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Lol.. maybe another Londoner should try also.. they got lots of tanks that can be scaped. It is an awesome experience and the staff is really cool. Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk

Many thanks.. I hope that with the exhibit the visitors get inspired to ditch the plastic plants they have and start to try true aquatics. A pitty I am not based in the UK anylonger, otherwise we could do the rest of the tanks. Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk

The plants will reach its natural habitat size. And they grow. Did you see the crypt carpet? Planted on penguin guano.. :) covered with old gravel. Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk

Thanks. I am happy the tank is still standing and living as an ecosystem. :) The plan worked. Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk

Why? :) It would be low.. less than 10 at substrate level surely.. it is a lot of water, and the lights are high.. main thing is that the plants grow.. proof that if you choose easy plants, you do not have to worry so much about lights.

Weekly.., also they get root tabs, which I have left a few of them behind for maintenance. The fish produce enough waste to keep the plants going, so the ecosystem is working. I am very happy that this tank is going strong, and it is giving the public a great experience of planted tanks.. if...

Still going strong.. over a year old scape.. Some cell phone pictures..

Yes, this was a complete rescape.. We only saw the wood and rocks that went in the day we got there, so we had to cut one log to get the shape and layout we wanted, as the tank has to be viewed from three sides. Also the boulders were brought in from the penguin enclosure, covered with...

I was lucky, shipped I think 4 or 5 boxes, and got all in without issues.. :) The man does send out some amazing wood, truly recommended.

So jealous.. ;) awesome wood.

Best thing really.. order your own box, choose what suits your tank and sell the rest.

You guys are in for a treat, the wood he sends is just superb. :)

I started like that in the mid 80's, and funny enough there are still a lot of people that like those. yes, I still do it for the kids, and they love the tanks..

I would like to do it.. a trolley and old car tyre into a tank.. as a biotope.. :)

What about the AGA competition? They do not take the diorama seriously, and also they have the Biotope section, I entered once and it was a really enjoyable tank to look at, gave me great fun to set it up and let it develop.

Great point.. really good point..

I really enjoy the IAPLC because it is truly a international show, and you get to see some amazing scapes.. yes, not all to my taste, but all amazing none the less.. :) I missed it this year, with the moving and all, but entering next year, with a crazy scape.. :) winning would be good, but...

Some of those dioramas are truly spectacular.. I shared two scapes on facebook, and I got friends from all walks of life, age and hobbies.. The one I liked, a natural aquatic landscape did not receive many likes or comments.. the diorama of the forest, from Turkey, received lots of comments, and...

The turkish effect is now in full flow, and they got really good.. The brasilians also did really good.. Some outstanding scapes.. others.. hmm, not my style.. But I think the competition is more than just winning, it is a display of what is out there..

The aquarium has done a documentary about the work they do.. a few minutes dedicated to the Piranha Tank.. The piranha tank is shown at 05:00.. and you see me at 06:44.. :) but you need slow down the video, as it was done with a timelapse.. This should give a sense of scale.. Large piranha...

I am happy that the tank is holding on after so long, and hope that it will last another 15 years.. :)

Front Piranha-Tank-Aug_005 by Luis Embalo, on Flickr

Left Piranha-Tank-Aug_008 by Luis Embalo, on Flickr

Right Piranha-Tank-Aug_018 by Luis Embalo, on Flickr

Well what can I say? :) I am surprised that the crypts are growing. :) and spreading in such unfavorable conditions.. ... Not yet a master like most of you.. :p so these things surprise me. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

You have not seen the tank, or actually understood the challenges ... :) no offence.. :) When you have a tank that is almost 2 meters away from the lights, shaded, and under 120cm of water, then tell me you not surprised the crypts are not only surviving, but growing, keeping their deep red...

Yes, still pumping CO2..

Thanks.. Hopefully they will manage to get a bigger filter for this tank so that it is separate from the rest, they are building it at the moment, and then dose ferts, using the EI method.. :) I wish I had this tank at home.. :)

I really enjoyed were the kids and the families that took the time to look at the fishes and the plants.. some were surprised that the plants are not fake.. Hopefully will get more people to realise how much better a tank can be with plants. Also helped the guy that takes care of the London...

The tank can be classed as a low tech.. hardly any ferts, so little that the moss died out. :) What surprised me the most are the crypts.. really surprised with them.

Tank Maturing very nicely indeed.. :) It is a massive tank. I convinced them to get a separate filter for it, so that they can dose ferts and up the co2 a bit. Currently sharing the filter with the rest of the aquarium, a 2 million Liter filter.. :) size of a double storey house. Considering...

Video here..

