# Mini M Sized Scape (ISTA Comp result last page)



## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

So I have a mini m sized tank with a high tech setup. After 6 months of battling to grow anything I managed to get this:









I wasn't very happy with the scape so I sold all the plants and purchased some seiryu rock, something I've never worked with before. 

I made a cardboard box the same size as the tank and arranged the rocks lots of different ways. It's a great way to spend an evening (or 2 or 3). I got some good feedback from TPT too, which helped a lot. I decided to get a few more rocks and in the end the arrangement that most closely matches the finished scape looked like this:









I planted some hc June 4th in seedling trays:









Today (9 weeks later) it looks like this:









Anyway, some of the hc in the tray ended up going into this scape:


















Planting.....




































And in the end:









I reused the aquasoil. It's 6 months old. I washed it and it looks and plants fine. But its ammonia is gone. So what are my options for cycling? What the recommended method in this situation? Thanks for any advice.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Outstanding scape. The sand is so well done with the small stone chips. The rocks are really nice....so dark. Is it real Seiryu stone?

The seeding trays are an excellent idea. Did it come with a lid as well?

As far as the aquasoil being used, I havent run into any issues and mine is over 3 years old. Ive been able to get thick carpets with just EI dosing with the used aquasoil. Hopefully, you kept the filter running from the previous setup which shrinks the cycling time down to nothing in my experience. So in short I dont worry to much about the cycling outside of just increased water changes the first through third weeks to keep things clean.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Excellent! I'll be following this for sure. I agree with mot on the sand with the stone chips. It's really good.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Very nice scape look forward to seeing it grown in!

If you kept your filter running on another tank with fauna or dosing ammonia it would be fine, but if its all clean and needs re done...
I'd personally recommend the fish-less pure ammonia method if you can get the essentials:
-PURE ammonia (no other additives!) Ace hardware store sells a "janitor's strength ammonia" real cheap and 100% safe for cycling (used in all my tanks) still working through same first bottle after cycling.. 55+20+10+7+12+2+3... a LOOOT of gallons of tanks lol
-A needless syringe for measuring (you can use other options but this makes exact measurements easy) I got some needles baby 'food' medicine syringes (cc=ml)
-A test kit including tests for: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate (you probably already have this)
-[This site] so helpful! explains cycling and has a converter on the right for liters, to UK to US gallons and an ammonia dosing calculator at the bottom. also sued when cycling all my tanks.

Cycling: I usually do for about 3ppm ammonia and wait for the BB to start growing and munching it. I'd recommend keeping photo period short and doing 1-2x a week water changes depending on how you plan to do that scheduled once fauna is in (good to get in habit now), don't forget to de-chlorinate ^^ Also if you plan to use a heater, put it in at the beginning, so the bacteria grow into a colony in the enviroment you plant to keep, same deal for any ph or hardness adjustments you plan to have.. do it now. Remember to test and re-dose ammonia as needed after a water change. Once you are starting to get nitrite and ammonia is going to 0ppm after 24 hours you can stop testing ammonia and just dose to get to the proper ppm daily (on water change day i just dose after water change). 
In about 2 weeks start testing nitrite and wait till you see it hit 0ppm while still dosing ammonia daily and doing your water change scheduled (sorry, hitting 0ppm after a water change doesn't count, check next day after re-dose of ammonia). The nitrite consume bacteria always seem to take the longest to grow.
Keeping up on the water changes helps reduce nitrate build up at the end of the cycle so you don't have off the chart -could kill anything but a snail (not to mention algae explosive levels)- nitrates.
BB loves oxygenated water, so getting a lot of water movement or adding an airstone can help with cycling process (it won't make it go waaay faster but it doesn't hurt.. as long as it doesn't end up uprooting your plants from the current).

I have 0 experience with co2 systems but theoretically you may need to increase co2 during cycling since ammonia/nitrogen levels will be high in the tank... may also need to dose ferts.. but don't know how much nutrients your substrate will still have for plants (have not worked with that product).


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks for your feedback!



mot said:


> The rocks are really nice....so dark. Is it real Seiryu stone?
> 
> The seeding trays are an excellent idea. Did it come with a lid as well?


I believe it is real seiryu stone. It was sold as seiryu anyway. 

