# Nigel's Forest scape 34gal



## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Got bored of my Iwagumi and wanted to do something with spiderwood. Decided to make my own forest. 

*Have a look at my Youtube channel  
>> www.youtube.com/nigelaquascaping * *<<*

*Final video*





My tank with black background in the room. 

nigel aquascaping enchanted forest black background by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr

*Recent picture*
detail shot forest scape by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr

forest 8 by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr
forest detail 128l nigel aquascaping by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr
Specs planted tank aquarium 
*Tank*
80x40x40 cm / 31x15x15" opticwhite 8mm 
34 gallon / 128 litre 

*Lighting*
Chihiros rgb 60

*Hardscape*
Lava rock
Spiderwood

*Substrate*
ADA Aqua Soil

*Shrimp*
50+ Red cherry shrimp

*
Fish*
20 green neon tetra 

*Snails*
10 Clithon sp. 

*Plants*
hydrocotyle tripartita
cryptocoryne parva
fissidens fontanus
fissidens mini
solenostoma tetragonum
Bucephalandra (soon before flooding)

*Co2*
Pressurized CO2 with a diffusor 
Co2 checker edge (20 ppm) 

*Heater*
Hydor eth 200 temperature 25 celcius 

*Filter*
Eheim experience 350 (2426) with stainless steel lily pipes 

*Background*
Frosted glass spray

*Day 1 Hardscape & DSM *







*Day 36*






*Day 60*
forest scape 128l day 60 p3 by Nigel H, on Flickr

*Day 75*





*Day 95*
More details
day 95 forest aquascape by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr

*Day 115*





*Progress*
details growth by nigel by Nigel H, on Flickr

*Tank 80x40x40 cm - 34g / 128L
*
image uploader


Yoghurt method experiment
[/B]Got some fissidens fontanus from someone. Trying out the yoghurt blender method to attach mosses on my lava rocks. Thanks for the idea @shaman.


Yoghurt method moss dsm





More info about this see
http://bolbiaquarium.blogspot.nl/2016/02/attaching-moss-to-hardscape-yoghurt.html

image uploader
Waterlogging all pieces hopefully they will not dry completely out during my dry start to attach mosses to hardscape.

image uploader

To be more safe to avoid floating spiderwood I zip tied spiderwood pieces to a piece of slate. These will be buried in the substrate. So far it seems promising as pieces sink immediately in a bucket. 

image uploader


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Rough sketch of the planting. Critique please 

WM = weeping moss
CP = cryptocoryne parva
FF / RC = fissidens fontanus / riccardia chamedry folia

Some anubias petite and bucephalandra mini needle leaf random in the scape. Should I put them in crevices or glue them?

The 'path' isn't really planted because if I do all the roots will become hidden by plants.

Maybe I will put some trees more diagonal to prevent the scape from being to static,

Planning to raise the substrate more at the back as I have enough soil from my Iwagumi to create more depth. Something like 4 cm front, left back 13 cm, center 8 cm and right back 10 cm.


free image hosting


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## Esteban Colberto (Mar 7, 2017)

Personally I'd glue it as, imo, the glue is only temporary and it gives you many more placement options. Just one opinion. Looks like it's going to be very cool.


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## lisals (Jun 21, 2017)

Looks like it's going to be a beautiful tank


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Nice setup! That should look great


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Very cool! Given any thought to fauna yet?


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## Lovebug (Jun 3, 2017)

A forest tank is my dream to make. Still new to the hobby and have a lot to learn, but it's my goal. Your hardscape is exactly what I want to do one day. The spiderwood is gorgeous, and your placement creates a lot of depth. Looks like Fangorn forest from LotR!


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## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

I love the idea of a spiderwood forest.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

The Dude1 said:


> Very cool! Given any thought to fauna yet?


Thanks!

20 Green neon tetras
17 Amano shrimp
20+ Red cherry shrimp

Will be transfered from my iwagumi. During the dry start to attach mosses they will be in a smaller tank for a few weeks. 

Maybe some snails would look cool but I don't want the eggs of nerites all over the place and want to keep it under control (breeding of other species).


