# Mini rescape



## bk. (Sep 27, 2014)

Looking good Alan. The hill in the back left is going to be awesome with the ohko when it's completely filled in


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

bk. said:


> Looking good Alan. The hill in the back left is going to be awesome with the ohko when it's completely filled in


thanks!


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

*both e-series at 100%*

Hi Alan,
beautiful tank you have there. Very impressive. 

I'm 3 months into a ADA 60P planted, co2 etc.. and had switched to the e series as my rotalla was shooting straight up and was really long and leaves very far apart. Meanwhile i have nano smaller tank with rotala rontundifolia that looked like a totally different plant, symmetrical small leaves, very ADA looking. So I assumed it was a light issue. 

Now I've added a 2nd e-series to the 60P hanging it just has you have and the the rotala is responding however they are all bent over now, like they are getting too much light? Are you running both your lights at 100%? 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
best
Randall


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

panoptic88 said:


> Hi Alan,
> 
> beautiful tank you have there. Very impressive.
> 
> ...



Have your rotalas reached the surface yet before they bent? How far apart are the lights and how high are they from the surface? I'm guessing your rotala is in a darker area And it's trying to grow toward the areas where light is stronger. If the fixtures are too close to the surface, try raising it up higher so light can spread evenly. I set mine at 80%. 


Thanks,
Alan


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

Thanks for your response. 
They had been trimmed way back cause they were so long before and they are about 6-8" so about 1/2 way to surface. They are in several areas too. All folding over around 3-4" and sending lots of roots down. The lights are 5" from the surface and using the ecoxotic hanger , lights 5.5 inches spaced apart on center. I did reduce them to 80% too as I was afraid of creating a hot spot (do you add pars? I've found conflicting info). What's your fert regime? I've been doing Ada stuff- but still figuring out correct dosages- best Randall 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

Oh I realize I should have said lights 17" above substrate-


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

panoptic88 said:


> Oh I realize I should have said lights 17" above substrate-
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Mine is also 17" above the substrate. Try trimming off the part where the plant bent and see what happen. My rotala did not bend but they shoot out roots in areas with high current. 


-Alan


----------



## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Where you get those Bucephalandra?  

What that SS pipe used for? Is that hook up to a reactor for Co2?


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Where you get those Bucephalandra?
> 
> What that SS pipe used for? Is that hook up to a reactor for Co2?



I got those buces from a member here "Ericj". That ss pipe is for the ro water. I ran it straight into the tank from the filter.


























-Alan


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

Very nice. Inline heating? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

panoptic88 said:


> Very nice. Inline heating?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Yes i have an inline heater.


-Alan


----------



## limz_777 (Jun 29, 2005)

good growth there


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

I took some pictures today. It's not the greatest scape but plants seem like they are growing 



























































-Alan


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

hi alan, did you ever figure out the par levels of the 2 ecoxotics for your tank? At 80% do you consider you tank high light and moderately planted? 
I'm trying to work out my dosing regime and have similar plants and same light set up. 
thanks randall


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

panoptic88 said:


> hi alan, did you ever figure out the par levels of the 2 ecoxotics for your tank? At 80% do you consider you tank high light and moderately planted?
> I'm trying to work out my dosing regime and have similar plants and same light set up.
> thanks randall



Randall,

Using Hobby's par meter to measure, I'm getting 74 par at the lowest point in my tank (lights are 18" from substrate.









At 14" above substrate, i'm getting 80 par.










-Alan


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

Thanks Alan! That's helpful, I think you are dosing with pfertz? What's is your dosing scheme - are you using I..E. Or the recommended by pfertz? Not sure I need to run my tank like a race car.. Thanks for taking the time for a newbie- 
Randall


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Bob B (Jul 17, 2014)

Does anyone dose liquid carbon and fertilizers. I would like to try that instead of having the co2 defuser and the other equipment needed.


----------



## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

That's looking really nice all the way around. I like what you're doing with the HC.

Gotta say I would've kept just a splash of that AR mini though...


