# 60P Nature Scape



## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

That's going to be a really nice tank, the wood fits it perfectly. I'd stay away from the java ferns and just go with the moss and maybe Anubias or Buce on the wood. Ferns just gets too large and will require constant pruning to keep it at an appropriate size.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

wow, I like your plan 100%


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

PEdwards said:


> That's going to be a really nice tank, the wood fits it perfectly. I'd stay away from the java ferns and just go with the moss and maybe Anubias or Buce on the wood. Ferns just gets too large and will require constant pruning to keep it at an appropriate size.


Thanks, good point about the ferns, I think i will try them and if they dont work I can transfer to my low tech cube


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

That piece of wood is great, looks like it should be a sick tank!


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

My light arrived, hopefully get around to planting this weekend, or at least getting the hardscape sorted

IMG_7875 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I am very excited! Take your time though. It isn't worth it rushing things.


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## Shadar (Jan 30, 2017)

Subbed. I love your other tanks, so this one is exciting.

Nice black egg crate. Did you paint that, or order it?


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Shadar said:


> Subbed. I love your other tanks, so this one is exciting.
> 
> Nice black egg crate. Did you paint that, or order it?


Ordered it over here in Australia, they had black or white egg crate, first time using it, seems like a good way to keep rocks of the bottom glass and add a little extra height.

I created a few mini wabi kusa balls today, probably should have made them smaller, made a bunch of Hydrocotyle tripartita (wont need that much) and one MC ball, scaping the tank may be put off a few weeks as I have to sort out the wall behind the tank (making a cork board feature wall) and it will be easier to move the shelf without 2 full tanks.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

I have decided to use a 60p for this scape, the wood and plants could use the extra room, I am going to use my 45p for a iwagumi, have updated the thread title. 

Today i pulled down my 2ft scape to set up a new 2ft tank in its place, a nice low iron 60p from fire-aqua. The plants are just floating for now, hopefully get around to scaping this weekend.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

even there they look and have abundance in colors. beautiful so far, even though plants haven't been touched! lol!
Good Luck on the scaping part!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Oh nice! I'm working on a similar build, though I'm not as far along as you. I've got the Mr. Aqua 60p and hoping for a hardscape that is pretty close too, that edge of a creek kinda look. Definitely will be subbing this thread! 


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Ah so this answers my question on the other thread about what was happening to the 2ft tank. Can't wait!


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Scaped this tank today, took all day I am pooped. Didnt end up using a lot of the plants I had planed on using, the background is planted with stem plants, will be interesting to see how they go, never tried to grow stem plants before. 

The water is still a bit hazy, may try add some of the left over plants in over the weekend


IMG_9143 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Nice wood good luck scaping


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## Remmy (Jan 10, 2007)

Looks good, if you've got some little bits of stone you could sprinkle on the sand where it transitions it wont look so clean cut
Never tried stem plants? hah. Get your scissors ready


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Looking nice! Love the contrast the sand gives. Gonna second Remmy's words though, get ready for some trimming with the stems.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Still tinkering, added some more plants and removed some ferns, full tank shot with all the equipment, my up-aqua inline atomizer is leaking from the top section which unscrews, will try some thread tape tomorrow to see if it plugs the slow leak.

IMG_9147 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Just over a week old, a lot of the buce melted, hopefully bounces back.

IMG_9150 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Alf2Frankie (Mar 29, 2017)

Looks amazing. [emoji106]


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## Maclyri (Mar 6, 2016)

LOVE


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Rescaped this tank already, the mass of Java Fern wasnt doing to well, needed thinning out and let new growth in. 

IMG_9166 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I prefer it this way! The Java Fern isn't as dominating.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Opare said:


> I prefer it this way! The Java Fern isn't as dominating.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks I agree, the previous scapes almost looked over grown and they had not even had a chance to grow


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Removed a bit more java fern, had bba growing, will replace it next weekend.

IMG_9191 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## dorf007 (Mar 30, 2017)

I have never heard of wabi kusa balls.
Tell me how to do it plz....I'm just a guppy here, thanks


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

dorf007 said:


> I have never heard of wabi kusa balls.
> Tell me how to do it plz....I'm just a guppy here, thanks


Probably best to google to get a good run down on wabi kusa, in some countries you can even buy pre-made wabi kusa with plants and everything ready to go, no such luck here in Western Australia. 

