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  1. Ed Seeley

    local wood?

    IME try to find dead wood that is not on the ground (either still attached to the tree or suspended off the ground in a pile of twigs) from either Oak or Beech as these have both been used by lots of people with no issues. Apparently people in Australia have used old, dried Eucalyptus but I'd...
  2. Ed Seeley

    180ltr Rescape

    Re: Rescape - NEED HELP WITH WOOD POSITIONING IMVHO you're right; too symmetrical on those two front pieces. Think the back pices could look great, just move the front one. (But this is hardly my area of expertise here either!!!)
  3. Ed Seeley

    Bones

    Just like wood, being a dead natural material, they will break down, but we use wood in our tanks all the time and cope with this fine! Maybe you might be best trying to source realistic plastic versions instead?
  4. Ed Seeley

    South American Biotope

    How many leaves do you want? I have a bag full of American Red Oak leaves that were collected last autumn from my school. I'm sure I can spare a few!
  5. Ed Seeley

    New challenges...

    Closest I've found to that are these Dan; Mongabay.com and Badman's biotope aquaria. Not perhaps as much detail as we'd want! There's also some amazing pictures of a West African stream on a thread on Apistogramma.com (that I can't find at the moment... :roll: ) that would give a lot of...
  6. Ed Seeley

    Extra large driftwood

    Wharf Aquatics in Pinxton always have some huge pieces of wood Dan. Not as cheap as the above though...
  7. Ed Seeley

    My-Rio-240

    Right not left! And it could just be the pictures but I'd go with larger groups of less types at this stage. If you're anything like me you'll add lots more types anyway over the weeks/months anyway!
  8. Ed Seeley

    My-Rio-240

    I like the left hand side with the large sweeps of plants but the right hand side looks too busy. I'd just use one type of wood too; using two different types is hard to make look right IMHO. Other than that if it looks that lush and densely planted when it comes to realisation it should look...
  9. Ed Seeley

    lime stone

    They'd look all shiny and horrid! :lol: Seriously the porous and uneven nature of the rocks would mean it would be almost impossible to completely cover them and once some water leaked in through a pin-hole gap it would probably cause the varnish to lift off and come away from the rock...
  10. Ed Seeley

    lime stone

    It will raise your hardness but apart from that it's fine Mark. With large water changes and tap water you probably won't notice too much difference.
  11. Ed Seeley

    iwagumi style, cruel to fish?

    Fish that shoal generally do so for security (among other reasons). I have to say that IMHO keeping a larger shoal in a bare tank would be less cruel than keeping a few fish in heavy cover for most shoaling fish as they prefer that company. If you're worried about it pick some shoaling fish...
  12. Ed Seeley

    Optiwhite iwagumi.

    I actually really like that but think you'd need taller plants than HC to make it work. I can really see it with a lawn of hairgrass weaving in amongst the rocks to accentuate the fact that they are a series of different rocks.
  13. Ed Seeley

    Joining/Sticking Landscape Rocks together

    It would be fine if you can get the two surfaces to meet as it's a contact adhesive. Silcone will fill the little gaps between the rocks two uneven surfaces and give a better grip. If the two pieces are very flat then it might work though!
  14. Ed Seeley

    Joining/Sticking Landscape Rocks together

    Don't use kitchen or bathroom silicone from DIY shops as it contains fungicides that are very toxic to fish and other aquatic life. You have to use silicone that is aquarium safe. You might also want to look at using milliput that sets into rock hard epoxy, this could then be submerged almost...
  15. Ed Seeley

    large amount of slate

    Or you can just put a small amount of substrate down to spread the load, as long as you don't have fish that will excavate under the rockwork.
  16. Ed Seeley

    Where to get wood?

    Should be but the only way you'll know for sure is to try it!
  17. Ed Seeley

    any tips for raising areas

    With a bit of silicone sealant glue smaller pieces of rock to the underneath to make them higher. Just make sure you won't see the joints...
  18. Ed Seeley

    Where to get wood?