Yes, the seedling tray has a lid. The lid has two windows that I open every few days for a few hours to air it out.

I didn't keep the filter running. It was off for a week. I think a lot of the trouble I had with my previous scape was due to the filter. It was so full of brown algae it looked like burn marks on the inside of the canister. So all the media was thrown away and the canister received an big clean. I could pinch some bb media from another tank, but that's hard work. All my filters are plumbed up in tight spaces so I hardly touch them. The filter connected to this tank is the worst- I have pull out the filter (2213), inline heater and co2 reactor in one go 

@AquaAurora - thanks for all the details. I've never kick stated a cycle without aquasoil before. I'll check out the links you gave me. Thanks. Do you think just adding a bit of fish food each day is a good idea? I don't really want to go buy pure ammonia. I have some brand new aqausoil (I know I'm an idiot for not using it in the scape. I honestly thought the old soil wouldn't be enough and I'd have to add some new stuff. but in the end I didn't use any of the new soil). I could put some new soil in a mesh media bag and hang it from the light. Leave it there's a week or so to let it leach out some ammonia?


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Just changed the title of the thread to something more telling. 

I'll try the fish flake method to start the cycle (as per the link above). In time I'd like this to be a shrimp tank, so water quality is going to be important.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Awesome layout. Looking forward to this. I've used seriyou. The scape in my avatar and my current layout. I've decided not to use it anymore in nanos since it raised my hardness up pretty high during the week. It's been a challenge trying to keep in check... I'm thinking plants don't do their best in water above 7 hardness... Or constant changing/rising. Good luck with your set up!


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## DayOlder (Jul 12, 2014)

Your new tank and your old tank were both beautiful. It's a talent and/or eye I wish I had. I hope you realize how lucky you are.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Wow, very impressive scape. It looks like you have the skills to pull this off very well, judging from your last tank. This will look amazing when the HC fills in, it looks really nice just as is.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Dantrasy said:


> @AquaAurora - thanks for all the details. I've never kick stated a cycle without aquasoil before. I'll check out the links you gave me. Thanks. Do you think just adding a bit of fish food each day is a good idea? I don't really want to go buy pure ammonia. I have some brand new aqausoil (I know I'm an idiot for not using it in the scape. I honestly thought the old soil wouldn't be enough and I'd have to add some new stuff. but in the end I didn't use any of the new soil). I could put some new soil in a mesh media bag and hang it from the light. Leave it there's a week or so to let it leach out some ammonia?


I'm sorry I cannot offer any advice on the use of fish food or new aquasoil for cycling (like how much will be enough). I've only her used pure ammonia as it gives me full control of the ppm levels. I'd read that some people who use fish food (some have even put in raw fish or shrimp (yuck)) have mentioned an odd fungus bloom from the decomposing food, but I can't recall if it's because they put too much in or how they fixed it. And those who use raw sea food to cycle...well getting it out is extremely messy/smelly.
But the info for these methods is out there, and I'm sure some pt members have successfully used the too. 
As for buying ammonia my bottle was under $5 (note: linked bottle is a x15 pack, you can buy as single at store) and I could cycle another 100g worth of tanks easily with it. But I will not press you to go this route, explore your cycling options and have fun with which ever you chose (don't know about the rest or you but I get very excited to see the ammonia start going down/hit 0 and same for nitrite ^^).


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks for the kind words and helpful advice. 



frrok said:


> I've decided not to use it anymore in nanos since it raised my hardness up pretty high during the week. It's been a challenge trying to keep in check... I'm thinking plants don't do their best in water above 7 hardness... Or constant changing/rising. Good luck with your set up!


@frrok, what water were you using? tap, rain, ro or rodi? Thanks. I'm using rodi with a tds of zero. I try to keep all my tanks tds around 120.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Dantrasy said:


> Thanks for the kind words and helpful advice.
> 
> 
> 
> @frrok, what water were you using? tap, rain, ro or rodi? Thanks. I'm using rodi with a tds of zero. I try to keep all my tanks tds around 120.



Tap. But its very soft. Less than 2 for gh/kh. Never measured tds. Don't have a meter. Only test kits.


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## water-kitties (Mar 19, 2013)

I know some may poo poo at this suggestion but many people say good things about tetra safe start's bacteria. Nice to see your fantastic scape starting up! Any type of shrimp in mind?


