Social Feed

Cooper Jacobs' (@Freshflora) 40 gallon Dutch-Inspired​

​

Introduction​

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison for undergrad and am currently in my last semester of law school at Southwestern near downtown LA. I've been in the hobby since March 2019, when I started with a 20g high with red gravel and plastic plants and ornaments. My passion for the hobby has pretty much just increased exponentially since then, with my progress really getting going once I discovered a few tank journals on forums from fellow scapers (who we are now fortunate to be active on this forum) and closely studying their methods. I have 4 tanks including this one, the other three are low-tech. This tank was set up in June of 2020.

System Profile​

1. Display tank - Aqueon 40g Breeder
2. Glass or acrylic - Glass
3. Stand - Sturdy desk built into the wall of my bedroom
4. Filter - Oase biomaster thermo 350 + Aquatop 65 surface skimmer
5. CO2 - Inline NilocG Advanced Reactor with bypass
6. Water circulation - Hydor Koralia Nano (240gph). Total GPH in my system is around 400GPH or around 10 per hour
7. Lighting - Chihiros WRGB II Pro. 7 hours, 30 min ramp up and down. Par at the substrate is 100-120umols in the darkest parts of the tank and around 170 towards the center.
8. Dosing - DIY Macros, Burr Micros. NO3-PO4-K + Fe = 30-9-35 + 0.9 . Water column target assuming zero fert uptake = 40-12-46.
9. Water changes - 2 50-60% weekly
10. Heating/cooling - 200W Heater

​

Water parameters​

1. Temp - 76F
2. KH - 0-2
3. Tap or RO/RODI - RODI
4. Ca + Mg - 30ppm Ca, 8ppm Mg

Substrate​

2+ year old Fluval Stratum

Aquascaping style objective?​

Dutch-inspired

Typical maintenance routine​

• Squeeze out pre filter sponges from my Oase into a bucket of dechlorinated tap water.
• Prime the filter and purge the reactor of any air. Typically this will cause a good amount of biofilm gunk from the filter tubes to fly into the tank, so that is why I do this before I do the water change and pruning so I can get as much of that gunk out as possible.
• Clean the glass with a razor blade if I need to. When things are good, I don't need to do this often. I will also take a white laminated card and scrape the front of the glass in between the substrate and the glass.
• Prune some of the plants. I try to top and replant as much as possible because that maintains more healthy biomass in the tank than topping would and typically looks better right after trimming. I will go from the tallest plants/background to the shortest/foreground, making sure to skim each area I uproot plants from with my gravel vacuum.
• I do 50-60 percent water changes. I would do more but it's the most I can do with the size of my Angelfish. While vacuuming around the tank, I use my hands and a turkey baster to fluff the plants and get any gunk off the top part of the soil and the plants. I keep the filter running to get any gunk in the water column for as long as possible until the water gets too low.
• Refill the tank, and while it's refilling I will empty/clean out the skimmer. I typically will then empty it out one more time the next day to clear any plant leaves and gunk it picked out from the water column after the water change/trimming.

Tank inhabitants - fish​

• Red back Amapa Angelfish
• 20 Cherry Barbs
• 8 Cardinal Tetras
• 2 true Siamese Algae Eaters - Crossocheilus langei (there are several very similar looking fish sold as SAEs but which either do not eat BBA and other algae or only do when they are young and devour moss and other plants when they mature)
• L137 Pleco
• Albino female bristlenose pleco
• 6 false julii corys
• Bolvian ram

​

Tank inhabitants - plants​

From left to right starting in the front:

• Downoi/Pogostemon helferi
• Different rare buces
• AR mini variegated
• Lobelia Cardinalis mini
• Crypt flamingo
• Rotala macrandra mini type 4 red
• Syngonanthus lago grande
• Eriocaulon lineare
• Anubias pinto
• Hygrophila siamensis 53b
• Echinodorus aflame purple knight
• Limnophila vietnam
• Ludwigia super red/Ludwigia Palustris
• Acmella Repens
• Mermaid weed/Proserpinaca Palustris
• Water wisteria/hygrophila difformis variegated
• Rotala blood red sg
• Eriocaulon feather duster
• Hygrophila sp. brown
• Ludwigia inclinata meta

Any stocking regrets?​

Yes, I probably would not get the Angelfish if I could go back in time. I think there is a bit too much flow for it in my tank, and I may rehome it in the near future. Also I would have a bit less stocking overall. Substantial waste from livestock can hinder one's ability to push higher light levels, especially with slower growing plants like Buces.

What do you love most about this hobby?​

I love a lot of things about the hobby--its unique medium for art, expression, and creativity; the connection with nature and life; and the tremendous amount of learning to name a few. What I love the most though is probably the community. Without the community, all the rest would be significantly less enjoyable.

Who was responsible for getting you into the hobby?​

One of my best friends got into it and eventually set up a pretty sweet medium-energy planted tank. I never knew about the huge planted tank side of the hobby before that--for me I had the notion of plastic ornaments and colorful gravel when I thought of freshwater fish tanks. Once I saw his tank, I started to look around on the internet and things went from there.

Who in the hobby most influences/inspires you?​

Tom Barr, Dennis Wong, Vin Kutty, Joe Harvey (@Burr740), Gregg Zydeck (@GreggZ), and Chris Hendy have probably been my largest influences thus far.

What’s your dream tank?​

I have my eyes on a UNS 90u - 35.43" x 22.04" x 22.04." The idea of an extra foot lengthwise definitely appeals to me also, but I'm not sure realistically if I could keep up with the added workload that would require when it comes to a Dutch-style tank. Vin Kutty hit the nail on the head I think pretty accurately--one can expect about an hour per week of work per square foot for a dutch-style tank.

What was your biggest challenge with this tank and how did you get past it?​

A high tech tank is essentially defined by challenge, especially a dutch-style, so there have been many along the course of this tank's lifespan, especially as someone who has not been in the hobby that long. I would say though that learning how to properly tend to the plants (uprooting, trimming, and placement) was and has been my most significant challenge.

I've dealt with it by finding people who have emulated the type of success I am looking to achieve and studying their methods closely. Pretty much everyone I have reached out to in this hobby has been more than willing to help out and answer any questions, which I have appreciated immensely.

What is the most valuable piece of equipment for this tank?​

Either my light or my filter.

Any future plans for this tank?​

I anticipate having less time to devote to the tank for a while starting in March or so, so I plan on changing up the tank a bit then for sure. Probably will switch to more Eriocaulons, rarer Anubias, Buces, and plants like those which are less demanding than stems.

Any special tips for success or advice you’d like to share with other hobbyists?​

These are some of the most impactful pieces of advice I've taken away from the people who have most inspired me in the hobby:

• A proven method doesn't fail, the hobbyist does.
• Find people who have emulate the type of success that you are looking to achieve with your tank(s) and study their methods closely. Tune other people whose advice conflicts out, especially online, at least temporarily.
• Never assume your CO2 is optimal, always check and double check.