# Planted Tanks > Aquascaping >  3Ft Mound scape

## Xiaozhuang

Hello, I'm new to the forum, though I've kept planted tanks for a few years now. Using this post to test out posting. Currently running this 3 feet tank (actually 35 inches, odd dimension due to old custom build). Still reading forum posts on how to attach pics/ or link to other sites.
ARminiScape3-Optimized-1.jpg

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## Urban Aquaria

Very nice scape... lots of color contrast in the various plants used.  :Well done:

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## inrewind

I love the way your tank looks, plants look lush & healthy. Any close-up shots? Well done!

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## Xiaozhuang

Thanks for the kind comments. I'm still reading up on how to post pics, I do have some closeups but need a hosting site, I have some pics at plantedtank.net but not sure if can link to there from here. The right side of the tank is still half-baked though, think the flow doesn't favour the plants at the back so I'm still changing things up there.

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## Phillipians

Nice dutch style tank. Vivid and bright colours. Love the look of L.Arcuatas

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## furyprix

the contrast makes the red look really awesome! great dutch piece!
must be challenging working with so many types of plants. love the height build up from front to back.

any fauna living in this beautiful tank?  :Roll Eyes:

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## Xiaozhuang

Some more pics:

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## Xiaozhuang

I have 15 CPDs inside, and a couple of Otos; I see some spawning behavior in the CPDs, but afraid the females may be overly stressed by the male chasing them around. They seem to be still feeding normally etc though.

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## Phillipians

What lights at you using. I am sure it's LED

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## Xiaozhuang

> What lights at you using. I am sure it's LED


Oh yes, can see the dots reflected from the water. Its a BML fixture (from US), its their dutch XB fixture. However, I also have a warm CFL light on top because I think visually its a bit cool.

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## AQMS

Awesome  :Well done: 
How old is the scape?

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## Xiaozhuang

> Awesome 
> How old is the scape?


Its barely 2 months old actually. I started on 25/7, converted some plants from this older scape, which deteriorated after I came back from overseas trip. The AR minis & rosenavig are from Fishy Business (really like that shop).

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## Xanavi

nice contrast! what's the name of the red plant with the smaller leaves?

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## limz_777

nice , looks like rgb led , got green led as well ?

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## Xiaozhuang

> nice contrast! what's the name of the red plant with the smaller leaves?


It is Ludwigia sp. red, though I'm told its likely to be a variant of Ludwigia palustris, but I'm not sure if this has been confirmed or not. Yeah, there are RGB leds; there are 2 types of green if I'm not wrong, one green and the other is more cyan ? However, for this fixture I cannot dim the individual colors. It does produce pretty good Par values though.

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## milk_vanilla

What a great dutch scape! Great color organized and contrast..

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## Shadow

Nice scape  :Well done:  but you need to tune down and focus the red plant, currently it is all over place and become distraction. Red plant can be a friend but can also an enemy depending where you put it.

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## Xiaozhuang

> Nice scape  but you need to tune down and focus the red plant, currently it is all over place and become distraction. Red plant can be a friend but can also an enemy depending where you put it.


Yes, i think this is very true. Its a bit fragmented, I'm thinking which clump to remove or replace. Luckily AR quite mobile

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## Phillipians

I love the AR sp Mini. They are my favourite plant. I thought the colour contrast was pretty good in terms of the graduating colours. Red and slight red. Maybe you can remove the plant at the top right hand column. Best to be a greener plant. That keeps the red focus in the centre. Just a thought. I like how you managed to bring out the reds. Not an easy task. I presume you brought down nitrates and then increase iron and of course your lights are pretty strong already in the first place.

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## josephogk

love your setup, thanks for the photos. care to share the list of plants used here? Would be great for fellow forumers here.  :Smile:

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## Xiaozhuang

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice ~




> I love the AR sp Mini. They are my favourite plant. I thought the colour contrast was pretty good in terms of the graduating colours. Red and slight red. Maybe you can remove the plant at the top right hand column. Best to be a greener plant. That keeps the red focus in the centre. Just a thought. I like how you managed to bring out the reds. Not an easy task. I presume you brought down nitrates and then increase iron and of course your lights are pretty strong already in the first place.


Yes, I have replanted the right side a couple of times, thinking I should just fill it in with L. arcuata so that its more uniform. I find that the ARs get red with generally rich ferts/CO2, doesn't require much nitrate limitation to bring out the color. They don't like being moved though, I generally prune them in the same spot. Also they grow slowly compared to other stem plants, and thus can be vulnerable to algae on the leaves. Other than AR mini and Rosanervig, other varieties have a paler, more olive leaf surface, even though the undersides are purple as well. Reducing nitrates does seem to make L. arcuata more orange/redder. 

These are the plant names;

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## hiisoka

really beautiful and healthy plants 
very well maintained tank  :Smile:

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## cephelix

Fancy seeing you here! Great scape by the way keep up the good work.

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## Filet-O-Fish

Wow! It's like a painting. Well done. How do keep the plants looking so bushy? Is it constant trimming? What fertilizer are you using?
Cheers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## ltsai

Chiller used?

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## Xiaozhuang

> Wow! It's like a painting. Well done. How do keep the plants looking so bushy? Is it constant trimming? What fertilizer are you using?
> Cheers


Yes, its by trimming, but not all stems take trimming the same way, so its partly choosing the plants that can be trimmed into bushes. I use dry fertilizers? K2HPo4, K2SO4, CSM + B, MgSO4, and a nitrate fertilizer that one can't buy in sg i think. There is no chiller in this tank, but its in bedroom where there is air-con while I sleep so the temperature dips to 26/27 over night. 

*cephelix* - Ah yes I remember you from plantedtank forum. The guy with the ludwigia sp. red haa. Hope your plants are doing well too~

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## Henlek

Fantastic :Well done:  :Well done:  :Well done:  :Well done: !

Agree with shadow... somewhat the reds are scattered, better off grouped I guess. Anyway I will take it... because I cannot produce something like this  :Roll Eyes: 

Hey come on, share you tank specs please. And your dosing please. Thanks!

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## Xiaozhuang

> Fantastic!
> 
> Agree with shadow... somewhat the reds are scattered, better off grouped I guess. Anyway I will take it... because I cannot produce something like this 
> 
> Hey come on, share you tank specs please. And your dosing please. Thanks!


Haa okay, didn't realize people will be so interested. The tank is 35 inches long, 16 inches wide, 23 inches tall. 

The tank used to be lit by 2 X 150w industrial metal halides. 1st hour right side one turns on, next six hours, both, last hour only left side. 
Now using 2 X BML Led fixtures, 1st fixture runs for 8 hours, 2nd fixture only runs for 4 hours. Because visually I find the color still a bit cool, I suspend a 20w CFL on top of the tank as well.

The filter is some Eheim Ecco, rated for around this tank size, I forgot exact model. Using ANS's CO2 system with an inline diffuser. Using 2 very small pumps(smallest pump in shops) to circulate the water, one of them blows upwards for some surface agitation. CO2 starts 1.5 hours before lights come on.

The substrate is a layer of peat about 1cm + red iron rich clay, followed by dirt (1 inch in front of tank, 3-6 inches at the back), and topped off with ANS planted substrate.
This is a shot of the tank side; the dark band on the bottom is the peat/red clay, followed by dirt/garden soil, then ANS substrate. I used some of the ANS substrate from the previous tank, so the older substrate is lighter in color. In this shot the ANS layer is quite thick, whereas for most of the tank, its around 2 inches or less; perhaps only 1 cm in front glass. Basically the ANS substrate's purpose is to cap the dirt.


