Dave Pierce
Member
No I didn't which is a shame. Something I've learnt for next time though
The HC has taken hold on the black substrate now near the edges so it shouldn't mix up too much.
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Dave's Aquascape - Update & pics 24th June
The HC has taken hold on the black substrate now near the edges so it shouldn't mix up too much.
jack-rythm
Member
Good stuff, I hope the two don't mix!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Dave Pierce
Member
Managed to pick up a bargain today. Got hold of a 2nd hand TMC regulator, solenoid and refillable canister for just £50 from my local LFS! they also do co2 refills. If anyone lives near Bury St Edmunds I'd recommend Home & Garden Aquatics for Co2 refills. Will dig out the CO2 refill thread and post details there.
Hooked it up this afternoon. It's going to be great not having to faff around with turning on and of the co2 in the mornings and at night. Not to mention the savings, as it costs more or less the same to refill the 500g canister as it does to buy an 88g disposable!
Picture as of this evening from another angle:
Hooked it up this afternoon. It's going to be great not having to faff around with turning on and of the co2 in the mornings and at night. Not to mention the savings, as it costs more or less the same to refill the 500g canister as it does to buy an 88g disposable!
Picture as of this evening from another angle:
Dave Pierce
Member
Thought I'd post an update. The picture was taken this evening.
I have decided against the black background. I'm going to buy a strip light at some point (maybe tomorrow if I have time) and put this behind the tank pointing against the wall to create a light background.
Everything's growing well, except the Rotala. Not sure why!?!? I imagine something to do with Co2 or nutrients? I probably need to up them but it's puzzling as everything else is growing OK. The lower stems on the rotala seem to be loosing some leaves but at the same time there's new shoots. As soon as the stem grows high enough the lower leaves fall off. Can anyone help with this?
Thanks for looking.
06-03-2013-(2) by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
I have decided against the black background. I'm going to buy a strip light at some point (maybe tomorrow if I have time) and put this behind the tank pointing against the wall to create a light background.
Everything's growing well, except the Rotala. Not sure why!?!? I imagine something to do with Co2 or nutrients? I probably need to up them but it's puzzling as everything else is growing OK. The lower stems on the rotala seem to be loosing some leaves but at the same time there's new shoots. As soon as the stem grows high enough the lower leaves fall off. Can anyone help with this?
Thanks for looking.
06-03-2013-(2) by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
Hi Dave, loosing leaves is most likely co2 related. Everything else may still be doing well as distribution to them is good. I can see that the rotala is behind a large piece of hardscape which may be effecting distribution to the lower portions of the plant and could explain the shedding.Thought I'd post an update. The picture was taken this evening.
I have decided against the black background. I'm going to buy a strip light at some point (maybe tomorrow if I have time) and put this behind the tank pointing against the wall to create a light background.
Everything's growing well, except the Rotala. Not sure why!?!? I imagine something to do with Co2 or nutrients? I probably need to up them but it's puzzling as everything else is growing OK. The lower stems on the rotala seem to be loosing some leaves but at the same time there's new shoots. As soon as the stem grows high enough the lower leaves fall off. Can anyone help with this?
Thanks for looking.
06-03-2013-(2) by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
Looking great by the way, hc is filling in nicely.
Cheerio,
Ady.
Dave Pierce
Member
Hi Ady,
My co2 drop checker is a lime green colour so I'm assuming I'm pumping enough in there. However I think you might have hit jackpot with the circulation. Not sure how to solve this unless I buy a powerhead and point it towards the rotala? The other option could be to move the Co2 diffuser to a more central postion along the side of the tank, therefore it will be closer to rotala and more co2 will get behind the hardscape?
Thanks for your input Ady, I had never thought of circulation!
My co2 drop checker is a lime green colour so I'm assuming I'm pumping enough in there. However I think you might have hit jackpot with the circulation. Not sure how to solve this unless I buy a powerhead and point it towards the rotala? The other option could be to move the Co2 diffuser to a more central postion along the side of the tank, therefore it will be closer to rotala and more co2 will get behind the hardscape?
Thanks for your input Ady, I had never thought of circulation!
Dave Pierce
Member
Took a few snaps this evening while me and the other half watch comic relief Tank is now a little over 2 months into it's life and things are starting to grow in quite well.
The only thing that's been suffering is the Rotala at the back, however since centralising the lily pipe last week to increase the water flow behind the larger piece of wood it has really made a difference and I can see new shoots and healthy leaves. Before this the outflow lily pipe was positioned towards the front glass panel, therefore the flow wasn't really pointing as the Rotala. Fingers crossed the growth continues. Once it reaches the surface I will prune a replant.
