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As I've mentioned one or two times before, I can't resist a bargain. Pictured are 8 Dwyer RMA-151 valveless flow meters. Brand new, these run $65 to over $100 but used on Ebay - $11 each. Yes, you read that right, $11. I just received them today and want to confirm each one works, but I won't need all 8. I'm thinking I will keep 5 and the remaining 3, I will offer up here to 3 people at the $11 I paid plus whatever shipping is, which would probably be $10 to $15 (within U.S.). Give me some time to confirm all are functional over the coming week and then I'll give the green light, first 3 to ask after the green light will get them.

Hi to all, here is the journal of my single tank that I set up 2 years ago or so. Last February I changed the substrate but I neglected the tank for a month. Fortunately the new substrate and medium-low light prevented the disaster, but I got a lot of BBA on slow growers like Eriocaulon, Anubias and Cryptocoryne.
This is a second hand tank, it was cheap and had a stand included, but it is what it is.

Why "Eternal Newbie"? Because I have been in the hobby for ten years, but I have never reached what I wanted the most: a steadily healthy planted tank with a nice scape. At the beginning my failures were due to bad suggestions, but then because of me: mainly due to my impatience for results and always looking for perfection. Basically, I had short spells of healthy growth interrupted by long periods of chaos in the tank. Because I changed too many things too fast, I never had the chance to understand what was actually effective.

17th April


Tank size: 120x40x52h cm, 47x15,7x20,5h inches

26th April


Citizens:
22x Black neons (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi)
7x Otocinclus (I'd like to bring them to 12-15)
1x female Pearl Gourami (Trichoporus leeri)
2x Amano shrimps
I feed the black neons and the pearl gourami well, small doses 2-3 times a day.

5th May

Plants:

• Heteranthera zosterifolia
• Lysimachia parvifolia
• Ludwigia palustris 'Green' (added two weeks ago, arrived in bad conditions)
• Staurogyne repens (added two weeks ago, emersed form adapting)
• Ludwigia sp. "Mini Super Red"
• Eriocaulon sp. "Vietnam" (BBA on old leaves, bad conditions)
• Pogostemon deccanensis (it has never grown well but I don't surrender)
• Lysimachia nummularia
• Lysimachia nummularia "Aurea"
• Hygrophila polysperma "Rosanervig"
• Bacopa salzmannii "Purple" (added two weeks ago, emersed form)
• Bacopa monnieri "Compact"
• Bacopa monnieri "Compact White (added two week ago, in vitro, getting GDA or diatoms)
• Cryptocoryne wendtii "Flamingo" (never grown well, last chance.)
• Nymphoides sp. "Taiwan" (added two weeks ago, in vitro)
• Anubias barteri var. nana "Pinto"
• A big Anubias congensis (probably wrong name by the producer), it was given to me for free but I don't think I have the space for it.
• Floaters: Limnobium laevigatum, Spirodela polyrhiza, Hydrocotyle leucocephala
• Hanging pots (still working on them): Gymnocoronis spilanthoides, an unknown plant I took from a lake round here

7th May


Substrate: Tropica Aquarium soil, 3 months old. I added a lot of MasterLine root caps under it to boost it. Then three weeks ago I tried to add them again, but it's a PITA, so I think I will use only liquid fertilizers.
Light
Week Aqua P1200 Pro V3, 11" above water surface
47% R/ 50% G/ 47% B/ 15% UV
8h + 0,5 h ramp up and 0,5 h ramp down
Filter: Tetra ex 1500 plus
CO2: solenoid valve with timer. The filter uses hoses with strange ID/OD, 22/27 mm or so. I am simply injecting CO2 in the filter because I couldn't find a solution for these hoses... Now I have found a CO2 reactor and a hose that hopefully fit both without restricting the flow too much. Let's see in a couple of weeks.
Mantainance: weekly 75% WC. tap water only until two weeks ago (KH lowered to roughly 2 with a solution of HCl+H2SO4), then 5/8 Tap (with KH still lowered to 2) + 3/8 RO.
My tap water contains (ppm): Ca 50, Mg 18, HCO3- 200, Cl- <2, SO4(2-) 24, K<0,5, Na 1, NO3- 4.
By mixing 5/8 tap with 3/8 RO I should get roughly 32 ppm Ca, 11 pm Mg, KH 1.
I am trying to clean the substrate at every water change, since the black neons poop a lots.

