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So when I first saw this, I asked why someone put a cigar into the aquarium. But, no, it's a new diffuser from GLA that is supposed to produce ultra fine bubbles.

Here's what they wrote:

Something new is coming for planted aquariums.

After a long period of development and testing, we’re working on a new class of CO₂ diffuser built around a precision ceramic diffusion core housed in polycarbonate.

The goal was simple:

Create the finest CO₂ atomization possible for planted aquariums. We searched the globe and found the perfect ceramic media. Only available from a beautiful small family.

The result is a diffuser that produces an extremely fine mist of microbubbles — significantly smaller and more uniform than typical ceramic diffusers. The improved atomization allows CO₂ to stay suspended in the water column longer, increasing dissolution efficiency and improving distribution throughout the aquarium.

For aquascapers, that means:
• Better CO₂ utilization
• More stable plant growth
• Less wasted gas
• Crystal clear diffusion performance

These photos show early prototypes currently undergoing testing. Performance so far has been extremely promising and unlike anything we’ve seen on the market.
We’re excited to share more details soon as development continues.

The next evolution of planted aquarium CO₂ diffusion is on the way. These are only a few new designs that will be coming out soon. I cant wait to show you the performance because it’s absolutely mind blowing.

Stay tuned.

If you don't have a Yugang reactor, maybe this is the next best option?

No matter what you think, I commend them for putting RND into the planted aquarium hobby and trying to push technology forward for all of us. Thanks, Green Leaf Aquariums!

I have enjoyed my little 8 gallon planted tank and have made plans to start a 20 gallon this spring/summer. We needed some bigger end tables so I am building them as aquarium stands. One will be used for my new 20 gallon. These will be capable of holding anything that has a 2’x2’ footprint. They will have backing for mounting power strips and dosing pumps. The finished looked will match my reef tank stand to help tie in everything in the living room.

It also gives me a great opportunity to work with my sons.

The rough structure was completed today.





Old picture of my reef tank but good picture of the stand.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! Have a great day!

I am working on my mistakes…. The next one will be huge.

Instead of continuing the old build thread, I wanted to make a new one. This build might go just as terrible, but I want to put the old one behind me. I really wish I had given myself a month or two break because I feel like I have algae PTSD. I’m pretty burned out, and I sort of dread trying again. Oh well, too late now.

I wanted to try 2Hr Aquarist stuff, but already had the Controlsoil. I bought it a year prior (see previous journal) and decided to go ahead and use it. Hopefully I’ll make a successful transition to nutrient depleted aquasoil, and then restart with the 2Hr stuff later.

I didn't plan on starting a new journal until about a month in, but since my aquasoil is already starting to give out of ammonia, I need to get it going to get help making the transition to full NPK dosing.

With that said…..

Ben’s Plant Pharm 2.0
(BTW, in case you were wondering, I’m a pharmacist. Hence the pharm)

Setup Date
8-11-25 (Day 0)

Goals
Enjoying some farming.
Successfully navigate the different stages of aqusoil nutrient release and subsequent depletion.

Tank
ADA 60p

Light
Chihiros WRGB Pro II
Starting out at 40% of the Fish setting
Red 53, Blue 34, Green 55, White 23
PAR 105 under the light (estimated)

Substrate
UNS Extra Fine Black 1 x 10L bag

Plants
From Previous Build
Xiris Red from S21 Aquatics
Eriocaulon quinguangulare from Cherries Nature Aquarium

TC plants from Buce Plant
Cryptocoryne parva, Pogostemon helferi, Rotala Sunset
Came in in questionable shape despite paying extra for insulated box. Were very jumbled.

TC from The Fish Room
Alternanthera reineckii ‘Mini’, Rotala macrandra, Gratiola viscidula, Rotala wallichi, Lobelia Cardinalis ‘Mini’

From S21 Aquatics
Synogonthas Vichada, Centrolepis drummondiana (Blood Vomit)

From Aquatic Plants Factory
Pogostemon stellatus Dassen and Rotala Florida? (TBD)

Fertilizer
Micros: Burr Aquatic Trace (BurrFertz)
Macros: DIY- dosages to be determined
PO, K, Mg at the beginning. Been adding about 2-3ppm PO4 daily
Transition to the addition of NO3 as aquasoil depletes

Filter
Oase HOB BioStyle

CO2
Injected via GLA regulator
Bar type diffuser placed inside the HOB filter

Livestock
None

Notes

• The Alternanthera reineckii ‘Mini’ was in bad shape when I opened the container. Might have been bad when I got it and then it was a week before I used it.
• 8-15-25: Added Synogonthas Vichada and Blood Vomit. Checked NO3 for the first time. It was 40. Started making twice weekly water changes.
• 8-18-25: Increased light to 45% of the full “Fish” setting. PAR should be just about 114
• 8-23-25: Pogostemon stellatus Dassen and Rotala Florida added
• 8-29-25: Discovered my NO3 was 0. Aquasoil is giving out way earlier than I expected
• Had a short diatom period, but it seems to be resolving
• I had planned to increase my light to 50% of full "Fish" setting which would be a (tested) PAR of 126, but right now, things are going so good, I don't want to mess it up. We'll hold off for now.
• 8-31-25: Starting to dose my own mixture of NPK and Mg. I really need to determine my actual water volume. What I am trying to dose, and what it tests as after I dose it are a good bit off.

Day 0






Day 1


Week 1


Week 2


Week 3






Here you can see the older Rotala Sunset on the left. On the right is supposed to be Rotala Florida, but it is looking a lot like the Sunset did at the same stage. Argh!