Water parameters-wise, the kH keeps rising because of CO2 reacting with the stones, so kH fluctuates between 6-9. (6 after a 25% water change, 9ish after a few days)


This is my exact dosing sheet for the first 2 months:
1st column is date. The next 5 columns for tests done on that date. (usually only test N, PO4, and KH) WC % indicates water change on that particular date.
The 6 columns after that are what I dosed in PPM.

So for example, in the 3rd row 28/7 - 25%WC is 25% water change. Followed by dosing 7ppm(3+4) nitrates, 0.7ppm PO4 (in the form of KH2PO4), 5ppm K (K2SO4) and 0.3ppm Mg (MgSO4)
Excel, TDS, or other notes are in the last column. Fe & traces I dose in the form of CSM + B, and Iron chelate 11% EDTA

There are many water changes in the first few days; prevents algae from gaining momentum and suppresses KH, allowing plants that come from normal tap water to adapt more easily.

Eventually I adopted a 5 day schedule, where 25% water change is done every 5 days to keep the kH fluctuating in an acceptable range. After I spotted an Mg deficiency in Hemianthus glomeratus, Mg dosing became more frequent. After spotting spot algae appearing, I increased PO4 dosing. So in some sense my dosing is reactive rather than fixed.

Nitrates are generally very safe so from the start to the end I try to keep levels between 10-30, dropping to the lower range to get more reds if taking photographs
Phosphates can exacerbate algae if present, so I usually aim to dose heavily only after plants have stabilized, and aim for a 5-7ppm range. (tank dependent, some tanks have species that require more or less, dose till no more improvement is seen)
Potassium is safe, but I get K from K2SO4 and my nitrate fertilizer, so dosing of K2SO4 is at lower levels.
Fe & traces could exacerbate algae if present(although a higher level can kill algae & Plants), so similarly I dose more heavily only once plants are settled in.
Ca - because of limestone in the tank, there is an abundance
Mg - Ca/Mg ratio gets skewed because of limestone, usually only a low level 1-3ppm is needed, but in this tank I dose it to about 5-10 ppm. (only seen in very late stages when I spotted magnesium issues in plants)



Thats about everything I guess. For the geeks that actually measure PAR levels, each BML Led strip gives about 100 PAR within a 6 inch distance from center-line at 18 inches depth. At the peak 4 hour window when both lights are on, there is about 200 PAR at substrate level, about 300 PAR at 12 inch depth and around 600 PAR at 6 inch depth. Its actually alot of light and I'm still raising/lower the lights to find a balance. So far the downside of running too much light is spot/dust algae on glass and stones, but if the tank balance is good, this should be the only issue. Frankly, I still think that 80-100 PAR on substrate can grow anything, but I was rushing to complete this scape in 2 months cos I know I'll be busy in octobe; higher light does achieve this.

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## dhmy2kgto

What a beautiful scape showcasing healthy plants! :Smile:

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## cephelix

Plants are doing well, but my fixture just decided to give up on me.so now i'm looking to use a pendant lamp as a substitute.

That's a very detailed list.do you have your own PAR meter or are the values taken from the spec sheet?
What do you use to dose Mg? And what are the telltale signs of Mg deficiency??

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## Xiaozhuang

> What a beautiful scape showcasing healthy plants!


thank you~ 

I don't have my own PAR meter, but BML has very accurate PAR sheets. I dose Mg with MgSO4, you can buy them from horiculture shops or guardian pharmarcy as Epsom salts. In my case, I had about 10-15% of new growth on the hemianthus glomeratus appearing with dead shoot tips. This symptom is quite specific to either Ca/Mg issues or severe trace deficiency in HG/HM in a fast growth stage (for slower growing plants/conditions Mg deficiency manifests as yellowing of leaves instead, as Mg is mobile in the plant). Given the limestone and high calcium content in the water, mostly likely culprit is Mg; I tripled the dose or so and no longer see the issue anymore.

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## Shadow

> Haa okay, didn't realize people will be so interested. The tank is 35 inches long, 16 inches wide, 23 inches tall. 
> 
> The tank used to be lit by 2 X 150w industrial metal halides. 1st hour right side one turns on, next six hours, both, last hour only left side. 
> Now using 2 X BML Led fixtures, 1st fixture runs for 8 hours, 2nd fixture only runs for 4 hours. Because visually I find the color still a bit cool, I suspend a 20w CFL on top of the tank as well.
> 
> The filter is some Eheim Ecco, rated for around this tank size, I forgot exact model. Using ANS's CO2 system with an inline diffuser. Using 2 very small pumps(smallest pump in shops) to circulate the water, one of them blows upwards for some surface agitation. CO2 starts 1.5 hours before lights come on.
> 
> The substrate is a layer of peat about 1cm + red iron rich clay, followed by dirt (1 inch in front of tank, 3-6 inches at the back), and topped off with ANS planted substrate.
> This is a shot of the tank side; the dark band on the bottom is the peat/red clay, followed by dirt/garden soil, then ANS substrate. I used some of the ANS substrate from the previous tank, so the older substrate is lighter in color. In this shot the ANS layer is quite thick, whereas for most of the tank, its around 2 inches or less; perhaps only 1 cm in front glass. Basically the ANS substrate's purpose is to cap the dirt.
> ...


Thumb up  :Well done: , the most technical detail I ever see  :Laughing:

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## cephelix

Thanks for that!! Will keep a lookout for the symptoms in my plants.how much did the bml cost you if you don't mind sharing.

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## Henlek

:Well done: Wow! Didn't expect such detailed info. Thank you very much, it was very interesting reading it (a few times really). Very technically capable on the chemistry and dosing, makes me feel lost for a while, mostly one will just falt EI done, like me.

And the result.... such a beautiful tank.

Then I read that this tank is in your bedroom. Wow.... Say if it was in mine, I cast a small blue led moonlight at lights off sleep time, I can imagine the beauty... counting leaves to sleep... no sheeps required.

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## kuxion

nice tank!

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## Xiaozhuang

> Thanks for that!! Will keep a lookout for the symptoms in my plants.how much did the bml cost you if you don't mind sharing.


All the prices are in their Buildmyled website. The LEDs are nice, but in general I find that many LEDs on the market may have problems with color rendering (visually), or if they don't have PAR data available, then there are many poor quality ones on the market. Its a minefield for new customers. T5HOs still have a good balance and predictability though I think LEDs will eventually overtake. 

Haa... the downside of having fish tank in room is that the wall can get mouldy ! Although I think newer paints are quite resistant.

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## zhou yuande

Very soothing feel...thanks for sharing. Very nice scape with good colour contrast

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## Shadow

> T5HOs still have a good balance and predictability though I think LEDs will eventually overtake.


well said  :Well done: , that why I change back to fluorescent  :Laughing: . Predictability is very important to me, since I don't have the time to trouble shoot issue  :Opps:

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## Xiaozhuang

Added some photos of a low tech DHG tank I'm growing as a gift to a friend. Waiting for the AR to peak out from the back a bit more.

This a 3 gal tank, DHG foreground, HM/HG on the right, java fern spread around, some crypts in shaded areas, some moss on the rocky areas, and AR cardinalis at the back. Substrate is dirt capped with fine gravel/sand.

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## jiajuen900

Cool! Very nice growth! I don't see any lights. Are you just using the ambient light from your main tank?

