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Staff member
I Donated 2026
Founding Member
Announcement ScapeCrunch Achievements
Happy Sunday all!
I want to share with you an exciting and fun update to ScapeCrunch called "Community Achievements". Similar to Reddit's Community Achievements, it's a system that provides a small and fun reward for helping our community in different ways.
Why?
The main and best feature that ScapeCrunch will ever have is an active community of people sharing knowledge and support. Full stop. Therefore, active posting by members is the fuel for our community and anything that may encourage that should be considered as beneficial..
Gamification is a scientifically-proven tool that encourages behavior by using human traits. You see it everywhere for a reason - it works.
However, it's a double edged sword. Overused or used incorrectly, it can be wrong or downright evil. We only do good here at ScapeCrunch so we will focus on ensuring it gently encourages good behavior and make sure this is completely optional for everyone.
What?
Community Achievements will try to encourage behavios that foster learning, community and sharing. They are broken achievements down into four categories - Getting Started, Community Building, Streaks and Legendary.
Here are some badges a member gets when achieving an objective like setting an avatar, starting a journal, setting a signature, saying "hi" in the Meet and Greet Forum, etc.
How?
The Community Achievements will be a game that a member can participate in or completely ignore. They will be housed in a member's profile page and in the Help section. The member will have the option to decide on which three badges (very small versions) to show under their username but that is the extent of what will be visible broadly.
So, if you don't like gamification and don't want to make it part of your ScapeCrunch experience, no problem. You will never really see them. But, if you do want to get some of these cool badges, then you can have a fun time chasing and collecting them. They can be shown off in your personal profile page.
When do we start?
We will be launching Community Achievements slowly over time to make sure we work out any bugs. We are doing so over the slower summer months as we usually have less members checking in daily making any bug-stomping easier.
The first badge being released is in the Legendary category and is called Challenge Winner. It is awarded to the member that wins a ScapeCrunch challenge such as the Media of the Month challenge.
This is what it looks like:
To sum it up, Community Achievements is completely optional so if you don't like gamification, disregard this message. They will not really impact your experience of ScapeCrunch.
On the other hand, if you like little fun challenges and like collecting the cool little badges, then the hunt will be on for you. Stay tuned as we release the achievements slowly over the summer.
As always, I'm so grateful that you are a part of our growing community and I always value your feedback.
I want to share with you an exciting and fun update to ScapeCrunch called "Community Achievements". Similar to Reddit's Community Achievements, it's a system that provides a small and fun reward for helping our community in different ways.
Why?
The main and best feature that ScapeCrunch will ever have is an active community of people sharing knowledge and support. Full stop. Therefore, active posting by members is the fuel for our community and anything that may encourage that should be considered as beneficial..
Gamification is a scientifically-proven tool that encourages behavior by using human traits. You see it everywhere for a reason - it works.
However, it's a double edged sword. Overused or used incorrectly, it can be wrong or downright evil. We only do good here at ScapeCrunch so we will focus on ensuring it gently encourages good behavior and make sure this is completely optional for everyone.
What?
Community Achievements will try to encourage behavios that foster learning, community and sharing. They are broken achievements down into four categories - Getting Started, Community Building, Streaks and Legendary.
Here are some badges a member gets when achieving an objective like setting an avatar, starting a journal, setting a signature, saying "hi" in the Meet and Greet Forum, etc.
The Community Achievements will be a game that a member can participate in or completely ignore. They will be housed in a member's profile page and in the Help section. The member will have the option to decide on which three badges (very small versions) to show under their username but that is the extent of what will be visible broadly.
So, if you don't like gamification and don't want to make it part of your ScapeCrunch experience, no problem. You will never really see them. But, if you do want to get some of these cool badges, then you can have a fun time chasing and collecting them. They can be shown off in your personal profile page.
When do we start?
We will be launching Community Achievements slowly over time to make sure we work out any bugs. We are doing so over the slower summer months as we usually have less members checking in daily making any bug-stomping easier.
