# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Karl's 125 Gallon Tank (redoing aquascape, come give suggestions)



## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Well, i'm in a bit of a rush this Sunday night so this will be a quick post.

Anyways, I am open to constructive criticism. Please post ideas if you have them. I have already done some plant shuffling since initially setting up the tank and doing the initial aquascape. Now I have almost all of the specieis I wanted. In the following posts, I'll tell you what my plans are.

Please don't worry about hte weights, they will be removed as soon as the log is water logged. I am giving it two more week then I will consider it's permanent removal.

*1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1*
First, the pic of the end view of the left side. AS you enter the room, this is your first site, so I'm trying to aquascape from that perspective.
----- (full size pic)








My first intention on the tank is to remove that sword in the front left in this view. I'm probably moving the crypt wendtii there from another place in the aquarium.

*2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2
This is a pic of the left side of the aquarium. I was initially plannning to do nature style on this side, but decided not too.
----- (full size pic)








You can see the crypt wendtii that is in the right foreground. That's the one that will be moved as described in post one.

3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3
This is the right side. I have no current plans for re-aquascaping it. Recomendation asre welcome. This side was intended to be dutch from the get-go.
----- (full size pic)








You can see the outlet's in that pic. I didn't origianlly plan on using the flexible stuff, but I decided to give it a shot. I like toying with products I've never used







Need to buy 1/2" outlets to replace hte 3/4" anyways wince the 3/4" didn't create much velocity at the outputs.

4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4
A pic that ties everything together! The whole front of the tank!
----- (full size pic)









Feal free to make recomendations. I'll give a plant list in a future post.

And now that everything is together, I definitely would like to thank EVERYONE that has answered questions in the past. I'd just like to let you know your wisdom and ideas have been invaluable to this point and probably will be into the future.

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 

[This message was edited by kherman on Tue January 20 2004 at 02:25 AM.]

[This message was edited by kherman on Tue January 20 2004 at 02:27 AM.]

[This message was edited by kherman on Tue January 20 2004 at 02:28 AM.]*


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Hey, what's that growing in the right foreground? It looks a little familiar.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Those filter outlets are a pretty prominent part of the 'scape right now. They make me think of dinosaurs. Or snakes. At any rate, they're are a lot of in-tank equipment.

You may need to get a lot more plants in there soon in order to stay ahead of the algae.


Roger Miller

"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Phil,

The glosso is in the left foreground. Thanks for getting that to me







It's also in pic number one on the left end view.

The foreground plant on the right side is Eleocharis acicularis.

Roger,

I agree with you on the filter part visibilty. It's not as promenant in person though. My hope was that the plants would eventually overgrow them and cover them up. The large one on the right might be lowered soon, just to hide it better. The large one on the left was added to increase surface water movement. I'll consider simply removing htat one in the near future.

Thanks for the tip on adding more plants ASAP. My idea was to propagate plants to help thicken things up over time. The problem is that most of the plants are growing very slowly. Some are moving quickly though. 60% of the fish are algae eaters of some sort, so hopefully that will help out in the fight against algae.

Some plants off the top of my head:
Crypt Wendtii
nesea pedicellata
ludwigia ovalis
P. gayii
P. ???
corkscrew vail

I'll do an image of the layout soon with all species names.

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal


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## Slappy (Mar 2, 2003)

You know..large stones work well as driftwood-weigher-downers as well.







Just lean them against the wood and incorporate them into the aquascape. I had to do this with my driftwood, as it sank about as well as a basketball.
Unfortunetly, it took well over a year to get the wood water-logged enough to stay down without too much trouble.

Oh, and I have to agree...those filter returns are very unsightly. Looks like something you might see in a proctologist's office.









----------------------------
Fish Slapping Extraordinaire

[This message was edited by Slappy on Mon October 20 2003 at 05:59 PM.]


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Slappy:
> You know..large stones work well as driftwood-weigher-downers as well.
> ...


Heheheh.