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

Dantrasy said:


> :


Nice job on the hardscape, looks very natural. Look forward to seeing this come along.


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## ChemGuyEthan (Apr 13, 2014)

You really do have a knack for the hardscaping! Looking great!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

water-kitties said:


> I know some may poo poo at this suggestion but many people say good things about tetra safe start's bacteria. Nice to see your fantastic scape starting up! Any type of shrimp in mind?


Yeah, I've been dosing half a cap of Seachem Stability each day. Which I guess is similar to Tetra Safe. I already had the bottle, so I figured it couldn't hurt. I 'think' it's helped in the past. 

I added a pinch of fish flake 2 days running and that got the ammonia up an running. Daily wc since. 

I've only ever kept RCS and low grade CRS. For this tank I'd like to do for something a bit better, more solid colours. But it's very difficult because shrimp are banned where I live (toughest quarantine laws in the world, not kidding). So no lfs sells them. In fact govt goons have been known to got to peoples' houses and pour poison in their tanks. People have even been jailed for posting them into the country. It's insane. Shrimp are treated the same as crack or ice! 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arc...996122853?nk=965218277f2f81a76723ceb4c5719d3c




exv152 said:


> Nice job on the hardscape, looks very natural. Look forward to seeing this come along.


Thanks man!


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Damn that's harsh, gotta suck if anything you want is on the "no [censor] way" list. 
I can understand having strick laws about importing and exporting live animals and plants though; here in the US you can't even keep count of how many invasive species (flora and fauna) we have now.


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

Dantrasy said:


> But it's very difficult because shrimp are banned where I live (toughest quarantine laws in the world, not kidding). So no lfs sells them. In fact govt goons have been known to got to peoples' houses and pour poison in their tanks. People have even been jailed for posting them into the country. It's insane. Shrimp are treated the same as crack or ice!
> 
> http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arc...996122853?nk=965218277f2f81a76723ceb4c5719d3c


This is insane, I just read this now. So how much do CRS or RCS go for in Australian LFS's?


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

exv152 said:


> This is insane, I just read this now. So how much do CRS or RCS go for in Australian LFS's?


Exotics like CRS and RCS are sold in a few lsf's in the Eastern states of the country, but not in the West. I'm in the West. The ban applies to the West only. I'm not sure what they sell for in shops over East, really depends on the quality. It would be too depressing to find out.


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

I can undestand why Australia might be anal about introducing species, look what happened with rabbits. 

Can I ask how much you paid for your aquasky?


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> I can undestand why Australia might be anal about introducing species, look what happened with rabbits.
> 
> Can I ask how much you paid for your aquasky?


rabbits, cane toads and probably others. I guess mistakes have been made in the past that the authorities don't want repeated. 

I paid $280 (inc postage from the other side of the country) for the aquasky when it first became available in Australia, that was about 6 months ago. I believe the price has come down now. You can buy them here in the West now.


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

I see, so probably the same as here. Just curious.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Here's a pic of transitioning hc and a pic of the tank.


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## DayOlder (Jul 12, 2014)

Government may be harsh but I spent a year there and it was probably the best year of my life. The people really know how to live. They were always saying "You Americans just live to work and we just work to live." They taught me a lot.


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## cephelix (Apr 8, 2013)

envious of your scapes so far!!....keep up the great work...
and the livestock in australia is crazy expensive....saw CPDs going for AUD15 a piece!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

DayOlder said:


> Government may be harsh but I spent a year there and it was probably the best year of my life. The people really know how to live. They were always saying "You Americans just live to work and we just work to live." They taught me a lot.


Fair generalisation.

Where were you living when you were here? 

Gotta say I love the US. Been a couple times. 

The difficultly getting hold of shrimp (and some plants) in the West makes for a strong local planted tank community. We find each other and gift/swap what we have. I don't get too involved, but the people I've met are very obliging. 

I started this hobby 3 years ago. At the time there was no shop in the State that I could walk into and get a complete high tech set up. Honestly, I think that made me want it more. It was a challenge. Today this has changed. An old shop moved, renamed itself and now resembles an ADA gallery. 



cephelix said:


> envious of your scapes so far!!....keep up the great work...and the livestock in australia is crazy expensive....saw CPDs going for AUD15 a piece!