I visited the London Aquarium today, to drop 50kg of Dragon Stone and have a chat with the team. The Piranha tank is almost 9 months old, and amazingly it is still holding. The choice of plants was really good, and it is a low tech. The crypts are just amazing, I should have carpeted the lot...

No, they had no nutrients. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

They sold them on.. They were large. The tank is thankfully still holding on. :) Some issues with the anubias and mosses, no water collumn ferts, but the rooted plants are very healthy and doing well. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Same plants, same fish, same wood and same rocks.. :) Still holding on.

8 months on.. London Aquarium by Ghostsword, on Flickr

Book as described. This book will become a classic, absolutely perfect. This is a book for novice aquascapers, and should be the first buy before even getting a tank. So concise, well laid out, and with great pictured. Truly recommend it.

"AUTOGRAPHED" Aquascaping - Handbook for new aquascapers (Oliver Knott) | eBay

I just ordered the book on ebay.. it will be worth the money.. We not all like the same things, and that is why this hobby is so rewarding, we can push our own boundaries, and learn from others.. but we can also do our own thing irrespective of what others think.. as long as plants and fish...

I think an english version was released.. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

I have purchased various boxes ... there is nothing as most beautiful and more intricate than manzanita..

Nothing will beat doing things by your own.. you will learn so much.. Also do not be afraid to copy a scape of someone here, just outright copy it, and when you are familiar with the techniques you can change the scape around and do your own thing. For example, I had two tries at copying...

Some good scapers here.. surely someone can help.

Hi.. Yes, they got rid of the old ones.. :) these are the babies.. I was very impressed with the crypts.. so clean and nice carpeting effect from them.. We should have carpeted the lot with crypts.. :)

Two months have passed so I went to visit the tank and have a chat with the Aquarists (the guys that take care of it). Some Cyano, and the moss on the wood is not growing. The tank needs nutrients in the water column. We need to sort that out. However, the planted plants are really nice, good...

It is in the pipeline.. :) ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Have been sick these past weeks, but plan to go soon.. Been in contact with the staff and they report no issues.

Written on the PFK website, in response to the comments by the staff. "Will the extra recommended fish survive the piranha, and the plants survive one hungry L191 and 100 Otos?" Would the fish survive the Piranha? Of course they will, Piranha feed on sick or dying fish, any healthy fish...

You will need more wood, more shade, and less plants for an angelfish friendly design.

:) That was why I wrote what we want to achieve are healthy plants, plants that grow and thrive. :) If it goes full on threat algae, cyano, all plants covered, then the plants will just die. Hopefully that does not happen. :) But if it does, at least the tank will be Biotope correct, only...

No such large system will be completely without algae.. there are people with 20L tanks that cannot beat algae, so I very much doubt that this 18000L with a 2 Million litter filter (the size of a house) would be completely without algae, and that is not the intention of the scape. What we want...

Thanks.. I will wait for Planted Tanks and Sea Life center to get in contact with PFK, as I am not sure what sort of information Planted Tanks sent them. I have not seen the tank since, but the Sea Life center says that one month on it is still going strong, so for me that is all that matters...

But it is disappointing that PFK would publish such article without at least attempted to see that it was accurate.

Not a question of grievances.. more like just inaccurate information. For example, the Sea Life staff also wanted a biotope.. I showed them photos of what the location where the Piranhas are from really looks like.. They quickly changed their minds, and were happy to have a normal planted...

Saw the article at the PFK, London Sea Life Piranha tank gets an aquascaping makeover | News | Practical Fishkeeping .. Highly inaccurate, in a variety of points, such as the brief being a Biotope, and how the plants would be fed, the use of the fish, how long it took to build, why fighting...

I am very happy that you enjoyed it.. :) Took some pictures? Share them..

The staff cleans the tank ok, they say that the piranhas avoid them.. :) I would not risk it..

Yes, the Echinodorus xinguensis is a pretty nice plant to use as a carpet.. looks really cool..

The report from one of the tank keepers: "So 1st time snorkelling in the display after its 1st week and it still looks amazing. Not a spot of algae on the windows means it was a pleasure to clean . Pruned a couple of leaves that were looking worse for wear otherwise its doing well so far."

I do not know what is UP.. The gas is being pumped into the tank using a metal T junction, and two atomic diffusers.

Same way as on a normal tank, but 24/7.. at the back, between the echinodorus. It has a 44kg bottle at the back. The tank has a lot of ferns, anubias and mosses, the CO2 is there mainly for the echinodorus. Time will say if it will work.. no melting yet. :)

They never had ottos.. They wanted to put plecos on it.. :) It is a stepping stone... a bit at the time.. The staff is very interested in getting rid of all plastic plants (there are lots of displays), so I am popping in next week to talk to some of them and offer solutions. Things like...

