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BrownieGhost
Last reply · posted in Journals
This 60U is the first attempt at keeping plants in a while. I was in the hobby before for about 4 years, then was out for about 3 years. (You can find some of my aquariums on my page) I had every plan of getting back into Planted tanks and this is what I had to start with - I'll be sharing as many details as possible in hope of helping someone along the way or taking advise that can help me! I will do my best to update this journal weekly. Thank you!

Everything About the Tank as it stands today: (Changed through the last 5 months)

Equipment List
Light: SB Reef 32" - Blue Channel 25% - Red Channel 30%
Substrate: UNS Contrasoil - 1.5 years old - (See journal notes for updates)
CO2: Inline reactor - 20lb tank - Aim for yellow before lights turn on
Filter: Vevor 528GPH Canister Filter

*lights turn on @ 5:30pm and are off @ 9:30pm - CO2 is on @ 3:30pm and off @ 8:30pm

Substrate Notes
UNS contrasoil - 10.2 L currently in the tank - 1.5 years old
*Adding 1% new soil under selected plant groups.

  • Started on January 2nd
  • add 11 grams of new soil under selected plant groups weekly

Water change Schedule
2 water changes per week at 50%
RO water Demineralizing

Plant list:
Plant list has grown over time
Rotala Singapore
Rotala Rotundifolia
Rotala Mac. Green
Rotala Tulunadensis
Rotala Mac. Variegated
Rotala Mini Butterfly
Ludwigia Sp. Super Red
Bacopa Caroliniana
Bacopa Colorata
Myriophyllum Golden
Pogostemon erectus
Cryptocoryne Flamingo
Buce. Brownie Ghost 2011
Eriocaulon Parkeri
Eriocaulon Quinquangulare
Anubias Pinto
Anubias Barteri
Samolus Parvifolrus
Staurogyne Purple


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January 23rd 2025

Phase 1 - better than I thought...
I started this tank on July 22nd 2025 - I started with basic plants that i acquired from a close friend and some that were purchased from local fish stores. I started the tank with very old aqua soil that was in a previous tank then sat for about 3 years. I simply didn't want to purchase new soil hahaha. Plant mass was very minimal - NPK was very len for a couple of months as well - I began with weekly water changes using RO water. Plants grew even though dosing was lean (Ammania was loving it) below is over a couple months in which not much changed. Tank made good progress the first 2 months.

During this extended time the tank did go through the diatoms stage which was over pretty quick as I stayed on top of water changes and focused on manually removing the diatoms - I used a wire brush as well as rinsing heavily covered plants off in a bowl with tank water. I did not take picture unfortunately.

Equipment during this time:
Co2: inline diffuser - turned on at 4:30pm
SB Reef Light 32" - turned on at 5:30pm
Filter: Penn Plax Cascade 700

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July 29th 2025

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August 30th 2025

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September 16th 2025

Phase 2 - This is too easy!
On September 18th I added more plants to the tank to build plant mass - also removing Ammania as it was starting to show signs of stunting, most likely due to me changing to a slightly higher dosing of NPK. From here, the tank proceeded to progress in a great way. Everything grew and grew well - plants were recovering after trimmings and growing with no issues. I felt like I was well on my way to a great tank!

Equipment during this time:
Co2: inline diffuser - turned on at 4:30pm
SB Reef Light 32" - turned on at 5:30pm
Filter: Penn Plax Cascade 700


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September 18th 2025

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September 21st 2025

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October 5th 2025

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October 22nd 2025

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October 30th 2025

Phase 3 - Uhm, What just happened...
Starting from the last picture above - I cut the plants after a good period of growth and replanted to create more mass in the tank once they grew in. Expecting this was the last phase of the tank and believing it would cruise from here on out, a couple of things happened. First, I got lazy with husbandry and would just rush through water changes, not focusing on taking out bad leaves or decay. I was also skipping dose days on accident - which eventually led to routine being thrown off by multiple days.