Fertilization with KNO3, K2SO4 (dry dosed), KH2PO4 (dry dosed), MasterLine I, Iron gluconate (dry dosed), MasterLine Carbo

NO3-: 24 ppm (I used to dose 15 ppm until 3 weeks ago); 18 ppm after WC then 6 ppm.
K: 28 ppm, a bit more considering what I say about P.
PO4(3-): I have bought a JBL test and I tested them last week: when I dose 4 ppm I get less than 1 ppm after 48h. The soil is still absorbing a lot of PO4(3-), so I am goin to dose 4 ppm after WC, then 2 ppm everyday.
Fe/Micro: 7,5 ml of MasterLine 1 daily (0,07 ppm Fe) + 0,03 ppm iron gluconate daily (dry dosed)
MasterLine Carbo 7,5 ml daily and after WC. I think to stop it once I run out of it, but it will take me 4-5 months.

11th May (today)

Algae:

• GSA on glass and old leaves of Lysimachia parvifolia
• diatoms (I think) on floaters' roots and Bacopa monnieri 'White'
• BBA on old leaves of slow growers and recently on glass

Objectives/To do list:

• be patient
• be positive and do not focus only on what is not doing well
• clean the rear and side glass
• install the CO2 reactor (need to wait)
• install the Oase skimmer and tidy up the hanging pots and floating plants
• keep the journal updated!

I'm seeking some advice on how I can keep one of my tanks lit for high tech specs while also not having to turn it off during work hours. I'm a therapist and do video calls 4+ hours a day, but the lighting on the tank to my right behind me is so bright you can't even see into my (presently quite overgrown) aquarium. Nobody has complained about the brightness bothering them in a sensory way, but I'm not convinced that they're not just trying to be polite, as I work with a lot of folks with sensory sensitivities.

Right now I turn it off during work hours and split the photoperiod to before and after my sessions, but I'd like to be able to see in my tank while I'm in my office. I tried seeing if there is a film I could apply to the front/side glass to reduce the light coming out of the tank to a more reasonable level, like in a tinted car window. There appears to be film for windows that block UV light, or you can get an opaque film to block the view altogether, but that's not what I need either.

Can anyone recommend settings on my lamp (Fluval 3.0) or my webcam that might be less disruptive while also letting me keep demanding plants? Or a product that might change how it shows up on camera? It looks reasonable in person but on screen its an eyesore. Worst case scenario, I turn it into my long-planned all Crypt tank and go lower tech, but I'd planned on doing it in a 10 gallon, not this smaller one (I think it's a 7G, if it matters).

Thanks!

I want to thank @Unexpected for introducing me to this new forum, but most importantly for him being the first ever to build the Horizontal CO2 Reactor. I feel honored that "Yugang Reactor" as he calls it (Yugang 鱼缸 means fish tank) is introduced in @Unexpected journal, but it would be a pity if that journal gets cluttered with too much reactor talk. So let me open a dedicated thread for discussions, questions and help on this Horizontal Reactor.

I have been experimenting for years with CO2, and at some time I took videos of my (modified) Aquamedic reactor to watch the bubbles in slow motion. To my surprise I found that the combined surface area of the bubbles was not very high for achieving a 1.5 pH drop in my 250 liter tank, and that CO2 absorbs so fast in water that the lifetime of bubbles is quite short. So .... we don't need to juggle bubbles at all, we can just create a very simple absorption interface between flowing water and a pocket of CO2 above it. The Horizontal reactor is surprisingly simple, and has some benefits that we won't find in diffusers or conventional Cerges / Griggs bubble reactors:

• Simple rules to find the correct dimensions for any tank, a small nano tank or a huge tank the size of a swimming pool.
• Very easy and cheap to build with plumbing materials. No fragile parts, low risk of leakage or malfunction.
• 100% CO2 absorption efficiency
• No need to experiment with vortices, venturis, diffusers, needles wheels, impellers / rotors, multi stage reactors - it is just a pipe with a gentle flow of water.
• No noise
• No mist in the tank
• No maintenance, and stable performance over time
• Virtually no reduction of flow from pump
• A purging valve is optional, as the reactor will purge itself from excessive trapped air.
• The reactor can be configured so that in the event of a failure, CO2 injection will not exceed a limit and fish cannot be gassed. Inherently safe.
• The reactor can be configured so that we do not need a precision regulator, because the reactor controls the CO2 injection rate

Or a multi stage version ...


