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Reborn

dw1305 said:
Hi all,

If you have water low in salts (below about 100microS) you really need a solid state ISFET chip pH meter to get accurate pH measurements. The problem with all electrode pH meters is that pH becomes problematic as you approach pure H2O (or 0dKH). Around pH7 measurements are always likely to vary, because pH is both a ratio and a log10 measurement, and at pH7 (10-7 O-H and H+ ions) small changes in ratio lead to large changes in pH (this is what Tom alludes to earlier in the post).

If you want to get accurate pH measurements, you really need to calibrate the meter before every use in pH4 and pH7 buffers and look after the electrodes very carefully.

cheers Darrel
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Not many have such low uS tank water. Ferts also add a lot.
So my tap is pretty soft, but the ferts contribute about 150-200 uS, so I'm at about 250-300.
The curve drops offs real fast as you approach zero KH.

But..........this just means you cannot measure it directly with pH/KH. You can do indirect measurement however.
Eg, add KH/alk to the system, then replace with pure water to dilute it back down. Then take a relative measure or another form.
I also have a device that will work with a pH probe/meter that will avoid any of this since the pH is isolated in a rference cell with a teflon membrane for gas exchange (but not KH). Has about 99% accuracy over 60 seconds stabilization time. So about +/- 1ppm at the worst.
Not bad I figure. Independent of KH.

This is a bit off topic here though:)

Victor, the photos look excellent I think, I know what you are saying color wise with the lighting, it's a learned preference we all seem to have as aquarist using specific lighting.
 
Gave a bit of a tweak on this setup today. I loved the full green hills, but some others missed the sand which i had at the start. So had this bug in my head for a week. And as i had a bit more time today i removed some plants and filled in the sand - ADA Mekong.

This is too early to tell this is 100% better with sand, as the sand is too steril right now, but will work on it i guess. As the tank is in a nice form probably will capture this to the contests.

No photo light this time just the 4x54 Arcadia.

Playing with that where to shoot this tank. From below where i see the surface and the hills are bigger tank looks deeper, from above where i see the sand paths/pads but hills are smaller, or from the center like it is now.

Anyway i thougth i share it with you guys. :)

8603006403_da94072a0d_b.jpg
 
Hi victor,
personally i really like the sand area, it seems to add purpose to the scape and oddly a sense of scale which was lost without it. Now it looks like a huge rocky cliff side scene :thumbup: Unsure now with the addition of the sand bed that the hydrocotle at the right front is needed in the scape though?
Plants are looking really healthy again...have you been doing anything differently?...or is that down to how it is being lit for the photo?
Great aquascape and nice tweaks!
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Ady34 said:
Hi victor,
personally i really like the sand area, it seems to add purpose to the scape and oddly a sense of scale which was lost without it. Now it looks like a huge rocky cliff side scene :thumbup: Unsure now with the addition of the sand bed that the hydrocotle at the right front is needed in the scape though?
Plants are looking really healthy again...have you been doing anything differently?...or is that down to how it is being lit for the photo?
Great aquascape and nice tweaks!
Cheerio,
Ady.
Click to expand...

Cheers Ady, thanks for your feedback. You're right hydro and staurogyne not fit that much to the scape. I probably will remove it at the shooting. They grow back quickly usually.

On the plant health - the last trimming was like 3 weeks ago or so. So trimming frequency slowed down a lot as the tank got matured.
I had serious issues ealrier, til i found my PO4 just disappear from the tank and the plants strugle because of that.
So a few month ago added in a daily PO4 boost to the tank.
Ferts are now: Brighty K 12-14ml / day, Step 2 12-14ml / day, Easy Carbo 10ml / day, KH2PO4 boost every day or so.
Also i mentioned this before that i decreased the pH controller with 0.1. So a bit more CO2 injected to the tank.
Fully algae free now. And because of the KH2PO4 i had to clean the stones only 1 in a month.
 
Looks fantastic viktor and it's also tribute to you to see how long this tank has been running. Really well done mate! Loads better with the sand...a bit of sand at the front will also move it up in the iaplc rankings ; )
 
Ian Holdich said:
Looks fantastic viktor and it's also tribute to you to see how long this tank has been running. Really well done mate! Loads better with the sand...a bit of sand at the front will also move it up in the iaplc rankings ; )
Click to expand...
Have to agree, this is one of my all time favourites and just keeps getting better, don't see many long term scapes these days which is what I love ;)
 
Looks really good and I prefer it with the white sand as well. Adds contrast and a different texture.

That test with studio lights also looks really nice. Quite a big difference. Thinking of how to achieve with flashguns which is all I have.
 
Thanks guys for your feedback. I am glad the last tweak helped on the layout and most of you agree with that. As the tank looked so sexy today i could not miss the chance to shoot the final photos. Before that removed the Stauro and the Hydro.

Unfortunatelly i did not had any assistance, so i had to shoot, lead the fishes, operate the hairdryer :) Would have been better otherwise.
Anyway this tank is ready. How about you? :)

8607673664_6a9dc74dc5_o.jpg
 
I've been meaning to comment on this scape. I think it's really amazing, love how steeply banked it is. One day I hope to achieve something like this. btw the change with sand looks perfect. gl :)
 
jon32 said:
I've been meaning to comment on this scape. I think it's really amazing, love how steeply banked it is. One day I hope to achieve something like this. btw the change with sand looks perfect. gl :)
Click to expand...

Thanks mate :thumbup:

tim said:
Hi viktor, such an awsome scape for such a long running scape, the sand really perfects the scape, inspirational work. Is your project forest still running, threads not been updated in a while.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tim. Yeah i had a plan to do an interim scape between my next large project, but turned our this works pretty well with our lifestyle. This is a high energy tank, but really a low maintenance one. I only changed the water once a week. Trimming probably every 4 weeks or more. The scape looked mostly the same all the time. So it's a good example that even a high energy tank can work well at a client not just crypts anubias etc. Just need to put it on track and the rest goes well til the plants want it a different way...

For example the HC. Around this time the HC usually lift off. After 8 month or so in a high energy setup. This is happening here too, but because of the layout form not equally everywhere. If i would keep it longer i probably had to replant part of the carpet plants.

Not sure about the forest naming :) That happens if there are no real names just project ones :)
Is this the one: All sizes | Green Aqua Showroom | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Last time i changed the mosses. Removed the old one and replaced with a short grower riccardia. This also gives better texture and fine details to the scape.
Had to put it into shape in the next week or so before i shoot it. Probably one last trimming on the stems. And 2-2.5 weeks later i can shoot it.
 
tim said:
Is that the scape from this thread Project name - Forest | UK Aquatic Plant Society your scapes certainly are an inspiration, will both be iaplc entries, absolutely stunning work mate.
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Thanks mate.

Oh yeah. This is the one which i linked above. Looked awesome at the start, but i forgot to not use stems :) So the scape quickly transformed to something else.
This was the point when i said ENOUGH! :) Green Aqua Showroom | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

i still fell in love when i look back how this looked at the start. Had to try it once more .... without any stems ;)
Til then i try to meet with this phase in the next 2 weeks or so with deep red rotalas etc. WIl see how timing works for the photo shooting.
All sizes | Forest theme 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
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