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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.
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
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
July 29th 2025
August 30th 2025
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
September 18th 2025
September 21st 2025
October 5th 2025
October 22nd 2025
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 went from a leaner dosing method to full on EI dosing
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
November 11th 2025
December 10th 2025
December 18th 2025
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.
January 6th 2026
January 11th 2026
January 16th 2026
January 21st 2026
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
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
July 29th 2025
August 30th 2025
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
September 18th 2025
September 21st 2025
October 5th 2025
October 22nd 2025
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
November 11th 2025
December 10th 2025
December 18th 2025
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.
January 6th 2026
January 11th 2026
January 16th 2026
January 21st 2026
3 Replies
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630 views
Hello guys what could be the cause of pale new growth?
1 Replies
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33 views
Supporting
I Donated 2026
Rockstar
So I was pondering fish food because, as I've mentioned before, I have no life. I see there was a post a few years back about feeding tetras but only a couple replies.
It seems, since we are primarily an aquatic plant enthusiast community, we tend to keep smaller species of fish. That's not to say some of us don't have big Cichlid tanks we don't discuss here much, but in general I think most of us are keeping fish in the sub 4" range. So what foods do you feed your smaller fish, especially the sub 2" species?
My primary go-to for my tetras, rasboras, dwarf gouramis, and platys, is Xtreme Nano pellets, Once a week I give them some frozen baby brine shrimp and/or daphnia. I do have a baby brine shrimp hatchery kit and have used it a few times, but I don't know that the fish really care if its live or frozen because their reaction to it is the same. I also go with Xtreme Community Peewee pellets occasionally but at sub 2", they seem to take the Nano pellets more easily. The shop I bought my first fish, told me they feed their smaller fish the Xtreme Nano so that's why I initially went with it. I've also tried various flakes including Bug Bites, but my fish don't seem to care for it as much and it just pollutes the tank.
Interested to hear what works well for others as I'd like to experiment and see if there's something else the fish might like even more. I imagine the responses for someone keeping the smaller cichlid species might be much different but interested to hear that as well since I might look into some of those species, like rams or even angelfish, on future larger tanks.
It seems, since we are primarily an aquatic plant enthusiast community, we tend to keep smaller species of fish. That's not to say some of us don't have big Cichlid tanks we don't discuss here much, but in general I think most of us are keeping fish in the sub 4" range. So what foods do you feed your smaller fish, especially the sub 2" species?
My primary go-to for my tetras, rasboras, dwarf gouramis, and platys, is Xtreme Nano pellets, Once a week I give them some frozen baby brine shrimp and/or daphnia. I do have a baby brine shrimp hatchery kit and have used it a few times, but I don't know that the fish really care if its live or frozen because their reaction to it is the same. I also go with Xtreme Community Peewee pellets occasionally but at sub 2", they seem to take the Nano pellets more easily. The shop I bought my first fish, told me they feed their smaller fish the Xtreme Nano so that's why I initially went with it. I've also tried various flakes including Bug Bites, but my fish don't seem to care for it as much and it just pollutes the tank.
Interested to hear what works well for others as I'd like to experiment and see if there's something else the fish might like even more. I imagine the responses for someone keeping the smaller cichlid species might be much different but interested to hear that as well since I might look into some of those species, like rams or even angelfish, on future larger tanks.
0 Replies
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6 views
Following @Dennis Wong advise to hold growth variables as steady as possible to avoid transition stress has been my single greatest tool to aquatic plant success.
I am fortunate to have Tap Water that is consistent all season with 6 ppm Ca, 1 ppm Mg day in day out all year. It is consistent because the water utility adds most of the Calcium and Magnesium in it.. the source water is extremely soft. The head of the water department has told me it never gets close to their target. They continually test and adjust the feed to hit target.
It is simple enough for me to just add gypsum and epsom salt to boost it to what I want.
Helping a fellow member here who is starting a 75 gallon tank in an apartment. Ro unit is simply not an option for him in the apartment for now. schlepping bottles of RO for a 75 gallon would also be a hardship. It is a tank just for family enjoyment and not intended to be a competition tank. He will be dosing diy ferts, high light and co2.
His public water supply has an average DGH of 8 with reasonable calcium magnesium balance. But the Seasonal variation is between 4.5 DGH and 11.2 DGH…
In the situation where RO is not currently an option what would peoples responses be?