Thanks cephelix.

CDP are a bit special. $15 is the max price. I got some for $9 once, probably still higher than some places in the US.


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## cephelix (Apr 8, 2013)

well, no experience with US prices as I'm from Singapore. In comparison, prices of lifestock here are cheap. Still couldn't find a one stop shop for my gf's tank in Sydney though.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

The hc is going ok, but not great. Quite is bit got attacked by brown algae and some melted. Anyway I trimmed it right down the other day. I'm confident it will bounce back. 

Thinking of adding pockets of dwarf hair grass. Gotta have more than just hc.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Those rocks are just awesome. Its looking great, and I agree needs a bit more texture.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks mot!
Popped some cherries in and started playing around with an orange light. Some fiss and dhg has gone in too.


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## cephelix (Apr 8, 2013)

the hc is really filling in. loving the contrast between the light and dark...


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

Really nice rock work


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks guys!

The HC on the right is struggling a bit. I think the flow is too high over it. so today i've turned down the filter taps a bit.

I'm a bit impatient with this one - i really want it filled in like my 1ft now


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## cephelix (Apr 8, 2013)

good things come to those who wait my young grasshopper...


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## Powerclown (Aug 17, 2014)

Cool tank....love it


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

What type of sand do you have in the front? I like the look of it!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

I used ada Sarawak sand.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

A bit more hc growth, so far so good. Should be full in 1 month. 

http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a461/Dantrasy/fgrg_zps8e67c107.png~original


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Some changes... and more to come


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Dantrasy said:


> Some changes... and more to come


I'm curious on how you're able to move sound around with no problem. Don't you have aquasoil in there as well and wouldn't that mix together?


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

mistuhmarc said:


> I'm curious on how you're able to move sound around with no problem. Don't you have aquasoil in there as well and wouldn't that mix together?



First the tank was drained to about 5cm. 

The removed hc was cut into sections with scissors and pulled with tweezers. Quite a bit of soil come up with the hc roots. Then more soil was removed with a small spoon and pressed down. The 'trench' was filled with sand and small rocks scattered around. 

Sand and soil always find a way to mix, you just have stay on top of it and remove the unwanted soil i guess. But time will tell. This is my first sand path, hopefully it's not too much trouble to maintain.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

awesome scape, and love the new addition of the sand path! yea sand paths are a pita to maintain sometimes but from the barrier that your rocks seem to give I think youll be fine.


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## eat2muchrice (Sep 22, 2014)

:thumbsup:


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)




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## ConfidentBlue (Aug 27, 2013)

Beautiful scape man! Truly an accomplishment in such a small tank! Great Job and has grown in great! Wish I would have found this thread earlier. 

I love the HC and pockets of Dwarf Hairgrass. Is the grass sp. belem? I've only been able to find Parvula.


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## Dan110024 (Jul 14, 2014)

Great to see such a nice tank from a fellow Aussie! I love the path you added. 

The HC to the right of the main rock... How is it going in the shadow? I've got a similar large rock to the left of my tank and with a single point of light (LED cluster) centered over the rock, but the eleocharis is really struggling to get started up behind the rock.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Dan110024 said:


> Great to see such a nice tank from a fellow Aussie! I love the path you added.
> 
> The HC to the right of the main rock... How is it going in the shadow? I've got a similar large rock to the left of my tank and with a single point of light (LED cluster) centered over the rock, but the eleocharis is really struggling to get started up behind the rock.


Thanks man! I'll have to check your tank out. 

For pics the led is pushed to the back so the light hits the wall nice and the background of the scape lights up evenly. but doing this darkens the faces of the rocks, so a T5 is resting on top of the tank towards the front. So normally the led is in the middle, and the shadow on the right isn't so prominent (in fact, you can't see a shadow at all).

That said, the hc on the right has struggled a little. The hc taken away to form the path got replanted there. In the early days I think the flow was too high on the right and the hc was getting blown around too much. quite a lot dislodged and floated up too. the filter taps are turned down now and the hc is doing better.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

ConfidentBlue said:


> Beautiful scape man! Truly an accomplishment in such a small tank! Great Job and has grown in great! Wish I would have found this thread earlier.
> 
> I love the HC and pockets of Dwarf Hairgrass. Is the grass sp. belem? I've only been able to find Parvula.