I just made a ball of ADA soil using tulle cloth / net and wrapped plants around the ball with thread. I made the mistake of having the balls sitting in water, this caused BBA, I would just keep the balls in a dry container and mist the plants.


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## dorf007 (Mar 30, 2017)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Probably best to google to get a good run down on wabi kusa, in some countries you can even buy pre-made wabi kusa with plants and everything ready to go, no such luck here in Western Australia.
> 
> I just made a ball of ADA soil using tulle cloth / net and wrapped plants around the ball with thread. I made the mistake of having the balls sitting in water, this caused BBA, I would just keep the balls in a dry container and mist the plants.


Thanks...
When can they be placed in the tank ?


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## dorf007 (Mar 30, 2017)

dorf007 said:


> Thanks...
> When can they be placed in the tank ?


I just Googled it and got my answer.
It would be cool to try this with a plant you could submerge in the tank.
Any suggestions as to what kind of plant would work ?


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## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

So I have been filing a bunch of aquascape pics from various sources scouring the net for triangle naturescapes. I have been looking to copy someone else's tank as my next tank will be my first real serious high tech setup. Your tank is in my top 3 pics. I love this look. I have two questions...
1. Where did you get that wood?
2. How are you keeping the sand so clean? I was going to do the same as you but instead do Amazonia instead of power sand. I am afraid of the two mixing.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

dorf007 said:


> I just Googled it and got my answer.
> It would be cool to try this with a plant you could submerge in the tank.
> Any suggestions as to what kind of plant would work ?


Not to sure but I would say most plants would be ok if you keep them moist, thats the main thing keep them nice and wet but no pooling water.



sevendust111 said:


> So I have been filing a bunch of aquascape pics from various sources scouring the net for triangle naturescapes. I have been looking to copy someone else's tank as my next tank will be my first real serious high tech setup. Your tank is in my top 3 pics. I love this look. I have two questions...
> 1. Where did you get that wood?
> 2. How are you keeping the sand so clean? I was going to do the same as you but instead do Amazonia instead of power sand. I am afraid of the two mixing.


Thanks, the wood I just got from my local aquarium store, it was gold vine, could be called something else around the world, its actually 3 seperate bits of wood, one main bit and two smaller branches at the front and back. 

Keeping the sand clean is tricky, I just suck up stray aquasoil when i do water changes, also tried to plug any gaps in the stones with small rocks but I still get spills every now and then


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Fighting diatoms, need to clean the filter... I added a black background (just paper for the photo) adds something to the tank, makes the greens pop. 

IMG_9218 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Woah stems are already going crazy. With time the diatoms should pass.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Opare said:


> Woah stems are already going crazy. With time the diatoms should pass.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks yes they grow so fast, they need a good trimming, will replant some to the left to fill out that area a bit more.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Put 3 oto's and 1 SAE in the tank on the weekend, they seem happy enough, havent seen the SAE eat any BBA yet (few little tuffs here and there) Will probably add another 3 oto's on the weekend. Also moved across some shrimp from my bookshelf tank and a few leopard ramshorn snails from my cube, some mini snails also came across with the shrimp... bastards! May try keep some kind of snail eating fish, perhaps a Dwarf chain loach


IMG_9360 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9331 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9335 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nice Otocinclus shot!


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Opare said:


> Nice Otocinclus shot!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks, couldnt quiet get the focus right, such cool little fish but very elusive, some times takes me 5 minutes to try find them... if I can find them at all! I have 2 big / fully grown oto's and one much smaller, would like to add a few more.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Thanks, couldnt quiet get the focus right, such cool little fish but very elusive, some times takes me 5 minutes to try find them... if I can find them at all! I have 2 big / fully grown oto's and one much smaller, would like to add a few more.


I find them really cute and interesting, their shape isn't one you find in many other fish. Their behaviour also gets quite fun once you get a few, but yes I agree they are quite good at hiding although possibly not on purpose.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Managed to snap a better photo of the smallest oto of the 3 I added recently, any know what those small black circular growths are on the wood, I am thinking the start of BBA, getting a bit on the wood, have reduced the light.