Lovebug said:


> A forest tank is my dream to make. Still new to the hobby and have a lot to learn, but it's my goal. Your hardscape is exactly what I want to do one day. The spiderwood is gorgeous, and your placement creates a lot of depth. Looks like Fangorn forest from LotR!


Thank you 

I am also pretty new to this hobby (since March 2017). First I thought a forest scape would be to complex to start with but this hobby is all a learning curve. Once has to be your first time so go for it!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Ordered a chihiros rgb. Hopefully I will like the 8000k cold view. 

New plant list due low par with just 1 light unit (~36 par.)
So I skipped the riccardia chamedryfolia as it requires at least 50 par. 

Decided to add a little bit of
hydrocotyle tripartita. Riccardia chamedryfolia will be replaced with solenostoma tetragonum. 

Plant list
hydrocotyle tripartita
Crypt parva 
Weeping moss 
solenostoma tetragonum
Fissidens mini and fontanus
Bucephalandra kedagang mini. 



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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Hardscape so far in tank. Still need to glue the roots together. 


Tested some lava rocks in water that has been in dsm for four weeks and the amano shrimps are pulling everything off. So I guess I can't have amano shrimp at the start in the tank. What would be a good algae eaters that will not blow the delicate moss off? Maybe RCS? Not sure if they will keep algae under control.


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

The hardscape looks quite a bit better in the tank, and I thought it looked great in the box. Are you glueing the moss on, if so it shouldn't come off. Maybe thread?


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> The hardscape looks quite a bit better in the tank, and I thought it looked great in the box. Are you glueing the moss on, if so it shouldn't come off. Maybe thread?


Thanks

The moss was applied with the yoghurt method. Not sure what to do with the mosses I ordered. I like the yoghurt method maybe just skipp the amano shrimp for the first months in the scape.


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

Oh well if your doing the yogurt method then I would just leave the shrimp out for the first couple weeks. Maybe a month if you wanted but i think it would be grown enough by then.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

More mosses, plants and stuff to continue the scape 

Damn those mosses are expensive for what you get! 











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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

The tank is set up! Now I have to wait like 4-6 weeks so the mosses will attach to the hardscape. Can't wait to fill it already!

Impression of the hardscape enjoy


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Mold problems on spiderwood. Even with some air opening and daily 10 mins airing. Tips are welcome. 





















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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

I hate to suggest it, but I'm wondering if the mold problems could be due to the wood having been waterlogged before your DSM. The scape is gorgeous though and I'm excited to watch it keep coming together!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

geisterwald said:


> I hate to suggest it, but I'm wondering if the mold problems could be due to the wood having been waterlogged before your DSM. The scape is gorgeous though and I'm excited to watch it keep coming together!



Hmm yeah could be…Hopefully it won't ruin the scape. I am excited to fill the tank so I can watch the scape. Instead of watching to condensation 


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

That's fairly common with spiderwood. I wouldn't worry about it.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

I wouldn't worry to much about it, once flooded I had some thick fungus / mould on my spiderwood used in a 60p nature scape, otos and shrimp made fairly short work of it, tho there is a thread on ukaps where the mould / fungus from spiderwood went crazy for months and set back the scape / mosses, all came well in the end, hopefully you dont experience this: 
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/escape.40308/page-2


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> I wouldn't worry to much about it, once flooded I had some thick fungus / mould on my spiderwood used in a 60p nature scape, otos and shrimp made fairly short work of it, tho there is a thread on ukaps where the mould / fungus from spiderwood went crazy for months and set back the scape / mosses, all came well in the end, hopefully you dont experience this:
> 
> https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/escape.40308/page-2



Thanks for the link. Nice journal and scape to!

The fungus now is emersed so may be a little different. I tried to wipe of as much as I can. But it's hard with all the wood and can't get everything clean. I opened some more spaces to keep more ventilation but now there is no more condensation on glass so might be a bit to "dry". Need to find a balance. 

Unfortunately I can't put Otto's and amano's in their once flooded because of the delicate moss by yoghurt method. I hope the red cherries and some snails (clithon sp) will keep fungus under control (and algae). 


