# Aquascape No. 7 - ADA 90P - Seaside - Update 11/8



## denske (Feb 20, 2013)

Great start, always love your journals mot.


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## drondy (Apr 8, 2014)

Great start. Are your going to make the sticks into trees or leave them with a dead look?


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

I will be planting stems along the branches. Probably something reddish.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

I like your vision. Looking forward to seeing it planted?


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## Tyrone (Nov 22, 2013)

Pleasing to my eyes as usual Mot.

Are you entering this one into the IAPLC?


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Thanks Tyrone. I did enter IAPLC with "Aquascape No. 6 - Awaiting" for 2014. No. 6 was definitely my best effort yet. We will see where this one goes.


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## Tyrone (Nov 22, 2013)

mot said:


> Thanks Tyrone. I did enter IAPLC with "Aquascape No. 6 - Awaiting" for 2014. No. 6 was definitely my best effort yet. We will see where this one goes.


 Hmm..okay. I was checking your scapes, but can't seem to find No. 5 or No. 6. 

Am I missing something?


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## Tyrone (Nov 22, 2013)

Nevermind. I missed that part in the beginning. Sorry.


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

Very nice. :thumbsup:


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## denske (Feb 20, 2013)

Is that seiryu stone, or ryuoh stone? Love that blueish tint.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Love your scapes. Done how I would do it if I could gather the space for tanks. Bravo


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## Harrisgo (Mar 18, 2013)

Great start! Really looking forward to this one. Any way to convince you to post a few fts of your number 6?


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Nicr


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## MeCasa (Apr 22, 2014)

How big is that tank? Helps give my mind perspective.

I like the look, almost wind blown mountaintop, very stark and clean

Japanese Zen


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## ThisDarkDivide (Jun 24, 2014)

love it, subbed


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

MeCasa said:


> How big is that tank? Helps give my mind perspective.
> 
> I like the look, almost wind blown mountaintop, very stark and clean
> 
> Japanese Zen


It's the same as a 40 breeder, just slightly taller.


This scape is fantastic. I almost wish you took a picture without the wood branches though, just to see the rocks alone. Can't wait to see where this goes.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Couple more pictures. One of the office and a closeup. Probably wont have plants until later next week.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

talontsiawd said:


> It's the same as a 40 breeder, just slightly taller.
> 
> 
> This scape is fantastic. I almost wish you took a picture without the wood branches though, just to see the rocks alone. Can't wait to see where this goes.


Yea sorry I looked and dont have pictures before the branches went in the tank. I need to take out the camera first next time I do a setup. The branches will be scaled still. They are just in there rough places getting waterlogged.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Your office is sick.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

talontsiawd said:


> Your office is sick.


Thanks. I spend so much time in my office I wanted it to be very functional. I use it for work/exercise/entertainment. Seems like the only time I leave is to go eat something or go to bed.

Got my Twinstar Nano today so that was a nice surprise. It sure isn't pretty but it can be removed easily enough for photos.

Also installed a white framed artist canvas behind the tank to improve how it looks. The grey of the rocks just gets lost in the grey of the wall behind otherwise.

Here is another photo of the new background and the Twinstar. Plants should arrive 7/16.

Cryptocoryne Parva
Myriophyllum Mattogrossense
Hygrophila Pinnatifida
Bucephalandra "Brownie red"
Anubias Nana 'Micro'
Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini'
Rotala Colorata
Utricularia graminifolia (UG)
Hydrocotyle 'Japan'

I already have in the tank HC, dwarf hair grass and downoi. There is also some mini pellia I'm growing out on ss mesh in there temporarily from the last aquascape.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

denske said:


> Is that seiryu stone, or ryuoh stone? Love that blueish tint.


Yea its Seiryu like type of stone. Maybe Ying stone. It definitely raises the TDS quickly. I normally do two >70% water changes a week so its not a big deal.

The bluish cast is just because my white balance was a little off in the photo. The last one I posted is much closer to real life.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Completely unrelated to aquariums, but what your PC spec? That looks like a monster.


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## Sean W. (Oct 12, 2013)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Completely unrelated to aquariums, but what your PC spec? That looks like a monster.


this...

either very high end, gaming on eyefinity, or very average specs, 3 screens for more productivity. haha


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Completely unrelated to aquariums, but what your PC spec? That looks like a monster.


Yea its a nice setup but a bit dated at this point. I built the box from components about 3 years ago and it is mainly for work though i do use it for the occaissonal game. The price is about half or less versus buying it assembled. But its risky when you overclock. I build and manage Windows servers for clients so i need the horsepower to run multiple virtual servers at a time. Efficiency is critical as i get paid by the job and not by the hour.

Its running at 4 ghz with 16 GB ram, nvidia GTX 590, RAID 0 striped 128GB ssd's for the OS and a 6TB RAID5 for storage. I have a combination of liquid and air cooling inside this one. The heat this setup cranks out is rough in the summer but great in the winter months.

