Aquascaper 600

[WhistlingBadger]

Thanks so much Its great to know that people are reading these! Irrubesco are a great species really love having them, they are quite sedate a lot of the time so just to be aware of that as it is a bit frustrating sometimes when you look at the tank and never see them... feeding time is always good though. From what I've read (and failed to do so far) moss is a key part of the small freshwater species breeding I've tried to grow it a few times but always failed to get going to the scale I've wanted.

Also on the scape its quite easy to dismiss the bigger scapes as impossible low tech but just takes a bit of creativity and implementing some of the high tech principles around layout and picking the right plants. I have to admit I have a pretty nasty black brush/beard algae problem that may push me to a rescape or replanting at some point soon as I am losing the battle.



Hi the monsterra is in a perspex basket that attaches to the glass but the pothos is just loose and rests in a gap between the glass and the cover. The mesh cover I have provides a base for the plants to grow on which works pretty well - the only issue I get doing it this way is the light is pretty unpredictable, I have a layer of floating plants under these too so what level of light actually gets to the aquatic plants I'm not sure. But it works quite well for the emergent plants as a surface to support them - the monsterra is interesting at the moment where the vine has spread and I'm getting clusters of leaves 2/3/4 at a time growing vertically from the mesh lid.

The real pain comes from when I need to take the lid off as I have to lift the light off, then take the plants out and take the lid off which is quite messy and I've failed a few times and ended up with the light in the tank haha!

Wills

It's always good to have a water-proof light fixture! I dumped my fluval aquasky into the Sumatra tank the other day and was grateful for that feature; otherwise I'd have had a fish-fry.

Perspex baskets, huh? Something like breeder boxes?

 

[Wills]

It's always good to have a water-proof light fixture! I dumped my fluval aquasky into the Sumatra tank the other day and was grateful for that feature; otherwise I'd have had a fish-fry.

Perspex baskets, huh? Something like breeder boxes?

Just ordered one of these

Delivery is really slow but here by the end of January (not sure where its coming from?) I'm going to get a Monstera to put in it and have it close to the surface at the back left. On my jump guard I have a cut out for the front left and right corners, the left is where my filter pipes are and the right was where my Co2 kit went in so I can reorder the pieces and reattach the netting to put it at the back left to accommodate this.

Wills

Its one of these - I'm not sure I'd recommend it though as now the roots have grown through the grooves I can't get it out without killing the plant. Some people make a hanger out of wire that loosly wraps around the stem of the plant and then hooks onto the glass.

 

[Wills]

Bit of maintenance tonight. Plants not doing brilliantly at the moment, I have a BBA problem and don't really know how to handle it? I've turned the lights down which I think is causing the problem. I have quite a lot of floating plants and terrestrial plants on top which shade the bottom so not sure if its something to do with mixed light levels affecting the plants and allowing the algae in other areas. Oh and I've got a few dots of duckweed that look like they have made their way over from the other tank... will try and keep on top of it but as we all know, like Thanos, it is inevitable...

Few pics with and without the lid and terrestrial plants excuse the bubbles this is just after a water change.

 

[seangee]

Cool - often thought about adding a riparium to my big tank but never got around to it

 

[Wills]

Cool - often thought about adding a riparium to my big tank but never got around to it

Its definitely a growing part of the hobby check out plant life project on youtube hes got loads of info on it - if you like the roots from floating plants you'll like these. New product range out called Poth-o-Carry that makes it super easy, going to start using them soon.

And just to prove there are actually fish in this tank - I know all those photos look like its empty haha.

Love this little puffer, this spot used to have a big leaf of H.Vulgaris in but it had to be cut so I rested this small piece of rock over the same space and shes adopted it as a little house

 

[WhistlingBadger]

That pothocarry thing is cool!

 

[Wills]

Not sure how long this scape has been set up but I have decided I hate it, I hate it on quite a deep level and it makes me miserable to sit next to it all day.

Here are the reasons why I hate it.