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## Bleuwater (Aug 5, 2017)

very nice!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Finallly it arrived! Trying out the chihiros rgb 60. Unfortunately I had to pay tax and some fees to the post company. With the Aquatlantis easy led the plants in my iwagumi looked yellow and unhealthy. A simple desk lamp showed much better colors. Hard to say how the chihiros is because of no water in the tank. Heard it Can look pretty blue but we will see. 

The lamp is pretty high to avoid fire as the chihiros Can heat up a lot and I don't want it to close to the trash bag. I use a trash bag for dsm as wrap foil is impossible to use with all the spiderwood that sticks out of the tank. When flooded the lamp will be as low as possible to get the maximum par out of this lamp. The par in this scape will be still pretty low around 36-50 depending of the location in the scape on substrate. 






























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## KeeperOfASilentWorld (Mar 18, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Finallly it arrived! Trying out the chihiros rgb 60. Unfortunately I had to pay tax and some fees to the post company. With the Aquatlantis easy led the plants in my iwagumi looked yellow and unhealthy. A simple desk lamp showed much better colors. Hard to say how the chihiros is because of no water in the tank. Heard it Can look pretty blue but we will see.
> 
> The lamp is pretty high to avoid fire as the chihiros Can heat up a lot and I don't want it to close to the trash bag. I use a trash bag for dsm as wrap foil is impossible to use with all the spiderwood that sticks out of the tank. When flooded the lamp will be as low as possible to get the maximum par out of this lamp. The par in this scape will be still pretty low around 36-50 depending of the location in the scape on substrate.
> 
> ...


Happy to hear that your Chihiros has arrived  Where did you order it from that required you to pay tax? 

I ordered mine from Aquasabi among other things. I am super satisfied with their shipping, packaging, condition of products and customer service. Definitely one of the best online shops in Europe.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

KeeperOfASilentWorld said:


> Happy to hear that your Chihiros has arrived  Where did you order it from that required you to pay tax?
> 
> I ordered mine from Aquasabi among other things. I am super satisfied with their shipping, packaging, condition of products and customer service. Definitely one of the best online shops in Europe.


I ordered it from aliexpress. First I wanted it to order from hinterfeld but I didn't had access to my paypal on holiday and I wanted it to order it already so I could get it very soon when getting back at home. Afterwards it was pretty stupid it to order it from there but yeah I learned from it. Ordered so many products of aliexpress with no problems but they were all <22 euro so no tax and fees risk. It was still possible as the seller put $12 on the package but unfortunately they picked me out. Bad luck!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Buces 

Kedagang mini



Mini catherina


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

That buce is looking 


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## Fabulous Jack (Dec 12, 2014)

This tank is gonna be amazing  I can feel it!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Lol after a month of dry start there is still a shrimp in there and it's a life! :O


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Tank is flooded and on vid . Can you spot the red cherries? Just a few in there got some green thread algae growing on moss already. Probably because my co2 atomizer is doing weird and not functioning good. Some hairy / slimy mold on the spiderwood but that will go away on it's own. In a few days I will be adding more red cherries and clithon sp (snails). Video would be better with some fish in it but will upload more in future.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Nice video, looks good. With that little plant mass I don't think co2 will have any effect on algae control.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

houseofcards said:


> Nice video, looks good. With that little plant mass I don't think co2 will have any effect on algae control.


Thanks

Hmm not sure what to do if I raise the light more I don't think the fissidens will get enough par. Hopefully rcs will eat it but I don't think so. Can't really put amano's in here with the delicate moss.


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Whoa


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Nigel95 said:


> Thanks
> 
> Hmm not sure what to do if I raise the light more I don't think the fissidens will get enough par. Hopefully rcs will eat it but I don't think so. Can't really put amano's in here with the delicate moss.


Might just be a phase, but hard to drive strong light to bottom for carpet, plus you have wood high up near lights and not get algae with so little mass. Haven't u done this type of setup before. Me thinks you need to keep water super clean...

How many hours are you running lights?


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

houseofcards said:


> Might just be a phase, but hard to drive strong light to bottom for carpet, plus you have wood high up near lights and not get algae with so little mass. Haven't u done this type of setup before. Me thinks you need to keep water super clean...
> 
> How many hours are you running lights?




