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flygja's 60cm NAC

flygja

Member
Joined
12 Mar 2008
Messages
1,260
Location
Penang, Malaysia
NAC = NA Clone. So nothing groundbreaking or creative, just NA by the books. Miss the feeling of growing and trimming stems, so here goes!

All the specs are the same as my previous scape, with the exception of the soil. Trying out KW's own-brand soil since there's a shortage of ADA Amazonia. KW is a local LFS in Malaysia.

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It's darker than Amazonia in a black sorta way. My lighting makes it look bluish compared to Amazonia. Granules are more varied in size with both larger and smaller granules than Amazonia. Had it for a month and rescaped once, not much crumbling so that's good. Glosso didn't grow much either, so the jury is still out on this one.

Didn't take any pics during the setup. Here's what it looks like after one day. Oh I have to say, crystal clear water with the KW soil :)

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Stems are Rotala rotundifolia red, Rotala nanjenshan and Micranthenum micranthemoides. There's an unknown stem there that kinda looks like Java fern, I think its a type of Hygrophilla. Background is Helanthium tenellum. Midground consists of Anubias nana, Cryptocoryne wendtii (I think) and Riccia. Haven't chosen a foreground yet, either let the Riccia cover it, or plant glosso/hairgrass. Moss on the driftwood is Xmas moss.

By the books :D
 
Hey guys! Have been busy and lazy to update this post.

So here's how it looks 3 weeks on. I've trimmed the stems once after 2 weeks.
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Decided to use Jap hairgrass as my foreground since I had some growing emersed. They're looking quite tall at the moment after being grown immersed for some reason.
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Added some US Fissidens too. First time for me.
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A look at the stems behind. Rotala nanjenshan tops are turning pink. The stem on the left of it I thought was Rotala rotundifolia Red, but its different. Looks like a Limnophilla or Ludwigia. Will take a better picture later. Also, I still don't know what the fern-like stem is. Some type of Hygrophilla corymbosa I think.
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Xmas moss is growing well after I fixed my dodgy chiller issues.
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Ahh... how I miss pearling. Previous 2 scapes didn't pearl at all!
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Congrats flygja! A true Nature Aquarium;))

What kind of wood are you using for this scape? It is pretty cool.

As to the hygrophila...it might be hygrophila angustifolia. It grows quite fast and the lieves turn a bit long :))

Cheers!
 
Thanks bonelez. I'm not sure what type of wood it is. Its one of the most common types of driftwood here in Malaysia.
 
This looks great mate.

The fern like stem, could be maybe stellata of some kind? or i might be looking at the wrong plant.
 
Thanks Mark. I'm pretty sure its not Pogostemon stellata. Unless theres another type of stellata?

Currently away from home for 4 days.. gives me the worries. Fattened up the fish before i left and double checked the equipment. Still worried... :(
 
flygja said:
Currently away from home for 4 days.. gives me the worries. Fattened up the fish before i left and double checked the equipment. Still worried...

That always makes me nervous to, but raise the light physically, if you can. Reduce the period also. % hours a day does me.
 
Came back after 4 days and phew.. nothing bad happened. Aoart from a few spots of GSA. Rotala nanjenshan had reached the water's surface. Real fast grower that one. Hairgrass has started spreading too. Overall a happy camper. More pics this weekend as I've been busy with a customer visit.
 
A short update :D
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So I was thinking of getting rid of the Riccia as it was getting painful trimming it weekly and getting rid of all the trimmings. I must've hurt its feelings because it committed suicide a few days later. Didn't just dislodge itself, but it was actually melting. I can make Riccia melt! What is probably the easiest plant to grow... :D
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So I removed it and replaced the area with some US Fissidens. I was under the impression its an extremely slow grower but seems ok to me.
DSC01557.jpg


Check out my Rotala nanjenshan. Both green and pink stems next to each other? Weird!
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Two random shots of its inhabitants.
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And finally a full tank shot. Testing with a blue background.
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If I just pour some soil on top of the Helanthium tennellum, will it creep over the soil too? Wanna raise the back a bit but am totally unwilling to pull out the tennellum and replant.
 
A short update :D
DSC01522.jpg


So I was thinking of getting rid of the Riccia as it was getting painful trimming it weekly and getting rid of all the trimmings. I must've hurt its feelings because it committed suicide a few days later. Didn't just dislodge itself, but it was actually melting. I can make Riccia melt! What is probably the easiest plant to grow... :D
DSC01539.jpg


So I removed it and replaced the area with some US Fissidens. I was under the impression its an extremely slow grower but seems ok to me.
DSC01557.jpg


Check out my Rotala nanjenshan. Both green and pink stems next to each other? Weird!
DSC01552.jpg


Two random shots of its inhabitants.
DSC01567.jpg

DSC01572.jpg


And finally a full tank shot. Testing with a blue background.
DSC01545.jpg


If I just pour some soil on top of the Helanthium tennellum, will it creep over the soil too? Wanna raise the back a bit but am totally unwilling to pull out the tennellum and replant.
 
I've just realised that I double-posted my previous post. Tried to delete it but failed? If the mods could remove it for me, I'd be most appreciative.

So I've decided to test LED light penetration at 60cm from the substrate. Added optics to my LEDs. These are 60 degree ones.
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Penetration is OK, but it has created a lot more shadows and side effects. There are actually shadows of the Rotala nanjenshan on the Anubias barteri var nana. The drifwood is also casting bigger shadows. We'll see if ok in the long run.

Due to lack of maintenance, my ceramic balls have turned into ceramic quail eggs! Is it still usable? I tried bleaching them but it didn't remove the brownish discoloration.
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Man, I love it! I really think it's mostly epic because of the moss and wood combo. Great stuff!
 
Thanks for the excellent comments all :thumbup:

Trippy doesn't drink from her water bowl anymore. Luckily she doesn't go for my fish or shrimps. She just watches them. They've even gotten used to her and don't hide anymore when she shows up.

Viktor, visually I have no problems with shadows. I'm more afraid of plants not getting enough light. Things are still looking good at the moment. :geek:

I've just had a major trim and its positively bald right now!
 
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