I run the displays as one large desktop at 6040 x 1200 resolution. Each monitor is on a fully articulating arm which can move independently of each other. It is great for quickly adjusting from sitting to standing. The desk is a sit/stand as well and can be raised lowered easily.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Received the plants yesterday. They were in fantastic shape considering its summer. Have the following now:

3 x Cryptocoryne Parva
10 x Myriophyllum Mattogrossense
6 x Hygrophila Pinnatifida
1 x Bucephalandra "Brownie red"
1 x Anubias Nana 'Micro'
1 x Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini'
5 x Rotala Colorata
1 (2x2) x Utricularia graminifolia (UG) portion
40 x Hydrocotyle 'Japan'

Already had:

13 x Pogostemon Helferi
alot x Eleocharis acicularis
Mini Pellia

Measured water parameters:

pH - 6.45
GH - 5 dkh
Alk - 50 ppm (2.8dkh)
CO2 - 30ppm

Will get some photos up later.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Lots of grow out to do. Especially foreground plants will take some time.









Side view reveals the planting layout better at this point because everything is low to the substrate.










Plenty of GDA popped up in last 3 days. Added plants and Otos yesterday. Further from the Twinstar the more GDA it looks like.










Planted the Rotala Colorata horizontally and weighted in place with slate chips.










Twinstar Nano - Had to turn it vertical to get it to work. Not sure what the consequences of doing this is but if horizontal it stops working. It appears that the bubbles build up on the bottom side of the mesh and block the water from coming in contact.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Awesome scape! Cant wait to see it filled out!


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## DvanK (Feb 27, 2009)

Ohhhh... very nice job. I don't know what to admire more, your office or your tank. Either way its very motivating and now I feel like I should do something to my office/tank room.


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## Bserve (Nov 4, 2012)

Do you have any pics of 4 and 5? I love your scapes; this one is no different, too.


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## salmon (Apr 14, 2011)

Very nice!

What are you planning for fauna?


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

This is another great looking scape of yours. It'll be fun to watch it fill in over time.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Great work mot. I purchased some seiryu stone for the first time the other day for a mini m sized tank. figures crossed i up with something half as good as yours.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Thanks for all the supportive comments. Here are some new pics. Tank was planted only one week ago.










Bucephalendara "Brownie Red" with my patch of UG in the background starting to grow. No experience with either of these plant so its nice to see a new leaf coming and the UG is definitely growing.










Rotala Colorata is shooting stems vertical now. Color is more toward green though so will have to work on that.











All plants appear to be doing well. The pictures were taken before the lights are on so the Myriophyllum is not open. I swear these rocks are an algae magnet capable of pulling algae from anywhere in the universe. Though it is starting to get patchy instead of looking like the rock was dipped in green paint.


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## DETAquarium (May 7, 2014)

Mot, fantastic scape!! Great work!! I was thinking of purchasing a Twinstar, how do you like it, can you tell a noticeable difference so far?

Thanks


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

I'm curious as to whether co2 is still needed with the twinstar or can help add benefits to the co2. It promises added growth and inhibition of algae, is this really true?


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

DETAquarium said:


> Mot, fantastic scape!! Great work!! I was thinking of purchasing a Twinstar, how do you like it, can you tell a noticeable difference so far?
> 
> Thanks


I would say spend the money on something else. It doesnt work right as they show it in the videos. I have it vertical to get it to work at all. As far as effectiveness...I would say its not living up to expectations. I have green rocks still...though i have no other visible algae anywhere. I was thinking of just sticking in a couple other types of rock to see what happens. I have had this green rock issue since ive had them.

Bump:


mistuhmarc said:


> I'm curious as to whether co2 is still needed with the twinstar or can help add benefits to the co2. It promises added growth and inhibition of algae, is this really true?


This is most definitely NOT a CO2 replacement. I havent had it long enough to experience first hand either way if there are benefits or not. I find it fishy that the unit itself has to be cleaned of algae!


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

mot said:


> I would say spend the money on something else. It doesnt work right as they show it in the videos. I have it vertical to get it to work at all. As far as effectiveness...I would say its not living up to expectations. I have green rocks still...though i have no other visible algae anywhere. I was thinking of just sticking in a couple other types of rock to see what happens. I have had this green rock issue since ive had them.
> 
> Bump:
> 
> This is most definitely NOT a CO2 replacement. I havent had it long enough to experience first hand either way if there are benefits or not. I find it fishy that the unit itself has to be cleaned of algae!


This is definitely what I was curious about with the twinstar. I guess it works more as a UV sterilizer in a sense? But not like one? Sounds confusing I know ._., Maybe give it a little longer before you can consider anything about it?


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## Mau5 (Oct 17, 2012)

Beautiful scape 

Just out of curiosity, is the rear panel of glass frosted or is there a background on the back?


