# 90 gallon softwater planted nature aquarium/Dutch planted aqaurium hybrid



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

It's been a 2.5-year journey since the ressurection of my passion and interest in the aquarium hobby. I have always admired the beauty and wonder of any given aquatic landscape, from the most simple of rustic landscapes beneath a flooded Amazonian forest documented on YouTube, to diving under in a local BC lake, or the tropical marine waters of Kuaui. 

So nearly 3 years ago, I purchased my very first Fluval 1200 series from Aquarium West. My very first aquarium as an adult. Together with my partner, we embarked on a journey as creators, as artists, and as keepers of fish and inverts, tasked in adopting these creatures and providing them a paradise they never new in their challenging infancy, being netted constantly, transferred, and then shipped to our far away shores. 

My most significant of influences is the late Takashi Amano. His works of art speak to me like never before in the aquarium hobby. In addition to his inspiration and finesse that have inspired so many around the world to a new level in the aquarium hobby, my childhood and teenage aquarium keeping experiences have also shaped me. I still have a soft spot for biotopes, for water parameter "diversity," and low-tech aquariums. 

I'll be posting pics of the evolution of the 90 gallon from its conception, to its current transition into a more vibrant planted aquarium. One of my signature emphasis will be water parameters and the selection of livestock. I have a strong preference for wild caught, or river farm raised fish from Brazil and other parts of South America. As for shrimp, well, I can't help it, I'm sure most come from southeast Asian farms. Amano shrimp are wild caught and not endangered as far as I know. I would like to thank Aquarium West and Canadian Aquatics for being my main source of support for supplies and livestock over the past 3 years. I found Miyabi Aqua-Design's website as an excellent resource as well for not only understanding the nature aquarium, but for the most effective ways of minimizing and preventing algae blooms during initial set up. I wish I knew about the website before I had my 90 gallon set up growing pains. 

90 Gallon Fluval Aquarium specs:

Fluval 406 Canistar filter
4 x 39watt T5 flourescent lights included with canopy
2x Kessil 360 LED lights on goosenecks. 
aqua soil (Tropica)


Water parameters (after cycling): 
pH: 6.5
kH: started with 1 dkH
gH: 1 dgH

More to come tonight!


----------



## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

Looks cool I like the wood layout


----------



## rwong2k10 (Dec 27, 2010)

Very nice!

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## Jcmalouie (Apr 2, 2015)

I have a fluval 1000. Can't wait to see more pictures!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

It was a summer evening when my tank order was ready to be driven over to my apartment at last. It does help to be on the ground floor when bringing in a large aquarium. Literally brought in through my backyard, staff at Aquarium West took time after business hours to deliver the beautiful tank and stand. My dining area was war zone, ready to deal with the initial setting up. I wanted to at least get the tank filled and running. 

At that time, I was more awed by the beautiful nature aquarium aquascapes, photographed by ADA. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the intricacies and extent of nature aquarium science and methods. I basically used the styrofoam casings that came with my purchases, to create elevation and a sense of scale, covering the styrofoam with the aquasoil, and anchored by stone and driftwood. In a way, perhaps it was a good thing I decided to fill the aquarium, at least half way before planting. If not, I would've done so much work with the layout, only to have chaos ensue once water was added to the mix. Styrofoam is way too bouyant, even for substrate and stones to hold down. It threw the aquasoil, stone, and wood, right out of its way to float to the top. The water became a promordial soup. I was just thankful that the stones merely rolled away onto more aquasoil and did not crash into any glass. The foam ballooning to the stop could've stopped my heart though, as it was loud and the tips of the branches smacked loudly against the glass. 

And so, two frustrated creators decided to start from scratch. It was time to drain the aquarium, replant, and refill. I did it all with a Home Depot bucket, a smaller container for scooping, and coordination and encouragment from my partner. I had not yet purchased the python (a great investment I might add). It was setup attempt #2 that also inspired the branches hanging down from the top left corner of the aquarium rather than from the substrate upwards. I'm not sure how I feel about it now. Perhaps it's looking at them daily that has stripped them of their charms. Perhaps it's because it's almost completely shrouded by fissidens and java fern at this point. All I know is that my future setups will not feature this. 

