Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @filmpunk!
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?
Welcome to ScapeCrunch
We are ScapeCrunch, the place where planted aquarium hobbyists come to build relationships and support each other. When you're tired of doom scrolling, you've found your home here.
Hello Welcome, filmpunk
- Thread starter Art
- Start date
- Tagged users None
- Thread starter
- #2
Well first let me say that I'm absolutely blown away by some of the names that I've seen as members of this forum. I definitely do not have the skill or expertise of probably a majority of the members here, but I'm honored you've allowed me to join and actually kind of feel like I'm in the presence of greatness, so Thank You. 
I've been maintaining a 20 gallon high for about 8 years now. I Never really intended on getting into planted tanks but its a hobby I sort of fell into by accident shortly after setting up my 20 gallon. I'm located in an area where our water supply is from an aquifer and nitrates from the tap are pretty high. Not really knowing the rabbit hole I was about to find myself falling down I bought some plants to use up the high nitrates from the tap. My thinking at the time was "Plants will use the nitrates, when they get too low the fish will fertilize the plants..." What could possibly go wrong?
Needless to say with my pea size gravel I struggled for a long time, throwing money at tank for a new light, all in one fertilizers, excel, etc. Struggled to grow even some of the "easy" plants (java fern). If the internet had a solution I was trying it. The fish were the easy part for me, but trying to grow the plants became a challenge, which I viewed like trying to solve a puzzle and in my quest for information on the subject I came across the world of aquascaping. Admittedly many of my prior struggles were partially due to my stubbornness, limited resources (and a plethora of bad information on the internet).
Things changed when I began reading many of the posts by Tom Barr which has really helped tremendously. I Began mixing my own ferts, dosing on a EI Light method, and have now reached a point where I think I'm ready to actually try to begin my first TRUE Aquascape. I've been planning on a larger tank for a few years now, I set up a 29 gallon a few years ago but simply did not have the time required for the maintenance commitment of two tanks at the time, so after awhile I tore it down and put all my focus on maintaining my already established 20 gallon. However the desire for a larger tank remained so I built a nice stand/cabinet for a 40 gallon breeder and purchased the tank a couple years ago which has basically just been sitting in my garage for awhile while I tried to come up with a plan for the tank. I'm by no means an expert, really still sort of in an experimentation stage, but you have to start somewhere right? Currently running:
20 Gallon high
pea size decorative gravel
aqueon quiteflow 50 HOB
Fluval Aquasky 2.0 (24")
Oase crystal skim 350 surface skimmer
Chihiros Dosing System w/ magnet stirrers
Inhabitants:
Harlequin Rasboras
Amano Shrimp
Cherry Shrimp
Red Racer Nertire Snail
Plants:
Various anubius species
a couple sword species
crypt
water lilly
a few other that I can't even remember the names of anymore.
5 Gallon low (Farm Tank)
Aqueon quiteflow 10 HOB
Fluval Surface skimmer
Fluval Aquasky 2.0 (15")
Fluval Stratum
No inhabitants
plants:
Bucephelandra Brownie
Staurogyne Repens
Alternanthera Reineckii (roseafolia)
bacopa
Rotala rotundifolia h'ra
Lobelia cardinalis
I set up the 5 gallon about a month ago as a farm tank. Given my previous struggles with some other species in the past (I highly suspect due to my water chemistry at the time, which i've started mixing with RO water to reduce my KH down to about 5 or 6.) I decided to get some plants and just see what I could grow (this is the experimentation stage I mentioned earlier). Trying to get an idea of what else I can grow sucessfully and what to expect from their growth in order to better plan a future aquascape. A few weeks ago I finally had the chance to visit the Aquarium Design Group gallery/store in Houston, a place I have wanted to visit for a couple years now. I spoke to Jeff for quite awhile and it really kinda inspired me to finally make a real investment in the hobby for the 40 gallon. I put a lot of time and effort into building a nice stand, want to have a nice Aquarium to sit on top of it. So I recently ordered an Oase Biomaster 600, a Netlea AT5S 90 Version 3 (Love the Chihiros lights but their warranty support made me a little nervous for the cost, so I decided to go with the Netlea), a GLA co2 regulator (already have a 5lb co2 tank). All of that equipment should be arriving within the next few days.
I will try to make a Journal for this tank build and would love to get some input and feedback for this journey. Again I just want to say thank you for welcoming me to the forum and I look foward to the feedback.
I've been maintaining a 20 gallon high for about 8 years now. I Never really intended on getting into planted tanks but its a hobby I sort of fell into by accident shortly after setting up my 20 gallon. I'm located in an area where our water supply is from an aquifer and nitrates from the tap are pretty high. Not really knowing the rabbit hole I was about to find myself falling down I bought some plants to use up the high nitrates from the tap. My thinking at the time was "Plants will use the nitrates, when they get too low the fish will fertilize the plants..." What could possibly go wrong?
