[Chris_Produces]

Subscribed. Great info here and awesome setup! roud:

 

[JoeandCarrie]

When you get used medical equipment, typically they will steam it for you so that they are not liable for any pathogens on the tools, but if they don't you should boil them for 4-5 minutes at a rapid boil. Personally, I use alcohol after the boil and then dry them with a clean towel and put them in a bag with rice to make sure they are good and dry. Once that is done, you just toss em on a hook under the cabinet and treat like any other scissors/knifes.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[FlyingHellFish]

=======

=======

=======

=======

=======

=======

 

[freph]

Love the purple hue and plant health you have going on in here. Looks great. roud:

Got any PAR data for the fixture?

 

[FlyingHellFish]

Subscribed. Great info here and awesome setup! roud:

Thanks, I hope you enjoy the journal. I'm glad you find it informative, I'm learning along with you guys too. :bounce:

Love the purple hue and plant health you have going on in here. Looks great. roud:

Got any PAR data for the fixture?

There is, or *was as the PAR values were taken for the older generation 1 fixtures. I wish I had a Par meter to measure the reading but I been told PUR is a better representation of useable light. Glosso has taken off so much that I think it's choking the Blyxa on the right side.

Late night shot

Here is a shot of the tank with *only the *white LEDs on, it's bright but I wouldn't say extremely over the top bright. I turn off the colour/blue leds to give a better impression since the majority of us are accustom to white.

Glosso Carpet impressions

When people ask how they can get a compact look on their carpets, the common answer is to "trim" and "train" the Glosso to carpet. In my experience, I find that if you grow it in a condition where it naturally creeps, it will give you that thick compact look.

How does this apply to your tank?

If you're glosso carpet is growing straight up, and all you do is trim it, you might be able to train it to creep. It's a lot easier in my opinion to create an environment where it naturally wants to creep.

=======

=======

I finally got that ball of rotala shape, kind of, mostly, not really.

 

[FlyingHellFish]

=======

=======

=======

Added a Erios Parkeri to the tank today. It had the whitest root and the nicest shade of green. Totally a fan of now, I never thought they looked very good but in person, the beauty is striking.

In order to plant the Erios, I had to cut away some glosso in the back of the tank. It was such a deep hole, there was a good 4cm of glosso growth that was removed. I can't wait for this Erios to grow out.

 

[talontsiawd]

Looking good. What's that plant in the glosso that is redish/pink. I remember having something similar way back and never knew what it was.

 

[FlyingHellFish]

Thanks Matt! I feel as if the scape is getting stale, I'm not getting much attention with this anymore. I guess that how the cookie crumbles sometimes, I would love to get some opinions on how to "jazz" up the tank.

I'm torn between creating a scape that appeals to everyone versus creating a tank that I personally like. Should I follow these "rules" set out in ADA's magazines, or do you guys think it's better if I blaze my own trail?

The plant in the middle of the carpet is ludwigia brevipes. It's creeping along with the glosso with side growth producing new terminal buds. Try it out Matt, I think you will like it!

 

[talontsiawd]

Thanks Matt! I feel as if the scape is getting stale, I'm not getting much attention with this anymore. I guess that how the cookie crumbles sometimes, I would love to get some opinions on how to "jazz" up the tank.

I'm torn between creating a scape that appeals to everyone versus creating a tank that I personally like. Should I follow these "rules" set out in ADA's magazines, or do you guys think it's better if I blaze my own trail?

The plant in the middle of the carpet is ludwigia brevipes. It's creeping along with the glosso with side growth producing new terminal buds. Try it out Matt, I think you will like it!

As much as I love nature aquariums, honestly, I get sick of them for a time, then fall back in love with it.

If I were you, I would just do whatever. A lot of use realize we like all sorts of plants and that starts to make ADA style/Nature style pretty hard.

To me, this hobby is a lot like creating music. When you start, you want to really be like someone else. By the time you really understand how to make that type of music, something inevitably draws you to something else. So will start a whole new style of music, others will put a slight twist where it's really not obvious, and some will be in between. That's developing your own style.

