# Opare's High-Tech ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'



## CowBoYReX (Nov 30, 2013)

Should fill in nice


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*

So, the scape is a basic triangular scape that I'm actually pretty happy with. 
*Before planting:*








*After planting:*








Some of the substrate fell when I filled so lost some HC, and the used power sand-aquasoil combo I had got knocked up which pissed me off a bit.
Not quite sure whether having that huge open space on the right with just HC is the best, but couldn't find any decent ideas to fill it with other plants or hardscape. A bit worried the C. wendtii 'Brown' might get too big, but we shall see how it grows. I also wanted to find somewhere to put moss, but just nothing really called out to me unfortunately.
A lot of the plants are in emersed form so I'm expecting some serious melting. The stems have to do a lot of filling in before this scape looks close to where it should be.
Currently running the lights for 5 hours, and am gonna dose EI, but I might modify the regime slightly. I'll figure that out later. Gonna skip dosing today, and start tomorrow just to give the plants a bit of setting in time.
Came back home this morning and saw the tank has also cleared up somewhat, I'm using Purigen so I'm hoping that would be the case. I'm planning to do daily water changes for the first week, and from then on more maybe every other day, and eventually space them out more till I'm doing one once a werk. But, I'm going on holiday for a few days next week which will mean I'll have to leave this alone for a while. A bit dangerous but I have no choice.
Any comments, criticism and suggestions are very welcome!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

CowBoYReX said:


> Should fill in nice




Thank you! That is what I'm hoping for. As long as my get husbandry correct that is!


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Excited to see where this goes....great job Opare!


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Looks like a really nice setup! It's hard holding back, but I think anything other than the HC would take away from the main area, but you could always decide as the scape matures. Stay on top of your lights and water changes, good luck!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*



ScubaSteve said:


> Excited to see where this goes....great job Opare!





houseofcards said:


> Looks like a really nice setup! It's hard holding back, but I think anything other than the HC would take away from the main area, but you could always decide as the scape matures. Stay on top of your lights and water changes, good luck!


Thanks guys! I was actually surprised that I managed to pull off something decent scapewise. 
Yeah I agree House, the HC area may calm things down from the relatively intense focal point. Also I'm gonna do daily water changes till next week, then I'm going on holiday for a few days, and may do a water change every other day from then on, until I decide things are stable enough to start doing water changes less frequently.
Here's a picture from the water change I literally just finished doing. Water is a lot clearer now.








My lights are raised pretty high, so I decided to keep them on 60% intensity rather than 50%.










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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*

Last night I started dosing, and dosed a round of macros, just cus the plants would probably like that more than micros. I'm only dosing half of what I should for EI right now, and I calculated for a 12 Gallon tank to account for the substrate and hardscape.
I just wanted to share my schedule and see if anyone sees any issues. I'm planning to dose EI so my target PPM's are: 7.5 for NO3, 1.3 for PO4 and 7.5 for K.
This means I dose for Macros:
555mg of KNO3
85mg of KH2PO4
152mg of K2SO4
or (since I have some leftover Seachem fertilisers from when I convinced myself you couldn't get dry fertilisers in Malaysia)
5.2ml of Flourish N
14.7ml of Flourish P
2ml of Flourish K
For Micros:
Still an unknown amount of CTE, I posted a thread on the Fertiliser subforum asking for help on that.
or
7.1ml of Flourish Comprehensive
My schedule would be 3 days macros, 3 days micros and one day would be a rest day.
Does this look okay? Just to reiterate the amount I listed would be what I would be dosing at full EI, currently and until I see a need to, I will be dosing half those amounts.
In other news, seeing some melting on the HC, Rotala and very heavily on some of the Crypts which was to be expected. The epiphytes all look good. The Pogostemon and Rotala are already growing which is nice. Once there is enough growth on them I'll cut away the emersed sections and replant the tops. Also, getting some serious pearling from all the plants, which doesn't mean much but it's pretty. Getting a little bit of fungus on the wood, but much less than I expected to get. Tonight at the water change I'm gonna reposition the B. 'Catherine' and stick some more Anubias on.


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

Might wanna hang your light with something a little more secure than zip ties 

Looks good so far, any plans for stock?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Jaguar said:


> Might wanna hang your light with something a little more secure than zip ties
> 
> 
> 
> Looks good so far, any plans for stock?



Hahaha they've been glued in as well, the zip ties were just for the intial securing. Seems stable enough eventhough it's a bit janky.
Ummm gonna test my parameters next week to see what I can get. Already had a look at my temperatures and they range from 22-28 degrees C. The range is because I don't use a chiller and I sleep with air conditioning at night.
Definitely gonna get some shrimp to clean up, was looking at something hardy yet pretty. Will probably go for Bloody Mary shrimp. As for fish I'm leaning towards an ember tetra school, but they might not contrast so well against the R. rotundifolia. Also, I could probably fit in a few more fish besides the main school, was thinking a Pseudomugil species (probably paskai) or Rosy Loaches, but according to Seriously Fish I would be a little out of their temperature range. I doubt I could find Rosy Loaches where I live though (easily that is). Just thinking of something that would patrol different areas than the school. I also read Takashi Amano's Complete Works and he recommended fish with fluttering swim patterns for scapes like this. Not quite sure what he meant by that, but P. paskai does seem to flutter.



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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*

So, just finished a water change and played around with plant placement a bit. The Crypts are in full blown melt mode, which is not surprising considering they were grown emersed. Also got a new Bucephalandra species today, it is _Bucephalandra_ 'Pinky Mambo'. The name itself was reason enough for me to get it.








I apologise for the poorish photos, I don't have a proper camera so my phone's one shall have to suffice. Anyway here's a full tank shot as well.








I also ordered Some _Riccardia chamedryfolia_ and more _Bucephalandra_ 'Brownie Ghost'. Planning to put the Riccardia on the branches that don't reach into the ground.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Looks good. If you can throw as much light as possible over the tank for the pic. I should help getting more detail and lightening it up.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> Looks good. If you can throw as much light as possible over the tank for the pic. I should help getting more detail and lightening it up.



Ah I'll do that tonight(well my tonight) when it's dark outside as well. Thanks so much for offering help! Figures things are a bit harder to see when I'm not on 100% intensity.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Really like the hardscape layout, that's gonna look great filled in!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

burr740 said:


> Really like the hardscape layout, that's gonna look great filled in!



Thank you thank you means a lot! I'm really excited for when everything really starts to take off.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*

The tank has been running for a week now. Just finished a water change and some maintainance, which was basically pulling out melted Crypt leaves. So far the tank isn't looking great, which is totally expected to be honest. It will take time for the plants, especially the Crypts to grow in and let the scape come together.















I'll be on holiday for the next 3 nights, so fingers crossed a giant catastrophe doesn't occur whilst I'm away (In my tank and globally). I dosed for the day I'm away, so that means instead of a half EI dose of Micros today, it was a full EI dose. Hopefully everything will be fine by the time I'm back!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*

*Sorry for the novella of a post, I guess I had a lot to say hahaha. The more interesting bits are in the second half, so skip to there if you want.*
Got back from my holiday today and the tank was looking good. Did a water change and filter clean as well tonight, here's a shot from after it was done.








Hah realised it's probably not the most interesting read to see the same shot of the tank with minor differences each post. But I digress, the R. rotundifolia is bouncing back and has some good growth, the P. erectus is also starting to show some submerged growth. Gonna top them in the coming weeks to get rid of the ratty emersed bottoms. The HC is starting to fill in, and the Crypts seemed to have finished their shedding.
Saw a couple of snails climbing up the glass, chucked one in the water in the emersed tub, and left the other one be. They were climbing up the glass to try and get out of the water from what I could see, meaning my CO2 was a bit high, prompting me to bring it down slightly.
Tomorrow I'm picking up another Bucephalandra, and hopefully some Fissidens, because the LFS couldn't get any R. chamedryfolia.
And the game of waiting for the tank to fill in continues...
On another more interesting note I've been thinking a lot about my livestock stocking the past few days.
Here's a run down of what I was thinking:
A group of shrimp just to clean up algae and such. Might go Amanos or some of the smaller more attractive ones (or both). Could probably start a small colony if I go with ones that can breed in freshwater. Gonna check what my exact parameters are and then I'll make a decision.
20 or so small schoolers - Ember tetras or B. briggitae were what I had in mind but I'm open to other suggestions. I've had both of these fish before so I'm actually quite keen to try other species. Maybe T. espei, P. simulans or CPDs. Just afraid the CPDs may be too shy. I also know the Espeis like to jump making them a bit of an iffy decision.
A small group (10ish) of fish that would swim along the bottom area or around the whole tank - My thoughts for this were Pygmy Cories or another small Corydoras species, Otocinclus or Rosy Loaches. My preferance would be the loaches, but they may be hard to get hold of.
A small group of really pretty fish OR a pair of Dwarf Cichlids - I want something really eye-catching just for my own amusement. The 2 that came to mine were a Pseudomugil species or a pair of Dwarf Cichlids. I've never kept either so both will be a new experience for me. I find the Pseudomugils more attractive, but the Cichlids would be really rewarding as they are quite personable. If I was to go for the Cichlid pair I was thinking about Apistogramma cacatuoides.
None of this is set in stone so please suggest away!
Things to keep in mind for your suggestions:
- My water is soft and acidic. I haven't tested it, but my tap water is pretty soft and I'm using Aquasoil, so it's safe to assume that it is.
- My temperature ranges from 22-28 degrees celsius.
- I don't have a lid. I know all fish jump, but some are more prone to than others, those that don't jump as much would be preferable.


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## pdela (Aug 9, 2012)

Opare said:


> *Sorry for the novella of a post, I guess I had a lot to say hahaha. The more interesting bits are in the second half, so skip to there if you want.*
> Got back from my holiday today and the tank was looking good. Did a water change and filter clean as well tonight, here's a shot from after it was done.
> 
> 
> ...


I love B. briggitae due to their "hunting" behavior. They are constantly hovering over a spot checking it out and pecking at things. They are EXTREMELY small how ever and tend to disappear very easily due to their size.

My CPD took forever to lose their shy nature. To be honest it sucked at first. They are beautiful fish but I never saw them. After a few months though they weren't afraid anymore and behaved just like the rest of the aquarium. Coming to surface whenever I approached, swimming out in the open. If you are patient, I believe they all eventually come around but it can be very frustrating if these are your "main" show fish.

With dwarf cichilds I only have experience with rams, they do have great personalities and exhibit that "hunter" behavior I was referring to earlier. Very curious and always checking out all the nooks and crannies in the aquarium.

Pseudomugils add a lot of life to the aquarium, the males are constantly sparring, extending their fins and chasing each other around the tank. They jet around constantly, looks like they are always playing around. I have furcatus, which I think are the biggest species. They are supposed to be known for jumping, but I've had pretty good luck with them.

As far as jumpers, unfortunately it is something you just have to expect to happen. When I kept a 60p style aquarium with a very high water line, I lost a few fish of all species. They were especially prone to jumping when the lights suddenly shut off, it really freaked them out.

Now I have a water line thats about 1.5" from the rim (much larger tank) and my lights ramp down over a long period of time, no sudden shut off and I haven't lost a single fish to jumping.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

pdela said:


> Now I have a water line thats about 1.5" from the rim (much larger tank) and my lights ramp down over a long period of time, no sudden shut off and I haven't lost a single fish to jumping.


I hear you on the B. briggitae, I had them in my last tank and they coloured up so well. I started another thread on the Fish subforum to ask about my stocking, and it convinced me to go against the dwarf cichlids as I don't have anywhere for them to dig.
Here's a stock list I came up with:
20x Ember Tetras or equivalent schoolers
12x CPDs or 8x Pseudomugil paskai
10x Pygmy Corys (other small Corys are also fine) or Rosy Loaches or 8x Otocinclus
A colony of shrimp, will probably start with 10 and let them do their thing. They will be in for a month before any fish.
Like you said the CPDs are quite shy so they would be a 'pretty fish' group, and I would have the main school to be their dither. They really are a beautiful fish, and one of the ones that pulled me into the hobby. Maybe it's time to finally get them...
I probably would follow what you did and lower my water level when I get fish. Unfortunately my light doesn't have a controller for ramp up and down. 
In other news I got some F. fontanus and another B. 'Brownie Ghost Red'. Was gonna take a picture but have some homework to do (LOL) that I left to the last minute. And my first day of school is tomorrow yikes...


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*

Hi everyone, my LFS is getting a shipment of Triuthria sp. 'Blood Vomit' and I am really in love with the plant and want to know if anyone could see a place for it in the scape. The problem is a lot of the midground area is taken up by the Crypts which might shade it eventually, and if I place it in that small lane in the left it might not be as visible. Thoughts anyone? I could put it in my emersed tub, but for how expensive it is I dunno if it is worth it.
EDIT: Also, spent today pulling Riccia that was intwined in my carpet. Moral of the story - buy tissue cultured plants... Expecting to see more Riccia sprouting out of the tank for pretty much eternity.
Update: I reserved 2 pieces of T. sp. 'Blood Vomit', I couldn't resist hahaha. I think I know where to put it as well.