No this is just my third tank ever. Was bored of my iwagumi's to minimalistic. Light is running for 6 hours only. Plan was to increase weekly by 15 mins and max to 8 hours. Most are slow growers only h. Tripartita not. But might be not enough to compete with algae. What about a twinstar. Read a lot about it and some say it is not worth it but Maybe with low plant mass tank it is. 


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## shaman. (Oct 26, 2012)

Great tank Nigel, as I already told you! Try with some stems at the background. Myriophyllum sp. will look nice, as tree crown afar.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Picture time


Moss still needs to grow a lot before it looks planted.

Green thread algae is not growing really fast but it doesn't dissapear either. I wait till it's somewhat longer so I can manually remove it.

Thinking about to add some flame moss in the scape mostly at the back. Still not sure if I am going to add stems in the back..


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Thinking about a RO system and mix it with tap water something like 50/50. Tap water is relative hard here with:
kh 9
gh 13

Do you think it is worth all the effort and cost?


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## Tnalp (Mar 25, 2017)

I've been on rodi and remineralizer... couldn't be happier 


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## KrypleBerry (May 23, 2017)

Tnalp said:


> I've been on rodi and remineralizer... couldn't be happier
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Plus 1 here
I like the control it affords us.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Found a good deal and added 100 more rcs. With this numbers I see them eating some green thread algae so that's handy. The clithon sp. snails do a great job on cleaning the spiderwood, they stay relative small and I really love the look of them. Unfortunately a lot of buces are melting that are in direct light. The buces in shadow are still thriving. Hopefully they will bounce back I really love the look of buces. My plan was to add 6 green neon tetra's per week but now I heard if you don't add a school at once the chance is less they will school together. Anyone ever heard this? I don't really like the idea of putting 20 at once in the tank. I don't think my tank can handle that spike.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Mosses and buces growing slowly. Unfortunately some buces are melting hopefully they will grow back. 

Not the best pic but gives an idea


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## Mrari97 (Sep 3, 2017)

I would love use this as inspiration for one of my larger tanks with dragon stone. Where did you happen to purchase all of the wood?


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Mrari97 said:


> I would love use this as inspiration for one of my larger tanks with dragon stone. Where did you happen to purchase all of the wood?


Good luck it's fun to make. I bought it at a lot of different LFS in The Netherlands. It is spiderwood and requires some cutting and sawing to make the "trees" and "roots". I would advice to visit lfs and see what wood is widely available. For me it was spiderwood but other pieces of wood can also be used. Spiderwood is relative expensive but I didn't had any other options to make trees.


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## Mrari97 (Sep 3, 2017)

I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the quick response. I have no idea if this is a substitute for the tree look, but I was looking at bonsai driftwood that I could glue moss onto with all of its branches Would be cool if I could find some not too small. Thoughts? Also I'd love too see the progress through the next few months on this tank.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Mrari97 said:


> I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the quick response. I have no idea if this is a substitute for the tree look, but I was looking at bonsai driftwood that I could glue moss onto with all of its branches Would be cool if I could find some not too small. Thoughts? Also I'd love too see the progress through the next few months on this tank.




It all depends the look you are going for. Both are possible. Could be expensive if you go with multiple bonsai trees. 


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

*Day 60 *

Added 2 "trees" in the back. Not sure about the tree added on the left in the back. The tree added in the middle looks good IMO. Tried to tie some weeping moss from my other scape on some branches. Hard job in tank! Hate to use glue (would be much easier but still). Fish still a little bit blurry due low shutter speed. But when I change it picture gets dark. There are 13 green neon tetra in tank now. I keep 5 of them in another temporary tank to keep bacteria alive for my next scape (that is now in DSM). After that they will be added to the scape. 

forest scape 128l day 60 p3 by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Added some details (roots) on a few trees.

Not sure what I like more I think with roots but it's close...

What do you think?

*With roots*
forest scape day 65 128l by Nigel H, on Flickr

*No roots*
forest scape 128l day 60 p4 by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## tranquil (Sep 6, 2017)

I like "no roots" better. May be just leave roots on the far right tree and try putting some moss on it. The trees on the left look cleaner without roots to me.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

I like some root. I think having roots on the the 3 trees in the back left is too much. Also the roots look too similar to one another in size and coverage.