• The Valis.... oh my so much valis... its gone very dense in the back and made a chunk of the tank very very dark so I want it gone.
• The Crinum, takes up too much room at its base and I'm not sure its really doing anything... This combined with the Valis takes up so much space combined I think this is a lot of the problem I have.
• Floating plants... I had a great layer of Red Root Floaters but the duck weed from my other tank has finally migrated and taken over... I know I will never be rid of this now but I'll hopefully be able to keep on top of it, I don't mind it too much but I'd like to find a balance...
• Terrestrial plants on the top, I really regret putting my monsterra in a plastic basket as I can't get it out now, again takes up a lot of space and looks ugly, the way this and the Pothos grows over the top of the tank on the mesh lid makes it really hard to get into the tank, the space is quite tight and there is a process to take it all apart and it just puts me off doing maintenance. I'm going to get some of the above A-Poth-O-Carrys and take clippings of the Monsterra and possibly look for some other more vertical growing plants that wont creep over the lid as much.
• The lid, the mesh lid is very clumsy and is hard to move without taking the light off - again because of how tight access is to the tank its just annoying I'm not sure if I'm going to go for no lid but I might try and split it in half so I can remove the front half quite easily.
• Black background, I really regret the black background on this tank so going to scrape it off and replace it with frosted film, the wall behind the tank on one side is dark so it will provide some contrast for the tank and fish but without being so harsh as the black.
• Too many rocks! But I think this might be too many rocks near the front because of the space issues I mentioned above. I do need dense decor for the puffers in here but I just don't like it.
• Aquasoil - I think most of this Tropica Soil is over 2 years old now, maybe approaching 3 now so most nutrients have gone and the way the rocks sit allows too much to tumble down. I've found an other planted substrate called Wio Eonian which is a better long term low tech option as it is packed with nutrients, is not meant to leach ammonia and is also more attractive and natural looking than soil IMO.

So what do I want to do fix it

• I've got new wood - ordered 4 pieces of River Wood from River Wood Aquatics and it looks great! It is a bit tall for the tank so how the lid works will work but really like it - hopefully get some air plants on it at some point too.
  
  I want to plant the wood out with lots of Anubias - I really like Coin and Mini Coin but maybe a few Buce plants too and that middle section feels like its crying out for some Trident Fern.
• More green plants - unknowingly a lot of the plants in this tank have grown quite dark, a few red/brown crypts, and some other issues just make it feel really gloomy. I added in some Limnophilla Sessiflora the other day and its definitely added to the tank which is kind of what pushed me to do more with this.
• The fish... when I moved the tank over I took out my Stiphodon Gobies and Green Neon Rasboras and added in some Glowlight Danios and I've now realised this was a mistake... I've lost maybe 2-3 of them and I'm not sure why but they hide in the plants quite a lot and while I get good colour I dont think they are the right fish for this tank. My current plan is for a big group of Emerald Rasboras with the puffers which I think will work well but also try for one more species that might zip about the sand and substrate but not sure what this species is yet...

I need to book in a weekend for me to do this as stripping the tank down to get the fish out, new substrate in, change the background will take a while. Last time I did this I put in a day to go to an aquascaping shop to buy the plants but they were out of stock of a few things I wanted so I'm going to order online so I've got a bit more specifics that I can order from.

Looking forward to it all though!

Wills

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Not sure how long this scape has been set up but I have decided I hate it, I hate it on quite a deep level and it makes me miserable to sit next to it all day.

Here are the reasons why I hate it.

• The Valis.... oh my so much valis... its gone very dense in the back and made a chunk of the tank very very dark so I want it gone.
• The Crinum, takes up too much room at its base and I'm not sure its really doing anything... This combined with the Valis takes up so much space combined I think this is a lot of the problem I have.
• Floating plants... I had a great layer of Red Root Floaters but the duck weed from my other tank has finally migrated and taken over... I know I will never be rid of this now but I'll hopefully be able to keep on top of it, I don't mind it too much but I'd like to find a balance...
• Terrestrial plants on the top, I really regret putting my monsterra in a plastic basket as I can't get it out now, again takes up a lot of space and looks ugly, the way this and the Pothos grows over the top of the tank on the mesh lid makes it really hard to get into the tank, the space is quite tight and there is a process to take it all apart and it just puts me off doing maintenance. I'm going to get some of the above A-Poth-O-Carrys and take clippings of the Monsterra and possibly look for some other more vertical growing plants that wont creep over the lid as much.
• The lid, the mesh lid is very clumsy and is hard to move without taking the light off - again because of how tight access is to the tank its just annoying I'm not sure if I'm going to go for no lid but I might try and split it in half so I can remove the front half quite easily.
• Black background, I really regret the black background on this tank so going to scrape it off and replace it with frosted film, the wall behind the tank on one side is dark so it will provide some contrast for the tank and fish but without being so harsh as the black.
• Too many rocks! But I think this might be too many rocks near the front because of the space issues I mentioned above. I do need dense decor for the puffers in here but I just don't like it.
• Aquasoil - I think most of this Tropica Soil is over 2 years old now, maybe approaching 3 now so most nutrients have gone and the way the rocks sit allows too much to tumble down. I've found an other planted substrate called Wio Eonian which is a better long term low tech option as it is packed with nutrients, is not meant to leach ammonia and is also more attractive and natural looking than soil IMO.

