# Field of Dream - ADA 2007



## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

This is my Field of Dream, also the title of my layout.

Hope everyone will like it and wish all of you dreams come true!!

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

more photos and tank info at :
http://www.cau-aqua.net/


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## slickwillislim (Oct 11, 2005)

Great tank.

Congratulations on the 3rd place.

http://www.cau-aqua.net/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=29&page=view&catid=170&PageNo=1&key=0&hit=1

I noticed you use TMG, Seachem Iron, and ADA shade. Why not chose one companies line of fertilizers? Do you find these three to be more effective together then one complete line? I am interested because you obviously have great results.


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## PapaLoc (Mar 5, 2006)

Great scape, I really like it. It does have that dreamy, cozy feeling. 

Well done!


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## Chuppy (Aug 5, 2007)

I LOVE IT! 

Great tank and great use of those rocks....

Dream~~~~~~~

Drew


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## Intros (Apr 26, 2006)

Congrats Cliff !! , your tank was one of my favorites from what I saw until now in ADA contest. The H. micranthemoides is so lush that I was near not to recognize it as species. Do you had during the time any problems with algae with more than 1w/ liter light and so many ferts?


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

slickwillislim said:


> Great tank.
> 
> Congratulations on the 3rd place.
> 
> ...


Thank you slickwillislim,

This is a practice I observed from my father's garden keeping. He found that when everytime he changed a new fertilizer, the plant grown suddenly very well. I tried to remind my aquarium planting experience, and I also found that it happened in aquarium tank, when everytime I started to add fertilizers after the tank setup, the plants grown very fast and well, but after a while, they slowed down, and when some seniors adviced me to use some other better fertilizers, it will be better at the beginning, but it will also slow down after a period of time.
So, I think my father is right.
I did use those fertilizers, but not at the same time. I changed every 2 weeks..
such as I used TMG and Seachem Iron , and two weeks later, I changed to use ADA shade and ECA.

I don't know it that right, but I found that was effectively happened in my tank.
And I suggest that water changing should be more frequecy if using alot of different fertilizers.


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

PapaLoc said:


> Great scape, I really like it. It does have that dreamy, cozy feeling.
> 
> Well done!


Thank you very much!!



Chuppy said:


> I LOVE IT!
> 
> Great tank and great use of those rocks....
> 
> ...


Thanks, I used 2 years to collect those rocks!! ^^


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

Intros said:


> Congrats Cliff !! , your tank was one of my favorites from what I saw until now in ADA contest. The H. micranthemoides is so lush that I was near not to recognize it as species. Do you had during the time any problems with algae with more than 1w/ liter light and so many ferts?


Thank you very much, I don't have algae problem, since I think there are 2 main point.
1) I change water very often.
2) I had too much algae eating fishes and shrimp, I got 200 shrimps in the tank, and about 50 algae eating fishes, including SAE.

and I think the lighting is bright but not too birght for these light demanding plants. such as H. micranthemoides, algae never happen on it even much more lighting is used. ^^


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## Kookaburra (May 11, 2006)

Woooo !

Cliff, it's your year !!! 3rd place to the ADA contest and become an official member of the CAU, it's very impressive ... I am very happy for you, my friend artyman: :hail:


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## Haeun (Oct 19, 2006)

Wow, this was my favorite tank from the contest! I personally liked it better than the top 2.  I'm a big fan!


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## manini (Mar 18, 2007)

Awesome tank!!!! Love the way you used your rocks. Congratulation!


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

Very beautiful tank =D> 

Congratulations artyman:


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## Norbert Sabat (Jun 26, 2004)

Nice setup and...congratulation =D>

One thing is strange for me - you wrote that you change your ferts rutine from TMG+Seachem to Shade+ECA. Let me know if I'm wrong but Shade isn't Macro fert for "shade plants"? Thats mean that you add for 2weeks only NPK (shade) and Fe (ECA)....or maybe I'm wrong and ADA Brighty Special Shade is also Micros substitute 

Edit: My mistake, i check it in Style of ADA album end Shade included NPK and Micro


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## slickwillislim (Oct 11, 2005)

Thats an interesting fertilizer technique. I haven't seen many people switching their ferts after a certain amount of time, except for the ada STEP. I will look into that next time I set up a tank. I haven't tried TMG yet so now is a good chance.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Beautiful work Cliff-- it really makes me want to go "there," wherever "there" is.


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## gf225 (Mar 26, 2005)

Superb in every aspect, Cliff. 

Congrats on 3rd place. You must be buzzing, still!