In the first few weeks you can see the tank growing just fine and starting to fill in. However, color was starting to wash out - specifically in Rotala Singapore and Crypto. Flamingos. Super Red was also having a tough time recovering from the reset and growing properly. Pogostemon Erectus flattened out on growth and never recovered from the reset - you can see the algae starting to grow. Myrio. Golden started to melt badly from the bottom up.

Between Nov. 11th and Dec. 10th I completely slipped on the tank and went 9 days with out a water change - then another 14 or so day with out one.... The tank completely crashed by the end of it. Through out that time as the tank progressively worsened, I started to panic and change things up. Unfortunately I didn't take enough picture of this.

I increased CO2 significantly as this was my biggest concern.

  • I switched to a reactor
  • started the CO2 an hour earlier

I went from a leaner dosing method to full on EI dosing
  • N was well above 25ppm
  • went from 15 Ca : 5 Mg to almost 4 times that.

I dialed the light back to the lowest setting in hopes of control some algae

I also began to do 2 water changes per week.

The tank continued to rapidly deteriorate, multiple plants completely melting off and me being forced to trim some back to almost nothing due to algae over the next few weeks. I fought to hold onto the few plants that remained.

In the last picture of this Phase - December 29th I noticed that the tank finally started to stabilize just a bit.

Equipment during this time:
Co2: inline Reactor - turned on at 3:30pm
SB Reef Light 32" - turned on at 5:30pm
Filter: Vevor 528GPH Canister Filter


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November 11th 2025

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December 10th 2025


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December 18th 2025

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December 29th 2025

Phase 4 - The Great Reset
Finally recognizing some stability from the plants, no more melting, and algae was not as persistent... January 2nd I made the decision to do a total reset on the tank. Trimming everything back to only the healthiest parts. I cut just about every leaf that had any algae or looked decayed. Algae came to a halt almost completely - the only issue I did have was with a tougher hair algae, which my friend mentioned to be Spirogyra. Eventually I dosed two rounds of API Algae fix and as of now it is finally dying back. I came up with a routine to completely commit to and stayed focused on that. More groupings were added to the tank to assist with the loss of plant mass. The pictures below show the progress from January 6th to today, January 23rd. With the most recent photo of the tank being at the top of this Journal.

The Lotus Lily at one point melted completely - over the last to weeks I have had 2 lilies start to grow from the previous spot and are growing effortlessly.
Erectus and Golden continue to struggle, with little to now grow and seem to have a tough time rooting at all. But algae seems to not attack them
Rotala Singapore has it's color back and is growing.
Rotundifolia is growing like the weed it is. lol
Parvifolrus is bouncing back as well and regaining color

Newer plants have adapted pretty quickly and grow healthier as time goes by. Anubias Bareri and Bacopa Caroliniana have both taken off.

CO2 has stayed the same.
- The reactor continues to be superior


I lightened up on the dosing slightly
- N is closer to 14 to 17 ppm
- went back down to 20 Ca : 7 Mg.

I do a 50% water change at the end of every 3rd day.

Dialed the lights to 25% Blue channel and 30% Red Channel

Equipment List:
Co2: inline Reactor - turned on at 3:30pm
SB Reef Light 32" - turned on at 5:30pm
Filter: Vevor 528GPH Canister Filter
*Added a power head that is only on during Co2 hours

I will continue to keep the most updated picture at the top of the page as well as any changes to equipment or dosing. previous pictures and information will then be added to this forum at the bottom as time goes on. This as been a journey already - and i have loved every minute of it.