    Sounds perfect. Has any bacterial or fungal growths happened when you soaked it?
  19. Ed Seeley

    Critique needed please!

    I like the wood, though the far left piece looks a little different from the others, but that could just be the way it looks in the photos. As to the rocks I think it might look better if the larger rocks are in the centre with the smaller rocks looking they've broken away from the main parts...
  20. Ed Seeley

    Help with aquascape...

    I was thinking remove the centre one and replace with a large one (or even a couple of) Anubias tied to a much smaller piece that won't be seen. It'd fill in the visual gap under that stem plant IMHO.
  21. Ed Seeley

    How to scape a room divider?

    You could have stems at the end near the wall sloping down to an Iwagima out where it acts as a divider with focal rockwork. Could look amazing....
  22. Ed Seeley

    Preparing Red Moor for the tank

    I've used a couple of soaks in Milton Sterilising fluid usually does the trick. It's used to sterilise baby's bottles and things like that so is very safe to use IME. Soak it in a large tub or something, not the best thing to do in a tank - I speak from experience here!!!!
  23. Ed Seeley

    Scaping thoughts/help

    There are a couple of things I would say straight away. If you simply want to improve what's there then I'd make a few changes. The first is the vallis; it looks strange cropped off like that and spread along the whole tank. I'd have one large group to the left side and remove it from the...
  24. Ed Seeley

    Where to get wood?

    There are lots of different maples, including the Sycamore which is far from endangered as it's a weed really. I tend to use dead branches from my Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) as they have nice twiggy branches or collect Oak and Beech from the woods or our school wood.
  25. Ed Seeley

    Where to get wood?

    I stick to Oaks, beech and maples. I've used leaves of all those in tanks too and have never had any problems.
  26. Ed Seeley

    Where to get wood?

    There's always woods.... I've collected a fair bit dead wood when on walks and it's great. Just look for hard, standing dead wood on the trees and remove it. I then soak it and disinfect it with a couple of soaks in Milton before using it. Don't use anything spongy or lying on the floor. To...
  27. Ed Seeley

    Fixing wood together to create interesting shapes

    I tend to use brass metalware around aquariums too and that has never caused any problems in my tanks/ponds. Food grade plastics are dead safe too.
  28. Ed Seeley

    which plant shall i use?

    I think Narrow JF would work well. Other options might be narrow leaved Hygrophila spp. Maybe E.tenellus might work too depending on the size of the tank? Could help with making it look bigger?
  29. Ed Seeley

    Green fishing line

    Thicker lines can also be felt by the fish and are stiffer so don't cause the bait to act as naturally. 10lb Flourocarbon is a great material to make a stiff hooklink out of to hook tricky carp on overfished waters. Low diameter lines are much more flexible and harder for the fish to feel or...
  30. Ed Seeley

    Green fishing line

    You might want to try Flourocarbon line too. It is clear but has a refractive index almost identical to water and is said to be almost invisible underwater. There also used to be a camouflaged version of Maxima that was good too.
  31. Ed Seeley

    How do you scape a tall cube?

    Why wouldn't what work?
  32. Ed Seeley

    How do you scape a tall cube?

    Why not e-mail the seller and see if they can get the Easy2 for a good price? Then you'll be sure that it'll fit correctly. I bought mine from a European seller, SeaMe.com but they have gone up a lot since I bought mine by the look of things! I would get a bubble counter; in fact I've just...
  33. Ed Seeley

    How do you scape a tall cube?

    You might not want to tell your Dad this but the welding CO2 cylinders are just the same thing but with a bit less gas in. All a FE is is a CO2 cylinder with the trigger handle at the top. If you are stuck to the smaller welding regs you might find you can pick up a JBL Easy 2 set for about...
  34. Ed Seeley

    How do you scape a tall cube?