A detailed thread can be found on UKAPS, linked with the kind permission from Scapecrunch forum moderators #1

I am happy to help new users to verify the calculations on reactor dimensions for their tank, please send me a PM.

I've really been digging pearlweed in my low tech tank, and thinking of growing a shaped pearlweed bush in my high tech experiment tank.

But I came across this listing for a white/platinum variety of pearlweed. Can't find any info on it anywhere. So I ordered 5 stems, the most expensive pearlweed stems on earth!

Think it'll actually survive/be platinum or light colored?

We really need some lighter colored plants in this hobby. Myrio 'Golden' is one I've successfully used, but it grows too crazy and the trimmings drove me nuts so I ditched it. What other white/platinum plants are there?

Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @RandellCle!
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?

Hello all, my name is Mike and I just found this site by accident. I think @gjcarew told me @GreggZ had moved here but some how I failed to remember; so I'm glad I found this site today. I am a fan, as you can tell, of GreggZ. He taught me just about everything I know (through his journal on that other site) and I was also banned over a 0dKH discussion . So you know, I kind of feel close to the guy. Joking aside, I was able to go from this.
To this within a short period of time just by reading his journal.
And as time passed I was able to get this nice scape that made my wife happy.


Then I had the pleasure to meet @gjcarew over on a different site and I reached out to him with questions and such; through those conversations he motivated me to make an attempt at the 2022 AGA Dutch competition. Unfortunately, I messed the tank up right when I was about to take my photos and I couldn't recover the tank in time. Here's that tank. Obviously, there are tons of problems with it, but I was proud of it regardless. I believe it had a shot at a top 10. Not really.
I messed up the Myrio and started to get algae because I wasn't front loading properly and I didn't realize it. I believe I went too lean and thought the Landen would cover the difference.

I won't lie, I felt completely defeated and I kind of slowed down on all my tanks and didn't put my full attention into them anymore. Also, my wife and I were getting a bit burned out with so many tanks to maintain. This is where my journal begins.

I wanted a solution to reduce our work load, and I definitely wanted a bigger tank to house my livestock from the other tanks. I was also sick of lugging canister filters around the house then plugging them to realize I forgot to connect a tube. Fountains of water on our walls wasn't working out so well! I also wanted absolutely no water outside of the tank. By chance, I found the Innovative Marine SR Pro2 120 and bought it.

Now here's the cool thing that happened. I was using a 20 inch RO housing for my reactor, but the tank is only 16 inches high. Four inches of Cerge's reactor was incredibly ugly. And again, by chance, I found the solution. Enter the Yugang Horizontal reactor. I affectionally call it by his forum name because I couldn't be happier with how amazing this thing is. It's so simple, yet so brilliant. I reached out to Yugang and asked if he got the reactor to work. He replied with "my CO2 spray bar works so well I never tried it". I then asked if anyone else got it to work and he said no one has tried it. So I told him I would and apparently, I really am the first person to run this thing through some trials. I think that's pretty cool honestly! Yugang made some calculations for me and on the second build, we nailed it. I get a 1.5pH drop and the design makes it so no additianal CO2 can be added. It's seemingly impossible to gas my fish as the reactor has safety built into the design length. Amazing! I'm so glad there are so many people smarter than I am. It makes my problems so much easier to manage .

The reactor is nothing more than cheap PVC with a gentle stream of tank water flowing under a pocket of CO2. Add a cheap bypass and a method of injection and you now have a Yugang reactor. This success has energized me enough to have another go at the AGA. I bought new lights (Weak Aqua P600's), jammed as many plants I could into the tank and I'm starting my plant selection now. I have a long ways to go but I'm hoping to achieve my goal. The tank is nothing to look at right now; getting plants here in Albuquerque is quite the challenge so I'm mostly waiting on submerge growth and to get them propagated. I also have way too many species but the selection process has begun. I just need to see which ones will grow in Ace Hardware pool filter sand. So far, all seem like they are coming along fine in the sand.

Oh, here's the reactor.

And here's the really ugly tank in it's current condition.


I promise, it will look much better soon. It's been a scramble to pull everything together so quickly.

I hope some of you follow along; I know I will have tons of questions soon enough for all of you!

