# Planted Tanks > Aquascaping >  Wind's Aquascape [The Yarra Valley 2015]

## WiNd08

Hi everyone,

So the story goes... The last time I did an aquascape was back in 2008, I had the tank for about half a year as I was due for enlistment and eventually decommissioned the tank. *Read more here*

In 2011, I finally got released from the clutches of National Service and began working while saving up for my degree. Worked for a laboratory for a couple of years and went on to become a SQ steward for another year and a half before finally saving enough to study in Melbourne.



While studying, I've been working for a part-time for a local LFS and finally gave in to temptations after looking at fishes and plants everyday!

So here it is... 

*Tank Specifications*
*Tank:* 3ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft Standard Tank
*Lights:* Beamswork High lumen 90 LED
*CO2:* Pressurized with ANS Glass Diffuser
*Substrate:* CAL Black Earth Premium (Powder)
*Fertilizers:* Seachem Flourish, Seachem Iron, Seachem Potassium
*Filter:* AquaOne CF1000 Canister

Back to being a student means being unable to afford a nice, low-iron, high clarity, rimless, cabinet tank with all the fanciful lily pipes as well maxspect razor light set. But heck, I shall do what I can with my budget and a lot of products made affordable through staff discounts  :Razz: 

I've chosen the plants to have medium light requirements and am not going into the difficult carpet plants such as *Hemianthus callitrichoides* and instead opted for the easier Dwarf Hairgrass _(Elocharis acicularis)_. To cut cost, I managed to source most of my equipment in Singapore last year end during my short break and nearly died breaking my back when carrying all the stuff back alone.

*The Yarra Valley- A beautiful wine making region of Victoria, 1.5hours drive from Melbourne.* 




The idea was simple, to make a cozy corner in my apartment where I can just sit and stare after studying & hopefully influence my girlfriend (who's graduating as a vet) to like aquatic pets more  :Blah: . I think it's good to make my significant other interested in my hobby too!

I would say that this aquascape is fully dutch without any hardscape. I hope to create a gradual slope (totally cannot be seen since it's fully planted with the stem plants :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing: ) with alternating red / green plants to give a nice visual contrast. Hopefully I can create a lush green carpet of hairgrass with some _Hydrocotyle tripartita_ trailing over them to help construct a "wild" feel to the scape. 
 :Angel: 
And finally, photos! :Cool: 
*
Day 11 (after first trimming):*


*Flora:*
_Elocharis acicularis
Hydrocotyle tripartita 
Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini'
Staurogyne repens
Micranthemum umbrosum
Rotala wallichii
Rotala nanjenshan
Blyxa japonica
Ludwigia brevipes
Ludwigia repens_

*Fauna:*
These guys were with me for quite a few months and I don't have an extra tank for them so they're in the tank early. Both breeding pairs.

2x _Mikrogeophagus ramirezi_ (Male Electric Blue, Female German Blue)
2x _Apistogramma borellii 'Opal'_ (Pair)
3x _Neocaridina davidi_  (Cherry Shrimp, which came in with plants my friend gave me)


I will be selling away either the Apistogrammas or Rams, depending on which will be taken first.



*Fertilization:* 

*Seachem flourish- 2x/week ~3ml
Seachem Iron- 3x/week ~5ml
Seachem Potassium- 2x/week ~8ml
*
I'm following what another forumer is doing in an Australian site and hopefully will get a good effect.

Stuck this on my wall as a reminder


Base fertilizer: 
*Osmocote® Plus Trace Elements - Water Gardens & Aquatic Plants*

This is an Australian brand which I found at a household warehouse which were really affordable and is safe for fish and invertebrates.

More Information

*Temperature:*
I've got a heater set at 23deg, as my entire building is thermo-controlled at ~20deg year round although temperature seems to still drop down to ~16deg during winter.


With that, I hope you guys enjoyed seeing the tank and I'll be updating here frequently.



PS. I miss _Bak Chor Mee_  :Sad:

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## Clamence

Very nice setup  :Smile:  seems like ur hairgrass carpet is a little sparse, anyway TFS

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## Mookie

Good on you bro! When I was in Aust, the prices of tropical fishes just turned me off. All I could do was go to some pet shop and admire hahaha $5 for a normal guppy was ridiculous

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## jiajuen900

Looks really promising! Hope to see some lush growth soon  :Well done:

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## mUAr_cHEe

Wah. SQ Steward. I like that kinda life but I heard its not that 'shiok' nowadays: lesser allowance, tighter turnarounds.

You may not have the fanciful equipment there but we sure do not have that fantastic weather you have over there: 20C all year round.