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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*

Yesterday I got some Bloody Mary shrimp, 13 in total. Bought 10, and every 5=1 free and they were quite small so the dude gave me an extra one, so was pretty jazzed about that. This morning they were looking a little inactive, but as of now a few have molted and are exploring and scavenging around, some of the others are still quite docile. I'll try and get some pictures later today.
I'm starting to get hit by some diatoms, but it's reasonably managable. The snails have seemed to help out with the algae. Plant growth seems good, but the P. erectus has been a bit slow to get going. Planning to top and replant the stems next week to get rid of the emersed growth.
Also, something not so good happened. The tank I had set up for QT started leaking so today I'm off to find a new one. The cycle was stalling on it anyway. The filter had media from the main tank, but I think I added a little too much NH4OH after the first night. On day 2 I got a nitrite reading and the NH3 reading went down from 2.0ppm which is what I dosed, so I decided to restore it back to 2.0ppm. Alas this seemed to stall the cycle. We shall see what happens when I get the new tank.
EDIT: Here's a photo of them being acclimated -








In-tank photo -








The new QT tank -








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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Very pretty shrimp!


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

looking good Opare, I like the look of bloody Mary shrimp, I have seen some for sale over here in Perth, but priced at about $30 AUD each!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

ScubaSteve said:


> Very pretty shrimp!





doylecolmdoyle said:


> looking good Opare, I like the look of bloody Mary shrimp, I have seen some for sale over here in Perth, but priced at about $30 AUD each!


Thanks! Woah that is equivalent to about RM100 which is 10x the price they are here. They are really at the end of the day more colourful cherry shrimp so that is insane. Those kinda prices I would only reserve for the really high grade Caridinas.
I guess with import laws being tough, makes prices go crazy. But they aren't particularly hard to keep and breed. Saying that I have had a death. Although there has been succesful molting, I think my tank is just not quite there in maturity eventhough it is cycled.




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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Opare said:


> The new QT tank -
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Way too much red in this tank. You should have two green plants to the one red. :grin2:

Looking forward to your tank's progression.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> Way too much red in this tank. You should have two green plants to the one red. :grin2:
> 
> 
> 
> Looking forward to your tank's progression.


Hahahahaha really you feel that way? :/ Was really proud of this one, was thinking about IAPLC 2017. But thanks! Still a ways to go in terms of growing in but so far so good, I'll try and take a tank shot sometimes this week as a progress update.


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## iter (Apr 24, 2012)

The tank is looking great so far! I just have one little concern though, regarding the Crypt. wendtii 'brown'. These can grow pretty big and if it overshadows the HC then you might get some bald spots on the substrate...

Just want you to consider this before the crypts completely root into the substrate :thumbsup:


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

iter said:


> The tank is looking great so far! I just have one little concern though, regarding the Crypt. wendtii 'brown'. These can grow pretty big and if it overshadows the HC then you might get some bald spots on the substrate...
> 
> 
> 
> Just want you to consider this before the crypts completely root into the substrate :thumbsup:


Yeah it is a concern I have as well. But, the HC doesn't hug around the Crypts much so it should be okay, but I'm gonna play it by ear.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Opare said:


> Thanks! Woah that is equivalent to about RM100 which is 10x the price they are here.


Yes some prices are crazy here in WA, I think its actually illegal to sell these shrimp here so generally its done word of mouth, tho some people occasionally list them on "gumtree" which is like craigs list etc...


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Just checked out gumtree and they are actually going for $130 for a pair! - FS. Top Quality Blood Mary shrimp Pair!! | Fish | Gumtree Australia Canning Area - Canning Vale | 1123027505


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Just checked out gumtree and they are actually going for $130 for a pair! - FS. Top Quality Blood Mary shrimp Pair!! | Fish | Gumtree Australia Canning Area - Canning Vale | 1123027505


Oh my god! I guess when supply is as low as it is, prices become ridiculous.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Howdy everyone. The tank is still chugging along, the pain of using a lot of slower growing plants is that although it's less maintainance, you gotta exercise more patience. Speaking of which the Bucephalandras are finally throwing out leaves was getting a bit worried with them. Hacked down the stems last weekend to get rid of the emersed growth and also the Rotala was a bit too tall.








Was getting a bit of melting in my HC. I'm gonna have that down to the effects of me toying around with the CO2 to make the shrimp happy (one day I had it on basically nothing woops...). Still gonna dose 1/2 EI unless the HC continues to look bad.
Diatoms and GDA have arrived in full force, giving my tank that oh so beautiful brown-green sheen. I'm just gonna let the algae run its course and adjust if things don't improve. Toying with getting Otos, but that means I have to farm algae in the QT. Although that can't be that hard considering the state of this tank hahaha.
Thinking the flow is giving the shrimp trouble but what are your opinions? Just concerned that the flow may negatively affect the plants.
Here's a full tank shot and a bonus shrimpie photo -

















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## LRJ (Jul 31, 2014)

Looks like your Rotala is coming around. Did you notice any hints of 'blood red' coloration when it was up near the surface?

If you're on the fence about getting Otos, I'd suggest trying Amanos first. They are algae destroyers and have a much smaller impact on bioload.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*



LRJ said:


> Looks like your Rotala is coming around. Did you notice any hints of 'blood red' coloration when it was up near the surface?
> 
> 
> 
> If you're on the fence about getting Otos, I'd suggest trying Amanos first. They are algae destroyers and have a much smaller impact on bioload.


Yeah they just needed to get over the transition period. The stems have a pinkish tone, but I think it won't really colour up well until I turn up the light intensity. The leaves are pretty green. I'm growing them emersed and they have more of golden/red sheen in that setup. I'm gonna mess with things to get it to colour up more when the tank has reached a more balanced state.
Definitely toying with the idea of Amanos, maybe I'll pick some up this weekend. I think they would definitely get well fed in this tank.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Switched out the HC on the left side for H. tripartita, cus I think it will give a better transition from the background to foreground.








Also got some Amano Shrimp for more beef in the cleanup crew and also cus they are really fun to watch.










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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P*

Hello everyone just a small update. Everything is going well. Got some CRS and fish should be going into quarantine this week hopefully. Most plants are doing okay I took out another Bucep and I'm seeing tufts of BBA come and go so that is a bit concerning but overall everything seems okay. GDA also still giving me trouble but just brushed it off recently after waiting a couple of weeks hopefully it stays away and the shrimp can deal with any residual amount.
Also got some more Amanos and they sre huge compared to the first batch and the other shrimp.
Here's a crappy iPhone shot of one of the CRS:








Also, if you can notice the Bucep in this photo has a new leaf with fantastic colour. Really looking forward to this one maturing more.
EDIT: Also gotta mention I bumped up to 3/4 EI dosing because some of the HC looked like it was melting. Could've been due to when I tinkered with CO2 when I added livestock, but just to cover my bases I've upped dosing a little.
Also the Rotala is still not red and I think it is definitely a light issue. Unfortunately, I don't really want to start bumping up light until the tank is more balanced. Oh well have to be patient...

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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Opare said:


> Hello everyone just a small update. Everything is going well. Got some CRS and fish should be going into quarantine this week hopefully. Most plants are doing okay I took out another Bucep and I'm seeing tufts of BBA come and go so that is a bit concerning but overall everything seems okay. GDA also still giving me trouble but just brushed it off recently after waiting a couple of weeks hopefully it stays away and the shrimp can deal with any residual amount.
> Also got some more Amanos and they sre huge compared to the first batch and the other shrimp.
> Here's a crappy iPhone shot of one of the CRS:
> 
> ...


thats a nice looking shrimp. good quality


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Belum Temengor'*



IntotheWRX said:


> thats a nice looking shrimp. good quality


Hah thanks they are actually reasonably low-grade. Just the one in the photo is probably one of the better looking ones, also the photo quality makes the colours look more solid.
Probably SS grade considering the price.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Belum Temengor'*

Just droppin a full-tank shot cus I haven't posted one in a while.








I never really noticed how far some of the plants have come, especially the Java Fern, until I looked at this FTS and the older ones. Things are lookin pretty good. Plants are coming along. Bumped up light intensity to try and get some colour on the Rotala but only by 1 notch. I'm gonna increase it very conservatively.
The shrimp all seem happy swimming and grazing away.















Getting my first batch of fish tomorrow as well! They are Pseudomugil sp. 'Red Neon'. The quarantine tank isn't quite fully cycled as it only can eliminate 1ppm of NH3 in one day, but I have to rush it a bit because I reserved these fish quite a while ago thinking they won't come often. They've already reserved for a couple of weeks, so I don't want to force the shop to keep them any longer. The tank gets 0ppm NO2 but it's the NH3 that's the problem. I'm just going to stay on top of water changes and parameter monitoring so the fish are happy. They may not even produce enough waste to stretch the filter past 1ppm but we shall see.
Also, thinking about getting a proper camera cus the photos are currently quite dire. May just borrow one from my friends cus a lot of them own DSLRs.

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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

First batch of fish are in quarantine! Unfortunately, I can't sex them so I don't know the gender ratio, but definitely looks like more females to males (which is good). Now to wait to see if they are healthy...


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

Brought myself to finally cleaning the lilly pipes and wow...








Was quite a painless experience and was totally worth it. The tank just looks so much better without big brown pipes in it hahaha.
Other than that the tank is not doing as well as I was hoping by this point. Starting to get BBA in spots, and had to replant a large portion of the HC, because I pretty much uprooted it whilst removing Riccia from it. So basically the carpet is back to square one.
Rotala was getting some colour at the top before I trimmed it, and I've increased the light intensity since then so that is looking promising. I've also seen what it can get to in my emersed setup, so if it gets even half that red I will be pleased. Will probably need to lower my light as well, but baby steps for now. The P. erectus is slow (for a stem) but it's been growing really nicely, gave it a trim before I took this shot.








The Bucephalandra 'Brownie Ghost' is just so awesome. Love the colours on the submerged leaves.
Rainbows have another week in quarantine then they will be in the tank. Next batch of fish will be Boraras briggitae! Decided to stick with all Asian species of inhabitants.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Clean pipes always make me feel good  What are you co2 levels and ferts like, seems like your battling a bit of algae, personally by pushing the co2 to the limit and making sure i dose high levels of ferts I have been able to keep most algae at bay. I am sure your tank will turn the corner soon, the whole layout is really nice, should look great when it really grows in.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



doylecolmdoyle said:


> Clean pipes always make me feel good  What are you co2 levels and ferts like, seems like your battling a bit of algae, personally by pushing the co2 to the limit and making sure i dose high levels of ferts I have been able to keep most algae at bay. I am sure your tank will turn the corner soon, the whole layout is really nice, should look great when it really grows in.


Thanks! The nice comments help keep the commitment into making the tank looking good. 
Algae isn't actually _that_ bad, it's just even a few small tufts of BBA make me flip. I'm only getting that and some Green Dust Algae which I can wipe away easy enough. The CO2 I think is the main culprit. I still haven't found the sweetspot where I'm not gassing the shrimp and it is also sufficiently high.
Fertilisers are at 3/4 EI so I don't think that's the problem.
Gonna spot treat the BBA then cross my fingers from there. Also, keeping my CO2 at a pretty high level and gonna watch out for casualties. 
But, I agree with enough time and effort the tank should come out on top I believe! Tanks always have to mature then things tend to go steady and they look good.


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## Jawnwin (Oct 8, 2016)

wow very very nice. This set up totally makes mine way more outdated. haha I feel like I'm using old set ups


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Jawnwin said:


> wow very very nice. This set up totally makes mine way more outdated. haha I feel like I'm using old set ups


Hah thanks! Your tank is pretty up to par with mine TBH. But I know that feeling, I see some tanks on here and in places like the ADA gallery, and I think 'Those are so much better than mine!', but it just makes me strive to be a better scaper and improve my skills.
Speaking of which, this thread hasn't been updated in a while I'll hopefully do one this weekend while I have some time. There has been some ups and (MAJOR) downs since I last updated. The downs were mostly caused by my own impatience/stupidity, but I'll leave that for later.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

Okay MAJOR update time, the long and short of it I'm rescaping.
This decision was caused by a Lemony Snicket-esque series of events (also I actually wasn't entirely happy with this scape but that was a more minor reason). All beginning waaaaaaaay back to when I added the Bucephalandra 'Pinky Mambo', just looking back on the journal you can see that was a while ago. Well turns out the plant also brought along some BBA, which started to pop up in quite a few places (as I've mentioned before) due to me being a dingus and messing around with the tank's light and CO2 quite abit. So to combat this I decided to spot dose with some Excel. This is when things really took a nose dive.
This is probably one of the stupidest things I have done in the hobby to date. I decided to spot treat during a water change, but being in an algal induced stupor I forgot when you have half of the tank's water out this effectively doubles the concentration of Excel present in the water. This is on top of me using the recommended amount of Excel 'for the first time using it' which is like 5x more than usual. It got rid of the BBA, so that's good right? Not quite... This one bone-headed move managed to send my Crypts back to melting, caused a huge die off of the snails, and knocked out a fair few of my shrimp, all the Amanos and a lot of the Bloody Marys, although a majority of the CRS are still kicking it. This meant huge amounts of organic waste into the water column and it was really hard to try and remove all these damn dead snails.
(As an aside the time this all occured I added the rainbows to the tank, and got some CPDs and more rainbows that have just been sitting in quarantine and are all good.)
So basically I upset the balance of my tank GREATLY, a balance I hadn't even managed to get yet so yeah things did not turn out great. The BBA came back and then I started to get BGA as well, and at that point I knew a rescape and fresh start was the best way forward.
So that brings us to where we are today.








As you can see the glass is filthy, this is cause I knew I was gonna rescape for a while, but I had to wait for the holidays, so during weekly water changes I didn't bother cleaning the glass.
I moved all the fish and shrimp to the quarantine tank, as well as the media from this tank's filter. It probably isn't the best setup but heyho, it is temporary till I get the tank up and running properly.
As for the plants they are currently sitting in tupperwares.