Ya, the first thing is to do something about the returns. The rock idea for the log is a nice idea that I'll have to look into. It will take alot of rock though I need 10-15 pounds worth of rock.

This weekend, I'll be doing some work o nteh tank. Primarily, fixing the lighting timings (for more light), fixing hte returns, water change and getting that sword out of there.

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal


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## Max Strandberg (Oct 9, 2003)

If you boil the root (or atleast the main part of it) for some time in a big kettle, the root should not need much, if any, weight to hold it down.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Max Strandberg:
> If you boil the root (or atleast the main part of it) for some time in a big kettle, the root should not need much, if any, weight to hold it down.


I've heard of boiling the root, but never knew why. Thanks for the tip. unfortunately, the piece would require a HUGE kettle and a bon fire







The main "fat part" is about 2 feet long. This weekend I'm going to try removing the weights. Hopefully it's water logged and if not, I might switch to some rocks. There's plenty of those in CT.

Also taking the swords out this weekend. I think I'm going to try and track down a red lotus to take it's place. The other leaved plant near the sword (which I think is another variety of sword) is going to be removed. Right now, I'm thinking yellow cabomba.

Thanks,
Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal


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## Shane A smith (Jun 15, 2003)

Whatever the dark green plant is (anacharis or Egeria). Just bulk up on that stuff. I know its nothing wonderful to look at but for now that plant ANIHILATES algae. I put 6 stems in my algae covered 50 gal and 50% of the algae died within 2 weeks. I threw it away and algae is coming back so i am Propagating the last stem to get a stand going again. Great algae beater grows inches a week for me.

standard 50 gal, 3.1wpg, 6700k, floramax substrate,gh 10 kh 6.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Shane A smith:
> Whatever the dark green plant is (anacharis or Egeria). Just bulk up on that stuff. I know its nothing wonderful to look at but for now that plant ANIHILATES algae. I put 6 stems in my algae covered 50 gal and 50% of the algae died within 2 weeks. I threw it away and algae is coming back so i am Propagating the last stem to get a stand going again. Great algae beater grows inches a week for me.
> ...


I think you are referring to anacharis:








I have some in the back left of the tank. I plan on propagating it and thickening up the area it's in. It definitely grows like a weed! Mine even does alot of pearling. Actually, of all my plants, that's the one that pearls the most.

For the past week or two, algae growth has essentially stopped. There is some that I need to deal with, but no new algae is appearing. The glosso is growing very fast also, so I think that's helping to keep nutrients away from algae.

Thanks,
Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal


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## Shane A smith (Jun 15, 2003)

I have Similar growth with Glosso. Florida draftwood sent me 4 plants of it by accident, now its a matt 6''-4'' within 2 months. Algae likes to grow on my glosso however. Maybe once it grows over itself it will beat off the algae. Anyways looks like you got it covered. Anacharis is actually a massive problem here in florida its that explosive. I think other newbies like myself need to know to forget about the Rotalas and Ludwigias as algae busters and use some Anacharis. Its probably the most invasive aquatic plant known to man.

standard 50 gal, 3.1wpg, 6700k, floramax substrate,gh 10 kh 6.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

I finally updated my pics. The big announcement.

I GOT RID OF THE DRIFTWOOD! It's a good thing too. Those weights woul;d have had to stay for atleast 6 more months. I actually like the look better without the driftwood. I still can't take good pics. The tank just looks horrible in pics, but in person, it is much better to look at. The big problems with the camera is the illusion of depth that is lacking in my photos. I might actually start a thread in the appropriate forum to get help wtih pics. Without furtherdelay...

A pic of what you see when you enter the basement. The Glosso has taken off. It grows extremely fast! The left side of hte tank is essentailly an open field.
------ (full size pic)









This is a pic of the left side of the tank. Once again, the glosso growth is extreme. You can also notice in this p[ic and the one above that hte Sword is no longer in the back right corner. I wanted to open the area up for when a guest enters the basement.
------ (full size pic)









The right side. OK, this needs lots of works. I plan on doing a major redo on this side next week. Not much to say... Lot of work to do here. I'm contemplating a change in groundcover. Right now it is a grass like plant that is only an inch tall or so. Great in theory, but very slow growing. Really don't want glosso here, but it's an option. Any advice on a different type of ground cover would be appreciated.
------ (full size pic)









The full tank pic will be up in the morning. Not a great picture, but it will be included.

