Mmiller2001 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Your tank is too pretty not to edit, how do these look? Original 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 On 3/12/2023 at 7:42 AM, Mmiller2001 said: Your tank is too pretty not to edit, how do these look? Original You raise an interesting issue with pictures; how to make them match what the eye sees. Almost impossible since the eye has such wonderful dynamic range relative to the pixel monster we now use (film did a much better job in that department but not many of the younger generation know what film is much less how to find it). I wonder when they have these contest like the dutch thingy if they would judge tanks different in person than via images ? Do they do anything to control the editing of images ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 They do, and you can only correct color. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 12, 2023 Author Share Posted March 12, 2023 On 3/12/2023 at 7:10 AM, anewbie said: You raise an interesting issue with pictures; how to make them match what the eye sees. Almost impossible since the eye has such wonderful dynamic range relative to the pixel monster we now use (film did a much better job in that department but not many of the younger generation know what film is much less how to find it). I wonder when they have these contest like the dutch thingy if they would judge tanks different in person than via images ? Do they do anything to control the editing of images ? NBAT, which hosts the "original" Dutch aquascaping competitions, does so in-person. The surroundings of the tank, vibe of the room, vibe of the fish etc. matter a lot more in that case. I find that generally, diorama style tanks (like you would find in IAPLC) look worse in person and Dutch and Amano style tanks look better. Diorama style tanks rely heavily on fixed perspective. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 15, 2023 Author Share Posted March 15, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 Tough to tell from the previous photo but there was a lot of old and poor growth, dead plant matter, algae, and other organic buildup that had to be removed. So despite spending about three hours on the tank today you can barely tell. I got rid of as much of the aforementioned schmutz as possible and trimmed plants that needed it to improve flow. It has also been about 3 weeks since the last water change, and even longer since I cleaned the filter so I did that as well. The sink that my RO unit is hooked up to is leaking like crazy so I haven't been able to make any. I was hoping to fix it but decided to just see how it does with tap water. The KH is going to be higher, but the fish don't seem to mind. One interesting plant I picked up is Eriocaulon malaytoor. Hopefully it survives with higher KH, but erios are notoriously incompatible with harder water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 3/26/2023 at 9:37 PM, gjcarew said: The fine quality of this plant I really like. Red Arrow, I think in your tank, constantly in the photos this plant is phenomenally active. In terms of art it's the "movement" this plant gives off that I just really am drawn to. For the plant on the left, marked in purple, this is all the same plant front to back? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 3/26/2023 at 9:48 PM, nabokovfan87 said: The fine quality of this plant I really like. Red Arrow, I think in your tank, constantly in the photos this plant is phenomenally active. In terms of art it's the "movement" this plant gives off that I just really am drawn to. For the plant on the left, marked in purple, this is all the same plant front to back? Thank you, and yes, that is all hygrophila difformis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 The tank is looking pretty fresh right now. I might start working towards getting it closer to Dutch style soon. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 8, 2023 Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 I've been doing some trimming and rearranging. The buce is an algae magnet, so I replaced it with some marsilea crenata. I also got a single stem or alternanthera 'pink' but it is kinda the same color a the rotala h'ra so I don't know if I am going to keep it. It's a pretty plant though, tough to give it up. Overall I switched the positions of the background bushes to leave some space between the two rotala. I'm also thinking of switching the positioning of the moss and the myriophyllum "golden" as I think they will both have better contrast that way. I would also move the crypt Jacobsenii to the left to make the street on the right hand side a little more dominant. I like the lindernia rotundifolia overall but it grows pretty fast and unpredictably to use in a Dutch-style street. Unless I can pick up a different plant appropriate for the purpose at the next general auction, I will most likely go back to the lobelia cardinalis. If you have never seen my journal when I've been turning it Dutch (so to speak) unfortunately this is what it always devolves to. Much hand wringing and fretting about contrast and placement and obscure rules and guidelines. I hope anyone reading this doesn't find it too boring! