gjcarew

I almost took it out, it melted way back after moving it. Glad I held off!

I added some ammania pedicellata to the right side. We will have to see how it does without aquasoil. I know in general it's a finicky one. I think I'm going to get rid of the limnophila aromatica next. It just isn't distinctive enough. Maybe I'll replace it with something like anubias barteri, I need something with broad leaves and dark green color there I think. Or I could go full on fruit stand and try alternanthera reinickii or something.

Overall I kinda like the layout. There is still a big empty spot on the right that I was leaving empty in hopes my dormant nymphaea minuta bulb would grow in, but it doesn't appear to be doing anything. The left side is definitely still a hodge-podge too. But at least the middle ain't bad

Absolutely gorgeous. I'm glad to see all your hard work pay off. It's my birthday today, and this is an amazing birthday present. It's been wonderful to be able to follow your journey, and I really appreciate the gesture. I can't wait to see what you do next year!

Dang, it's been a while since I've posted! My algae scraper broke so GSA has been slowly building up, hence it looks kinda gross. I do have another one on the way, but I figured I should post and updated photo while it's on my mind!

Is that coco coir?

I didn't build my own, I bought a super cheap (like $50) regulator off Amazon that has lasted at least 4 years. There is some drift in injection rates, but I just bought a flow meter so I can adjust as needed. The thing about regulators is a certain percentage are gonna be duds unless you're going custom. So I'd just go with one that is relatively cheap and has a warranty.

I never nailed the timing and trimming this year. I'm going to be in Ireland for the next week and back on the 9th, so I have one day to (hopefully) get a better photo once I get back. One big change I made is moving the buce back up front. It didn't look good in the background. I'm also hoping the rotala will be recovered a bit by the time I return, I accidentally took it down too far.

Bolbitis heudelotii

Here's a little preview of the almost-final product. I want to move the rotala right a touch to give it more room. I also cut the Ludwigia a tad too short 🥲 Gonna take some nice pictures in the next week or so. I'm pretty sure there are no AGA judges secretly lurking this forum so I'm pretty sure it's safe to post here

Do you not like it otherwise?

I finally got some bacopa caroliniana. It's for sure a bad idea to be replacing a group right now. Let's hope it works out! The limnophila aromatica is finally doing something, but is still more of a midground group in terms of height. I may have to play with the location a bit still. I think this picture really illustrates how much space you want while planting - look at all that empty substrate between groups! When it grows out, from the front view everything will hopefully look like it's *just* touching.

Unless you have something else you want to go there, I'd say keep it. If it still looks so-so by the time you want to take the final photos, you can always pull it then.

You always enter with the tank you have, not the tank you wish you had. Don't worry about getting it perfect, just get it as good as you can. Your tank, as is, could definitely place in the top 5. It's got a fantastic classic Dutch look about it. The crazy thing is that the mistakes you think you made, nobody will notice. And they might point out entirely different mistakes you didn't even consider 🙂The feedback I've gotten from the judges is never what I think it will be, for better or for worse. Just whatever you do, trim light. No big chops from here on out.

And here is a full tank shot. Obviously not at the right trimming levels right now, but that's the nature of the challenge!

Been a while since an update! I was going through my "records" and it looks like it's been 3 - maybe 4 weeks since the last water change. Not ideal! I've mentioned it before but I typically trim then water change, but these days it seems like I rarely have time for both. I have been prioritizing trimming since water quality is pretty stable with this plant mass. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of behavior that gets you an award-winning tank, and it is pretty evident that the tank could use some more attention. For whatever reason, while growth has been slow, the plants are actually doing fairly well. I'm making up a batch of all-in-one to dose when I'm between water changes to hopefully make sure I don't bottom out on ferts, recipe here: To reach your target of 0.7ppm NO3 you will need to add 16.2 grams (equivalent to 2 tsp + 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp ) of KNO3 to your 500mL dosing container. To reach your target of 0.9ppm PO4 you will need to add 23.43 grams (equivalent to 1 tbsp + 1 tsp + 1/32 tsp ) of K2HPO4 to your 500mL dosing container To reach your target of 1.5ppm K you will need to add 47.45 grams (equivalent to 2 tbsp + 1 tsp + 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp + 1/32 tsp ) of K2SO4 to your 500mL dosing container. To reach your target of 0.09ppm Fe you will need to add 15.03 grams (equivalent to 3 tsp + 1/2 tsp ) of CSM - CHELATED SECONDARY MICRONUTRIENTS to your 500mL dosing container.

You don't. It comes in lots of different lengths though, you can jerry rig together pretty much any size you need. I really like the way EmotionalFescue on TPT did their lights, with iron pipe mounted on wood.

Not if you commit to making it look good. I didn't, so mine looks stupid. I like iron pipe painted black for an industrial - modern feel.

ULTIMATE POWER

You did a good job of varying your group size in the back and midground, but I noticed that in the foreground almost a the groups are the same width. You might want to expand some and contract others to give it a bit more variety, like in this tank

I need to figure out how to get my limnophila aromatica looking like yours!

@Mmiller2001 gave me his old 120cm WRGB2 and wow! I'm not sure if the pictures show it off but the difference in color saturation is outstanding. Thanks @Mmiller2001!

Excellent critique, thank you. I'm going to come back to it as a to do list before my next trim. Your tank is not a dumpster fire, it's just growing in. You are too hard on yourself!

The buce is doing well, but I need to break it up so I can use it across the tank. I always appreciate ideas and feedback!

Seems I can only ever get one side looking good at a time