# 60cm/96L - Shield Lake



## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

*Planted Tank Journal - 60cm/96L - Shield Lake*

Hey All,

So my new set up is slowly coming together. I'm still trying to figure out what i'm going to do for lighting and over time i'll be switching over to an external heater, external/pressurized CO2, and glass lily pipes. That said, I couldn't resist getting the hardscape done and throwing in some stuff that I had on hand.

Aquarium Specifications

Volume: 96L
Tank Dimensions: 60x40x40
Aquascaping Style: Nature Aquarium 
Low-High Tech: High Tech 
Hardscape Materials: Bedrock and Manzanita
Substrate: Sand and Ecocomplete
Filtration: Eheim 2213
CO2 Injection Type: Milwaukee ma957, 2 bps
Lighting: 2 x 24w T5 HO

Aquascape Information

Title: Shield Lake 
Date Created: October 23rd, 2010
Date Finished: ???? 
Flora:????
Fauna: Danio margaritatus,Boraras brigittae, Otocinclus vestitus, Tuberoschistura arakanensi, Neocaridina heteropoda, Caridina multidentata.

The plant list is still a bit up in the air, however, I'm pretty sure i'm going to plant the drift wood with moss and African water fern. The front of the scape will probably be more moss (willow) on the rocks, then Mini Pellia out front with a bit or DHG here and there. The background will get filled in with one of the larger Blyxa species, eleocharis vivipara, and a bit of java fern.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Hey All; 

So i did a little updating with the tank today. The pressurized Co2 in now up and running along with the T5 HO lighting. I have to say, the T5 HO is bright! It makes power compact look like a joke. I can also shoot photos now without putting every reading lamp in the house over the tank and without the tripod. 

I have also done a little planting. Christmas moss on one of the rocks, a bit a dwarf hair grass here the there, Blyxa aubertii in the back and the Bolbitis heudelotti is now on the wood. 

I'm really not sure if I'm going to keep the hair grass. I originally thought a soft edge would look good; after seeing it I'm starting to think it looks messy. Blyxa japonica might make for a better transition? I don't think i'm going to put moss on the wood as i originally intended, however, the large rock in the front needs something. Any suggestions? Willow moss, mini pellia?


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

Hey its looking good, and what kind of T5 did you get?

First off: the hg and big rock can work dogether. You have the hg planted way too thick.. break them up and align them in front of the big rock nice and even, it will grow out and align the rock.. when it does, then trim it down like a lawn to have it short in the middle, scaping it long at the back. This will give the rock more definition and boldness.

In regards to the tree branch... I really like the moss effect.. you just have to layer it right. I would start off with a good portion of your xmas moss, chop it up nice and thin and then layer it on and tie it back nicely. This will help with the thickness of the moss.

chears.. lets see some updates.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Hey Jimmyjam, Thanks for the comments. I'll keep the HG, move it around a bit and see what it does for me. I'll also do an update in a week or so. 

As for the T5 HO, it is is just the Hagen model. I was thinking about ordering in the 4 bulb Sunlight Supply Tek, however, this is my first T5 HO fixture and i wasn't sure if i would need that kind of light for this tank. Really, i just need enough to keep the Blxya growing while also forcing the fern to stay compact. The major draw back with the Hagen is the single reflector for the two bulbs - i would much rather a reflector per bulb. If it's not enough light I will either add another unit, or sell this one and order the Tek.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

picturessss .. show me the money =p


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Awesome, looks good so far.

I wouldn't worry too much about the single reflector in your hagen glo. I think that would be sufficient for your setup. I would try it out for awhile first before selling it and switching to a tek fixture. Not that there's anything wrong with it but it's quite a bit of light for your tank if you went that route.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

So i have been holding off on photo updates as of late due to a massive onslaught of algae. I took off to the Dominican for a a little over a week and returned to a tank in ruins. It been nearly two weeks of trimming and eliminating variables.

