Slightly cloudy at 120

[Onoma1]

I thought I would start a journal for my new 120.

The details are:

120 x 50x 60 Aquariums4life
Aquael 2000 Ultramax Filter
Online CO2 and heater (CO2 isn't being injected yet)
John Inness Number 3 in net bags (generic supermarket fine bags for fruit)
Osmscote (produced by the Scott's Company UK) liberally scattered under the heavy feeding plants.
Topped with a mix of ADA and cheap aquarium silver sand
Rocks are recovered from a stream (with permission from the owner).
The wood is a mixture of hardwood UK native roots power washed and soaked in water butt.
Various leaves and botanicals bought from TA Aquaculture
The plants are primarily buce, anubias and crypts that survived the tank explosion with a few stems and floting plants to suck up any excess nutrients. A list will be posted.
The final scape will be an island and two thirds carpet of low level crypts and empty sand.
The aquascape still needs a lot of work but it's a start. As with my terrestrial garden I love the process of 'editing'.

My aim is to create an aesthetically pleasing planted tank which needs minimal maintenance and in which the plants and fish flourish.

 

[Bradders]

Hello @Onoma1 - Looking good!

How long has the tank been set up? Also, your filter has around 16L of volume in it, is that correct? What media are you using inside the Ultimax? I am asking these questions as to understand the cloudy water you can see in the photo.

 

[Onoma1]

It's a two week old set-up. IRL it is quite clear. The glass needs a clean and I really need a new camera! Any cloudiness comes from a collection of 5 plecs who have created caves under the wood and stone and my collection of corydorus digging in the sand. The filter has the standard Aquael Media, however, as I use a shrimp guard I may remove some if it to incease the flow.

 

[Bradders]

Got it! I really need to upgrade my aquarium. 100 litres is no longer enough for me!

 

[Onoma1]

Plants:

A motley assortment of Bucephalandra including:
Bucephalandra Deep Purple
Bucephalandra ' Green Pear '
Bucephalandra ' Lamandau Rain '
Bucephalandra ' Diamond '
Bucephalandra ' Blue Sea '
Bucephalandra Sintang
Bucephalandra Theia Red
Bucephalandra Midnight Shadow
Bucephalandra "Alamanda V3 Dark
Bucephalandra Aragon
Bucephalandra Brownie Jade

I stopped buying these from importers when I realised how they were harvested. I also realise how little the common name means as the difference between some varieties/ strains/ types is very, very marginal and how expensive this obsession became. Post Brexit the opportunities for collection evaporated.

Other plants of note include:

Pygmaea Helvola Dwarf water lily (five years an not one blasted flower). Advice, comments, and amused comments welcome.

A smorgasbord of crypts:

Cryptocoryne Rubella
Cryptocoryne Costata
Cryptocoryne green gecko
Cryptocoryne bullosa
Cryptocoryne becketti
Cryptocoryne petchii

And others. Possibly one of each (have I mentioned the tank explosion)?

Plants which are of little interest and play a functional role in 'sucking up nitrates' and 'balancing the tank' include Water Sprite and assorted stems (Rotala wallichii etc). These will be removed...

A morass of floating plants
The aim here is to create matts of floating plants which fish can hide under, the plants will suck up nitrates, provide shade, and allow me to monitor the quality of the water. Yes I know @dw1305 'this is the way'.

Other less interesting and more recent acquisitions:

Marsilea crenata
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Phyllanthus fluitans
Hydrocotyle tripartita
Tropica Hygrophila pinnatifida
Murdannia keisak

As ever my approach to planting is to spread the plants between different tanks. Given my tank explosion (I am sure I mentioned this) and the leaking paludarium I have only small pieces of some of the plants....but they will grow.

Oh and Anubias

By this point you are definitely bored. Suffice to say mini-coin and any other bog standard varieties.

 

[Onoma1]

So after a painful day (navigating the myriad politics of my workplace) I decided to relax with a glass of red, listen to Steve Reich (Electric Counterpoint), while watching the ebb and flow of the aquarium and generally 'decompressing'.

And then, I had the 'brilliant' idea of taking a picture of my definitely and absolutely 'non cloudy' aquascape ( @BRJP1 ) and posting it to the forum.

And then I realised that there is algae on the glass... the musical landscape to accompany this is more "The End" from the Doors.

Definitely time for another glass.

 

[MichaelJ]

So (after a painful day (navigating the myriad politics of my workplace) I decided to relax with a glass of red, listen to Steve Reich (Electric Counterpoint), while watching the ebb and flow of the aquarium and generally 'decompressing'.

That pretty much sums up one of the big reasons for me to keep aquariums.... it completely detaches me from the daily enslavement of mostly meaningless bull$#!t in the grander scheme of things... and hey, it's a great excuse to enjoy alcohol and listen to some good music!

And then, I have the 'brilliant' idea of taking a picture of my definitely and absolutely 'non cloudy' aquascape ( @BRJP1 ) and posting it to the forum.

I am obsessed with gin clear water (as it appears @BRJP1 is as well 👍)... I still think your water looks a bit cloudy... but it might just be biofilm on the inside of the glass.

Definitely time for another glass.

Go for it! Cheers! 🥃

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Bradders]

I am obsessed with gin clear water (as it appears @BRJP1 is as well 👍)

I am seeking professional help for my ultra-clear water obsession. It consumes me.

 

[MichaelJ]

I am seeking professional help for my ultra-clear water obsession. It consumes me.

To me clear water adds a lot of aesthetic value to my tanks... I use a lot of botanicals so I've grown accustomed to having the water slightly tinted due to the tannins, but the clarity remains.

It's sort of like the first thing people not familiar with our hobby says when they come to our house and see the tanks; wow, the water is so clear.... the second thing is; are those real plants? I usually jokingly just say; No, they are all made of plastic - and so are the fish and shrimps...

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Onoma1]

@MichaelJ and @BRJP1 .

I don't want to "get all semantic on you", however...
I know that gin is particularly fashionable at the moment, particularly with botanicals. Hogarth (the killjoy) destroyed any positive connotations linked to gin in the 1750s. Gin Clear water isn't something to aspire to.

I can only suggest that henceforth you use the term 'Vodka Clear' or "Wisky Clear" (the latter for those who enjoy a Blackwater experience). Purely predicted on the view that Uisge beatha is the Scottish Gaelic term for 'water of life' ie whisky. Who wouldn't want to aquascape in a tank that with water that looked like the "water of life"? Equally the word Vodka is derived from the Russian Voda or water. It has been translated into numerous languages but retains a tangential link to water. In Finland (possibly the worst 'Vodka' in the world) the local version is called Koskenkorva after a river.

I essence I am aspiring to Wisky Clear not Vodka Clear while possibly achieving Ouzo Clear (Ouzo with ice). Never Gin Clear.

 

[MichaelJ]

I am frantically looking up alcohol with the lowest turbidity… yes, probably vodka. 🥂

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Bradders]

I can only suggest that henceforth you use the term 'Vodka Clear' or "Wisky Clear"

I have spoken to the fish. After 2 hours of deliberation, they unanimously agreed Vodka or Whiskey Clear is the new measure, and this has now been updated in "Section2: Fish Law of Water Clarity".

(For full disclosure, there was one initial dissenter, but this was later discovered to be a disgruntled fish due to rock movement earlier in the week).