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed








Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape

[This message was edited by kherman on Tue January 20 2004 at 02:31 AM.]


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

OK, put your vote in.

I might just use glosso for ground cover throughout. It would essentially cover the front half of hte tank if you draw an imaginary line from the back left to the front right corner. "wavy" ofcourse, but that would be the idea.

The tank would essentially transfer from natural style (sort of natural style anyways) on the left side to dutch style on the right side.

I might do this on my own. Peer pressure would be a nice push though









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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## mm12463 (Mar 5, 2004)

I like the glosso. Maybe toss in some rocks here and there for the glosso to grow around. One day I will give that stuff a shot in my tank.

When I saw the first picture while reading this thread I thought the weights where some sort of joke or you where trying to make a tank that looked like a dumping ground. God I was laughing so hard. Then I pulled my head out of my behind and realized it was to weigh down the wood.

Mike
http://fish.silver-fox.us


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by mm12463:
> I like the glosso. Maybe toss in some rocks here and there for the glosso to grow around. One day I will give that stuff a shot in my tank.
> ...


http://fish.silver-fox.us
[/QUOTE]

That's funny about the weights.

If you've never usedglosso before, I think it's great and easy to grow. I tossed some in my mother-in-laws low light/no CO2 tank to see how it does. Based on the growth in my tank, I think hers will do fine. Glosso is really good stuff.

The idea of rocks is one I've thought about in the past. Maybe I should re-visit the idea. Maybe do an arrangment of 5 rocks on the left side of the tank.

-----------
As for the full pic of the aquarium, the picture isn't up yet. I might have to re-upload it to the host I use.

Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

FULL SIZE IMAGE ----> 1000x332(74K)









Finally, it uploaded!

With winter coming, I hope to be able to sepnd more time on the tank and making it better.

------------------------------
Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape

[This message was edited by kherman on Tue January 20 2004 at 02:20 AM.]


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

MAJOR REWORK in progress. I'm basically moving plants to better use their appearence in terms of front/mid/back and trying to match leaf shapes in groupings a bit more. The first version was more of a collection of plants rather than a planned layout.

New plants will include stargrass(in hedge form near middle), blood stargrass and a Sunset Hygro. I might also include an amazon sword that a friend is giving me.

The substrate in the front will also be leveled instead of having the hump on the right. The general layout of plants will be similar, except I am getting rid of the "open field" concept on the left and making a more open grassy area on the right side. Essentially, there will be a large grassy area on the left and a smaller grassy area on the right.

I think the rework will make all the difference in the world. The wife likes it the way it is now though.

Pics will be up sometime between Friday(jan 16) and Wednesday(jan 21).

The algae problems I had seeral months ago still exist, but I am startingto get things under control. I still have to remove some once in a while, but I have almost stopped new growth of algae.

Also, adding some new critters to the tank.
5 - Bluefin Killifish(hope these work out)

4 - Rudolph Red-Nosed Shrimp
Like their look.

2 - Rubber Nose Plecos
Hope they leave my shrimp alone. I think my bristle nose ate one of my bamboo fan shrimp. Unconfirmed though.

6 - Red Cherry Shrimp
Hoping these multiply as easily as I've heard.

Also bought iodine to help the shrimp out in the future.

I started the redo on Tuesday. Hopefully today I'll have everything done so I can add the new fish/plants when they arrive on Firday.

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

looking good Karl.

Please read the following link before admins start editing the post.









read

72 Gal, 3 WPG PC 12 hour, pressurize co2 /w controller 3 bps, Fluval 404, ph 6.8
A Canadian's Plant Traders website


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Well, I got some new pics for everyone. Two images for todays viewing.