While is was away there was some rampant overfeeding.
Flow on the filter dropped dramatically, the top notch Milwaukee regulator dropped down to about a 10lb operating pressure, the timer mysteriously started running an extra two hours on the lights, and i have no clue if my caretaker was following the dosing schedule I had set out. IE, perfect storm! I'm also not overly pleased with the music glass CO2 diffuser. It created a mist for a couple weeks, but is now pumping out some pretty big bubbles even after cleaning. The result was staghorn, green dust, green spot, and everyone's favorite BBA.

The green spot has been pretty easy to get rid of - more phosphate. The green dust has stopped spreading now that the filter has been cleaned and the flow corrected. Ditto for the staghorn. Lighting was also set back to 8 hours. 

The BBA, however, is still spreading, which is surprising. I have never had a problem with it in any tank that has either diy or pressurized Co2. More over, the regent is reading 30ppm. I know the the distilled water has been corrected to 4dkh, so i'm starting to wonder if the regent is off or not set up for 4dkh. With that said, i'm going to disregard the drop checker altogether for bit and start increasing the co2 slowly. I'm also going to start spot treatment on the infected areas. I'm also thinking about an inline diffuser and a better test kit. 

Pretty sad update, but that's how it goes. By the time I'm done with this i should have a pretty firm handle on the planed tank chemistry!


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## arinsi (Mar 14, 2010)

yup and thats how planted tanks are
youre always fighting algae
i agree with having the lily pipes and inline heater
would make this look even better


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

arinsi said:


> yup and thats how planted tanks are
> youre always fighting algae
> i agree with having the lily pipes and inline heater
> would make this look even better


It will probably last another couple weeks until i can get a read on nutrient uptake and get the co2 where it needs to be. The co2 looks like it is holding at 30ppm now so i expect that to stop the BBA. Spot treated yesterday with a small spray bottle filled with 3:1 mix of tank water and excel and most of it has already gone bright pink. There is something about week 4-6 that really brings on the algae, after that, and discounting any laziness on my part, it should be smooth sailing.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Hey cool aquascape! I was wondering if you could tell us where you got the rocks, especially the large ones? Thanks!


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Cypher said:


> Hey cool aquascape! I was wondering if you could tell us where you got the rocks, especially the large ones? Thanks!


I started collecting over the last year. When I'm on trips in different parts of the province/country I collect rocks, drift wood and sand and the box it all up until I'm ready to use it. Basically anywhere that has some interesting geology. Georgian Bay, Algonquin, Gatineau. The rocks and sand from this particular scape came from a lake outside Bancroft. You will find something similar in any of the shield lakes north of Toronto.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Hey All, I figured i would fire off a quick update before the holiday madness sets in. There have been a few substantial updates. 

On the hardware side of things I finally got around to hanging the lights which is well worth it, much easier to clean and access the tank. I also switched over to glass lily pips this week after the new shipment of stuff came in at AquaInsperation. I'm pretty happy with the look of them, however, i don't like that each pipe only has one suction cup on it (They are pretty much an ADA knock off). It's almost impossible to get them to sit square on the tank, and an additional cup would give me a little more piece of mind. The "vortex" that is supposed to break up the surface film barley works. The output is also lacking a short run of tube that is square with the mouth of the pipe so it tends to just push the water down and out which may explain why this is happening. Unless there are some changes with this product in the future i think i will stick with Aqauticmagic.

The fish/invert selection is pretty much complete now having added 8 Amano shrimp and 15 Boraras brigittae. 

The algae issue is now pretty much in check. I'm still getting some dust algae, however, after correcting the problems with my drop checker and getting the Co2 into the 30-35ppm range, most of it has been cut back and not returned. This however, as you will see, meant cutting back most of the Bolbitis. It's coming back pretty quickly for a slow grower, however, it's going to take some time to get it back to its former glory. I may even just buy some more and send this stuff out to a grow out tank. 

I was expecting the Blxya to take over this tank, but as it stands, it has been a pretty slow grower. This could be due to nutrient shortages and the amount i have had to cut it back in the last several weeks, however, if it stays about his height i may pair it up with some Cyperus helferi to get something taller behind the driftwood. 