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## Xiaozhuang

Thanks man Its light by an Ikea desk lamp, easy for adjusting height to vary light intensity:

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## ltsai

Where did you get the peat/clay substrate from?

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## Xiaozhuang

> Where did you get the peat/clay substrate from?


DIY ? Peat is from peat moss/horti moss, clay is supplied by burnt earth Both are available at most garden shops.

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## Xiaozhuang

Side project: Green wall on window sil. Lit by BML Leds (bottom panel), and MH (vertical panel)

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## Phillipians

Very nice setup. Clean and well maintained. What are the plants in there and is there co2 injection?

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## Xiaozhuang

For the small tank, no co2 injection, regular excel usage though. Mostly just hairgrass and hemianthus glomeratus, with some AR cardinalis at the back

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## furyprix

> DIY ? Peat is from peat moss/horti moss, clay is supplied by burnt earth Both are available at most garden shops.


hi, may i know where you got your horti moss from? i'm trying to find horti soil to for some emersed planting!

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## Xiaozhuang

I bought mine from the garden shop at AMK central. Where it's sold as peat moss. I think you may be able to find it in larger NTUCs at the gardening sections as horti moss, it's the same thing. Far east flora or other large garden shops should have it as well.

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## felix_fx2

Rare to see folks keep a log, 30day log? 
Good job on that.

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## Xiaozhuang

> Rare to see folks keep a log, 30day log? 
> Good job on that.


Thanks man... ha its a habit that I found useful over the years for doing diagnostics. All tanks have their own log sheet... updated daily, it makes observing trends, tracking changes easier. Slower stable scapes with little algae or growth issues usually won't warrant such record keeping, but tanks with high light/CO2/nutrient dosing where small changes can have an outsized effect it's helpful

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## Donut the Donkey

Your's is probably one of my favourites! Plants look lush and healthy and all the colours POP. Awesome job!

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## Henlek

I saw your post in I think TPT recently. There were a wealth of info you posted, especially on trimming bushes :Well done: . Let us have it here in AQ too please :Kiss: . And I am eagerly waiting your second instalment of the trimming video :Jump for joy: .

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## Xiaozhuang

Thanks guys I'll copy the posts here;

On trimming the background bushes; its done by a combination of trimming off the tops to a height that I want, and pre-emptively pinching/cutting off tips that start to grow towards a direction that I don't want it spreading to. For L. sp red, the rooted stem is quite strong if its healthy, and the top can be trimmed off repeated; side shoots sprout fast. The whole bunch in the 47g are branches that come off from about 4 mother stems that root into the substrate. I felt that the trimming for the L. sp red is actually poorly done in the pics compared to the L. Arcuata; it can be contoured in a very exact manner, but I must have missed it when I took this set of pics.

About every 4 months I allow the current batch to grow longer, then do a replanting of tops (where the top node to bottom has no branching). 

I think that trimming and allowing side shoots to sprout allows more self-organization (because the plant will grow in a way that doesn't shade itself that much), it makes for a neater, denser bush. Replanting tops kinda resets the plant form to be competitive against surrounding plants. In the search for neater tanks I've been doing alot more pruning and almost no replanting for tops (until after many months). Just a theory based on observation though. It seems to apply to other plants as well. The effect is most apparent in the Ludwigia arcuata (orange background bush); where the dense bush must be achieved through trimming and allowing the side shoots to self-organize to fill up the space. If I just grabbed a bunch of them and planted them side by side, they'll grow in a vertical competitive manner instead of spreading out. I've been wanting to do a video to demonstrate this (because people don't seem to talk about it much) , so I've replanted the entire middle of the tank (start from scratch with sparse stems) and pruned it into a bush like in the pics over the past few weeks. The bushes have grown back in over the past month though, so in a week or so I'll finish my video.

Using an older set of pics to illustrate:
When background stems are planted individually, abeit densely... they each struggle to outgrow the neighbour:


After allowing it to grow out further, before doing a very aggressive trim:


After it has grown out; with self-organization with respect to neighbouring plants:


I did a video on youtube that illustrates this using a more recent tank;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSngM7OVpPc

Cheers,
Xz

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## Shadow

You put lots of effort on the video  :Well done:

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## AQMS

Well explained vid..awesome  :Well done:

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## Donut the Donkey

Just out of words. Really stunning. Very detailed explanation both here and on the video. Kudos! Subbed to your channel bro. Looking forward to more.

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## zhou yuande

Thanks for sharing bro. Really beautifully done. A stress relieving piece of art

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## Henlek

Bravo bravo :Well done:  thank you so much for the effort and sharing!!! Can't wait for your second video installment.

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## dhmy2kgto

Great and informative video! Thank you for sharing this tip!!

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## Xiaozhuang

Thanks for the support guys~ I really appreciate it...

One more low tech nano in the room:

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## Phillipians

When you say low tech I am assuming no co2? I have been trying to keep another nano too and still looking for a solenoid to pump co2 into it. How do you keep your red plants red?

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## Xiaozhuang

Yup, no CO2... Part of it is choosing red plants that grow well in low tech; in this case Ludwigia sp. red and AR mini. High lighting/good nutrient mix helps. For low tech tanks, I find that dirt mixture does better than aquarium substrates. The organic decomposition and bacteria action in dirt releases quite a bit of CO2 and organic carbons (similar to in nature). Aquarium plants also root better in dirt. Finding a dirt mixture that works may take a bit of experimentation. Too much organics/ammonia and algae issues abound, too little and the benefits of using dirt diminish.

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## stream

> Some more pics:


Dennis, may I know what are those 2 black squarish devices at the front right top corner of your tank? What are they used for? Are they some kind of wave maker? Where can I get them?

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## Ingen

Amazing growth without co2.

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## Xiaozhuang

> Dennis, may I know what are those 2 black squarish devices at the front right top corner of your tank? What are they used for? Are they some kind of wave maker? Where can I get them?


They're cheap pumps ha, but they work well enough - I'm using a slightly under-powered filter for this tank. The lower pump sucks in CO2 bubbles from the outflow and sprays them horizontally, the upper pump sprays upwards to create some surface agitation/aeration. You can find them at Seaview or similar shops

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## Filet-O-Fish

> The lower pump sucks in CO2 bubbles from the outflow and sprays them horizontally, the upper pump sprays upwards to create some surface agitation/aeration.


I thought this was a low tech tank. Where did the Co2 bubbles from the outflow come from?

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## Xiaozhuang

> I thought this was a low tech tank. Where did the Co2 bubbles from the outflow come from?


Low-tech? The other smaller tanks in the thread are low-tech. This one is most definitely high-tech, it's impossible without good CO2 - whether in terms of coloration or plant density.

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## Filet-O-Fish

> Low-tech? The other smaller tanks in the thread are low-tech. This one is most definitely high-tech, it's impossible without good CO2


Opps! Mistaken. :Wink:

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## Xiaozhuang

Finished another 15 gal... Mostly budget build from leftover materials. 2 X Ikea desklamps for lighting, dirt substrate, inline diffuser for CO2.

HC carpet, hemianthus glomeratus background, ludwigia sp. red, H. tripartita, staurogyne repens. CO2 wasn't tuned properly when I went for holiday, so some of the older growth is crap

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## stream

Excellent. Two thumbs up. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Dscheng

> Finished another 15 gal... Mostly budget build from leftover materials. 2 X Ikea desklamps for lighting, dirt substrate, inline diffuser for CO2.
> 
> HC carpet, hemianthus glomeratus background, ludwigia sp. red, H. tripartita, staurogyne repens. CO2 wasn't tuned properly when I went for holiday, so some of the older growth is crap


Awesome! My crayfish will love to go into that caves and stay there, haha. Thumb up !