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

Hey bob you should post that question in water parameters - this is aquascaping 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

panoptic88 said:


> Thanks Alan! That's helpful, I think you are dosing with pfertz? What's is your dosing scheme - are you using I..E. Or the recommended by pfertz? Not sure I need to run my tank like a race car.. Thanks for taking the time for a newbie-
> Randall
> I use NPK and micro from Seachem. My tank is 65gl. I dose 5ml each, once a week. I also dose extra iron. Sometime I forgot . Keep your filter and water tubing clean. Do big water change once a week and you should be good. I never had any algae problem. Most people think dosing heavy fert or having high lighting promotes algae. I don't think it's true, well in my case.
> 
> ...


----------



## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Alan, do you have a Par meter by any chance?


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Alan, do you have a Par meter by any chance?



Yeah i bought from hobby


-Alan


----------



## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Nice! Hahah, want to do me a favour? When you get the chance, can you measure a normal 23W CFL bulb at 14'' ? 

I want to see if my readings are similar. 

Thanks Alan!


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Nice! Hahah, want to do me a favour? When you get the chance, can you measure a normal 23W CFL bulb at 14'' ?
> 
> I want to see if my readings are similar.
> 
> Thanks Alan!



Ok i'll check to see if i have that bulb.


-Alan


----------



## Alyssa (Sep 16, 2011)

AlanLe said:


> Yeah i bought from hobby
> 
> 
> -Alan



Where is hobby? Do they sell others?


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Alyssa said:


> Where is hobby? Do they sell others?



Hoppy is a member on this forum. He makes these par meters.


-Alan


----------



## Alyssa (Sep 16, 2011)

Oh Ho*PP*y! You kept typing Ho*BB*y so I thought it was some sort of a hobby store! LOL!


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Alyssa said:


> Oh Ho*PP*y! You kept typing Ho*BB*y so I thought it was some sort of a hobby store! LOL!



Yeah i always got his name mixed.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=120109#/forumsite/20495/topics/120109


-Alan


----------



## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

I thought Hoppy was done selling PAR meters? He posted how-to DIY your own, but I don't think he's selling them anymore.

Here's the DIY one:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=509705


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

Thanks Alan- I'm still muddling along here with dosing so I appreciate the notes. My plants are growing so fast that it's crazy- I'm still running the 2 ecoxotics at 80% but want to slow the growth rate, from your experience would it be amount of light or length of light that would have more effect? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

panoptic88 said:


> Thanks Alan- I'm still muddling along here with dosing so I appreciate the notes. My plants are growing so fast that it's crazy- I'm still running the 2 ecoxotics at 80% but want to slow the growth rate, from your experience would it be amount of light or length of light that would have more effect?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



You can still run both and lower it 70% and see from there.


-Alan


----------



## Kntry (Dec 26, 2013)

Alan, what kind of rock do you have in the tank? It's awesome!


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Kntry said:


> Alan, what kind of rock do you have in the tank? It's awesome!



Those are ohko stones. You can find them on fleabay or aqua forest aquarium website.


-Alan


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Plants are still growing. I just pulled all of the dhg out and going to plant more hc.



































-Alan


----------



## Kntry (Dec 26, 2013)

Alan, what is the light green plant in the 2nd and 3rd pics? 

Tanks looking great!


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Kntry said:


> Alan, what is the light green plant in the 2nd and 3rd pics?
> 
> Tanks looking great!



Forgot the name. I got it from Bortahog. It was red and it's turning green lol


-Alan


----------



## reefcorgi (Mar 2, 2014)

Very nice growth and open field setup.


----------



## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

What is the plant stuck in the crevices of the rocks?  really like it 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

reefcorgi said:


> Very nice growth and open field setup.



Thanks!!


-Alan


----------



## Dead2fall (Jun 4, 2014)

Having the anubias up that close to the light isn't giving you any issues?


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

treyLcham said:


> What is the plant stuck in the crevices of the rocks?  really like it
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I got it from A member on this forum. It's a ludwigia sphaerocarpa red. Im having a hard time keeping it red in this tank. 




-Alan


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Dead2fall said:


> Having the anubias up that close to the light isn't giving you any issues?



No issue. Grew this this one in the same spot of this tank.










-Alan


----------



## Dead2fall (Jun 4, 2014)

Mine don't like being in the "spotlight"


----------



## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

AlanLe said:


> I got it from A member on this forum. It's a ludwigia sphaerocarpa red. Im having a hard time keeping it red in this tank.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Are you sure the bright light green moss looking plant is ludwigia sp. red?