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## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

I would add the roots only on thick branches - the right one and the big one on the left. Rest would need something even more delicate.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

nel said:


> I would add the roots only on thick branches - the right one and the big one on the left. Rest would need something even more delicate.


Yeah it definitely needs something more delicate. Unfortunately all the pieces that I found are pretty much the same thickness. 



tranquil said:


> I like "no roots" better. May be just leave roots on the far right tree and try putting some moss on it. The trees on the left look cleaner without roots to me.



Would love to put moss on it but spiderwood is a really bad attacher! I tried some moss with yoghurt method but a lot didn't make it. I hate using glue don't wana make a mess. 




houseofcards said:


> I like some root. I think having roots on the the 3 trees in the back left is too much. Also the roots look too similar to one another in size and coverage.


You are right I removed a root on the left and it looks better. 


Thanks guys!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Moss on the lava rocks has grown a lot. Also added some moss on the trees with glue. Not really happy with the result. Wish I used fishing line while setting up the tank. Now very hard / impossible to do with trees standing up. But still I think the glued moss is better than no moss. Enjoy the video!

Day 75


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

I like the “no roots” much better than “roots” you may want to wrap the roots quite a bit tighter, but to be honest I think your scape is sick. The depth perspective trips me out, I can’t wait for the moss to cover everything.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> I like the “no roots” much better than “roots” you may want to wrap the roots quite a bit tighter, but to be honest I think your scape is sick. The depth perspective trips me out, I can’t wait for the moss to cover everything.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I like the roots but I can't make them fit perfectly so I removed a lot of them. Thank you! 



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## Aquatic Athlete (Oct 7, 2017)

I'd love to see this! Your links aren't working, but it sounds awesome.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Very nicely done all the way around. Setup, layout, Detail and Video!


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> I like the roots but I can't make them fit perfectly so I removed a lot of them. Thank you!
> 
> 
> 
> Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk




Wow tbh I came off ubrupt in that post, lol, I should have said I love both but one got my liking slightly more. Because realistically they both look REALLY GOOD!!! And I am really exited to see it progress.


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## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I really love this. My only question is why did you use Aquasoil since none of the plants you used really need it. Do you just like the look? Had it on hand? Or will it offer some benefit?


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Triport said:


> I really love this. My only question is why did you use Aquasoil since none of the plants you used really need it. Do you just like the look? Had it on hand? Or will it offer some benefit?




Thank you Triport. I really like the tank to compared to my Iwagumi 128l. Much more points of interest. 

Yes you are right I like the look, had it in the tank already. (Rescaped my Iwagumi after 2 months.) Beside that it lowers the ph for a "long" time. In my next scape I Would use aqua soil again but with bags of crushed lava on the bottom to make a steep slope cheaper. 


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

*Day 95*
More details
day 95 forest aquascape by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Made a wooden box of 80x40x40 cm to practice with hardscaping. Very fun to do. Here a new try of a forest scape. Feel free to give critique.hardscape 1 by nigel aquascaping forest by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Powerclown (Aug 17, 2014)

I think your practice has payd off,great hardscape looks great 👍 
Cheers


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## Vinster8108 (Sep 1, 2016)

You must have a lot of extra hardscape around haha, well done!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

*Day 115*
Testing out my new DSLR and lenses. Still learning , here a new video with also some macro shots.


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## KeeperOfASilentWorld (Mar 18, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Made a wooden box of 80x40x40 cm to practice with hardscaping. Very fun to do. Here a new try of a forest scape. Feel free to give critique.hardscape 1 by nigel aquascaping forest by Nigel H, on Flickr


Looking perfect !


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## evilgenius (Nov 15, 2017)

Love the video, especially the macro shots.


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## Vinster8108 (Sep 1, 2016)

Hey Nigel95, Do you know about how much PAR you are getting at the substrate? I found lumen information from the factory on your lighting, but not PAR. 
Tank looks great! thanks


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Vinster8108 said:


> Hey Nigel95, Do you know about how much PAR you are getting at the substrate? I found lumen information from the factory on your lighting, but not PAR.
> Tank looks great! thanks


Hey Vinster, Thanks!

