FresH2O's 20g planted rescape

[Brian_Nano12g]

Brian in the house!
Wow, it's been years. Glad to see you are giving new life to the 60p. Your tanks were always impressive (as well as the photography and videos). Following your builds and advice forced me to step up my game as I strived to keep up. Welcome back!

Thank you, sir.. I hope balancing my tank's needs is easy to pick up again like riding a bike after many years.. Lol. I'll start my thread soon. Just had to drop in and say hi to familiar faces and old friends in this cool hobby!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Nice to have you back, Brian! I remember your tanks as being very inspirational when I was in the early stages of planted tank keeping.

Thank you.. Really appreciate that

That is a beauty of a tank.

Nice to see you Brian!!!

Hi Autumn, it's been a while. Glad to be back! I need to get re-acclimated and get a feel for the new regulars and see what's changed or the same. I hear there's a lot of new names. Very happy to see you're still here. Anyways, I'll be starting my re-build thread.. Hope to see you there

 

[Fresh2o]

After ignoring this tank I decided to make some changes. I removed the Pogostemon erectus from the right corner.
Next, the Ammania bonsai was removed from the center. Cloudiness ensued.
I trimmed some AR and planted it where the A. bonsai was and planted a few bonsai stems in the right corner.

Elevated view
Pic taken at 6 AM. Shows how much the Planted+ washes out the reds.

Not sure if I'm done yet. I might remove the Staur repens along the front so that there is a 1" strip of substrate visible along the front. Will continue to treat the BBA on the rocks with H2O2.
As for the Pogo and A. bonsai, I put it in the shrimp tank for now (they love to graze on biofilm). Not sure if I will throw it out, bring it to the LFS, or sell it.

 

[TMaier]

Why did you remove the center tall AB? It looked nice in the pics?

 

[Fresh2o]

Why did you remove the center tall AB? It looked nice in the pics?

My OCD kicked in and I felt like I should not have anything dead center in the tank. Plus, I'm trying to become less attached to the plants. I can always get more.
Okay I was bored.

 

[Bert2oo1]

My OCD kicked in and I felt like I should not have anything dead center in the tank. Plus, I'm trying to become less attached to the plants. I can always get more.
Okay I was bored.

Haha im feeling a rescape coming on! [emoji106]

 

[TMaier]

My OCD kicked in and I felt like I should not have anything dead center in the tank. Plus, I'm trying to become less attached to the plants. I can always get more.
Okay I was bored.

I couldn't tell it was dead. Lol

No zombies in the tank!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Haha im feeling a rescape coming on! [emoji106]

That's always a great cure for boredom! [emoji1]

 

[Fresh2o]

I couldn't tell it was dead. Lol

No zombies in the tank!

You want the bonsai? Let me know.

 

[Fresh2o]

I couldn't tell it was dead. Lol

No zombies in the tank!

Sorry for the double post...

 

[TMaier]

I have more plants than I can fit in tanks right now. Lol.

Do one of your bargain classifieds and make some noob happy!

 

[Fresh2o]

I have more plants than I can fit in tanks right now. Lol.

Do one of your bargain classifieds and make some noob happy!

Sounds like a good idea! To the classifieds!!!

 

[Fresh2o]

Subtle changes. There was a 3" gap behind the rock formation on the right side. I decided to discontinue planting anything behind it so I moved the rocks back along the rear pane. This gave me some real estate in the front (which was quickly filled in with trimmings). I also removed plants and substrate along the front 2". I don't like it when plants crowd the front pane. Also did another H2O2 treatment on the rocks. Not so sure about the angle of the rocks on the right side.
Here is a before/after shot:

 

[kbuser92]

Looking good!

 

[Delapool]

Subtle changes. There was a 3" gap behind the rock formation on the right side. I decided to discontinue planting anything behind it so I moved the rocks back along the rear pane. This gave me some real estate in the front (which was quickly filled in with trimmings). I also removed plants and substrate along the front 2". I don't like it when plants crowd the front pane. Also did another H2O2 treatment on the rocks. Not so sure about the angle of the rocks on the right side.
Here is a before/after shot:

Was that spot treating for h2o2? I was reading on whole tank dosing treatments but kind of wary.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Tend to agree with u on the rock fresh, I think if it's going to be so vertical you'll need to put another rock to the front right side of the now vertical rock. You've lost the view of the rock that was underneath so it looks a little off.

Still looks great though [emoji16][emoji106]

 

[Fresh2o]

I rearranged the rocks a bit in an attempt to restore the original orientation.
I'm thinking about removing the rocks and doing a bleach dip and scrub to remove the algae. I like the natural look but these are a bit too dark at the moment.

 

[Fresh2o]

I decided to clean some of the stones in my tank. I am all for the natural look, however, the GSA and BBA buildup appears unsightly. Hot water followed by salt and a brush had little effect. So I did a soak in hot water + bleach. After thorough rinsing and a soak in water + Prime, the stones now resemble their former color:

Here is a full tank shot. I plan on doing the stones on the right side later today.

 

[TMaier]

This reminds me, I need to clean my coffee pot...

Pretty darn brand spankin new [emoji102]

 

[fishenthusiast]

I still think this tank looks fantastic! You truly are the Staur repens whisperer. With my driftwood, I occasionally take an old toothbrush and scrub down the surface. I find that it keeps it looking nice. From time to time, I'll get some BBA on the branches, but I haven't seen any in over two months. Of course, my tank is easier to balance. I remember having BBA one week, GSA the next week, and then both a week later with high lighting. It's a constant battle!