At 8 DGH steady throughout the year, I would probably just go with it.
It would be easy enough to test tap water DGH before doing a water change. It would be easy enough to create a table to alter how much to-adjust gypsum and epsom salts as tap water hardness decreases with seasonal shifts down to 4.5. But the question is for the times it hops upwards to high end of range.
One could schlepp bottles for those weeks and hope those weeks are outliers…
Or one could simply target a higher DGH all of the time in the interest of stability..
So I understand the potential issues, but not enough of what numbers matter…
Am I overthinking? I know @Dennis Wong has said the Carbonate hardness has a bigger impact on plant health than General Hardness,
Is ranging General Hardness less of a concern?
Water report indicates 3.5 DKH with no report regarding seasonal variation..
I am fortunate to have Tap Water that is consistent all season with 6 ppm Ca, 1 ppm Mg day in day out all year. It is consistent because the water utility adds most of the Calcium and Magnesium in it.. the source water is extremely soft. The head of the water department has told me it never gets close to their target. They continually test and adjust the feed to hit target.
It is simple enough for me to just add gypsum and epsom salt to boost it to what I want.
Helping a fellow member here who is starting a 75 gallon tank in an apartment. Ro unit is simply not an option for him in the apartment for now. schlepping bottles of RO for a 75 gallon would also be a hardship. It is a tank just for family enjoyment and not intended to be a competition tank. He will be dosing diy ferts, high light and co2.
His public water supply has an average DGH of 8 with reasonable calcium magnesium balance. But the Seasonal variation is between 4.5 DGH and 11.2 DGH…
In the situation where RO is not currently an option what would peoples responses be?
At 8 DGH steady throughout the year, I would probably just go with it.
It would be easy enough to test tap water DGH before doing a water change. It would be easy enough to create a table to alter how much to-adjust gypsum and epsom salts as tap water hardness decreases with seasonal shifts down to 4.5. But the question is for the times it hops upwards to high end of range.
One could schlepp bottles for those weeks and hope those weeks are outliers…
Or one could simply target a higher DGH all of the time in the interest of stability..
So I understand the potential issues, but not enough of what numbers matter…
Am I overthinking? I know @Dennis Wong has said the Carbonate hardness has a bigger impact on plant health than General Hardness,
Is ranging General Hardness less of a concern?
Water report indicates 3.5 DKH with no report regarding seasonal variation..
16 Replies
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197 views
Journal transitioning 75g to high energy
After a couple years of disappointing plant growth as a low energy tank, I've decided to add CO2 and get serious. I'm a long time aquarist (20 years), but never CO2, so would appreciate help and feedback on my plan.
Current setup:
standard 75g marineland aquarium
fzone LED
biomaster thermo 350
corner matten filter driven by a DC pump
Sand
fertilization with APT3, Fe, K, fzone root tabs.
Fauna:
Flora:
add a yugang reactor inline with the filter.
Current setup:
standard 75g marineland aquarium
fzone LED
biomaster thermo 350
corner matten filter driven by a DC pump
Sand
fertilization with APT3, Fe, K, fzone root tabs.
Fauna:
- Brutus, the royal acara Aequidens diadema
- An electric blue acara Andinoacara pulcher
- A T-bar cichlid Amatitlania sajica
- 5 melon barbs Haludaria fasciata
Flora:
- Windelov Java fern Microsorum pteropus
- Valisneria Americana
- Cryptocoryne wendtii
- Rotala sp.
- Amazon sword Echinodorus amazonicus
- Hygrophila angustifolia
- cichlids love tearing up the plants and digging
- occasional bouts of cyano
- general poor growth of the plants (except for the Valisneria)
add a yugang reactor inline with the filter.
- Aquarocks Colorado small acrylic yugang ($95) Yugang Horizontal CO2 Reactor - Acrylic
- 10lbs CO2 tank. (~$120 + $65 to fill) https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Aluminum-Cylinder-Adjustable-Dispensing/dp/B0DWMXPR8V?th=1
- how much are people paying for CO2 tanks and refills? the only places near me charge $65+ to refill a 10 lbs tank.
- Regulator. undecided. Any suggestions?
- Aquarocks Colorado ($160) ARC Premium Dual Stage CO2 Regulator
- CO2Art ($150) https://www.co2art.us/collections/c...dual-stage-regulator-with-integrated-solenoid
- Fzone ($136) https://fzaqua.com/products/fzone-pro-series-aquarium-co2-regulator
- Archea ($110) https://aquaforestaquarium.com/coll...ual-gauge-co2-regulator-fits-cga-320-cylinder
- others?
