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Once upon a time at the riverbank - Final update

Re: Once upon a time at the riverbank - September DIY pic Fr

Looks real nice mate :thumbup:

We're missing a 'yeast CO2 tutorial' in the CO2 section so it would be great for someone like you who has tried applying it on a larger scale tank to do a write up maybe.

Couple of questions for you -
Do you alternate your two bottles? What sort of 'mix' did you go for, and how can it be controlled for a consistent output to not gas the fish or not be enough for the plants?

Cheers,
Neil
 
Re: Once upon a time at the riverbank - September DIY pic Fr

Looks amazing, and will be a winner for sure :)

Very Cool peices of Whittling there, Gives me ideas though
 
Re: Once upon a time at the riverbank - September DIY pic Fr

NeilW said:
We're missing a 'yeast CO2 tutorial' in the CO2 section so it would be great for someone like you who has tried applying it on a larger scale tank to do a write up maybe.

Couple of questions for you -
Do you alternate your two bottles? What sort of 'mix' did you go for, and how can it be controlled for a consistent output to not gas the fish or not be enough for the plants?


I didn't think many would be interested in Yeast CO2 on here these days. lol
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/to ... o2-method/

Thanks for all the comments guys. I enjoyed making the wood. Its in the tank now with attachments. You'll have to wait for that update.

AC
 
Re: Once upon a time at the riverbank - September DIY pic Fr

SuperColey1 said:
I didn't think many would be interested in Yeast CO2 on here these days. lol
Bookmarked that link, just the job thanks :D

TBH pressurised CO2 for me (and a few others I'm sure) is a big step if your not used to working with pressurised gas canisters. I've never welded, fired a fire extinguisher, refilled gas at a bar or changed a paintball cylinder in my life so the nearest I get is a bit of deodorant :lol: I would like to be confident I could get on with something like that without dumping all the gas in one go, freezing my hands off or rocket propelling objects across the house and sadly theres no sort of 'in between' measure without getting a full on pressurised setup. Yeast CO2 looks like it could be a cheap alternative at trying to grow more demanding species.
 
Re: Once upon a time at the riverbank - September DIY pic Fr

Super looking tank. Very natural. Any updates?
 
Re: Once upon a time at the riverbank - September DIY pic Fr

Lack of motivation and a general lack of interest has meant I've not been updating journals on forums nor my website since October. However I was still taking a few pictures and am now in the process of catching up so here we go with the backdated updates. May take a few days to catch up lol.


9th October 2010

With the new 'tree' ready for the tank I first tried it at a few angles to see what would look best and then attached some needle ferns to the lower branch, some anubias to the base and tied some moss around the upper branch. Finally it was put into position.

At this time I had just bought a new camera which is supposedly not as good as the last one. You'll have to forgive the amount of pictures below. I was testing out different settings on the camera. I finally settled on auto though. This camera unlike the previous one seems to get everything right anyway so no point messing about really.

The first picture of the central area was a mistake as I forgot to turn the flash off however i like the picture. It looks quite spooky so I kept it.

Another change is that I am testing out DIY yeast for an article I am writing. Not to see if it works because it does but to see if I can get it to work and remain stable as the problem with DIY setups is that they peak and trough in their output and therefore algae like BBA and staghorn is often a problem.

On the fish front there are 11 rasboras left and all seemingly healthy. I think they are starting to get to the age where they die of old age as every now and again one develops a growth and a month or so later dies.

The young Corys are dong well and are nearly full size now. There are 8 Corys in the tank including one of the originals.

The shrimp are doing far too well and I am selling off 200 or so a month at the moment with seemingly no effect on the colony. It will grow over the window as I won't be selling any while the weather is cold.

Finally I bought a tiny thermometer which is dwarfed by the old one. I also like the blue colour rather than the red of the old one. Quite a cool items and only £4 delivered.

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Regards
AC
 
Re: Once upon a time at the riverbank - September DIY pic Fr

Always enjoy updates on this tank.

I notice a pretty major discrepancy between your 2 thermometers - I have one very similar to the one on the left (99p!) which I also suspect is a bit on the low side.
 
Re: Once upon a time at the riverbank - September DIY pic Fr

The one on the right is correct. the one on the left has only just gone into the tank at this point hence closer to ambient. lol. It was being used as a fridge thermometer for a day or so previous to being put in the tank to show comparison. he, he

AC
 
7th February 2011

The DIY yeast setup was removed just after christmas and I returned to the non CO2/non water change method.

The Crypts on the left have grown enormously since the last update and several trimmings of anubias have been needed as the gap down the centre was closing up completely.

This scape is nearing its end now. The Rasboras are getting old and are down to 8. They keep getting tumour-like growths in between body and tail and then succumbing after a month or so.