So what do I want to do fix it

• I've got new wood - ordered 4 pieces of River Wood from River Wood Aquatics and it looks great! It is a bit tall for the tank so how the lid works will work but really like it - hopefully get some air plants on it at some point too.View attachment 314108I want to plant the wood out with lots of Anubias - I really like Coin and Mini Coin but maybe a few Buce plants too and that middle section feels like its crying out for some Trident Fern.
• More green plants - unknowingly a lot of the plants in this tank have grown quite dark, a few red/brown crypts, and some other issues just make it feel really gloomy. I added in some Limnophilla Sessiflora the other day and its definitely added to the tank which is kind of what pushed me to do more with this.
• The fish... when I moved the tank over I took out my Stiphodon Gobies and Green Neon Rasboras and added in some Glowlight Danios and I've now realised this was a mistake... I've lost maybe 2-3 of them and I'm not sure why but they hide in the plants quite a lot and while I get good colour I dont think they are the right fish for this tank. My current plan is for a big group of Emerald Rasboras with the puffers which I think will work well but also try for one more species that might zip about the sand and substrate but not sure what this species is yet...

I need to book in a weekend for me to do this as stripping the tank down to get the fish out, new substrate in, change the background will take a while. Last time I did this I put in a day to go to an aquascaping shop to buy the plants but they were out of stock of a few things I wanted so I'm going to order online so I've got a bit more specifics that I can order from.

Looking forward to it all though!

Wills

I can't wait to see the new scape! Definitely time to do it if you're hating it.

For the BBA, I've seen people use hydrogen peroxide to kill it off. Obviously using that would make me nervous, but if you're doing a re-scape anyway, could be a great time to remove fish and treat any decor and plants you plant to keep?

 

[Wills]

I can't wait to see the new scape! Definitely time to do it if you're hating it.

For the BBA, I've seen people use hydrogen peroxide to kill it off. Obviously using that would make me nervous, but if you're doing a re-scape anyway, could be a great time to remove fish and treat any decor and plants you plant to keep?

I need to plan it in for sure, its got to happen... had a wobble tonight as I thought I'd lost a couple of my Glowlights, I know I said above I thought i'd lost 2-3 but I was worried I had 8 of 17 left but tonight I fed them after the water change and counted 17! They just live in the dense plants at the back of the tank which is really interesting as I thought they would be mega active especially in a school of 17 (17 was all the store had haha, hence the random number) but I have seen some people say they experience the same thing (and also the opposite) I've just taken a metric tonne of duckweed out the tank so its not like the lights were super light or not enough cover they just live in a permanent ball in or near the plants.

I've tried the hydrogen peroxide in the past and it didnt work well for me and I dont like the risk to the fish so I'll just live with it - though I am wondering about adding some gobies back to the tank, but that will have to wait for the right species as some are good in hard water, some are not but I know the difference now!

I have also considered rehoming the puffers and the danios and going down a totally different route as my water is on the very edge of their hardness range and some points of the year it does go harder and I do worry I've made a big mistake... I can take them to a store where I'd be reasonably confident they'd go somewhere good but quite attached to the puffers... I would be quite happy with a Tanganyikan Shell Dweller tank which is far and away the most likely option. Feel like I really need some counselling on this decision as I just don't know what to do...

Anyway heres the tank after tonights clean. You can really see the black void at the back of the tank that the vallis is causing - its really green but because the leaves are at the surface its blocking light under it.

 

[Wills]

Interesting growth between these two pics actually - bit surprised.

Still got a number of long term options I suppose I did spend quite a bit on some new wood but lets see... still not sure I'm not going to turn it into a shell dweller colony at some point. The short term idea/plan I have is to take out the majority of the Valis at the back and move a greener plant into that space, I find my rocks go black very easily and its always a surprise when I scrub them how much of a problem it is (if you compare this pic to when this scape was first done you'll see what I mean). I might try and grow some moss on them at some point and I'd like some more Anubias in here too as that seems to do quite well in the other tank and I have a few sprigs of Nana that are doing surprisingly well in this one.

Wills

 

[Wills]

Tomorrow is finally the day that I get started on rescaping this tank still using the wood above I've been playing around with it tonight and made this which I like.

