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There is A LOT of history to this that is tied to some of the biggest names in the hobby's past. I tried to get them into the USA with Clause Christensen back in the 90s but no-go.

This would be big news for US hobbyists as availability of healthy, aquarium-ready plants is THE limiting factor in expanding the hobby in the USA.

Hi guys!

I'm new here, but not entirely new to planted tanks though I've been out of the hobby for the better part of the last decade between kids and moving a couple of times - but finally in a spot where I can do something again. I'm mostly going to be making things up as I go along, but plan on a lot of automation (I want to integrate everything into home assistant) and a lot of DIY as I love the challenge of building things out myself.

The starting point:

I picked up a 90P rimless, low-iron tank on a great deal.



I have a rough idea in my head for a stand to be built from plywood - just have a couple other house projects to finish off before starting that built.

Wife says I can only have one aquarium, so for this tank, I want to go all out with a sump to allow for auto top off, and auto water changes, auto fertilizer dosing etc. etc. I have half a plan in my mind.

I've also started on the light fixture which I've modeled up in CAD, and plan on making out of an 8020 extrusion, and some 3D printed bits.

I'm using bridgelux gen 3 thrive CW (3000k) and WW (5000k) LED strips which have super high CRI at 98+ along with some specific XPE2 wavelengths that I'll solder onto some starboards. Far Red (730nm), Red (654nm), Cyan (495nm), Blue (455nm), Visible UV (415nm). Each segment of the white channels will be on its own driver so I can adjust left to right brightness in thirds, and each colour channel on its own driver so I can vary each channel on a time-based approach.

These will be run from a custom PCB board with Meanwell N-LDD drivers, and will run ESPHome on an ESP32 so it can link up with my Home Assistant installation.


That's it for now, this will probably be a very slow build so be warned if you follow along!

ADA has recently released the ADA Japan Denim Tool Pocket as a campaign-exclusive.

The pocket is made from denim fabric produced in Kurashiki, Okayama, one of Japan’s most renowned denim-producing regions. Handcrafted for both functionality and versatility, it provides a convenient way to organize and carry your aquarium maintenance tools, while also being designed for use in a variety of everyday situations.

If you are a gear-head like me, this is exciting news and I'm already trying to see how I can get my hands on this.

Filed under the heading, "Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes."

The theme for this month's contest is: Algae Patina


This one is going to be tough but I hope some of you take up the challenge. There is a fine line between algae on an object that makes it look natural and old (patina) and algae on an object that simply makes it look unkept and dirty.

Who can strike that balance best??

Please take a picture of algae patina in your aquarium. Be as artistic and creative as you like.

The rules:

• Submissions are allowed between September 11 and September 23.
• Voting will start on September 23 at 12:01 am Eastern time.
• Voting will end on September 30 at 11:30 pm Eastern time.

The prize:

A $25 store credit from BurrAqua thanks to @Burr740!

Good luck!

I feel i need to do a journal so I have a internet calendar on what's happened or Ill forget lol! This is now 4 months back into the planted tank world and I'm happy to be back yet lost on true aquascapingI I have a current 29g as a farm tank for future builds going. zrdr 4l co2 bought locally full setup for 40.00, 29g free. A 20long I just bought with metal stand, hygger decent new led light.new heater. few foam bubble filters, ar a nice dual air pump. some new stratum about 16lbs , tons of good food, etc etc and 6 live plants crypts, swords, anubis about 30 stems of rotundifolia 12" tall for 85,00 it was a decent deal with what is came with , I thought!
Original plans was a 29 and 20 long. Well 3 weeks forward to 3 days ago picked up a free 36 bow front with stand, foods.heater, some dragon stone, bubbler all working freeby deal of the year for sure! The tanks pretty clean, some light hard water stains lll razor blade off very clean. Did come with about 35lbs stratum and blk rocks mix.

I threw substrate in tank after light rinse. LOL it went to pitch blk even after 2 big filters with filter floss still blk water after 36 hours later its muck now the stratum is crap imo other than deeper substrate to cover up with build. I have no clue on any age of the stratum 2 months or 5 years no info was free on side of road literally. I decided today to dump the stratum its a dam mess! may strain the stratum with my several size buckets to strain out small materials away from the blk gravel and use it with eco!? Just got 2 20lb bags of eco complete for 55 shipped my 2005 go to, easy no breakdown and same cost as bulk gravel from pet stores in the end.
I Would do the blk blasting sand its cheaper but don't want all sand and in end as I still do some gravel clean monthly oops.. The eco complete last imo forever I have 20 year old eco now in tank. Yeah its inert but still whole rocks. I"Ill be posting many pics of the my dry scapes holy hell! And more as it goes. Its been 19 years since I've done a planted tank def not a newbie just don't remember as much as I did and things have changed any help appreciated for sure! Joe burr has been help sure thanks dutchscape god!

Posted few pics of old tanks 19 years ago when I didn't know what an aquascape was lol no co2 just dry ferts, metride 14 and power compacts it worked! algae was very null. Im calling my new tanks the cheap skape 20 and now 36g the freebie. I usually try to go cheapo as I can get Im not rich rather spend 30.00 on steaks at home than 30.00 on stems lol. I'm mr diy I only buy what I cant build usually.

