Critique my aquascape My First Nature Style Aquarium [90P]

[ricardodarmali]

Hello there!

My second thread in this amazing forum, a bit over 3 months subsequent to my first attempt on Iwagumi, here I am doing my shot at a nature style aquarium for my living room 🙂.

Stats:
Tank: Optic clear 90 cm
Substrate: Neo Soil Compact normal 8L + Neo Soil Compact normal 3L + Neo Soil Powder 8L + Santigi drift woods + 15kgs Seiryu stones + 2L Neo Media soft as bacteria housing underneath the substrate + 4L Neo Media soft inside the canister filter
Light: Chihiros RGB Vivid 2
Filter: Chihiros Superjet ES-600
ADA La Plata sand 1L
Eheim Skim 350

1st try out..



Level up the substrate using bio media



Wood in..



Final layout - Front view

Left view

Aerial shot

Right view




Currently I let the tank cycle for the next 1 week and as usual I am doing the water parameter tests daily:

Day 1:
pH: 6.6
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 80
TDS: 95 ppm
Seachem Stability 20ml (4 capful)



Day 2:
pH: 6.6
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 0.5
Nitrate: 80
TDS: 195 ppm
Seachem Stability 20ml (4 capful)


Let me know what you guys think! And please suggest plant ideas 🙂 Cheers!

 

[Yanee]

Hey Ricardo, that is really great layout! I love it. (Also so jealous about that gorgeous wood piece)

 

[ricardodarmali]

Hello Yanee! Thanks mate, appreciate it 🙂 Yes I would agree, that is one gorgeous piece of drift wood, and fits in nicely in a 90P.

I haven't decided on the plants though, any suggestion would be welcome @Yanee !

 

[Jonnywylie]

Looks awesome that bud 👍

 

[Savi_g]

Hello there!

My second thread in this amazing forum, a bit over 3 months subsequent to my first attempt on Iwagumi, here I am doing my shot at a nature style aquarium for my living room 🙂.

Stats:
Tank: Optic clear 90 cm
Substrate: Neo Soil Compact normal 8L + Neo Soil Compact normal 3L + Neo Soil Powder 8L + Santigi drift woods + 15kgs Seiryu stones + 2L Neo Media soft as bacteria housing underneath the substrate + 4L Neo Media soft inside the canister filter
Light: Chihiros RGB Vivid 2
Filter: Chihiros Superjet ES-600
ADA La Plata sand 1L
Eheim Skim 350

1st try out..
View attachment 165893
View attachment 165894

Level up the substrate using bio media
View attachment 165895
View attachment 165900

Wood in..
View attachment 165898
View attachment 165899

Final layout - Front view
View attachment 165901
Left view
View attachment 165902
Aerial shot
View attachment 165903
Right view
View attachment 165904
View attachment 165896
View attachment 165897

Currently I let the tank cycle for the next 1 week and as usual I am doing the water parameter tests daily:

Day 1:
pH: 6.6
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 80
TDS: 95 ppm
Seachem Stability 20ml (4 capful)

View attachment 165905

Day 2:
pH: 6.6
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 0.5
Nitrate: 80
TDS: 195 ppm
Seachem Stability 20ml (4 capful)

View attachment 165906
Let me know what you guys think! And please suggest plant ideas 🙂 Cheers!

From a beginners point of view, it already looks amazing looking at the ground work

 

[ricardodarmali]

Thanks mate @Jonnywylie @Savi_g , can't wait for planting 🙂. Plants suggestion are most welcome!

Day 3:
pH: 6.6
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 2.0
Nitrate: 80
TDS: 194 ppm
Seachem Stability 20ml (4 capful)

 

[Yanee]

I haven't decided on the plants though

Hey Ricardo, I thought about plants. Definitely I would use some fern(like Microsorum pteropus Trident), some species of Anubias (nana, nana coins, gold), and for colours:rotala(macrandra, colorata), ammania gracilis, also I love Echinodorus little mystery or Reni. I hope you can find one or two ideas as useful.

 

[ricardodarmali]

Hey Ricardo, I thought about plants. Definitely I would use some fern(like Microsorum pteropus Trident), some species of Anubias (nana, nana coins, gold), and for colours:rotala(macrandra, colorata), ammania gracilis, also I love Echinodorus little mystery or Reni. I hope you can find one or two ideas as useful.

 

[ricardodarmali]

Thanks @Yanee for the suggestions! Actually I have just ordered some of the plants you are suggesting (underlined), my final plants list:

• Limnobium laevigatum (frogbit) - floaters
• Phyllantus fluitans - floaters
• Limnophila hippuridoides (background left and middle)
• Hygrophila corymbosa (left mid to background)
• Hygrophila siamensis (background left and middle just in front of limnophilas)
• Rotala sp. ramosior florida (background right side)
• Rotala H'ra vietnam (background right side)
• Cryptocoryne wendtii 'brown' (shaded left mid ground - under wood)
• Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green' tropica (shaded left mid ground - under wood)
• Cryptocoryne 'brown' tropica (shaded left mid ground - under wood)
• Microsorum pteropus 'trident' (attached to wood with cotton thread)
• Hygrophila pinnatifida (attached to wood with cotton thread)
• Anubias barteri var. nana (attached to some of the roots)
• Bucephalandra sp. hades purple blue (around the roots, will be attached)
• Bucephalandra brownie deep purple (around the roots, will be attached)
• Bucephalandra sp. nanga pinoh (around the roots, will be attached)
• Staurogyne repens (right foregrounds)
• Pogostemon helferi tropica (right foregrounds)
• Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (left foregrounds)
• Helanthium tenellum (left foregrounds)
• Hydrocotyle verticillata (left foregrounds)
• Weeping moss (attached to branches and on branches on top of the water with cotton thread)

Day 4:
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 2.0
Nitrate: 80
TDS: 210 ppm
Seachem Stability 20ml (4 capful)


Day 5:
pH: 6.4
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 2.0
Nitrate: 80
TDS: 158 ppm
Seachem Stability 20ml (4 capful)
WC 30%


Hopefully all the plants will come within today and tomorrow, and start planting on Good Friday/early Saturday.