IMG_9366 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Look like a little BBA. No biggie. Can't hid any algae with macro photography and the 100mm is a great lens - Nice shots!


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## katas (Jan 12, 2015)

Looking sharp!


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> Look like a little BBA. No biggie. Can't hid any algae with macro photography and the 100mm is a great lens - Nice shots!


Thanks, yes the 100mm macro shows everything! I hit the BBA with some excel, my SAE doesnt seem to interested in it.



katas said:


> Looking sharp!


Thanks!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Juicy camera


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Some detail photos, tank is stating to stabilised by the looks of it, diatoms are pretty much gone and BBA is reducing, everything is starting to look nice and green, I have reduced the lighting to level 4/7.


IMG_9486 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9484 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9489 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9495 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9494 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9487 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9453 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9452 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9457 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9477 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9482 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Dantrasy was kind enough to offer me 10 or so Ember Tetra's so that made my decision easy on what school to keep in the tank, they have been in for a few hours and seem happy enough, here is a updated photo. Didnt have any time to do any tank maintance this weekend so the sand is a bit dirty, soil spilling everywhere, but algae is at an all time low, happy with that!


IMG_9524 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

The Ember tetras are a good look! They really pop against all the green.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Thanks Opare I am enjoying them.

Some close up photos, really interesting fish so far, they are not shy at all and always on the move at the font of the tank.


IMG_9536 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9540 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9545 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9577 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9579 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Fantastic close ups. The orange stands out even more in those photos. Embers are one of my favourites that I've kept before too, simple but very pretty.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Yep, those are very nice. Is that also with the flash on the camera thru the glass?


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> Yep, those are very nice. Is that also with the flash on the camera thru the glass?


Thanks, yes just with the flash mounted on the camera, still yet to try any photos with the flash off the camera, I find if I am flush with the glass I dont get to many reflections.

I think the flash pretty makes any fish pop, really brings out the colour


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Thanks, yes just with the flash mounted on the camera, still yet to try any photos with the flash off the camera, I find if I am flush with the glass I dont get to many reflections.
> 
> I think the flash pretty makes any fish pop, really brings out the colour


What flash are you using? Also isn't the minimum focus distance like 12" with 100mm. How are you flush to the glass?


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> What flash are you using? Also isn't the minimum focus distance like 12" with 100mm. How are you flush to the glass?



Speedlite 430ex ii... I am pretty dam close to the glass, hard to stay, generally I am head down snapping away and dont really take to much notice how far I am away until I bump the glass with the lens. I would say I am about 2/3 inches away from the glass most times, the lens itself is about 6 - 8 inches long

EDIT according to the EXIF data Focus Distance is - 0.35... I would say I am way close than that.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Speedlite 430ex ii... I am pretty dam close to the glass, hard to stay, generally I am head down snapping away and dont really take to much notice how far I am away until I bump the glass with the lens. I would say I am about 2/3 inches away from the glass most times, the lens itself is about 6 - 8 inches long
> 
> EDIT according to the EXIF data Focus Distance is - 0.35... I would say I am way close than that.


Yeah duh, I forgot how long the 100 is, I have the 60mm macro which is only about 3" long. I've taken some pretty good shots with the flash rigged above the camera, but it's a pain. Yours are very good, so I think I'll try it with the lens on camera I have a similar speedlite.

Edit: What are settings are you using on the speedlite?


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> Yeah duh, I forgot how long the 100 is, I have the 60mm macro which is only about 3" long. I've taken some pretty good shots with the flash rigged above the camera, but it's a pain. Yours are very good, so I think I'll try it with the lens on camera I have a similar speedlite.
> 
> Edit: What are settings are you using on the speedlite?