The first badge being released is in the Legendary category and is called Challenge Winner. It is awarded to the member that wins a ScapeCrunch challenge such as the Media of the Month challenge.
This is what it looks like:
To sum it up, Community Achievements is completely optional so if you don't like gamification, disregard this message. They will not really impact your experience of ScapeCrunch.
On the other hand, if you like little fun challenges and like collecting the cool little badges, then the hunt will be on for you. Stay tuned as we release the achievements slowly over the summer.
As always, I'm so grateful that you are a part of our growing community and I always value your feedback.
9 Replies
·
1265 views
Has anyone here attempted to keep neocaradinia/Cardinia shrimp or ramshorn snails at CO₂ concentrations exceeding 50+ ppm? My experience has been that the semi-adult ramshorns tend to get really sluggish and eventually die; the younger ones are more active and live until they reach a critical mass. I've had better luck with bladder snails as a cleanup crew; they seem to have a much higher tolerance for CO₂.. I would like to add shrimp to this tank that hits upwards of 50 ppm every day and was wondering if it's a good idea.
3 Replies
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30 views
Hi all,
Starting a new 240L tank and looking for a source of dry ferts. This can be difficult in more remote Australia.
So far I think my options would be cop the expensive postage on well known micros from overseas as this would be a smaller package. Then source KNO3 by ringing some hydroponic places as this is more difficult to have shipped.
MgSO4 is easily obtained at garden centres or Bunnings.
Keen to hear opinions for global micros and perhaps any aussies may chime in with more local macro options?
Cheers
Chimera
Starting a new 240L tank and looking for a source of dry ferts. This can be difficult in more remote Australia.
So far I think my options would be cop the expensive postage on well known micros from overseas as this would be a smaller package. Then source KNO3 by ringing some hydroponic places as this is more difficult to have shipped.
MgSO4 is easily obtained at garden centres or Bunnings.
Keen to hear opinions for global micros and perhaps any aussies may chime in with more local macro options?
Cheers
Chimera
5 Replies
·
50 views
I typically setup my tanks based on plants I like and fish are an afterthought. I’d like to setup a tank for pea puffers though! I have an ADA 60p that’s just hanging around waiting for me to do something with it. Have any of you guys setup for pea puffers? Any advice on setting up a tank to make them happy?
20 Replies
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124 views
Hello everyone!
I need a help to eliminate green fuzz algae.
My tank s 1250l + 250l sump. (250cm x 70cm x 70cm)
My filration is 10000l/h pump and 2x maxspect XF330. Inside sump KOI filter mats.
My weekly fers 15ppm NO3, 2ppm PO4, 8ppm K, 0.3ppm FE, 0.1ppm Mn I dose daily.
Last 2 months, weekly water change 50%, before that once in 2 weeks.
CO2 start 3 hours before lights go on.
My lights 4x chihiros universal wrgb 1200, 24x Daytime Matirx Sun Pro modules. Light runs around 65%. Par at substrate at average 90-100 umol
My problem is I had blooming of fuzz algae on all leaves, probably baceuse I had lean dosing, since I increased ferts, trimmed and replaced infected plants, it became better.
But still i see fuzz algae on a lot of leaves, I`1m feeling that I will need to restart tank from 0.
Will appreciate all your advises!
Thank you in advance.
I need a help to eliminate green fuzz algae.
My tank s 1250l + 250l sump. (250cm x 70cm x 70cm)
My filration is 10000l/h pump and 2x maxspect XF330. Inside sump KOI filter mats.
My weekly fers 15ppm NO3, 2ppm PO4, 8ppm K, 0.3ppm FE, 0.1ppm Mn I dose daily.
Last 2 months, weekly water change 50%, before that once in 2 weeks.
CO2 start 3 hours before lights go on.
My lights 4x chihiros universal wrgb 1200, 24x Daytime Matirx Sun Pro modules. Light runs around 65%. Par at substrate at average 90-100 umol
My problem is I had blooming of fuzz algae on all leaves, probably baceuse I had lean dosing, since I increased ferts, trimmed and replaced infected plants, it became better.