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## leehyeok

wow.. impressive.. i really hope i can achive something like yours..

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## skytan

Wow...amazing setup.


Well if the peacock mantis shrimp is freshwater will be fantastic to house it inside the cave.
PEaceful outlook , death from the abyss 
hahaha.

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## Xiaozhuang

> Wow...amazing setup.
> 
> 
> Well if the peacock mantis shrimp is freshwater will be fantastic to house it inside the cave.
> PEaceful outlook , death from the abyss 
> hahaha.


Thanks guys...
Yaman I really like mantis shrimp, haven't tried any salt water tanks yet though

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## CP

Hi, you really have a beautiful tank!!
I have a few questions for you. You mentioned on post no. 28, you try to maintain PO4 at 5-7ppm. Is this a little high as I read that for EI method the target is 1-2ppm.

Also, assuming high light heavily planted setup with CO2. What is the target ppm for Ca and Mg. Assuming no lime stone in tank and change water with Singapore tap water. Should I dose with MgSO4 and CaCo3 or just Seachem Equilibrium will do? How often to dose?

Thanks!

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## boonware

Wow two nice scape you have!  :Well done:

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## Xiaozhuang

> Hi, you really have a beautiful tank!!
> I have a few questions for you. You mentioned on post no. 28, you try to maintain PO4 at 5-7ppm. Is this a little high as I read that for EI method the target is 1-2ppm.
> 
> Also, assuming high light heavily planted setup with CO2. What is the target ppm for Ca and Mg. Assuming no lime stone in tank and change water with Singapore tap water. Should I dose with MgSO4 and CaCo3 or just Seachem Equilibrium will do? How often to dose?
> 
> Thanks!


Actually the ppms doesn't matter much as long as they are non-limiting (unless you're dosing say nitrates lower to get a limiting effect, for getting some plants redder). Depending on your plant mix and growth variables, dosing more or less may help. The values can vary quite a bit. For example, Tom barr uses 5-7ppm phosphates for his tanks with higher lighting. Magnesium-wise, he has some tanks up to 20ppm. It doesn't mean more is better, but quite often it's harmless. (except wasting fertilizer). Most people around here seem to get by without dosing Ca or Mg, which are both present in the water supply abeit at lower concentrations than in hard water countries. Seachem equilibrium should suffice. 

I do dose a low level of MgSO4 - effectively adding 3-5ppm of magnesium into my tanks every 5 days. Whatever methodology you choose - whether is it to dose lean or heavily, remember that consistency is important; plants change their physiology to adapt to environmental variables and rapid changes cause instability, algae issues etc. Each time a large change is made, some time must be given for the tank to stabilize/adapt before evaluating the impact of the change. For example, plants take up to a week to tune their rubisco enzyme which is responsible for CO2 assimilation - so changes to CO2 levels will take up to a week or more to see full response from plants

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## CP

> Actually the ppms doesn't matter much as long as they are non-limiting (unless you're dosing say nitrates lower to get a limiting effect, for getting some plants redder). Depending on your plant mix and growth variables, dosing more or less may help. The values can vary quite a bit. For example, Tom barr uses 5-7ppm phosphates for his tanks with higher lighting. Magnesium-wise, he has some tanks up to 20ppm. It doesn't mean more is better, but quite often it's harmless. (except wasting fertilizer). Most people around here seem to get by without dosing Ca or Mg, which are both present in the water supply abeit at lower concentrations than in hard water countries. Seachem equilibrium should suffice. 
> 
> I do dose a low level of MgSO4 - effectively adding 3-5ppm of magnesium into my tanks every 5 days. Whatever methodology you choose - whether is it to dose lean or heavily, remember that consistency is important; plants change their physiology to adapt to environmental variables and rapid changes cause instability, algae issues etc. Each time a large change is made, some time must be given for the tank to stabilize/adapt before evaluating the impact of the change. For example, plants take up to a week to tune their rubisco enzyme which is responsible for CO2 assimilation - so changes to CO2 levels will take up to a week or more to see full response from plants


Thank you for your advice!!

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## toolkit

> Actually the ppms doesn't matter much as long as they are non-limiting (unless you're dosing say nitrates lower to get a limiting effect, for getting some plants redder)Whatever methodology you choose - whether is it to dose lean or heavily, remember that consistency is important; plants change their physiology to adapt to environmental variables and rapid changes cause instability, algae issues etc. Each time a large change is made, some time must be given for the tank to stabilize/adapt before evaluating the impact of the change. For example, plants take up to a week to tune their rubisco enzyme which is responsible for CO2 assimilation - so changes to CO2 levels will take up to a week or more to see full response from plants


Good point. Change, Hold, Observe.

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## VictorTQT

> Finished another 15 gal... Mostly budget build from leftover materials. 2 X Ikea desklamps for lighting, dirt substrate, inline diffuser for CO2.
> 
> HC carpet, hemianthus glomeratus background, ludwigia sp. red, H. tripartita, staurogyne repens. CO2 wasn't tuned properly when I went for holiday, so some of the older growth is crap


Woa, I like this scape most. Really impressive of the cave idea and sand road.

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## Xiaozhuang

Thanks guys... Another tank that still working on. Photo taken with reddish dawn/dusk lights.... very heavy scape - will change the midground again; right now its holding/growing some plants for the other tank

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## tetrakid

Excellent scape!  :Smile:

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## Xiaozhuang

> Excellent scape!


Thanks man... Playing around with the rock arc idea also; will add smaller stones/sweep the path and accents later

----------


## comet

Oh! I been watching your videos on youtube for the past weeks. Been really helpful and clear like a lecture class. You made all aquatic plants looks easy to grow! 

Impressive scape, and keep the photos and youtube videos going!

I am currently trying to balance my tank nutrients and CO2 with algae. Having some hair algae issue, and I believe is due to low CO2 (after watching your video). Have tune it up, and hopefully the plants will recover from the outbreak.

----------


## Goalkeeper

Wow great scape and colours! Thanks for the video.....always glad to see kind souls like you and others in this forum who are willing to share and help.

----------


## Ke77eth

is it difficult to maintain it ? Looks so nice and clean

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Thanks guys... I think this scape shouldn't be too troublesome to maintain; most of the plants are easily to trim without requiring frequent replanting and I plan to use a low bio-load because its a small tank. So far keeping it lower-light as well. As long as the tank stays relatively free of algae it should be fine. The path is surprisingly easy to maintain; I have it on the other tank and any debris collected on the surface is easily siphoned off during water changes.

----------


## BIGBIRD68

very nice scape

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Minor update~
Plants growing in, will have to prune the pogostemon erectus to be denser


Minor stuff I realize on the large tank; the path is really easy to clean as debris tend to remain on the surface and is easily removed with light vacuuming during water change.

----------


## fireblade

love the kissing rock scape!!  :Smile:

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> love the kissing rock scape!!


Thanks !

The scape has grown in quite a bit, may need to do more heavy pruning on the left side to maintain the look


Been taking photographs of fishes lately as well:
Pseudomugil paskai



Pseudomugil gertrude



CPDs

----------


## boonware

Nice pictures of your fish!  :Well done:

----------


## fireblade

nice nice! 
agreed that the plants need heavy trimming...