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 Yet more rearranging! And I made a buce wall. Which looks kinda garbage right now but maybe it'll improve eventually? I also kinda want to get that big red lotus back from last year. And I'm trying to replace the lindernia rotundifolia with lobelia cardinalis. I just haven't figured out how to trim the lindernia right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 18, 2023 Author Share Posted April 18, 2023 A few cool plants I got: Ludwigia repens 'Rubin' was in almost every tank in the NBAT pamphlet I found. Plus the Ludwigia natans (behind) doesn't like my conditions, so it's time to try something new. I've never seen this one before. Hydrocotyle leucocephala 'Variegated'. Tough to tell because this was under super high light, but it has white markings on the leaves. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 Just posting this Dutch aquascaping inspo link from NBAT here so I don't lose it: https://online.fliphtml5.com/hwppk/nvsi/?fbclid=IwAR1SeUMjpw_ePb7lySWroCWLFlKp_POfa8-GYtyoW0_EE71Prp_vNrzIBTw 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 22, 2023 Author Share Posted April 22, 2023 Believe it or not, this is after removing a dozen bags of plants 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 22, 2023 Share Posted April 22, 2023 (edited) I'll take those bags ☺️ Edited April 22, 2023 by Mmiller2001 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 22, 2023 Author Share Posted April 22, 2023 How big are your club auctions? 700+ lots for sale at the GSAS general auction 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 22, 2023 Share Posted April 22, 2023 Hygrophila Difformis is really popular with the NBAT tanks. Must be the leaf shape. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 22, 2023 Author Share Posted April 22, 2023 On 4/22/2023 at 10:36 AM, Mmiller2001 said: Hygrophila Difformis is really popular with the NBAT tanks. Must be the leaf shape. That's why I started using it. Turns out it's a pretty steady, well behaved plant so I've kept it for a few years now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 22, 2023 Share Posted April 22, 2023 (edited) On 4/22/2023 at 12:13 PM, gjcarew said: That's why I started using it. Turns out it's a pretty steady, well behaved plant so I've kept it for a few years now Grabbing it today and a few others. Edited April 22, 2023 by Mmiller2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 22, 2023 Share Posted April 22, 2023 I find it interesting, while looking through the NBAT article, most are keeping slightly higher GH than I would expect. I was under the impression lower was better. I think I will raise mine up to 5 or more. I wondering if this could be the cause of a few unhappy Crypt species I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 On 4/22/2023 at 6:40 PM, Mmiller2001 said: I find it interesting, while looking through the NBAT article, most are keeping slightly higher GH than I would expect. I was under the impression lower was better. I think I will raise mine up to 5 or more. I wondering if this could be the cause of a few unhappy Crypt species I have. What GH are they keeping it at? Also not all GH is equal. I.e, i think it depends on the mineral content that composes the GH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 On 4/22/2023 at 5:01 PM, anewbie said: What GH are they keeping it at? Also not all GH is equal. I.e, i think it depends on the mineral content that composes the GH. Generally 5-13 GH and 3 KH from what I saw. Check out that link I posted though, it's fantastic. I'll update later with all the plants I bought at auction, but maybe the biggest change is I bought a 4 foot, 2 bulb T5 to supplement my 3 foot LED and reach those back corners. It was $16 and had a geisemann tropic in there so quite the deal! I may pick up ab ATI purple bulb to help show the reds because they are a bit washed out right now. But overall I think the increased light is really going to help with plant color and growth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 On 4/22/2023 at 6:01 PM, anewbie said: What GH are they keeping it at? Also not all GH is equal. I.e, i think it depends on the mineral content that composes the GH. Like @gjcarewsaid 5 to 13. I was always under the impression softer was better. I stand corrected. On 4/22/2023 at 7:46 PM, gjcarew said: I bought a 4 foot, 2 bulb T5 to supplement my 3 foot LED and reach those back corners The picture was taken with the new light? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 Still have some rearranging and water changes to do, but here are three full tank shots. First is with the T5, second is with the chihiros, and third is with both. It really underscores how poorly lit the tank has been since last year. I will have more plant closeups later, but I picked up hygrophila serpyllum, a tiger lotus, didiplis diandra, bacopa salzmanii sg purple, and some subwassertang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 Man, you picked up couple of my favorites. Nice! Didiplis is so fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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