Your tank is looking great and it shows good potential. I do agree on the sparsely planted hairgrass. Maybe you can do with more of those. Are you intending to put in more fauna as well?

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## WiNd08

> Very nice setup  seems like ur hairgrass carpet is a little sparse, anyway TFS





> Wah. SQ Steward. I like that kinda life but I heard its not that 'shiok' nowadays: lesser allowance, tighter turnarounds.
> 
> You may not have the fanciful equipment there but we sure do not have that fantastic weather you have over there: 20C all year round.
> 
> Your tank is looking great and it shows good potential. I do agree on the sparsely planted hairgrass. Maybe you can do with more of those. Are you intending to put in more fauna as well?


I've actually been trying to source for more dwarf hairgrass. I got the last pot from a LFS near my place and the rest I found were from interstate. Not worth paying extra $12 for express postage :Crying: .. I really appreciate Singapore's small size right now.

So meanwhile, I'll just wait for the LFS to stock up on more dwarf hairgrass and I'll pop in another pot or two.




> Good on you bro! When I was in Aust, the prices of tropical fishes just turned me off. All I could do was go to some pet shop and admire hahaha $5 for a normal guppy was ridiculous


Exactly! I did a favor for a friend (LFS boss) by giving out namecards back in Singapore... Hence managed to get quite a lot of things at cost. :Laughing:  If not, I wouldn't have started!




> Looks really promising! Hope to see some lush growth soon


The Rotalas might need a few more trims to get thick  :Smile: 

The umbrosum's old leaf melted but the new growth looks promising. trimmed them every few days and replanted them, hoping for good results!

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## fireblade

good to hear that you are back in the scene bro!

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## WiNd08

> Wah. SQ Steward. I like that kinda life but I heard its not that 'shiok' nowadays: lesser allowance, tighter turnarounds.
> 
> You may not have the fanciful equipment there but we sure do not have that fantastic weather you have over there: 20C all year round.
> 
> Your tank is looking great and it shows good potential. I do agree on the sparsely planted hairgrass. Maybe you can do with more of those. Are you intending to put in more fauna as well?


Haha, allowance is getting worse and layover time is getting shorter as well. 

Yeah I plan to add more fauna in there. Hope to get the guys at my work place to bring in some Espei rasbora. Not too sure if ember tetras are too small for my tank 

I really appreciate the cool weather! No need for chiller!




> good to hear that you are back in the scene bro!


Thanks bro, been awhile since we last spoke. Hope you are doing well.

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## fireblade

I am going well... 
nice blue ram you got there...

looking forward for more plants and let it grow wild!
how much is a pair of ram over there?
I last saw in Perth they are selling hornworts at $4 a bunch... and fishes there are not cheap..

if can get some nice rainbows or blue eyes will be great!

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## mUAr_cHEe

Or maybe we can smuggle you something...

"Any fresh fruits or vegetable to declare?"

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## AQMS

So you bought your c02 tank there in AU?
Expensive? I cant pm you last month because your inbox is full.

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## WiNd08

> I am going well... 
> nice blue ram you got there...
> 
> looking forward for more plants and let it grow wild!
> how much is a pair of ram over there?
> I last saw in Perth they are selling hornworts at $4 a bunch... and fishes there are not cheap..
> 
> if can get some nice rainbows or blue eyes will be great!


I got my electric blue ram for about $18 and german blue around $3 but that's of course not the retail price haha.

I saw nice rainbows but pity they grow pretty big. I think all their rainbows are Wild caught from the tropical parts of Australia. New Guinea species are not allowed to be imported I guess.

My pot of Rotala costs about $8, so that's an average for you to guess. Tissue cultured HC cost about $20 a tub, similar to that of thos Tropical brand tissue culture containers.




> Or maybe we can smuggle you something...
> 
> "Any fresh fruits or vegetable to declare?"


Definitely nope! hahaha.






> So you bought your c02 tank there in AU?
> Expensive? I cant pm you last month because your inbox is full.


Got solenoid + regulator in Singapore but the solenoid broke due to different electrical current. End up buying another one here. $50 just for solenoid (without the regulator part)

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## WiNd08

One thing to add, CO2 cylinders are cheap because lots of people buy CO2 cylinders to make their own beer here. Heh heh  :Very Happy:

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## mUAr_cHEe

> One thing to add, CO2 cylinders are cheap because lots of people buy CO2 cylinders to make their own beer here. Heh heh


Ah. The famous Aussie Bicep Curl.

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## mark.s

Haha hey man! Found your journal. 
I've just flooded mine last night... I'll update you on whatsapp  :Wink: 

Btw, thanks for sharing the chart. Might follow that regime too!