I'll probably reuse the stems, but not the epiphytes as they are carrying a few tufts of BBA, which I just do not want to deal with, as well as other reasons. I didn't keep any of the HC, cus I have tonnes of it emersed and it is just a pain in the butt to take out individually.
The next scape I'm planning to do will be in the Island style, so stay tuned for that. I've learnt a lot from the past few months and I now have an idea what I need to change to have more success. The biggest lesson has probably been the value of patience and never making huge changes. It's something you always say to yourself and others, but at least in my case, I did not put it into practice. Do everything as small steps, as your tank is a delicate system, which does not like huge changes. Gonna try a few new things, as well as have some husbandry focuses for the next tank.
Anyway, I doubt most of you read that as it was mostly rambles about me being an idiot, and the most interesting bit was said at the start. My bad for not updating the thread more often, and then just unloading with all of this, school work was piling up as Term 1 tends to be pretty busy towards the end. I still have some cleaning up of the tank to do, and I shall update once I have a hardscape plan ready. That should be before the week ends. Thank you to anyone who has read all of this! Have a good day.


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## mattenx (Nov 28, 2016)

Nice can't wait to see how this turns out


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*









Here we go again...
Everything has been cleaned, although the tank needs one final scrub.
Picked up some hardscape today, was having trouble arranging the wood coherently in the store, although managed to get a good layout on the supporting rocks. I'm more willing to chop up the wood this time around to get more workable pieces, as last time my stubborness to not mess with the hardscape hindered me. 
Gonna play around with it tomorrow once I get some Aquasoil. Didn't get the soil today because I didn't have enough money to buy it oops... Spent it on a Madvillainy (my favourite Hip-Hop album) vinyl instead. Don't regret it to be honest.
Exciting times ahead let us see how this goes.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

2 steps forward 1 step back.
Scrounged up the money to buy Aquasoil and the store gave me a discount, so it didn't hurt the pocket that badly. However, the Aquastop Valve on my Fluval 206 which I have been having trouble with for the past few months finally broke, so I have to go shopping for a new one or a new filter all together. I could order it online but I don't really wanna wait and shipping anything to my country costs as much as the item or more.
Other than that everything is cleaned up including the tank. Just gotta boil the driftwood to clean it/waterlog it and we are cooking with gas.
Planning to hardscape a bit tomorrow so watch this space.


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## Butterfly Bettas (Aug 19, 2016)

Looking forward to seeing the new scape! Sorry that you had to go through that disappointment.


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## vilenarios (Jan 28, 2015)

Why not clean up the epiphytes now that they are in their own little tuperwares? Should be easy to spot treat without worrying about fish/shrimp dying or anything else.

Enjoy the rescape! The initial setup is so fun/exciting in my opinion. Although its the kind of thing where ill tell myself "Yeah this will just take an hour or so" and then 4 hours later, ill be finished.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Butterfly Bettas said:


> Looking forward to seeing the new scape! Sorry that you had to go through that disappointment.


Hah wasn't really dissapointed, I probably could've fought through the algae, but I think I just wanted a fresh start and do things better from the get-go. Also, another major factor was that I didn't like the scape a lot.



vilenarios said:


> Why not clean up the epiphytes now that they are in their own little tuperwares? Should be easy to spot treat without worrying about fish/shrimp dying or anything else.
> 
> 
> 
> Enjoy the rescape! The initial setup is so fun/exciting in my opinion. Although its the kind of thing where ill tell myself "Yeah this will just take an hour or so" and then 4 hours later, ill be finished.


Yeah I could and was considering just using some H2O2 on them, but I don't actually plan to use any of the species I already had again, so that was more of a factor. The narrow leaf Java Fern just gets way too big for a 60P IMO, and I'm gonna try and use only Asian plants this time, so the Anubias is also gonna get dropped in favour of Bucephalandras. This is basically an excuse for me to get more Bucephalandras which I really like hahaha. I may reuse the Bucephalandras I already have.
I'll probably chuck the leftover epiphytes in the emersed setup, or treat and sell them.
Yeah I definitely will enjoy it, my willingness to give up on the last scape was probably thanks in large part to how much I love the initial process, it just gives such a rush of excitement. Not to say maintaining it isn't fun, but I don't think I let myself enjoy the scaping aspect the first time around, as I was in a rush to get it setup. But yeah you think you'll just mess around for it with a bit, and then you look at the clock and you've been at it for hours.




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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

Managed to track down a store which sells the part that I need, but it is a bit of a drive from my house so I didn't get time to pick it up today, so I will do so tomorrow.
Also ended up not having time to hardscape today, as it was the mother's birthday so had all the celebrations etc. and was just a bit too tired to play with the tank. I'll definitely play with the hardscape tomorrow.
Currently trying to get a good source of some Crypts, especially some of the rarer ones like C. wendtii 'Green Gecko'. Well probably not rare for y'all, but plant availability is so inconsistent in Malaysia. Already managed to find some C. 'Flamingo' so may pick up some of that, either for the 60P or just to collect hah.
Already have an idea of what plants I wanna use, tryna use a lot more than last time, as one thing I found with the last scape is that it felt 'monotonous', as Takashi Amano liked to put it. Also, I may actually be able to locate all the species I want fingers crossed. Anyway we will find out in the coming days.
Have a good day guys and gals, thanks for reading.

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## Progen (Oct 31, 2016)

How's the inline diffuser working for you? Is the CO2 dissolution 100% and is there any bubbling sound? I was thinking of getting one but then saw something cheaper which would work with a tiny modification.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Progen said:


> How's the inline diffuser working for you? Is the CO2 dissolution 100% and is there any bubbling sound? I was thinking of getting one but then saw something cheaper which would work with a tiny modification.


It produces little bubbles, so not 100% dissolution if that's what your definition of the word is. I like the micro bubbles though it sort of looks magical IMO. Also, I think it was a Dennis Wong video where he said the micro bubbles are actually a good way for plants to uptake CO2 or something along those lines, and that's why he uses inline diffusers over reactors. So I followed his advice, and I'm pretty happy, not had any problems with the diffuser.
No sound from the diffuser that I've noticed, not that I've actively put my ear to it to have a listen. Only noisy thing from the tank (when it was up) are the timers which whirr, but that is only noticeable when I'm really close to them.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

Scapes for your consideration:

Attempt 1 -








Attempt 2 -








Attempt 3 -








Attempt 4 -








Attempt 5 -








Attempt 6 -








I sort of know which ones I prefer, but interested what y'all have to say. The hard part of this style if trying to find balance. To not be too sparse, but not too cluttered either.
Another issue I ran into is that, eventhough the Spider Wood looks fantastic, and it really suits this style with all its branches, the branches can sometimes really get in the way when trying to put the wood together. The wood will definitely be seeing the chopping block to make them more user-friendly.
These are just mock-ups of the wood by the way, there definitely will be stone used in the scape too. I just didn't want to start messing with substrate and getting too messy tonight.


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## Mattb126 (Nov 13, 2016)

I think 6 is good, it's a nice balance. 

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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Mattb126 said:


> I think 6 is good, it's a nice balance.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


Thank you, latest and greatest I guess? I probably will just go ahead and say it is one of the scapes I prefer as well.
Another thing, today I managed to track down all the plants I wanted for the most part, and fingers crossed the Crypts I want are available from my store's supplier. So things are coming quite close to fruition.
I'm breaking the bank a bit on one specific species as a Christmas present to myself, but I'll reveal that when it comes . To be honest if I start propagating it myself I may be able to start making money back on it.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

I really like #4 and #6. I've also enjoyed reading this entire thread, you've done a fantastic job on your posts (entertaining, well written and I've learned a lot). Can't wait to see the new progress.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

sdwindansea said:


> I really like #4 and #6. I've also enjoyed reading this entire thread, you've done a fantastic job on your posts (entertaining, well written and I've learned a lot). Can't wait to see the new progress.


Thank you so much, it means a lot to me! I'm surprised someone has read through all the posts, as some of them are quite verbose. But it's really nice to hear that you enjoy reading through the posts, as it reminds me that continually updating this journal is important. Keep your excitement going proper hardscaping and planting will be done within the coming week for sure!
Most people tend to be leaning towards the last 3ish, and I can kinda see what parts of each are probably preferred so I will try and combine all of them to get the final scape.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*









Most likely final scape. Not exactly as expected, but when I cut one of the pieces it means I couldn't fit in another piece which gave some of the branches in most of the mock up scapes. But honestly would rather have this scape than the other one with all the superflous branches (these couldn't be seen and just took up space) everywhere which reducing planting space etc.
Reasonably happy with it though. Feels a bit empty in the middle but hopefully the Java Fern I'm gonna use will fill it up. Also gonna use some colourful stems at the back.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

Wood has been boiled and soaked, and now also sinks! Success! Also gave my plants a peroxide bath, as I plan on reusing a few species, and if I sell them I don't want to give them BBA. 
Rehung my light as well using fishing line which looks a lot cleaner, and I made it a lot lower, as I hung it way too high before and it just killed the light intensity too much, and there is a dimmer on the light anyway. That should also reduce light spill. I prefer hanging the light (using some really janky DIY engineering mind you), over the given plastic stands, because one, the stand looks flimsy, and two it's just something else to distract from the scape. The stand doesn't look breakable I just don't like how it is supposed to hold the light in place over the tank, if you saw how it worked you would probably agree.
Anyway looks like the big day is coming tomorrow, and with it a package of some very _VERY_ nice and admittedly expensive plants are coming in. Looking forward to revealing what they are when they come. The rest of the plants I don't have yet, which are basically the Crypts and Willow Moss I'll pick up tomorrow, and then planting and setting up shall commence.
Get hyped! Christmas is coming early for me!
As an aside I also just finished watching Rogue One and I definitely recommend it. Was a great watch and filled in the story up to Episode IV very nicely.



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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*









They've arrived 
The 'Mini Coin' was the main order and I'm just so excited to use it. It is a suuuuper small plant. Each stalk is about the size of my thumb.
The seller also gave me some gift species, and these weren't cheap gifts too. Some pretty rare and nice species if you can see in the picture. I am beyond happy with the plants and this seller, if you are looking for Bucephalandras in Malaysia I really recommend this dude.








Picked up the rest of the plants that I needed so tank shall be setup today!


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## Mattb126 (Nov 13, 2016)

Looking forward to seeing it done!

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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

Long story short, I didn't finish setting up the tank. I started to get really tired and totally underestimated how long/soul-draining it is to plant DHG, so I'm just gonna head to bed and finish it tomorrow. Since I'm not using a layer of Powder Aquasoil on top, planting takes quite a bit longer, but IMO the result will be better as the substrates won't mix. Also, ran out of DHG and still have quite a decent area to still plant, so pulling out all of it from my emersed setup (which I planned to do anyway), but that might need to be supplemented.
Anyway I'll fill y'all in on what I've actually done.








First I put down the substrate additives. Using these this time around cus I want this tank to have the best start possible, and I can buy them by the spoon at my LFS, so it isn't too pricey.








Then substrate and hardscape went down. At first I really had trouble getting the rockwork to look good and natural, but once I added some smaller rocks it sort of came together. The woodwork I'm pretty happy with but there is a huge gap in the middle as I have said before and I'm hoping the Java Fern and stems can mask it.








Then I planted the DHG I had, and that was making me lose the will to live, so I stopped and started writing this post. I covered the tank with a plastic lid so the moisture is retained, so the plants and wood don't dry out too much.
I should definitely be able to try and get the tank up and running by tomorrow, so everyone's going to have to hold their excitement for a day longer! JK I know you guys aren't that excited.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

You just need to invent a robotic arm to plant the DHG . It is looking really good so far.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

digging the hardscape  10-10


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Mattb126 said:


> Looking forward to seeing it done!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk





sdwindansea said:


> You just need to invent a robotic arm to plant the DHG . It is looking really good so far.


Thanks guys, I really am looking foward to seeing it done too! So excited to get this tank up and running. I'm so far quite pleased with how things are going.
For sure a robotic arm would make my life so much easier. Unfortunately, electronics and physics are the bane of my existence, so I won't be the one inventing the robot arm hahaha.

EDIT:


BettaBettas said:


> digging the hardscape  10-10


Thank you so much  


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Sigh... Well things haven't gone to plan. Spent the whole day setting up, I don't know why it took me so long but I was trying to make sure everything was perfect. And sure enough everything was going well no major mishaps, and I got to the fully planted stage, tank was looking pretty snazzy too. May have gone a bit overboard on the epiphytes.








Then came filling time, where everything went to hell. I accidentally knocked the wood pieces on the right side, so as you can imagine messed things up royally. I was so disheartened, and in that moment just felt like giving up on the whole hobby. I had spent the whole day and days previous getting this setup ready and I ruined it in one boneheaded move. But for that same reason is why I must push on. I've spent too much time and money to give up now.
I finished filling and the tank, especially the right side, is a mess, and I'm going to have put in some more hours tomorrow to fix everything. A lot of replanting, repositioning and playing with substrate to do tomorrow.
Wish me luck...


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

Okay upon waking up and having a look at the tank, it isn't as bad as I thought, and I was largely over reacting yesterday. I guess setting up the whole day does that to you.
I'll try and fix everything later today and get a picture for y'all.
Actually quite pleased with the scape, much happier than with scape 1.
Also the plants I got this time should fit much better than last time once they get to their full sizes, and I like that I just have a lot more species in general.

EDIT: Didn't secure the filter pipes properly and one was dripping, more of me being an idiot biting me in the butt.
Also updated the plant list etc. on the first post so check that out if you are interested. Made me remember to say that another reaosn I'm jazzed about this scape is I get to use my favourite plant again, Rotala sp. 'Vietnam'! Largely underrated and it is absolutely stunning, and easy to grow.
Again with more assesment the damage to the tank isn't too bad and should be fixable in an hourish and will do a water change as well. Gonna do daily water changes for the first week, every 2 days for the second and so on.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

It is looking great and you are definitely being way too hard on yourself. Looking forward to the next update.