If a group want's to visit the tank, let me know, so that we can arrange a behind the scenes trip. There are more fish going in, and shrimp.. yep, London Aquarium want's to put shrimp into the tank. Told them that they may become snack, but they said that they had shrimps with the piranhas...

:) but good catch on the apostrophe.. :) I will surely pass it to the London Aquarium.. English not my first language, but they have no excuse.. :)

:) George, thanks.. I will leave that argument of the world's largest tank to the London Aquarium marketing people.. :) It was an amazing experience, especially as we only saw the wood on the day of scaping.. This tank is 4 meters long, 3 meters wide and 1.5 meters tall, making it 18000L...

There were piranha there before, with vallis and moss.. They were fine. The London Aquarium want's to have a piranha tank, that is what they want, so they get piranhas. If the piranhas destroy the plants ... well, what can we do? I would personally have angel fish there, lots and lots of...

They got two people dedicated to this tank, they go inside once a week to clean the glass. I am also visiting once a week to see if they need help. There may be some die back, but there are some easy plants in there, so they will keep the tank going. The staff just needs time for it, they...

I am sure that the Sea Life center will produce some videos... I will give them a copy of all I have..

It is a odd music, but the only one I had without copyright.. Youtube likes to put adverts on anything that has copyright..

Thanks.. yep, the bolbitis at the back are massive.. never seen them so big.. The tank is planted in a way to allow for the fish to swim, and the wood is closer to glass so that the people can see the fish, and take pictures. There are more fish to go in, such as 100 otos, but they are...

:) They had plants there with them before.. Nonetheless, the video is up.

But don't worry. The next tank maybe the croc tank.. :) and that is really big! ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

No.. Piranhas eat fish and meat, they do not eat plants.. They are just too big for most tanks, this is why you never see them on planted tanks. Until now.. :) ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Thanks George. The filter is shared with the other displays so ferts are root balls. We are dosing co2 on the tank 24/7, the aquarium staff monitors it. It is mostly for the echinodorus, and they should reach the top quickly. Lights are 6 x 250w halogen, 30 par at substrate level, 50 par...

I was really impressed by their plants.. Usually I buy only Tropica but these were in really top condition. The echinodorus were impressive.. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Need to do the video from yesterday. It has the guy swimming in it and placing the first fish, will do it tomorrow, not as fun as this one. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Done the video for today. My dear lord it looks awesome. 14 minutes of video, HD, 2gb. Will upload to youtube once it finished rendering. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Yes, it is the one by London Eye.. They are now revamping the tanks, and ditching the fake plants.. I am sure that you will see more changes, I think that Planted Tanks has been invited to do more tanks, they are using Aquadip plants. Most tanks will be planted with easy plants, such as...

Tony from Planted Tanks asked me to help out. :)

Everybody does tetras and other fish. This is different.. :) About 400 pots of plants from Aquadip.. Top quality plants.. You see the size of the bolbitis.. :) I have a video of the guy that is in charge of the tank swimming inside.. Just amazing. ___________________________ Luis...

Thanks guys.. if you in London do visit..

I am to try HC, but have a few strands of lileaopsis here and there. I would like to try the contrast in colour with the two. Has anyone tried it? ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

I also like that tank with the shards, but it does look like a photoshot montage.. So not real for me.. :) Now about the new Tropica Catalogue.. where can I get one? :) And signed by the UK masters please.. :)

I also know what to vote for, some tanks I know personally so I know that the picture isn't photoshop. :) in fact the picture does not do justice to the tank. There some amazing scapes there, and great inspirations indeed. I do think that this new way if voting is exciting, we get to vote for...

Just managed to download the pdf, there are some amazing scapes there.. But again, a lot of copies, that is disappointing...

The page is so slow.. damm, I could not see any scape yet... :(

I have not managed to get into the page yet.. Will check it out tonight.. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Awesome.. :)

Yep.. But two tanks from my home. :) ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Awesome.. More than last year I think. ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Good luck to all indeed. :) ___________________________ Luis @ghostsword

Thanks Radik.. For the next scapes I need to get those nice leds you are building.. :)

Thanks.. I think that this year the UK will be "killing" it.. :) if we do 20 aquascapes will be awesome.. I am also looking forward to Aquatics 2012!! :)

Another crazy idea? :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjYfHSYa ... ture=g-upl

My entry ======== Alentejo-IAPLC 201202 by GHOSTSWORD, on Flickr Alentejo-IAPLC 201236 by GHOSTSWORD, on Flickr Alentejo-IAPLC 201237 by GHOSTSWORD, on Flickr