what makes them in such high demand and interest?

I never would have thought guppies/endlers would be such a serious interest so it's interesting to hear the proper names, I really had no interest in them before now but am now aware there is more to them then breeding like mice lol

Typical had to be the ones my Mrs chose didn't it lol How about this one?

Ahh the endlers, again MA in Grantham, my Mrs choice I hate them lol

The rice fish? I got some from Maidenhead Aquatics in Grantham.

Plants are settling in well, some of the rice fish from this morning. Natural light shows up their colour really well.

They are still at It, fascinating to watch. I've tried catching it on my phone but they keep ducking in and out of the AR mini, I'll set up my go pro to hopefully catch them on film tomorrow.

A little over two weeks ago I got some rice fish ( Oryzias woworae ), I hadn't seen them before so had a read about them and they are great little things. Every morning since getting them I have watched them in the hope of breeding, this morning I have seen females carrying and dropping eggs...

Thank you, pictures don't show the tank very well tbh as the rock is still quite exposed, it's all very early stages with ideas and progress to get it where I want it. I don't want to go full on Iwagumi with the planting so it's a matter of finding a good middle ground really.

Well the 16mm skimmer pipe is a lot bigger than I expected.... possibly better suited to a min 90cm tank rather than 60cm but it's great either way. I've removed the additional circulation pump and will see how it goes for a week, if I notice any change I'll look at upgrading my Eheim 2213...

Looking forward to this

I tried a bit in a dry start a while back, didn't see any growth after about two weeks so took it out only to then notice good root growth lol I've been pretty impatient with previous set ups so taking this one nice and easy but it's nice to see things doing well and especially better than...

Just noticed some of the dwarf hair grass is already sending out runners, could have been one I replanted yesterday which is why they are above the substrate and I hadn't noticed before. Pretty pleased it's growing so well already after only 7 days.

Im considering swapping the AR and Juncus but not sure yet, the Ludwigia Palustris will be going to the left of the AR in the gap at the moment. I could end up with them both where the Juncus is after a while.

Little bit of a swap around to free up the space for the plants on order, Hydrocotyle tripartita Japan to go infront of and around the main stone and Ludwigia Palustris for the back next to the AR mini for a bit more colour. Still considering filling in the front with dwarf hair grass but not...

Finally made the decision to order the glass surface skimmer from Aquarium Gardens, I've been needing to replace the broken glass out pipe for a while now and had the skimmer in the back of my mind so looking forward to getting it, another couple of plants also ordered. I've got quite a good...

Had a play today

The healthiest I've had a tank so far

Well nothing much to report, dosing 2ml TNC liquid carbon and 2ml TNC complete ferts daily in the morning. Co2 7am-7pm 4bps, lights adjusted for natural light to now 4pm-10pm. All just floating along while I play with ideas in my mind with what to do next.

@Andrew Butler Maybe some inspiration for you.

I've been toying with the idea on a glass outpipe with surface skimmer to replace the eheim plastic and also removing the extra pump but still not decided on either yet, the thought of a carpet is also in the back of my mind.

Plants arrived in grear shape and time from Aqua Essentials and are in, big fan of the Juncus. I'm still not really doing much with it in terms of plants so will let these do their thing for a while before I take another look into what direction I go with it.

This has been ticking over nicely now since I made the changes, no hair algae not a single strand! No algae on the plants in the slightest! A tad on the Seriyu which is to be expected, I've decided to start the transition on this to compliment the hardscape and have ordered some Juncus Repens...

Day 7, I'm not really paying much attention to the tank. Daily dosing and one 30% water change done that's it, leaving it to just do it's own thing really and see how it pans out with my changes to previous scapes. I do have a future plan set in my mind of how it will be planted at some point...

Do you think the twinstar has had a significant impact? Just seen the previous Q&A.

I have electrical tape over about half of the led's to reduce the intensity, on the external plastic splash cover.