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## Ben Belton (Dec 12, 2008)

sdwindansea said:


> it is looking great and you are definitely being way too hard on yourself. Looking forward to the next update.


+ 1


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



sdwindansea said:


> It is looking great and you are definitely being way too hard on yourself. Looking forward to the next update.


Thanks Ben and SD, I think the fatigue of a whole day of aquarium-ing just made me lose my mind. In reality everything was pretty fine.
That brings me to now where I sorted out all the issues, and now we are filled.








Feeling much better now to see everything complete! Now comes the hard bit of patience and elbow grease to make this thing beautiful. Can't wait to pull out melted Crypt goop for the next month (works in both meanings of the word crypt TBH). I've realised the branches are gonna make this tank a bit maintenance unfriendly, but oh well you sacrifice things for the scape.
This tank will definitely need a while to grow in, as the epiphytes have to outgrow the superglue stains.
Anyway this build has drained me, but I've learnt a lot from it, and in the end pretty chuffed.
Thinking about getting a proper camera, so gonna have to hit up my friends and see who's willing to sell, as well as a macro lens.


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## Tomatoandegg (Nov 8, 2016)

very jealous of all ur buces. very nice


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Tomatoandegg said:


> very jealous of all ur buces. very nice


Thanks, a lot of hobbyists in Malaysia grow them, so prices are actually not too bad.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*









Just took this shot because I was really impressed with all the bubbles hahaha. I think it is a mixture of pearling and CO2 bubbles trapped on the leaves.
So far so good with the tank, today is the last day of daily water changes, which I'm celebrating. I got sick this week and it has been a bit harder to muster the energy for maintenance. Although after this it will be every second day so not too much respite TBH.
Not much to report really as it has only been a week, Crypts are melting as expected. Rotala sp. Vietnam is growing pretty dang fast, and the R. rotundifolia 'Blood Red' is having a bit of a slow start probably because it had a bit of a rough time before being put in the tank. DHG not doing much of anything so far, as well as the epiphytes, but didn't expect anything different TBH.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

always good to see a plant that is constantly pearling


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## bereninga (Mar 18, 2006)

Awesome setup! Very clean and open. Once it grows out, those rocks will be buried by the plants though. The hardware looks so clean!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

bereninga said:


> Awesome setup! Very clean and open. Once it grows out, those rocks will be buried by the plants though. The hardware looks so clean!


Thank you! Yeah I know they will be covered in the end but they sort of act like structural supports, and creating less vast planting areas.
Hardware stays clean with the aid of some Bleach and elbow grease!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*2 Week Update:*








Everything seems to be settling in; Crypts have gone through their melt, and are growing new leaves now, some of the DHG already throwing out runners although the left side is doing much better than the right. Which is weird actually considering the right has more access to flow, I think the left side just got better individual plants. Also getting the wood fungus, and I think the diatoms phase is coming soon, I can already see a bit of brown here and there. Gonna get shrimp in a couple of weeks and they should help clear it up (none survived the in the QT tank unfortunately).
Moss already starting to grow and I'm really liking how it is looking, Buceps are sort of not doing anything noticeable, a bit of melting here and a new leaf there. I decided to trim the Java Fern as all the old growth was really bad and ugly. H. pinnatifida is growing pretty quick and I'm quite liking it, tryna figure out how to trim it and only keep the submersed portion grown in the tank, because I super-glued it down.
Rotala sp. 'Vietnam' grew super quick so I trimmed it and replanted yesterday, and now I will start thinking about shaping it next time around. The R. rotundifolia took a while to come around after being taken out of storage but is looking good now, and I expect it to really accelerate growth wise.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

Everything looks great for a two week tank, I cannot wait to see it fill in (although I'm sure you are even more anxious). Have you thought about what livestock you will be keeping?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

sdwindansea said:


> Everything looks great for a two week tank, I cannot wait to see it fill in (although I'm sure you are even more anxious). Have you thought about what livestock you will be keeping?


Hah thanks, it is probably cus it is planted quite heavily to begin with. And yes I'm very excited to see this fill in.
I actually already have some of the fish I will be keeping (the rainbows and CPDs). Full stocklist at the end will be :
15x Pseudomugil luminatus
20x Celestial Pearl Danios
12x Amano Shrimp
And a probably a colony of CRS maybe Bloody Marys again as well
I just need to increase the number of the fish I have cus I already have a decent group of both but they are chilling in my quarantine tank, whilst this tank matures. I'll add them in about a month from now, then I'll quarantine their buddies and add them.
I sorta regret choosing the CPDs without having a proper dither cus they are quite shy in the QT tank, but hopefully with all the plants and increased numbers they'll be more active later. They really are a beautiful fish, and I am just in love with the rainbows.


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## Tomatoandegg (Nov 8, 2016)

Enjoying ur journey mate. Was sad to see the first tank siddenly dissappear, but the new one looks great!

Where abouts in malaysia are you? And lemmie know ur buceps dealer, is it njs?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Tomatoandegg said:


> Enjoying ur journey mate. Was sad to see the first tank siddenly dissappear, but the new one looks great!
> 
> 
> 
> Where abouts in malaysia are you? And lemmie know ur buceps dealer, is it njs?


I much prefer the second scape, so I'm not so sad TBH! There were a lot of problems like the substrate just being too high on the first one. And the scape itself definitely had issues, I think this one is just an improvement overall IMO, even if it isn't perfect. Thank you though!
I'm in KL, like smack dab in the city centre. I'll PM you about the dude.




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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Added some RCS today because I couldn't find any nicer colour morphs at my two closest LFSs, and RCS are fine looking enough IMO. Really cheap too so that is a plus.
Couldn't find any Amanos or low-grade CRS either so I'll have a look around for those over the next week. Will need these critters as the diatoms have hit hard. A lot of brown on the glass and plants, and I haven't really done too much physical cleaning, for the glass especially. This is because I wanted a good food source for the shrimp.
Had to pull out some of the DHG in the back right corner as it just didn't improve from the start. Will probably pick some more up with the shrimp and try and fill in the bald spots.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

Good luck with the diatoms/shrimp. I never knew that RCS helped with diatoms, that is great to know. The nerite snails have done a great job on the diatoms on my glass, wood, and crypts.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

sdwindansea said:


> Good luck with the diatoms/shrimp. I never knew that RCS helped with diatoms, that is great to know. The nerite snails have done a great job on the diatoms on my glass, wood, and crypts.


I'm pretty sure the shrimp will eat any sort of soft algae like that. The RCS probably won't be able to make a huge dent, not like nerites or Amanos would, but they will be able to do a bit. It is also just something else to look at.
The diatoms just go away after a while I find, it has something to do with tank cycling I think. So not too worried about them, it is just a bit unsightly now.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

The tank is looking a bit rough right now diatoms and GDA are hitting pretty hard, mainly on the glass and Crypts. A lot of the DHG died off, however some portions of DHG are doing fine and sending runners. I think this is why it is worth starting with really healthy plants, as it increases survival rate, and means you don't have to deal with tonnes of dying/ailing plants. Starting with good stuff, rather than tryna revive bad stuff sends you a long way. A lesson to be learnt for next time.
So all the dying plants are probably majorly contributing to the algae, eventhough I've been pulling out a lot of the DHG, I've decided I'm gonna scrap most of it and start with some new tissue cultured stuff. Gonna do a big clean on the tank in general this week. Keeping the tank clean in terms of gunk and dead plants means less algae. So next step is to get rid of anything that looks bad, physical removal of algae, replanting where needed and then just letting everything settle. I'm also gonna up the light intensity which seems counter-productive considering I'm having algae problems, but I'm only at around 30 PAR at subtrate right now, so gonna bump up into 46 PAR to make sure all the plants have enough light, which should also help inhibit the algae growth. I'll take a picture once this is all done, although it is worth seeing where the tank is at now. I'll try and do a before and after if I remember. Would take one now but not at home so oh well.
Still tryna source some Amanos as they are really what I need to help me clean the Crypt leaves.


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

The background plants are going to look so so good when they grow in. Very exciting.

Reading other people's experience with DHG sometimes confuses me. I don't do water column dosing or CO2 anymore, and as much as I am a dirt advocate I concede that a fully high tech system definitely achieves higher growth rates than anything else we know of right now. That said, I am no longer using DHG in my scapes because it was becoming downright invasive, quickly taking over entire tanks and blocking out other plants from growing. I can only assume that I have a different experience from high tech setups because DHG prefers to obtain nutrients (perhaps even carbon, as I think Walstad suggests some plants may) from substrate rather than the water column. 

If the DHG continues to be problematic, would it be possible to root tab it, or would that not work with your dosing regimen?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Bananableps said:


> The background plants are going to look so so good when they grow in. Very exciting.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you, that is what I hope too! Just got to try and get them to show their best colours too once the tank is mature.
I've actually had Eleocharis acicularis (not the 'Mini' cultivar like in this tank) get super invasive for me in a high-tech tank, but there were a few differences between how I ran that, and how I'm running this one. I think it is just one of those plants that needs to have a good start and then from there it goes crazy. I started with plants that were really not looking great as they were all my LFS had and I think I've payed the price for it. I could've gone to another store but I was feeling lazy to drive to another store just for one plant.
I am actually dosing pretty lean about 1/5th EI, which is just a little bit above PPS-Pro dosing. Root tabs could work fine with my regime but I'm using new ADA Aquasoil so I reckon that should have enough nutrients in it that I wouldn't need to use root tabs. I don't think I'm hitting any deficiencies just yet though, my light is running pretty low, and the more 'needy' plants are doing fine health wise.
I'll give the new more healthy DHG a try and monitor it and see where to go from there. I mean not all died from the initial batch, some are actually spreading, just a decentish portion went dead. The ones that kicked the bucket did so pretty early on and I trimmed them hoping it could stimulate them to shoot some new leaves, to no avail unfortunately.

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## bereninga (Mar 18, 2006)

Could it be that the DHG was acclimating? I agree that 30 par might've been a bit too low for it. I don't believe the substrate was the issue.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

bereninga said:


> Could it be that the DHG was acclimating? I agree that 30 par might've been a bit too low for it. I don't believe the substrate was the issue.


Yeah I think it probably was because when I pulled them there was root growth, and some of them I pulled I can confirm were emersed (they were from my emersed tub). Maybe I gave up on it too early but they were melting and throwing lots of bad stuff into the water. Will see how the new stuff does with higher PAR which is more to their liking. I think they could survive at 30 PAR, but should spread and be more healthy at medium light levels.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

Looking forward to some updated pictures when you are ready. Especially since I've learned a lot from your posts.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



sdwindansea said:


> Looking forward to some updated pictures when you are ready. Especially since I've learned a lot from your posts.


I'll try and take one today if I remember! It is important to see the tank when it is looking not so great as at these points it is where I learn the most IMO. Seeing beautiful perfect tanks can be inspiring, but fixing problems and seeing that things do go wrong is even more important to learning how to get better.
Not much to look at from an aesthetic perspective though! Some of the diatoms on the Crypt leaves were gone yesterday I think the shrimp/various hitchhiker inverterbrates are getting to it or it is just naturally running it's course.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

FTS update! Note the shot looks a bit dark for two reasons: one I didn't out the light on 100% intensity for the photo like the other photos, two the angle I took it at made my camera have a hard time picking up the light properly.








As you can see the glass is pretty dirty. Everything inside the tank like the rocks aren't too bad just the glass needs a real clean.
Gonna do a HUGE maintenance tomorrow, lily pipes included if I'm really feeling up to it. I need to hit the reset button basically, I've been too slack on my maintenance before and not cleaning up well enough and that is what giving me the algal issues I think. Saw a few spots of BGA (BGA makes me want to explode) popping up today so that really means I got really get in there tomorrow and just clean up everything well.
From now on I'm going back to water changes twice a week till things are good again, and gonna be super meticulous with cleaning. Also gonna start dosing Excel as an algaecide and see if that helps. I already have a bottle lying around anyway, and I'll use it to spot dose those few spots of BGA I saw.
So what I've taken away from this is to be more thorough and keep everything clean, I was doing a pretty terrible job before at keeping everything so the tank's state is all my doing. You gotta be honest yourself as a learning aquarist, and I really just have not been good enough. This may all seem a bit melodramatic (it is a bit) but BGA just sucks and if BGA is popping up that means something is really wrong.
Another thing I've been thinking about is that my circulation may be quite bad. Eventhough my filter is quite overpowered for the tank and running at 100% I don't think my inlet and outlet placement is great. The outlet is in the left back corner the inlet in the front right corner. What is everyone's thoughts? Should I change it to both on one side? I might give that a go.
On a more fun note the RCS have been grazing and just being cute in general.








Will get some more of them and Amanos on Sunday hopefully. Maybe some CRS too.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

You are definitely being too hard on yourself, although that is really easy to do. I really like the way it is looking. I haven't experienced BGA in my tank yet but I'm also not running CO2 yet (it is on order). I do dose Excel regularly so that may be helping me out a lot. When I was researching flow for a canister filter it seemed like the majority liked to have there in and out-flow on the same side of the tank. The theory being that the outflow would run along the surface hit the glass on the opposite end, drop down and then return along the bottom portion of the tank for the most even flow coverage. This has worked really well for me but obviously every tank is different (filter, size, plants, rocks, wood, etc.). Good luck and thanks for posting the pictures. If I had just read your post without seeing the pictures I would've expected something much worse than what I'm seeing .