Finally a journal.

I’ll soon be setting up two new tanks, a UNS 90p and a 50c. (Not so!) Patiently awaiting tanks and stands delivery.

They will both be middle energy tanks. I have lengthy periods of busy time and travel that mean the tanks need to survive without human intervention here and there. So plenty of automation is needed, and slow and steady wins over high energy. Or in BBQ smoking terms: low and slow.

Plans:

• Injected CO2, but less than 30ppm
• Inert gravel
• Tidal HOB filter and partial UGF plate.
• Less than EI ferts, but more than PPS pro.
• Tap water (my tap is 50 TDS and only 10ppm Ca) remineralized to 30ppm Ca and 3-4 dKH.
• Lower light levels: Week aqua L on 90p and Chihiros wrgb 2 slim on 50c.
• Easy slow growing plants, and a few fish. Thinking the 50c will be a shrimp tank.
• Some hardscape but nothing crazy

My last tank has had a rough year. Hurricane Helene meant two weeks with no electricity, and much longer without decent water changes.

Then last summer the tank developed a slow leak while I was out of town (ugh!). Had to fly home for a week to triage. Fish and plants have been in temporary tanks. Plants are struggling. Photo is when they had already been in temporary bin for over 6 weeks, I was surprised it didn’t look like an algae infested swamp.





Sooo ready for my new tanks! These are my first really nice tanks, I’ve only owned petco specials before.

For the new tanks I'm planning on over ordering plants since my surviving plants are clearly pretty weak at this point.

It will be tough to get away, but I have managed to finagle enough coverage for the weekend, so I did it! I have my ticket! I figure why not? It’s actually not that far from me. Daichi Araki from ADA is teaching an aquascaping masterclass on Saturday morning. Also interested in the ADA Shizuku workshop.



Juris Jutjajevs previously announced he will be attending the Jersey show.

I have never been to an Aquashella, so don’t entirely know what to expect, but I presume it is much like any large convention exhibit hall experience. Any ‘Crunchers thinking of attending the Jersey show?

Please join me in congratulating @Jeff Miotke as the August 2026 Media of the Month winner!

This is the winning photo:

They win a $25 gift certificate from BurrAqua!

Congratulations for second place winner @Gwad and third place winner @CincyScaper!

Hello everybody,

I want to vacuum my complete soil and pull out all the plants add some apt root tabs en replant after.
Does anybody have tips or tricks to keep the shrimp safe during this big clean up.
I have a 350 liter tank 120x50x60. So thats quite a big surface.

The reason for the clean up is that my plants need to be replanted since i have not been doing maintenance for a few weeks and had some algae problems.
Since i need to pull out all the plants, a big vacuum would not hurt and will be easy.

Thanks in advance

This thread is for the general discussion of the link IFC Aquarium Fertilizer Calculator. Please add to the discussion here.

How to use: When opening the file everything should be self-explanatory. You will land on the 'Home' sheet. Follow from there. We highly suggest you read the quick Guide (a link is provided in the Home sheet when you open the file) so you understand the purpose of each of the sheets in the file. Once you have done that, and before you start playing the mad scientist, we suggest that you go through the CoreSetting sheet as it will allow you fine tune the backend to your specific situation/needs. This is not per-say a requirement and you can always do this anytime but it will allow you to get better acquainted with things. Once you have done that, you can go to the Tank&Dosing sheet. That's where you will start your journey in creating your fertilizer.

All sheets will have the following icons on the top left. Some will have less, some will have more depending on which sheet you are on.


These are simply shortcuts to other sheets for your convenience. However you can also go from one sheet to another using the traditional Excel tabs at the bottom of Excel as shown below.


Please read the following important technical notes:

• The calculator is Excel-based and there is no MACRO/VBA involved. This was done on purpose to minimize any potential security risks.
• Compatible with Excel 365 for Windows and Mac. Should also work fine with Excel 2016 and Excel 2019. For Excel 2010 and 2013 our initial tests show it works fine but we did not fully test under those versions. In terms of visuals, things might also slightly differ from the intended look. Below those versions (i.e Excel 2007 or lower), the calculator will definitely not work as intended and we will not support if run under those versions).
• File will definitely not work as intended with free and open-source office suite like LibreOffice or under Linux and Co.
• Under Excel Online things don't look as intended. Some people report that calculations are fine but I never really took the time to fully debug it under Excel Online. Maybe one day I will.
• If you feel you screwed up something with the file or your Excel crashed unexpectedly it might be worth making a fresh download.
• Although the user has the option to select between metric and imperial units in the CoreSettings sheet, all user input NEEDS to be done in metric units. Why? Because the imperial units are only there to provide visual guidance.
• Finally, we provide the ability to chose between several currencies. However all prices currently in the calculator are expressed in British Pound sterling (GBP). If you want to change to another currency you will need to convert the prices yourself in the CoreSettings sheet where all the chemical compound prices can be updated at will.

Enjoy.

@Zeus. & @Hanuman