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George's TMC Signature

Looking lovely as always George! The Fissidens and Riccardia especially, beautiful!:lol: I was wondering, how did you find the Tropica 1-2 Grow! plants got on in the dry start? I was thinking of adding some of the Eleocharis sp. Mini to my DSM but I see you have already tried it so how did you get on?
Cheers
 
Thanks guys. Apologies for the lack of response lately. For some reason my 'Alerts' haven't been coming through properly.

NanoJames said:
I was thinking of adding some of the Eleocharis sp. Mini to my DSM but I see you have already tried it so how did you get on?
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Hi James

The DSM was ok but in future I will only use it for mosses. Most of my stems didn't do well afterwards, but the mini hairgrass was fine. The mosses did particularly well, giving a really natural appearance that would be tough to acheive any other way, especially with Riccardia and Fissidens that don't attach so well usually.

I don't think you'll see much noticeable growth with the mini hairgrass; apparently for the first couple of weeks the plants establish roots first when running DSM.

Good luck! :)
 
Thanks George, some great info there!:) Now that my DSM is beginning to establish I am beginning to wonder if I should add mini hairgrass or not. The HC that I was going to plant it between has grown really fast and some of the planting portions are already connected by runners. It's only been a week!;) I'll see what I decide in the coming days.
Cheers
 
It is looking great, George. I have got to give the Dry start approach a go with mosses in future, looks like your moss took really well.
 
Hi guys,

I had a bit of spare time this afternoon so here's an update with photos.

The Lindernia and Rotala are still recovering from the trim (well, more a hack) last week, but the new growth is coming through. The Ludwigia is slower growing than the Lindernia and Rotala, so I'm hoping they'll all grow to the right level simultaneously. I have an incredible amount of respect for aquascapers that have mastered the use of several species of stem plants, and their maintenance with regards nailing a decent final photo.

The grasses and mosses are near the stage where I want them for the final photo shoot, so it will be a case on keeping on top of these until the stems are also at the right stage. Hopefully it will all come together nicely at some point in the next 6 weeks or so before the IAPLC deadline (31st May).

I've added a dozen Neon tetras. I've always loved these fish - I remember seeing my first ever tropical aquarium as a young lad and thinking to myself I'll keep some of these when I grow up. I think the dash of blue is a nice addition to the aquascape. I've moved the B. maculata to my office tank, but kept the Ember tetras. The shrimp are still doing well.

I've added a small qty. of Staurogyne repens and Hydrocotyle tripartia to the lawn on the back left, and also some Marsilea hirsuta to the foreground. I figured the more textures the better to help enhance the naturalistic appearance - it's worked well so far with the HC I think. The Hydrocotyle will need to be kept in check, of course.

The CO2 is back on the Up Aqua inline diffuser and 2Kg fire extinguisher at 1 BPS using a Fluval bubble counter.

Anyway, enough rambling for now - you're probably more interested in pictures...

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full tank and lights by George Farmer, on Flickr

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left 8-4-13 by George Farmer, on Flickr

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glassware 2 by George Farmer, on Flickr

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neon group by George Farmer, on Flickr

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neons trio by George Farmer, on Flickr

8632376868_b126084b68_o.jpg
left close 8-4-13 by George Farmer, on Flickr

8632377396_6c28596009_o.jpg
center 8-4-13 by George Farmer, on Flickr

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neon macro by George Farmer, on Flickr

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full-tank 8-4-13 by George Farmer, on Flickr
 
Really love this tank. It's an inspiration as I will be setting up my new tmc signature soon.

Apologies if this has been covered, but do you thing one tile would have been enough?
 
GregP said:
Really love this tank. It's an inspiration as I will be setting up my new tmc signature soon.

Apologies if this has been covered, but do you thing one tile would have been enough?
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Thanks, Greg. :)

Yes, without a doubt, one tile is enough. Ian Holdich's set-up is proof. :)

My next aquascape may well use just the one tile suspended. Slow things down a bit.
 
George Farmer said:
Thanks, Greg. :)

Yes, without a doubt, one tile is enough. Ian Holdich's set-up is proof. :)

My next aquascape may well use just the one tile suspended. Slow things down a bit.
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Thank you. I'm very new to the planted hobby and want to make sure I get good results with my first attempt which will be an iwagumi set up. And I'm torn between 1 or 2 tiles as I want a full carpet edge to edge. You think one tile will definately be enough?
 
Looking really good George! The neons set it off a treat, I know you was thinking about them in the beginning. Correct me, but is there anything in between the helferi and alternanthera? Looking at the fts, it just misses the graduation slopping downwards towards the left. Beautiful all the same.
 
Ian Holdich said:
Looking really good George! The neons set it off a treat, I know you was thinking about them in the beginning. Correct me, but is there anything in between the helferi and alternanthera? Looking at the fts, it just misses the graduation slopping downwards towards the left. Beautiful all the same.
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Thanks, Ian. :)

Yes, there's Rotala sp. 'Green' between the Cyperus and Ludwigia. It's growing back post-prune, as discussed in my post before the photos... ;)

GregP said:
You think one tile will definately be enough?
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Yes. Getting enough light is easy. It is the CO2 and other nutrient management, and maintenance that are even more important for a successful aquascape. :)
 
Looking great George! it looks much more mature than it is and the new fish addition are a good choice too - do you intend on letting the moss on the wood really grow or are you planning on keeping it short and close knit?

Also, and I hope you do not mind me asking you this question on your journal, but how often are you cleaning your G3/G6 impeller assembly's?
 
Hi all,

Thanks for all the 'likes' and lovely feedback. It's really appreciated! :)

When I returned from work today everyone was out, so I took the opportunity to sit in front of the tank with a cuppa and just enjoy it. It was lovely, and made me realise how little I do this.

NanoJames said:
The Riccardia and Fissidens have put on a bit of a growth spurt since you last put up photos! Also, have you thinned out your Eleocharis carpet? (That's me hinting that in the future you should let me know so that I can have the spare...);) :lol:
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Hi James, sorry I didn't spot your question... I've only trimmed the hairgrass - not thinned it out, so there's no usable cuttings I'm afraid. I'll bare you in mind in the future. :)

Gary Nelson said:
Looking great George! it looks much more mature than it is and the new fish addition are a good choice too - do you intend on letting the moss on the wood really grow or are you planning on keeping it short and close knit?

Also, and I hope you do not mind me asking you this question on your journal, but how often are you cleaning your G3/G6 impeller assembly's?
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Hi Gary, I'll probably just let the moss grow mostly, but prune it back when it starts to looks too unruly i.e. unnatural looking clumps. I've already pruned some back. I clean my impeller at the same time as the biological media i.e. every 6 months or so.
 
Thanks again George.

I have been reading this thread a lot and am still learning and trying to gain as much information as I can before I try my build. Can I ask why the tank wasn't filled straight away and the theory and benefits behind not doing so and leaving the planet partially submerged. It's not something I have come across yet in my research (though it is early days!)
 
GregP said:
Can I ask why the tank wasn't filled straight away and the theory and benefits behind not doing so and leaving the planting partially submerged.
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My main reason for using dry-start method (DSM) was to have a go with attaching the mosses using the yoghurt-blender method. I was also interested to see how the other plants would do.

In hindsight I won't bother using it again for normal rooted plants, but it's great for mosses!

You can read a lot more about the DSM here - Lots of Dry Start Method questions! | UK Aquatic Plant Society
 
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