Welcome to ScapeCrunch
We are ScapeCrunch, the place where planted aquarium hobbyists come to build relationships and support each other. When you're tired of doom scrolling, you've found your home here.
Social Feed
Hello Everyone. After a short 2 month wait, I finally received my 6', 235g Planet Aquariums tank. I've decided to document the build here as a way to document it's growth as well as, and maybe more importantly, seek advice as I've already stumbled onto a few 'problems'. So, without further ado, here is what I have so far:
Tank - 235g Planet Aquariums Mega Matrix (72" x 30" x 25")
Sump - 60g Breeder
Lighting - Skylight Hyperspot M (x2)
Mechanical Filtration - RedSea ReefMat 1200
Additional Filtration - Poret Foam (yet to purchase)
Return Pump(s) - Jebao DCP-10000
CO2 Reactor - Yugang from ARC
Dosing - Chihiros 4-Head with Magnetic Stirrer
Heater - 500W Titanium
Controller - Neptune Apex with pH and temp probes
Auto Feeder - Avast Plank
ATO - XP Aqua Duetto using a 35g Brute container filled with RODI water as source water.
Hardscape: UNS Controlsoil - Brown
Pacific Driftwood
Black Sieryu Stone
As a general thought at this point, the Apex will have some basic functions - control the temperature (77-78F), monitor the solenoid on the CO2 regulator should pH venture outside of acceptable ranges, and control the auto feeder. A 'feed mode' will be activated which will turn off the return pump prior to the auto feeder running so that the food is allowed to be eaten rather than washed into the overflow and into the sump filter. Aside from that, not much more is necessary other than simple on/off control for the return pump as the lights are on their own controller.
Controller and board:
ReefMat in sump:
Full shot of rear:
Current Scape - Half Complete:
That's about all I've gotten done so far. Still working on fiddling with the hardscape on the right and then start on the left side. I'm open to any suggestions thus far and thanks for following along!
Tank - 235g Planet Aquariums Mega Matrix (72" x 30" x 25")
Sump - 60g Breeder
Lighting - Skylight Hyperspot M (x2)
Mechanical Filtration - RedSea ReefMat 1200
Additional Filtration - Poret Foam (yet to purchase)
Return Pump(s) - Jebao DCP-10000
CO2 Reactor - Yugang from ARC
Dosing - Chihiros 4-Head with Magnetic Stirrer
Heater - 500W Titanium
Controller - Neptune Apex with pH and temp probes
Auto Feeder - Avast Plank
ATO - XP Aqua Duetto using a 35g Brute container filled with RODI water as source water.
Hardscape: UNS Controlsoil - Brown
Pacific Driftwood
Black Sieryu Stone
As a general thought at this point, the Apex will have some basic functions - control the temperature (77-78F), monitor the solenoid on the CO2 regulator should pH venture outside of acceptable ranges, and control the auto feeder. A 'feed mode' will be activated which will turn off the return pump prior to the auto feeder running so that the food is allowed to be eaten rather than washed into the overflow and into the sump filter. Aside from that, not much more is necessary other than simple on/off control for the return pump as the lights are on their own controller.
Controller and board:
ReefMat in sump:
Full shot of rear:
Current Scape - Half Complete:
That's about all I've gotten done so far. Still working on fiddling with the hardscape on the right and then start on the left side. I'm open to any suggestions thus far and thanks for following along!
33 Replies
·
768 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
·
176 views
Hello guys what could be the cause of pale new growth?
0 Replies
·
19 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..
15 Replies
·
183 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
·
7268 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
·
78 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
·
62 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!
3 Replies
·
97 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?
0 Replies
·
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.”
0 Replies
·
31 views
Staff member
I Donated 2026
Founding Member
Hello Welcome, Vis123
Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @Vis123!
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?
0 Replies
·
21 views