It wont be exactly like this as the height from the substrate bag to the top of the wood is taller than the tank, I would love to have this tank truely open topped but I don't want to risk it. This sort of structure will sit diagonally in the tank so from where I sit (the tank is to the left of this picture) I will see all the points in perspective, I'll also have some rock work under the wood or maybe have the big piece of wood on the glass then rocks under the front 2 smaller pieces? Kind of like a peninsula? I've then got some Hugo Kamishi Quartz Sand which is really nice and should be nice and open. I'm also switching my planted substrate to Wio Eonian in the black small grain, this is an active substrate but it does not leach ammonia. I think it is purely volcanic soil, naturally rather than the substrates that are reconstituted balls - I checked with Wio themselves about the ammonia and they reassured me its not an issue and I've seen a couple of channels on YouTube use it and verify this as well so not going into it blind, its also meant to have a 10 year life so really interested to see how it goes.

I've decided to go back to a frosted background as I don't like the black and I think with the height of the wood and the plants there will be enough cover plus the dense blanket of duck weed that now resides in this tank... I imagine I can dispose of a lot of it tomorrow but lets be honest its going to come back.

These are the potted plants which I got from Aquarium Gardens (off of George Farmer fame) and I've got 6 pots of in-vitro as well.

There are 3 pots of Anubias Nana Coin, 2 pots of Trident Fern, 3 pots of Crypt Balansae, 3 pots of Hydrocotyle Leucocephala (penny wort). Then from the in-vitro pots, 1 Anubias Nana, 2 Taiwan Moss, 1 Helanthium Tenelum, 2 Lobelia cardinalis 'Mini'. Also separately got 3 stems of Lucky Bamboo which I wanted to add to the back of the tank for my nitrates issue after removing most of my Mini Monsterra - I've binned the plastic cage I bought for it as overtime I think its caused more problems as the roots in the box were quite black, the plant was starting to fail, the roots would fail on and off over time (just go black and melt off). By contrast the Bamboo had been in the tank about 4 hours and I noticed an inch of new root growth!

Looking forward to it, need to be swift but also make sure I enjoy it!

Wills

 

[Fishies4Ever]

My jaw literally dropped when I saw your tank. It looks amazing! I loved the way it looked in 2020 it still looks great. I love the way you rescaped it. What size is it and what are you planning on stocking it with?

 

[Wills]

My jaw literally dropped when I saw your tank. It looks amazing! I loved the way it looked in 2020 it still looks great. I love the way you rescaped it. What size is it and what are you planning on stocking it with?

Thank you Its an Aquascaper 600 so is 60 x 50 x 36cm and holds 100 litres. Its currently home to 5 Red Eye Red Tail Puffers, 17 Glowlight Danios and 6 Amano Shrimp.

I've been going back and forth if I want to change up the stocking but some of my puffers have been with me for 2 years now so think I've decided to keep them. I may if things pan out ok today rehome the Glowlights as I don't think they are working out for me and my water is a bit hard for them - there are plenty of harder water shoaling species around these days so I do have good options - quite fancy albino cherry barbs as a group of 8-10 then maybe something like Rummy Nose Rasboras in a group of 8-10, maybe do 12s?

Wills

 

[AquaBarb]

Thank you Its an Aquascaper 600 so is 60 x 50 x 36cm and holds 100 litres. Its currently home to 5 Red Eye Red Tail Puffers, 17 Glowlight Danios and 6 Amano Shrimp.

I've been going back and forth if I want to change up the stocking but some of my puffers have been with me for 2 years now so think I've decided to keep them. I may if things pan out ok today rehome the Glowlights as I don't think they are working out for me and my water is a bit hard for them - there are plenty of harder water shoaling species around these days so I do have good options - quite fancy albino cherry barbs as a group of 8-10 then maybe something like Rummy Nose Rasboras in a group of 8-10, maybe do 12s?

Wills

Albino cherrys would look awesome id snap some up if ever i come across them.

Re-scape sounding good with the selection of plants youve gone for. Should look cool with that wood as the focal point

 

[Wills]

Albino cherrys would look awesome id snap some up if ever i come across them.

Re-scape sounding good with the selection of plants youve gone for. Should look cool with that wood as the focal point

I've only seen them twice - once was when I didn't want them and I saw the last 2 for sale in a Maidenhead... They do look really good though, really bright colour and really unique colour too. I think having more than one species of school is what I want to do, I might also get a few Panda Garras as well, bit of help with some algae and a bit of different behaviour.

Wills