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> nice nice! 
> agreed that the plants need heavy trimming...


Thanks guys 

Another 6 gallon, with MC carpet... lit by zedlight 6500

----------


## gimhchng

Bro, somehow I can't see your pictures, tapatalk or chrome also same...not sure if others having same problem too... 

Sent from my HM 1SW using Tapatalk

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Bro, somehow I can't see your pictures, tapatalk or chrome also same...not sure if others having same problem too... 
> 
> Sent from my HM 1SW using Tapatalk


maybe cannot load on mobile devicess ? They seem to load on the desktop okay

----------


## gimhchng

ya..i just tried using laptop, can see now. awesome setup.  :Well done:

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> ya..i just tried using laptop, can see now. awesome setup.


Thanks man

I switched out PFRs/sakuras for Bloody mary shrimp in some tanks
The body is more ruby red, compared to the flatter color tone of sakuras, difference is more pronounced on freshly moulted shrimp




Procured some Clown Killifish as well; really quite likeable fish

----------


## sfk7

Very cute kilifish! Do they bother the shrimps?

----------


## mugenpower78

I notice your KH is quite high around 8. Is this a critical parameter for good plant growth?

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Very cute kilifish! Do they bother the shrimps?


So far, nope, they seem very shrimp safe as they hang around the surface waiting for food most of the time

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> I notice your KH is quite high around 8. Is this a critical parameter for good plant growth?


Plants do better at lower KH actually, the high KH is a troublesome by product of using limestone rock in the tank

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Rescaped the 90p, and stuff has grown in... probably going to grow the AR bushes a bit fatter though



Arcuata in the 6 gallon thickening up

----------


## reborn4ever

Wow.. Nice set up.

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Wow.. Nice set up.


Thanks man

Spend some time taking plant pics this time round:

Eriocaulon quinquangular - took a long time to convert, but the new submersed leaves have good coloration by now


Unknown species of Bucep, new submersed leaves


Varigated Alternanthera reineckii (Rosanervig)


Hygro pinnatifida reddish under nitrate limitation

----------


## Ivan Choo

@XiaoZhuang when you limit nitrate to encourage red leaf growth, will it have bad side effects on green plants? How do you balance it? Dose just enough so nitrate is zero while controlling deficiencies?

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> @XiaoZhuang when you limit nitrate to encourage red leaf growth, will it have bad side effects on green plants? How do you balance it? Dose just enough so nitrate is zero while controlling deficiencies?


I generally try to keep nitrate positive but low, so say between 1-5ppm... The downside of this is that some plants (can be green or red) may not do well in such lean waters. So plants that do well in lean nutrient waters ideally shouldn't be kept with those that only do well in rich waters. Many plants are flexible, some troublesome species need nitrate limitation to show their colors(ludwigia arcuata/H.pinnatifida), while some do much better with nutrient rich water(ludwigia pantanal), so there is no universal situation that is the best for all.

----------


## Ivan Choo

Thanks Dennis for your reply.


If we consider the NO3 contributed by the fishes, Nitrate limiting can be even more challenging isn't it?


Lean-dosing seems to bring a slew of problems for me (N-lacking = BGA, PO4-lacking = GSA). So if I understand you correctly, the important takeaway is to keep nutrients lean AND in the positive region, right?


I've read that Iron contributes to more redness in some plants. Can extra Iron dosing be used in place of N-limiting in general? Or again, is it species specific?


BTW, love your youtube videos. The episode on stem plant trimming has helped me a lot, I've been following your guidance and practising.

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Yep, but generally if you have lots of plants & light, N will be low as plants can take up quite a lot of it. Its the most used element besides carbon in plant dry mass. Smaller daily doses can effective - or follow ADA system and feed the plants mainly through the ammonia rich substrate - and only dose nitrates when its severely depleted. 

Iron allows the pigments in plants to form properly, but not necessarily more is better. The thing is iron fertilizer can precipitate out of the water fairly quickly (depending on type of iron and KH of your water)and iron is immobile in plants - plants can draw NPK from storage so to say (or old leaves) to make new leaves but iron must be present at the moment for plants to utilize. Else you get yellow leaves or poor coloration. To this end, iron should be dosed more frequently (2-4 times a week ?) compared to other ferts which can be dosed once a week. Unlike NPK, usable iron is not provided from fish waste etc, it must be dosed in fert form. It is for these reasons that iron is emphasized more than other ferts

----------


## Xiaozhuang

added Rotala ramosior florida. The deep magenta coloration is pretty striking and easy to get as long as the plant is healthy

----------


## lcdscreen

Hey man may I know where you got the magenta Rotala ramosior florida?

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Hey man may I know where you got the magenta Rotala ramosior florida?


Direct from friends in the US... its quite a new plant to the hobby

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Scaped with higher rock on this one to grow Buceps ~ Taking a longer time to fill in though

----------


## fireblade

nice!!! the antennas looks a bit distracting ... also if the bottom of the front can cover up the dirt, it will look even better!
what rocks did you use?

----------


## Realcaster

Really impressive, beautiful layout and sculpting. 

Can I know what is the plant infront of the Ludwigia Acruata? I think I have similar plant and it typically get redder than the Acruata but not sure about its name!

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> nice!!! the antennas looks a bit distracting ... also if the bottom of the front can cover up the dirt, it will look even better!
> what rocks did you use?


Yeah I agree, but I didn't have a spare tank to keep those Erios so for now they're here ~ I think the path is too white ? thinking about adding smaller rocks here and there

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Really impressive, beautiful layout and sculpting. 
> 
> Can I know what is the plant infront of the Ludwigia Acruata? I think I have similar plant and it typically get redder than the Acruata but not sure about its name!


Thanks man. I don't have arcuata in this tank though. Its rotala rotundifolia at the back, and Ludwigia brevipes beneath it

----------


## Realcaster

Thanks for the reply, so it's Ludwgia Brevipes. The best I could get is copper red, have you ever get it Blood Red before, if yes, how do you do it  :Smile:

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Thanks for the reply, so it's Ludwgia Brevipes. The best I could get is copper red, have you ever get it Blood Red before, if yes, how do you do it


The healthy color of Brevipes is actually orange. It belongs to the class of plants (rotala rotundifolia/arcuata etc) that gets redder with nitrate limitation/lower nitrates. However, if you run very low nitrates or other form of nutrient deprivation for long periods to get that color, the other plants in your tank may/will suffer. You can do this with green plants as well. I.e. nitrate limitation also produces say reddish glosso


Rather than do that, if you want red plants, choose the species that are naturally red under good health; Ludwigia sp. red, Macrandra, etc....

----------


## Realcaster

Thank you for the advise. I think I will try nitrate limiting one day when my tank matures.

----------


## Realcaster

Hi Xiaozhuang, did I get it right?

it was a good deal so I hope I didn't get the wrong species

image.jpg

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## aquaticlover

> I generally try to keep nitrate positive but low, so say between 1-5ppm... The downside of this is that some plants (can be green or red) may not do well in such lean waters. So plants that do well in lean nutrient waters ideally shouldn't be kept with those that only do well in rich waters. Many plants are flexible, some troublesome species need nitrate limitation to show their colors(ludwigia arcuata/H.pinnatifida), while some do much better with nutrient rich water(ludwigia pantanal), so there is no universal situation that is the best for all.


May I know 1-5ppm is for a day or for a week?

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> May I know 1-5ppm is for a day or for a week?