Finally, I was ready to turn the system on (3 hours later). It was quite the workout without a proper siphon at the very least. I also had to have a stool to climb up in order to plant. It all began with the Fluval 406 canister running, creating a very basic current. 4 T5 PowerGlo in a sealed canopy, and a heater... That was it; that was the beginning.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

*More shots of the 90 gallon Genesis*

I like to think of myself as a creative and artistic force. In a way it was a spiritual experience. This is how this aquatic world slowly came to be...


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

So in the initial set up, I was wrestling between two competing concepts, based on two competing sets of aquatic values. This is just me of course, and I am aware that many in the aquarium hobby either don't care, or downright disagree. I'm talking about the "purist" side of me that is fueled by curiosity in specific biotopes, and the interest in recreating a given ecosytem has always been a pipedream. I have a strong preference to keep tetras only with other Amazon fish and not mix n' match with other fish. Why is this a pipedream? Because there is the other side of my that is more 'lax' and of the understanding that sometimes, the most interesting relationships between fish and other livestock, may not be possible if it weren't for a bit of a mix n' match, also, the aquarium hobby is based on popular demand and so the supply usually results in limited options when an aquarist is looking for livestock specifically from a single wadding pool in the world.

It became apparent that one side of me had to give way. I love tetras and German blue rams, at the same time, I love kuhli loaches and cherry shrimps (at the time). I love Amazon Swords, but I also love Xmas moss. The final compromise materialized and it was a softwater community. This translated into a tank of fish and inverts predominantly originating from softwaters of southeast Asia and South Asia, and South America, namely, Brazil. 

Plant specs (genesis):

Dwarf hairgrass (Eleocharis Parvula)
Amazon Sword (Echinodorus Rose)
Christmas moss (Vesicularia Montagnei)
Jungle Val/eelgress (Vallisneria Americana)

Fish specs:

Zebra Danios
Cardinal Tetras


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

*As time passed...*

Of course as time passed, and my tank cycled, I quickly diversified. For the first few months I added the following:

Fish: 
Cardinal Tetras
German Blue Rams
Ottocinclis
Kuhli loaches

Inverts:
12 Amano Shrimp

I had no idea that Ottos were that sensitive. My first few batches (6 fish/purchase) would last a few days to a few weeks, with two or three max surviving past two months. I kept Ottos in my adolescents with no issue, but at that time, I discovered and added them into a mature low-tech 27 gallon that was choked with live plants.

We had little success with the rams as well. The Ottos and ram deaths were inexplicable, with no sign of disease or other apparent cause. The local pet store suggested that my ottos may have died of malnurishment, though I personally ruled that out considering our feeding regiment and developing colonies of light dust algae on stones and on the glass. By this time, ammonia and nitrite were already at 0ppm, and nitrates were at 20-30ppm, fluctuating.

Plants added immediately after cycling:

Dwarf baby tears (Hemianthus Callitrichoides) 
Alternanthera reneckii mini red
dwarf red cryptocoryne (no idea the exact name of the species (pic below features it)

Algae!!!

This was also the beginning of my first algae nightmare. The most disgusting of which was the brown hair algae. It began to tangle on everything! Of course no 'cleaning crew' is a match for an algae bloom, especially when the imbalance of some sort was left unresolved at the time. The algae fiasco began almost 1.5 months following set up, and persisted for a few more months. By that time I had installed a CO2 injection system with a 12lb. canister. I ran it day and night to ensure consistency at 2 bubbles per second. I has also installed a small powerhead directly above the stream of microbubbles that would then redirect the CO2 back down into the middle of the water column, circulating to the other end of the tank. The algae however, did not abate. Excel was applied, but that only slowed down the bloom. Every night I would manually net out large amounts of algae. For the life of me, I could not figure out what fueled the algae bloom. It was disgusting and after 1.5 months of manual algae control. I had enough... More on how I finally beat the algae in my next post.


----------



## Dou (Dec 4, 2015)

Why didn't I see this journal earlier?! Thanks for sharing 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

Thank for the "likes" guys. The first part of this journal is a reflection of the beginnings of my 90 gallon project. The aquarium has of course come a long way since then. I was too distracted by other things when I should have been focusing on this. I've always wanted to do a journal. Constructive feedback, positive, or anything in between in welcomed.