I am not that far is this hobby, even though I have been doing it for awhile but I live vicariously through others. I love when someone starts with an Iwagumi style tank, for example, and then ends up with a mountain of Rotala. Or, Iwagumi wasn't good enough so they made a really convincing mounting scape. Or, foreground plants got boring so they use a red stem for the carpet. This could go for any style but I am just saying, those are the tanks that really impress me, and it seems like the people have a lot more fun.

To me, I would go what every way is entertaining you at any given time, be it an imitation of another tank, influenced by a bunch of tanks, or just going whatever direction the plants direct you in, even if you never have seen it. I kind of think you may fit into the third category from watching some of your scape's direction.

 

[FlyingHellFish]

^ That is exactly what I'm going through, very nicely written. I can see how the hobby can get stale after a while. It's as if the initial excitement is only temporary then you hit some sort of a wall.

Grape juice flavour aquarium!

 

[talontsiawd]

^ That is exactly what I'm going through, very nicely written. I can see how the hobby can get stale after a while. It's as if the initial excitement is only temporary then you hit some sort of a wall.

Grape juice flavour aquarium!

I actually found it ironic that you named the journal randomly and now you have the ability to do a nice purple light spectrum.

Honestly, when I started, which is right around my join date, aquascaping like it is now wasn't really a "thing". I mean, people had really nice tanks but the whole Japanese influence wasn't there yet. The coolest tanks on here where heavily planted, "jungley" discus tanks. The nano became a phenomenon over night. Then the ADA influence hit hard.


The irony about the whole thing is that the people who enjoy the hobby most are the ones with a reasonable investment, a reasonable expectation, and really just do what they want to do (again, reminds me of music).

For me, I really tried my best at Iwagumi (which I still can't spell of the top of my head but is now popular enough to autocomplete in a Google search).

Before I was given a very generous gift of the 60P I have now, for my wedding, I was saving for a Mr. Aqua 48, or a 90P if I could afford it. Now I am glad I got the 60P as all my equipment carried over but my whole goal with the 90P, and then my 60P was to do a traditional dutch tank.

Well, you saw how that happened. Every time I set a goal, it seems to not only have it's "hang ups", it also makes me loose interest when it doesn't work out perfectly. I started doing this ish for fun and made many cool tanks. I don't compete with others in this hobby, or most, but when I started getting self competitive, started wanting to out do myself, I always had a block (again, insert music metaphor haha).

Just taking some little restrictions off got me right back in. I don't need high light. I don't need a perfect dutch tank (that is way smaller than it should be). I don't need some exotic fish, I love my new guppies I paid $3.25 for 4.

I don't know, you have a knack for this and I think it's time to experiment. My mentor, member OVT, grows some of the nicest plants I have seen. He has some of the highest level of equipment (120P, TEK or ATI 6 bulb, Eheim such and such) but he also has big tanks, small tanks, and in between, with a lot less, some with a lot more. He loves growing plants, I am pretty sure he hates aquascaping but he still does it. The less he does with the tank, the more I seem to like it because I know his style and I know why it looks best for his personal style.


----A note from someone who wanted to quit the whole hobby until he said "F-It", I have a plan I know will work, done it before, had fun with it, and jumped head first back into it.

Sorry if it comes off too serious, my point is....Have some fun and when you look at your tank, gain inspiration from others but don't your personal choices.

 

[talontsiawd]

Also, love your grape tank.

 

[ua hua]

Very well said Matt.

FlyingHellFish the tank looks really good.

The L. Brevipes is a very cool looking plant and I have someone that will be sending me some in the next week or so. Those fixtures put off a nice color combo. I'm still not completely sold on LEDs for planted tanks yet but after seeing yours I'm slowly starting to be persuaded. Maybe sometime down the road I will make the leap and give LEDs a shot on my tank.

 

[FlyingHellFish]

@talontsiawd,

I like your insight, it's a refreshing read from ADA's Aqua Journal where you're basically given a list of "don't". I'm trying to read up on all of their rules but it's so utterly boring.

@ua_hua

Thanks! I had doubts about LEDs at the start too. I figure if ADA releases an LED fixture, it could work.

=======

=======

Axel Rose - "Where do we go? Where do we go now?"

 

[talontsiawd]

That looks sick my dude. Love it.