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## UG Dude! (Apr 12, 2007)

Beautiful Scape...


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## Jessie (Apr 23, 2007)

Fantastic work, Cliff! Thanks for sharing here and congratulations!!!!!


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## Terra Incognita (Jun 12, 2007)

Congrats on 3rd in the Contest! I think it should have been 1st.  I am totally blown away everytime I look at this. I saw the ADA pictures of it, and stared for about 30 minutes. If I had to choose one scape that I'd pick to emulate if I had the skill, it would be this one. Very nice job!!


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## freshreef (May 14, 2004)

Awesome tank. Congratulation!
do u have the photos of 1st and 2nd places?


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## mlawson (Apr 21, 2007)

Wow! This is actually my favourite tank in the contest. I love the way that the moss grows around the stones and the shape of the stem plants, this is very difficult to achieve and can only be done by a very talented aquascaper like yourself.

Well done!


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

Kookaburra said:


> Woooo !
> 
> Cliff, it's your year !!! 3rd place to the ADA contest and become an official member of the CAU, it's very impressive ... I am very happy for you, my friend artyman: :hail:


oh my dear friend Kookaburra, yeah, I am so happy to see you here also. I am planning to come to france next year!! ^^



Haeun said:


> Wow, this was my favorite tank from the contest! I personally liked it better than the top 2.  I'm a big fan!


Thank you!! In fact, I like the number 1 's layout more than any other layouts!! it is so creative!! ^^


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

*manini, elaphe, Steven_Chong, gf225, UG Dude!, Jessie, Terra Incognita, mlawson *
Thank You very much, that is my pleasure to have your kind words here!! ^^ Regards!! ^^

*mor b *
I don't have their pictures!! ^^


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

*Norbert Sabat , slickwillislim, *

Yeah, actually as I said, I am not so sure about my fertilizers skills, I am that kind of person who usually think about creative thing, but lack of skills. For fertilizers, I think it is not a very big different from how you use it, the different is did you feel how your plant need it. ^^ as my grand-ma said, when you look at a flower everyday, she will become beautiful.


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## Kookaburra (May 11, 2006)

Cliff Hui said:


> oh my dear friend Kookaburra, yeah, I am so happy to see you here also. *I am planning to come to france next year!! ^^*


Really ? Great !!!

Where did you project to go ? "Paris" I imagine ... It should be fun to see you in France ! 
If you come in France, it is absolutely necessary that we meet (and you could even come to spend some days to my house, it would be with big pleasure!!!)

(^-^)


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Outstanding 'scape! Congratulations!


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## pasd (Aug 26, 2007)

You have such a beautiful tank. I love how you used the moss in your scape. Thanks for posting more pictures of your tank.


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

Before I designed this year's layout, My layouts within these two years were usually trying to present surreal ideas. I found that is not appropriate to present surreal idea in nature materials. So this year, I want to be different, I think an aquarium tank shuld be presenting an aquascape more than another thing.I tired to forget "stories", or " meaning", just make it simple, to create a natural, bright, attractive and comfortable layout.

My concept is simple, Natural but Bright! I wanted to present a riverbed which is bright in color, which I though I can found that is the most beautiful image under water. Usually, people will use shade plants for riverbed feeling layout, and make it in a dark mood, but I wanted it to be happy and shine.


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 18, 2006)

Stunning.


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

Yea! Absolutley stunning! Very nice  I think this tank should have been #1 in ADA contest 2007.
Your stones look like some kind of stones we have in our aquatic-stores here in Sweden.


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## Haeun (Oct 19, 2006)

Lucky you, Leonard. I wish we had those kinds of stones in our LFS.

It kind of looks like petrified wood, kinda. What kind of stones are they again?


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

I dont reallt know, but I think they are called "Indiana stones" in our shops =) Here are these stones in my tank:


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

yeah, it is the same kind of stone...
we call it "wooden stone" in Hong Kong...
since the lines on the rocks look like wood....haha.. of course it should not be the science name I think...


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## Norbert Sabat (Jun 26, 2004)

Cliff, any detail about photo sesion? I see that you use study lamp on top. How many wats it was? Any bonus flash, lightbox, softbox etc? What camera? DSLR, medium format etc?


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

I don't reallt know wath the stone is called niether


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## hedson_25 (Sep 20, 2005)

one of the best ever seen.


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## zig (Jul 3, 2005)

Congratulations cliff this is a fantastic achievement, next year no.1:mrgreen:  

Very well done.


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## GoHan (Aug 14, 2004)

Very good and creative layout, Cliff! 
You did it well!