But still i see fuzz algae on a lot of leaves, I`1m feeling that I will need to restart tank from 0.
Will appreciate all your advises!
Thank you in advance.
17 Replies
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605 views
Staff member
I Donated 2026
Founding Member
Hi everyone!
I thought we would have more activity in this forum. I know back in the day, everyone was using shrimp to control algae especially the Yamatos.
Is that not a thing anymore?
Any shrimp-heads still out there? If so, what you got?
I thought we would have more activity in this forum. I know back in the day, everyone was using shrimp to control algae especially the Yamatos.
Is that not a thing anymore?
Any shrimp-heads still out there? If so, what you got?
43 Replies
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5207 views
Uh oh! Made the leap and purchased a UNS 60L aquarium today to replace my UNS 5N. It's going to go on the edge of my kitchen island, so keeping equipment minimal and attractive is going to be a priority here.
The aesthetic goal is something resembling an Iwagumi that can be viewed from 270 degrees. Biggest inspiration currently is this scape by @qball_aquatics in Sydney. I'm not a huge Iwagumi person and I normally like substantial hardscape, but something about the plant selection here scales so perfectly in this long shallow tank, so I'm simply going to copy it.
UNS 60L Dimensions: 24" x 8" x 8"
Tentative Equipment List
Filter: Oase Filtosmart 60
Inflow/outflow: ASG 10mm Stainless Steel Inflow/Outflow pipes
Light: Chihiros CII RGB or ONF Flat Nano - intentionally going for a short light for more of a spotlight effect with shadowing on the outer edges
CO2: Paintball setup, potentially mounted horizontally with brackets under the counter
Plants:
Glosso or HC carpet
Eleocharis parvula for height around the stones
Echinodorus 'Aflame" centerpiece plant
Livestock:
Blue dream neocaridina
Maybe chili rasboras
How does this setup sound? Very open to suggestions.
The aesthetic goal is something resembling an Iwagumi that can be viewed from 270 degrees. Biggest inspiration currently is this scape by @qball_aquatics in Sydney. I'm not a huge Iwagumi person and I normally like substantial hardscape, but something about the plant selection here scales so perfectly in this long shallow tank, so I'm simply going to copy it.
UNS 60L Dimensions: 24" x 8" x 8"
Tentative Equipment List
Filter: Oase Filtosmart 60
Inflow/outflow: ASG 10mm Stainless Steel Inflow/Outflow pipes
Light: Chihiros CII RGB or ONF Flat Nano - intentionally going for a short light for more of a spotlight effect with shadowing on the outer edges
CO2: Paintball setup, potentially mounted horizontally with brackets under the counter
Plants:
Glosso or HC carpet
Eleocharis parvula for height around the stones
Echinodorus 'Aflame" centerpiece plant
Livestock:
Blue dream neocaridina
Maybe chili rasboras
How does this setup sound? Very open to suggestions.
16 Replies
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555 views
Journal High-Tech 90P Build
Hi guys!
I'm new here, but not entirely new to planted tanks though I've been out of the hobby for the better part of the last decade between kids and moving a couple of times - but finally in a spot where I can do something again. I'm mostly going to be making things up as I go along, but plan on a lot of automation (I want to integrate everything into home assistant) and a lot of DIY as I love the challenge of building things out myself.
The starting point:
I picked up a 90P rimless, low-iron tank on a great deal.
I have a rough idea in my head for a stand to be built from plywood - just have a couple other house projects to finish off before starting that built.
Wife says I can only have one aquarium, so for this tank, I want to go all out with a sump to allow for auto top off, and auto water changes, auto fertilizer dosing etc. etc. I have half a plan in my mind.
I've also started on the light fixture which I've modeled up in CAD, and plan on making out of an 8020 extrusion, and some 3D printed bits.