    I have that reg from Aquatic Magic but with a splitter too and there is a check valve at the base of the bubble counter so you can scratch that off your list of requirements! All you need is CO2 hose, a diffuser and a drop checker too. All are available off Ebay cheaply. The rhinox type are...
  35. Ed Seeley

    Possible Moss tank with Fish and Shrimp.

    You can often pick up the rocks a lot cheaper if you find a supplier of rcoks for garden landscaping. Often they have large cages full of them to choose from. My local one has spaghetti rock and allsorts. And no worries on the moss. If I don't trim it before June (very unlikely!) then just...
  36. Ed Seeley

    Possible Moss tank with Fish and Shrimp.

    I can give you some Flame, Weeping and Spiky moss if you like? In a few weeks I'm going to have to trim mine all back again! I'd go with some tiny fish such as small rainbows (Pseudomugil) or Lampeyes killies maybe? Or tiny Livebearers. Another, rare option might be Pseudepiplatys annulatus?
  37. Ed Seeley

    120cm - Harlequins' Haven

    Very nice George (I'm going for understatement today! :wink: :lol: ) I know you love the 'quins and they will probably look stunning in real life, but I think a big shoal of Neon rainbows or similar would have been a little more arresting in the photos though maybe... (But then what do I know!!!)
  38. Ed Seeley

    Can you use any wood for hardscape?

    Boiling the wood is often recommended but there are a few problems. First, as a one off treatment, I don't think it does much beyond killing any bugs and helping the wood to sink. Second, is finding a pan big enough to fit the wood in that you don't mind ruining (or your other half/mum/etc...
  39. Ed Seeley

    Can you use any wood for hardscape?

    I've got wood I collected from the local wood in my tank. I selected dry, dead wood with as little bark as possible. I soaked it overnight, stripped the bark and checked that it was quite solid. I then soaked them in the tank at warm temperatures for about a week. The water went cloudy and...
  40. Ed Seeley

    120cm - Harlequins' Haven

    Looks like I'll just have to come and see them in the flesh then mate! I know what you mean about the huge difference between pictures and real life. On the web it's all too easy to think of the picture rather than the day-to-day enjoyment of the tank. I'm sure my new Biotoecus for my tank...
  41. Ed Seeley

    120cm - Harlequins' Haven

    I sense a joke there mate :D , what's a VMM? Vietnamese Mountain Minnow???
  42. Ed Seeley

    120cm - Harlequins' Haven

    Loving the tank George, but the Harlequins do nothing for me in the pictures I'm afraid. What is the longer species in with them? Just a by-catch rasbora?
  43. Ed Seeley

    Wood Arrangement Opinions Please

    Agree with this, except I'd position #2 slightly less centrally, on the golden mean to the left of the tank.
  44. Ed Seeley

    Rescape after only 2 months

    I like the second one much more. The one advantage of doing the right hand slop with Riccia is that, as you have to tie it to rocks, you could make the mound out of rocks carefully stacked up, rather than a slope which, like Clive said, could slip.
  45. Ed Seeley

    Rescape after only 2 months

    Ok.... Only kidding, good starting point. However I would move the sand pathway a little nearer the centre so it sits on the Golden ratio. I'd also angle it more so the back of it is lost behind taller plants and you don't see it hit the glass at the back when looking straight on; hidden...
  46. Ed Seeley

    60cm - Sumatran Chocolate

    The gouramis look nice and healthy George. Bet it's nice to have at least one tank that doesn't need all the dosing and trimming eh?! :lol:
  47. Ed Seeley

    The Gaze of Solemnity.

    I've found the plants in my tank have done as well, if not better than some in the Aquasoil. I think so much is leaching from the Aquasoil that it really doesn't seem to matter at the moment. And I'm hardly the most consistent with my fertilising either so it must be from the Aquasoil!
  48. Ed Seeley

    Welsh Mountains...A Distant Echo.

    Maybe a pair of dwarf cichlids would be better? My Pelvicachromis certainly keep them shoaling well.
  49. Ed Seeley

    Welsh Mountains...A Distant Echo.