Here a picture that gives the par data depending on the distance. Currently my light is like 15 cm above the water because of green thread algae. I guess the par is really low now in my scape. When it was above the waterline the par was around 40 at substrate.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Red cherry shrimp on bucephalandra leaf (kedagang mini). 

rcs with buce 2.0 by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## KrypleBerry (May 23, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Red cherry shrimp on bucephalandra leaf (kedagang mini).
> 
> rcs with buce 2.0 by Nigel H, on Flickr


Youre little forrests inspired me to do one as well with manzanita and granite in a 7.1 gallon 27 litre. Awesome tanks man!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

KrypleBerry said:


> Youre little forrests inspired me to do one as well with manzanita and granite in a 7.1 gallon 27 litre. Awesome tanks man!


Nice to hear & thanks. Don't forget to upload pictures I am curious


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Quick scape today. Forest again  80x40x40 cm. Feel free to give critique

hardscape 2 forest aquascape 2.0 by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## KrypleBerry (May 23, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Quick scape today. Forest again  80x40x40 cm. Feel free to give critique
> 
> hardscape 2 forest aquascape 2.0 by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr


Love it! Feel like a few of the smaller twigs in the back center are stealing away from the split path look though.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

My scapes
ada 45p and 80 cm forests by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## SLOBY (Feb 21, 2017)

Absolutely stunning!!! excellent work.


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## KrypleBerry (May 23, 2017)

My aerial root 60 cube display. The tiny forrest is next. 

<a href="https://ibb.co/kFTbqR">







</a>


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Bucephalandra kedagang mini in my tank 
buces kedagang mini by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## KrypleBerry (May 23, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Bucephalandra kedagang mini in my tank
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 I like this one. Becoming a big buce fan.


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## king kong (Jul 2, 2012)

Number 1 is very well put together now that I see it above.
Number 2 shown has design issues I would change.
Left side is a bit awkward with trees arching wrong way.
Right side looks great.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

*Vacation, so plenty of time to practice. what do you think?*
hardscape 7 forest aquascape by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Ahhhhh please just fill one already! They are all so amazing!!! You're seriously scaping them so well every time!!! 
Can't wait to see which one you choose!!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Jamo33 said:


> Ahhhhh please just fill one already! They are all so amazing!!! You're seriously scaping them so well every time!!!
> Can't wait to see which one you choose!!


Thanks a lot 

So far I like the last one the most of all hardscapes that I made. I am still improving my current forest scape for contests. Rescape will be in like 5 months.


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## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Well I absolutely love them!
Can't wait mate!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Tried my macro lens again not the best shots but good enough for sharing I think!

amano shrimp by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr
red cherry shrimp by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Almost ready for the final shot! 
detail shot forest scape by nigel aquascaping by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

Awesome tank! One of the best forest scapes I've seen yet. The attention to detail and depth is second to none. Good job!


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Holey Smokes that is stunning! 

Gave me a "wow" moment when I saw it.

Really, really beautiful.

Very nice work.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Greggz said:


> Holey Smokes that is stunning!
> 
> Gave me a "wow" moment when I saw it.
> 
> ...





madcrafted said:


> Awesome tank! One of the best forest scapes I've seen yet. The attention to detail and depth is second to none. Good job!



Thanks guys I learned much from this scape. Glad you like it


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## chriswatson (Feb 13, 2018)

wow so nice!!


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## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

Words fail me. That is a work of art.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

My green neon tetra. They really shine in my forest and school well. Thanks for @houseofcards for this recommendation!
green neon tetra by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Bucephalandra kedagang mini
bucephalandra kedagang mini by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

My new mikrogeophagus ramirezi 
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Beautiful fish, one of those freshwater fish that rivals some saltwater ones. Good luck with them.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Wow... I was able to get a small group of green Neons weeks ago.. I love them... I even prefer them to cardinals... but I have not been able to find them locally since and I made the mistake of putting them in my 150 so it's almost impossible to find them. Your GBR is gorgeous as are your anubias. What a great idea for stocking.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

The Dude1 said:


> Wow... I was able to get a small group of green Neons weeks ago.. I love them... I even prefer them to cardinals... but I have not been able to find them locally since and I made the mistake of putting them in my 150 so it's almost impossible to find them. Your GBR is gorgeous as are your anubias. What a great idea for stocking.