I am seriously plant shopping this week, and am wondering if anyone is successfully growing Lagenandra thwaitesii submerged? I have seen some conflicting information in the interwebs, but I don't necessarily trust those whose primary interest is in selling the plant. Kew refers to this plant as a helophyte, typically in a marshy environ with its base submerged, but foliar growth emersed. ADA in their article THE CHARMS OF LAGENANDRA Part 1 states that "it is not suitable for underwater", so I am leaning toward that being closer to the truth (but a good excuse to scape a paludarium in the future). If anyone has experience with this plant, I would love to hear about it!

Hello Everyone,

So, 2 years ago I attempted my first Dutch aquarium that some of you may remember from various other forums.
It was this 10gal:

Unfortunately life got busy and this tank became a disaster a few weeks after this picture was shot.

The good news is today starts a new Dutch aquarium. Taking what I learned 2 years ago and hopefully applying more patience this time around for this 40gal:


This was literally setup today. And wanted to share my journey navigating the Dutch aquascaping scene.

Equipment:
Tank: 40gal breeder (36in x 18in x 16in)
Light - Fluval 3.0 Planted (Set to 80% for 6 hours with a ramp up and ramp down time of 1 hour total)
Filter - Aquaclear 70
Heater - Eheim Thermocontrol 125 - set to 72F/22C
CO2 - 10lb tank with Co2Art SE Pro regulator with intank diffuser (On 1.5 hours before lights on and off 2 hour before lights off)

Ferts:
Following @Unexpected fert numbers from his tank of the month post as a baseline to start. These are all front loaded besides the Micros:
NO3 30ppm
PO4 10ppm
K 40ppm
Fe .45ppm
Ca 24ppm
Mg 8ppm

pH and pH drop is currently unknown as I have tested it yet but will tomorrow after work to see numbers as the diffuser and check valve came in about an hour before lights on.
I am using a RO/DI unit that I have setup about 5 feet from the aquarium.

Plants:

1. alternanthera reineckii var. 'roseafolia' TC
2. bacopa carolina TC
3. bolbitis heaudelotii difformis TC
4. cryptocoryne lutea
5. cryptocoryne Crispatula TC
6. elocharis montevidensis
7. hygrophila salicifolia
8. hygrophila pinnatifida TC
9. hygrophila lancea araguaia TC
10. lobelia cardinalis TC
11. ludwigia repens
12. ludwigia palustiris
13. rotala H'ra TC
14. staurogyne repens TC

I am extremely excited to be able to start up another Dutch aquarium. and am looking forward to this journey. This aquarium is about 10ft from my desk in my mancave of the basement so it will get a lot of viewing from me.

Hi everyone,

I am really inspired by some of the incredible tanks posted here and your AGA entries. I've decided to start working on my own Dutch scapes as I've had CO2 for a couple years and am now looking to really dial in my horticulture skills.

Unfortunately I am currently in a situation where I really can't fit a large tank into my house/lifestyle (3 little boys who put their hands on everything), so my largest tank is a 20g long that's safe in my office. It used to hold a nice low tech nature scape but I was ready for a change.

I decided to make this journal for me to log my progress and hopefully get some advice and recommendations.

First to get some attention, here is the tank as of today. I am excited as it's going quite well so far.


Photo of tank on Oct 22nd (prior to some new tissue cultures and a few plant transfers from my other tank)


Now my equipment list:

Tank: 20 gallon long rimmed tank from Petco

Filter: Fluval 207 canister filter (used on FB marketplace for 40 bucks)

Lighting: 2x GE Ultra Bright LED flood lights, 2700K warm white, 2200 lumen each ($16 total and then I made some seriously redneck pendant light fixtures to hang them from random old lamps I had)

CO2: Pressurized cylinder, Co2 Art dual stage regulator (used for $50), DIY Yugang horizontal reactor sized for ~1.2 point drop

In-tank heater set to about 75F

Substrate: Fluval Biostratum bought with 40% off sale at Petco. I know this stuff isn't great but it's ok so far. I may eventually add root tabs.

All in all, this tank is very thrifty.

Water: RO/DI remineralized to 6 dGH

Weekly Fertilization schedule:
NO3: 18ppm
PO4: 4.8 ppm
K: 24 ppm
Fe: 0.4 ppm with Miller Microplex for traces
50% water change

Dosed as 4 doses but double dosing on water change day for stability. I have also been doing an extra dry dosing of 9 ppm phosphate until the aquasoil stops eating that.