    My 40 swim all around the tank and look great. Having some cichlids to chase them off every now and then helps too! :wink:
  50. Ed Seeley

    Scape help

    :shock: Oops :roll: , hope the tank is ok.
  51. Ed Seeley

    Scape help

    As was suggested above the Anubias tied where the rock and wood meet would look good. Your needle leaved ferns could then be tied to the wood behind that on the bare section.
  52. Ed Seeley

    Languishing Cube

    Well this tank is now no more! Before it was taken down I took some snaps with all the equipment removed. I normally don't like to do this but as it was it's last day... First the front shot. Next the side the cube was usually viewed from. And finally a full shot of the cube in the room...
  53. Ed Seeley

    My 10 gallon (possibly in the wrong forum)

    Hope you don't mind but I've moved this to the Aquascaping forum as you're after help with that aspect of things. Personally the stems stand out to me as needing to be changed. They make the whole tank look top heavy. Maybe the leaves on those are too big too? Maybe something smaller...
  54. Ed Seeley

    The "retaining wall"

    If you want to build a slate wall you might find it easier to use slate chippings or paddlestones and silicone to stick them together into a wall. Lumps of slate could be tricky to find and while slate splits very easiyl down the strata, it is very hard to break it across into 'lumps' IME...
  55. Ed Seeley

    Non-planted 'scape...

    Any would do great. I think some Wild strain agassizii, maybe the Tefe form would look good, but maybe my choice would be either; Apistogramma nijsseni, the Panda Dwarf cichlid. The male's a blueish colour, but the female is bright (almost fluorescent) yellow with dark black brooding patches...
  56. Ed Seeley

    Non-planted 'scape...

    Nice detail photo; don't keep us waiting too long for a full shot! Which Apisto sp. are you thinking of going for and any other inhabitants, like pencilfish?
  57. Ed Seeley

    Languishing Cube

    Cheers Andy, If I get chance before I tear this down I must take some photos without all the equipment! And not just after giving them Cyclops!!!
  58. Ed Seeley

    Languishing Cube

    Thought I'd better update this as this tank is shortly to make way for another... BTW, before you see the pictures I ought to apologise for the pictures and point out that the small particles in the water are frozen Cyclops as the killies had just been fed and the messy looking stuff at the top...
  59. Ed Seeley

    Mountainscape

    Fantastic scape Zig. Love the lampeyes too. love the contrast of harsh, pointed rocks and soft HC.
  60. Ed Seeley

    ADA 2007 winner video and others...

    Not bad wood though! Could really do with some like that! James might disagree on the choice of Angelfish as an 'odd' selection too!!! (Not sure about the Denisoni barbs with them though I agree! :wink: ) Of course not George! :wink: :lol:
  61. Ed Seeley

    Some ideas to put to you

    I think it could work with the gap and the idea is something different and that's gotta be worth a try!!! One thing I would do, if you stick with that planting plan, is to put a drift of Blyxa, or whatever you choose, on the 'limb' that stick out towards the 'Blyxa island'. IMHO, this would...
  62. Ed Seeley

    Scape help

    Sure we'll be able to sort something out. I'll tell you how I've bulked it up quickly too so you can do that yourself and grow as much as you need! Will be a month or so though as I've just repotted it and split it all up again recently and it'll need to grow out again before it gets disturbed...
  63. Ed Seeley

    Scape help

    It looks quite a lot like Glossostigma but grows much more slowly. I had it in my cube, but it got covered with BBA. I've got it growing emersed now and it looks great with it's four-lobed leaves. It grows much quicker emersed so I'm bulking it up to try it submersed again.
  64. Ed Seeley

    Ultimate nano?

    Glad you like it guys. So creative and as Graeme said a pretty good scape too. Now all he needs are some fish... I reckon day old fry will do it!!!
  65. Ed Seeley

    Ultimate nano?

