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

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.

I'm having quite a bit of trouble with the subtle shade differences in the Nitrate test kits. I've tried API, NT, and Salifert to no avail; I'm guessing most of the time. As much as I'd like a Hanna HI97728, the $525 price doesn't fit the budget. I've seen a few anecdotal reports that the HI782 Marine Nitrate High Range Checker is viable in freshwater. Any firsthand experience?

I'm already using the Hanna PO4 Checker; for me, it's been a game-changer for readability.

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

I've been consuming tons of information from this amazing forum and decided its time to start my own journal.
One, to get constructive criticism/suggestions on how to improve which would be most welcome and two, just to show other approaches to starting a new tank as everyone thinks a bit differently and to see other peoples perspective.

I only started using pressurised CO2 about 18 months ago so haven't been in the hobby that long.

The first pic below was of said attempt starting with CO2. The other reason for showing that tank is I'm using the same physical tank and also starting off the new setup with plants from that tank.

Speaking of the tank, as you will see in the first pic of the new build it is an old second hand rimmed tank with less than stellar glass. In my list of planned upgrades one of them will be to order a low iron rimless tank so I can actually appreciate what's inside it. I can never get a photo to show a clear shot of the tank. Its not a great tank but it is definitely clearer than what the photos show. I think the camera really highlights how crappy the glass is lol.

No direct inspiration here apart from including a reasonable amount of hardscape and probably having a more nature style tank, so not so formal.

I've had a large piece of driftwood hanging around that I've wanted to use in a scape. I've used it previously in a larger tank but was a fish only tank. I do know after a year submerged (tied down) it still went straight to the top when released/untied so is basically unsinkable. Not sure of the type of wood though.

I also cut it in half depth wise as it was too large for a 4 foot tank.
After trying to glue it to rocks around it etc I filled the tank...and of course all went to hell. The driftwood wanted to get to the surface so bad it broke away from the glue LOL. So I had to start the scape with a large rock sitting on it and the driftwood in a different position from where it started. Temporary at first but now I plan to cover the rock with epiphytes etc so it should be ok eventually, just not so much right now. One of those it is what it is. I'm only playing around here anyways.

I'll also say, as per the heading of this journal, I'm treating this as an experimental tank, not even close to a show tank. I'll purchase a nice tank when I think I'm at a level where I deserve to bring it justice so not yet. Hopefully this tank will bring me a long way towards that point.

I've only previously used organic soil capped with sand (so the classic dirted tank). That provides good growth for around 6 months or so but if a lot of the organics start rising up and leaching into the water column, its not such a great setup for high tech tanks. Ask how I know!

I've never used aqua soil. I would like to try one day but for now decided to skip that and go straight to inert. Encouraged purely by some of you on here that have been using BDBS. That is what I would like to have used but not readily available in Aus so I'm using pool filter sand for this rendition.

Apologies for the rambling, onto the details.

Started around 5th January, did the full changeover from the old setup

Tank size:

• 122 cm x 47 cm deep x 45 cm high (uhmm so in imperial 48" x 18.5" x 17.5")
• Litres/gallons - 258 litres / 68 Gallons

Filter

• Just what I have on hand and had been using in the tank (Aqua One Nautilus 1100) so around 290 G/H so of course in reality a lot less than that. Only filled mainly with sponges though, limited the bio media.
• I have a perfectly working FX5 sitting in the shed gathering dust but I think too powerful for this size tank. That connected to a Yugang reactor though and one inch lily pipes could be a good combo. Will have to think about that for the future.

Wave maker / power head
- Aqua One 8000 reef sim (apart from obviously to help circulation - was mainly put in here to help with the CO2 distribution - so is now situated at the opposite end of the tank to the filter outlet/inlet) Flow from 528 G/H to 2113 G/H. Have it on the lowest setting and probably still too strong

CO2

• Aqualabs Pro dual stage regulator (recently added this, replacing a cheap chinese one from ebay - about 6 times the cost!)
• Aqualabs inline diffuser
• Gets to around 45 ppm but I need to do some more refined testing ( I only have the JBL CO2 kit but seems to be working ok)
• CO2 starts 3.5 hours before lights start and 4 hours before lights build up to their set level.

Water
- Tap (GH 7 KH 6), PH is around 7.6-7.8 out of the tank - at the moment

Substrate
- Pool filter sand only

Lighting

• Week Aqua L1200 (using Red preset at R - 64%, G - 71% B - 44% and UV - 90%) TBH not sure the UV light does much but it is what it is.
• So the lights aren't on that high, I started off the tank even lower but crept it up to what it is now.