I'm using bridgelux gen 3 thrive CW (3000k) and WW (5000k) LED strips which have super high CRI at 98+ along with some specific XPE2 wavelengths that I'll solder onto some starboards. Far Red (730nm), Red (654nm), Cyan (495nm), Blue (455nm), Visible UV (415nm). Each segment of the white channels will be on its own driver so I can adjust left to right brightness in thirds, and each colour channel on its own driver so I can vary each channel on a time-based approach.
These will be run from a custom PCB board with Meanwell N-LDD drivers, and will run ESPHome on an ESP32 so it can link up with my Home Assistant installation.
That's it for now, this will probably be a very slow build so be warned if you follow along!
I'm new here, but not entirely new to planted tanks though I've been out of the hobby for the better part of the last decade between kids and moving a couple of times - but finally in a spot where I can do something again. I'm mostly going to be making things up as I go along, but plan on a lot of automation (I want to integrate everything into home assistant) and a lot of DIY as I love the challenge of building things out myself.
The starting point:
I picked up a 90P rimless, low-iron tank on a great deal.
I have a rough idea in my head for a stand to be built from plywood - just have a couple other house projects to finish off before starting that built.
Wife says I can only have one aquarium, so for this tank, I want to go all out with a sump to allow for auto top off, and auto water changes, auto fertilizer dosing etc. etc. I have half a plan in my mind.
I've also started on the light fixture which I've modeled up in CAD, and plan on making out of an 8020 extrusion, and some 3D printed bits.
I'm using bridgelux gen 3 thrive CW (3000k) and WW (5000k) LED strips which have super high CRI at 98+ along with some specific XPE2 wavelengths that I'll solder onto some starboards. Far Red (730nm), Red (654nm), Cyan (495nm), Blue (455nm), Visible UV (415nm). Each segment of the white channels will be on its own driver so I can adjust left to right brightness in thirds, and each colour channel on its own driver so I can vary each channel on a time-based approach.
These will be run from a custom PCB board with Meanwell N-LDD drivers, and will run ESPHome on an ESP32 so it can link up with my Home Assistant installation.
That's it for now, this will probably be a very slow build so be warned if you follow along!
39 Replies
·
2105 views
Staff member
I Donated 2026
Founding Member
Hello Welcome, Denys_UA
Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @Denys_UA!
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?
2 Replies
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184 views
Got 3 AI Prime 16HD fresh water versions over my 125 gallon tank that is 72in long and 22in tall. At the end of the day I am not happy with them. About to pull the trigger on two Week Aqua L900 K PRO's that are 35in long for a total for 70in coverage on my 125Gal. Thought's concerns?
2 Replies
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96 views
Supporting
I Donated 2026
AquaGirls
Tank: ADA 60F (60 cm x 30 cm x 25 cm) - 10.8 gallons
Lighting: Chihiros WRGB II Slim
Hardscape: Sensei Stone (Magura sandstone, with quartz and feldspar). GH, KH, pH neutral
Substrate: Crushed lava stone (to support hardscape), AF Lava Soil, and maybe Controsoil Extra fine? Still deciding
Filter: Oase Filtosmart 100 with Jardli 12/16 glass lily pipes (modified intake for shrimp)
CO2: GLA GRO Cartridge (once it is in stock)
Primary plants:
Livestock: Neocaridina Ocean Blue; maybe +/- a few Least Rasbora (Boraras urophthalmoides)
Still in the idea/planning stage of this tank. For a challenge I am pushing myself outside of my own comfort zone here, so this will be entirely new territory for me. Modern Iwagumi/diorama is not something I thought I would want to try, but my interest has grown in recent months, so why not give it a try? It will work, or it won’t. If it doesn’t work it’s always an excuse to rescape.
I have an ADA 60F tank sitting on my kitchen counter.
It was the first tank I purchased when I dunked my toes back into the hobby last year, that I scaped with some Ancient stone and driftwood for a few shrimp.
Once it was planted I quickly got in over my head on too many stems in the back, and moss growing too well on the rocks to maintain in a short, cramped space, and had some persistent CO2 related algae courtesy of a drifting needle valve. Thinking about rescaping the tank I had started to tear it down last week, removing most of the stems, and then found myself needing a temporary grow-out tank for some minnow fry, so the tank won’t be fully torn down and scaped for a few more weeks yet, but that gives me time to play around.