It means I try to keep nitrates in the tank between 1-5ppm... Depending on plant uptake rate, dosing will change. I.e. If I'm constantly testing above 5ppm nitrates I'll dose less, if plants start getting stunted from lack of N, I dose more. On some tanks dosing 1ppm every other day works, with 40% WC on weekend. On higher lighting tanks, maybe double that....

----------


## aquaticlover

> It means I try to keep nitrates in the tank between 1-5ppm... Depending on plant uptake rate, dosing will change. I.e. If I'm constantly testing above 5ppm nitrates I'll dose less, if plants start getting stunted from lack of N, I dose more. On some tanks dosing 1ppm every other day works, with 40% WC on weekend. On higher lighting tanks, maybe double that....


Thank you for your reply Dennis. "On some tanks dosing 1ppm every other day works, with 40% WC on weekend." means if the constantly tested nitrate results show above 5ppm, on some tanks we can dose 1ppm every other days?

----------


## Xiaozhuang

OR every 3 days.. depends on the tank. Some low light tank with some fish, I dose nitrates maybe once a week

----------


## aquaticlover

i see. Thank you.

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## uorme99

Nice! I wish to have such beautiful color plants too  :Smile:

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## Xiaozhuang

> Nice! I wish to have such beautiful color plants too


Thanks man For sure can bro... we can find everything we need here, slowly take time and explore

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Persicaria/Polygonum sp. 'Sao Paulo'. Nice leaf color but not particularly good for scaping, keeping a couple of stems for novelty sake. A sample bought from Taiwan

----------


## Xiaozhuang

side shot of 4ft tank; still growing in


Proserpinaca palustris

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## Realcaster

Another masterpiece in the making, can't wait to see the front view  :Shocked:

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## Xiaozhuang

> Another masterpiece in the making, can't wait to see the front view


Ha soon thanks man...

Some more Rotala florida pics

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## Xiaozhuang

Shot before trimming, gonna re-arrange the center abit

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Some close-up shots of Buceps on the right hand side of the tank

----------


## Xiaozhuang

White clouds above the forest 


Hygro. Araguaia


Rotala macrandra Type 4 amidst other plants

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## ryangiggs

Did your white cloud jump out of the tank?

I had 10 at first... after 2 weeks now left with 6... 4 decided to jump out...

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## Xiaozhuang

> Did your white cloud jump out of the tank?
> 
> I had 10 at first... after 2 weeks now left with 6... 4 decided to jump out...


Not really ? I have 20+, maybe could have lost one or two over the years

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## Xiaozhuang

Some construction pics & shots before further modifications

Hardscape setup with plastic grid supports


Added substrate 


View from top after grown in


View in room of front

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## fireblade

thanks for sharing the before photos!
won't there be any planting problem with the black stand? as time passed, will the black stuff be exposed when the soil start to fall?

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## Realcaster

Beautiful tank as usual  :Well done: 

May i ask on your sand area, do you plant directly into the sand or are there soil subtrate beneath?

What are the recommended plants that can be planted into the sand substrate directly if I do not have soil beneath?

Thank you.

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## Xiaozhuang

> thanks for sharing the before photos!
> won't there be any planting problem with the black stand? as time passed, will the black stuff be exposed when the soil start to fall?


you're welcome ~ So far not really? the soil doesn't dip much; I usually cover it up to an inch. Have done this method on about 8 tanks so far




> Beautiful tank as usual 
> 
> May i ask on your sand area, do you plant directly into the sand or are there soil subtrate beneath?
> 
> What are the recommended plants that can be planted into the sand substrate directly if I do not have soil beneath?
> 
> Thank you.


Thanks man; there is soil below the sand, about an inch. Most plants will survive in pure sand as long as your water column is dosed, and there is flow at the substrate level. Some plants do better with richer sediment, but almost all common aquatic plants can be grown in plain sand, especially if its a matured substrate with debris. Another concern is substrate depth ? If the sand area is shallow, some plants that have deep roots can't stretch their roots (Erios, ARs, larger plants). Epiphytes will do well (anubias, Hygro pinnatifida, UG) with their roots but not rhizome in the sand. The leaner condition can be useful in limiting the growth rates of aggressive plants; hungry hygros/UG/Glosso & other fast ground covers. Can be used to purposefully stunt larger crypts etc.

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## blue33

nice to see some nice tank around. well done.  :Smile:

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## Xiaozhuang

> nice to see some nice tank around. well done.


Thanks man.

I did a short study of the geographical origins of aquatic plants in my tank; and found it interesting that they come from so many different areas of the world

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## Larnall

Looks great!

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## Xiaozhuang

> Looks great!


Heh thanks... some shots of new leaves on the brownie ghost buceps
 

some others have red new leaves that turn bluish as they get older

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## AQMS

I believe the tank is already a year old now? Your lighting,you still run on 2 X BML Led fixtures, 1st fixture runs for 8 hours, 2nd fixture only runs for 4 hours and a 20w CFL on top of the tank as well?
can take a pic of your lightings?

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## AQMS

I want to see the BML fixture... :Smile:

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## Xiaozhuang

> I want to see the BML fixture...


lol if you're asking about the first mound scape that scape is long gone (along with the tank). I only have space for a couple of 3ft tanks, so I rescape them every 7mths to a year; that's where all the other scapes come from. 

my favourite BML model now is the custom spectrum one I have on the 4ft tank ; I use only a single bar hung at 40 inches from the substrate, narrow lens angle. With the spectrum distribution as 4X of this:

----------


## Xiaozhuang

New layout for 3ft tank, playing with driftwood selection

started from the top and moved through a few permutations:








Main pieces should be fixed, will add smaller details later

----------


## jackychun

The new layout looks very promising! Waiting for your updates!  :Smile:

----------


## sfk7

Nice wood. Where did you get them from? Huge selection?

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> The new layout looks very promising! Waiting for your updates!


Heh thanks; I've planted parts of it, still gathering the rest of the plants. Nice blog btw




> Nice wood. Where did you get them from? Huge selection?


I got this batch mostly from Aquatic Avenue. Seaview has some pieces as well, but I needed to cut them up with a saw to get the pieces I wanted

----------


## AQMS

neat  :Well done: ...it will be awesome...

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## fireblade

can't wait to see the planted version of it!  :Smile:

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Thanks guys ~ I started planting already, but not fully yet.


Small pic on details on the buceps/foreground of the 4ft scape

----------


## fireblade

Cannot see the picture. ..

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Cannot see the picture. ..


heh high resolution links, may need com to load properly or may take time to load

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Some new plants;
Cuphea A. in the tank


Updated 4ft scape: & video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7LRH5_qRmg


Planted new tank, waiting for mosses to grow in

----------


## fireblade

wow!!! nice effort there!
very nice setup

----------


## kaen130

Very nice 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

----------


## spmort

Yes. It is an inspiration for beginners like me.

----------


## aquanick

> New layout for 3ft tank, playing with driftwood selection
> 
> started from the top and moved through a few permutations:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Beautiful..! may i ask what is the substrate used?

----------


## Xiaozhuang

heh thanks guys... the substrate is dirt, capped with sand. Aquasoil is used at the back later on

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Some other details of the moss

----------


## magpie

Hi Xiaozhuang, 

are you able to share what type of dirt are you using?

----------


## jackychun

Great looking tank, bro! I was about to ask what kind of moss you are using, then I saw your last photo!  :Grin: 
Did you use glue to attach them to the wood?