Back to the algae issue. I came across this YouTube video that best demonstrated the "hell" I went through. Our dilemma was so similar, my partner and I had quite a few laughs watching this short clip.






The only difference was that I did not end up shutting down my tank and restarting, though I felt like doing so many times. I therefore did not have to do a dry start which is what the video is suggesting. I am a complete advocate of this, and I think Miyabi Aqua-Design's website on tips for nature aquarium setups is right on target with its techniques to prevent the brown hair algae chaos.

Still, I am a believer that there is more than one way to get to any given destination. Without knowledge of the dry start method at the time, I tried everything this guy did, to no avail. On this forum, I reached out for advise. Consistency with lighting and CO2 injection was strongly recommended as a long-term remedy. I agree, but it ended up being something as simple as taking off 2 x 39 watt T5 bulbs and maintaining consistent lighting for only 8 hours, no more, seemed to work.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

*The triuimph from aquatic adolescence into maturity!*

... Moving on from the algae bloom, it never happened again. Perhaps it was the lighting, perhaps it was just a coincidence. I have confidence (perhaps unfounded), that if I were to reinstall additional lighting into the tank, that it would not necessarily cause the same algae bloom now in my mature aquarium. Dennis Wong on YouTube best summarized that once aquatic plant mass dominates, there is very little room for algae to grow.

The aftermath of the algae was nonetheless significant. My dwarf hairgrass was nearly choked out of existence. The same went for my alternanthera reneckii mini. My dwarf baby tears was all but gone. My jungle val however was the least bothered by the algae. My dwarf hairgrass and the alternanthera reneckii mini were the first two species to make an impressive comeback. I also added riccia into the tank. Once there, it's hard to get rid of it.

Finally my aquarium was stabilizing vegetation in general was growing in. Here are a few shots from the early days. Throughout the entire maturing period and afterwards, the water parameters in my tank remains constant with no significant changes.

Plants I forgot to mention:
Dwarf lily (Nymphaea sp.)
Riccia Fluitans
Xmas moss (Vesicularia Dubyana)

P.S. Can somebody tell me why all my photos end up uploaded sideways? It's very frustrating. They are iPhone shots and on my desktop, they appear to be the right side up...


----------



## Dou (Dec 4, 2015)

When uploading photos onto forums, I always use imgur and then paste the BB code provided on the side!


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

when I upload from my phone it only ever recognizes things in horizontal format. dunno if that is your problem or not but it was mine. On the computer it always was smart enough to display them with the proper orientation. When I uploaded them, same problem. Maybe that's your problem.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

Thanks Mark and Dou for your feedback. Yes, that's the exact problem I had. I have since signed up with Imgur, so I hope it remediates the issue, let's see.

Maturity doesn't mean the end of change...

In the next several photos, you will see how the original plants grew in. Being a newly returned "prodical hobbyist," much of my confidence was in myself that I knew what I was doing. This confidence was put in question during the algae bloom, and when the plants grew in, I realized that my "style" has not changed after nearly 15 years. It was slightly messy, perhaps elegant chaos if I were to be detailed, not pretentious.

But then who was I kidding. I had absorbed only the images in my head of Mr. Amano's great works, but barely bothered to do in-depth research on his techniques. Although I was exposed to some of it, I was of the mindset of saving money, and chalked most of ADA's products and recommendations as pretentious and impractical unless I wanted to set up the "Lamborghini of aquariums."

Before I go into how I came to revise such notions mentioned above, here are some shots of my tank in its initial, grown-in maturity in all its rustic charms. 








The initial moss I used for the branches of course, is Xmas Moss (vesicularia dubyana). Here's a side shot. You can also see the hairgrass carpet, and that I separated my alternanthera reneckii mini var. red, into two areas mirroring each other when you view it normally from the front. For a more natural look, this was a mistake.








I also tried to grow a dwarf hairgrass carpet, but I was very unsatisfied with the curling leaves. The species that I'm sure I used was eleocharis parvula. More on this later.








Not the nicest of shots, moreover you can see that I pruchased a porous stone that is just sitting there with no real attractive features.








