Once Upon A Time At The Riverbank

[SuperColey1]

p.s. there is some of the needle fern available here:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/338567-needle-leaf-fern-lincoln-uk/

AC

 

[PDSimon]

Looks great AC, the lighting is amazing

 

[fluffycabbage]

wow that is just stunning!! love the sunset, beautiful wish i was that talented!!

 

[ian]

very nice AC, wait til Saintly comes round and gets those pro photos! Love the sunset lighting, how are you doing that? Not just from the unit over the top? It looks very 'together' already, looks great mate!

 

[SuperColey1]

very nice AC, wait til Saintly comes round and gets those pro photos! Love the sunset lighting, how are you doing that? Not just from the unit over the top? It looks very 'together' already, looks great mate!

The whole 'syetem' works together here. The cabinet is purposefully made with an open back and has a tiny 10W warm white T4 tube in it.

That way there is no direct light shining up the back, just the glow you see. It also acts as a very nice cupboard light too.

What you see for the sunset is the cupboard light's glo and then the moonlight's blue so they sort of meet

Here's an 'insider' view of it (same photo without the border:

P.s. Ian you'll meet Saintly when he does the photos. You can come round and have a chat and also see how he goes at this hobby camera wise. He's a top fella too

AC

 

[lljdma06]

Thank you for the mega update, Andy. I enjoyed seeing the crypt chop fest. They do grow fast, you are not kidding at all. In my tank, they are dominant and grow the fastest of all the plants. It's as if in a low-tech system, the slow-growers seem to just take over.

You have too many shrimp and snails. You need to learn to let go...

I also love the look of the needle fern. If I was in the UK, I'd scoop that stuff up. Looks great. So, you'll update in another year, right?

 

[ian]

it actually looks good with all the shrimp amd snails, the pics don't do it any justice.

yep, next update on next water change lol

 

[ZoddyZod]

the way the two lights work together to acheive the sunset effect is very clever. Great aesthetic.

 

[SuperColey1]

Thank you for the mega update, Andy. I enjoyed seeing the crypt chop fest. They do grow fast, you are not kidding at all. In my tank, they are dominant and grow the fastest of all the plants. It's as if in a low-tech system, the slow-growers seem to just take over.

Indded. Something I used to struggle with when trying to convince people about not needing so much light and they would always shoot back 'but you have low light, slow growing plants'. You can never convince these people (even the pros) as they know it all. lol.

You have too many shrimp and snails. You need to learn to let go...

it actually looks good with all the shrimp amd snails, the pics don't do it any justice.

Ian's quite right here. Problem with a photo is it is 2D and you notice these sorts of things much more while they are still. They stand out. In real life you see even more but they sort of fit in a lot better. I kind of like it. The whole tank is so full of movement and life it's full of energy etc.

Ian's first comment when he came round was 'Man you've got a lot of shrimp in there', but its movement, life, adds to the whole '3D aesthetic even if it does let down the 2D a little.

So, you'll update in another year, right?

Nope next week Card reader for my new camera is here and it takes some stunning pictures. lower resolution than the Casio but the colours come out much more like you see with the eye.

Watch this space

AC

 

[stevereade]

Wow! wow wow wow!

 

[SuperColey1]

I'm loving the compliemts on a half torn apart scape. lol

Many thanks guys. I hope it will get to the stage I want it to in 2-3 months time.

I will try and get some god pics with the new camera as promised this week

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

After a full year of this tank following a no CO2, no fert and no water change routine I decided to return to CO2. This time a DIY yeast setup which failed miserably in the early days of my planted setups. However I want to see if I can have success this time with the knowledge I have gained over the past few years. I am using the Boyu inline diffuser.

The aquascape was pruned a month ago and with it still being non CO2 over the last month it hasn't grown that much. Hopefully with a succesful yeast setup it will now burst into life.

The Corys are growing well and now 5 months old. As far as I can tell 8 of the fry have survived to this stage which is a nice size alongside the one adult in this tank.

I am aiming now for this tank to be ready for competition early next year. Therefore I can show the full setup at the moment but soon I will not be updating with full tank shots for a while.

With this in mind I still have the same problem area, in the left to centre midground, that I have had since the start of this aquascape (19 months ago.)

To sort this area out and with very limited budget I decided to make my own 'redmoor' branches' to fit in this gap. I can then use my favourite needle fern to make the transition from the smaller Crypts to the larger ones at the rear.

Using the woodworking skills I have gained from other projects I selected some of the offcuts from a guitar neck. This is kiln dried American rock maple.

Out came a set of rasps, A plasterboard saw and sandpaper.

AC

 

[Verminator89]

Ha i'm loving the ingenuity of the DIY redmoor. Simply brilliant. Once planted you would be none-the-wiser - amazing!

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out, even if we have to wait untill after competition results are out

 

[ian]

as above Andy, great idea for the Redmoor!

The anubias is looking healthy as well.

 

[stevereade]

Love the DIY woodwork, do like this tank a lot, even tho I prefer more colour I thinks its awesome.