To be honest I have no idea what settings the speedlite is on, I just turn it on... I will have to check, I did some reading just then and I assume its set to ETTL. I have found these camera settings work well for me:
Aperture - F8 to f12 (anything lower/smaller f-stop and the DOF / focal range is just to fine / shallow)
Shudder 1/150 or above (think my camera tops out at 1/250 with the flash)
ISO 800 or 1600 depending on how much other light I have


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> To be honest I have no idea what settings the speedlite is on, I just turn it on... I will have to check, I did some reading just then and I assume its set to ETTL. I have found these camera settings work well for me:
> Aperture - F8 to f12 (anything lower/smaller f-stop and the DOF / focal range is just to fine / shallow)
> Shudder 1/150 or above (think my camera tops out at 1/250 with the flash)
> ISO 800 or 1600 depending on how much other light I have


I'm really surprised at your results, especially using ETTL. Anyway the 1/250 is the limit with most speedlites unless you have HSS (High Speed Sync) which I'm pretty sure your flash does. Look for a button with an 'H" and a sorta of arrow next to it. If you engage that you'll be able to move your Shutter to faster speeds above 1/250. 

I'm assuming your shooting with lights on and no diffuser on top of the flash.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> I'm really surprised at your results, especially using ETTL. Anyway the 1/250 is the limit with most speedlites unless you have HSS (High Speed Sync) which I'm pretty sure your flash does. Look for a button with an 'H" and a sorta of arrow next to it. If you engage that you'll be able to move your Shutter to faster speeds above 1/250.
> 
> I'm assuming your shooting with lights on and no diffuser on top of the flash.


Hahah thanks, I guess just some luck, I have read / seen ppl struggle with on camera flash, just checked the flash and it is set to ETTL, also displays C.Fn >>> the last arrow is filled... no idea what that means, ive never really changed any of the settings on the flash.

Yes shooting with the room lights on and also the tank LED and no diffuser on the flash, also have that little built in diffuser flap up, with the flash angled directly at the tank.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Captured a video tonight, first time trying to film anything with a DSLR, can see this being a fun hobby. Have to say the embers are great fish, unlike other micro fish I have these guys are scared of nothing, as you can tell from the video always buzzing around the front of the tank, they are literally in very frame 

https://vimeo.com/221264345


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Hahah thanks, I guess just some luck, I have read / seen ppl struggle with on camera flash, just checked the flash and it is set to ETTL, also displays C.Fn >>> the last arrow is filled... no idea what that means, ive never really changed any of the settings on the flash.
> 
> Yes shooting with the room lights on and also the tank LED and no diffuser on the flash, also have that little built in diffuser flap up, with the flash angled directly at the tank.


Sweet little video, very nice! 



The C.Fn just allows the flash to fire again faster. I'm gonna full around a bit tonight and see what I can do. I'll probably post in the photograph section I don't want to fill your thread up too much. Thanks for the additional info.


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## DanPlanted (Jun 15, 2015)

Wow! Such a great setup.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

DanPlanted said:


> Wow! Such a great setup.


Cheers, I am really enjoying this one


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Quick snap without the black background, need to try clean the sand this weekend 


IMG_9645 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Cleaned up the sand and added more rocks down on the right side to try stop the soil from spilling, my stems are growing towards my 45p tank which has the light on most of the day dry starting...


IMG_9648 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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

Very nice, you have 3 tanks that I'm aware of and all of them are stunning. I really like the newest one your doing called "Hanging Rock". It looks so clean and simple but at the same time has an edge in others.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> Very nice, you have 3 tanks that I'm aware of and all of them are stunning. I really like the newest one your doing called "Hanging Rock". It looks so clean and simple but at the same time has an edge in others.


Thanks! I have 5 tanks at home, 4 of which are aquaecapes I maintain, one is just a jungle / holding tank out on my apartment balcony and doesnt have a journal. My small nano "jungle" cube is actually probably my favourite tank, mainly because it never needs to be trimmed! I do like the clean simple lines of the hanging rock scape, which I hope to flood this weekend.

1ft cube - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/1081642-1ft-cube-jungle-scape-5.html
12g bookshelf - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...1-monte-carlo-mountains-12g-bookshelf-11.html
45p Hanging rock - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/1163585-hanging-rock-45p-iwagumi-2.html


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Snap a bunch of macro photos, out of 50 odd these two made the cut  The photos show the colour difference between some of the fish, the smaller fish is much more vivid


IMG_0003 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_0032 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Got tired of trying to keep the aquasoil of the sand so I added a few pebbles and some leafs and small cones, I like the natural look, pre-boiled all the leafs and cones so hopefully they dont tint the water to much, tho I dont really mind if they do. Managed to knock the light off the tank while preparing to take this photo, it took a spill and pulled the driftwood over... tho everything seems ok, this is about the 3rd time ive knocked over one of these A-Series lights, they seem sturdy enough to be able to take a few knocks.