As per ADA/Nature aquarium rules. For fun, look up Dutch rules. IMO, they are far stricter yet 90% of tanks I consider a true Dutch tank break more than a few critical ones. Almost every tank that people call "dutch" break almost all. It's weird how we allow for personal freedom/expression in anything Western culture but are really strict when it comes to Eastern. Just a thought I had.

Those LED's are sick. I saw a demonstration on them the other day when my friend was wanting to debate if his AI Sol's were still up to par (he got them less than a year ago). Just out of curiosity, is running through color spectrum over long periods of time look good on plants? I know it looks amazing on corals but I have always wondered what the effect is on a planted tank.

 

[Down_Shift]

man those stems look good!!

 

[Crazy4discus]

Very nice setups you have!!

 

[Chris_Produces]

I have to say this is one of the tanks I must look at every day. Forum says I'm an algae grower, but if you ask my girlfriend, I'm definitely obsessed.

 

[kwheeler91]

you grow some nice plants

as far as getting bored with it, there is but one cure: change it up! I change my scape probably once a year. not because there was anything wrong with the last one, but I get new ideas and enjoy exercising the artistic parts of my brain through my aquascapes. Go find some wood to use or rocks. get some new plants or fish. its like anything else in life if you do the same thing over and over and over and over... your going to get bored.

Personally I love fishing more than fish tanks. I can do it all day everyday. but I cant fish for the same thing in the same place with the same lure etc etc everyday.

So scrap it/hack it and do something different. it doesn't matter what other people think about it as long as you enjoy it. I mean you didn't spend all that time and money for strangers on a forum right? Whether it be ada style or biotope or whatever, there aren't rules to this stuff, its art and personal expression using a natural aquatic medium. All those "rules" can be used as guidelines to achieve something YOU enjoy looking at, but they shouldn't be the authority on what to do with YOUR aquascape. I cant even stand to look at the AGA entries most of the time because of people like some of the judges (judges with tanks I cant seem to find a picture of in most cases) that bash someone's honest attempt at an aquascape.

You can obviously grow nice plants so if you have an idea just go for it man, im sure it will turn out great. In fact im sure it will be better, by your standards of course

Good luck and enjoy your tanks. If you decide to hack that glosso in the near future, let me know I would be glad to take it off your hands

 

[FlyingHellFish]

That looks sick my dude. Love it.

Those LED's are sick. I saw a demonstration on them the other day when my friend was wanting to debate if his AI Sol's were still up to par (he got them less than a year ago). Just out of curiosity, is running through color spectrum over long periods of time look good on plants? I know it looks amazing on corals but I have always wondered what the effect is on a planted tank.

Thanks Matt! The Nano AI fixture is awesome! It has 10 LED compare to 9 on my fixture. I think they are better than mine, but if you're looking for the best, take a look at Elos' planted pro LED fixtures. It's a 1000 dollars and you can upgrade it. Those lights alone cost the same as my entire set up.

man those stems look good!!

Thanks man, I dig your 60P too. Try out Glosso if you're looking for an easy to carpet plant, it's as easy as hair grass.

Very nice setups you have!!

Thanks!

I have to say this is one of the tanks I must look at every day. Forum says I'm an algae grower, but if you ask my girlfriend, I'm definitely obsessed.

Hahah, there a few other people in the 60P Club that in my opinion have better tanks. Get a 60P and join the club, Chris. It's really the perfect size for a starter planted tank.

you grow some nice plants
I cant even stand to look at the AGA entries most of the time because of people like some of the judges (judges with tanks I cant seem to find a picture of in most cases) that bash someone's honest attempt at an aquascape.

Appreciate the kind words. There a list of things the judges look for in those contests and I can't seem to create a scape with all the categories in mind. Especially the name, I mean, how much points can "Purple Monkey Dishwasher" get? If I put a generic name like "Whispers of the Wind on cold autumn shoulders", bang! 10 points!

To really show that I understand the fundamental logic behind ADA's planted tanks, I think I have to crater to their ideas. I need to create a scape that so ADA generic, it can pass off as a tank in their magazine. Then after that, I can really start experimenting with ideas.