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

mot said:


> I would say spend the money on something else. It doesnt work right as they show it in the videos. I have it vertical to get it to work at all. As far as effectiveness...I would say its not living up to expectations. I have green rocks still...though i have no other visible algae anywhere. I was thinking of just sticking in a couple other types of rock to see what happens. I have had this green rock issue since ive had them.
> 
> Bump:
> 
> This is most definitely NOT a CO2 replacement. I havent had it long enough to experience first hand either way if there are benefits or not. I find it fishy that the unit itself has to be cleaned of algae!


glad to hear more true review about the twinstar from someone who has actually used it. I guess theres no substitute to a balanced system to stave away algae


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I also thank you for the Twinstar review. It's not like nobody uses it, I just haven't read much of an honest review. One other person did an honest positive review and one thing he mentioned is it took him a lot of time to find the proper positioning for it to work. For awhile, he was getting little results but as he moved it around, he found it worked better in some, worse in others so maybe there is hope for you and the device playing nice together.


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## denske (Feb 20, 2013)

Thats interesting, you say when its horizontal it doesnt work? I have mine horizontal, and it does get a nice bubble build up under it, but it seems to work fine. Its not an end all algae cure, but i dont really get green dust algae anymore. 

I am suprised though how fast your rocks turned green like that, thats crazy.

Scape looks awesome, cant wait to see it grown in.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

denske said:


> Thats interesting, you say when its horizontal it doesnt work? I have mine horizontal, and it does get a nice bubble build up under it, but it seems to work fine. Its not an end all algae cure, but i dont really get green dust algae anymore.
> 
> I am suprised though how fast your rocks turned green like that, thats crazy.
> 
> Scape looks awesome, cant wait to see it grown in.


Yea the rocks went from grey to completely green in 3 days. Not the first time this has happened with these rocks. I have added a piece of ohko stone and flagstone to see what happens to them.

Im also thinking this algae is gsa not gda or a combination. it wont come off with a brush.

Ill see if i can make a video clip of the device in horizontal orientation and show what happens.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

mot said:


> Yea the rocks went from grey to completely green in 3 days. Not the first time this has happened with these rocks. I have added a piece of ohko stone and flagstone to see what happens to them.
> 
> Im also thinking this algae is gsa not gda or a combination. it wont come off with a brush.
> 
> Ill see if i can make a video clip of the device in horizontal orientation and show what happens.


yea for some reason Ive seen a few vids of people having the same problem as you, for the price of the device, youd think they would have worked out all the kinks. 

http://youtu.be/i4FWLhcxHQQ


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

lamiskool said:


> yea for some reason Ive seen a few vids of people having the same problem as you, for the price of the device, youd think they would have worked out all the kinks.
> 
> http://youtu.be/i4FWLhcxHQQ



Thanks for the video. That is exactly the problem. It only takes 1 cycle to reduce the output greatly.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Mau5 said:


> Beautiful scape
> 
> Just out of curiosity, is the rear panel of glass frosted or is there a background on the back?


It is a frosted film made by artscape and called etched glass. It is applied just using water and has no adhesive.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

So did a little bit of rock cleaning yesterday.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

mot said:


> So did a little bit of rock cleaning yesterday.


Very beautiful and clean looking!!! Curious, how did you clean the rocks??? Did you spary it down with H2O2 or scrub it off with something? I cant imagine you took the rocks out of the tank to clean as the scape would have been disturbed but how do you clean the rocks without messing with the scape?


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Iamiskool - yea I did both. I took the stones out I could and bleached them. The others were done with a toothbrush. The rocks on the right were left in place as the slope would fall. If you look closely you can see the difference between bleaching and scrubbing.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Looks good! 

Well at least the sand is easy to clean. You could just suck it up with a hose and put some fresh stuff down.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

houseofcards said:


> Looks good!
> 
> Well at least the sand is easy to clean. You could just suck it up with a hose and put some fresh stuff down.


Very true. I just siphon it out and bleach it. Takes like 20 minutes. Once the tank matures at about 3 months the sand should stay white.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

I didn't read the whole journal is that PFS? With that I just dump it in the garden and add new stuff since it's so inexpensive.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Bserve said:


> Do you have any pics of 4 and 5? I love your scapes; this one is no different, too.


Ive updated My Profiles just for you Bserve! Just click the View User Tanks link by my avatar. All my ADA 90P aquascapes are now listed. No. 6 is just a place holder photo until the IAPLC results are released.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Good luck in this year's contest! Would be nice to see an American do well in the rankings. Have you ever entered before?


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

houseofcards said:


> Good luck in this year's contest! Would be nice to see an American do well in the rankings. Have you ever entered before?


Yea I entered last year and placed 278th. I was shocked to see that there were only 10 entries from the US this year.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

mot said:


> Yea I entered last year and placed 278th. I was shocked to see that there were only 10 entries from the US this year.



I entered. That's really surprising that only 10 from the US entered. Shocking actually.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

frrok said:


> I entered. That's really surprising that only 10 from the US entered. Shocking actually.


Hah. Now we know 2 of the 10. Only 8 other people in the entire country. Wonder if anyone else on these forums entered?


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

mot said:


> Yea I entered last year and placed 278th. I was shocked to see that there were only 10 entries from the US this year.