Pogostemon stellatas Dassen changing from emersed to submersed form


Syn Vichada is doing pretty good. It is growing slow. The new growth is all green and the old growth is dying off. I want to cut old leaves and clean it up a little, but right now, I don't really want to disturb it. I watch it every minute. I loving having it.

Starting a journal on my 40 gallon breeder farm tank. I originally threw together a 20 gallon farm tank to hold cuttings from my first scape but found I was quickly running out of space for new plants and a quickly growing population of Neocaridina shrimp, not to mention, the tank had become overwhelmed with bladder snails (yes, I know they can be beneficial). I had plenty of space for the plants I already had but wanted more for future plants for upcoming scapes. I planned to also use the tank as a temp home for fish. The new tank completed cycling about 7/20/25 and I began transferring the following week. Setup details are as follows:
Tank: Imagitarium 40 Gallon Breeder (half-off Petco special)
Filter: Oase Biomaster Thermo 350 (Only because it was sitting unused at the time)
Light: Week Aqua M900
CO2: Yes, inline diffuser
Skimmer: Oase Crystalskim 350
Substrate: ADA Amazonia 2

I purchased a used tank around the beginning of March that was fully scaped with a few fish and shrimp. I tore down the scape and moved the shrimp to the 20 gallon farm. I thought all I had were a few Amanos which I moved to my main display tank and about 7 Yellow Golden Back Neocaridina. The yellows quickly began breeding but I ended up with a lot of wild offspring so one of the original must not have been a yellow. I now have about 100 shrimp but really don't want to use them in an aquascape as mixed wild, so I will start to rehome them to keep the population in check. I've also moved Painted Platys from my display scape to the farm, as they were breeding as much as bladder snails. There are about 15 in the farm tank now and 2 still in the display tank (I think they're both female). I'll be rehoming the Platys as well. I have no interest in being a fish breeder so no more Livebearers for me.

I wasn't sure about wasting space in the farm tank with hardscape but went ahead and put in a few pieces for now. I figured I could use it for epiphytes and hiding places for livestock. Eventually, I'll probably install some 3D printed grates for the epiphytes. Things are a little disorganized to start. I welcome ideas on farm tank organization.

This will be my 4th aquarium since taking up aquascaping, not quite a year ago (had been researching and studying for at least a year prior to that).

I've spent more than a month trying to decide what style to go with on this new 25 gallon tank and finally settled on a Brazilian style scape using dragon stone which honestly, doesn't seem that common for this style. Also not common, doing it in a 60cm size tank. It seems this style is better suited for larger tanks to get that sense of depth and layers. I've seen a few though including a couple of well ranked AGA competition tanks and one by Tommy at Green Aqua.

I'll be starting the hardscape layout this weekend and hope to get everything set into place and the tank filled to begin a dark start. As time progresses I'll post updates. To get started, here's what I have so far.

Equipment
Waterbox Clear Mini 25 with stand
Oase Biomaster II Thermo 250
Inkbird temp controller
GLA CO2 regulator and DIY Yugang CO2 reactor
Chihiros Doser
Chihiros WRGB II 45cm light

Substate
A base layer of bagged crushed lava rock
APT Start bacteria starter
APT Feast aquasoil
APT Jazz fertilizer caps

Hardscape
Dragon stone

I'm still thinking about the plant and livestock list.



Do you think this is enough rock for a 60cm tank?

Is anyone selling one?

Anyone ever tried to convert an immersed plant to emersed?
This is Echinodorus bleheri which was in my tank. I needed some space, so I removed it. Instead of throwing it away, I decided to try growing it emersed.
Any idea if this will work?

Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @Primecuts!
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?

Hi everyone,

I am really inspired by some of the incredible tanks posted here and your AGA entries. I've decided to start working on my own Dutch scapes as I've had CO2 for a couple years and am now looking to really dial in my horticulture skills.

Unfortunately I am currently in a situation where I really can't fit a large tank into my house/lifestyle (3 little boys who put their hands on everything), so my largest tank is a 20g long that's safe in my office. It used to hold a nice low tech nature scape but I was ready for a change.

I decided to make this journal for me to log my progress and hopefully get some advice and recommendations.

First to get some attention, here is the tank as of today. I am excited as it's going quite well so far.


Photo of tank on Oct 22nd (prior to some new tissue cultures and a few plant transfers from my other tank)


Now my equipment list:

Tank: 20 gallon long rimmed tank from Petco

Filter: Fluval 207 canister filter (used on FB marketplace for 40 bucks)

Lighting: 2x GE Ultra Bright LED flood lights, 2700K warm white, 2200 lumen each ($16 total and then I made some seriously redneck pendant light fixtures to hang them from random old lamps I had)

CO2: Pressurized cylinder, Co2 Art dual stage regulator (used for $50), DIY Yugang horizontal reactor sized for ~1.2 point drop

In-tank heater set to about 75F

Substrate: Fluval Biostratum bought with 40% off sale at Petco. I know this stuff isn't great but it's ok so far. I may eventually add root tabs.

All in all, this tank is very thrifty.

Water: RO/DI remineralized to 6 dGH

Weekly Fertilization schedule:
NO3: 18ppm
PO4: 4.8 ppm
K: 24 ppm
Fe: 0.4 ppm with Miller Microplex for traces
50% water change

Dosed as 4 doses but double dosing on water change day for stability. I have also been doing an extra dry dosing of 9 ppm phosphate until the aquasoil stops eating that.