Thanks for the comment on the hard scape, I am really pleased with it. I have pretty much just gone with what I think looks nice rather than trying to stick to the rules and create just another Iwagumi which I have not been able to do so far anyway, now I have the hardscape I have the potential...

Thread closed and moved to https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/a-clear-mind.52063/

Well after a few failed scapes now and a ridicules battle with algae I "THINK" I have got my mind around a few things and have something I can push forward with...... Anyone that has followed any of my previous attempts will know how indecisive I am especially when it comes to scaping with...

All original, I have added some java fern and some I think bacopa sp I grabbed from the lfs.

The Buce became casualties of war unfortunately.

I gave up on this, for one reason or another it was just failing and badly. After a week of no dosing I still had a thick oil on the surface, I put it down to the aqua soil along with the algae issues. Being certain my co2 and distribution were fine along with maintenance routine I just...

This tank is quite simply annoying! No matter how much I think I've got it all right and going well it just keeps going backwards! Co2 @approx 3bps, daily dosing 3ml lco2 and ferts, reduced light intensity, ocd daily cleaning, 30% water changes every other day and still I just can't win. If...

Starting to get itchy fingers with this now, I really like the AR mini and am thinking of filling out the bottom with it.... not entirely sure yet but I'm looking into other plants too. Haven't cleaned the glass for quite a while now, it's being used as a bit of an algae indicator. Gave the...

What do you think is having the greatest affect on the reds to make them so red?

PH 6.4 GH 21 KH 10

50% water change, decided not to decrease the ferts but to increase the lco2 from 2ml to 3ml. See how that goes. Overall algae is totally subdued so increasing photo period to 8hrs from 7hrs, co2 will also be increased for an extra hour to match. Reason for light increase is mostly so I can...

Your reds are insane!!!

Any updates on this? How are you dealing with the algae?

Since I increased to 3ml TNC complete daily I have started getting a slight surface film and white foam so assume it is too much, I will decrease to 2ml again. Everything is settling in nicely now and the lower light is definitely making an improvement overall.

I can already see the difference in the tank from reducing the intensity and increasing co2, those Aquasky are seriously bright! I have the 601. Check this thread out it should help;https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-co2-algae-circle.51890/

I see you are using the ADA Aquasky, I am too and have recently taped over about half of the led's as the I density just seemed too much. Try the same and running on lower light for a couple of weeks and see how that goes?

I really like this, but without any circulation you won't be able to actually spread the co2 or ferts so not much point using it. Because of the size you would be better with full water changes every day or two I think.

Day 11, one from before lights out earlier. I can see quite a good increase in growth from the first day already.

Since noticing some hair algae I've been paying very close attention to different areas of the tank to look for signs of it, one of the reasons for deciding to add co2 was the difference in colour from AR mini compared to non co2 tanks. I have my external return which has an inline co2 diffuser...

For a while now I've been a bit concerned about the intensity of the ADA Aquasky light unit so decided to tape over a few of the led's to dull it down a bit, I only had blue tape but it's inadvertently given a lovely hue to the tank There is also a bit of a hair algae issue starting so I have...

6 weeks today I first filled this tank, 3 scapes later and this is where it is and with it's first life finally! Planted 8 days ago so a lot of recovery and growing to do but it is now home to 6 cardinal tetra and 5 red sakura shrimp

Today's little update, Dosing 2ml TNC liquid carbon and complete ferts daily now and co2 at approx 2bps, I'll probably stop the liquid carbon in about 4 weeks once everything has settled in.

Another 50% water change today along with adding moss and putting the buces in their fixed places. Also removed the Wallichii as it was recovering but in a really bad state, I may replace it or go for something else. Quite a mixture of mosses so will be interesting to see how they settle in.

Yeah I'm hoping it's just the adjusting melt, should know in a few days if they start putting up new shoots or not.

Very quick clean and 50% water change.