I used my wife's digital camcorder. It does 1024x768, but I think I need to learn to use it better or just go back to my 3 year old digital camera (like the old pics). As soon as I get a good full size tank pic, I'll post that. Anyways, for now here are some pics:

LEFT SIDE ------------
1024x768(114K)








There is ome Anacharis in the back center of this pic, so their will be something in the background that grows to the top. It's hidden in the picture though as the cuttings for it were small.

RIGHT SIDE -----------
1024x768(112K)









Also, I'll try my best to get a plant list up.

I definitely think the new layout is 10 times better. Same plants as I used to have, but I added stargrass and bloodgrass and re-introduced an Amazon Sword (thanks Josh).

Karl

Admins: I'll go back and edit older posts soon to
meet the new max width requirment like this post does.

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape

[This message was edited by kherman on Tue January 20 2004 at 02:22 AM.]


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

*anacharis*
mid/left background
Hope to propogate to make a thick stand of it. It's currently to shot to see right now.

*glosso*
left foreground

*stargrass*
mid-center

*bloodstargrass*
reight/center back/mid ground
Might move later on depending on growth/overal look.

*amazon sword*
right background

*Potamogeton wrightii*
center midground
I doubt it will stay there, but for now, I'm trying it out. It might be remoed entirley in the future.

*nesea pedicellata*

*rorippia aquatica*
left foreground

*eleocharis acicularis*
right foreground, http://alecto.bittwiddlers.com/fish/Tropica/133.htm

*ludwigia ovalis*
center background. Slightly right of center.
Might be ludwiga reapens, but don't think so.

*Sunset Hygro*
right foreground

*corkscrew or twisted vail*
It's on the left side, midground against the glass.
I hope to grow a thick stand of it via propagation. I'm not totally sure which kind of vail it is. It's a light green color and twists upward. Seam to want to stay at a max of about 10 inches.

*Some plants are not listed.*
They are TBD. About 2-3 plants in the aquascape are not listed here.
In particular, the plant to the right of the vails. I can't remember what it is. If anyone recognizes it, please let me know.

*FISH and OTHERS*
10- Neon Blue Dwarf Rainbow
7-Siamese Algae Eaters
6-Amano Algae Eating Shrimp
6-cherry shrimp
1-danio
7-neon tetras.
1-rubber nose pleco
1-waterfall shrimp
6-loaches (variety unknown. silver with black spots)
5-Bluefin Killifish

Coming soon:
4-Rudolph Red-Nosed Shrimp

I resized all the images for quicker loading along with a link to a larger image.
Better pics to come in the next few days.

Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Looking good, Karl. I really like the way that you re-did the left side. It will be good to see how it looks when you get some height in there.

I know you had removed the piece of wood you had there, but a nice branchy piece I think would look great in that semi-circle on the left side. And perhaps a rock grouping on the semicircle on the right. Just a thought.

Bert.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Bert H,

Thanks for the comments. I think when the left fills in, it's going to look very nice. There is a better balance/layout on that side now.

I do have some concerns about the right side though. I'm just not sure how it's going to look when filled in and there may be too many red/pink plants.

I agree with the driftwood/rock idea. I thought about the idea of rocks last night. Since I have the two different kinds of ground cover (glosso and eleocharis acicularis), I was thinking about doing a grouping of five rocks near the red crypt in the center foreground. That would act to break up the differing fgroundcovers and it's near the golden ratio already, so drawing focus t that point is less of a concern. The other thought was to place them on the left side only in the glosso as a grouping. And another thought was to spread them throught the tank (1 - left front, 1 - right front, 3 around the center crypts).

In the end, I don't think my ideas are ideal solutions.

So, your idea of driftwood (grapewood maybe) on the left and the arrangment of rocks on the right might be a good idea. I'll toy with the idea tonight.

