saintly's "The Miracle Mire" scape over

[Mark Evans]

Just why does it have to be so expensive though!

i'm not using any of these plants in the next scape. and i got to buy new ones and substrate.

its a real shame for it to be over iv been monitoring the progress every update since u started with a few rocks. i was looking foward to seeing it finnished how u wanted it.

thats life samc. it's over to Jay to carry the torch to IAPLC

 

[jay]

thats life samc. it's over to Jay to carry the torch to IAPLC

Reckon there's more sturdy hand's out there for that torch mate.

Believe you're going for a large iwagumi next?
Sure you'll be up and running in no time. Every cloud.....

 

[Thomas McMillan]

Aww this is such a massie shame.

I'm actually really upset for you.

 

[Dave Spencer]

Re: saintly's "The Miracle Mire"

i've been away for a couple of days and i upped my co2 thinking it was ok.

I learnt the hard way that a CO2 adjustment has to be monitored. I wiped out a load of Copper harlequins in my 120cm.

I use a hose to fill up the 120cm, and I make sure nothing distracts me from that job. I could imagine a waterfall would occur in no time.

Have you got a decent photo of the tank pre disaster that may be worth entering?

Dave.

 

[Mark Evans]

Have you got a decent photo of the tank pre disaster that may be worth entering?

no, just the one that you've probably just looked at...

really not good enough. sp green had just been trimmed.

Aww this is such a massie shame.

I'm actually really upset for you.

thomas, it's fine mate. things happen. i've learnt LOADS from this things can only get better.

Believe you're going for a large iwagumi next?

that was the plan, but i really cant afford anything at the minute :? i didnt plan for this.

 

[scottturnbull]

You've got a knack of leaving me lost for words. Hard luck mate. I enjoyed reading this thread.

 

[jay]

Believe you're going for a large iwagumi next?

that was the plan, but i really cant afford anything at the minute :? i didnt plan for this.

Sure you could get a few quid selling some of those plants. Nudge nudge

 

[james3200]

Just read your Journal, a real shame

I am sure you will better this on your next scape

 

[TDI-line]

Hey Mark (fish-killer),

sorry to hear about your tank, it really was a masterpiece, one of my favorites on here,

but on the bright side i suppose you could always upgrade to a big big tank now...

 

[Tony Swinney]

Such a shame Saintly - was looking great.

As you say, you'll take what you've learnt on to the next scape and that'll be better for it.

Cheers

Tony

 

[Mark Green]

its a real shame saintly.

im so upset for you as you have put so much work into this scape.

Mark

 

[Mark Evans]

very touching everyone,it honestly means a lot. the plan now is to take the reaming 10 fish (embers and silver tip) to MA. what ottos and shrimp i have go to mums tank. ballon ram survived SAE'E didnt.
red eyd did, and there munching on dead fish.

once there gone, i'll take the thing apart. salvage what i can plant wise, i may set up my other 60, not sure about that one yet. i know there's a load of vultures out there waiting to pick at my bones, but please hang fire on asking for my spare plants. they will become available eventually.

the real bummer is the fact all my good landscape rock is in the MA scape. i could of made an absolute great iwagumi with all the stone i have. that's out the window

just looking through Nature Aquarium book 1 gives me ideas every time i look at it and 1 in particular where he uses NO hard scape....... the thought lingers in my head now.

I'm forgetting about IAPLC now, competition just kills the passion inside me. i got to do this for me..... 8)

 

[LondonDragon]

I can feel your pain mate same thing happened to me back in September when I lost most of my fish and then found them amongst the plants everywhere and had to strip the entire tank hard luck mate it was looking great.

Next time wait longer before you place fish in the tank, get everything right, thats what I am going to do, now only have 13 fish in my tank and no shrimp, lost my amanos too

Look forward to your future work mate, you have talents

 

[George Farmer]

Tragic, Mark.

You didn't deserve such rotten luck. You're one of the nicest and most talented guys on here, and your journals are so valuable on so many levels.

To see this come to such an abrupt and untimely end is very saddening.