    This is a great tank posted on APC. Thought you guys might like to see it. Rastamans tank Scroll about halfway down and guess the size from the first photo; then carry on scrolling down...
  66. Ed Seeley

    Need some help people

    I'd go with bigger, thicker chunks personally. Something like these Slate Rockery Stone.htm might work better to get the effect I think you're after. Will be a lot cheaper too as there has been a lot less processing.
  67. Ed Seeley

    Need some help people

    Why not just use some large blocks of slate? You can get them from landscaping supplies and they would look great contrasting with pearling Riccia IMHO. I bought a large one and split it to form the backdrops to my main tank. As they are generally squarish they are easy to stack as well.
  68. Ed Seeley

    Languishing Cube

    That's pretty much it! This is an old picture showing the whole tank;
  69. Ed Seeley

    Languishing Cube

    I could do with your help guys. This is my PFK cube. Today is day 256 since it was set up. Specs are; 25litres RO water remineralised with Seachem Equilibrium HOB filter with Purigen and siporax media 11W Power compact Hagen Yeast CO2 E.I. fertilisation Tetra complete substrate I'm really...
  70. Ed Seeley

    International Aquatic Plants Layout 2007 Winner.

    I love it. A pretty worthy winner IMHO. All the top 10 or so were great though.
  71. Ed Seeley

    60cm Iwagumi layout

    Very nice Peter! Love Iwagimas and this is a really nice one!
  72. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    I thought I'd posted this reply yesterday, but evidently something went wrong with it! I'm trying to proces the wood I've selected in a large water butt where I'm going to leave it for a long time, maybe even until next spring/summer. I've done this before with wood from the LFS that went...
  73. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    That is great wood James. It's going to look great in your tank. The funniest thing though is the plug tangle behind!!! Just how the area under my tanks used to look!
  74. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    Japanese Maples are definitely hardwoods; the whole Acer genus is. They are also relatively slow growing with tough wood. I wouldn't use any wood unless it's had a winter to harden off. I think they'll be as good a choice as any wood, but I'm not too sure on how suitable any recently dead...
  75. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    They look ace Graham. Have you used some of this wood in any tanks? Heather's a pretty hard wood so I assume it'd be fine for use. I'm just thinking of the small rather knarly small shrubs I've got in my garden and a dead branch of a Japanese maple I need to prune and whether they'd be of any...
  76. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    Cheers James. All the way from Texas eh mate. Looks very, very nice though...
  77. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    That first piece especially looks very nice. Where was it from? Also which part of Croydon has bananas growing wild? :D
  78. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    Well just looking around the house and I've 'found' some very thin branches that I believe came from IKEA as decorations in flower arrangements! They are willow branches and very dry and dead. Useable do you reckon? I'm going to stick them in to soak for a while and I'm sure 5 won't be missed....
  79. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    Thanks Jayne. Not ruling out LFS, in fact just been to my nearest good one and came up empty. They have huge roots, but no intricate thin ones. Gloucestershire might be a bit far for me to come from Nottingham though....
  80. Ed Seeley

    Wood for tank

    Hi guys, I'm looking for some wood to look like roots in my tank. I've seen the Redmoor wood AE have but Richard's only got medium and big bits left and it seems a lot when I'm going to chop them up! I've found this site, http://www.anvil-art.co.uk/collectionprice.htm that seems to have some...
  81. Ed Seeley

    Aquarium Background

    I agree completely. It's certainly given me some ideas about something I normally don't even consider! My tanks have a range of things on the back from nothing to slate. I hope someone has a suitable Iwagima and would like to try the background, or another similar one. It may look naff or...
  82. Ed Seeley

    Aquarium Background

    I didn't have a picture in mind, just an idea of rolling hills behind an Iwagima that's meant to represent rolling hills, know what I mean? Anyway did a quick search and found this picture of a part of the Cheviot Hills from this website, http://www.calwalkers.com/ReiversWay/RWDay8.html Hope...
  83. Ed Seeley

    Aquarium Background

    With an Iwagima scape it might look pretty cool to have an image of mountains as the backdrop, kinda mirroring what the scape is trying to represent?
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