Cheers!

 

[Yanee]

I really like your list, well thought, perfect with positions, precise. I knew you gonna get some cryptos, and I really love the floating plant! I m just jealous again, because is the deep purple bucephalandra. Long time ago I d like to get one. I m sure this tank gonna be fantastic!

 

[ricardodarmali]

Thanks @Yanee ! Apology I have missed to update the thread for the past couple of days, I have done the planting on Good Friday and it took me a total of 10 hours give or take 😵

Final plants arrangement:

• Limnobium laevigatum (frogbit) - floaters
• Phyllantus fluitans - floaters
• Limnophila hippuridoides (background front left)
• Hygrophila corymbosa (mid to right background - in front of rotalas)
• Hygrophila siamensis (background left and middle just in front of limnophilas)
• Rotala sp. ramosior florida (background right side)
• Rotala H'ra vietnam (background right side)
• Cryptocoryne wendtii 'brown' (shaded left mid ground - under wood)
• Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green' tropica (shaded left mid ground - under wood)
• Cryptocoryne 'brown' tropica (shaded left mid ground - under wood)
• Microsorum pteropus 'trident' (attached under wood with cotton thread)
• Hygrophila pinnatifida (left and mid wood)
• Anubias barteri var. nana (left wood in the sea of buces)
• Bucephalandra sp. hades purple blue (left wood)
• Bucephalandra brownie deep purple (left root)
• Bucephalandra sp. nanga pinoh (left wood)
• Staurogyne repens (right foreground)
• Pogostemon helferi tropica (right foreground)
• Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (left and right foreground)
• Helanthium tenellum (left foreground)
• Hydrocotyle verticillata (left and right foreground)
• Weeping moss (attached to branches and on branches on top of the water with cotton thread)
• Anubias congoensis (behind left of the wood

Vivid 2 currently running for 6 hours + 0.5 sunrise and sunset, at 50% intensity about 74 watts, let it settle for the next 1 week and will increase gradually..

CO2 starts 2 hour prior to lights on and goes off 1 hour prior to lights off





Day 7 - right after planting:
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0.5
Nitrate: 10
TDS: 67 ppm
Seachem Stability 10ml (2 capful)
WC 80%


Cheers!

 

[Courtneybst]

It's looking great planted! I really like the shape of the scape, well composed.

 

[Ian61]

Brilliant layout, quite inspirational. Couple of (daft?) queries. What is the purpose of the inverted plastic bottle, is your co2 in line and do you,or others,think that buried(deeply) biomedia contributes much to the health of the tank or is it merely a pretty inert safe way of raising substrate level?
Regards Ian

 

[Yanee]

Ricardo, it s so gorgeous! Beautifully planted. As I can see you did some changes on substrate. I love this scape

 

[ricardodarmali]

Thanks for your kind word @Courtneybst ! Let's see how it turns out in a month or so 🙂

Thanks @Ian61 ! Not daft at all, I am prepared for that specific question haha because I know it's quite unusual. It is a sort of 'auto top-off' device where it has 2 small hose, 1 short and 1 longer, so once the water reach the level indicated by the shorter hose, it will stop pouring in water from the bottle.. It is a much cheaper alternatives to chiller, because I use 4 fans to reach around 25 degree Celcius so the water constantly evaporates. And yes, I use Intense inline CO2 diffuser and it sends out very fine bubble (almost unnoticeable).. I am not sure on the exact impact of the buried bio media, but I tend to believe it helps a bit (if not much) at least to keep some more shelter for the bacteria and helps raising the substrate in doing so, I think we have some experts on this topic in this forum (please drop a comment when you read this 🙂)

Thanks @Yanee for being there from the start of my journey starting planted aquarium! Yes I did some minor tweaks, adding some soil in the front left side, it happened that I bought too much plants, so I thought it would be a waste if I don't plant it, so there goes my improvisation while at it

 

[Ian61]

Thank you. I think the front left looks great now

 

[Yanee]

@Yanee for being there from the start of my journey starting planted aquarium! Yes I did some minor tweaks, adding some soil in the front left side, it happened that I bought too much plants, so I thought it would be a waste if I don't plant it, so there goes my improvisation while at it

Ricardo, it s great to see your journey, your tanks! And we can support eachother at least with ideas, advices. (Sentimentality over now 😅)
I thought the same -lot plants But you know, as a nature, the aquascaping is unpredictable too sometimes. (Lol) The unexpected moments(impros) can creat much beauties.

 

[ricardodarmali]

I thought I will share a 1 minute video of the scape.. 🙂 🙂🙂

 

[PARAGUAY]

Like it a lot really natural look

 

[christinecrites]

Wow 🤩 The scape looks Awesome!!!! The upper and lower wood create a really cool circular window to highlight the background plants! The dense planting on the left and decision to plant in the foreground really add to the depth as well.

keep the updates coming this is on my watch list!