Thanks a lot! 

Yes, it's sp belem. i pull it from the front sand in my 2ft and plant it in this tank straight into sand (no soil underneath).


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Added more rocks at the back and front. (rocks and domes seem to be my thing ... if in doubt add more rock and/or trim domes). 

It still a ways off from being finished. The fiss has a lot of growing in to do and I've got plans to take the hc to a few more places to further integrate the foreground into the rest of the scape. 


Update pic

http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a461/Dantrasy/ui_zpse4499461.png~original


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Spent a little time on the tank on the weekend...

Removed a lot of foreground dhg, shifted the fiss around
Added more sand paths down to the foreground, + lots more rock fragments
Removed fiss from bigger rocks
Added some ottos
Added background film
Removed some hc and trimmed the rest, trying to create mounds rather than a flat surface


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Lookin clean!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

lamiskool said:


> Lookin clean!


Thanks man!


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## dpod (Sep 16, 2014)

That's beautiful! I'd love to go for a hike in there- it looks just like the mountains!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

This has become one of my favorite scapes on the board. Falls right in between Iwagumi and a mountain scape. For some, they are one of the same, for me they are different but at the end of the day, it has the best of both going.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

thanks dpod!

thanks talontsiawd! still a few more tweaks to go. i have to figure out what to do with the right slope of hc, it's not growing too well in the shade of the big rock. Most of it is just resting on top of the soil.


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## Dugsul808 (Jul 30, 2012)

I like the placements of your scape. im loving every bit of it! keep it up man! cant waait to see any future tanks from you


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## jeffie7 (Jun 28, 2006)

Awesome job, looks great!

I hear you on the lack of support from stores, I'm on the East coast near DC and we thankfully do have a lot of fish shops, sadly, they carry very little plants and Co2 stuff? what's that? No drop checkers, no co2 tanks, no co2 rated line, just the basic CO2 kits that come with the 3 week long throw away tanks.

Grrrr

Coral is where it's at over here, most shops carry thousands and thousands of dollars worth of coral. One shop in Northern Virginia is nothing but one massive black light looking shop, AWESOME shop, but not a single plant to be found.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Dugsul808 said:


> I like the placements of your scape. im loving every bit of it! keep it up man! cant waait to see any future tanks from you


Thanks man!



jeffie7 said:


> Awesome job, looks great!
> 
> I hear you on the lack of support from stores, I'm on the East coast near DC and we thankfully do have a lot of fish shops, sadly, they carry very little plants and Co2 stuff? what's that? No drop checkers, no co2 tanks, no co2 rated line, just the basic CO2 kits that come with the 3 week long throw away tanks.
> 
> ...


Yeah, well it's the same here on the other side of the world. Reefers have the big bucks so stores cater for their needs. The population is small here (my state 3.5x bigger than Texas, but only 2.5mil people). So no shop could survive selling only planted tank stuff. But things have definitely got better in the past 1 year equipment wise. tanks, rocks, filters etc are all here. but plant quarantine restrictions still suck. i want an erio for this tank (right side base of biggest rock), but alas, none are available.


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## jeffie7 (Jun 28, 2006)

I understand its where the money is but having ZERO drop checkers, ZERO diffusers other than a basic ladder, ZERO tubing, yet carrying all the bottle crap like excel and such...

Diffusers are in the $5-20 range and take up very little shelf space. Makes no sense to me why no one carries them. Seems like most CO2 stuff is big in Europe. Handful of CO2 things I've bought were clearly for the English.


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## BHolmes (Aug 23, 2012)

I really like the small changes that you've made here and there. Really nice tank!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

BHolmes said:


> I really like the small changes that you've made here and there. Really nice tank!


Thanks!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Did a small trim earlier today. Added yet more sand to make the paths a bit higher, particularly the path on the far left. Also add a new rock back left.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Broke the cal intake 
So here's a pic without any pipes  and got the hairdryer out too


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Bummer on the glass. Tank is looking awesome.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Dantrasy said:


> Broke the cal intake
> So here's a pic without any pipes  and got the hairdryer out too



I broke mine as well! Although it did last quite a long time. I just ordered a new set for my cube.