I also added some frosted plastic backing to soften the background (purchased from wilko!). I will be adding a light tube behind the tank to brighten up the background, when I get round to it.
Managed to find a balance on the Co2 front. 1BPS seems to be enough and I'm adding 5ml of APF Plant Nutrition Complete (macro and micro). I might increase this as the plant mass is increasing week by week. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea please let me know.
Still learning and enjoying the hobby very much! Thanks for looking.
Dave
Dave's 60L 2 Months On by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
View from the sofa. by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
The only thing that's been suffering is the Rotala at the back, however since centralising the lily pipe last week to increase the water flow behind the larger piece of wood it has really made a difference and I can see new shoots and healthy leaves. Before this the outflow lily pipe was positioned towards the front glass panel, therefore the flow wasn't really pointing as the Rotala. Fingers crossed the growth continues. Once it reaches the surface I will prune a replant.
I also added some frosted plastic backing to soften the background (purchased from wilko!). I will be adding a light tube behind the tank to brighten up the background, when I get round to it.
Managed to find a balance on the Co2 front. 1BPS seems to be enough and I'm adding 5ml of APF Plant Nutrition Complete (macro and micro). I might increase this as the plant mass is increasing week by week. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea please let me know.
Still learning and enjoying the hobby very much! Thanks for looking.
Dave
Dave's 60L 2 Months On by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
View from the sofa. by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
KeyboardWarrior
Member
Tank looks good dave I was thinking of getting a clear seal aquarium as I just want a glass box but not so keen on the prices of ADA have you looked into of its safe to remove the glass ledge? That's the only thing holding me back right now
Dave Pierce
Member
Hi KeyboardWarrior. Thanks.
I do want to remove the glass ledge but haven't thought about how to do it yet. There must be something you can apply to the silicone that will help it come off....however not so sure how easy it would be to pull off with a full aquarium! For now I just fill it up to the ledge and it sort of blends in. It's a nice shelf to leave my pincers/tweezers on
I must admit the price of ADA put me of a bit as well. This tank cost me about 10 times less than the ADA version. Obviously it will never look as good as the ADA, but for someone who can't afford to splash out £300 on ADA tank, it does me quite well I think I paid £35 for it. When I have the money I will be purchasing ADA equipment...house deposit comes first unfortunately!
I do want to remove the glass ledge but haven't thought about how to do it yet. There must be something you can apply to the silicone that will help it come off....however not so sure how easy it would be to pull off with a full aquarium! For now I just fill it up to the ledge and it sort of blends in. It's a nice shelf to leave my pincers/tweezers on
I must admit the price of ADA put me of a bit as well. This tank cost me about 10 times less than the ADA version. Obviously it will never look as good as the ADA, but for someone who can't afford to splash out £300 on ADA tank, it does me quite well
I think I paid £35 for it. When I have the money I will be purchasing ADA equipment...house deposit comes first unfortunately!
Ian Holdich
Member
Hey dave, that's looking good!
Have you thought about putting some more stems on the right, maybe some more rotala. This would give it some more hight. We are just discussing stems in George's journal, there's a pic in there of some rotala that would suit this scape.
Have you thought about putting some more stems on the right, maybe some more rotala. This would give it some more hight. We are just discussing stems in George's journal, there's a pic in there of some rotala that would suit this scape.
KeyboardWarrior
Member
You'd be able to do it with a Stanley knife really easily mate and then just scrape of the silicon with the blade but I didn't know If it was structurally important to the tank someone told me it was a brace to add strength buti don't see how it does anything. It's not an ADA tank but it still looks the part and the plants look really lush and health
Dave Pierce
Member
Thanks Ian
I have thought about it but I'm having trouble growing it at the moment. I've pointed the outflow lily pipe at the rotala which seems to have made a big difference. I was going to let it grow to the surface and then trim and replant the stems to bulk it out in time.
There seems to be a transition stage with Rotala. When you buy it, it has round leaves. But once it started growing in my tank the leaves are now longer and skinny. I understand that this is because it is grown by the producer in an emersed state. By the looks of things my rotala has transformed into it's submerged form, so hopefully the growth will continue so I can get that height.
The discussion on stems in Georges journal is very interesting. Your right, getting the rotala grow forward, rolling over the driftwood would look amazing!
I have thought about it but I'm having trouble growing it at the moment. I've pointed the outflow lily pipe at the rotala which seems to have made a big difference. I was going to let it grow to the surface and then trim and replant the stems to bulk it out in time.