Needless to say with my pea size gravel I struggled for a long time, throwing money at tank for a new light, all in one fertilizers, excel, etc. Struggled to grow even some of the "easy" plants (java fern). If the internet had a solution I was trying it. The fish were the easy part for me, but trying to grow the plants became a challenge, which I viewed like trying to solve a puzzle and in my quest for information on the subject I came across the world of aquascaping. Admittedly many of my prior struggles were partially due to my stubbornness, limited resources (and a plethora of bad information on the internet). Things changed when I began reading many of the posts by Tom Barr which has really helped tremendously. I Began mixing my own ferts, dosing on a EI Light method, and have now reached a point where I think I'm ready to actually try to begin my first TRUE Aquascape. I've been planning on a larger tank for a few years now, I set up a 29 gallon a few years ago but simply did not have the time required for the maintenance commitment of two tanks at the time, so after awhile I tore it down and put all my focus on maintaining my already established 20 gallon. However the desire for a larger tank remained so I built a nice stand/cabinet for a 40 gallon breeder and purchased the tank a couple years ago which has basically just been sitting in my garage for awhile while I tried to come up with a plan for the tank. I'm by no means an expert, really still sort of in an experimentation stage, but you have to start somewhere right? Currently running:
20 Gallon high
pea size decorative gravel
aqueon quiteflow 50 HOB
Fluval Aquasky 2.0 (24")
Oase crystal skim 350 surface skimmer
Chihiros Dosing System w/ magnet stirrers
Inhabitants:
Harlequin Rasboras
Amano Shrimp
Cherry Shrimp
Red Racer Nertire Snail
Plants:
Various anubius species
a couple sword species
crypt
water lilly
a few other that I can't even remember the names of anymore.
5 Gallon low (Farm Tank)
Aqueon quiteflow 10 HOB
Fluval Surface skimmer
Fluval Aquasky 2.0 (15")
Fluval Stratum
No inhabitants
plants:
Bucephelandra Brownie
Staurogyne Repens
Alternanthera Reineckii (roseafolia)
bacopa
Rotala rotundifolia h'ra
Lobelia cardinalis
I set up the 5 gallon about a month ago as a farm tank. Given my previous struggles with some other species in the past (I highly suspect due to my water chemistry at the time, which i've started mixing with RO water to reduce my KH down to about 5 or 6.) I decided to get some plants and just see what I could grow (this is the experimentation stage I mentioned earlier). Trying to get an idea of what else I can grow sucessfully and what to expect from their growth in order to better plan a future aquascape. A few weeks ago I finally had the chance to visit the Aquarium Design Group gallery/store in Houston, a place I have wanted to visit for a couple years now. I spoke to Jeff for quite awhile and it really kinda inspired me to finally make a real investment in the hobby for the 40 gallon. I put a lot of time and effort into building a nice stand, want to have a nice Aquarium to sit on top of it. So I recently ordered an Oase Biomaster 600, a Netlea AT5S 90 Version 3 (Love the Chihiros lights but their warranty support made me a little nervous for the cost, so I decided to go with the Netlea), a GLA co2 regulator (already have a 5lb co2 tank). All of that equipment should be arriving within the next few days.
I will try to make a Journal for this tank build and would love to get some input and feedback for this journey. Again I just want to say thank you for welcoming me to the forum and I look foward to the feedback.
- Thread starter
- #5
Well we are so happy you joined us and thank you for sharing your story! I think many of us can relate.
Be patient, lean into your members here at ScapeCrunch and don't be shy about asking questions. Any question (large or small) that gets answered here will become the answer for many that come read it later and had the same question. It's a form of sharing knowledge and paying it forward.
Be patient, lean into your members here at ScapeCrunch and don't be shy about asking questions. Any question (large or small) that gets answered here will become the answer for many that come read it later and had the same question. It's a form of sharing knowledge and paying it forward.
Forgot to mention that. I'm going to try an inline diffuser (GLA atomic) first, depending how that works I may or may not try Tom Barr's diy dual venturi reactor.
And to make a small correction, it is actually the Oase Biomaster 2 600 filter I ordered.
And to make a small correction, it is actually the Oase Biomaster 2 600 filter I ordered.
- Thread starter
- #8
I use the GLA inline diffuser and it works very well for me. No issues with it.
A lot of it has been on my wishlist for awhile and rather than spending more in the long run by incrementally getting better equipment I decided to give myself the best chance at success. I wanted minimize any outside factors, if I have problems I know it's not the equipment but something I'm doing. It truly has become a hobby for me and decided it was time to finally make an investment into it.
Welcome home!
Hello and welcome @filmpunk ! If you ever need it, you can get a Chihiros at 50% of the market price. Here's the trick to do this.
Go to the Chihiros website in the spare parts section, and choose an LED panel, Bluetooth controller and power supply for the specific model you have chosen. Connecting the parts is child's play. For cooling, you can use H-shaped furniture aluminum profiles that you glue to the LED panel. It works flawlessly. Tested and verified with Chihiros WRGB || Pro 90
Greetings!
Go to the Chihiros website in the spare parts section, and choose an LED panel, Bluetooth controller and power supply for the specific model you have chosen. Connecting the parts is child's play. For cooling, you can use H-shaped furniture aluminum profiles that you glue to the LED panel. It works flawlessly. Tested and verified with Chihiros WRGB || Pro 90
Greetings!
This is genius. You should make a separate thread with photos, if you haven't already!
Welcome to Scapecrunch! Sounds like some challenging limestone infused aquifer water if you use RO to bring kh down to 5 or 6. I'm curious, what other water parameters do you have numbers for?