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## Powerclown (Aug 17, 2014)

What is going on opare,your tank seems to be out of balance.Looks to me you overdose with ferts and blast to much light.
Keep in mind less is more,cheers


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



sdwindansea said:


> When I was researching flow for a canister filter it seemed like the majority liked to have there in and out-flow on the same side of the tank. The theory being that the outflow would run along the surface hit the glass on the opposite end, drop down and then return along the bottom portion of the tank for the most even flow coverage. This has worked really well for me but obviously every tank is different (filter, size, plants, rocks, wood, etc.). Good luck and thanks for posting the pictures. If I had just read your post without seeing the pictures I would've expected something much worse than what I'm seeing .


Hah thanks it looks a bit worse in person, and eventhough it doesn't look that bad BGA can get really bad after a while and is hard to get rid of. BGA also means something is quite wrong. I'll try and change up my outflow placement tomorrow since I'm cleaning them anyway. Most people go for the same side inflow-outflow position, no idea why I didn't, the theory makes sense to me.
These tweaks should set me on the right track! If the BGA really doesn't go away, I can bust out some antibiotics, but I wanna try and stray away from that for now.
EDIT: After thinking about it I think even if it gets really bad I will stay away from the antibiotics I just don't think it is quite right to use them. Don't want to contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Powerclown said:


> What is going on opare,your tank seems to be out of balance.Looks to me you overdose with ferts and blast to much light.
> 
> Keep in mind less is more,cheers


Yeah something is out of wack although it can't be those two cus right now light is low (30ish PAR) and fertilisers are also pretty lean. Tank is still young may be a maturation thing coupled with the DHG that was dying. Less is definitely more, gotta keep in mind to not overcomplicate things and end up giving myself trouble.




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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

Hey, we're algae buddies! For BGA, my recommendation is clean the hell out of everything. They're a bacteria that thrives on presence of DOC and POC, dissolved and particulate "organics", respectively and low oxygen/low flow areas. Get any mulm and physical debris out that you can, aerate as much as you feel comfortable with, increase circulation to move more oxygenated water through the tank, and do frequent water changes. Adding some activated carbon to your filter will help as well. Just make sure not to kill your biological filter while doing all of this. None of these are a guaranteed fix, but they can all help.

Cheers,
Phil


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



PEdwards said:


> Hey, we're algae buddies! For BGA, my recommendation is clean the hell out of everything. They're a bacteria that thrives on presence of DOC and POC, dissolved and particulate "organics", respectively and low oxygen/low flow areas. Get any mulm and physical debris out that you can, aerate as much as you feel comfortable with, increase circulation to move more oxygenated water through the tank, and do frequent water changes. Adding some activated carbon to your filter will help as well. Just make sure not to kill your biological filter while doing all of this. None of these are a guaranteed fix, but they can all help.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hah indeed we are! I'm thinking that stringy diatoms you are getting may have something to do with the wood, as I am getting a small bit of it around the areas where I have wood. Thanks for the advice I have done exactly that! I really was neglecting the cleaning aspect and letting a lot of stuff build up. I did a huge maintenace last night and replanted with fresh DHG so the tank is back to looking semi-good. Siphoned out tons of gunk and got rid of anything that didn't look like it was growing. Also cleaned the glass and pipes. Gonna dose a bit of Excel too just to help keep the algae at bay as well as being über clean from now on.
Also managed to drop my inflow pipe so got a new one, which is also smaller so it should look more sleek. Obviously not happy about dropping it but the maintenance went pretty smoothly otherwise. Also gonna move around my inflow-outflow to get better circulation, which I think was a big issue, as the BGA seemed to crop up mainly where I know flow wasn't that high, which goes with what PEdwards was saying. Additionally I've bumped up the light a level to make sure everything gets sufficient light to grow.
Will post a photo later because as of now I still haven't set up the filter again (typing this as I arrive home from buying a new inflow). Finally managed to get a few Amanos, only 3 though, so still on the hunt for more.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

*6 Week Update:*








Hey look where a little bit of elbow grease gets ya!


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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

Looking a lot better! I'd put the pipes in front to make sure the DHG gets more flow. It's a lot better at trapping junk than the stuff you have in back. Good luck!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

PEdwards said:


> Looking a lot better! I'd put the pipes in front to make sure the DHG gets more flow. It's a lot better at trapping junk than the stuff you have in back. Good luck!


Thanks Phil! Do you mean both the inflow and outflow? Currently the inflow is at the fromt and I can see the DHG moving a tiny bit so I think flow is okay there for now, but I'll move it as you suggested if it becomes a problem. DHG is just built for catching junk, mucho annoying. Both DHG and mosses could be used as mechanical filtration they get some much rubbish caught in them. 


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## Brian Rodgers (Oct 15, 2016)

Wow gorgeous. Being a total Newb I wasn't aware of BGA or Cyanobacteria. Does knowing cause it? Hehe. I bet I find out. I've always had the inflow and outflow on opposite sides of the tank. I like the description of the upper and lower layout and resultant flow. Thanks for the information.


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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

Yeah, I meant both the intake and outlet together near the front pane.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Brian Rodgers said:


> Wow gorgeous. Being a total Newb I wasn't aware of BGA or Cyanobacteria. Does knowing cause it? Hehe. I bet I find out. I've always had the inflow and outflow on opposite sides of the tank. I like the description of the upper and lower layout and resultant flow. Thanks for the information.


Thank you! BGA just sucks big time, I hope you don't run into it but most people will eventually.
You can thank SD for the explanation of the filter placement haha.



PEdwards said:


> Yeah, I meant both the intake and outlet together near the front pane.


Ah gotcha.

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## auditinprogress (Jan 13, 2017)

It looks like you have 16mm to 12mm reducers on the filter tubing? What brand are they and where did you get them?

Er though when I look at your pipes they look huge so maybe they are all 16mm and those are just quick connects I'm seeing?


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## zenster (Jan 27, 2017)

auditinprogress said:


> It looks like you have 16mm to 12mm reducers on the filter tubing? What brand are they and where did you get them?
> 
> Er though when I look at your pipes they look huge so maybe they are all 16mm and those are just quick connects I'm seeing?


Looks like ISTA brand. I have the ISTA 12/16 reducer on both ends of my UV sterilizer.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



auditinprogress said:


> It looks like you have 16mm to 12mm reducers on the filter tubing? What brand are they and where did you get them?
> 
> Er though when I look at your pipes they look huge so maybe they are all 16mm and those are just quick connects I'm seeing?


They are indeed reducers as the Fluval 206 is built for 16mm pipes and lily pipes in that size would just be too big for the tank.



zenster said:


> Looks like ISTA brand. I have the ISTA 12/16 reducer on both ends of my UV sterilizer.


As for what brand they are I think Zenster is right, but I can't 100% remember what brand they were. I got them from an LFS, products from Asian brands like ISTA are always readily available. (I live in Malaysia)




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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

I think the diatoms phase is ending but getting green dust algae pretty hard now, as well as some hair algae. BGA is still popping up and I'm spot dosing with Excel as needed. I'm not freaking out as the tank is still probably out of whack eventhough I've been taking steps to improve recently, it will take a while for the tank to recover. Also got some Amazon Frogbit to help me in the algae fight.
FINALLY got some more shrimp, got all the Amanos I wanted as well as some CRS and some Fire Reds. Eventhough I already have RCS and they might lessen the colour on the Fire Reds once breeding occurs, I picked up Fire Reds because they were more mature at the store I went to, also they look better and are not too much more expensive. Actually had a berries RCS a few days ago, but she passed away. :/ First time mother stress must of got to her.
An issue I've run into though now is that mh new surface skimmer is not doing much skimming at all as I'm starting to get surface film. It bobs up and down a little, but not as much as my last one and evidently doesn't seem to be doing the job as well. If anyone has any troubleshooting for this that would be much appreciated.
As for plant health, most things seem fine and are growing even with the presence of algae, even the DHG is already spreading, although some of it is already covered in some diatoms. The only thing that is struggling is the Rotala sp. 'Vietnam' which is smothered in diatoms and just can't grow as fast as it used to like this. Thinking about getting a fresh batch, but I know this one isn't dead, it's just I can't really clean it either.
Sorry no pictures for today! Just added the shrimp so don't wanna stress them.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

What kind of skimmer are you using?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> What kind of skimmer are you using?


A VIV 13mm filter inlet skimmer


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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

This thread is worthless without pics.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Opare said:


> A VIV 13mm filter inlet skimmer
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I am not to familiar with inlet skimmers, but I know you can rotate the base of the skimmer pipe to change how much suction it is getting, perhaps play around with that.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



doylecolmdoyle said:


> I am not to familiar with inlet skimmers, but I know you can rotate the base of the skimmer pipe to change how much suction it is getting, perhaps play around with that.


Yeah that might be the key, I'll do that tonight during maintenance.



PEdwards said:


> This thread is worthless without pics.



Sorry about that!






















If you want FTSs, that will come later tonight because some stuff has floated up from the Amanos, and I gotta give the glass a clean too.

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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*









Here is a FTS, as you can see there is GDA on the bottom of the glass. It was on more of the glass but I gave most of it a wipe during the water change, just didn't want to disturb the DHG so left the algae near the bottom.
Also, changed the position of the flow changing thing on the bottom of the skimmer pipe, doesn't seem to have made a difference, but we shall see after a few hours.

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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

The growth is looking great. I really like the floating plants as well. I wish I could do them but we have a cover and way too much surface movement. Impressive how many shrimp you can see.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

sdwindansea said:


> The growth is looking great. I really like the floating plants as well. I wish I could do them but we have a cover and way too much surface movement. Impressive how many shrimp you can see.


Thank you! Now just need to be algae-free and I'll be super happy. I actually have quite a lot of surface movement too, you could try it out with Amazon Frogbit. The shrimp really don't mind coming out since the DHG sort of gives them cover I think.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Opare said:


> Yeah that might be the key, I'll do that tonight during maintenance.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I actually had one of these in my bookshelf tank awhile back, you need to get a bit of a whirlpool / vortex happening with the skimmer, perhaps the filter doesnt have enough flow to drive it? Play around with the rotating part of the base a bit more!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> I actually had one of these in my bookshelf tank awhile back, you need to get a bit of a whirlpool / vortex happening with the skimmer, perhaps the filter doesnt have enough flow to drive it? Play around with the rotating part of the base a bit more!


The filter is pumping quite a bit of flow and it worked fine on the last skimmer inflow pipe I had, that one was larger in size though. I'll keep playing with it and see what works! Thanks for the help.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Today no surface film! Hmm maybe the change is working even if visually it doesn't look like it is working differently.


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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

Woooo, that's one step closer...


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

*10 Week Update:*








Things are going alright, haven't seen too much BGA and GDA is slowing down. Have a bit of hair algae but it doesn't bother me a lot cus it is hard to see. Saw a bit of BBA on the Buceps but Excel'd that to hell, so seems under control.
Gave everything a clean today so it looks all nice, as well as switched out the Purigen so I can regen this bag. As you can see plants are doing well, especially the carpet. Think my DHG troubles before were really down to me using crap plants. Thing I'm most happy about though is the R. rotundifolia which is finally colouring up, although you can't really see it in the photo since it is closed.








Buceps are also starting to show some nice colour. Here is the 'Brownie Amanda'.








Rotala sp. Vietnam has bounced back on the left side and looks nice again, but I pulled all on the right cus they were basically dead. Tried to get a new batch to plant that area but the pot I bought has pesticides (LFS told me) so I'm soaking that indefinitely until it is free. I may just propagate the ones I already have for safety, if I cannot find a safe supply elsewhere. Also picked up some C. lutea 'Hobbit' which I am very excited about growing, was searching for this plant for ages. It finally became available by this new TC plant startup, which is basically where I am solely going to get my plants from in the future.
On livestock, fish will be moved soon yay! Really looking forward to that. Also, already seeing some shrimp babies swimming around, and there are more berried Fire Red mamas. Only bad thing is I lost 1 RCS and noticed it had the green protoctist certain death gross stuff. :/ Right now I'm just crossing my fingers it hasn't spread. I've learnt a lot of things in terms of don't be cheap and lazy, and make sure you buy quality plants and livestock as it will just save headaches in the future.


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## Powerclown (Aug 17, 2014)

Looking good opare, are you using a background frosted or black later on? 
That would make a great improvement for you tank.Cheers


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

opare loving the tank setup you have there. What type of fish do you have in there or want to have? I saw the shrimp, pretty!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Powerclown said:


> Looking good opare, are you using a background frosted or black later on?
> 
> That would make a great improvement for you tank.Cheers


Thank you! I haven't thought about it too much but will probably go for a frosted background when the tank is almost near completion in terms of growth. I agree it would look better just haven't gotten around to it.



BettaBettas said:


> opare loving the tank setup you have there. What type of fish do you have in there or want to have? I saw the shrimp, pretty!


Thanks! Have had the fish for a while and they've been chilling in quarantine. I have got Red Neon Rainbows and CPDs. Currently got a smallish group of both and need to get more so that will be the next batch of fish. Planning to get to about 20x of the CPDs and 15x of the Pseudomugils. The shrimp do look good, Neocaridina species are fun because there are so many colours and they are super hardy.




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## sfshrimp (May 24, 2016)

Opare said:


> *10 Week Update:*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks good! What kind of filter intake is that?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

sfshrimp said:


> Looks good! What kind of filter intake is that?


A surface skimmer inlet! Specifically a 13mm surface skimmer filter inlet by VIV.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Looking good Opare! Looks like the tank has turned the corner! I can alway tell when my tank is growing well by the health of the frogbit, when it grows like crazy I know ive got the ferts just right! 