I never mentioned a CO2 injection system. Thanks to Aquarium West, I purchased a 12 lbs. tank from them, and then purchased the cheapest CO2 diffuser that I could find. I run this at about 1.5 bubbles/second, day and night for consistency.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

*More about the specs...*

Some of you may think that I have a pretty ghetto CO2 injection system, perhaps only better than a DIY system. There is also debate as to whether or not it is beneficial or a waste to runt he CO2 system 24/7. This is one thing I did thorough research before purchase. As with anything, there are many ways of looking at factors that matter to you, and there is no one right way.

I decided to leave my CO2 on because it provides consistency. I have found no significant evidence of a CO2 build up, no pH swing at all, and no fish dying because it. I found that if my aquarium, with already soft water and limited kH to buffer, will have a pH of 6.6 to as high as 6.7 when the CO2 isn't running for more than one day. I found that if it is on, it stays between 6.2 and 6.4, with no swings beyond this, at any given time of day. I have enough surface agitation, that excess CO2 escapes into the air at night. That being said, is this a waste? At 2 bubbles/second, by 12lb tank has lasted for 6 months. It costs $22 to refill the tank, or a few hundred $$ to purchase a solenoid. Perhaps in smaller aquariums, there is a greater risk in keeping the CO2 running, however, CO2 has a hard time dissolving in water, and much rather escape into the atmosphere.

So whats the point of the added CO2? Well the smaller the mircobubbles, the more CO2 is efficiently dissolved into the water for plant intake. Also, I placed my diffuser directly under a powerhead. Those same microbubbles are then redirected back down the water column on an angle, circulating the supply from the back right side of the tank to the front and left side. Some may even get sucked into my canistar filter intake, and then pushed back out from the back left side of the aquarium to the right. This certainly helps maximize efficiency. I have a friend with a 75 gallon tank who runs just 1 bubble per second, but has a spray bar immediately redirecting the mricobubbles to almost the bottom of the tank and from left to right for him. He also has more kH in his water that helps. Buying time for the microbubbles to stay in the water column is my tip. In all my photos, you will notice mircobubbles fluttering everywhere.








Oh yes, I also added cherry shrimp into my tank and they thrived despite the soft water. Here's one of my originals that I think is still alive and kicking today after 1.5 years! I buried a few small shells and added some kH buffer in minute amounts for a 90 gallon volume. At about 2dkH, and 3dgH, my shrimps seemed happy and I had lots of babies as some of you may know.


----------



## robertcruz (Apr 11, 2017)

Recently I bought a fluval 206 canister filter and it working is superb.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

*The change as it unfolded*

The living evolution; what evolved? 

Out of chaos comes order - and then of course, some things fall back into chaos. As things settled and the plants grew in, I just wasn't satisfied. As you can see from earlier posts, I have a giant boulder that was just sitting there on the left side of the aquarium. Little did I know that what I purchased was a dragon stone. I purchased two others actually. The one I was referring to is just one big ugle block that simply needed a good eye and a vision to find its place in the tank. Aside from the dragon stone placements, the Xmas moss grew into beautiful star-like crowns that simply sat on the branches, also on the left side of the tank.

And so it was that I, the creator of this aquatic world, decided change was in order. Those poor shrimps, tetras, and loaches; it was like "Day After Tomorrow" just happened to them, except I was mindful not to kill or squish anything... I think... The dragon stones came up. The Xmas moss was detached gradually and sold in clumps to fellow hobbyists (thanks guys). It didn't take long before I liked the new arrangement of the dragon stones. The branches stayed pretty much where they were. I replaced the Xmas moss with fissidens. Java fern bits that hitched a ride from plant and fish purchases thrived and matured in the tank. The driftwood was difficult to rearrange in a way that looked natural and pleasing to my eyes. After many tries, I finally settled on one. Inadvertantly the structure left a bowl-like structure in the woodwork sitting directly on top of the dragon stone structure, and to the foreground. I was quite pleased.

So most, if not all my Dwarf Babytears died with the algae bloom. The tank is also very deep; even my Kessels have a hard time penetrating the water column all the way down to the substrate. Research lead me to its less demanding and more versatile twin, the Monte Carlo. Thank you Dou for selling me some Monte Carlo. The guy has an amazing ADA tank office space and I had the privilege of a quick glimpse of it. The rest is history as my vision of the carpeting plant cascading down the bowl-like structure of the driftwood was realized within less than two months.