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## ChemGuyEthan (Apr 13, 2014)

Dantrasy said:


> Broke the cal intake
> So here's a pic without any pipes  and got the hairdryer out too


Haha, oh no! That's too bad about the glass, I worry about that every time I clean my pipes...

Tank is really looking great though!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks guys, I'm happy with how is looking.

I super glued the intake back together and left it to set for a few days. I hooked it back up to the filter this afternoon and all seems ok. the damage was at the suction cup, so it's outside the tank and not very noticeable.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

So the pipe leaked and I'm back to a stock green one. 

Tried adding a fissiden background. Here's how it's looking.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Update:


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Rescaping this tank soon. Probably clean the tank out today.


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## jlfkona (Jan 1, 2013)

I am looking forward to seeing what you are going to do next...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Sub1117 (Sep 21, 2014)

Dantrasy said:


> Rescaping this tank soon. Probably clean the tank out today.


Any ideas on what it might be? Iwagumi, dutch etc?

Bump:


Dantrasy said:


> Rescaping this tank soon. Probably clean the tank out today.


Any ideas on what it might be? Iwagumi, dutch etc?


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## bk. (Sep 27, 2014)

Gorgeous tank. Sub'd. Looking forward to what's coming.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Sub1117 said:


> Any ideas on what it might be? Iwagumi, dutch etc?


Well there's a guy out there doing some pretty amazing scapes who calls himself sreeram. search for his scape 'melting season'. It got a nasty judges comment in AGA 2013, but I love it. 

So it's going to be drilling, wire and arches/ledges. Some sort of sculpture/model. I'll make it up as I go along. I don't even know if I have enough ohko on hand. Also, I thinking of crushing ohko rock instead of using sand.

Thanks bk!


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## Sub1117 (Sep 21, 2014)

I see what you're going for! It might be a challenge due to the size of the tank, but I'm sure it would work out. I'll be looking forward to what you come up with


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

loved this layout, sad to see it go... but I understand-sometimes you need to start something over and get your creative juices flowing into something new.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Dantrasy said:


> Well there's a guy out there doing some pretty amazing scapes who calls himself sreeram. search for his scape 'melting season'. It got a nasty judges comment in AGA 2013, but I love it.
> 
> So it's going to be drilling, wire and arches/ledges. Some sort of sculpture/model. I'll make it up as I go along. I don't even know if I have enough ohko on hand. Also, I thinking of crushing ohko rock instead of using sand.
> 
> Thanks bk!




Oh yea i remember that tank. The judges were certainly not fans....if you look at the left side of the scape it is almost identical concept to 2014s iaplc/aga winner. Obviously the execution of the concept was far superior on last years winner.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks frrok!

Also, sreeram's scape was an original design, while the 2014s iaplc/aga winner copied a picture (fictitious digital art, so no wonder it's execution was superior). The two scapes have similarities for sure. 

I think the 'wow' factor counts for a lot more points than the competitions let on. But I can't say I really care that much ... it's all just amusing, that's all. 

Anyway, I cleaned out the tank yesterday. I'll have a play with the rocks I have one night this week.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Bump: This tank was empty last week and re-scaped this weekend just gone. I've agreed to let my lfs have the rights to the pictures (the shop owner wants original content for a websites he's building). In return I got a heap of rocks and plants to keep. And the scape is in my house. New scape at zero cost is good for me atm.


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## pweifan (Nov 2, 2006)

That's a great arrangement. Can you post links to his website when he puts your pictures up?


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## mysticalnet (Dec 2, 2007)

pweifan said:


> That's a great arrangement. Can you post links to his website when he puts your pictures up?


I second that!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Well this tank changed a lot over the months. I entered it into the IIAC and it ranked 157


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

update? love the scape


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

No update, I sold this tank I'm afraid. 

But here's my IIAC 2016 entry ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K2QwcZkehk


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

That's an amazing scape!! What size tank is that? I'm guessing you've got about 20 embers in there?



Dantrasy said:


> No update, I sold this tank I'm afraid.
> 
> But here's my IIAC 2016 entry ....
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K2QwcZkehk


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks. 

The tank in the video is 2ft (60x45x45cm). The waterline was lowered in the video to about 35cm

Yes there were at least 20 embers.


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