BryceM

I really think the colors look great (when they do..... I don't show photos from the times it doesn't look so good ) for three reasons:

1) MH and T5 lighting to >3 wpg. I also use a AquaMedic Planta bulb paired with 10,000k bulbs, not for the supposed benefit to the plants, but becasue it casts a very pink light which brings out phenomenal colors in the fish and plants.

2) Lots and lots of micros. I've been skimping on this a bit and it's showing. With very intense lighitng you really, really, really need to keep on top of micros and macros.

3) I try to keep nitrates on the low side. It's a dangerous game to play, but when it works, the reds and pinks really show much nicer. When I get lazy and let the nitrates dip the whole tank goes to pot. Algae goes crazy and it usually takes a month or two of careful dilligence to get it back into shape.

I love R. mac. too! Watch for my writeup about it in the January issue of TFH.

Phil Edwards

Bryce,

How do you find it working in a 24x24 inch tank? I'm 6'1", approximately 5'5" at the armpit and am considering getting a 30" deep x 24" high tank. Do you ever have problems getting to the plants in the back?

Thanks,
Phil

BryceM

All the time. I use a pair of 18" forceps for most of my planting. I also have a long pair of 16" metzenbaum scissors for trimming. Keep in mind this is all done from a footstool. Watching me aquascape in this tank is a lot like watching a shirts & skins basketball game, if you know what I mean......

30" would be impossible for a maintenance-intensive planted tank IMO. With nothing but crypts and anubias it would be OK, but stemmies just require too much fuss to make it realistic.

Vadimshevchuk

im 6'3 and its okay to celan. Great tank BryceM. Love the colors. whats your favorite plant and fish outta that tank.

BryceM

My favorite plant is maybe Lim. aromatica. It almost always grows in a nice cascade and looks good. I really like them all though.

As far as the fish go, I love them all too. Right now the Pelvichachromis t. 'Moliwe' are the best. Dwarf chiclids have so much character.

Tex Gal

I've been wondering about your Pelvichachromis t. 'Moliwe'. How's it been going with them breeding? Are you overrun with babies yet. I ended up having to get rid of my Kribs because they were taking over the tank.

BryceM

I'm absolutely overrun, but they're a welcome addition. There's no problem selling them to the LFS. Usually they aren't even too hard to catch.

jmhart

Bryce,

After running this setup for several years, I'd like to get your thoughts on your substrate-level spray bar.

1)How do you like it? If you were doing it again, would you have made any changes?

2)Do you feel pretty good about the amount of circulation provided?

3)Where did you angle the holes?

I'm considering doing this on a 120g I'm putting together.

Phil Edwards

I had a substrate level spraybar on my first 90g planted tank and loved it. All of the tanks without spraybars I've kept since then have had some sort of circulation issue of one sort or another. I'm going to be using spraybars in all of my large tanks when appropriate for the aquascape from now on.


Mine was 3/4 inch PVC with a 1/8 inch hole drilled every 2-3 inches for the entire length of the tank.

Regards,
Phil

foofooree

Hey Phil,
Do you position the holes pointing upward, forward, or at some other angle? Were they behind stem plants?