There seems to be a transition stage with Rotala. When you buy it, it has round leaves. But once it started growing in my tank the leaves are now longer and skinny. I understand that this is because it is grown by the producer in an emersed state. By the looks of things my rotala has transformed into it's submerged form, so hopefully the growth will continue so I can get that height.
The discussion on stems in Georges journal is very interesting. Your right, getting the rotala grow forward, rolling over the driftwood would look amazing!
Dave Pierce
Member
Day off work today...meaning time to work on my scape! 
I have been messing with various different background recently, but it was only recently that my other half mentioned that a sunset effect would suit the scape. So to create this I simply put a led lamp behind the tank pointing upwards, acting as the sun that's gone down. There's a frosted plastic sheet on the rear glass panel. This softens the light so there aren't any 'rays'. Quite pleased with the outcome, and as a result I have decided to name the scape "Sunset".
I have also been dabbling with my filter and tubing today. I have shortened the filter tubing by over half which has increased the flow rate coming out the lily pipe. I am hoping the extra flow will help circulation and perk up the Rotala growth. The Rotala is actually swaying in the background slightly now which is more movement than before. Still contemplating getting a powerhead to increase circulation even more, but I will see what difference the improved flow rate has first.
Thanks for looking, comments and criticisms always welcome!
"Sunset" by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
"Sunset" - Another Angle by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
"Sunset" view from a distance by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
I have been messing with various different background recently, but it was only recently that my other half mentioned that a sunset effect would suit the scape. So to create this I simply put a led lamp behind the tank pointing upwards, acting as the sun that's gone down. There's a frosted plastic sheet on the rear glass panel. This softens the light so there aren't any 'rays'. Quite pleased with the outcome, and as a result I have decided to name the scape "Sunset".
I have also been dabbling with my filter and tubing today. I have shortened the filter tubing by over half which has increased the flow rate coming out the lily pipe. I am hoping the extra flow will help circulation and perk up the Rotala growth. The Rotala is actually swaying in the background slightly now which is more movement than before. Still contemplating getting a powerhead to increase circulation even more, but I will see what difference the improved flow rate has first.
Thanks for looking, comments and criticisms always welcome!
"Sunset" by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
"Sunset" - Another Angle by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
"Sunset" view from a distance by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
tim
Member
Like the effect you've achieved with the back lighting dave looks really good, your path could do with a bit of a clean though mate
Dave Pierce
Member
Thanks tim.
Yea I know I might give it a clean today It's a begger because the shrimp move pieces of my eco complete onto the sand! Happens less now the HC has grow over, but still a chore! Selfish shrimp lol The HC has completely covered the eco complete in that area now so once I clean it, it shouldn;t happen again
Yea I know I might give it a clean today
It's a begger because the shrimp move pieces of my eco complete onto the sand! Happens less now the HC has grow over, but still a chore! Selfish shrimp lol The HC has completely covered the eco complete in that area now so once I clean it, it shouldn;t happen again 
fish fodder
Member
Very nice.
Dave Pierce
Member
Hi, took a couple of snaps this evening. The Rotala is still struggling but getting there. I think it's suffering because of the poor lower stem health. As you can see from the full tank shot I have added an ugly wavemaker. Its a nano wavemaker from all pond solutions that does 2000L per hour...however I think this is a little too much circulation for this size tank (60L) but there is no way of adjusting the power. So for now I have pointed it at the glass to take a bit of power out of the flow it creates. Hopefully the Rotala will benefit from the increased flow. I just hope it's not too much for the fish. Theres also a shot of the shrimp on the HC
Full Tank Shot by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
Amano Shrimp by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
Thanks for looking
Full Tank Shot by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
Amano Shrimp by DavePierce2013, on Flickr
Thanks for looking
tim
Member
Hey dave, nice to see the rotala bouncing back mate, you could have your powerhead on a timer so it's on for the co2/ lights period and off at lights out give the fish a bit of downtime.
Hi KeyboardWarrior. Thanks.
I do want to remove the glass ledge but haven't thought about how to do it yet. There must be something you can apply to the silicone that will help it come off....however not so sure how easy it would be to pull off with a full aquarium! For now I just fill it up to the ledge and it sort of blends in. It's a nice shelf to leave my pincers/tweezers on
!
I'd absolutely not remove the bracing strip. Imagine the difference in strength between a sheet of plywood with and without a length of timber attached along it's length - same thing with the glass.
Tank looks great BTW
Steve Smith
Member
Probably not worth removing the strip to be honest. It would probably be OK, but you will probably get a bit of a curve. To remove, a scalpel or stanley knife is all you'd need. I've done it on a slightly smaller clearseal tank with no ill effects, but why not use it as an excuse to save up for a nice optiwhite replacement?