I know it's tough at the moment but one day you'll back on this as a valuable lesson.

Chin up dude.

 

[Ray]

Mark,
What an awful experience. It seems to happen to everyone, - remember the tank in Nature Aquarium World 1 where he comments there are no fish because the PH probe came out the water and the CO2 went flat out? Before you strip it down I suggest you walk away for a day or 4 and take a deep breath. In my experience these situations can always be salvaged easier than you would think in the heat of the momemt. In any case, as discussed - there was a problem with lack of depth, so this is a great opportunity to fiddle with that.
Remember after my blackout when all the crypts had vanished...? I never spent a penny on extra plants after then, they just all grew again. There have been occasions when I've just wanted to cry and give it all up, but sometimes I think it pays to be stubborn and persevere.
Get the CO2 running at a low level, fish out the dead fish, and then take a breather for a couple of days before you decide what to do.
Thoughts are with you mate.
Ray

 

[Mark Evans]

Look forward to your future work mate, you have talents

you too paulo, you too

You didn't deserve such rotten luck. You're one of the nicest and most talented guys on here, and your journals are so valuable on so many levels.

thanks George, i really cant believe how attached i'd come to this set up. here's to the next one...

remember the tank in Nature Aquarium World 1 where he comments there are no fish because the PH probe came out the water and the CO2 went flat out?

oddly enough ray, i was reading that last night in my hotel room, then my wife rang....spooky.

isnt it a great book though. i'm becoming a massive fan of his early works.if you want to learn from a great artist, learn from the artist early works

Before you strip it down I suggest you walk away for a day or 4 and take a deep breath. In my experience these situations can always be salvaged easier than you would think in the heat of the moment. In any case, as discussed - there was a problem with lack of depth, so this is a great opportunity to fiddle with that.

it's too fr gone ray. i did try and re assemble it but really didn't work. i have realised why that image looked 2 D....the hard scape was too close the front, so it gave the sense that there was no foreground....or very little at least.

when i took the wood from the front out, it just opened up. thing was the wood on the sides just collapsed

 

[GreenNeedle]

Thats a bummer Mark. Has happened to many of us though. My first scape was the one where all the mistakes happened so you've done quite well to get this far before anything major like this.

I learnt with the first scape :
Not to use hairnets. bottom dwellers get caught on it.
Not to use cotton thread - fish get their gills trapped on it
Not to use mesh for moss - Otos get their heads stuck in them
Ensure moss walls have no gaps at all!!! - Small fish get stuck behind them and then others get their heads stuck trying to get to the protein!!

Oh and then I had the CO2 incident which nearly made me give up, but I persevered although cautiously since. lol

I liked this one. Not overboard on the lights, nice colouration and shape and I like to see wood when its in the tank so that was nice too. Looking forward to the next one though.

AC

 

[altaaffe]

That's awful, as said the worse thing that could happen, has. I really enjoyed looking in on your hournals to see how things were going so it was a shock when I saw the title had changed. But as Andy has said above and you have also said, we learn from these things the hard way and you already sound as though the gears inside your are starting to gather momentum again.

I'm forgetting about IAPLC now, competition just kills the passion inside me. i got to do this for me..... 8)

As Jay said on his post, probably the best way to be.

 

[aaronnorth]

A big shame, anyway of turning this into a nursery and try to keep the plants alive? Even if it isnt a "proper" scape. Or you could plant minimally such as this http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... l=2&id=188 to try and keep the cost down.....

 

[Mark Evans]

I liked this one. Not overboard on the lights, nice colouration and shape and I like to see wood when its in the tank so that was nice too. Looking forward to the next one though.

from you Andy, that means a lot. cheers mate. i now got to fish out a load of baby cherries that are still in there.

you already sound as though the gears inside your are starting to gather momentum again.

oh yes, like a train mate, like a train. aqua journals and NA book 1 getting some hammer.

A big shame, anyway of turning this into a nursery and try to keep the plants alive? Even if it isnt a "proper" scape.

a nice thought Aaron, but ultimately a waist of time....no point in prolonging death. i need to get cracking with the next one.