That's a really good rank! 

Yeah I noticed last year there was a big drop off to 20-something. The prior year the number was in the 40s from the U.S. I entered a few years ago. Don't have anything ready this year. You know it's a whole process.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

I'd think it'd be pretty cool to enter, but I'm having a feeling I might be a very very low rank, haha. It would be nice to try one day, once I can actually pull together a very nice looking scape.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

houseofcards said:


> That's a really good rank!
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah I noticed last year there was a big drop off to 20-something. The prior year the number was in the 40s from the U.S. I entered a few years ago. Don't have anything ready this year. You know it's a whole process.



My scape was almost ready and I didn't have time to put fish in but I entered anyway. Can't hurt I guess. Next year I'll have something better for sure. I'm always learning...

I always assumed the hobby was growing in the U.S. Maybe it is but not aquascaping specifically.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

frrok said:


> My scape was almost ready and I didn't have time to put fish in but I entered anyway. Can't hurt I guess. Next year I'll have something better for sure. I'm always learning...
> 
> I always assumed the hobby was growing in the U.S. Maybe it is but not aquascaping specifically.


If IAPLC is any 'judge' it seemed to be growing up into 2012, then for some reason it did an about face and the numbers entered came down in 2013 and then again this year. The hobby is much more mature in Asia and it's tied up to a greater degree socially as well as occupationally were more people enter who do it for a living. 

The only Americans who have ranked really high to my knowledge have been the the two ADA distributors


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

New Photos - 2 weeks after planting




















Rotala Colorata is still green on the bottom left of the picture. Still working on it. Have lowered the lights so that I'm measuring 80 PAR at the bottom back edge where it is planted.









14 days after planting - Time for the first trim.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Looking good! What kind of sand did you use?


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

AnotherHobby said:


> Looking good! What kind of sand did you use?


Thanks. Sand is ADA La Plata.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

This tank is amazing already.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

How's the sideways growing colorata going? 

In the early days of my 2ft tank I managed to get the colorata really red. 










But I've never managed to get colorata that red again. 

I think the reddness was due to brand new tubes (high par, not that I've ever measure it) and low nitrates (5-10) and regular iron dosing. 

Today, just the tops of the colorata turn reddish/orange. Just a couple inches under the waterline. Still nice, but the plant can go proper red under the right conditions.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

The rotala is starting to take off...lots of vertical shoots so it will come in thick but its still green.










Updated fts 8/8/2014 - All equipment still in so the picture is softer looking than normal because of the heavy amount of CO2 fizz.










Ive been lowering the lights and increasing CO2 attempting to redden the rotala. So far no luck.

Current parameters are:

EI dosing (Every other day -1/2 tsp KNO3, 1/8 tsp of KH2PO4 and K2SO4 and alternate day 1/8 tsp CSM+B )
Water change on 7th day of 80%
TDS 170
pH 6.4 (calibrated ph probe)
dkh 4.5 (Hannah alkalinity meter)
Gh 8 <-- going to lower this to 5
CO2 54 ppm (by calculation of ph and dkh) - Otos and RCS appear to be fine
Par bottom - 80 (at rotala)
Par top - 150 (at rotala)
Temp - 24C


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## ForensicFish (May 19, 2013)

houseofcards said:


> If IAPLC is any 'judge' it seemed to be growing up into 2012, then for some reason it did an about face and the numbers entered came down in 2013 and then again this year. The hobby is much more mature in Asia and it's tied up to a greater degree socially as well as occupationally were more people enter who do it for a living.
> 
> The only Americans who have ranked really high to my knowledge have been the the two ADA distributors


From my brief time in the hobby it seems to me the reason behind the Asian dominated aquascaping world is due to availability of specific stone types and plant species. Getting the special stones for aquascaping is not cheap by any means here in the US. Also the availability of certain plant species seems to be limited unless you search them out from other hobbyists or get lucky that a lfs such as aqua forest aquarium will have them and ship them. For example, Tropica in the Netherlands has any plant you could ever want, but I have heard it is extremely difficult to have them shipped to the US. Rare plants are almost as expensive as corals. Just my opinion but I could be wrong.

Also keep in mind the culture. Tedious gardening is "hobby" in a lot of Asian cultures, take bonsai for example. So the aquascaping is just another version. I can almost guess they do not even treat them as aquariums.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

ForensicFish said:


> From my brief time in the hobby it seems to me the reason behind the Asian dominated aquascaping world is due to availability of specific stone types and plant species. Getting the special stones for aquascaping is not cheap by any means here in the US. Also the availability of certain plant species seems to be limited unless you search them out from other hobbyists or get lucky that a lfs such as aqua forest aquarium will have them and ship them. For example, Tropica in the Netherlands has any plant you could ever want, but I have heard it is extremely difficult to have them shipped to the US. Rare plants are almost as expensive as corals. Just my opinion but I could be wrong.
> 
> Also keep in mind the culture. Tedious gardening is "hobby" in a lot of Asian cultures, take bonsai for example. So the aquascaping is just another version. I can almost guess they do not even treat them as aquariums.