Nice work


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Looking good Opare! Looks like the tank has turned the corner! I can alway tell when my tank is growing well by the health of the frogbit, when it grows like crazy I know ive got the ferts just right!
> 
> 
> 
> Nice work


Thank you! Still think I need a bit more time before it is fully mature, but I think I have most things dialled in for this setup now (touch wood). Don't wanna jinx it hahaha. Frogbit has been multiplying quite a bit, but it actually looks somewhat okay on the tank, especially since the roots aren't super long.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

*12 Week Update:*








Everything is going well! Algae isn't too much of an issue, not getting GDA (haven't had to clean the glass in 2 weeks!) and hair algae is receding. The greenish tinge in the photo is just from the Frogbit. Occasional BBA on old leaves of Buceps is manageable and I can just Excel it. Did a trim of the Rotala as it was getting really tall, both species have good colour now, but still not as vibrant as I want so a light intensity bump will be on the horizon. The tank may look dark in the photo, but that's just in the photo. Carpet is really full and Crypts are doing good.
Also added a few of the fish! Got a few more rainbows and those are in QT, then gonna get more CPDs. The fish look really really good I love em. Only problem is the rainbows are jumpy so I wouldn't go with them again in an open top as it is just a bit risky. Things are going well in shrimp town I see more berried Fire Reds and shrimplets swimming around.


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## livingf1t (Dec 7, 2016)

Opare said:


> *12 Week Update:*
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I really like this tank a lot! Great job! 


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

livingf1t said:


> I really like this tank a lot! Great job!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you so much! I'm actually so happy it has finally reached a good and stable stage, especially considering all the previous trouble this tank has had. It is a very good feeling to have a look at a tank and no long be stressed about problems, and to just be able to admire what you have created. Key thing is patience and effort IMO!
You will have to wait for when the stems are coloured and shaped! It should look even better then. Also when all the Crypts fill in properly.


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## livingf1t (Dec 7, 2016)

Opare said:


> Thank you so much! I'm actually so happy it has finally reached a good and stable stage, especially considering all the previous trouble this tank has had. It is a very good feeling to have a look at a tank and no long be stressed about problems, and to just be able to admire what you have created. Key thing is patience and effort IMO!
> You will have to wait for when the stems are coloured and shaped! It should look even better then. Also when all the Crypts fill in properly.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




I completely agree, it take a lot of time and patience and reading, endless ours of trying to figure it all out. So when it's finally there it's so nice to be able to actually sit back and be able to let it grow and enjoy it. I've been following this thread from the start and it's looking great!!! 


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## livingf1t (Dec 7, 2016)

How often are you topping off? I have a 75p without a cover that I literally have to tip off every 2 days 


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



livingf1t said:


> I completely agree, it take a lot of time and patience and reading, endless ours of trying to figure it all out. So when it's finally there it's so nice to be able to actually sit back and be able to let it grow and enjoy it. I've been following this thread from the start and it's looking great!!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That is exactly it! I really couldn't wait to be at this point, and was so frustrated by the algae, but I knew if I kept on perservering I would get there in the end. And here we are.



livingf1t said:


> How often are you topping off? I have a 75p without a cover that I literally have to tip off every 2 days
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


There was a point where I was doing bi-weekly water changes so I wouldn't have to top off, but now it doesn't really get low enough to warrant me topping off between weekly water changes. In the first incarnation of this tank I would top off maybe every 3 or 4 days, but that was when the weather was hot and dry. It has been quite cool and wet where I live so not much water loss. I live in a tropical country so air is generally quite humid anyway.

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## livingf1t (Dec 7, 2016)

"Top"


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Neat tank man, effort works out. How do you use excel on BBA, with a paint brush or something?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Neat tank man, effort works out. How do you use excel on BBA, with a paint brush or something?


Thank you! You can paint it on, but I just use a syringe to spot dose it wherever I see BBA.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

A terrible photo I must admit (photobombed by the fish too), but I just wanted to show all the bubbles! I just love seeing the plants pearl it always looks so nice. 
Disclaimer to newer hobbyists: Pearling isn't necessarily indicative of a plant's health or how it is growing, it's just something nice to see mainly.


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## IamTracyLee (Mar 20, 2017)

Really nice!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

If plants are releasing some times a bubble is that called pearling to or only when they continue blow bubbles in a straight line?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

IamTracyLee said:


> Really nice!


Thank you Tracy!



Nigel95 said:


> If plants are releasing some times a bubble is that called pearling to or only when they continue blow bubbles in a straight line?


The bubbles in the straight line is not pearling, that is caused by physical damage to the plant, causing it to release gases where the wound is. When there are bubbles on the leaves, usually on the underside, that is pearling. The bubbles are just the oxygen the plants produce from photosynthesis. As you can see in the photo, pearling looks like bubbles that are attached to the leaves of the plant, not streams of bubbles being released.
Sorry if this is a bit hard to understand, I don't think I did a good job of explaining it.




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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Opare said:


> Thank you Tracy!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No you explained it well for this noob. Thanks Opare


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

I think plants will release streams of bubbles even if they are not damaged or freshly cut, when the co2 is very high in my bookshelf tank the plant will release streams of o2, only noticeable when the filters are off otherwise bubbles are blown everywhere), you can see in this old video i took last year

https://vimeo.com/180189909


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



doylecolmdoyle said:


> I think plants will release streams of bubbles even if they are not damaged or freshly cut, when the co2 is very high in my bookshelf tank the plant will release streams of o2, only noticeable when the filters are off otherwise bubbles are blown everywhere), you can see in this old video i took last year
> 
> 
> 
> https://vimeo.com/180189909


Mmm yeah thinking about it I've seen a few videos where 'true pearling' does come out as a stream, I tend to see this more in tanks which have the 'stem' carpeting plants (e.g HC) though. 
I do think less regular bubbles that just come off the plants are more indicative of 'true pearling', and really fast regular streams usually are because of physical damage, as a general guideline. However, as you have shown that is not always the case.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

Looks great Opare. The only pearling I've seen in my tank so far is when my Grigg's reactor was full of air and blew all it all over the tank .


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

sdwindansea said:


> Looks great Opare. The only pearling I've seen in my tank so far is when my Grigg's reactor was full of air and blew all it all over the tank .


Thank you! Like I said pearling isn't super important, but increasing surface agitation and temperature may make it more likely. Also light and CO2 if those aren't already high.


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## LynxBenz (Apr 5, 2017)

Yesterday my plant was too releasing stream of bubbles from the bottom part just below the substrate after trimming. My tank never get pearling on plant except the tiny bubbles of co2 release from the diffuser. Not sure whether that is caused by damaged part or what. 

p.s: Opare, Im malaysian too, an Ipohrian to be exact. And i notice u purchase some of your plants from the pet shop at Midvalley. 

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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

LynxBenz said:


> Yesterday my plant was too releasing stream of bubbles from the bottom part just below the substrate after trimming. My tank never get pearling on plant except the tiny bubbles of co2 release from the diffuser. Not sure whether that is caused by damaged part or what.
> 
> p.s: Opare, Im malaysian too, an Ipohrian to be exact. And i notice u purchase some of your plants from the pet shop at Midvalley.
> 
> Sent from my BTV-DL09 using Tapatalk


Yeah probably caused by you trimming the plant.
Woo that's cool! Welcome to the forum as well, always good to see a fellow Malaysian on here.
Hah yes I do tend to get plants from there cus I have a good relationship with the guy that works there so sometimes I can ask him to get certain things for me. Although now I have been buying a lot of stuff from this tissue culture company called Kiri, you should check it out, really great stuff IMO. Does Ipoh have any good shops? I know Penang is basically fish store loaded.
Anyway hope to see you posting more on here and I'm excited to see your tank and stuff!


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## LynxBenz (Apr 5, 2017)

Ipoh have too less shop which can be name as "nature aquarium shop" compare to kl or penang. I know 1 shop located in penang have varieties of aquatic hardwares and live stock choices, "Chew Thean Yeang" in Georgetown is the shop name. 

I just started this hobby since this new year with a 5g tank so im still a beginner. Hope to learn from u more! 

(This is my humble 5g tank 😅)









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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

LynxBenz said:


> Ipoh have too less shop which can be name as "nature aquarium shop" compare to kl or penang. I know 1 shop located in penang have varieties of aquatic hardwares and live stock choices, "Chew Thean Yeang" in Georgetown is the shop name.
> 
> I just started this hobby since this new year with a 5g tank so im still a beginner. Hope to learn from u more!
> Sent from my BTV-DL09 using Tapatalk


Looks like you are off to a good start! Glosso is capreting and there are lots of nice looking shrimp. There is tonnes of information on the forum, not just on my journal, you will start becoming more knowledgeable in no time.
Yeah there's quite a few shops in Penang, about as many as KL. One in Georgetown I visited once has a KL branch now too. If you are looking for anything or a shop I can pass you some names just PM me.




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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Some more bad photography cus I know you guys love it hahaha. This is the shrimp swarm at feeding.


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Actually...I think it's a good pic! Love seeing CRS and RCS in the same tank!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

ScubaSteve said:


> Actually...I think it's a good pic! Love seeing CRS and RCS in the same tank!


Thank you! A lot of people advise against it, but I think it is more than possible. I would always aim to please the CRS in terms of parameters, the Neocaridina davidi are tanks and will be fine with anything.


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## livingf1t (Dec 7, 2016)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Opare said:


> Thank you! A lot of people advise against it, but I think it is more than possible. I would always aim to please the CRS in terms of parameters, the Neocaridina davidi are tanks and will be fine with anything.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




I'm having tons of problems keeping any shrimp in my tank, would you mind sharing your parameters? 


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## thejoe (May 23, 2013)

I thought a 60P was 17-gallons?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

livingf1t said:


> I'm having tons of problems keeping any shrimp in my tank, would you mind sharing your parameters?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I think the initial acclimation phase is where they tend to die off. My parameters are on the first post of this thread. Another thing is that I have found better survival rates once the tank is quite mature.



thejoe said:


> I thought a 60P was 17-gallons?


Yeah it is around 16-17 gallons, but with hardscape etc. you get to around 15 gallons for me. Why do you ask though?




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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Do you like the 60p dimensions, or would you loved to have some more depth? I am considering (in future) a 60p or a 60x50x36 cm WxDxH tank. 60p of course more easy with maintenance, water change and less $. 

What about bacter 100 etc. is this really a must? Adds up a lot of cost and I didn't do it with my nano either.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Nigel95 said:


> Do you like the 60p dimensions, or would you loved to have some more depth? I am considering (in future) a 60p or a 60x50x36 cm WxDxH tank. 60p of course more easy with maintenance, water change and less $.
> 
> 
> 
> What about bacter 100 etc. is this really a must? Adds up a lot of cost and I didn't do it with my nano either.


I was just gonna say I actually would prefer a bit more depth, but the 60P dimensions are pretty good otherwise.
The substrate additives are completely optional, you'll be fine without them. At LFSs where I live you can buy them by the spoon, so it doesn't cost that much for me, so I just get them. I think they probably do help a bit but certainly they won't make or break a tank.


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## PhelanVelvel (Apr 11, 2017)

I really enjoyed reading this thread! Your struggles made the experience interesting and authentic. 
I also love that you weren't afraid to show the tank beleaguered with algae. When I had a regular aquarium, I remember having the same problems. There were times when the tank looked good and I was happy with it, but there were even more times when it was covered in algae/diatoms and the plants started melting. -__- This thread had me reliving my experience! The cost of equipment and supplies, as well as time invested in physical upkeep, is a bit too much for me to do a full aquarium anytime soon. But yours has turned out really nice, and I'm glad you kept at it!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



PhelanVelvel said:


> I really enjoyed reading this thread! Your struggles made the experience interesting and authentic.
> 
> I also love that you weren't afraid to show the tank beleaguered with algae. When I had a regular aquarium, I remember having the same problems. There were times when the tank looked good and I was happy with it, but there were even more times when it was covered in algae/diatoms and the plants started melting. -__- This thread had me reliving my experience! The cost of equipment and supplies, as well as time invested in physical upkeep, is a bit too much for me to do a full aquarium anytime soon. But yours has turned out really nice, and I'm glad you kept at it!


Thank you so much, this was really nice to hear, it truly means a lot.  Yeah I think it is important to share your struggles, as it is in those in which you learn not the successes. Battling algae and problems are all part of the experience and make the final success even sweeter. If I just shared a day one picture and then it looking good, there isn't much value for the community to learn from IMO. But I very much agree that the time invested etc. is a really huge! I think in the future I may move to less maintenace heavy setups like blackwater tanks. Although, I will probably always have one nature aquarium setup because this style is what brought me into the hobby.


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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

Things are looking up Opare! Keep it up!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

PEdwards said:


> Things are looking up Opare! Keep it up!


Will do! My biggest jobs right now are shaping and colouring the stems. Also added some nee Crypts so need to wait for those to establish.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I'm pondering on doubling my dosing (to 2/5's EI). I've been seeing some melting in my larger Crypts at first it was just holes that I could see slowly melt away over the course of the day on older leaves. But recently the stalks melted away eventhough the leaf was intact. I thought previously the melting was due to my dosing of Excel as last time it did cause a bit of trouble for me with Crypts and the melting stopped when I stopped Excel, but I haven't dosed Excel in a while and in a week and it's occuring. Maybe a week isn't long enough to speculate, I probably should have snapped a photo but when I removed the affected leaves I completely forgot about it. Other plants seem fine to me and even the smaller Crypts just the C. walkeri mainly. My idea is that maybe increased dosing may help?