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## colonel mustard (Apr 21, 2007)

could i cask whether you got a profesional photographer or did it yourself. if you diy then what camera did you use?


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## Norbert Sabat (Jun 26, 2004)

Norbert Sabat said:


> Cliff, any detail about photo sesion? I see that you use study lamp on top. How many wats it was? Any bonus flash, lightbox, softbox etc? What camera? DSLR, medium format etc?


I still waiting man :heh:


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## Porsch (Mar 9, 2005)

Congratulations again Cliff!


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

*Norbert Sabat, *

Sorry for late reply..^^ These photos were mainly taken by 2 cameras. The main one(front view) was taken by one of my friends, who also is a aquascaper, name Kelvin Tsang. 
His works ranked 161, and 271 this year, also are very beautuful tanks, I was wished them can ranked higher!! ^^
Anyway, we used a Nikon D200 camera, with a 17mm lens to take the front view. The flash box and the flash lamp also he setted up with me. I like photography, but I am not a technical person.^^

It is just a simple light box, the flash direct go into the tank, which we used some half-transparence plastic board to soften the lighting... ( sorry for my english... hahaha) 
On the other hand, there was a Canon 350D camera with a 16-35mm lens for some snap shots.

hope I did answer your questions!! ^^


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

*hedson_25,* Thank you very much!!

*zig,* number is too much for me.. ^^

*GoHan * waiting for you come back!!^^ Justin LAW~~~~~~ hehe..

*colonel mustard * see my reply to Norbert, hope I can help you!! ^^


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

*Porsch *, hey, handsome boy!! I Congratulations to you again also!! ^^ how's going in thailand?? People should be crazy about your 15th ranked tank... ^^


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## Norbert Sabat (Jun 26, 2004)

Thanks Cliff, this is enough info for me


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## FacePlanted (Aug 13, 2007)

Wow. This is one of my favorite tanks also. I love the use of the moss and rocks. I also love the brightness and shape of the stem plants in the rear corners. They are perfectly sculpted. I love all the layouts and pictures from the CAU. I found the CAU website many months ago from Google, and was ASTONISHED at the wonderful tanks presented there. All of you have huge talent.

I also like the idea of having a "bright" layout instead of a "shade" one.

Great Job.

-Mike B-


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## waynesham (Apr 26, 2004)

Congratulations Cliff!! We are proud of you!!


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## krisw (Jan 31, 2005)

Absolutely fantastic, and original aquascape! I can't stop looking at the picture of this tank. I love the use of rocks that are commonly available in fish stores, but not commonly seen in top quality aquascapes. I even like how the foreground itself is mostly bare -- it works because the color matches the rocks. How often did you have trim this tank, to keep the moss looking good and the stems in check? Also, what are the actual dimensions of the aquarium? Great job, and congrats on your ranking!


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## Cliff Hui (Dec 25, 2005)

Norbert Sabat said:


> Thanks Cliff, this is enough info for me


Great!! ^^



FacePlanted said:


> Wow. This is one of my favorite tanks also. I love the use of the moss and rocks. I also love the brightness and shape of the stem plants in the rear corners. They are perfectly sculpted. I love all the layouts and pictures from the CAU. I found the CAU website many months ago from Google, and was ASTONISHED at the wonderful tanks presented there. All of you have huge talent.
> 
> I also like the idea of having a "bright" layout instead of a "shade" one.
> 
> ...


Thank you!! Thanks for visiting our website!! there will be many new layouts coming soon!! ^^



waynesham said:


> Congratulations Cliff!! We are proud of you!!


Thank You Bro!! I am pround of you also!! ^^



krisw said:


> Absolutely fantastic, and original aquascape! I can't stop looking at the picture of this tank. I love the use of rocks that are commonly available in fish stores, but not commonly seen in top quality aquascapes. I even like how the foreground itself is mostly bare -- it works because the color matches the rocks. How often did you have trim this tank, to keep the moss looking good and the stems in check? Also, what are the actual dimensions of the aquarium? Great job, and congrats on your ranking!


I trim the tank every week, and I used 2 to 3 hours to trim and maintain the layout. 
And my tank is 100cm X 40cm X 40cm.

Thank you for watching!! ^^


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## Jeff.:P:. (Nov 20, 2007)

Hey Cliff, I know this tank has been taken down by now. I have a quick question regarding the rock, (petrified wood). I was able to get a large amount of this rock. On ADA they say this rock will raise KH/GH, did you ever have any issues with hard water while using these rocks? Any information/help would be great! Thanks


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## nap83 (Feb 7, 2006)

wow


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