# April 2009 Tank of the Month: Nico



## hooha

*97 Liter by Nico(uttoshii)*










*Introduction and Background*

Hi everybody ,
My name is Nico , I'm french but i've been living in Japan for the past 10 years. I've started aquascaping in 2006, when i discovered Amano's work. So i guess i've been influenced a lot by Nature aquariums. I still try to develop my own style, as my tastes evolve constantly . I must say that living in Japan is a lot of help, in both the inspiration coming from nature and gardens and the easy access to products and information. I also get a lot of help in the different forums i participate in.

Here is one of the places where i get the stones i use in my tanks (and the inspiration too )










*Setup*

This tank was quite a challenge; it was made for a client who wanted a large view tank but that wouldn't take too much space in his office. We decided to install a 90*30*36 cm tank. Creating depth in this landscape was my main concern. I had to accentuate the slope as much as possible to do so , using a bit of sand in the foreground and placing the stones to optimally use the allowed space also really helped to create more depth. We also decided to do an unconventional iwagumi. Using stem plants in the background seemed to be a good way to make the scene more "alive"; a bit of Eleocharis vivipara to make it more "aerian" .

Here is how the tank looked like at the set up:










A detailed shot of the foreground (stone/sand part):










A side shot of the use of stones/slope:










*Tank Specifications*

tank 90*30*36 , 97 Liters
light: 2*32W na-lamp
filter: tetra EX 75
co2: pressurized, 2bps non stop
soil: aquasoil , power sand , bacter100 , clear super , tourmaline BC , penacW
ferts: brighty-K , step1 (daily) phyton-git, eca, green gain (water changes, 1/week , 30%)

*Flora and Fauna*

Flora:Glossostigma elantinoides, Eleocharis vivipara, Echinodorus tenellus, Rotala sp. 'Green', Rotala indica.

Fauna: Paracheirodon simulans, Hasemania nana

*Maintenance*

As for the maintenance, I can access this tank only once a week for 30 to 40 minutes. I guess i've been quite lucky, I had no algae (or other) problems. This tank is now 6 months old and everything is going well. It is still evolving; we are talking about doing some modifications soon. I'll keep you updated.


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## king oz

very nice the rock is especially striking!


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## diego

Congratulations Nico, great and original work.
Regards
***********************************************
Un bac tres original ,Nico, tres bon boulot , je vous felicite.
salut


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## vancat

That rocks!


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## Jbennett

Where do you find rocks like this? Awesome scape, you are an artist!


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## HotSauce

Absolutely stunning!!
Congrats!!


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## keviv

Wow, nice tank Nico, and I love the stones.


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## hooha

Jbennett said:


> Where do you find rocks like this? Awesome scape, you are an artist!


local stream in Japan, like he briefly mentions in the article


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## Alberto Sosa

Congratulations Nico

The tank shows a particularly beautiful and very natural

Regards
Alberto Sosa


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## Albert Escrihuela

Congratulations Nico.

The aquarium is very natural and the distribution this of the stones very well.

Good work.

Regards.
Albert Escrihuela.


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## olileon

Good job Nico!


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## houseofcards

That just works really well doesn't it. Good scale, textures and has a bit of mystery to it as well. Very good job!


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## Travis.808

Great scape!


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## Mellonman

Great job Nico 

Creating such a scape in only 30cm width proves your talent


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## voultou

Et un de plus 

Magnificent layout, Nico.


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## uttoshii

thank you for your comments



Mellonman said:


> Great job Nico
> 
> Creating such a scape in only 30cm width


i'm starting to have some problems with the slope , as the aquasoil slowly goes toward the foreground , i'm afraid i'll have to do something about that soon ....


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## Tex Gal

Tank is great! Love the rocks. Colors add great interest. The slope is great. Sorry that it's started to slip. I hate it when it does that!


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## AQUADWELLER

That is a beautiful setup. Can sit there and get lost staring into the tank.


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## user367

beautiful job!


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## r i x

Je crois que tu es l'un des seuls que j'ai connaisse qui sache si bien intégrer le bleu de ces Paracheirodon simulans a un layout d'aquascaping. ça m'étonnera toujours, comme dans im obscurum (ou un titre dans le genre). ça donne vraiment un effet magique est superbe. Tandis que la plupart du temps, les couleurs de ces poissons comme celle des cardinalis ne vont pas avec grand chose. En particulier le vert des plantes.

Chapeau ! Great !


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## drongo12

Looks great, which part of the world did you live in, where is the secret glade you get your rocks from?


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## joshp428

love the rocks, my favorite part of the tank scape


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