My biggest fear though is that adding rocks and/or driftwood will act in an undesirable manner in that it may make the tank look as though there are two individual aquascapes in the tank, one on each side, instead of one large aquascape.

Thanks for your comments and ideas. It is very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Actually, how about this idea. Hope everyone reads this. Any feedback would be very appreciated.

What about 5 groupings of 5 rocks each in spread out locations. The concept is that this would help tie the aquascape together. Any thoughts? Maybe not 5 groups of 5 rocks, but definitely using 3 or more groups of 3 or more rocks each. Different sized groupings would probably look best.

Also, I plan on taking some good pics tonight. It is my one goal for the night!

Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## tsunami06 (Feb 6, 2003)

I think the pure hairgrass on one side and the pure glossostigma on the other side already seem to divide the tank into two separate tanks. I would recommend trying to create a transition between these two solid foregrounds (a blending area).

As for rocks, I do recommend doing a little research on them and purchasing good (similar) rocks. I would aim for two rock groupings, one on either side. I would not use the same number or same size of rock on either side, but they must all be of the same type. I feel that multiple little rock groupings will only further divide the tank into multiple smaller pieces. Two complimentary, larger groupings however, will help.

Carlos

-------------------------
"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." -- Van Gogh


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Carlos,

The blending of the two groundcovers is a great idea. A transistion would be a nice effect. I might try that out before trying more drastic modifications.

ideas:
1) blend the two groundcover types where they meet. A decent idea before trying out idea 3(below)

2) I did think about removing the hairgrass(eleocharis acicularis) entirly in favor of 100% glosso groundcover. This would probably be gaurenteed to look good.

3) I like the idea of doing something different, so what about the possiblity of mixing the eleocharis and glasso throughout? Basically go for the grass with cloverleafs look. It could just look like a mess, or something interesting. Glasso grows much more rapidly than the eleocharis though, so the glasso might dominate. I figure this is just a bad idea but it has run through my head.

4) I just stared at my tank for a while and think I have a good idea. Move the eleocharis back farther to the midground on the right, leaving the right foreground open. Then plant some glasso in front of it. The glosso would actually become the foreground plant for the front 4" or so for the entire front of the tank. The glosso will still go back to the midground on the left side of the tank. Eleocharis is slightly taller than glosso anyways(maybe by an inch or so), so it will be easily visible behind glasso.

ROCKS:
I like the idea of adding some rocks. I think once the groundcover is fixed up, I'll be adding some rocks. I think I'm going to pass on the wood at the beginning. Thanks for the tips on rock selection. The idea of two larger groupings does make more sense than a bunch of smaller ones.

Carlos, you created a brainstorm!









A new pic will be posted shortly.

Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

I finally got a decent full size pic.

Here it is:









Sorry about forgetting to crop it. Here's the FULL SIZE PIC.

Still have to do some minor tweak as discussed in the previous post.

Thanks for the tips and ideas. I hope everyone likes the pics.

Tkae Care,
Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Well, I did some plant shuffling. I moved the Potamogeton wrightii from smack in the middle of the tank to between the stargrass and blood stargrass. Now the stargrass is better displayed.

I also toyed with the ground cover. The eleocharis acicularis has been torn out and replanted. It was in the right foreground and now it is part of the right midground. The glosso has also been removed and replanted. It now covers almost the whole front 4 inches of the tank and still covers the midground on the left. Once the ground-cover fills in a bit (especially the glosso), the tank should look much more unified.

I can't wait for the plants to fill in more. I think this layout is going to be much nicer than the original one.

I toyed with my wide angle lens to see how things would turn out, thus the bowed image. I think I'll do without it in the future.

Anyways, here's the pics and a link to the full size image.










I'll be toying with the camera over the next several weeks. I hope to have an updated picture with some growth in 1-3 weeks.

Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## Overfloater (Apr 2, 2004)

You need more plants. If it wasn't 20 below zero I would send you some cuttings. I cut out about half a KG a week. Or you could just wait for them to fill in but that takes too long IMO









Bob

Los Dios De Verde


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## George Willms (Jul 28, 2004)

You've got a nice start there for sure. You do need to fill it in more though. I guess if you're patient enough you can just propagate them all yourself and not have to worry about buying them.