IMG_0073_Crop by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_0073 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I quite like the addition of the leaf litter makes it more natural looking


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

That is amazing. What did you use to adhere the flame moss to the branches? I used thread for my spikey moss, but it came apart in less than a week. I'm hoping the moss will attach a little better on its own as it's still somewhat attached in some areas


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

The Dude1 said:


> That is amazing. What did you use to adhere the flame moss to the branches? I used thread for my spikey moss, but it came apart in less than a week. I'm hoping the moss will attach a little better on its own as it's still somewhat attached in some areas


Cheers, I used some kind of clear plastic "thread" was just at my local supermarket labeled invisible thread or something similar, much like a very fine clear fishing line.

I have some spikey most top centre, closes to the light, its has grown really well, trimmed it for the first time today, some bit came away with a light pull, trimmed it back fairly heavily with scissors


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

The Dude1 said:


> That is amazing. What did you use to adhere the flame moss to the branches? I used thread for my spikey moss, but it came apart in less than a week. I'm hoping the moss will attach a little better on its own as it's still somewhat attached in some areas


Spikey moss won't attach to hardscape according to this list that is made by personal experience.

A general consensus of Mosses that do or don't adhere to hardscapes!
Christmas moss...............Yes
Fissidens fontanus..........Yes
Flame moss....................Yes
Java moss.......................Yes
Peacock moss..................No
Spiky moss.......................No
Taiwan moss....................Yes
Weeping moss.................No
Willow moss.....................Yes


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Spikey moss won't attach to hardscape according to this list that is made by personal experience.
> 
> A general consensus of Mosses that do or don't adhere to hardscapes!
> Christmas moss...............Yes
> ...


It attaches but not that securely, best to use a plastic based thread to secure the first growth, then when it creeps its generally attaches to itself as it grows out


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## KeeperOfASilentWorld (Mar 18, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Spikey moss won't attach to hardscape according to this list that is made by personal experience.
> 
> A general consensus of Mosses that do or don't adhere to hardscapes!
> Christmas moss...............Yes
> ...


I hear that weeping moss is the primary moss in Nature Aquarium style used by Amano. All scapes have weeping moss on all of the driftwoods and rocks. Therefore, I was planing on using it in my upcoming Asian Jungle themed Nature Aquarium. Why did you mark it as a NO? Could you explain?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

KeeperOfASilentWorld said:


> I hear that weeping moss is the primary moss in Nature Aquarium style used by Amano. All scapes have weeping moss on all of the driftwoods and rocks. Therefore, I was planing on using it in my upcoming Asian Jungle themed Nature Aquarium. Why did you mark it as a NO? Could you explain?


Sorry to butt in, but with most ADA tanks I see they mostly use Willow Moss. If you watch the ADAview videos on Youtube that is what they use for a lot of their tanks. Not to say you can't use Weeping Moss though if you prefer it.
Weeping Moss as with most Vesicularia mosses doesn't really attach very well, it just very loosely clings to hardscape and can quite easily come off which is annoying. As Doyle was saying tying it first down with fishing line etc. would be a good idea.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

KeeperOfASilentWorld said:


> I hear that weeping moss is the primary moss in Nature Aquarium style used by Amano. All scapes have weeping moss on all of the driftwoods and rocks. Therefore, I was planing on using it in my upcoming Asian Jungle themed Nature Aquarium. Why did you mark it as a NO? Could you explain?