Yes all possible reasons. It is certainly more difficult to source layout materials but still possible and getting better as time passes.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Can you spot the difference?



















Replaced all the stone with Ohko stone. Just to see if the kH going from under 1 from the tap to over 9 on water change day is causing the Rotala Colorata to be bright green. Shouldnt take long to find out as it grows quickly.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Jeez how much did all that ohko stone cost!!!!! Love the look of the stone but only ever buy em for my smaller tank scape cuz they are sooo gosh darn expensive.

Also if you still cant get the rotala colorata to turn green and you want a rotala thats easy to keep green give rotala h'ra a try!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Amazing work?!? That's dedication man.


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## Rock Island (May 29, 2013)

Looks great! I like the new ohko, but that full tank shot in post #62 looked superb. Awesome work regardless of which stone you prefer.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Now, I did like your previous stone better, but I am super impressed how you nailed the new stone so well. I saw this earlier then looked at the first page, really impressive. You nailed the hard scape twice. 

I am going to say this, I have followed many tanks and this is your best. I do think you may be the most talented aquascaper on the board, if not in the US. I was impressed by this scape but your redo, though I did like the first better, is even more impressive from just an art/skill set perspective. Very nice.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I like the new stone better, but the twigs still throw me. I would love to see better wood or no wood at all.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

You've made me nervous. I just scaped a nano seiryu on the weekend. First time I've used this rock. I'll keep a close eye on gh and kh. There's no way I could swap it out with ohko. What you did was simply amazing.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

MedRed said:


> I like the new stone better, but the twigs still throw me. I would love to see better wood or no wood at all.



I understand what you are saying and completely agree the branches are a distraction now. Its just an experiment to try something a bit new. Im hoping the final result will only show a hint of wood once the stems fill in and up. Behind the myrio is a wall of rotala that isnt visible in the photo yet. Probably next few days it will start to show. Stem final height will be above that branch line by an inch or three.

And removing the branches is childs play to rescaping the rock on the fly! :biggrin:


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Amazing work. I'm sure once plants fill in it will all work well togther. Even with the twigs. They are a nice touch. I'm having same exact issues with seriyu but I'll probably rescape with lava rock. By end of week my GH is at 10 or above if don't do a mid-week water change. It really messes things up.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Dantrasy said:


> You've made me nervous. I just scaped a nano seiryu on the weekend. First time I've used this rock. I'll keep a close eye on gh and kh. There's no way I could swap it out with ohko. What you did was simply amazing.


Thanks. I can tell you without a doubt im having no issues growing the plants well. Just cant seem to redden the colorata at all. My last aquascape used the same rocks and was awesome but had no red plants. Ive looked up everything i could find on rotala and have been eliminating things that could be the cause. 

Iron - needed but doesnt make plants red
Hight light - most views expressed that med to high light helps
Co2 - almost unanimous that this is very helpful so i have this pretty high in the 50s ppm which os the highest ive ever run as usually the fauna stresses over 35 or so in the past. I only have rcs and 5 otos in the tank. Im wondering if the twinstar is responsible for being able to push the co2 without stressing the critters?
EI - read some that NO3 starvation brings out red but is a trick and leads to poor plant growth so not an option imo
Gh - reports mixed but imo not a big factor based on what ive read
Kh - this one is also mixed observations so ive been watching mine closely. I see a pretty large swing through the week. 

Ive changed so far

Increased co2
Increased lighting
Increase slightly micro mix

So now remove the rocks and stabalize the gh at 5 and kh <2.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

lamiskool said:


> Jeez how much did all that ohko stone cost!!!!! Love the look of the stone but only ever buy em for my smaller tank scape cuz they are sooo gosh darn expensive.
> 
> Also if you still cant get the rotala colorata to turn green and you want a rotala thats easy to keep green give rotala h'ra a try!



I dont recall how much it was but i think i got 40 pounds of which about 25 are in the tank. I purchased the stone with the tank about 3 years ago so there was no additional shipping charge.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Results came today for the IAPLC 2014 which I entered with my Aquascape No.6 - Awaiting and placed 136. So close to the top 100...


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## Tyrone (Nov 22, 2013)

Impressive!


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

mot said:


> Results came today for the IAPLC 2014 which I entered with my Aquascape No.6 - Awaiting and placed 136. So close to the top 100...



Amazing. I placed 1335. Haha. First time entering. I know why I placed so low. No fish in my scape. Oh well...


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Can ya post a pic of the scape yet since the results are out or not yet? Id love to see it!


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

lamiskool said:


> Can ya post a pic of the scape yet since the results are out or not yet? Id love to see it!


Sorry, not yet. ADA at least was clear this year that the rules are no posting until after the NA Party Oct 26th. Ill probably enter this same aquascape in the AGA Contest and see how it does.

Ill post No.6 out then...maybe if I have time Ill create a journal with progression pictures.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

wow, that's a very high rank. congratulations! may I ask, how many years have you been doing this?