----------


## skytan

A school of gold laser or adolfo will be interesting. 

Awesome scape, by the way Pinna is left there on purpose?

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Hi Xiaozhuang, 
> 
> are you able to share what type of dirt are you using?


I use soil from garden shops; far east/Ji mei etc. They are typically the cheapest $2 or $1.5o packets





> Great looking tank, bro! I was about to ask what kind of moss you are using, then I saw your last photo! 
> Did you use glue to attach them to the wood?


Yep, superglue... Fishy B sells the larger 20ml tubes that are more economical if doing alot of glue work




> A school of gold laser or adolfo will be interesting. 
> 
> Awesome scape, by the way Pinna is left there on purpose?


Thanks man... yep the pinna is covered the chopped off ends of the wood; could replace with moss I guess. I'm still considering options

----------


## fireblade

when using dirt, do you need to cover it with a layer of sand?
so every rescape you will change your gravels?

----------


## aquanick

> when using dirt, do you need to cover it with a layer of sand?
> so every rescape you will change your gravels?


Still quite economical with larger tanks i assume?  :Smile:

----------


## aquanick

> thank you~ 
> 
> I don't have my own PAR meter, but BML has very accurate PAR sheets. I dose Mg with MgSO4, you can buy them from horiculture shops or guardian pharmarcy as Epsom salts. In my case, I had about 10-15% of new growth on the hemianthus glomeratus appearing with dead shoot tips. This symptom is quite specific to either Ca/Mg issues or severe trace deficiency in HG/HM in a fast growth stage (for slower growing plants/conditions Mg deficiency manifests as yellowing of leaves instead, as Mg is mobile in the plant). Given the limestone and high calcium content in the water, mostly likely culprit is Mg; I tripled the dose or so and no longer see the issue anymore.


This is extremely useful information.. I am having the same issue in my tank but amongst all the plants only Rotala species show twisted tips. Increasing Mg to 5ppm solved the necrotic growth but not for some reason some of the rotala stalks have very small leaves and extremely small tips with internode distance getting reduced. What causes this?

----------


## ciaossu

Hi Xiaozhuang where do you get the iron rich clay? i can't seem to find any. thank you

----------


## Donut the Donkey

Insane. Your scapes for all of your tanks are amazing. The last one is just awesome! Sorry I haven't had the time to read each post as of yet, but do you have a chiller to grow the mini pelia? Have always wanted to try this one moss out but I reckon, no chiller means little to no hope. Also your videos on YouTube are very detailed and informative as well, if I haven't mentioned that already (i'm pretty sure I posted something in here somewhere previously).

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> when using dirt, do you need to cover it with a layer of sand?
> so every rescape you will change your gravels?


Yep, I reuse the soils & aquasoils sometimes, but generally to keep the sand look very clean I may replace the sand layer.

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Hi Xiaozhuang where do you get the iron rich clay? i can't seem to find any. thank you


Try the garden nurseries ? Far east flora/ Jimei etc




> Insane. Your scapes for all of your tanks are amazing. The last one is just awesome! Sorry I haven't had the time to read each post as of yet, but do you have a chiller to grow the mini pelia? Have always wanted to try this one moss out but I reckon, no chiller means little to no hope. Also your videos on YouTube are very detailed and informative as well, if I haven't mentioned that already (i'm pretty sure I posted something in here somewhere previously).


Hey thanks... I still don't own a chiller, but the tanks are in a room that gets air con for most part of the day, so the water is cool 24-26 degrees. Some mosses can survive warmer temps, but their coloration may be lighter





> This is extremely useful information.. I am having the same issue in my tank but amongst all the plants only Rotala species show twisted tips. Increasing Mg to 5ppm solved the necrotic growth but not for some reason some of the rotala stalks have very small leaves and extremely small tips with internode distance getting reduced. What causes this?


Hmm maybe post a pic or link to your journal I can take a look

----------


## ChenYW

Hi thread starter i want to start a dirt tank what do i know other than 


1. Gardon soil
2. Compost
3. Root tabs
4. ????

TIA

----------


## Goalkeeper

Nice tank. Do you experience high casualty rate on the axelrodi? I've bought few times in different tanks but most don't survive beyond few weeks while my other fishes are still ok!! Seems very fragile to me. I like their colours especially the blue ones....would be better if they school!

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Hi thread starter i want to start a dirt tank what do i know other than 
> 
> 
> 1. Gardon soil
> 2. Compost
> 3. Root tabs
> 4. ????
> 
> TIA


I think better to use plain soil and not compost... compost can be too labile for some plants, burn delicate roots




> Nice tank. Do you experience high casualty rate on the axelrodi? I've bought few times in different tanks but most don't survive beyond few weeks while my other fishes are still ok!! Seems very fragile to me. I like their colours especially the blue ones....would be better if they school!


Yea I heard that they're delicate fish. I bought mine from AA, only added after tank stabilized, and so far it seems alright ~


Minor update; changed/trimmed background, still working on adding additional tree trunks at rear, plan to change the front left also to give more definition

----------


## Xiaozhuang

some moss shots

----------


## Thieverycorp

Hi Xiaozhuang, your tanks are truly amazing. My tank has ludwigia sp. guinea, AR mini and a couple green stem plants. I dose Lushgro aqua, Lushgro micros and Kh2Po4. I dose lean daily instead of weekly. Do you think i shd add fe separately because my reds is nowhere near yours. Thx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

----------


## tarzanboy

Hi, all your tank are great you must have a great time enjoying watching it at home  :Smile:  I like the last tank may I know where you purchase the black plastic grid and how much. Amazing that you actually use garden horti soil with sand on top do you add any fertilizer or roots tab below will the water be dirty any advise thank.

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Hi Xiaozhuang, your tanks are truly amazing. My tank has ludwigia sp. guinea, AR mini and a couple green stem plants. I dose Lushgro aqua, Lushgro micros and Kh2Po4. I dose lean daily instead of weekly. Do you think i shd add fe separately because my reds is nowhere near yours. Thx
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Probably due to light spectrum (use red/blue heavy bulbs instead) and other things such as temperature, don't think it is because of the lack of Fe...

----------


## Xiaozhuang

> Hi, all your tank are great you must have a great time enjoying watching it at home  I like the last tank may I know where you purchase the black plastic grid and how much. Amazing that you actually use garden horti soil with sand on top do you add any fertilizer or roots tab below will the water be dirty any advise thank.


The black plastic grid is bought from Far east flora at thomson road; other garden nurseries also sell similar stuff. I do use root tabs (osmocote) in my substrates.

----------


## Xiaozhuang

Haven't posted here in some time it seems. Working on a new small 9 gallon tank



Top view



Some of the hardscape work:

----------


## TTerry

Your tanks are amazing!  :Well done:

----------


## aquanick

Really clean tank.. amazing growth.. how do you tackle Bba?

----------


## Shadow

Nice  :Well done:

----------


## toolkit

Impressive!

----------


## torque6

Sorry Dennis, didn't know that xiaozhuang was your ID both on this forum and on planted tanks.

Thank you for making several insightful videos on youtube. I've learnt alot of new stuff from them. Appreciate the contributions.

----------


## AQMS

:Well done:  :Well done:

----------


## Goalkeeper

Impressive scape! Thanks for sharing the video!