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January 6th 2026

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January 11th 2026

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January 16th 2026

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January 21st 2026
3 Replies · 828 views
JayP
Supporting I Donated 2026 Rockstar
Last reply · posted in Lounge
When I was walking around Aquashella Chicago, I crossed paths multiple times with Logan Rando while he was filming. I was wondering if he had posted a video of the show yet so I checked out his channel. No video of Chicago yet, so I instead watched his video of New Jersey. About half way through the video, Father Fish rolls by on his scooter and announces he'll be making an announcement that will destroy the tropical fish industry. LOL! I didn't know Father Fish was actually a speaker at Aquashella. Seems funny that a guy who preaches about not giving money to the aquarium industry was invited to speak. I figured WTH, I'll bite and go to his channel to see what the big news was. I couldn't bring myself to watch the whole thing, but I did scan through it and still don't know what the big Earth shattering news was. Just the same ole preachy stuff and I regret destroying the brain cells. I have to be more careful of that, as I'm older and can't afford to lose many more. I'm sure glad my path into this hobby was seeing the work of Takashi Amano, other knowledgeable aquascapers, and all the great folks in this community.
11 Replies · 143 views
Kwyet
Supporting I Donated 2026 Rockstar
Last reply · posted in Journals
Sometime in Nov 2024, I bought a 60G Aqueon tank at the 50% off sale. I already had a 75 gallon stand and tank, but I wanted a shorter tank so I could look in over the top. The 75 gallon was relegated to the garage in case I want it again, and I painted the stand black. I also put black vinyl on the back.

My goal was to make a hillstream environment, based on the long-running tank of Rachel O’Leary. I had looked at other options like the river manifolds, but I liked Rachel’s better. I set it up with an fx6 filter, a horizontal spray bar on the left side, and 2nd modified spray bar situated vertically behind a corner Matten filter on the back right side. Glass strips were attached with silicone to hold it. I cut the Matten filter horizontally a few inches from the tank floor so the top part could be easily removed for cleaning. I also cut a small vertical groove from the inside so it wouldn’t constrict the holes so much on the curve.

This was how it looked on Dec 20, 2024:

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46 Replies · 5553 views
Art
Art
Staff member I Donated 2026 Founding Member
· posted in Announcements
Please join me in congratulating @Jeff Miotke as the September 2026 Media of the Month winner!

This is the winning photo:

They win a $25 gift certificate from BurrAqua!
Logo-Contest.webp

Congratulations for second place winner @Kwyet and third place winner @MrJG!
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J
Last reply · posted in Fertilizing and Aquarium Chemistry
I'm looking to switch ferts I have a 20g low tech and 40g high tech both currently getting a mix of apt 1 and 3. I'm wanting to switch to pps pro using the gla salts (cheaper and gets my foot in the door with the dry ferts) for both tanks, but I've seen some recommend against it for low tech, I have no issues dosing daily, actually prefer it, and if I understand correctly, its actually better for the tank as far as stable nutrient levels. My question is, can this be done? Is it really that much of an issue to go pps pro on a low tech? I really want 1 solution (i.e. macro micro mixes) for both problems (the two tanks (obviously they'll need their own amounts as for as dose size)). I'm limited to 20 gallons of clean water at a time (remineralized with apt sky plus to 6 GH since I have neos, amanos and snails) due to space constraints so I can either do weekly 25% changes on the tanks or 50% changes every other week. Any and all input is welcome. TIA 🙂
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BenB
Rockstar
Last reply · posted in Specific Plant Discussions
I mention this plant on occasion, but no one ever comments. So I thought I'd make a post for others and me for future reference.
It is my favorite Erio. It is a darker green, doesn't get too big, and for me it has never sent up any seed stalks.

I find it easy to grow. I have high light but nothing crazy at 124PAR and high CO2, 50+ppm. It gets about max 3-4" and makes side daughter plants when large. I'm not sure my dosing scheme is. Sort of an EI daily dosing kind of thing.

What gets me is every autumn, it starts to melt. I'm not sure how it knows it's autumn with consistent light and a heater, but it must get a little cooler in the tank or something. The plant starts to turn brown and sends up (I'm not sure of the correct term) vegetative stalks with little plantlets on the ends. I've found you can plant these stalks into the substrate with the plantlet on top, and it will grow into a new plant. They've been easy to grow. This is the third year this has happened to me.
Pic of plantlets below. I'll try to get a better one sometime. All I had time for tonight was a crappy phone pic.