Well.... after a hurried planting on Thursday and going to New York on Friday morning I've come back to a bit of a mess which I expected. Crypts have melted quite a bit, if it's just normal melting or not I have no idea, quite a bit of work to do on it but after landing at 9am this morning I...

I have a general idea of what's where but tried to just chuck them in naturally mixed really, the foreground is a mixture of; Alternanthera Reineckii ''Mini" Cryptocoryne rubella Cryptocoryne albida 'Brown' Cryptocoryne beckettii "Petchii"

That's it for tonight, all of the mosses will be added next week.

A lot of moss still to attach to the wood but it's getting there. A big thanks to Aquasabi for the quality of the plants.

It's play time

Stunning.

And so the journey continues lol New journal here: www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/spirallassis.51824/

I learned from my last scape that frequent/daily water changes are pretty much a must for a heavily planted start so will be doing that for sure, I'm considering Limnophila hippuridoides for along the back of the tank. It will be in direct flow so need something sturdy enough to withstand a...

So.... here I go again lol I've named this spirallassis which I think is a totally made up word but it reflects how my head has felt getting to this point, after numerous ideas and attempts I have finally settled on what I hope to be a lush dense forest..... we shall see lol Tank: TMC...

I did like the Dragon stone one but the more I read and learned the more I wanted to do and just couldn't with that, after a lot of confused ideas of more tanks/new scapes etc etc I figured I had to slow it all down and get to grips with everything but also have more options. A lot of playing...

Tank cleaned, new soil added and inline co2 connected and running. A lot more planting and attaching to do next week but this is where it's at right now. Full of o2 and co2 bubbles at the moment.

I was never completely happy with that last one, the more I looked at it and tried to think of it planted the more it didn't work. That scape needs a bigger tank for sure which I already knew but I think tried to convince myself it was fine, what I have now I can see working with my vision of a...

So.... I completely changed my mind on this and am going for a Amazon/mangrove instead, I've had the first batch of plants delivered but still waiting for the bulk. The tank is a mess lol wood still needs to sink which is weighed down currently and what plants have arrived are simply wedged in...

Coming to you live from total carnage lol Just couldn't except what the soil had become so have sived and rinsed it to rescue what I could until another 9L arrives, also looking at the array of plants on order I didn't feel I actually had the right planting space for them all so here we go...

Plant list updated with more ordered today, it's going to be a plantathon when they all arrive lol Alternanthera Reineckii ''Mini Bucephalandra sp. "Deep Purple" Bucephalandra sp. "Red" Bucephalandra sp. "King blue" Bucephalandra sp. "rainbow" Bucephalandra sp. "saidil" Bucephalandra sp...

I have some great ideas especially with the weeping moss hanging off the branches, hopefully everything will work as I think it lol

Next stage of development is underway, all components for my co2 system have been ordered except a FE which I will look for locally.

After a bit of consideration I decided not to run before I could walk and to focus on one tank and 're scape the current one before getting too carried away and making a mess of it, so here it is. One problem of the 're scape is the state of the Aqua soil Amazonia..... it will be removed and...

Decided to close this journal now and move to another for the new scape, it's been fun. See you on the other side https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/journey-of-the-stones.51667/

Well it's all change here now, I decided to 're scape the tank yesterday as I figured better to do it now while still cycling than when I finally get some fish in there. One problem of the 're scape is the state of the Aqua soil Amazonia..... it will be removed and replaced. But on to the...

Time for another update, Marselia Hersuita.....a slow growing undemanding plant..... It grows like a weed lol I've got a bit of green hair algae I'm working on clearing and decided the carpet has been to dense so been thinning bits here and there until today, today I removed about a third...

So today I finally got rid of that damn internal heater and connected a 200w Hydor inline external!! I am a happy bunny lol

I think realistically I'll end up with another Signature 600 as I've already got so will most likely make a sand box to play with for a while, I feel like I've already outgrown my current tank with my ideas but it is very simple to be fair and don't want that to happen again. I would like...