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James' 60P

Got lucky and everything arrived early, so today I flooded the tank. Did it very slowly using an airline tube to avoid disturbing the substrate and uprooting any plants. It all went very well and I'm delighted with how the Blyxa looks, unfortunately it completely covers up the Rotala, but once that grows in it should work. I've now reduced the lights to around 40%.

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Hope you like it.
 
It's almost a week since the tank was flooded. Plants are doing really well. As you can see the s.repens and monte carlo have filled out pretty well and the rotala has now started to emerge above the rocks in the back corner. Alternanthera is still adapting to the conditions, so I think it'll be a while before I see those leaves turn lovely and pink again.

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I also have a little side project going, which was to timelapse this tank from the moment I planted it until around 2 months into it's lifecycle, because I think it'll be pretty grown out by then. I'm doing this using a raspberry pi (a small computer that can be purchased for around £30), which I have programmed to take a photo every minute and dump them onto my server, I can then use software to make these into a video. Two weeks after it started taking pictures It's currently taking up 59gb on my server, so it's not something for people with a lack of storage. The raspberry pi is actually stuck to the top of my tv in the study using double sided tape, which isn't perfect, but it seems to work. Here's a couple images to illustrate.

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And here's the first two weeks of the tank, in just over a minute.

 
Great idea with timelapse :thumbup:
You Might ended with couple terabytes :D
What a clip it will be can't wait.
 
Bit of melt going on with the S.Repens and the monte carlo, I assume that it's just to do with transitioning from emersed to submersed, but to be on the safe side I've reduced the photo period to 6.5 hours and increased the co2 a bit more.
 
Been a couple weeks, so time for an update. All is well now, the melt was pretty widespread, i put this down the poor co2 distribution, moved the powerhead to the other side with the outlet, and that seems to have fixed it. The S.Repens has come back really well, and while the Monte Carlo has taken a bit longer to hit its' stride, it's doing well now. I added 5 Amano Shrimp last week to help remove the remaining melt from the plants (that i wasn't able to remove myself without tearing up the whole tank), and they've done a tremendous job and the tank has really come on in the last few days. Ammonia and Nitrite readings have reached zero, so it's time to get some fish. I'm thinking a fairly large group of ember tetras (i really wanted kitty tetras, but no where seems to sell them near me), probably 15ish and a few otos, maybe 6.

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So, The time has come for the final timelapse, I wanted it to go a little longer, but I now need to use the tv on which the raspberry pi is stuck, because the football season is coming! I'll keep updating with pictures however, as the tank still has some developing to do (especially the monte carlo). Fish have been in for a week, so there's now 15 Ember Tetras, 5 Amano shrimp, and 6 Otocinclus

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hey
i love what you did with laylout and your choices of plants. i also have a 60p. they are great not too big or small so its affordable too scape every now and then. you got be thinking to rescape lol. by the way have you ever though about moving the Blyxa on the left to the back so your scape would be lot more open and you can see more of the red plants.

cheers
ryan
 
hey
i love what you did with laylout and your choices of plants. i also have a 60p. they are great not too big or small so its affordable too scape every now and then. you got be thinking to rescape lol. by the way have you ever though about moving the Blyxa on the left to the back so your scape would be lot more open and you can see more of the red plants.

cheers
ryan

Thanks for the great comments! On the Blyxa, yes I had thought about moving it to the back, but it's actually in that position, because I look at the tank from a 45 degree angle most of the time, as my desk is in the opposite corner of the room. I'm actually considering removing the rock on the right hand side of the tank, as it's creating some flow issues, the Monte Carlo on the right side of it isn't growing as well. I don't really want to remove it at this stage as I think it's grown in quite nicely. I also had to re-plant the A.Reineckii as well, because it was just growing out of the substrate without having enough roots, if you understand what I mean.
 