I entered for the first time this year with a shrimp tank. I know, no hope. But still the competition process is fun. 

Australian entrants have not yet received a letter in the post. There's a guy in Melbourne (ada shop owner) with big hopes. I'm more interested in his rank than mine. But seriously, I hope to be in the top 50% (a pass would be nice).


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Dantrasy said:


> wow, that's a very high rank. congratulations! may I ask, how many years have you been doing this?
> 
> I entered for the first time this year with a shrimp tank. I know, no hope. But still the competition process is fun.
> 
> Australian entrants have not yet received a letter in the post. There's a guy in Melbourne (ada shop owner) with big hopes. I'm more interested in his rank than mine. But seriously, I hope to be in the top 50% (a pass would be nice).


Thanks. Ive been aquascaping for about 3 years and have done the 7 scapes in the ADA 90p. Last year i submitted for the first time and placed 278th.

Good luck on your entry. Ive seen a couple of your tanks and they are awesome.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Wow, congrats man. That's really high, especially for being from the US. Can't wait to see your entry.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Rotala Colorata starting to show more red pigment after switching the stones out so that the KH is low.









8/18/2014


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Noticed something was off and traced it to my CO2 regulator (cheap Milwaukee one that's 14 years old). Cant keep steady and in fact was stopping all together. Tank is full and as soon as I move the valve bubbles stream again. Something is just not right and Im tired of dialing it in to only have to redial it in frequently. So the heck with it and I bought a new stainless steel dual stage from GLA. Hopefully the tank will be ok as Ill be gone for a few days. Ill have to rig up something otherwise Ill have a mess to clean up for sure.


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## theblondskeleton (Aug 28, 2009)

Great tank, and congrats on the ranking! I love Ohko stone. I have some, but I haven't had a lot of time to play with it. Some day!

You will not regret the regulator - I think it's one of the two most important things you can get for your tank if you're serious about the plants. The other is lights, of course.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

mot said:


> Thanks. Ive been aquascaping for about 3 years and have done the 7 scapes in the ADA 90p. Last year i submitted for the first time and placed 278th.
> 
> Good luck on your entry. Ive seen a couple of your tanks and they are awesome.



My iaplc letter arrived today and I'm genuinely amazed. I got 299 with no fish! I'm really happy with that result.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Dantrasy said:


> My iaplc letter arrived today and I'm genuinely amazed. I got 299 with no fish! I'm really happy with that result.


Nice job. I think the competition was fierce this year. Quite a few folks who are usually in the top 100 were bumped out to the 200's and 300's. Heck some tanks that were really good ended up in the 1000's. Every year it gets tougher that's for sure.

Bump:








Pulled alot of the plants I felt didnt help the scape. Spread the UG along the sand line. Removed a bunch of the branches as they didn't turn out as anticipated and were a pain to trim around. Massive trim.


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## Duck5003 (Oct 1, 2012)

That really looks great, prehistoric almost. I love the green hue on the rocks. As always, your tank is looking wonderful


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

I prefer this look with most of the branches removed. Looking good!


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

AnotherHobby said:


> I prefer this look with most of the branches removed. Looking good!


Thanks. I reworked the rock and moved plants around some more as I felt it wasn't balanced any longer. The focal point of the scape was weak as well so worked on getting a much stronger focal. Ill get a new pic up once the tank clears.


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

You were the top US scape!


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> You were the top US scape!


That's right, congratulations MOT!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> You were the top US scape!


Yeah, that is really impressive. Doesn't suprise me though, I said this earilier in the thread and meant it:



talontsiawd said:


> I do think you may be the most talented aquascaper on the board, if not in the US.



Anyway, the new foreground really fills this tank out, makes it have a bit more of a "mature" look, even though it looks like "young" growth on an old rock formation. It just brings another element that works so well. Amazing.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

I really like how clean your foreground looks. It's giving me ideas of how to rearrange my scape.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I was hoping for top 100 but I think the grading changes they implemented after the contest ended hurt my placement a bit. I like the changes in scoring. What I dont like is them changing the scoring after the aquascape submission.

Anyway here is a pic of the changes I made yesterday. Still needs to be tweaked but Ill let the plants grow out a bit first.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

This photo was taken with my diy flash setup. I did a pretty bad job of it as the back stems are very dark. The background looks pretty good to my eye. Though there is a lot of white right now as the stems are still recovering from the massive trim. Rotala grows so slowly. Myrio grows like a weed.

I am pleased that the Rotala Colorata new growth is turning reddish. It appears that the change that made the difference was swapping out the rocks from the seiryu like stone to the ohko stone.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Always a pleasure to see an update mot. 

I think you've convinced me to get a frosted background. they give off a very professional look.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Looks wonderful.


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

Looks absolutely awesome. The proportions are very well done, looks just like the side of a cliff overlooking an ocean. 

Despite what everyone else said, I really liked how the scape looked with the branches... fit excellent with everything else and really completed the look. But I did look like a pain to trim around!