I got that list from another forum which is made by personal experience. I never used weeping so far. It is indeed a great looking moss. Weeping moss is used a lot but as opare said it is not that great attacher. Fishing line would be a good idea for that.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Ive also used weeping moss in this scape, again tied with the plastic type thread it has not come loose from the vine wood, I think as long as your tie the moss with a permanent material (that wont break down in water) you should be ok, with this style of nature aquarium I am not that concerned with keeping everything neat and clean, if bits of moss break away and start growing in random locations its a bonus


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## KeeperOfASilentWorld (Mar 18, 2017)

Opare said:


> Sorry to butt in, but with most ADA tanks I see they mostly use Willow Moss. If you watch the ADAview videos on Youtube that is what they use for a lot of their tanks. Not to say you can't use Weeping Moss though if you prefer it.
> Weeping Moss as with most Vesicularia mosses doesn't really attach very well, it just very loosely clings to hardscape and can quite easily come off which is annoying. As Doyle was saying tying it first down with fishing line etc. would be a good idea.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk





Nigel95 said:


> I got that list from another forum which is made by personal experience. I never used weeping so far. It is indeed a great looking moss. Weeping moss is used a lot but as opare said it is not that great attacher. Fishing line would be a good idea for that.
> 
> 
> Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk





doylecolmdoyle said:


> Ive also used weeping moss in this scape, again tied with the plastic type thread it has not come loose from the vine wood, I think as long as your tie the moss with a permanent material (that wont break down in water) you should be ok, with this style of nature aquarium I am not that concerned with keeping everything neat and clean, if bits of moss break away and start growing in random locations its a bonus


I was planing on doing it as ADA shows it. With the ADA Moss Cotton. Do you think that I would experience any problems with it? I am planing to cover all driftwood and rocks. 

Are you guys sure that ADA uses Willow on all scapes? If that is the case, I will be using Willow too instead of the Weeping since I want to imitate Amanos NA as close as possible.

Thank you.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

KeeperOfASilentWorld said:


> I was planing on doing it as ADA shows it. With the ADA Moss Cotton. Do you think that I would experience any problems with it? I am planing to cover all driftwood and rocks.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Ada moss cotton will break down over time so you will have the risk that it is not attached. 


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## KeeperOfASilentWorld (Mar 18, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Ada moss cotton will break down over time so you will have the risk that it is not attached.
> 
> 
> Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk


I will definitely go for the Willow then. I have greatly misinformed myself about the weeping moss.

Which European brand would you all suggest for the Willow moss? I think Tropica doesn't have it.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Ada moss cotton will break down over time so you will have the risk that it is not attached.
> 
> 
> Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk




Tropica sells FONTINALIS ANTIPYRETICA which is also known as willow moss. Atm my lfs can't get it anymore. Maybe tropica doesn't have stock to sell atm. Maybe different in your country. 


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## KeeperOfASilentWorld (Mar 18, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Tropica sells FONTINALIS ANTIPYRETICA which is also known as willow moss. Atm my lfs can't get it anymore. Maybe tropica doesn't have stock to sell atm. Maybe different in your country.
> 
> 
> Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk


I think it is a discontinued product because they took it down from their official site. What do you think?


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

KeeperOfASilentWorld said:


> I think it is a discontinued product because they took it down from their official site. What do you think?



Only Tropica can tell. You can email them and they reply pretty fast.  Usually within a day. 


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## KeeperOfASilentWorld (Mar 18, 2017)

Nigel95 said:


> Only Tropica can tell. You can email them and they reply pretty fast.  Usually within a day.
> 
> 
> Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk


Perfect


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

IMG_0344 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## .boogphįšh. (May 19, 2017)

loving your scapes. I think the leaves in the bottom add a nice aesthetic. Do you use the Chihiros lights on all of your tanks? have you had any problems with them so far?


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

.boogphįšh.;10477146 said:


> loving your scapes. I think the leaves in the bottom add a nice aesthetic. Do you use the Chihiros lights on all of your tanks? have you had any problems with them so far?


Thanks  Yes I like the leaves also, tho they broke down to pretty much nothing in about two weeks, I am yet to add any more.

I run chihiros A-series Plus lights on both my tanks in this picture above (60p and 45p) both connected to a tc420 so they can ramp up and down and fade nicely. I really like both the a-series plus lights, they are cheap, the wire legs allow you to raise them up fairly high and they do come with a simple 7 stage dimmer.