The concept of my tank went from a high tech tank with a very rusty layout, to a much more complex and pleasing one. Fissidens moss is an excellent candidate for adding texture and age to the drowned branches, without obstructing the structure and shape of the wood. Here are some shots of the progression below. I found that even a slight CO2 injection reaps excellent results.








The transition of moss and plant species was not instant. I sold, traded, and then bought other plants from either other hobbyists, or from stores.








This is how it all started. I forgot to mention that I found tiny fragments of various java fern species and stuck them into the woodwork. The results were amazing as you can see.








A few Amano shrimp enjoying the finished cascasing carpet and helping pick off any unwanted algae.








This is with everything all grown in. You see that Amazon Sword. I'm trying to sell it! Anyone want it? It's huge and healthy! Check out the classifieds.


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

That looks amazing!! Glad you are happy again......or are you 

It's a never ending struggle of being unsatisfied in this game, I think it is why I like it so much. Let's get a whole tank shot in there!!


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

Yep. You'll see in my future posts that all those changes made me happier, and for a time after each stage, there was satisfaction, but it does fade and I'm back to how can I continue to improve. As we speak, more things are changing and that also meant more fish and shrimp. I've added more Amano shrimps and Oto cats. So far out of the 10 new Otos purchased, we've 1 confirmed death, which is relatively great. They are all happy in their new home.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

NATURE AQUARIUMS vs. NATURE vs. Low Techs vs. Biotopes

Finally! My entries have caught up about the genesis, the growing up, and the continued evolution of my 90 gallon planted aquarium. If I even have one fan, I apologize for the delay in posting the past week. I will simultaneously fill you in on how my tank is doing right now, as well as stir up age-old issues that are best, not siphoned up from under the sustrated (pun definitely intended ;P).

As I have mentioned before, I was very inspired by the late Mr. Amano and most of his masterpieces, especially his last piece before his untimely death, "Floresta Submersas," at the Lisbon Oceanarium. Back to my 90 gallon, the tank had humble beginnings with lofty fantasies, and slightly outdated experience in expecting major roadblocks along the way. The initial structure of the hardscape was far from sophisticated, though the one element that I am still proud of, and that I have NOT changed since the beginning, are the two large branches that lean and reach down the aquarium from left to right. Currently the fissidens moss and java fern have taken up all the real estate on both branches. Along with the dragon stones that now line and support all the woodwork, these are the only things in the aquarium that vaguely echo the art of a nature aquarium. It seems the right half of my tank resembles more of a traditional Dutch planted tank. My current approach is to change the tank very slowly and now, change will have to compete against the force of preservation, as neither my partner nor I, wish to change too much more without more careful and refined planning.

But as I write this, I am reminded of my dichotomy. On one hand, I used to maintain several low-tech, and biotope aquariums in my youth, before our current knowledge of plants, invertibrates, and options of lighting, fertilization, etc. I use to manipulate kH and pH with simple baking soda (I don't recommend it unless you actually have no other options and it's urgent). Up until only recently, I would be quite uneasy with the idea of acclimatizing a fish or shrimp to water parameters foreign to that resembling their place of origin. I valued the indigenous diversity aspect of not just the livestock, but also the challenge of creating biotope aquascapes and water parameters to match. I also wondered back then about using regular gardening soil, but I never did. In my youth I didn't pay attention to detail all that much and I wondered how garden soil won't turn the water pitch black.

Now let's talk about some heated, similar debates that have raged right here in the BC Aquaria forum, as well as many others: soil vs. aquasoil; nature aquariums vs. low tech aquariums; do fish really behave the way they do in the wild in nature aquariums; etc. I think the reason for passionate debates on every perspective is because we forget REALITY deals a lot with fuzzy logic. A type of logic that is more a nuisance than anything for our brains when organizing information in our world. Aquarium hobby debates are no different; reality is often found somewhere in between any given opposing side. So which debate shall I start? OK nevermind, too tired. I think in my next post, I will tackle nature aquariums vs. low-tech aquariums another night.