Regardless, I think it will look excellent once everything fills in .

Great job!!


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## Powerclown (Aug 17, 2014)

Cool man.....


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

What was the highest placing for USA this year? Do people in the top 100 get a signed letter from Amano and an invite to the party?


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

I believe you are posting in the highest ranked US aquascaper's thread 

http://www.adana.co.jp/jp/pdf/ranking2014.pdf


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

FlyingHellFish said:


> What was the highest placing for USA this year? Do people in the top 100 get a signed letter from Amano and an invite to the party?


I have no idea about awards or invites. My main motivation for reaching the top 100 was so I could see the judges scoring. So close this year...the top 100 must be outstanding. Such a long wait to see them all!


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Purchased an additional light for the tank. I have two Marineland aquatic plant LEDs currently that provide almost 100 par at 18" but the spread is bad. The front and in particular the back of the tank the plants reach inward for the light. The Rotala in my back row is definitely reaching hard to toward the light. I also think that the light spectrum is off to my eye.

I went with a Ecoxotic E90 to stick in between the two Marineland LEDs. I built a new bracket to hold the Marineland LEDs out to the edges of the tank and then Ill stick the E90 right in the middle.

I can raise and lower the light as I have the brackets suspended from the ceiling on yo-yo pulleys to make sure I don't way overdo the PAR.

Light should come tomorrow. Ill post pictures up when its in. Also redid the rock as it just wasn't pleasing (yes again!)


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

mot said:


> I have no idea about awards or invites. My main motivation for reaching the top 100 was so I could see the judges scoring. So close this year...the top 100 must be outstanding. Such a long wait to see them all!


I forgot where I heard it from but you get an invite and a sign letter. Pretty cool, I would love that!

Nice scape, are you going to enter this in the next contest?


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

FlyingHellFish said:


> I forgot where I heard it from but you get an invite and a sign letter. Pretty cool, I would love that!
> 
> Nice scape, are you going to enter this in the next contest?


That would be cool. If i do receive something ill let you all know but i wont hold my breath.

I dont think this scape will be ready for the AGA as it needs a good month of grow out if not more and more rescaping to perfect it.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

An Australian guy I chat with online ranked 90th. He's an ADA Gallery store owner. He's going to the party in Japan and he says he and a few others will be going to Amano's house for a demonstration. Imagine that!


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Here is the new light rig.










And here is the new rock layout and a much better photo.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Is that Sat + x2, one regular Sat?

The second image isn't showing.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

talontsiawd said:


> Is that Sat + x2, one regular Sat?
> 
> The second image isn't showing.


I fixed the link. It is 2 x Marineland Aquatic LEDs on the outside and 1 x ecoxotic e90 in the middle. I rebuilt the frame so that the tank gets a nice even coverage now.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

mot said:


> I fixed the link. It is 2 x Marineland Aquatic LEDs on the outside and 1 x ecoxotic e90 in the middle. I rebuilt the frame so that the tank gets a nice even coverage now.


It's funny, looks the same almost. Light rack looks great, as does the tank.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

I love the side shot! It really changes the tank perspective. Very cool how you used the depth. The plants are starting to fill in and take shape nicely.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

What type of lighting do you have in the back?


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

mistuhmarc said:


> What type of lighting do you have in the back?


The back light is from 2 12" finnex LEDs that are on my emersed grow out tanks below. I just flip them over and raise them up a bit to get the effect you see.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Got back from a two week vacation to this. Not to bad but the stems were blocking most of the flow to the left side of the tank. Picture was taken before the stems were opened so you can imagine how full the tank was.










So a big water change and a major hack.










While I was gone I had someone topping off water and adding EI ferts at 1/2 the normal dosing. Seems to have worked ok. Just a little bit of bba on the left side bottom where it wasn't getting any flow.

Anyway its just good to be back.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Wow, those stems went nuts on you! They should grow back crazy thick after that hack job. Looking great!


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Done with stems for now...ripped them out. Also ripped out the dhg. Soaking some wood. Going to tweak this scape some more as im just not happy with it.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Just wasn't happy with the progression of this scape so I went back closer to the original concept.

Soaking more wood as I feel one more piece on the left is needed. Also have one more mesh of mini pellia to add to a branch like the other two. Then time to tweak it some more as most of this was done on the fly today. Felt good to have some time to work on the tank again.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Another big change and another beautiful scape. One more small bit of dw on the left partially in front of the mossed up dw would look nice. Is that the spot you had in mind?

Watching the NA Party tomorrow?


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

man dont know how ur able to do these massive rescapes with the rocks and still have a lush growth of plants that looks filled in almost! whenever I do a rescape everything gets uprooted and I have to plant everything back to like when the tank was first set up and let it regrow!


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Fantastic as usual. I didn't expect the new rescape and now that looks really nice.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Dantrasy said:


> Another big change and another beautiful scape. One more small bit of dw on the left partially in front of the mossed up dw would look nice. Is that the spot you had in mind?
> 
> Watching the NA Party tomorrow?