First I wanted to get cardinals to but I am glad I went for the green neons. They school well and really shine. 

Thanks man 




houseofcards said:


> Beautiful fish, one of those freshwater fish that rivals some saltwater ones. Good luck with them.


Oh yeah I really like them. Only thing is they ruin the scale a little in a 34 gal for final shots. But I made the final shot for contests before this one were added. I added 3 of them two women and 1 man. They were breed in low ph but transfered to harder water when they were young. So I hope they will last a long time. There was a lot of confusion as some people told me it's fine and some not (in my water parameters.) The first hours they were pretty stressed after transfering them but now they are doing well.


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## chriswatson (Feb 13, 2018)

i was just about to order green tetras!! that pic you posted is awesome!!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Some pearlweed got stuck in my weeping moss and grew from there. Pretty cool IMO! 
pearlweed in weeping moss 3 by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## walluby (Dec 3, 2007)

*Consideration*

One thing I have noted when reading about forest scapes,
is the use of perspective, going from the frontal plane and
receding back. You might want to put another (leaning left) tree on the
right side to compliment the leaning left tree. It will help
the eye to look at the scape in perspective.

Jeff


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

walluby said:


> One thing I have noted when reading about forest scapes,
> is the use of perspective, going from the frontal plane and
> receding back. You might want to put another (leaning left) tree on the
> right side to compliment the leaning left tree. It will help
> ...


Good point but I made the final shot already and moving forward to another scape soon.

Thanks for the heads up, I appreciate


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

forest collage blurred by nigel by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Yoghurt method works very good with fine delicate mosses like fissidens and riccardia. You need some patience. 
details growth by nigel by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

Wow, that does look good, especially during the grow in phase. What's this patience you speak of? CA glue works too, it just looks ugly until the moss grows over the white glue spots.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

madcrafted said:


> Wow, that does look good, especially during the grow in phase. What's this patience you speak of? CA glue works too, it just looks ugly until the moss grows over the white glue spots.


Thanks

As much as I love the result, In my next scape I will also use glue, no patience for the dry start, I want to flood it straight. I also have tons of fissidens now. The benefit of yoghurt method is you don't need much to cover a "big" tank. 

Picture 1 = day 1
Picture 2 = day 60 or so
Picture 3 = day 200 

Remember that this is fissidens fontanus, fissidens mini grows even slower but shorter.


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

Makes sense on a big tank. I tried sourcing some mini fissidens myself but had no luck. I ended up just using the fontanus and nobilis I already had. I'll keep an eye open for the mini stuff though. It would make for nice depth perception in the background of my little forest. 

Good luck with the contest(s). You surely have some beautiful scapes.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Here is is a video how I reduce organic waste in the aquarium beside a lots of shrimps and a filter with 10x turnover. I use a turkey baster combined with an hose and try to do this biweekly. Works pretty good. 

How do you reduce organic waste?


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

I don't bother with substrate vacuuming because all my tanks are small. The few times I did, it would cause a hair algae bloom. I just leave it to the shrimps, snails and root feeders. I imagine with all that moss on the substrate, it needs a good cleaning every now and then. That is a clever idea using zip ties to attach a turkey baster to the siphon hose. I bet it would work well for blowing detritus out of my moss tree.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

madcrafted said:


> I don't bother with substrate vacuuming because all my tanks are small. The few times I did, it would cause a hair algae bloom. I just leave it to the shrimps, snails and root feeders. I imagine with all that moss on the substrate, it needs a good cleaning every now and then. That is a clever idea using zip ties to attach a turkey baster to the siphon hose. I bet it would work well for blowing detritus out of my moss tree.


Yeah It's hard to do this method in my 45p because the space is so small due hardscape. The moss on substrate gathers a lot of organic waste. So yeah this is a handy method to keep it clean.


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Interesting idea! I had a problem with detritus buildup on plants for awhile, and this might have worked better than just stirring everything up then doing a water change. More direct cleaning.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Short maintenance video


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Forest details
forest 4 by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

RIP Forest. 