This year I divided one of the mother plants in hopes that it wouldn't fully melt and would regrow. That is still in progress.

Anyone else's experiences are welcome.

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This plant is the same plant as the one on the right above.
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5 Replies · 112 views
artandsoul
Last reply · posted in Do It Yourself (DIY)
Got on the tree build kick in past 2 weeks to make somthing I like for 36g freebie build to replace the huge tree turd #2 in there. I got 6 stumps ready today to get built for smaller tanks, 3 done today 3 waiting. Built the larger 17 tall 16 wide tree pics added other day to journal but gonna a build 2-3 more larger trees and the 6 smaller. Sell the ones off on eBay and etsy I don't want.
The larger stump 2nd post pic s 16" tall 15 wide plan to use in future scapes smaller. I've been using Amazon branch packs 15.00 for 25-35 pieces and amazon spiderwood 6-8" 5 for 12.00 for small trees. The large tree I made was a 10.99 piece I tore apart and used the 3 larger branches and built onto them to get the large tree in added pics cost me in end around 22.00 .... I have 10 pieces coming in mail Friday 5 large and 5 medium all spiderwood to make larger trees with this weekend.
Bought a ton of Amazon wood on Amazon lol 2 for 17.00 10-14" so I glued some of them together for larger usable pieces. some came out cool and well worth the 17.00 for the pieces glued together.The 1 has natural plant pots on top. The v shape last 2 pics 12" deep and 16" wide
After literally glueing a finger to a rock today Imao I quit! I ended up used all the accelerator I had anyway so Friday or sat before I can finish my smaller trees. will update as it goes, It will be a forest of trees when its done.
3 Replies · 51 views
Art
Art
Staff member I Donated 2026 Founding Member
Last reply · posted in Meet & Greet Forum
Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @Binnhim!
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?
2 Replies · 64 views
Art
Art
Staff member I Donated 2026 Founding Member
· posted in Meet & Greet Forum
Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @Poppet7B9!
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?
0 Replies · 16 views
A
I Donated 2026
Last reply · posted in Rainbowfish with Gregg Zydeck
Has anyone ever kept Dwarf Neon Rainbows (Melanotaenia praecox) with goldfish?

I have 4 fancy goldfish (either Fantails, Orandas, or some sort of hybrid of the two). They are around 4–5 inches each. I also have a school of 8 Dwarf Neon Rainbows in another tank (2 males, 6 females).

The rainbows are super sensitive to CO₂. The moment I cross around 30 ppm in my planted tank, I can see them struggling, so I’m thinking of shifting them to the goldfish tank, which has no CO₂.

The goldfish tank is 300 litres (4 × 2 × 2 ft / 80 gallons), and the rainbows are around 1.5–1.75 inches.

Usually people say no to goldfish tank mates, mainly because of a mismatch in temperature or temperament. But in this case:

  • The goldies cannot possibly eat the rainbows at their current size.
  • The rainbows don’t fin nip, or at least I’ve never seen them do it.
  • The water parameters in both tanks are quite similar.
  • Goldfish tank: GH 6, KH 2
  • Current rainbow tank: GH 4, KH 0
  • Temperature is pretty much the same in both tanks: 24–25°C (74–77°F).
Has anyone actually tried keeping Dwarf Neon Rainbows with fancy goldfish? Any issues I’m overlooking?
4 Replies · 108 views
Art
Art
Staff member I Donated 2026 Founding Member
· posted in Media of the Month Forum
This month's theme is: plant, hardscape and fish

This one is going to be tough but I hope some of you take up the challenge. Take a picture that captures a plant, some hardscape and at least one fish in the same picture.

Be as artistic and creative as you like.

The rules:
  • Submissions are allowed between October 7 and October 23.
  • Voting will start on October 23 at 12:01 am Eastern time.
  • Voting will end on October 31 at 11:30 pm Eastern time.
The prize:

A $25 store credit from BurrAqua thanks to @Burr740!
0 Replies · 42 views
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