I'm also transitioning into an EI dosing regiment. I started on the heavy side a few weeks ago with near detrimental effects on the shrimp. Thy didn't respond well to the rapid increase in nitrogen and started doing their normal, you jag, you poised me, spasms. It was pretty bad, the Amano's went pink and i was pretty sure i was going to lose them, however, a big water change the same day saved the day. After a few days, and a few molts, they went back to there normal colour.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

Your set up is really maturing up. poor bolbitis...
Looking forward to seeing this at its climax.
I think the NAG brand is made by ADA. It's a cheaper line but by the same manufacturer.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

I really like the sand you have in that tank. The black specs are very nice to look at.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Beijing08 said:


> Your set up is really maturing up. poor bolbitis...
> Looking forward to seeing this at its climax.
> I think the NAG brand is made by ADA. It's a cheaper line but by the same manufacturer.


I left for a week and the caretaker messed up the feeding/dosing (still not sure which), so i ended up with a pretty nasty algae breakout. All the bolbitis had to be chopped off along with the hair grass and the moss. The HG and the moss, as expected, responded well, the bolbitis, not so much. I would be interested to find out if NAG is produced by ADA, the writing on the box is Japanese and the product is made in Thailand.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

BettaBeats said:


> I really like the sand you have in that tank. The black specs are very nice to look at.


That would be the shrimp moving around ecocomplete. I sweep most of it back with a paint brush, but the little buggers excavate it like mad.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

Rmwbrown said:


> I left for a week and the caretaker messed up the feeding/dosing (still not sure which), so i ended up with a pretty nasty algae breakout. All the bolbitis had to be chopped off along with the hair grass and the moss. The HG and the moss, as expected, responded well, the bolbitis, not so much. I would be interested to find out if NAG is produced by ADA, the writing on the box is Japanese and the product is made in Thailand.


yah the Nature Aquarium is the concept of ADA and NAG (goods) is the product line.
http://www.adana.co.jp/_e_products/doaqua/

Cheaper line..for the not-so-rich peeps 

they're pretty nice imo. Still can't afford it at this price.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

nevermind the previous post dude, my mistake...ADA is Do!Aqua, not NAG aqua music...a little different. NAG is a product line by DAZS~ sorry for the misleading info. Any new updates? I like this tank.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

I was wondering about that, it would essentially mean that ADA was running three tiers of products. I'm still not happy happy with the NAG, or at the very least, not happy with the NAG/2213 combo on the 25 gallon. For the sake of experimenting i think i'm going to order a DO-Aqua set and see if there is anyone noticeable difference with their ability to pull down and break up the surface oils, though i'm sure is doesn't help that I'm primarily feeding frozen/live foods.

I have also decided on an in line diffuser... same as above, not very happy with the NAG. Orlando over at Green Leaf switched up his product line and is now offering this bad boy...

http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/co2-diffusers/atomic-inline-diffuser-12.html

I have yet to get this in my hands, but i'm thinking the C02 is being diffused through a cylinder roughly the diameter of the tube itself, thus reducing any loss in flow.

As for the tank, i have made some significant changes. The combination of high light with low light plants was getting pretty taxing and i was pretty much fighting the lights. In essence, i was breaking my own rules and working against the assets i had. More over, as the bobitis was growing back in, it was growing really stubby clear leaves under the high light. By no means the big, dark, majestic leaves you get in a low light tank. As a result, I'm transitioning it into a series of high light plants. I'm sure this set up could be done, but you would need to be pretty good with EI dosing low light plants in a high light set up.. which sounds a lot like a contradiction in itself.

So far so good. The algae issue is no longer an issue and the tank is pretty much humming along all by itself. Better yet, instead of fussing over it everyday, i get to enjoy it.

In short, Shield Lake isn't so shield-ish anymore. I still what to see this concept to fruition, and i still really want to get a Bolbitis/moss tank going so this all seems like a good enough excuse to either rip apart my 48" crypt tank, or pick up a 36" rimless.

I'll post some pics tomorrow with the changes.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

So the planting list has changed a bit. 