Time for something new! I will share the final video and final shot after contest results. 
new start 80cm by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Moving on to mixing my own ferts. It is cheaper and have I more control to get the values that I desire. Going for an ADA approach with more PO4. Gonna make three bottles. One with N/P, one with K and one with micros. 
dry salts planted box 2.0 by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Details
forest 5 by Nigel H, on Flickr


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## Ken Keating1 (Nov 22, 2017)

Very nice!!!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Ken Keating1 said:


> Very nice!!!




Thanks 


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Forest details 
forest detail 128l nigel aquascaping by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

My first IAPLC letter. Very exciting! Goal was top 500. Very close  
iaplc rank 477 by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Congratulations.

That must be some tough competition. 

Your pics are stunning as always. Beautiful concepts and perfectly executed.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Greggz said:


> Congratulations.
> 
> That must be some tough competition.
> 
> Your pics are stunning as always. Beautiful concepts and perfectly executed.



Thanks man!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Another sneak peak before the FTS and final video. 
forest 8 by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

Erg mooi!


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

That’s a very respectable ranking. I think the top tanks are usually larger in size. One thing with IAPLC no feedback just ranking.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

asteriod said:


> That’s a very respectable ranking. I think the top tanks are usually larger in size. One thing with IAPLC no feedback just ranking.




Thanks. Yeah if the goal is really a “top” ranking like top 127 you have better odds with a 120cm + tank. If I want a 120 I need to sell the 80cm and 45cm for that to have space. Don’t want that now. Maybe in a few years. 


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk


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## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

Nigel95 said:


> Another sneak peak before the FTS and final video.
> forest 8 by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


Congratulations! I could look at this tank all day. It's inspiring. :grin2:


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Rank 69 CIAC / CIPS. Final video (final shot inside video) 






cips rank 69 nigel by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## zmartin (May 1, 2018)

That’s impressive. Love all the detail. Well done!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

zmartin said:


> That’s impressive. Love all the detail. Well done!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Thank you


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Very happy with the outcome of my first diorama scape. Rank 69 CIAC! 💚 

Thanks for all the support! 

Let's scape hard! 

enchanted forest nature aquarium aquascape nigel aquascaping ciac rank 69 by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## lazy999 (Aug 2, 2018)

Wow nicee


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Awesome chance!!  As I am ranked 1 of the Netherlands and in top 200 of CIAC 2018 I can go for free to the event! Flight and hotel all paid. Still can't believe it! Keep on scaping. china ciac cips by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## Broodingwolf (Aug 29, 2004)

love this scape, so inspiring! Thanks for sharing all the details

Bump: love this scape, so inspiring! Thanks for sharing all the details


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## zmartin (May 1, 2018)

That’s a fantastic reward for your hard work. Brilliant stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

zmartin said:


> That’s a fantastic reward for your hard work. Brilliant stuff.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Thanks man! Yes a wonderful opportunity


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Different stages of my 80cm Forest. Full playlist with all videos from start to end. 





Please subscribe if you like my content  

collage enchanted forest by nigel aquascaping by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Short 1 minute video with all stages of the forest. Enjoy!


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## Erin514 (Aug 6, 2018)

Wow, this looks fantastic! I'm planning on doing a forest scape in my 50g very soon. I hope it looks even half so good.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Erin514 said:


> Wow, this looks fantastic! I'm planning on doing a forest scape in my 50g very soon. I hope it looks even half so good.



Thanks man. Nice 50g lots of possibilities but need quite some hardscape! Good luck you can do it,


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

First time IIAC. I entered with two tanks and placed 78 with the 80cm and 292 with the 45P. Total entries of 533 from 45 countries. Have a nice weekend!

IIAC078-1 by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Interesting letter! Well done!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Some highlights of my trip to China, Guangzhou at CIPS 2018. This trip was unbelievable, amazing. I can't describe it with words. Met so many aquascapers that I admire. I learned a lot, live scaped for the first time and had so much fun. I had the chance to go to this contest because I ranked 69 in the medium / big category and was first of my country The Netherlands with my forest aquascape. Also in the nano tank category I was rank 30 with my forest aquarium. My rank in the livescaping was 20 out of 25. Thank you CFAA, CIAC and CIPS for the this beautiful experience!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

My tank with black background in the room. 

nigel aquascaping enchanted forest black background by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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