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Hey how much % water change are you doing weekly? Currently I do 30% and put water back with airline tube to be shrimp friendly. Would like to do 50% changes with just my nano hose, but don't wanna kill shrimp. Btw my tank hasn't got any green algae only diatoms. Running now like 4 weeks. Is this a bad sign? I see you had much more trouble with algae issues is that because of more harder plants/lighting? My plants are classified as "medium" and just carpet plants. @Opare


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*



Nigel95 said:


> Hey how much % water change are you doing weekly? Currently I do 30% and put water back with airline tube to be shrimp friendly. Would like to do 50% changes with just my nano hose, but don't wanna kill shrimp. Btw my tank hasn't got any green algae only diatoms. Running now like 4 weeks. Is this a bad sign? I see you had much more trouble with algae issues is that because of more harder plants/lighting? My plants are classified as "medium" and just carpet plants. @Opare


I change 50% a week and just refill it with a normal hose/pipe so it refills pretty quickly. The shrimp are fine with it, they are pretty hardy once they acclimate to your water. I may start slowing down on maintenance because I'm slowly making this tank low-tech though. Life is starting to get in the way a bit.
Diatoms at the start is pretty normal it will go away by itself after a while, don't worry. My troubles were due to a mixture of starting with bad quality plants (a lot of die off) and not really staying on top of maintenance to clean all the organic matter up. When you add the fact this tank was high-tech with a substrate like Amazonia and I was bound for trouble. The plants I'm using I would consider easy. For your tank you seem to be on the right path, if plant growth is good, the tank will be good.
Sorry, for the late reply was really sick for a while. I'm okay now though.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Good to hear that you are well again. Thanks for the reply. What plants are you planning to do with a low-tech setup? How much maintenace was your setup weekly?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Good to hear that you are well again. Thanks for the reply. What plants are you planning to do with a low-tech setup? How much maintenace was your setup weekly?


Thank you! I'm gonna keep all the same plants, they all should be fine without CO2, besides maybe the Rotala 'Vietnam'. My setup was a few hours worth of weekly maintenance, but now I want it to be like a few hours a month or less.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

Okay I know I said I was slowing things down... Well plans have changed! Ramping things all the way back up, I'm super motivated to get this looking just right for one final hurrah. In a few months I will be moving away, so I will need to move this to low-tech (my parents like the tank so they don't mind doing some minor stuff like topping off and feeding the fish), but that can wait. Main goal is to get the R. rotundifolia pretty damn red. The tops already are cus of the light, so light intensity is gonna be creeping up.
Basically I slowed things down because I was in an exam period for the last month and a bit, but now I have a month break until my next exams which only last a couple of weeks, so can hit the accelerator (high light and CO2) again. Super excited!
So gonna start with a big trim of everything, because I've never trimmed the carpet and I think it needs it, there are some blades which are yellowing, I think those are the ones from when it was first planted (there was no intial melt). The glass is relatively clean and I'm reasonably algae free so slowing things down was a pretty good idea whilst I didn't have time to really care for the setup. Got a bit of BBA on the wood and old Bucephalandra leaves (like a few tufts) that I'm gonna deal with. Glass needs a bit of a scrub cus I can just start to see a little bit of algae on it if I look from the inside of the glass. I literally haven't cleaned it in months properly because it just looked clear, it's still pretty clear now when observing normally. The constant small bits of hair/thread like algae I was getting also seemed to subside once I lowered the light. Even with the low light and lower CO2, pearling has still been mad which is nice to see.
Fish and shrimp have also been good, the Neocaridinas have been slowly amassing in number.
Anyway, will do a big maintenance tonight and post pictures as I get back on track. Looking forward to the journey ahead. Hail the high CO2 and light gods!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

*Opare's ADA 60P - 'Unmastered'*

*21 Week Update:*







The carpet trimming was done and my god did it suck. Not the trimming itself but the cleaning, especially cus the leaves get stuck in the moss. The moss was really thick anyway so decided to thin it out. Buceps also got cleaned up since some older leaves had BBA.
Bumped up the light intensity to what should be about 80 umol of PAR at the substrate and CO2 is back up to the highest level I can have it at. I realise this is a bit of a dangerous game considering the plant mass is lower than it was before, but I'm going to be dilligent and may do a couple of water changes a week. I have to do it anyway this week because I need to clean the filter but couldn't before because the tank water I removed was full of DHG leaves.
Anyway fingers crossed hopefully things fill out nicely and colour up. The biggers Crypts are still doing that holey leaf/yellowing leaf thing, not as bad as before though. Some of the DHG was also yellowing and shedding leaves before I trimmed it. New leaves seem to be fine on both but some old leaves don't look great, and the DHG has spread like crazy. I would think deficiencies would show up in the fast growing stems more quickly. Annoying because the larger Crypts are really not as full as they should be at this point, especially C. wendtii 'Brown' compared to what it looked like in the first scape. That scape I dosed heavier in general, maybe that's the key, that's the only difference I can think of (besides using power sand and different light levels, but that is relatively unrelated I would think). Maybe it was Excel caused too? Caused problems in the first scape, but only dosed it every few weeks in this tank to kill algae, and I'm dosing less or equal to what's recommended.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Love it Opare. Keep up the good work!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Love it Opare. Keep up the good work!


Thank you! Much appreciated.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Got around to cleaning the filter today, and my goodness it was mucky. It has been a month plus probably since I've cleaned it and plus the big maintenance last week kicked up a lot of dirt. TBH my standards of mucky may also be quite low considering I usually clean the filter weekly. Hopefully this will lessen or stop some of the algae growth I'm getting. I'm thinking all that junk could've been a huge contributor to the little bits of algae growth. I've still been tackling BBA on some of the wood and slow growing stuff by just removing it. Also, the hair algae is sort of back (it never left) but I could see a few strands hanging on the glass, probably aided by the high light. I shall remain hyper vigilant! 
The Rotala already seems to look good colour wise compared to normal eventhough it's quite close to the substrate. I'm pretty excited to see what it looks like when it is taller.
Also, whilst I was cleaning the glass I was sort of zoned out listening to a podcast when something like *REALLY* cool popped up in my line of sight. A small fish fry like what?!? I'm not sure which species it's from but I was pretty dang chuffed, I know both species I'm keeping breed quite readily in a tank. Right now I only have 2 CPDs, the rest of them are in QT and are getting moved tomorrow (the 2 were the only 2 at the LFS when I got them). I know 1 is a male and 1 is a female, and I have 10 of the rainbows currently (getting a few more tomorrow) and they are definitely a mixed sex with about 4 males to 6 females probably. I couldn't snap a picture because as soon as I grabbed my phone it had all but dissapeared, but my phone probably wouldn't have been able to pick it up anyway. Anyway this was a super cool find for me because I haven't kept fish that have bred for me where I was able to see the fry, (besides guppies and tilapia) so I was ecstatic. That's my story, goodnight/morning/afternoon folks! (Night for me is some other time for the rest of y'all LOL) 


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Damn cleaning the filter weekly, I do it once per month. Sorry to hear you are still fighting algae. Is it a little or really taking over? Cool that you have got some fish fry .


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

kudo's on cleaning the filter weekly or even monthly, I do mine perhaps once ever 2 months maybe once every 3 Months, I should step up the cleaning schedule


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Damn cleaning the filter weekly, I do it once per month. Sorry to hear you are still fighting algae. Is it a little or really taking over? Cool that you have got some fish fry .


Hahaha I'm a bit anal about it, but it doesn't take long maybe 10 minutes to squeeze out the sponges, and give the media a shake and rinse in tankwater. Just a little bit of algae for now you can't really see it unless you put your face right up to the glass and even then it's not tonnes. Still gotta be careful cus the tank is in a tender state cus I upped the light so much.
But yeah thanks I'm still really curious as to which fish it's actually from, I realised without pictures y'all can't help me anyway.



doylecolmdoyle said:


> kudo's on cleaning the filter weekly or even monthly, I do mine perhaps once ever 2 months maybe once every 3 Months, I should step up the cleaning schedule


Hahaha thanks but like I said to Nigel it doesn't take very long for me to do, the Fluval 206 is pretty easy to take a part. I say only do it that regularly if you are actually seeing problems (like recurring BBA), otherwise it's not really worth it.




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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I need some opinions y'all. I picked up some Rotala 'H'ra' from a LFS today as sort of an impulse buy because I don't usually see it. This LFS just setup their branch in my city properly and they had a decent stock of plants I can't usually get, but only pulled the trigger on this one. 
Basically should I change the R. rotundifolia 'Blood Red' to the 'H'ra'? In their tank both were already fully submersed and about the same colour (the deep red magenta I'm looking for), but the 'H'ra' has more slender leaves. Anyone with experience with it knows if it colours up easily?


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Never grown the H'ra, maybe keep both for a while and see which one you like better?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

burr740 said:


> Never grown the H'ra, maybe keep both for a while and see which one you like better?


I think I will do just that, maybe go half and half and see how it goes.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Opare said:


> I need some opinions y'all. I picked up some Rotala 'H'ra' from a LFS today as sort of an impulse buy because I don't usually see it. This LFS just setup their branch in my city properly and they had a decent stock of plants I can't usually get, but only pulled the trigger on this one.
> Basically should I change the R. rotundifolia 'Blood Red' to the 'H'ra'? In their tank both were already fully submersed and about the same colour (the deep red magenta I'm looking for), but the 'H'ra' has more slender leaves. Anyone with experience with it knows if it colours up easily?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have some H'ra mixed in with my Rotala sp. 'Green' generally I cant tell which is which, could be due to light ferts or the dimmed and elevated light I have running, which I dimmed even further as I am getting BBA on the hardscape.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> I have some H'ra mixed in with my Rotala sp. 'Green' generally I cant tell which is which, could be due to light ferts or the dimmed and elevated light I have running, which I dimmed even further as I am getting BBA on the hardscape.


The bunch I have now is really quite red, they must have been blasting light in the LFS tank (CO2 supplemented as well), even the R. rotundifolia I have in this tank was as red as I want it to be. I think it will colour up for you as the light gets more intense and it grows taller, although I think it's good you are keeping things dim for now. I'm thinking the 'H'ra' may be a rotundifolia colour variant, I may be way off but I just have a feeling from its general appearance. It probably will behave quite similarly to the rotundifolia I already have in terms of colour.
Interesting you are getting BBA quite early. It only started appearing for me once all the other algae died. I guess you haven't had much other algae so not too much competition for it.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Opare said:


> The bunch I have now is really quite red, they must have been blasting light in the LFS tank (CO2 supplemented as well), even the R. rotundifolia I have in this tank was as red as I want it to be. I think it will colour up for you as the light gets more intense and it grows taller, although I think it's good you are keeping things dim for now. I'm thinking the 'H'ra' may be a rotundifolia colour variant, I may be way off but I just have a feeling from its general appearance. It probably will behave quite similarly to the rotundifolia I already have in terms of colour.
> Interesting you are getting BBA quite early. It only started appearing for me once all the other algae died. I guess you haven't had much other algae so not too much competition for it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes the H'ra I initially got from the suppler was fairly red / orange but I left it to float for ages and the old growth died off, I only used the tiny new shoots when planting, which didnt really have any colour. I think the BBA got into the tank from other plants, some java fern and anubias had BBA so I guess I introduced it myself... owell, over time I have came to accept algae is going to grow in planted tanks, as long as it doesnt get out of control and mainly stays on the hard scape I am ok with it.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Yes the H'ra I initially got from the suppler was fairly red / orange but I left it to float for ages and the old growth died off, I only used the tiny new shoots when planting, which didnt really have any colour. I think the BBA got into the tank from other plants, some java fern and anubias had BBA so I guess I introduced it myself... owell, over time I have came to accept algae is going to grow in planted tanks, as long as it doesnt get out of control and mainly stays on the hard scape I am ok with it.


Yeah I'm pretty much the same, as long as it isn't super noticeable I'm not too fussed.


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## McCarthy (Mar 13, 2017)

Opare said:


> *21 Week Update:*
> 
> 
> 
> ...






Sweet tank!


I wish ADA would come out with a mini skimmer / intake combo. All I have seen online are huge.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

McCarthy said:


> Sweet tank!
> 
> 
> I wish ADA would come out with a mini skimmer / intake combo. All I have seen online are huge.


Thank you so much!
Yeah I bet they could make one which looks really good, but then they wouldn't be able to sell both the Vuppa and inlets so they wouldn't do it LOL.
The one I have isn't that big, but much larger than the normal inlet would be for this tank size.


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## McCarthy (Mar 13, 2017)

Opare said:


> Thank you so much!
> Yeah I bet they could make one which looks really good, but then they wouldn't be able to sell both the Vuppa and inlets so they wouldn't do it LOL.
> The one I have isn't that big, but much larger than the normal inlet would be for this tank size.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I bought that Vuppa just because nobody manufactures a small glass skimmer. While the Vuppa looks great and is small, I hate having something Stainless Steel sitting in my otherwise all glass tank.

Oh well. Maybe I'll get in contact with one of those manufacturers and have some custom made.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Rotala is getting there colour wise, higher lighting has done the trick. Excited to see what it looks like when it starts getting closer to the surface (it's still pretty short now). Will test out some of the 'H'ra' too just got to get around to planting it LOL. The 'Vietnam' looks like it doesn't even have leaves with all the bubbles.








Bonus shrimp photo. My phone cannot focus on the CRS because of their white body, kinda annoying.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Damn juicy CRS curious if I can keep them ever w/o RO.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Damn juicy CRS curious if I can keep them ever w/o RO.


LOL thanks! Check if there are breeders in your area who have bred them in your tap water. Those will be all aclimmated to your tap water.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Opare said:


> LOL thanks! Check if there are breeders in your area who have bred them in your tap water. Those will be all aclimmated to your tap water.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I found one but he sold them all for now. Tank is not cycled yet so couldn't buy from him.. Hopefully another (cheap) seller will pop up. LFS has crazy prices for them. To risky IMO with co2 etc for $7 a piece.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> I found one but he sold them all for now. Tank is not cycled yet so couldn't buy from him.. Hopefully another (cheap) seller will pop up. LFS has crazy prices for them. To risky IMO with co2 etc for $7 a piece.