----------


## mdm

wow din realise this thread is 3 years old

glad that your hobby as well as tank is still growing strong

 :Grin:

----------


## blackBRUSHalgae

Awesome scape and super healthy plants! This thread has ever fail to amaze me over and over again! Got a question regarding densely packed stem plants. How are your bottom halves of your densely packed stem plants doing? It seems that yours are doing just fine. Mine are always rotting away at the bottom halves... and when that happened, I have to re-do my tank. I'm always wondering is it due to nutrient deficiency in the water column or due to the lack of light reaching the bottom halves?

----------


## torque6

> Awesome scape and super healthy plants! This thread has ever fail to amaze me over and over again! Got a question regarding densely packed stem plants. How are your bottom halves of your densely packed stem plants doing? It seems that yours are doing just fine. Mine are always rotting away at the bottom halves... and when that happened, I have to re-do my tank. I'm always wondering is it due to nutrient deficiency in the water column or due to the lack of light reaching the bottom halves?


Dennis has a youtube vid on this. Basically, you start "moulding" the stems plants to the shape that you want (may take a few months, depending on how fast your plants grow), of which we usually take photos and trimm and replant the tops. The scape don't last "forever" and you will need to restart.




If you go to east ocean, Ryan also has a 2FT tank near the entrance with Rotala H'ra Vietnam. If you look at them closely, you will noticed that the lower stems are all blackish green and they have shed their leaves, but they do not rot and die. I've kept H'ra, indica and roundifolio and seems rotala does not rot away like most other plants (ludwigia SP red as an example). They still have a strong root system.

----------


## blackBRUSHalgae

> Dennis has a youtube vid on this. Basically, you start "moulding" the stems plants to the shape that you want (may take a few months, depending on how fast your plants grow), of which we usually take photos and trimm and replant the tops. The scape don't last "forever" and you will need to restart.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you go to east ocean, Ryan also has a 2FT tank near the entrance with Rotala H'ra Vietnam. If you look at them closely, you will noticed that the lower stems are all blackish green and they have shed their leaves, but they do not rot and die. I've kept H'ra, indica and roundifolio and seems rotala does not rot away like most other plants (ludwigia SP red as an example). They still have a strong root system.



Thanks for the link! great video and very insightful! Yes they do turn blackish and looks "bad". Ny worst case was hemianthus micranthemoides, basically the bottom were totally melted away, but on the front you could only see a very healthy dense bunch hahaha... held together by interlocking each other...

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## Xiaozhuang

It also depends on how dense you plant it - the bottoms/start planting should give space to each plant; for rotala rotundifolia, the spacing between each stem should be at least 1 cm, if not half an inch. Rotala rotundifolia can take many trimming cycles; i.e. I usually only replant them once every 6 months or so. A lot also depends on growth conditions; CO2/light/nutrients. If conditions are not optimal, plants will sacrifice their lower leafs for top growth more quickly, repurposing mobile nutrient from old growth for new growth.


Been moving the Brownie ghost buceps between a few tanks. It seems that while Buceps seem to favor slightly harder water, having very low alkalinity (<2dkh) & acidic pH is alright as long as potassium, CO2 levels are kept up. Moving this batch from a 9dKH tank to a 1dKH tank didn't induce melting


Been growing out proserpinaca palustris as well, haven't kept this in some time

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## Xiaozhuang

Also, propagated the red erio, Eriocaulon quinguangular, quite a bit over the year. They grow at good speed with rich substrate

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## aquanick

What lights are you using for these? The reds are amazing..!
i also see some UG growing nicely, any secrets to grow UG?

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## torque6

> Also, propagated the red erio, Eriocaulon quinguangular, quite a bit over the year. They grow at good speed with rich substrate


Lots of tanks. This one isn't 3 FT right?

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## Xiaozhuang

> What lights are you using for these? The reds are amazing..!
> i also see some UG growing nicely, any secrets to grow UG?


This "farm tank" is under T5s; with a mix of Gieseman and dennerle T5 tubes ( available at FB, and AA)
It's mainly the tissue culture UG that give people issues, cos it's more sensitive than usual. One way is to buy matured patch from shop/hobbyist. UG is generally sensitive to ammonia and uncycled tanks, so never plant it in a fresh setup, especially fresh aquasoil. After the cycling period, it works like any other plant. It grows quite aggressively though, and will tangle around hardscape, mosses, etc... it doesn't require a substrate to grow. For converting new plants, maybe easier to grow it floating / on wire mesh before attaching it to substrate. 




> Lots of tanks. This one isn't 3 FT right?


Heh, this is a 3ft tank. Probably gonna be my main farm tank while I aquascape the others

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## NanoScaper

> It's mainly the tissue culture UG that give people issues, cos it's more sensitive than usual. One way is to buy matured patch from shop/hobbyist. UG is generally sensitive to ammonia and uncycled tanks, so never plant it in a fresh setup, especially fresh aquasoil.


Hello Xiaozhuang

Assuming I want to plant UG in a new setup, would it help if I were to use mature filter media and aquasoil that doesn't release as much ammonia? As in making the tank cycle faster (hopefully) in the hope of getting the UG to adapt to the new setup.

Thank you in advance.

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## Xiaozhuang

> Hello Xiaozhuang
> 
> Assuming I want to plant UG in a new setup, would it help if I were to use mature filter media and aquasoil that doesn't release as much ammonia? As in making the tank cycle faster (hopefully) in the hope of getting the UG to adapt to the new setup.
> 
> Thank you in advance.


Yea I think that would help.

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## NanoScaper

> Yea I think that would help.


Alright then. I may want to give UG a try for a future setup. Thank you for all the tips.

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## Xiaozhuang

Some pics of the Buceps/brownie ghosts



AR


Mini mac type 4


Ludwigia glandulosa

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## Thieverycorp

Hi, is this a new tank as i see you have replaced the grey rocks with lava rocks? May i ask your fert dosing regime?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Goalkeeper

> Haa okay, didn't realize people will be so interested. The tank is 35 inches long, 16 inches wide, 23 inches tall. 
> 
> The tank used to be lit by 2 X 150w industrial metal halides. 1st hour right side one turns on, next six hours, both, last hour only left side. 
> Now using 2 X BML Led fixtures, 1st fixture runs for 8 hours, 2nd fixture only runs for 4 hours. Because visually I find the color still a bit cool, I suspend a 20w CFL on top of the tank as well.
> 
> The filter is some Eheim Ecco, rated for around this tank size, I forgot exact model. Using ANS's CO2 system with an inline diffuser. Using 2 very small pumps(smallest pump in shops) to circulate the water, one of them blows upwards for some surface agitation. CO2 starts 1.5 hours before lights come on.
> 
> The substrate is a layer of peat about 1cm + red iron rich clay, followed by dirt (1 inch in front of tank, 3-6 inches at the back), and topped off with ANS planted substrate.
> This is a shot of the tank side; the dark band on the bottom is the peat/red clay, followed by dirt/garden soil, then ANS substrate. I used some of the ANS substrate from the previous tank, so the older substrate is lighter in color. In this shot the ANS layer is quite thick, whereas for most of the tank, its around 2 inches or less; perhaps only 1 cm in front glass. Basically the ANS substrate's purpose is to cap the dirt.
> ...


Hi xiaozhuang do you use the entire pack of garden soil or need to sieve out the five powder first? What's the purpose of the peat and iron clay? Also the iron clay normally cones in pebble to small rock size....do you use only the very fine ones for the setup or bigger ones are OK as well? Any advice on preventing green slime algae which tend to grow on side glass of the tank? Reading your posts always help enrich my knowledge. Thanks.

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