George

4 tanks: 5.5, 12, 29, and 45 gallons.

More complete tank specs in profile.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Thanks for the comments and tips. I plan on thickening things up over time via cuttings. That's short term goal number one. it might take some time, but that's nto a problem. I view that as part of the fun









Short term goal number two is to finish nixing my algae problem. That's about 90% fixed right now.

Once things fill in, I think I might need to add 2-3 midground plants. That's probably 1-2 months down the road though.

Karl

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Karl's Parts And Construction Journal 
Karl's 125 aquascape


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## joshua (Oct 14, 2003)

Lookin' good there, Karl.
I'm going to try and get some quality pics of my tanks up soon too, after I do a cleaning this weekend.

-Josh


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

How about an update Karl?


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Robert H:
> How about an update Karl?


Been meaning to get an update up, just havn't gotten around to it.

I need to do some trimming of plants and get things fixed up, including a pump upgrade(doubling output of the pump!).

I'll try to get something up by the end of the week.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Why not start a new album here? Put a bunch of your pics together here in the new format


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Robert,

GOT TO LOVE THE NEW GALLERY FEATURE!

Here are two new pics. As you can see, I'm stil fighting algae. I am starting to win that war though.

For now I've decided to stickwith the plants I have thuogh. I plan to propagate them soon. Maybe Sunday. I do need more midground plants and I'll look into that soon.

I'm considering the deletion of the elocharis on the right. A nice midground plant would be better there. The right needs more plants. The Fox Tail on the left might find it's way to the right.

With no further ado:

LEFT:









RIGHT:


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

A major trim is also needed.

I can't believe the ludwiga repens. I swear I was down to one dead branch and now it's a full grown plant. Needs a haircut though.

Took out hte blood stargrass on the right. It wasn't growing.


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

Beside the algae, it is shaping up real nice.
Just need to find some plants to fill in the right corner.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by EDGE:
> Beside the algae, it is shaping up real nice.
> Just need to find some plants to fill in the right corner.


Agreed, the right side is severely lacking.

I need to do something on the extreme left side. The vails there simply didn't take off like I ahd hoped they would. With the next trim, I should be able to eliminate about half of the algae that I currently have.

Now that I think about it, maybe I should move those vails on the left to the right side's midground and find a nice background plant at an LFS. Then maybe take some of the ludwiga and mov ethat to the left where the vails were to let that fill in there.

Actually, I can easily see this tank take shape in the next 2-3 weeks.


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

The corners are usually the darkest spot in the tank. Try using some low light plants to fill in the corner.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by EDGE:
> The corners are usually the darkest spot in the tank. Try using some low light plants to fill in the corner.


Good point


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

How much and what kind of nutrients are you dosing?


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## Plant idot... (Jul 6, 2003)

Your glosso has gone nuts. Congrats on a beautiful carpet.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Thanks for the comment on the glosso. If one thing grows in my tank, that's it. Needs a bit of a nip and tuck though.

Ferts/nutrients:
I have not used them since the algae bloom besides some Jobe's sticks when I did the last replant.

Before that I used iodine once or twice for my shwimp. I later read that can be an algae creator so I have not used it since.

I also used Pro Gro several times, but that seemed to create my algae issue in the first place, so I've been avoiding it since. I'll admit I should probably use it again, but I am really apprehensive about it.

Karl


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## ancientpimp (Jun 2, 2004)

i just saw the first pic with weights and now...wow, what a transformation.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by ancientpimp:
> i just saw the first pic with weights and now...wow, what a transformation.


Thanks. This weekend, I should be doing a major trim and some moving of the plants. I might add some larger crypts also. Maybe I should finally get a tiger lotus. I've wanted one of those for a while.