Woah that is a lot, especially considering the LFS is probably just selling lower grade ones.
Maybe just get it setup and wait for the next batch of his to be available.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Opare said:


> Woah that is a lot, especially considering the LFS is probably just selling lower grade ones.
> Maybe just get it setup and wait for the next batch of his to be available.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah it's crazy probably just hard to breed this guys in our relative hard tap water. And yeah there are even low grades in the LFS. Probably best to wait he is selling for them like $2 a piece. What prices do you pay for them? 

About your spiderwood did you found it by yourself or bought it?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Yeah it's crazy probably just hard to breed this guys in our relative hard tap water. And yeah there are even low grades in the LFS. Probably best to wait he is selling for them like $2 a piece. What prices do you pay for them?
> 
> About your spiderwood did you found it by yourself or bought it?


Mine are SS or S grade if I remember correctly. They were 3 US dollars each, but it needs to be considered that my country's currency is in a really bad state right now so the dollar is really strong to it. Prices from LFSs are always gonna be higher than straight from breeders. Breeders will have better stock too usually.
I bought my driftwood, it's very easily available at all LFSs in my area.


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

Everything is looking great!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

sdwindansea said:


> Everything is looking great!


Thank you! Crypts are still giving me trouble I think I have narrowed it down to a GH issue most likely. Gonna start adding Equilibrium at water changes and see how it goes. I'm gonna start a seperate thread about that though.


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## LRJ (Jul 31, 2014)

I'm surprised it's the crypts giving you trouble and not the Rotala. On a mostly unrelated note, have you considered switching the inline diffuser out for a reactor?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

LRJ said:


> I'm surprised it's the crypts giving you trouble and not the Rotala. On a mostly unrelated note, have you considered switching the inline diffuser out for a reactor?


Yeah that's my exact thoughts as well, because I would think the faster growing plants would be the ones who would complain about nutrient issues first. The Rotala is growing fantastic though, really getting coloured up now.
Errr not really the inline diffuser does the job pretty well I think, I haven't had any issues with it, and I like the look of the bubbles TBH LOL.


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## LRJ (Jul 31, 2014)

Opare said:


> Yeah that's my exact thoughts as well, because I would think the faster growing plants would be the ones who would complain about nutrient issues first. The Rotala is growing fantastic though, really getting coloured up now.
> Errr not really the inline diffuser does the job pretty well I think, I haven't had any issues with it, and I like the look of the bubbles TBH LOL.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Makes sense. I noticed a big improvement when I switched from inline to reactor, so I was just wondering. When something is not going right in the tank I always question CO2 first, but it sounds like you've got a solid idea as to what's affecting your crypts. Definitely there's not much sense in changing things if you're getting what you want out of the current system.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

LRJ said:


> Makes sense. I noticed a big improvement when I switched from inline to reactor, so I was just wondering. When something is not going right in the tank I always question CO2 first, but it sounds like you've got a solid idea as to what's affecting your crypts. Definitely there's not much sense in changing things if you're getting what you want out of the current system.


I'll try the GH increase first and then try changing other things one by one to see what is the silver bullet.
I think a lot of people see improvements with reactors, especially since I've seen a lot of people with faulty inline diffusers. I haven't seen any issue with mine though, my CO2 dissolution seems good enough (drop checker and plant response). I would also think Crypts wouldn't be too fussy about CO2.
To update everyone who isn't following the other thread, I'm gonna start dosing Up Aqua GH builder to increase my dGH by 1 at every water change. Hopefully this is what the solution.
EDIT: After calculating I realised this bottle of GH builder won't last me long at all if I dose to increase my dGH by 1 at every water change.
Gonna ask the LFS to order Equilibrium for me.
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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Side shots are fun


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Pearling feast


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## LRJ (Jul 31, 2014)

Looking great!


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Pearling feast


Hahaha indeed. By the evening my water looks like Sprite.



LRJ said:


> Looking great!


Thank you! Everything is coming together and growing well. Only thing left are the Crypts which I now will have to wait to fill in/improve so the midground finally gets filled and I have a better transition.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Some great pearling action. You know it's real when u see it inside the translucent java fern leaves. Best pearler is probably riccia. Although too much pearling on riccia causes it to break away from the rock it's attached to and float to the surface like u attached a balloon.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> Some great pearling action. You know it's real when u see it inside the translucent java fern leaves. Best pearler is probably riccia. Although too much pearling on riccia causes it to break away from the rock it's attached to and float to the surface like u attached a balloon.


Thanks, I think a lot of it is cause I have quite a bit of surface agitation from the skimmer and the lily pipe, my relatively high average temperature may also contribute I think. It lowers the waters capacity for oxygen, so saturation is reached more quickly compared to cooler tanks. I noticed on a rainy day where it was really cool outside the pearling wasn't as crazy as it usually is. Maybe it was just a coincidence but the science seems to match up. Of course, high light and CO2 probably the greatest contributing factor.
I really love seeing my Java Fern all bubbly. Riccia would actually be a wonderful plant if it also didn't suck horribly LOL. I agree it is probably the best pearler/most easy to get to pearl and looks fantastic when it does, but it is such a pain. Like you said I can imagine just finding floating Riccia balloons everywhere. Also, the horror when you find the Riccia has escaped into other parts of your tank [emoji37]. ADA always use it well so I appreciate it in their tanks but won't touch the stuff personally.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Opare said:


> ...
> I really love seeing my Java Fern all bubbly. Riccia would actually be a wonderful plant if it also didn't suck horribly LOL. I agree it is probably the best pearler/most easy to get to pearl and looks fantastic when it does, but it is such a pain. Like you said I can imagine just finding floating Riccia balloons everywhere. Also, the horror when you find the Riccia has escaped into other parts of your tank [emoji37]. ADA always use it well so I appreciate it in their tanks but won't touch the stuff personally.
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


There's definitely two camps when it come to Riccia. I love and I hate, so definitely a personal thing. Also depends on the type of setup. As you mentioned ADA, yes, it was a main component of nature aquarium especially in the beginning, but I don't think they had same concerns of hobbyist with it getting every where, they were more about visual impact and riccia delivered. 

Ironically I just revived my Mini S with a simple Riccia Scape of sorts. It will be the future home of the Betta (from the other thread) so he'll gain 2 Gallons from where he is now.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

houseofcards said:


> There's definitely two camps when it come to Riccia. I love and I hate, so definitely a personal thing. Also depends on the type of setup. As you mentioned ADA, yes, it was a main component of nature aquarium especially in the beginning, but I don't think they had same concerns of hobbyist with it getting every where, they were more about visual impact and riccia delivered.
> 
> 
> 
> Ironically I just revived my Mini S with a simple Riccia Scape of sorts. It will be the future home of the Betta (from the other thread) so he'll gain 2 Gallons from where he is now.


Yeah I think for many it depends on whether the prettiness outways the messiness. I think as long as you don't have a carpet/it is your carpet it is fine. I'm really anal, and I think slightly obsessive so I couldn't really keep it, it would make me feel jumpy just seeing it everywhere LOL. ADA probabaly have a lot more dedicated maintenance too.
Hah that's a coincidence. Quite excited to see the scape should be a good one. Your Betta is already pretty awesome as it is. I think Riccia only scapes are also one of the better ways to use it.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Which Crypts are you having issues with? Some of them are actually quite picky and difficult to grow.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

johnson18 said:


> Which Crypts are you having issues with? Some of them are actually quite picky and difficult to grow.


Mainly C x wilisii and C. lutea/walkeri. Those are the two most troubled ones, but even the the C. wendtii which I have had no issues with before isn't doing super hot. The C. parva is doing well though. I think the increase in GH may help, I got some more melted holes in some leaves but the GH change was only super recent. I'll probably give it a month before I make conclusions. 


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Aight so this scape is pretty much kapoot at this point. Between exams, graduating high school and the associated celebrations, some serious neglect kicked in. This was very not good since I had just moved to a higher lighting setting, meaning the stems got super overgrown and I also got a fair bit of algae. I probably could do a clean out, but I think this scape has sort of run its course. I've learnt a lot from it but I don't neccesarily feel super attached or invested enough in it to get it back to before.
I've already started prepping for the rescape, by pulling out some plants and letting them shake some algae by growing them emersed. The next scape is going to be low-tech, so when I leave for university my parents can take care of it. I have a pretty clear idea of what I'm gonna do, so watch this space. I'm actually pretty excited to rescape. I'm going on a trip with my friends next week so work will probably start to be done within two weeks. I had always planned to move to low-tech this summer but I might as well rescape too! I mean what else am I going to do with my summer break LOL.
Unfortunately never got a last photo of the scape, but there are the photos floating around here, it never got right in the sweet spot but it was almost there. I would consider it a success more because of what I learnt from it rather than the scape itself. On to the next one!


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Opare said:


> Aight so this scape is pretty much kapoot at this point. Between exams, graduating high school and the associated celebrations, some serious neglect kicked in. This was very not good since I had just moved to a higher lighting setting, meaning the stems got super overgrown and I also got a fair bit of algae. I probably could do a clean out, but I think this scape has sort of run its course. I've learnt a lot from it but I don't neccesarily feel super attached or invested enough in it to get it back to before.
> I've already started prepping for the rescape, by pulling out some plants and letting them shake some algae by growing them emersed. The next scape is going to be low-tech, so when I leave for university my parents can take care of it. I have a pretty clear idea of what I'm gonna do, so watch this space. I'm actually pretty excited to rescape. I'm going on a trip with my friends next week so work will probably start to be done within two weeks. I had always planned to move to low-tech this summer but I might as well rescape too! I mean what else am I going to do with my summer break LOL.
> Unfortunately never got a last photo of the scape, but there are the photos floating around here, it never got right in the sweet spot but it was almost there. I would consider it a success more because of what I learnt from it rather than the scape itself. On to the next one!
> 
> ...


Any pics of hardscape so far for the low tech tank? 

Why do you wan't to go low tech are you losing interest in the hobby or just don't have time for high tech?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Nigel95 said:


> Any pics of hardscape so far for the low tech tank?
> 
> Why do you wan't to go low tech are you losing interest in the hobby or just don't have time for high tech?


Hah I wish, my summer has been busy and full of distractions, so I haven't had time to really get started unfortunately. Usually I have some 'me time' in the summer but since it's my last high-school summer it seems like I always have somthing on. Really sorry about not getting any progress done. I feel kinda bad cus also I'm feeling kinda lazy so even though I haven't had the time it's not like I've been itching to do it anyway. But I still feel inspired and have a vision I want to execute.
The thing that is making me unenthused is actually cleaning up the equipment (especially the lily pipes cus now they have BBA on them) for the rescape TBH. I probably will get it all done in about 2 weeks because I have some stuff to sort out for university next week, but after that I'll have time to work on it. I also have a plan to make the rescape as smooth as possible despite the livestock. The only major hangup is I wanna reuse the soil so I don't get another ammonia leech if I use new soil, but this soil is like tangled with DHG and its not in my plans for the future scape. It will probably be really hard to remove but heyho. I guess it wouldn't be a terrible look to have random patces of DHG coming out especially for the scape I have in mind.
The reasoning for going low-tech is actually cus I'm moving away from home and going off to college/university so I won't be home to tend to it, and there's no way my parents could manage a high-tech setup. They still want to keep the tank and especially cus the fish and shrimp are breeding right now I don't really want to tear it down completely either. So low-tech is a good course of action. Just get them to feed the fish and shrimp and top up the water and it should be good.
Worse comes to worst I'll just clean up everything and keep the scape as is since it's grown in and the plants seem to be doing fine with no CO2 and low-light (I removed the stems already) and just put some swords in place of the stems which I want to grow out of the water to make it kinda interesting cus they'll flower etc. I'll see which direction I move in. I would prefer a total rescape but IDK if it is logistically possible.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Do you think the DHG will survive in low tech conditions? I had a few cheap high tech setups before (paintball) that I used to get the plant mass to where I wanted. As soon as I went to low tech it was a slow steady decline. I'm setting up CO2 on all of my tanks now. Most are crypts, anubias, and ferns though. Plants just never did much for me without some CO2. My first time in college I lived about 4 hours away and I came home at least once a month. How often will you be able to tend to it?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

The Dude1 said:


> Do you think the DHG will survive in low tech conditions? I had a few cheap high tech setups before (paintball) that I used to get the plant mass to where I wanted. As soon as I went to low tech it was a slow steady decline. I'm setting up CO2 on all of my tanks now. Most are crypts, anubias, and ferns though. Plants just never did much for me without some CO2. My first time in college I lived about 4 hours away and I came home at least once a month. How often will you be able to tend to it?


The DHG now is doing fine, I think it can survive low-tech it just spreads at a snail's pace. Yeah without CO2 things can move veeeeery slow, but for what I need that is fine.
I am moving to another country for university, so it will be months between when I'm home [emoji28] That's why I want this to be as hands off as possible, going for only bulletproof plants and super-low lighting as to reduce algae. It's more about having somewhere for the fish and shrimp to live while I'm gone that doesn't look like rubbish. Plus rescaping is fun LOL. It will sort of be an experiment too to see how the setup does.

BTW as an aside earlier in the thread I was having problems with my Crypts but ever since I've neglected the tank (no fertilisers) and lowered lighting and CO2 they're doing well! Must've not been providing enough nutrients at the growth rate that I was pushing at that level.


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