Blyxa aubertii
blyxa japonica
eleocharis parvula
rotala sp green
Hemianthus micranthemoides ( I actually have two plants that i purchased under the name HM, however, they seem to have a different leaf structure - one with two leaves at the node, tall, no rotting in the water column, one with four and seems to be keeping more compact, rooting at all nodes - different species or the difference between emmersed /immersed growth?)
Juncus repens

Shifting gears and working with the light i have, I'm going to plant this with a lot of bright greens and then contrast with some yellow and orange. The juncus is getting rooted and already yellowing up, and i'm thinking Nesaea pedicellata might be nice. Rotala rotundifolia would look good, but I'm pretty sure it would just go bright red with the combination of light and iron i would be using to keep the others yellow/orange. I imagine i will get rid of the blya aubertii unless i can get it out of the light a little and get it greening up. 

I still want to get a bit more in foreground to develop a sense of depth. Either HC or some nice tightly cut pads of Riccia fluitans. DHG just got a trim so it looking like a suburban lawn. 

Other then that I have added a small school of Boraras brigittae to get some motion in the top/mid of the tank and work as a dither for the Danios.

Tanks a little messy at the moment, but here are some updates for posterity.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

The oil is always a issue, I find if you put the lily pipe closer to the top of hte water line, it helps a bit more. But unless the oil is being sucked up by the filter, it will remain a problem. 

The atomizer is not my favourite product. It works great as in diffusion of co2, but it produces too much fine bubbles in my opinion, in result, this clouds up the tank, and reduces visibility. I am finding that with my "rooted" 75g setup. But I guess if you turn the co2 down to .5-1bubble per second it would be ok. Your tank isnt heavily planted, so it wouldnt be as bad of issue.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

i can tell in a couple of months the matured state of this tank will be amazing...you should tie some mosses to the wood to soften up the branches a little. Other than that, I can only admire your set up.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Thanks man, Jimmy Jam keeps saying the same thing about the moss. I don't see it when i look at the tank in person, but when i'm looking at the photos, i agree, the wood is really big and really dark. Even if i add the willow moss i have on hand, i still need to do something about that. May have to push that back, place it deeper in the gravel, and find a few more smaller pieces to balance out the right side.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

So i decided to take Jimmy and Beijing's advice, however, i didn't see anyway to fix the branch. Moss wasn't going to fix what is essentially a problem with scale. I pulled it and started planting heavy, while also working with some smaller plants to get some depth. For the record, i hate HC, i have always hated HC, what have i added? HC! Once it grows in and up a bit, it should be great. 

The algae issue is pretty much gone after switching back over to a spray bar, getting my EI dosing into the right spot, and cranking the Co2. I'm only cleaning the glass ever two weeks now which is pretty sweet. Everybody is working well with this, aside from the nerite snails... they had to be moved to the grow out tank. 

The original concept for this tank is long dead, but i'm starting to like the results. My apologies for the mist in the tank (along with the other crap), it really messes with the photos, however, on the bright side, the plants are pearling like it's going out of style. I'm also moving into some serious iron dosing, so i suspect the rotala red will start to pick up a bit. 

Still looking to fill out the left side with something.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

nice lush growth! 
Good call on moving the diffuser to the opposite end of the outflow (I believe it used to be directly underneath the intake). I heard too much of that CO2 gas meses with impellers, so your eheim won't last 10 years


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## jdeath (Aug 14, 2010)

Wow, really nice looking tank you have there... I have a 20g planted tank that I'm just messing about with, and have really only gotten looking the way I want in the last few weeks.

A question or two about your use of eco-complete and sand. Did you layer the sand on top of the eco-complete? What kind of sand did you use?

I'm also wondering about your lighting regimen, from your pics it appears that your tank is in front of a window. Do you factor that natural light into your lighting schedule?

My tank is also in front of a window (can't be helped) that gets fairly strong light most of the day, taking this into consideration I am only running my T5HO light for ~4-6 hours in the evening. 

Once again, gorgeous tank!

