The Mighty Oak lives on

[Ash J]

Good afternoon all,

I hope everyone is doing well!

It's been about 3 weeks since I broke down my old aquarium (See Journal "A fresh start") and subsequently setup my new aquascape. My previous aquascape had been a very frustrating journey for me as a newbie to the hobby delving into the world of high energy tanks. I made many mistakes, however this forum has been an invaluable resource for me and I thank each and everyone of you who contributes.

Let's begin.
Out with the old and in with the new....see ya later Fluval......Hellooooo Aquasys 150😍. Why didn't I purchase this tank to begin with?! I'm absolutely thrilled with it.


I recently went away to Cumbria and saw an old oak tree clinging to life hanging over the River Esk which gave me the inspiration for this aquascape, though keeping within the "nature" style as this is my favourite.
After hours of toying with the hardscape, this was what I ultimately decided to go with which best mimicked the oak tree I'd seen in Cumbria.


I was never able to use Lily pipes on my Roma so could finally treat myself to some. I opted for the Aquario Premium Neo flow as thought they'd last a little longer than glass pipes!


Plant day completed! A mix of both old and new. Now that I'm equipped with the Twinstar Nano+ I decided to go quite hard on the Co2. Plants did suffer a little early on as I went quite lean on the EI however this has now been increased and plants are all showing positive signs of growth. I'm running the Chihiros WRGB2 elevated over the tank at 50% with a 6hour photoperiod. So far algae has remained very minimal. I've noticed a tiny bit of GSA on the front pane, however I believe this is where the morning sun catches the tank for about an hour.


Plant List
Blyxa Japonica
Hemianthus Callitrichoides (CUBA)
Cryptocoryne lutea 'Hobbit'
Cryptocoryne Lucens
Cryptocoryne Nevellii
Cryptocoryne Petchii
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Hygrophila lancea
Rotala H'ra
Rotala Orange Juice
Rotala rotundifolia 'Green'
Vesicularia dubyana 'Christmas'
Vesicularia ferriei 'Weeping'
Hydrocotyle tripartita Japan
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Ludwigia sp "Super red"
Eleocharis acicularis Mini
Murdannia keisak
Anubias Nana petite
Bucephalandra wavy green
Bucephalandra kedagang
Bolbitis heudelotii



Diatoms came hard around the beginning of week 2, however I introduced 8 Amano's and 5 Ottos who have done a spectacular job of cleaning the diatoms up! Filter was also already mature so didn't expect the tank to take too long to cycle.
H'ra growing really well!


Now 3 weeks on. I added a few extra plants and moved some around yesterday to fill in some of the gaps.




I'm very happy with current progress of the tank and really excited for it to full grow in. Let's just hope I don't mess this one up!🤪

Cheers

Ash

 

[saundersbp]

Fantastic tank, I really like the design!

 

[Lee iley]

Love the tank, the layout looks ace 👌

 

[Ash J]

A little update.
Progress for the most part remains very positive and the plants such as the Blyxa and hygrophila pinnatifida have exploded in growth. The hot weather brought a few challenges and caused a GSA bloom. I've also been battling filamentous diatoms mainly on the mosses which I'm having to remove almost daily. I attempted to use some phosguard as this has been successful for me in a different tank with dealing with FD however this has now been removed as the lack of PO4 in the water column seemed to start having a detrimental effect on the plants.



Meet the new tank mates! I already had a couple of regular/gold white clouds but saw these beauties (Vietnamase Cardinal minnows) at my LFS and had to get some. The photo doesn't really do them justice but it was so difficult to get a decent shot as they don't stay still for anything longer than a micro second 😂.

Cheers
Ash

 

[_Maq_]

filamentous diatoms

??? Maybe I'm wrong but I've never thought diatoms can be filamentous.

 

[jaypeecee]

Meet the new tank mates! I already had a couple of regular/gold white clouds but saw these beauties (Vietnamase Cardinal minnows) at my LFS and had to get some.

Hi @Ash J

I have been keeping this fish species for nine months. They are very beautiful and appear to get on well together. I have a mix of males and females. I keep them in my 'plant filtration only' tank. I'd never win any prizes for aquarium photography but here they are:

Is expensive bio media worth it?

Hi @jaypeecee It would be helpful if you could share how useful ORP readings are for you. Thank you Hi @aquanoobie I have been closely monitoring ORP in one of my tanks for just over six months. My objective was to see if it would provide a reliable 24/7 indicator of dissolved organic...

www.ukaps.org

JPC

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Maybe I'm wrong but I've never thought diatoms can be filamentous.

Fragilaria (Synedra) sp. are <"pretty common in aquariums">. You actually get all sorts of colonial diatoms, including the amazing <"Carpenter's Rule" species">.

cheers Darrel

 

[KirstyF]

A little update.
Progress for the most part remains very positive and the plants such as the Blyxa and hygrophila pinnatifida have exploded in growth. The hot weather brought a few challenges and caused a GSA bloom. I've also been battling filamentous diatoms mainly on the mosses which I'm having to remove almost daily. I attempted to use some phosguard as this has been successful for me in a different tank with dealing with FD however this has now been removed as the lack of PO4 in the water column seemed to start having a detrimental effect on the plants.


View attachment 191298
Meet the new tank mates! I already had a couple of regular/gold white clouds but saw these beauties (Vietnamase Cardinal minnows) at my LFS and had to get some. The photo doesn't really do them justice but it was so difficult to get a decent shot as they don't stay still for anything longer than a micro second 😂.
View attachment 191299
Cheers
Ash

I have a group of these too. Absolutely lovely fish. Real little stunners. Hope you enjoy them as much as I’m enjoying mine. 😊

 

[Ash J]

Hey all,

It's been about 6 weeks since my last post so thought I'd provide a little update. The tank is now roughly 3 months old and I really couldn't be happier with the progress. Growth has been amazing. I've found myself paying alot more attention to tank maintenance to keep it looking pristine.

I'm continuing to EI dose 50ml daily however have reduced my lighting down from 50%-40% due to an increase in GSA, though I believe this was partially due to the long summer days and the tank being exposed to excess natural light. Blinds have now been fitted to keep the room as dark as my partner will permit me to 😂 which I can see is definitely beneficial for the tank.




I've had a sudden breakout of ramshorn snails which I have no clue where they have come from! All plants used have been recycled from my own snailless tanks or invitro pots 😬.


My red/black crystal bee shrimp from my nano tank seem to be really enjoying their new larger home!

It's become such a pleasure to relax on the sofa just watching the tank! Such peace ❤️

Until next time.

Ash

 

[Ash J]

Hey all!

I hope everyone is doing well, it's been some months since my last update so here it is!
I cant believe how much the tank has changed and grown since the start of this journal.


The Lutea "hobbit" has taken on a nice dark red/purple colouration.

Overall I'm very happy with how the tank has turned out, however I'm now getting an itch to change things up a little, mainly the back on the tank.

My Ludwegia Sp red suffered a little while I was away on holiday and the H'ra has struggled to grow overall, likely due to being overshadowed by the Blyxa. This has meant the back of the tank has started to look abit less dense than the front. I've added some Balansae at the back from another tank but this grows extremely fast and I'm trimming it back weekly.
I'm now thinking of removing the Blyxa on the right completely and replacing with something else.

Very much open to some suggestions of some background plants that you think would complement this tank! Looking to make the changes just after the holiday period!

Cheers 😁