The right half of my aquarium today.


----------



## Dou (Dec 4, 2015)

I think the line between nature aquarium and low-tech aquarium is quite blurry. For me, the goal in the end is to create an environment that fish will be happy in. Providing lots of cover whether it be through stones, wood, coconut shells, plants, etc. is a method to do that. Amano's use of driftwood is revolutionary - and he actually got the idea by visiting nature itself (he mentions in his biography that when a piece of driftwood lands somewhere - it attracts life around it). Animals and plants naturally gravitate to those types of settings. Nature aquarium seems to have spawned after he took that idea to the next level (create something pleasing for the masses). You can create a beautiful biotope aquascape with just wood, sand and stones with a few select plants and to me I would consider it a nature aquarium. I find that the label itself is a little restrictive. Nature aquariums to me SHOULD be based on biotopes of some sort - that would be the most accurate. But because it's art - there's no set rules and we do what we enjoy the most. It doesn't matter to me if people use CO2 or not, the end product is the most important! Enjoying this journal.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

*My 90 gallon, a Nature Aquarium or something else?*

My tank has been super stable for over a year now. I have made further changes that I will feature in photos to come. A couple all the way out in Mission was able to arrange with me and came all the way out to East Van to pick up the foot-long Amazon sword. Many thanks and I hope the plant will flower for them. I have since tamed the fissidens that were overgrown on my branches, and I have my bucep plants now beautifully anchored to the tips of some of the branches. More suited in the lower light left corner where my Amazon Sword use to be, it is the new home of my large java fern.

Thanks Dou for your entry above. I do think in some respects, the line is blurred. The largest difference is the use of a CO2 injection system. This distinguishes Nature, Dutch, and general planted aquariums, from a low-tech planted aquarium. Of course some may go even further as to eliminate a filter in low-tech aquariums, and rely more on fish and inverts to provide for plants. The main issues I want to cover, were initiated by online comments, and also a few videos on YouTube. They argue whether or not Nature Aquariums really mimic natural landscapes. Mr. Amano mainly studied natural terrestrial landscapes, without a focus on actual underwater landscapes. Naturally most flowing rivers, ponds, and lakes do not look like Nature Aquariums. Under water, especially flowing, freshwater environments, CO2 availability for vegetation is much lower than on land. One YouTube video featured underwater footage of showing how "rustic" it really is in a freshwater environment, sometimes also void of any aquatic vegetation. If there are aquatic plants, they are disorganized and growing with algae in tuffs and tangles.

While there is undoubtedly truth to this, much of the footage in thevideo was actually shot in temperate/colder water environments, with naturally higher levels of dissolved oxygen, and fluctuating levels of daylight throughout the year hence more algae. Even so, locally in BC, if you've ever visited a local lake, you will see beautiful forests of aquatic plants. For a more accurate depiction of a wild, tropical freshwater landscapes where most of our common aquarium fish come from, I recommend checking out "The Fish Guys" on YouTube or Ivan Mikolji is his name. There is a diversity of Venezuelan/Amazonian freshwater habitats, the majority being blackwater or cloudy water environments with little to no aquatic vegetation, very different from that of a Nature Aquarium.

However, Ivan mentioned in one of his videos a percentage (o.5% I think). This is the percentage of freshwater environments with adequate sunlight and clear, slow moving waters. In some of "The Fish Guys" footage, you will see amazing aquatic, natural "scapes" with tall hairgrass (eleocharis sp.) species, and even stem plants, growing in a similar fashion to those of nature aquariums inspired or created by ADA. So even if nature aquariums only represent 0.5% to 1% of natural freshwater landscapes, I do not think it is false marketing to say that that the Nature Aquarium concept is a recreation of a natural environment that encourages natural behaviours of fish and inverts. Also, nature aquariums allow for a wide range of variation and no specific or rigid recommendations or restrictions on combinations of fish and inverts. My next project will be a "nature biotope aquarium," which will be extremely difficult to do, but not impossible. Nature aquariums of course, also to spill over into a more man-made, garden realm (Dutch planted aquariums) if that's what people prefer as well.