Initial plant list (as mentioned just selecting some from previous iteration of this tank)

• MC as the front carpet
• Hygrophila corymbosa (restricted this quite a bit as it grows too fast with direct CO2 access) so hidden in the opposite corner to CO2 lol

-Blyxa Japonica (one of my favourite plants. Its easy to grow but I wish it would grow maybe slightly slower so it doesn't start to take over it surrounds)

• One amazon sword - I wanted to keep one in here to prove you don't need rich substrate
• Crypt wendtii brown - similar to above
• Ludwigia repens
• Helanthium bolivianum 'Quadricostatus (I think thats what it is or similar. produces runners like nothing on earth but a nice looking plant. Thats the one in the back right corner in the first photo of the new setup)
• AR Mini
• Hydrocotyle tripartite mini
• Limnophila Aromatica

I've deliberately not used what i call starter plants to kick it off as I find they can take over easily in a high tech tank, then you have to gradually rip them all out. I know a higher risk of more algae without them but lets go!

Ferts

• DIY Macros and micro mix - Rexolin APN (dosed for water tank volume)
• Started 9/2/20 now 10/2.5/20 (yes I know quite low for an inert substrate compared to most and will gradually increase this in time)
• Front load around 50% Macros, then the rest dosed throughout the week - only just started this method to try and limit the swings during the week
• Micros dose evenly throughout the week adding up to 0.45 fe / week

Water change
- Currently around 55% weekly (I will be refining this a bit more too. I have a TDS meter now so will be working out exact water change volume using Rocco's TDS method which will also help with refining the fert dosing)

Current fish list

• Around maybe 15 Rummy nose
• 4 SAE's
• Couple of oto's
• 4 Corys
• 6 Crimson spotted Rainbows ( i received these in a swap, plants for rainbows )

I plan to gradually increase the rainbow collection a bit too over time. Love the Boseman's

Other miscellaneous stuff

• Fluval SK400 surface skimmer (seemed like a little toy when I first set it up but does an ok job actually)
• Aqualabs pro skim lily pipes, and added quick release to the filter hosing to get to these easily. They are glass.
• Inkbird wifi heater control

Upgrades planned

• RO/DI - Just received but need a few more bits and pieces then I'll introduce the RO water over a 4 week period (25/50/75/100). I plan to remineralise to around 5dGH (4:1 for CA:MG), wont be adding any dKH, again following you guys lead here. I think this will be a huge upgrade as my tap water is sourced from a creek and is inconsistent. PH varies between 7 and 8 and KH has risen from 4 to 6 over the last few months.
• CO2 reactor - Looking at the Yugang of course. This will also I think make a big difference compared to inline diffusers. When setting up the tank I put in some work to try and determine the best flow to maximise CO2 distribution but still think I haven't got it right.
• New tank - as mentioned above
• Possible auto fert doser for the next tank

Ferts uptake and adjusting over time:

• The NO3 seems to provide a consistent 10 ppm before each water change which is the same amount I'm dosing now. Coincidence or is it only using what's readily available in the system. I know with slower growing plants and not a huge plant mass the uptake is obviously less.
• PO4 - similar story, test (which I'm not sure how accurate it is) seems to provide a consistent result of 2 ppm, again similar to what I have been dosing.
• I'll gradually increase both and see where I can find the sweet spot but may wait mainly till after the RO/DI is running.

My initial aim is to try and avoid the infamous diatom stage by using a slightly reduced light schedule and ferts to start the tank.

First impressions for me is the driftwood is too large for this tank but it is a different piece so will persevere whilst in this tank.

Anyways the pic of the tank before I pulled it down;


Start of the new scape.

You can really see the crappy condition of the tank here with the scratches, water stains etc. I'm not too bothered though. It will make me more look forward when I eventually get a nice tank.

Just after filling up and initial planting. You can see the big heavy rock on the right. Without it, the driftwood shoots all over the place.

Noting that entire lot of MC melted soon after this, it wasn't in the best condition when it started though. Hoping it will eventually start up again. I'm patient, uhmm kind of!

Ive reorganized the order of my tanks so I can better keep track of them ie. Tank 2 moss tank is now tank 3. This helps in any confusion I had when tracking tanks they are in a sort of order now. Rather than taking time editing my old journal id rather create a new thread. Pics will be current (for the most part) as they are posted. I am not aquascaping. I am just farming.

