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120 Gallon ADA "like", ditched, Dutch style new pics 137

503K views 2K replies 327 participants last post by  jccaclimber 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, I just did not like the general feel of the ADA like minimalist display prior, so I tore the entire thing down.

Here, I wanted to add lots of color, contrast, display the nice Manzy wood I have, make it a lot of stem plant and pruning type of tank(yes, work:icon_roll), but somewhat manageable still.

I have enough plants to fill it, but I'll remove some plants on the sides(Erios and Compact the Crypt parva down some, I have a few small divider pieces of Manzy wood I'll add this week to make a better dividing line for some of the groups.

I'll change the groups of plants around till I'm happy(often a long process), to achieve the best contrast based more on Dutch rules, rather than ADA aesthetics. Right now it's fairly simple red green red green layout, and less textured contrast. Most of these species are easy to sell also, so they are good "crop plants", 500 or more of the fire cherry shrimp makes it a good shrimp factory.

I have an ADA style tank and my 180 is somewhat loosely based on ADA style, A reef and a Rift cichlid tank. I want a nice style and method for each tank that is different, not all planted tanks with one style.

Tank is not that old after complete tear down, maybe 4 weeks or less.









 
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#2,236 · (Edited)
Hi Tom,

I've followed this tank from the beginning. I know youre using ADA AS but over the 3 years of this tank, what if anything have you done to maintain the substrate? I have seen a few places where you mentioned adding more. Was this usually to get the slope back or was there more to it? Basically I am asking, if I wanted to set up a tank over a similar lifespan, how much AS should I have stocked piled besides what initially goes into the tank.

I am getting ready to start up a tank that I bought most of the supplies for over two years ago (military life is most unpredictable), including the ADA AS (still in original packaging). Would you have second thoughts of using substrate thats this old?

Thanks for your time.

Bump:

Sweet. Can't wait.

Whereabouts is the 180 in its lifecycle?
 
#2,238 ·
The soil I've added is often the old stuff I collected from client's who changed their minds, so it's old and has little N left.

I rarely add new soil to old soil, I want a similar life out of the entire batch, not a mix of 1, 2,3 year old soil together.

I do add some old soil to a new tank, then add 95% new ADA AS or more. Just to seed the new tank fast and will not clean the filters that much, just siphon out all the old mulm that collected under the wet/dry, but the media I will not clean when I do a new set up.

Plants also are loaded with bacteria and cycle things rapidly if in good shape when you break the tank down and then replant them say a 1 day later.

So, I'm not sure how much soil to have on hand, always better to have too much than not enough.
 
#2,251 ·
I never thought I'd see a planted tank with too much color. This tank while epic is on the verge. I don't know. I'm sure it would strike me differently in person. Seeing all at once in a pic is probably very different from in person when you don't focus on the whole thing at once.

I don't think I'm even qualified to critique this though. Can't wait to see what you 'fix'.
 
#2,254 ·







Fire shrimp really have sustained well in this tank, I broke the tank down about a year ago and redid things, so I was able to remove 100% of all the livestock and added back only the top grades, maybe 50 or so.........they repopulated quick and the group is fairly stable at the higher grades these days.

Very hard to kill.








Bump:

Well, the other tanks are much more sublime on the color scale.
I redid the reef filtration so I removed the corals, but that will be gaudy colored also.

So variety basically and different methods. Eventually a Rift cichlid tank will be added.
 
#2,256 ·
Wide angle lens makes most tanks look much better in that regard, you have been conditioned to see that are the norm rather than the exception.
My goal has nothing to do with "Nature style" or natural look, it's a colorful loosely organized garden. The 70 Gallon is more nature style/natural, but even there, the other fish species I tried did not pop out enough, so the white neons were used instead.
The Rasboras do work nicely in the 120 Gallon though. A very clear winning fish for the scape regardless of styles.

I use a simple point and shoot for most pics, but I have higher end stuff but generally rarely use it for aquarium snap shots, which is mostly what I take for post on the web. Higher end pics are worth $, so I do not put them on line generally since a lot of pics are stolen and lifted.

Bump: Here's a point and shot snap shot right after a large rework I did last night:

 
#2,257 ·
I am thinking more of Gertude Jekyll and say Piet Oudolf if you know who they are. Clumps instead of swaths or something. I am not sure what I am after really but I see something in those side views that I like a lot.

Are you related to Claude? I ran into that name the other day when reading about Penstemons.
 
#2,259 ·
No, not yet, Fire shrimp only so far, the G. elephas are a bit feisty, so that and the gold nuggets are the issues really.

Bump:
I am thinking more of Gertude Jekyll and say Piet Oudolf if you know who they are. Clumps instead of swaths or something. I am not sure what I am after really but I see something in those side views that I like a lot.

Are you related to Claude? I ran into that name the other day when reading about Penstemons.
Thanks, you justified the aesthetic you are interested in. Not always easy to do that.

I know of and am aware of those two. I tend to prefer more street paths dominate and then the clumps for transitions. With this hardscape, the focus is more on the streets, less on the clumps. So the hardscape defined much of what I've done here.

Clumps tend to be more the Dutch aesthetic with a few streets, but only a a limited number. I'm not so rigid in this view, like your prior comments, one could suggest "the clumping looks contrived" also.

Depends on how you do the styles and pull it off at the end that seems to matter. Adding some touches of moss, Riccardia, some aspects................that aid in transitions. Adding to the Dutch aesthetic a bit of the "Nature style" element to soften and mix.........

That becomes a bit tougher to do.

I mostly redo the tank, think about some new species and what might look best for a given shade or mix of plants. I try it out and then see if I like it.
If it feels good to me, then I stick with it.

I do not analyze much, if at all.
That sort of ruins it.
You can end up BSing yourself:redface:
 
#2,261 ·
I have never been a huge fan of Harlequins but they look great in your tank.

Great pictures that really show the sense of depth that you have created. Makes me wish I had a tank that had a 24" width. You can do a lot more with those 6 inches.
 
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