So, with an eye toward some sort of modern Iwagumi/diorama, I needed some hardscape. Without the luxury of walking into a store that caters to aquascapers, I am usually stuck with buying hardscape sight unseen. Rather than have a plan, and then try to find the materials, I ordered some rock to see what I would end up with, and let the hardscape inspire me.
Enter 55 lbs of Sensei stone in assorted shapes and sizes.
Why Sensei stone? I didn’t want to use Seiryu. It’s beautiful, easy to work with, and readily available, but I really needed this rock to be inert. Something in this tank’s original build sent GH and KH through the roof, and it had to be either the Controsand, or the or the ‘Ancient stone’ or both. I should have tested it in water first, and I learned that lesson the hard way. The 60F is a small and shallow tank, and shrimp loathe parameter swings, so this time I want to be able to control the water parameters a little more easily (especially the Ca/Mg ratios), so I am starting with inert rocks. Also, in case I wasn’t thrilled with the stones sent to me, I still wanted rocks that were easy to break into usable pieces, so no Hakkai stone this time. I did consider Frodo stone, but would like to use that in at least a 90P. So, hammer and cold chisel at the ready, Sensei turns out to have been a good choice.
The majority of the rocks were interesting either in color or texture, and reasonable in scale for a tank this size.
I did a quick speed-scape on Saturday afternoon with the majority of the larger stones, more for fit, and quickly ruled out some particularly chonky rocks. Thankfully, I saved the lid from the 60F tank when I ordered it, so it is currently my temporary dojo for now. I seriously need to build a real one, it is difficult to get much height in a cardboard lid!
My phone doesn't do it justice here, but Sensei has some interesting character, with neutral greys, and warmer tones that run throughout the rock due to insoluble iron deposits. I think it’s pretty flexible in that it is easy to pair with a variety of sands or soils quite easily. I could use something like WIO Rocket sand to bring out the greys, or Colorado sand to accentuate the warm reddish brown tones. For playing around purposes I just opened an extra bag of La Plata from the 150 build.
Not the all stone was well suited for use in a tank this size, though. That large stone center top in the image above is at least as thick as it is wide, and WAY too beefy and blocky to be useful, even if this was a 90P. Too many like that, and there would be no need for plants at all. It’s always difficult wanting to smash something you just purchased, but this morning I took a deep breath, and unleashed a hammer and cold chisel (honestly just the hammer works pretty darned well with with the strata in this stone) to see what I would end up with. Worse case scenario, I will end up with some accent gravel, because Sensei is difficult to match in color and texture with the accent gravels I have see out there.
What do you know…smashing it worked pretty well, and I much prefer the shards that I broke off that blocky rock. Much more pointy potential there. There are a couple of other odd shaped stones I would be willing to resculpt into a more useable shape, too. It is actually quite fun bashing rocks with a hammer first thing on a Monday morning. I am now looking forward to playing around some more with these rocks, and seeing if I can up the drama a bit. We’ll see what I ultimately end up with. I don’t think the shrimp will mind too much regardless.
Lighting: Chihiros WRGB II Slim
Hardscape: Sensei Stone (Magura sandstone, with quartz and feldspar). GH, KH, pH neutral
Substrate: Crushed lava stone (to support hardscape), AF Lava Soil, and maybe Controsoil Extra fine? Still deciding
Filter: Oase Filtosmart 100 with Jardli 12/16 glass lily pipes (modified intake for shrimp)
CO2: GLA GRO Cartridge (once it is in stock)
Primary plants:
- Eleocharis pusilla
- Micranthemum tweedii ‘Monte Carlo’
- Hemianthus callitrichoides (HC) 'Cuba
- Staurogyne repens
- Gratiola viscidula
- Riccardia Chamedryfolia
- +/- Myriophyllum guyana
Livestock: Neocaridina Ocean Blue; maybe +/- a few Least Rasbora (Boraras urophthalmoides)
Still in the idea/planning stage of this tank. For a challenge I am pushing myself outside of my own comfort zone here, so this will be entirely new territory for me. Modern Iwagumi/diorama is not something I thought I would want to try, but my interest has grown in recent months, so why not give it a try? It will work, or it won’t. If it doesn’t work it’s always an excuse to rescape.