My mom took some pictures with a throw away camera when she visited. Those pics turned out 10 times better than anything I've taken with my digital camera. Kidna depressing


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Update coming tonight! I did a total tear down last night and replanted. The only question. Where did my Pleco go? Kinda upset about that. I think he might have been in a bunch of plants I took out









Anyways, I am essentially trying to make simpler, larger groupings and I think things worked out as desired. This is also part of an effort to make maintenance easier. That also means that my fox-tail won't stay in there long. Grows about 4" a day!

Anyways, I'll have some pics up tonight!!!


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Here's the new layout:










I think the ludwiga reapens might be ludwigia ovalis.

The elocharis is now gone. Made more sense to judt use glosso. Also gone is the blood stargrass. Didn't do so hot in my tank. Also gone.... the algae!!!! I was very patient in getting algae free clippings from new growth. I should have an algae free tank now. Ateast I should be safe as long as I'm diligent.

The plantings right now are very thin. I'll thicken things up over time via propagation.

Today it looks like rain, so rainy day work will be done! I'll be getting more polyeurehthane on my trim and get that up soon! YES! I might also have a chance to finally get the new pump in. I'm doubling my flow rate. Going from 650 pgh (3' head) to 1000+ gph (3' head). I forget what the new pumps flow rate is. I estimated that my old flow rate was about 450 gph. I anticipate the new "real" flow rate to be in the 800-900 gph range.

My substrate is now level accross the front of the tank and tapers as it goes to the back. I used to have the right side higher since the left side of the tank was visible as one entered the room. Now I just care about the front view.

Karl


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## Overfloater (Apr 2, 2004)

Looking good Karl... but where are the pics?


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

I'll probably have them up before 7 PM eastern time.

Still need to do one more vaccumming of the bottom and a refill ;0

Karl


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Got the new pic up. not much o ee at this point though. I'll post another pic when things start to fill in.










There is a larger pic in my photo journal if you'd like to see that.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

I was thinking about selling everytthing off. Still might happen, but for the time being, I think I am going to keep the tank and do MAJOR changes. No more CO2 is going to be the big change.

I only plan on using glosso and the crpts to start.

I'm going to totally change it. No more "aquascape". The left side is going to be water, about half way up the tank and the right side is going to be land. I'll put plants on both sides. Both submerged and on land. I'll keep all my current fish. I figure the water area will be 20-30 gallons so no new fish. Don't have many right now anyways.

Why? Elecricity costs. I figure I am currently spending $20-30/month. Heating half the waer will help out alot. Also, I won't need as miuych lighting. The land side shouldn't need much if any at all.

What creatures though? I know I'll have small fish. I want land walkers, but no turtles or frogs or anything that could escape. MIght go after some sort of "friendly" lizard.

What are these set ups called? I forget. Half land, half water.

I am thinking about doing mudskippers, but I doubt I will go that route. I think they are brackish water animals anyways.

GIVE ME IDEAS


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

I don't think you will find that an aquarium heater will make much difference in the cost of electricity. I will be interested to see how well you grow Glosso without C02! I have never been able to.


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## imported_Creature (Feb 6, 2003)

I too had to take the Summer "off" to concentrate on some of my other hobbies and interests as well as I couldn't get rid of a certain algae. That, and a couple long vacations at the beginning and end of Summer. I went to a low light level tank without CO2 and replanted with crypts. The only thing I did was weekly water changes and cleaned out my filter once. I didn't add any nutrients to the water the whole time and still, the algae persists, albeit at a low level.

After staring at the same boring aquasacape for 4 months, I finally added some new plants, reconnected the CO2 and adjusted the water chemistry. I also increased my light level slightly. I really missed the beautiful bright green and pink plants. I've kept the crypts for the mid- and foreground plantings, utilizing only small groupings of stemmed plants for the background. I'm no longer interested in optimizing plant growth with high intensity lighting and what not. I'm just enjoying the nice aquascape I've just created and my fishes seem more comfortable in their "new surroundings." If something doesn't grow well, I'll just replace it with new specimens and not fret about it and if it becomes worthy of a contest, then I'll enter it.