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Krispyplants said:


> Are you sure the bright light green moss looking plant is ludwigia sp. red?



Yes
http://theaquatank.com/Plant/Ludwigia-Sphaerocarpa


-Alan


----------



## Bob B (Jul 17, 2014)

Has anyone ever tried growing anubias with the leaves above water, the same with crypts?


----------



## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

AlanLe said:


> Yes
> http://theaquatank.com/Plant/Ludwigia-Sphaerocarpa
> 
> 
> -Alan


The carpet with thin bright green leaves...


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Those are Utricularia graminifolia



-Alan


----------



## rick dale (Feb 26, 2014)

*rescape*

WOW! Absolutely WOW! I wish I could do that. Super nice.


----------



## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

AlanLe said:


> Those are Utricularia graminifolia
> 
> 
> 
> -Alan


Those are what I been looking for awhile now  Gotta thak you for supplying the name. May I also ask what your water parameters are?


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

rick dale said:


> WOW! Absolutely WOW! I wish I could do that. Super nice.


Thanks! 



Krispyplants said:


> Those are what I been looking for awhile now  Gotta thak you for supplying the name. May I also ask what your water parameters are?


Believe it or not, i never checked my water parameter. I do 50% water change each week. Pay close attention to how much plants are pearling and livestock's behavior then adjust co2 accordingly. Plus I use ada soil, it's good stuff. Also let light be the growth factor. 


-Alan


----------



## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

AlanLe said:


> Thanks!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 I have ada but dwarf hair grass and small plants barely like the big dots. So I was going to buy the sand grade for the up front foreground plants but I would probably have to soak the ADA in a bucket with a filter for a month. :icon_roll I thought about contrasoil since theres been good reviews about their cheaper and more effective sized grade. Not too little and not too ADA big. Have you tried it yet? What light strip are you using?


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Krispyplants said:


> I have ada but dwarf hair grass and small plants barely like the big dots. So I was going to buy the sand grade for the up front foreground plants but I would probably have to soak the ADA in a bucket with a filter for a month. :icon_roll I thought about contrasoil since theres been good reviews about their cheaper and more effective sized grade. Not too little and not too ADA big. Have you tried it yet? What light strip are you using?



The lights are ecoxotic e series. 


-Alan


----------



## bk. (Sep 27, 2014)

Alan can we get a full tank shot of the new layout?


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

bk. said:


> Alan can we get a full tank shot of the new layout?



This is a shot of a full tank. I just pulled out the dhg. Planting hc for now.


































-Alan


----------



## panoptic88 (Nov 9, 2014)

*how often do you trim the S repens?*

Hi Alan-
Wow looks great. 
Your S repens is looking really healthy. Do they "shed" old leaves? Do you trim them back every week? 
I have a pretty dense carpet of S Repens and theres are alot of dead leaves that accumulate under the new growth. I have to rake it out the yellow leaves out. 
Is this normal?
thx
Randall


----------



## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

I see a healthy looking unplanted P. Helferi on picture 2. :hihi: Sure looks like the roots are in some how. They get enormous roots for the fact of them being so small and compact.


----------



## Jalopy (Aug 11, 2013)

The tank looks really good. Do you ever readjust your dosing and light when you rescape?


----------



## tclancy (Jan 29, 2014)

Great looking tank!


----------



## Aquadawg (Aug 18, 2012)

Bob B said:


> Has anyone ever tried growing anubias with the leaves above water, the same with crypts?


My petites do fine as long as the rhizome and roots are below the water surface.


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Quick update! The HC is starting to take off. 










-Alan


----------



## hyphination (Sep 25, 2008)

Awesome growth! These plants look very happy. Wanted to ask you, I read through your journal and you said you were running your lights at 80% Was that for all the colors? W/R/G/B


----------



## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

hyphination said:


> Awesome growth! These plants look very happy. Wanted to ask you, I read through your journal and you said you were running your lights at 80% Was that for all the colors? W/R/G/B



I lowered the blue down to 40. Too much blue will make everything looks pale. 


-Alan


----------



## HBdirtbag (Jun 15, 2015)

Alan, what did you use for light mounts? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## hansol (Jul 12, 2015)

Wow, stunning looking tank!


----------



## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

Beautiful tank!


----------