Ive got a few pieces of dw soaking and will rework it on the left as well as the upper right corner isnt right yet.

Thanks for bringing my attention to the NA deal...didnt realize it was streaming. Curious to see the top entries and if the new grading rules were in effect or not. My scape was an iwagumi/mountain scape blend.


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

hi mot,

is the clover-shaped plant a form of hydrocotyle? i have brazilian pennywort that i have always let grow along the surface. do you think i could get the same effect as yours if i tried planting the runners, instead of letting them go to the surface? or is yours a particular type of groundcover?
thanks,


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

trailsnale said:


> hi mot,
> 
> is the clover-shaped plant a form of hydrocotyle? i have brazilian pennywort that i have always let grow along the surface. do you think i could get the same effect as yours if i tried planting the runners, instead of letting them go to the surface? or is yours a particular type of groundcover?
> thanks,


It is Hydrocotyle tripartita. I found that wrapping it on thin driftwood braches and placing it on the soil creates an easy carpet. I use this method with mosses as well. Takes awhile for it to straighten its leaves upwards and fill in. Then i can move it easily as well. It will root on its own over time.

Ill try to post a pic of a flame moss stick i did yesterday.

Bump:


lamiskool said:


> man dont know how ur able to do these massive rescapes with the rocks and still have a lush growth of plants that looks filled in almost! whenever I do a rescape everything gets uprooted and I have to plant everything back to like when the tank was first set up and let it regrow!



Its actually pretty easy to do with some of my planting methods.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Here are some pictures of the way I have been using to make it possible to change up the scape easier.









Notice the thin pieces of driftwood. The Hydrocotyle is wrapped around them allowing me to move them around pretty easily. They will root on their own after the move.









Here is some flame moss on a small stick as well. This really gives a nice effect when it grows out.









Got CO2 mist?


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

great idea mot, thanks for the detailed explanation.

really like the tripartita in your scape. i pulled my braz. p/w out this am as it seemed i was trying to put a square in a circle, so to speak. will be on the lookout for the tripartita.

thanks again,


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## Kntry (Dec 26, 2013)

Your aquascape is gorgeous. I like the first version with the wood best.

I didn't realize they had contests. I may try to enter next year. It sounds like fun.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Made some more changes. Left side will need a month or two to grow in. What do yall think?


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## Kntry (Dec 26, 2013)

What is growing on the wood and how did you attach it? Also, what are the 2 mounded plants on the bottom right front?

Gorgeous tank!


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Kntry said:


> What is growing on the wood and how did you attach it? Also, what are the 2 mounded plants on the bottom right front?
> 
> Gorgeous tank!


My guess would be mini pellia/riccardia is growing on the wood, also I believe its UG thats growing in the bottem right. 

Really liking the new scape, dont really like the hygro pinnatifida in the back though. Kinda throws off the scale for me, without it I would think I was looking at a huge tank scape!


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

lamiskool said:


> My guess would be mini pellia/riccardia is growing on the wood, also I believe its UG thats growing in the bottem right.
> 
> Really liking the new scape, dont really like the hygro pinnatifida in the back though. Kinda throws off the scale for me, without it I would think I was looking at a huge tank scape!


You are correct regarding the plants.

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking the same as well with the hygro. Its just too big and crammed in the space. Ive already pulled it once out of this scape. The myrio in the back will then have more space. Even that i might pull as it needs trimming every third day.


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## jimmyjam (Dec 25, 2008)

loving the scape so far. I agree with the pinnifidia. I just hate how they get really long and tree like once its growing nicely. It looks much better when it sets out new shoots. What I have found was if I tied it to rock , it still grows nicely but slows down the growth. Just trim down the roots as it grows. Looking forward to future pics.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

If anything I'd add more pinnifidia to the new section on the left (up against the back glass behind the rock)

Can you post your iaplc entry now? Love to see it.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Dantrasy said:


> If anything I'd add more pinnifidia to the new section on the left (up against the back glass behind the rock)
> 
> Can you post your iaplc entry now? Love to see it.


Sure its already up Aquascape No. 6 - ADA 90P - Awaiting


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

ahh, very pretty. thanks.


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## Squeaks5635 (May 2, 2015)

mot said:


> Noticed something was off and traced it to my CO2 regulator (cheap Milwaukee one that's 14 years old). Cant keep steady and in fact was stopping all together. Tank is full and as soon as I move the valve bubbles stream again. Something is just not right and Im tired of dialing it in to only have to redial it in frequently. So the heck with it and I bought a new stainless steel dual stage from GLA. Hopefully the tank will be ok as Ill be gone for a few days. Ill have to rig up something otherwise Ill have a mess to clean up for sure.


Mot,

I was looking into the GLA regulators and was wondering what your feedback was on the regulator, especially since you have used others in the past. Would you say that the quality is there to support the price? Do you think that the two stage was worth it? Have you had any problems or anything that would make you second guess your purchase?

Thanks


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