My tank had evolved from a basic non-descript, planted tank, to a more Dutch aquarium, and now more of a nature aquarium. Though my thank is far from a biotope, all fish and plants naturally come from regions in the world with similar water parameters. Whether or not my fish, plants, and inverts are wild-caught, or farmed, I think their genetics "remember" environments that they have evolved in for millions of generations. All this being said, like any concept created by humans, it isn't perfect. It is very difficult for many species of fish and inverts to breed in Nature Aquariums and continue the next generation. Some tetras and shrimps like the Amano shrimp are particularly complicated and time consuming to breed. Nonetheless, if you have the time and the resources, I think attempting to breed shrimps and fish can be particularly rewarding.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

I recently returned from my lengthy vacation stay in Vietnam, touring many parts. I will have short video clips of underwater habitats, both freshwater and marine for other posts. During my 3 weeks on the other side of the world, I had two awesome friends of mine take care of my aquarium. It is not easy feat to have to go out of your way every other day, just to check of fish and ensure all is going well.

As a result, my aquarium has changed very little. Trimming was performed as well. Some of the jungle val were trimmed back from the top, which is less than ideal, but hey, you can't ask for too much from friends doing you a HUGE favour, and it was to ensure light reached all my other plants. Because my tank is now quite mature at about 3 years old, the water parameters also strayed very little.

I've written volumes of the evolution of my aquarium for it's very bare genesis to its lush success in the present day. The final piece I will add is that I decided to attach buce plants to a few selected tips of those branches hanging down. Fissidens has already claimed most of the branches for as its own. Coming back to the result was quite impressive. The buce rhizomes are now "dressed" and "cushioned" by moss all around.

When it comes to fish, I also recently added a few new additions to the tank:

7 serpae tetras
5 green neon tetras

The 7 serpaes will be an interesting experiment, as I have cherry shrimp in there as well. Because of their juveile size, I'm hoping they will get used to not eating the shrimps LOL. I'm also depending on the large size of my tank and sheer volume of plants and caves to protect the shrimp. So far, there have been minimal incidents of fin nipping. As for the green neons, their irridescent stripes look identical to that of my cardinals. The 5 replaced very old cardinals that died off. Oh well, I do not regret having them.


----------



## Dou (Dec 4, 2015)

Turn filter off, spot dose Excel on the BBA, leave for 5 minutes - should get rid of the BBA completely if you didn't already know! Looking forward to see the full tank shot.


----------



## Redshrimp2709 (Mar 21, 2016)

OK It's been awhile since I last posted. Aside from being busy with summer stuff and getting back to life after a long vacation, I have also been lazy. I thought, maybe still think this is not really a problem. I have been doing my water changes less frequently, and allow water levels to drop, maybe just over 5% so far. I'm experimenting. Our dry season has started here in BC, and I suspect that fish have some level of awareness of barometric pressure seasons. This is a convenient time to play the "dry season" with the tank as well, with most of its inhabitants hailing from the Amazon.

So I did. Now my next sentence will state that fish have been mysteriously dying - mostly tetras (4 or 5 cardinal tetras, 2 flame tetras, 2 golden tetras, and 2 pgymy corys, 5 green neon tetras). This didn't happen overnight, and they showed no signs of disease. There is a post somewhere online with another aquarist having experienced something this eerie, fish dying for no apparent reason, with a few of them turning gray or discoloured in patches before they die, but behaving just fine for days before their deaths. Everything seems circumstantial. I did not just add these fish. To give you an idea, I had 16 cardinals, 8 pgymy corys, 10 green neons, and 8 golden tetras. All of them, except the green neons are new additions. My cherry, amano, and fan shrimps are doing just fine.

If you have any ideas or insights, please feel free to add to this thread, but please don't tell me it's because I didn't change the water at exactly a week. The water parameters have been rock solid, with only a minor swing in the past several days due to my CO2 canister running out. The pH has always been between 6.2 to 6.5. It hit 6.6 before my water change today. There is no ammonia or nitrite, and my nitrates were surprisingly low (10ppm). I wonder also, if it is old age because the cardinals are coming up to 2 years old, some maybe just a bit older. That doesn't explain the deaths of the other fish. I've had the flame tetras and golden tetras for just under a year.

And now... finally... My tank - in its entirety.


----------

