[mot]

Been meaning to setup a tank journal for awhile now as Ive enjoyed so many journals on here and learned so much and wanted to contrubute.

Here is a picture of my first scape setup in November for this tank. Wanted to feature the Ohko stones I had and try my hand at sand area along the glass.

Just after Setup.

Cleared up water.

Change out some plants

Starting to fill in and also trying to improve my photography skills. Im a total noob.

Have to get back to work but will fill in more comments above and start adding photos for the rescape.

 

[frrok]

What type of crypts are those on the left?

 

[Algae Beater]

very old growth forest feeling

thanks for sharing!

 

[mot]

Hey Frokk. They are crypt wendtii green and are up for sale right now in the swap n shop.

 

[mot]

Here is the tank during the rescape.

And after I finished and the water cleared up.

Couple close ups

 

[mot]

Thats funny Algae Beater. You will really think the new scape has an ancient growth forest feeling then!

 

[mot]

A few more photos during the rescaping process. Was quite the mess.

Tom Barr driftwood - Thanks Tom!

 

[ADAtank]

aqua forest in cali sells much better wood for your scape!! That stump seems kinda boring.

 

[OiZO]

I liked the your original one a bunch and this rescape is amazing. I love the dw and the grain on it. I cannot wait to see this fill out. Good job!

 

[mluk27]

Wow awesome scapes!

 

[AaronT]

You're making my palms sweaty just looking at that tank sitting on that little table.

Nice looking scapes. The first one was my favorite so far.

 

[mot]

Thanks Aaron. No fear the little table was actually made through a lfs who subcontracts out their stand builds and is way stronger than it looks. I wanted a lighter feel to the overall setup instead of a full cabinet underneath.

ADATank - I do agree that the "root" branches need to be replaced with better pieces as these just don't scale well and detract. I really like the stump but I think I follow what you are saying...It lacks the branchiness of most manzanita pieces. Thats on purpose on this scape. I wanted one very strong focal point.

 

[mot]

My fish arrived today. New fish are 3 zebra ottos and 35 ember tetras. Here is a pic of one of the new fish. Thanks Rachel!

 

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice tank and that's a nice type of otto.

 

[mot]

Some tank specs:

Tank: 48 gallon 36" x 18"
Filration: Eheim 2236 and Fluval 405
Lighting: 4 x 39W T5 Catalina fixture (28" above substrate)
Duration: 10 hours per day with 2 lights and 4 lights for 5 hours in the middle of the light cycle (Adding the 4 lights on at once is recent and may have to be dialed back but I have a lot more shade in the rescape with frogbit and driftwood)
Fertilization: EI dosing with 1/2 tsp of KNO3 and 1/4 tsp of K2SO4 and 1/4 tsp of KH2P04 every other day, 1/4 tsp of CSM+B on the other days.
Water changes: 75% once a week

The only thing I dont care for is the Fluval 405. The flow is ok and the basket system works alright but the thing is noisy and it seems like there is some type of wear on the impeller as there is black marks on the cermaic. Also taking the motor assembly off the top is just frustrating when doing a cleaning. I think the life of it is going to be very short compared to the eheim.

 

[mot]

I forgot to turn the power back on my filters/CO2 a few nights ago while doing some maintenance and photos....realized it about 5 hours later just before turning in for the night. And to make matters worse I had just added fish to the tank the day before, 35 ember tetras and 3 zebra oto's. I felt like I got lucky as I lost none of the fish and the next day didnt show any ammonia levels. It could have been much worse if I hadnt on a whim checked the tank as I might not caught until the next evening after work.

Now I have a rubberband near the power strip to act as a memory trigger to turn the power on....Slip it over my wrist if I kill the power so I dont kill my fish. Lesson learned.