Cheers,

Joel


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

The window is an issue, however, everywhere else in the house has century old wood floors, so the sun room it is. Fortunately, that window is well shaded, i use a heavy curtain on it when the lights are off, and i try to run the light when that window is receiving the most light so the additional light isn't an issue. Right now that means the lights are on from 9am-5pm. 

The sand is from a lake in the Kawarthas, and no it's not capped. where there is plant growth, eco-complete runs to the surface, and the sand marks the boundary. There is some mixing but i try to keep it brushed back.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Beijing08 said:


> nice lush growth!
> Good call on moving the diffuser to the opposite end of the outflow (I believe it used to be directly underneath the intake). I heard too much of that CO2 gas meses with impellers, so your eheim won't last 10 years


It is much better now, the lily pipes just didn't have the force to push the co2 down which the spray bar does.


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## Byronicle (Apr 18, 2009)

tank is looking great

i liked the driftwood in there though, and i understand that adding the moss would not look so great because you got a lot of small plants in there

what i would suggest is putting the driftwood back in with some ferns attached to it to for the midground, unless you plan to keep those background stem plants short, but if you are growing them long to the top, I think the driftwood with some ferns, anubias and even some of your other foreground plants attached would look awesome


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

hey man, its looking really good. As byronicle says.. the driftwood would look good coming from the massess. But the problem is the scale of the wood. If you have a few branches coming out, that would be awesome. See if you can get yourself a few branches to work with . Either or, I would be proud of that scape. Remember its a central visual point, dont like the stem plants scatter too far from the visual point. Its easy to let the plants grow outa control. The right side is looking a bit heavy already.. you probably have pruned it since though. keep us updated =)


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Yeah, that is what i was thinking as well. The pagoda stone is a place holder until i either muster the emotional strength to cut up that nice root, or wait it out till menagerie gets in some smaller stuff. The scale is a big issue though, with this it is getting small wood, and with the nano tank i have yet to find some small interesting stone. 

As for the trimming, the rotala is getting difficult to control. I've been trimming out about about 4 pots every week. I'm now thinking i need to thin it every week just to keep to flow in the right place and manage the general density. 

That said, i just upgraded the filter to a 2217. The glass lily pipe is now pulling water down into the flow and the surface of the tank is crystal clear without having the out flow agitating the surface. More over, i stocked the majority of it with extra substrat and an extra fine filter pad and the water clarity is now gin clear. Next i need to source a 17mm in-take to meet the new dimensions. Probably order something off ebay unless someone has one they are willing to part with. 

So still some work the needs to be done, but generally i'm pretty satisfied with it... now i just need to avoid the urge to rescape


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

I noticed that you're keeping cherry shrimps with a light substrate, yet they still appear to be pretty red. That's surprising as I thought RCS lose their colors in a light substrate.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

solarz said:


> I noticed that you're keeping cherry shrimps with a light substrate, yet they still appear to be pretty red. That's surprising as I thought RCS lose their colors in a light substrate.


This colony of shrimp has been chugging along for well over three years now without adding new stock to freshen up the genetics. My only explanation is that they are now so inbred they are colour blind.

In reality, I have about 20 really nice RCS, and the rest have reverted to brown. I don't cull or anything - they are mostly there just to make babies and give the Rasbora's a little live food now and again.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Well it's been a while since I have updated this post--three years with a handful of different scapes, but it seems I only took a couple photos of one of the variations (1st photo).

As it stands, I'm just working on growing some stuff out (2nd photo). In particular, some needle leaf java fern and and a bunch of UG. The UG here is about 30 days old started from a Tropica 1-2-Grow pot. It's growing, but as I have mentioned elsewhere, it has yet to root. I'm going to tinker with the dosing to see if I can speed up the process a bit. 

That said, I always have issues with scale (i.e., 1st photo) so I'm going to focus on getting some larger hardscape materials and simplifying the plant combinations. Over the next couple months I see this one being a ug foreground with some staurogyne, java fern midground, and a bit of that vallis in the back perhaps. I should also start breaking up the the fern to speed up the growth.


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