However with a new scape in mind things are looking up and in preparation I bought 8 platinum tetras (Hemigrammus vorderwinkleri) to see how they looked and acted. Needless to say they are beautiful and look great in contrast to the green behind them but with the Rasboras in the tank I can't see how they act as they just follow the Rasboras around. Pretty sure they are what I will go with though so I will probably rehome the rasboras and increase the platinum shoal to 20-30. The Corys will stay, no chance of them being removed.

So next week I intend to take some photos and enter this scape into the ASE contest. Its not as I want it as the rear right corner is still not matching the left even after 2 years but I am eager to move on

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Regards
AC
 
Tonight I took the photos for the ASE contest. Took a couple of attempts as I am not used to doing competition photos. First I set the camera up wrong. So I had to pull all the pipes out and the thermometer.

Then when I had taken the photos with the right settings I noticed the light cable was still at the back. Out came the pipes and the thermometer.

Finally I took the photos. The first 2 below are not the ones I entered but from the same shoot. Not allowed to show you the actual one. You'll see what I mean about the right rear section of the tank. The third picture is the 'working' picture.

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Regards
AC
 
Very nice, Andy. Thanks for sharing.

All the best with the contest. If they mark for sustainability then this will score very well!

I'm not sure I would have placed the wood so centrally, but the overall balance is good. Lots of textures and shades of green. My sort of 'scape.
 
many thanks for the compliemts George.

I know what you mean r.e. the wood. Its because all the plants cover up most of it. Actually goes from bottom right corner towards the centre. Something to remember when planning the new one. lol

Not expecting much from the contest really. Just thought I may as well enter it for free before breaking it down (already started :) )

AC

AC
 
With the photoshoot now done and the new scape already planned for an April start I started to take some parts of this scape down. Not all, just the plants and redmoor that I won't be using.

So out came the redmoor with the Needle Ferns and anubias attached to it. You can see the pictures of this below with my watch next to it to gauge size. Then the needle fern was removed and split up into 25 portions. I kept 5 for the next scape and glued them to some of the cobbles along with the anubias from this scape to keep them in shape and then bagged up the remaining 20 portions.

You can see them pre-bagging below. These are all sold. Last time I sold a load I had messages galore from Eastern Europe wanting some but I had to tell them they were all sold. Therefore I decided to list them on ASW to give them first chance this time. Needless to say they were sold pretty quickly.

The Redmoor is on a radiator drying pending listing it on ebay. I need full price for these because I have to buy new hardscape.

Next to come out will be the Cryptocoryne Retrospiralis which is a monster plant (60cm or so) and is pretty hard to come by here in the UK. Those will be listed on UKaps over the next few days.

I'll post up some pictures of the temporary 'messy' appearance in the next few days too.

The rasboras although 2-3 years old will be free to a good home if anyone wants to collect them. Send me a message if you are interested.

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I hope you enjoyed reading through this journal. I love(d) this scape and its a pity to break it down as it could've lasted for a lot longer than 2 years, however I am eager to try something different in terms of layout and so it has to go.


The new scape will be entitled 'Rio Bonito' and is scheduled to start at the beginning of April.

Regards
AC
 
One little thing I am going to do while the tank is in limbo for 2 months (all theplants temporary in the tank awaiting April) is to try something with the Philipine fern.

Its been one of the largest disappointments within this scape. Was huge in the previous 2 yet didn't take off at all in this one. I have been reading through my previous 2 setups and noticed that I superglued this fern in this scape where in the previous 2 I stapled it.

So I'm gonna remove it from it's hardscape, add some more plantlets from my nursery and staple them. Then it has 2 months to see if there is a difference.

All the other plants (anubias and needles) haven't had a problem with superglue but something has turned the philippine from being an invasive monster into a wimpering hideaway plant. We shall see.

Progress of course will be slow as there is no CO2 at the moment.

AC
 
As promised as a final photo entry here are a couple of pics of how things look while I get the next scape ready. 2 months of this aargh.

Saying that these pics are already out of date as I have pulled the Spiralis out of the rear left. lol. plus with all the disturbance the Corys started sticking eggs to everything else that was left so there is now a little net hung on the side of the tank with circa 150 eggs in it :)

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Regards
AC
 
Nice thread Andy, the tank is looking great. LED lighting unit is very impressive.
 
I have it all planned. lol

Sourcing things over the next few weeks and currently buying bits for pressurised. (sold mine off 18 months ago)

NEW scape will include Fissidens and possibly Bolbitus and although still Crypts/Anubias/Ferns and stil a bit jungly will ne closer to the 'fashionable' than previous scapes have been.

Do you like the new scape title Paulo? 'Rio Bonito'. Sort of gives the game away. lol

AC
 
SuperColey1 said:
Do you like the new scape title Paulo? 'Rio Bonito'. Sort of gives the game away. lol
Haha it does a little ;) lets wait and see how "Bonito" it will actually be ;)
 
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