I have an ADA 60F tank sitting on my kitchen counter.
It was the first tank I purchased when I dunked my toes back into the hobby last year, that I scaped with some Ancient stone and driftwood for a few shrimp.
Once it was planted I quickly got in over my head on too many stems in the back, and moss growing too well on the rocks to maintain in a short, cramped space, and had some persistent CO2 related algae courtesy of a drifting needle valve. Thinking about rescaping the tank I had started to tear it down last week, removing most of the stems, and then found myself needing a temporary grow-out tank for some minnow fry, so the tank won’t be fully torn down and scaped for a few more weeks yet, but that gives me time to play around.
So, with an eye toward some sort of modern Iwagumi/diorama, I needed some hardscape. Without the luxury of walking into a store that caters to aquascapers, I am usually stuck with buying hardscape sight unseen. Rather than have a plan, and then try to find the materials, I ordered some rock to see what I would end up with, and let the hardscape inspire me.
Enter 55 lbs of Sensei stone in assorted shapes and sizes.
Why Sensei stone? I didn’t want to use Seiryu. It’s beautiful, easy to work with, and readily available, but I really needed this rock to be inert. Something in this tank’s original build sent GH and KH through the roof, and it had to be either the Controsand, or the or the ‘Ancient stone’ or both. I should have tested it in water first, and I learned that lesson the hard way. The 60F is a small and shallow tank, and shrimp loathe parameter swings, so this time I want to be able to control the water parameters a little more easily (especially the Ca/Mg ratios), so I am starting with inert rocks. Also, in case I wasn’t thrilled with the stones sent to me, I still wanted rocks that were easy to break into usable pieces, so no Hakkai stone this time. I did consider Frodo stone, but would like to use that in at least a 90P. So, hammer and cold chisel at the ready, Sensei turns out to have been a good choice.
The majority of the rocks were interesting either in color or texture, and reasonable in scale for a tank this size.
I did a quick speed-scape on Saturday afternoon with the majority of the larger stones, more for fit, and quickly ruled out some particularly chonky rocks. Thankfully, I saved the lid from the 60F tank when I ordered it, so it is currently my temporary dojo for now. I seriously need to build a real one, it is difficult to get much height in a cardboard lid!
My phone doesn't do it justice here, but Sensei has some interesting character, with neutral greys, and warmer tones that run throughout the rock due to insoluble iron deposits. I think it’s pretty flexible in that it is easy to pair with a variety of sands or soils quite easily. I could use something like WIO Rocket sand to bring out the greys, or Colorado sand to accentuate the warm reddish brown tones. For playing around purposes I just opened an extra bag of La Plata from the 150 build.
Not the all stone was well suited for use in a tank this size, though. That large stone center top in the image above is at least as thick as it is wide, and WAY too beefy and blocky to be useful, even if this was a 90P. Too many like that, and there would be no need for plants at all. It’s always difficult wanting to smash something you just purchased, but this morning I took a deep breath, and unleashed a hammer and cold chisel (honestly just the hammer works pretty darned well with with the strata in this stone) to see what I would end up with. Worse case scenario, I will end up with some accent gravel, because Sensei is difficult to match in color and texture with the accent gravels I have see out there.
What do you know…smashing it worked pretty well, and I much prefer the shards that I broke off that blocky rock. Much more pointy potential there. There are a couple of other odd shaped stones I would be willing to resculpt into a more useable shape, too. It is actually quite fun bashing rocks with a hammer first thing on a Monday morning. I am now looking forward to playing around some more with these rocks, and seeing if I can up the drama a bit. We’ll see what I ultimately end up with. I don’t think the shrimp will mind too much regardless.
0 Replies
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52 views