My other 3 tanks all use Up-aqua LED lights, these cant be dimmed and are not as powerful as the chihiros lights, for the money I would recommend the A-Series Plus, lots of bang for a low cost.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Since my SAE jumped the Ember Tetra's have been a bit shy and hiding often, plan was to add 12 pigmy cory's but they are bit to expensive at this stage, so today I add 8 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, nice looking fish that dont cost to much. So far so good everyone seems more active. Also added 3 more oto's yesterday for a total of 5, tho today I can only see 4, seems like I loose one every time I buy oto's


IMG_0603 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Some photos of the Golden White Cloud Mountain Minnows, really pretty fish!


IMG_0645 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_0657 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_0631 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_0684 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_0676 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_0670 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

And a sneaky Ember Tetra


IMG_0665 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Nice pics as always. I think the Golden White Clouds are very underrated. They are very colorful.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> Nice pics as always. I think the Golden White Clouds are very underrated. They are very colorful.


Thanks, yes I really like them and very cheap fish but pretty and not to flashy.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Just curious, how far below the rim are you keeping your water line to prevent jumpers? On my nano with the embers I have it about 3/4" below top. I'm always tempted to go higher since it just looks better, but rather not find fish on the floor in my kitchen.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

I fill to about 1/2" of inch and try keep it around there, sometimes I am lazy and it gets just over 1" or so from the rim, it probably is rarely actually 1/2" from the rim, about 3/4" sounds good, I havent had any jump


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Here is a quick video I shot tonight, its the last 10 minutes of my light cycled sped up 10x to 1 minute, the light would be fading from about 20% or so to 0% via a TC420

https://vimeo.com/235928554


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Went heavy on trimming the stem plants at the back today, they where growing out the top of the tank, also a bunch of spiky moss detached, cant be bothered trying to tie it down again.

The Ember tetras dont like the bright light without the frogbit / stems, hopefully they get use to it, may try clean up the substrate next weekend and put in some fresh sand.


IMG_0726 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Updated photo, need to clean the filter, its been to long! Everything is going ok!


IMG_0746 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Beaut!!! Lovely tank. That is a mesmerizing tangle of greenery!


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Williak said:


> Beaut!!! Lovely tank. That is a mesmerizing tangle of greenery!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks mate !


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## Ben Belton (Dec 12, 2008)

Very nice. I have a 60P and need to re-do it and get the size of my scape under control. It is hard to scale back when you want to grow everything.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

This nature style scape is going well, pretty low maintenance tho the rotala is due for a trim, it has started to carpet on the right hand side and look kind off cool!

IMG_1192 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

I am a fan!


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Late to the party, first time I checked this thread.

I must say, that is a beautiful presentation, and the plants look exceptionally healthy.

Nice work!


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Big clean out today, removed most of the flame moss and a heap of java fern plantlets and some old fern leafs. Got a bit slack with the ferts and the MC and stems had seen better days, lets see if they come back ok.


IMG_1211 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Moved this tank outdoors to a rack with 2 other fish tanks, needed to make room in my apartment for a new project and out on the balcony is the only spare space I have, the bottom tank has been outside for about 1 year and has gone fine (tho is majorly over grown) will be interesting to see how these two tanks go as they get more sun light being higher up.

This is probably the end of the "Scape" I may try rescape and simplify the look of this one soon and use some of the plants in my new project.


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

The best must be reserved for the middle, duhh!!! I never mentioned it in my journal, but this scape is a big inspiration for my scape. Love this tank so much!


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

A a photo from this tanks new location out on my balcony, so far so good, I should do something about that rotala green that is taking over, probably rip it all out and try suck out all the aquasoil and add gravel.

I moved the otos to my blackwater tank, but hope the embers will be ok outdoors, I will probably add a heater when it gets cooler.


IMG_1389 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Major clean out last weekend moved the fish to other tanks, now just has some guppys for the moment, removed anything that may need trimming.

IMG_1856 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

This tanks is doing ok since the rescape, tho is now growing a heap of GSA, probably due to the lower plant mass and due to the reset / full tank clean out things are probably not balanced, still it comes of the glass easily enough. The winter sun hits the outdoor tanks at a different angle which is probably causing some of the algae, tuffs of BBA around also, but not to bad.

IMG_1992 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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