It's good to take some time off from the hectic pace of aquascaping a high maintenance tank. There's so much to see and obtain inspiration from in the natural world. After my roadtrips to the southwest this last spring and to Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Bryce and Capitol Reef national parks just a few weeks ago, I suddenly got the urge to try to recreate some natural beauty in my aquarium; and in my cubicle at work; and in my garden... If one were to collect wood or rocks while on vacation, then incorporating these items in a display of some kind will help in reminding you of your good times and of the beauty found in nature; as simple as a bowl with pebbles, acorns, leaves and pinecones collected from your favorite locations (just don't get caught!)


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Quick update.

I took out all of my stem plants. I currently have the substrate sorta done. I have some crypts and swords in place along with a bit of nana.

For the substrate though, I did it. I made "rolling hills". I was surprised to see the substrate hold 45 degree inclines easily. Maybe even 50-60 degree inclines. I think I have the genearal plan done. I need to make it more sloped from front to back, but I'm on my way. As soon as I'm pretty much set with the substrate, I'll post some pics.

I was going to plant larger items like crypts and swords on the tops of hte waves, but I actualyl decided to put them both in the peaks and the valleys. For example, I made 2 valleys that start from the same point in the rear of the tank which come to the front on diagonals. In those valleys, I planted about 10 crypt wendtii's as the ones I have had for about a year have shot out numerous runners. It a nice effect and with some contrasting glosso, I think it will turn out VERY nice. I want to do another valley of vails too. Still trying to figure out the plant selection though before I order.


I am keeping the CO2. That's decided. I'm leaning towards glosso again, but might try something else just for a different look this time around. Still researching that side of the house of things.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

Finally got some new pics. No ground cover yet, but these pics show the idea fairly well.
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edit: images deleted, follow links instead.
left side
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edit: images deleted, follow links instead.
right side
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Right now, the tank is mostly crypts and swords. I have about 5 varieties of swords and one variety of crypt. The crypt is crypt wendtii. It will actually be used in diagonal rows accross the whole tank as you can sort of see in the pics. The tank is still cloudy from today's manipulation of the substrate so it's actualyl a bit tough to notice. There is also some anabius nana.

The concept I'm trying to demonstrate though is the hilly nature of the substrate. Hopefully the aquatic clover or glosso or similar will fill in nicely and give a nice effect, especially in terms of depth.

The glosso slopes, in general from front to back. I hope to get some pics up eventually with the groundcover filling in.

Any comments, thoughts or ideas?

Karl


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## Ben C (Apr 16, 2006)

hey Karl, 

Your photos are always so drastic!! i love it when there are new links, so i can see what you've been upto! last time, you took everything out! this time, there are mountains! 
is there actually anything holding those hills in place? anything buried in the substrate? If not, my worry is that glosso might pull it all flat again. 
Other than that.. its looks like it could be an interesting tank. whether intentional or not.. they do look a little like the ridges formed by fast flowing streams. Maybe you should keep this in mind, and plan around that. 
BEN


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Ben C:
> hey Karl,
> ...


Thanks for the comments. I got a kick out of them







Look at the earliest pics. I had weights holding driftwod down







Thanks for the tip on the glosso. I've used it before and don't think the hills will get pulled flat, they are fairly substantial. I'm still trying to determine what ground cover to use. I know glosso will work, but using something different is always fun.

I'm hoping the tank turns out different. I never saw the rolling hills idea tried out before, so I thought it would be fun to try. Time will tell









As for the substrate, there is nothing below it holding the hills up. I thought about using some 4" PVC I had lieing around, but I think there is enough substrate to do the job. Even though the hills require more substrate to build them, it turns out that the valleys require less so it balances out.

The current plan is to get the ground cover established and then consider moving the larger plants around.

If I get glosso, I think that will take 4-8 weeks to fill in. I might go that route just because I know what to expect.

Pics to come in several weeks.

Karl


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