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## tureblue82

love dutch styles....why don't you just plant the tank completely?...will look even better.

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## WiNd08

> Ah. The famous Aussie Bicep Curl.


Not much of a bicep on that bloke! hahaha  :Razz: 




> Haha hey man! Found your journal. 
> I've just flooded mine last night... I'll update you on whatsapp 
> 
> Btw, thanks for sharing the chart. Might follow that regime too!


Thanks Mark, your tank is looking way more amazing than mine haha. Time to post a journal of it too  :Wink: 

My dosing regime is copied from someone else too. I might try to get dry fertilizers in the future but will hang on to Seachem for now.




> love dutch styles....why don't you just plant the tank completely?...will look even better.


I actually managed to get some (A LOT) trimmings of _Ludwigia repens x arcuata_ and _Hemianthus micranthemoides_ and my tank is pretty much filled.  :Surprised:

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## alexhaw

Waiting to see the end scape.

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## WiNd08

After much pruning and replanting and an additional pot of Hairgrass  :Razz:

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## jiajuen900

Nice. Refreshing and lush feel :Smile:

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## WiNd08

> Nice. Refreshing and lush feel


Thanks! Still waiting for the hairgrass to carpet  :Surprised:

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## WiNd08

Did a 20% water change earlier today and did some water tests.

Ammonia is finally down to 0ppm.



Forgot about the Nitrate test but its been maintaining at 5ppm.

Past few days were really hot (38deg on Saturday & Sunday), but water always maintained below 25deg  :Very Happy: 



TDS reading, I know a lot of factors affect the TDS but I'm trying to keep it below 180 as that's the safe range for shrimps, especially CRS. Am I right?




To round things off, I think I'm pretty pleased with the progress of the tank on *Day 21*

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## Vincentwangzx

It is absolutely beautiful. My HG was not doing too well until I switched up my normal LED for an intense bright one. I only hope my nano tank can end up as beautiful as yours! 


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## WiNd08

> It is absolutely beautiful. My HG was not doing too well until I switched up my normal LED for an intense bright one. I only hope my nano tank can end up as beautiful as yours! 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you! I think hairgrass is not too fussy about lights so you should have nice carpet soon!

Removed my rams and apistos because they were chasing shrimps!

Received my Valentine's present though!  :Razz: 

18 Espei rasboras!

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## Hip

Very nice tank you have there. I'm sure you already know the local aquarium forum join them for some nice plants and 2nd hand equipments. You can buy dry fert Aquagreen site, Dave is a nice bloke. 

I used to do DIY substrate with building sand from Bunning and it worked a wonder, very affordable too. 


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## WiNd08

> Very nice tank you have there. I'm sure you already know the local aquarium forum join them for some nice plants and 2nd hand equipments. You can buy dry fert Aquagreen site, Dave is a nice bloke. 
> 
> I used to do DIY substrate with building sand from Bunning and it worked a wonder, very affordable too. 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Thanks! Yep, I've joined an Australia based forum and got quite a bit of plants from people there. First time buying plants and have to wait for 3 days  :Razz: . Bought them from Sydney so it took 3 days to arrive in Melbourne.

I saw the Dino pee/spit/dung ferts from Aquagreen, really cheap alternative to a comprehensive fertilizing regime! 

Is the building sand fine sand that resembles river sand? I wanted to create a path in my scape but decided on a full hairgrass carpet instead..

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## Hip

Haha yeah you do get spoilt by choices here in Singapore and the price and the proximity ....

I used crushed marble + blood n bone for base, then unwashed sand then fine washed sand all from Bunning. They cost as much as 1 bag of ADA  :Smile: 

I tried to do the same here but getting around w/o a car is quite a challenge, especially not knowing where to get all of them in one go..

One more thing I noticed. You some time can get some really good deals out of Gumtree over there since there are a lot more users (I supposed).

Keep us posted with your tank. Cheers!


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## WiNd08

After another month of trimming and growing  :Smile:

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## Gavan

very nice! interestingly the growth rate under the beamswork is not that bad? in sg it seems that alot of LED users don't like to use the beamswork hi-lumen. i always wondered if it really sucked that bad. it sounds really bright so i figured must be the wavelength differences but not sure..

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## Clamence

May i know what is the reddish plant in the midground?  :Smile:

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## Gavan

looks like A. reckencii 


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## AQMS

Mid ground plant is alternanthera reineckii 'mini'
background reddish plant is Rotala wallichii

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## Gavan

zz I always spell wrongly! 


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## WiNd08

Yup that's right! A. reineckii 'mini'

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