Thanks for the great comments! On the Blyxa, yes I had thought about moving it to the back, but it's actually in that position, because I look at the tank from a 45 degree angle most of the time, as my desk is in the opposite corner of the room. I'm actually considering removing the rock on the right hand side of the tank, as it's creating some flow issues, the Monte Carlo on the right side of it isn't growing as well. I don't really want to remove it at this stage as I think it's grown in quite nicely. I also had to re-plant the A.Reineckii as well, because it was just growing out of the substrate without having enough roots, if you understand what I mean.
i total understand. some side view are way better. i guess if the tank is at home then it wat ever the weather it up to you how you like it. the A.Reineckii did you mean roots from the bottom or side roots? if side roots then that normal they will eventually root down to the substrate.

cheers
ryan
 
Stauro and Monte Carlo continued to melt, Monte Carlo seems to be coming back strong after upgrading the filter and moving to a spray bar along the back of the tank. Unfortuantely, the Stauro is looking really bad and I'm getting very tempted by the idea of pulling it all out and replacing it with something different. Any one got any ideas how I can fix this? I've tried lowering the light output, so the LEDs are at only 20% now. Also tried increasing the dosing of Macros, and upgrading the filter as I've said (now running a Hydor Professional 350 rated for 900lp/h.

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Any help would be very useful.
 
Hi

A quick question what do you think of your LEDs I'm after some now and I don't know what to buy so any input would be appreciated and did you pay import charges for LED unit and if so how much please just getting a idea of what to buy the Satallite plus pro or the aquaatlantis cheers and Hope to hear from you soon and oh NICE TANK!
 
Hi

A quick question what do you think of your LEDs I'm after some now and I don't know what to buy so any input would be appreciated and did you pay import charges for LED unit and if so how much please just getting a idea of what to buy the Satallite plus pro or the aquaatlantis cheers and Hope to hear from you soon and oh NICE TANK!

Hello,

Sorry it took me so long to read this, been a bit busy lately so hopefully my thoughts are still of use. I really love the fixture, I bought it because it was the only one reasonably priced which had a timer and dimmer built in. I love being able to customize the spectrum to whatever i fancy. It's certainly powerful enough for a high tech tank, I run it at about 30-40% most of the time. I did pay import duty, but because i purchased it through ebay it was all included in the initial price. Took about 3 weeks to arrive, i think. I know nothing about the aqualantis unfortunately. TMC tiles are very nice, but the price of the controller is very expensive, which was what put me off those.

Regards,
James
 
A quick question what do you think of your LEDs I'm after some now and I don't know what to buy so any input would be appreciated and did you pay import charges for LED unit and if so how much please just getting a idea of what to buy the Satallite plus pro or the aquaatlantis cheers and Hope to hear from you soon and oh NICE TANK!

Mr Hidley (James, sorry to hijack your thread with the question on LED's)...

Hi Rob,
I bought the US Current Satellite Pro plus off eBay, yes I did pay import charges and airport tax for it, but all told I am very happy with it. Total amount, $90.10

My Staurygene Repens and the Reineckii Mini were just about gone, gradually melted and very stalky. You can see pictures of them now on The Full Monty Journal.

Cheers,
Steve
 
Stauro and Monte Carlo continued to melt, Monte Carlo seems to be coming back strong after upgrading the filter and moving to a spray bar along the back of the tank. Unfortuantely, the Stauro is looking really bad and I'm getting very tempted by the idea of pulling it all out and replacing it with something different. Any one got any ideas how I can fix this?

Hi James,

Don't give up yet on the Staurygene Repens just yet, mine was in a much worse state than yours is now so I certainly wouldn't pull it up just yet. If you are dosing with EI method are you mixing a solution or just adding it in dry powder form straight into the tank? The reason I ask is because I was mixing up my own solution before and not 100% happy, especially as the Repens was slowly disappearing.

So...get this, I mix all my dry powders for the EI Macros in a plastic pot, add three teaspoons of the mixture into another pot and add a tiny amount of water, just enough to cover the surface without it all dissolving completely. Then I get a plastic syringe and suck up a tube full of the mixture, then dose it it directly to the plant, over the leaves, around the stems at the base of the plants. Yes some of the mixture dissolves on its way out, but a lot of it stays in wet powder form so you can physically see where it is falling.

See the results below.

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Both these lots of plants were almost gone before.

Cheers,

Steve
 
I didn't give up on the stauro in the end, however i did swap the montecarlo for eleocharis acicularis, hasn't grown out completely yet but the tank is recovering.The Blyxa took a nose dive after I thinned it out too much, so it'll be a few weeks before the tank is back to how I like it to look. I've been using the guide that came with my salts from Aquarium Plant food and mixing up a solution. So you make one massive mixture of powders and then dilute a small amount every time you dose?
 
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