- CO2 tubing ($10) Silicone CO2 Tubing
14 Replies
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187 views
Supporting
I Donated 2026
Rockstar
Edit: Newest tank starts here: Journal - Kwyet’s 125 / now 140G Nature Tank
——
This was one of the first tanks I set back up when we moved into our new house. As such, it was done very quickly so I could get it re-cycled and the fish in ASAP. Surprisingly, even though the filter sponges were just kept damp in plastic bags for 4 days, cycling took less than a week. I was NOT going to try to catch the pictus catfishes again, so I just lowered the water level in their holding tubs and poured them in. These guys are vocal when annoyed, so I assure you that I could hear them cussing at me, lol!
Here’s one of the last pictures of the tank before moving:
And here is what it looked like after the move in August 2024:
It left a lot to be desired, and while the painted blue background looked fine with my blue walls in Florida, it doesn’t look as good here with beige walls. I wasn’t going to move it out and scrape away the paint though, so it is what it is.
At this point I believe it had 1 angelfish (kept because it swims off-kilter), 1 Denison barb (kept because of a small white growth on chin since it was a baby), 2 old bronze Cory cats (because of age), and 3 Spotted Pictus catfish (because they were hard to acquire), 2 Super Red Bristlenose Plecos and 1 Glo-fish Rainbow shark (just because, lol!).
More to come.
——
This was one of the first tanks I set back up when we moved into our new house. As such, it was done very quickly so I could get it re-cycled and the fish in ASAP. Surprisingly, even though the filter sponges were just kept damp in plastic bags for 4 days, cycling took less than a week. I was NOT going to try to catch the pictus catfishes again, so I just lowered the water level in their holding tubs and poured them in. These guys are vocal when annoyed, so I assure you that I could hear them cussing at me, lol!
Here’s one of the last pictures of the tank before moving:
And here is what it looked like after the move in August 2024:
It left a lot to be desired, and while the painted blue background looked fine with my blue walls in Florida, it doesn’t look as good here with beige walls. I wasn’t going to move it out and scrape away the paint though, so it is what it is.
At this point I believe it had 1 angelfish (kept because it swims off-kilter), 1 Denison barb (kept because of a small white growth on chin since it was a baby), 2 old bronze Cory cats (because of age), and 3 Spotted Pictus catfish (because they were hard to acquire), 2 Super Red Bristlenose Plecos and 1 Glo-fish Rainbow shark (just because, lol!).
More to come.
76 Replies
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7281 views
I asked this question in a recent thread but it received no traction, so maybe it deserves its own thread. .........
When planting newly received emersed growth stem plants could it not be beneficial to leave the leaves on the stem of the section to be buried ? Yes these leaves will rot but could this not be possibly providing a useful ammonia source for the newly introduced plant and promote root development etc ? What evidence do we actually have of the pros and cons of doing this ? I must admit that do trim as Naturescapes_Rocco has suggested in another thread, by removing all leaves apart from a small top section but every time I do, it always makes me wonder about this factor.
I can see all the benefits of not leaving any excess emersed growth leaves on the exposed part of the stem but on the actual buried part of the stem could it possibly be even beneficial ??
When planting newly received emersed growth stem plants could it not be beneficial to leave the leaves on the stem of the section to be buried ? Yes these leaves will rot but could this not be possibly providing a useful ammonia source for the newly introduced plant and promote root development etc ? What evidence do we actually have of the pros and cons of doing this ? I must admit that do trim as Naturescapes_Rocco has suggested in another thread, by removing all leaves apart from a small top section but every time I do, it always makes me wonder about this factor.
I can see all the benefits of not leaving any excess emersed growth leaves on the exposed part of the stem but on the actual buried part of the stem could it possibly be even beneficial ??
5 Replies
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80 views
Thinking about building an aquascape inspiration site — want honest feedback before I build anything
Long-time lurker in the hobby. I’ve been chewing on an idea for a website (maybe a weekly newsletter too) that’s focused purely on curated aquascape inspiration — not another feed to scroll, but something with an actual point of view: why a scape works, what makes the hardscape/planting choices interesting, styles worth studying, that kind of thing.
