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NACD Nature Aquarium

The wood bridge scape of stu.w was the 1 I had in mind.
Im new in the hobby in comparison to many on here but I think you will find a spot for the splash of colour your after in good time as your plant placement is good.
 
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Quick time lapse video for you all! I'll be adding some red plants soon, and some cardinals or neons to add some more colour to the tank. Unfortunately all of my zebra danios ended up jumping. I won't be housing them again in an open top aquarium that's for sure. Rummies and Shrimps are doing very well! They have all learnt where to be fed from, it's a joy seeing them all rush to the front glass when I enter the room.



Cheers!
Ra
 
Those rummynose seems very shy, maybe an bigger tank would help? Or some ditter fishes like rasbora kubotai, some hyphessobricon sp etc..?

Thanks for the clip. ;)
 
And we're back!

2 and a half months have passed since my last update and boy has the tank been through some rough patches.

12/05/19
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22/06/19
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08/07/19
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29/07/19
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04/08/19
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The tank went through a stage of a bad algae problems (22/06/19) down to lack of maintence and CO2 running out. I have sinced moved house and had to trim back all the plants and remove as much algae as possible (08/07/19). After a few days of settling at the new house the tank looked as it does in (29/07/19), the rummies were re housed to one of my friends 200L community aquarium, they are much happier there. I since changed my fert dosing regime and finally achieved a good balance between CO2 light and ferts (a painful process but great to know I'm getting somewhere!). The scape has stayed the same but new plants have been added, more ferns, rotalas, hygrophilia, MC, Mini hairgrass, Buce green etc. The tank has now got Neon Tetras, they add some more colour to the tank and happily swim around, not as shy and unhappy as the rummies were. I shall post regular updates from now on with the progress. I feel like I'm getting the hang of all this now, a great feeling.

Cheers Guys,
Ra
 
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4 days seeing growth already which is great, very little algae! I have moved the skimmer to the right hand side. Looks to give a better flow all around the tank. Trimming the stems tomorrow so they grow the same time as the h'ra, the 1-2 pots are growing pretty well, around 1.5" of new growth I'd say. When it comes to trimming the stems of the Hygrophila Polysperma, Rotala rotundafolia and Limnophila hippuridoides, any tips on how I go about this to achieve dense growth would be much appreciated. More updates to come in the future, cheers Ra.

P.S Black background or frosted? I'm undecided lol!
 
Nicely done :)

It’s difficult to regain enthusiasm for a scape after it slips into the Algae Realm :oops:

The shop that sold you the Rummy’s should have warned they’re unsuited to a 60cm tank - it’s nice to see the neons doing so well

I prefer the frosted BG in this scape, assuming both photos are done with same lens, distance perception is enhanced with light background
 
Nicely done :)

It’s difficult to regain enthusiasm for a scape after it slips into the Algae Realm :oops:

The shop that sold you the Rummy’s should have warned they’re unsuited to a 60cm tank - it’s nice to see the neons doing so well

I prefer the frosted BG in this scape, assuming both photos are done with same lens, distance perception is enhanced with light background

The rummies where bought from Maidenhead aquatics, to be honest I've never been asked my tank size etc when purchasing livestock which is surprising.

I agree, the colours stand out with black but the depth is much better when frosted.

Cheers,
Ra

Any tips on trimming stems? I'll be doing this tonight :)
 
It’s always worth checking Tropica’s website (go into all the drop down menus for various plant, fertilizers, substrate, etc information), on their YouTube channel they offer a
Plant Handling Playlist

This video from Juries mit JS is more about longterm stem maintenance


A Green Aqua trimming video - this method always leaves the tank looking fantastic



Wherever you trim plants, 2 new shoots will generate quite quickly IF plant is healthy and there are sufficient light and nutrients etc (so in a nonCO2 aquarium this regrowth can be much slower and always replanting the tops (all or some) is more effective) - obviously “fast” growing plants will fill back in much more quickly than “slow” growing plant
(again Tropica website includes this sort of information on their plants)

Choose the first cut quite low, you want progressive cuts to be higher so that plant “bushes”
If there is sufficient hardscape etc, then choose your first cuts so it is hidden behind
Replanting tops into the same area will obviously help fill in plants quicker BUT depending on your light (and flow), doing this can impede new shoot development (it won’t prevent it but new shoots may be weak or have long internode distance as they “leap” toward the light)
Obviously plants that are established with good root systems and thicker stems, will rebound much more quickly and robustly, hence the (often) recommendation to begin trimming after a few weeks, allowing significant growth first

Eventually as the upper plant becomes very full, minimal light and leaf age, will lead to basically bare stems at the base of most (stem) plants - at this point, trim as shown in the videos and replant
You can dig out some of the old roots etc (running syphon to remove the debris cloud - also add 5-10X Prime to bind any ammonia (& nitrites) released) - my preference :)

Sorry for the late reply, different time zones means you’ve likely already finished your plant adventure :cool:
 
WC done but my MC is suffering again unfortunately. Never been able to grow it well in this scape, it's probably down to not having enough light. I'd rather have less algae haha! Everything else is growing well, I'm doing so much more maintence now than before, WC every 3-4 days compared to previously only WC'ing once a week. Keeping on top of preventive maintenance to prevent algae etc. Might switch out the MC for something else, what do you guys think?

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Cheers,
Ra
 
Removed the MC and replaced with Crypt Parva, the dying MC would have caused alage issues so had to go. Added another fern to the left too which I think helps to breakup the largest piece of wood. Here's a before and after for you guys.

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Cheers,
Ra
 
Hi there,

I don't understand why you dont get good growth in.your setup, especially with mc which is an weed...that could be an sévère deficiency in N or P

Whats your actual routine ? Ferts? Lightning ? CO2?

Would like to help mate
 
Hi there,

I don't understand why you dont get good growth in.your setup, especially with mc which is an weed...that could be an sévère deficiency in N or P

Whats your actual routine ? Ferts? Lightning ? CO2?

Would like to help mate

Thankyou.

I dose tropica specialised 3 pumps a day and premium 2 pumps a day, along with 2ml TNC carbon. My lights are on 75% power (twinstar 600ea) and co2 24/7 always lime green.

Look forward to hearing from you,
Ra
 
Each pump is 2ml, I double checked by using a syringe. So that makes for 6ml Specialised and 4ml Premium along with 2ml TNC carbon everyday. I saw someone using both fertilisers together with great success so I thought I would try it :)
 
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