This thread is for the general discussion of the classified ad Cryptocoryne Pink Flamingo. Please add to the discussion here.

Both tanks contain a lot of bucephalandra stems I have recently melted by feeding my caridina tanks with mulberry leaves. I have no idea what the heck happened but all buces melted in those tanks heavily over 3 days with every other plant + shrimp being fine. Don't wanna risk the plants dying so I'm throwing them back into high tech for a few months to recover.

Set Up:
Both tanks uses heavy co2 misting
Horticulture LED lights (dimmed, so probably 25-30 watts?)
Will steadily increase light weekly if I see no issues, max is 40 watts.
Dual sponge filters. (Air bubbles help prevent co2 gassing, also seems to really help stabilize tank, so less algae)
1 Internal filter with an atomizer for misting.

Regime:
All tanks get a 30-50% water change, twice per week.
Micros dosed daily (unless I forget, which happens fairly often.)
Macros Front Loaded and only in new incoming water.

6 Gallon bucket water change:
~350tds (Using seachem equilibrium remineralizer)
~22ppm KNO3, using KNO3 + KH2PO4
~40-50 ppm Potassium due to remineralizer
~4-5GH

Buce Lottery Colors
Lots of buces, various names, collected over the years. A lot of them were ultra rare and I cannot buy them anymore. Most of the ultra rare I probably accidentally killed from trying to grow them in a "no filter, no co2" style tank. Either way, not much color in low tech, will see what lottery colors we pull once they get going with better colors in higher lights + co2.

Both tanks are planted tightly front to back with bucephalandra. Kinda hard to see it all with moss blocking the way, but my view will be your view.

Random Mosses
Some mosses I've collected as well, honestly I grow a lot of them free floating so they kinda look the same. We will find out how they look after I attach them to something.

15 Gallon, very aged sand + pebble tank.

20 Gallon long, aged aquasoil I pulled from an existing caridina tank.


Wanted to take some macro shots, but does anyone know how to take an angle show on the glass without distortion? I have a DSLR long tube lens that works under water but color rendition is really bad.

Why so much moss?
Mostly to help stabilize the tank and to reduce light bleed. Less surface for algae to grow.

Hi all,

First of all thanks so much for the amazing threads and input from all the super knowledgeable and experienced scapers on here.

My question and apologies if this has been specifically discussed previously, but I'm wondering if an RO system would be a worthwhile investment for a high tech planted tank.

My town water which I currently use is not on the grid with the main city water supply that I used to access. Our town water is sourced from a creek, not a huge reservoir, and can vary from time to time, more than I would like. For example, the PH can be anywhere from 7-8, KH when measured some months ago was 4dKH, is now 6. GH 7dGH.
I know they are still within reasonable bounds though.

I could look at ways to just lower KH using HCL for an example but that doesn't fix the stability of the water supply for the other elements.

I'm also not able to obtain a water report.

I've just put in a plant order for my new scape (which I think I'll start a journal on soon) that includes plants like Syngonanthus macrocaulon which prefers lower KH.

Ro a good investment or am I over thinking it?

For 95% of people in this hobby, running an aquarium appears to be guess work, casual observations and not a lot of data driven applications.
That's where scapecrunch is amazing and so many like minded people here.

I love the tech side of it too which I'm only just starting to get into to help me progress the hobby further.
I was thinking about this as I was in our big box hardware store today just to pick up a minor plumbing item and ended up walking out the door with 90% of the material required for a Yugang reactor lol. Don't ask me how that happened! That will be another thread in the future I'm sure.

For now, my point is that when I get around to implementing the reactor, I don't want to rely only on CO2 kits to let me know what is happening.
I've seen some of you showing the PH charts which I think would be super helpful. Atleast to me as that is how my brain works best.

Which brings me to the equipment discussion. I was thinking about a PH probe (but not really as much to control CO2, just as a fail safe for that). More to log the PH data. Most stand alone PH controllers like Milwaukee do not log the data far as I can see.

Also, will be looking at fert dosing. For this I was considering something like the chihiros system.

I have a decent regulator to start with. Well I think it is lol. Also a flow meter (which i still haven't tested yet) so that side should be ok.

I also don't want to spend a fortune on an aquarium computer if I don't really need it. Most are starting at around $1,500 AUD here.

Do I just find a stand alone PH probe that will do what I want and the doser and call it a day?

What monitoring/automation systems do you use?