Before I build anything, wanted to ask people who’d actually use it:
• Where do you currently go for aquascape inspiration — Instagram, YouTube, forums, contest archives?
• Does that already fully scratch the itch, or is there something missing (context, explanation, curation vs. just a feed)?
• Would a smaller, curated site/newsletter add anything for you, or does it feel redundant with what’s already out there?
• Would you ever visit or subscribe to something like that regularly, or is it a “look at once, forget” kind of thing?
Genuinely trying to figure out if this fills a real gap or if I’d just be adding noise to a space that’s already well served. All takes welcome, including “this already exists” or “nobody needs this.”
Before I build anything, wanted to ask people who’d actually use it:
• Where do you currently go for aquascape inspiration — Instagram, YouTube, forums, contest archives?
• Does that already fully scratch the itch, or is there something missing (context, explanation, curation vs. just a feed)?
• Would a smaller, curated site/newsletter add anything for you, or does it feel redundant with what’s already out there?
• Would you ever visit or subscribe to something like that regularly, or is it a “look at once, forget” kind of thing?
Genuinely trying to figure out if this fills a real gap or if I’d just be adding noise to a space that’s already well served. All takes welcome, including “this already exists” or “nobody needs this.”
3 Replies
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67 views
This is my first time using a reactor. I have a Landen 100p (40x18x18 inches) and just received my Aqua Rocks Colorado Stainless Yugang Reactor. I had a spare Eheim 4+ 350 so it's now hooked to that with just foam filtration. My other filter is an Oase Biomaster Thermo 600 with an 850 head. I'm a little confused on the initial setup. I have my Co2 turning on at 9:30am, lights on 12-8pm. I have the offsets at 50% of the reactor, and the surface area is 4 inches larger than the calculations said I needed.
I know that contact time is the factor so my Eheim is about 50% flow. Do I initially increase the Co2 rate to purge the air out of the reactor, then dial it back so i'm seeing off-gassing every minute once I'm reaching my ppm? I'm using a Co2 Art Elite Pro regulator. My psi sits between 35-40 on a 20lb tank. Co2 is easy for me to get and cheap so I'm not concerned with excess. There's not a lot of information I can find on these so anything helps. Thanks for reading!
I know that contact time is the factor so my Eheim is about 50% flow. Do I initially increase the Co2 rate to purge the air out of the reactor, then dial it back so i'm seeing off-gassing every minute once I'm reaching my ppm? I'm using a Co2 Art Elite Pro regulator. My psi sits between 35-40 on a 20lb tank. Co2 is easy for me to get and cheap so I'm not concerned with excess. There's not a lot of information I can find on these so anything helps. Thanks for reading!
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102 views
Staff member
I Donated 2026
Founding Member
Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @dmitrysokolovvet!
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?
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13 views
Thinking about building an aquascape inspiration site — want honest feedback before I build anything
Long-time lurker in the hobby. I’ve been chewing on an idea for a website (maybe a weekly newsletter too) that’s focused purely on curated aquascape inspiration — not another feed to scroll, but something with an actual point of view: why a scape works, what makes the hardscape/planting choices interesting, styles worth studying, that kind of thing.
Before I build anything, wanted to ask people who’d actually use it:
• Where do you currently go for aquascape inspiration — Instagram, YouTube, forums, contest archives?
• Does that already fully scratch the itch, or is there something missing (context, explanation, curation vs. just a feed)?
• Would a smaller, curated site/newsletter add anything for you, or does it feel redundant with what’s already out there?
• Would you ever visit or subscribe to something like that regularly, or is it a “look at once, forget” kind of thing?
Genuinely trying to figure out if this fills a real gap or if I’d just be adding noise to a space that’s already well served. All takes welcome, including “this already exists” or “nobody needs this.”
Before I build anything, wanted to ask people who’d actually use it:
• Where do you currently go for aquascape inspiration — Instagram, YouTube, forums, contest archives?
• Does that already fully scratch the itch, or is there something missing (context, explanation, curation vs. just a feed)?
• Would a smaller, curated site/newsletter add anything for you, or does it feel redundant with what’s already out there?
• Would you ever visit or subscribe to something like that regularly, or is it a “look at once, forget” kind of thing?
Genuinely trying to figure out if this fills a real gap or if I’d just be adding noise to a space that’s already well served. All takes welcome, including “this already exists” or “nobody needs this.”
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35 views