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I love the tank plankton, i love how the plants have grown in. Hows it comming with the DW? I have a piece in mine also and i had the same problem. I manually removed the white stuff and after a while it never came back i didnt need to remove from the tank to do so as the bacteria in the tank overtook the bacteria in the wood.

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Well, I guess it was time for a bit of change. Here is what has happened -

A nice addition of some hardscape with a nod to countryfish Sword on left has been nudged over to the left a few inches. Most of the foreground plants have had a bit of a trim including a savage downsizing of my out of control water sprite. Lots of clipping was done to replant my 30 gallon (I have to do it every month or so due to the well fed silver dollars which devastate the new plants in very short order.)

I've got a new sterilizer plumbed into the system, so the algae is being kept to a very acceptable level.

One problem I'm having which I could use some help from is my CO2 mix with regard to my PH. If I have enough CO2 in the tank to have even the slightest bit of pearling, my PH goes through the floor. At night the PH can drop to as much as 5.9 and it never seems to be able to get above around 6.4 or so. Even with very low levels of CO2 (1 bubble every 2 seconds)i am still only able to maintain around 6.3-6.5 or so. The water I'm doing my changes with has a stable PH of 7.0. Hardness is right where I want it to be for my fish. Any ideas? Maybe some ph buffering rock? I'm new to CO2 so any advice would be appreciated.


Full
[link]http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t178/plankton9/80%20Gallon/80G_Full_Oct_6.jpg [/link]

Right
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t178/plankton9/80%20Gallon/80G_Right_Oct_6.jpg

Left
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t178/plankton9/80%20Gallon/80G_Left_Oct_6.jpg

Right Side
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t178/plankton9/80%20Gallon/80G_Right_Side_Oct_6.jpg

Again, enjoy and feel free to comment.

Thanks

Jay

Hi,
The reason why a small amount of CO2 has a large
effect on the pH is because your KH is too low.
Carbonate Hardness (KH) is a measure of the carbonate
radical and is a measure of the water's ability to
buffer the acid. CO2 creates an acid and that
of course lowers your pH.

Your KH reading should be around a 3-5.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I still like your first pic better. What I DO like about this last one is the addition of the big rock, the way the tall reddish plants have grown up & that you trimmed the front.

As far as my own personal preferences go, I think the three bushy plants in the back are too full for my taste. They all blend into each other. I like the more sculptured look of these plants in the first pic. & the more even ratio of empty back space to plants. But of course it's your tank, so whatever personally appeals to you goes. Just out of curiosity, do you like this fuller look better yourself? You have done an excellent job with this tank & the plants are obviously very healthy.

This is still one of my favorite tanks & I still have that first pic to drool over.
If you make any more changes, please post a pic.. I want to keep updated on my dream tank.

Jay,

The tank is looking very nice, sorry I didn't comment on it earlier.

I am currently looking at the previous 3 full tank shots and can see that you managed to have it grow out just nicely and that you make good use of the height of the tank.

If there is one thing, albeit minor, that I can see is that the midlevel is a little weak in the last shot, but it may have to do with the trim-job. Do you know what I mean?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for the comments

Frank - My kh is sitting at around 5 so that should be fine - Most of my fish thrive at somewhere between 4-10 so that should be okay. I'm leaving the CO2 on at night - would that be a contributing factor? If so, I can have it turn off at night or add an airstone I guess. Hmmm...I just had the thought that my pH controller may have slipped it's calibration. I'll have to check that
tomorrow...

fish patty - This one is a bit harder. I like the lusher look of the tank, but I also find aspects of the first photo more appealing. It would be great if you could just freeze the parts you like and have the rest go on growing That being said, two of the plant groups that you mentioned - the rotala rotundifolia and rotala wallichii grow extremly quickly and need constant trimming. They missed the cut this time I was running late for something and didn't have time to trim them. You know, I've always felt that they weren't the right fit. They don't look "natural" the way they are. Not only because they seem to have grown into very similar sized groupings, but also because of the way the spray bar pushes them forward. I'm probably going to do a big trim of both groups and then transplant some of them to mix the species up a bit. Oh yeah, in the first photo, it was quite late at night and both stem plant's leaves were closed up, so they looked far more whispy. The latest two sets of photos were shot during the day. Those two plants in particular look very different from day to night.

I've also got this weird idea in my head for the difformis. I keep bonsai trees and was thinking i might strip some of the bottom leaves to make them more 'tree' like. Then again, it may look really really goofy.

LITTLE_FISH - Hey Ingo, thanks for checking it out. I know exactly what you mean. I hacked the heck out of the pearl grass and baby tears, so most of the midground on the left of the tank seems thin. I was thinking of keeping them trimmed fairly low and adding something in front of the difformis (which may get the aquatic bonsai treatment) to enhance the midground. What do you think?

Thanks for checking it out guys and thanks for the input.

:jay

Hi,
According to the charts, with a KH of 5 and a pH of 6.4,
your CO2 saturation is 59mg/l. Thats quite high as
most will keep the saturation around 30mg/l, tops.
Normal, ambient saturation is about 5mg/l.
The recommended CO2 saturation is from 10-15mg/l as a
low, to 30mg/l as a high. Don't use plants pearling
as THE criteria for how high to go in saturation. Instead,
go by the shading in the charts and keep the saturation
within the shaded areas.

It is normal for the pH to shift overnight as the lights
are out, and the plants shift from producing Oxygen to
producing CO2. The excess results in more organic acids
and the pH shifts downward. If you look at the tank first
thing in the morning before the lights come on, and the
fish are acting normal, then you have no problem with
excess CO2 or lack of O2. However if you find the fish
gasping at the surface, then you do have a problem and
using an air-pump and air-stone overnight would be necessary.

Do check the calibration of the controller. Check to see
what pH you have it set to come on for, and how "tight" the
controller reacts. If you have the controller set to
maintain a 6.4 and it comes on at 6 and goes off at 6.9
then it is too "sloppy" and can lead to those swings.
Theoretically, if the pH was set at, say 6.8, and working
right, the gas would never come on during the night and
the swings you are seeing would be normal. I'm not sure
that the controller is shutting off the gas all night long.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Well, there is no gasping from my fish, and I have kept my bubble count under 1/sec for the last week or so. When I got my controller, the electrode was not packed with a sleeve, so the electrode tip was dry when I got it. I soaked it in a test solution of 7.0 for 3 days and it seemed to work. I've always been a bit suspicious of it though, so I've just had it displaying the pH - not controlling the solenoid. Since the fish aren't gasping, the bubble count is low and my kH was measured yesterday with a liquid test kit, I'm going to assume that the calibration is off. I'll check my pH with a liquid kit later today. Geez, I hope that's it. I love technology but sometimes the older methods are the best

Thanks Frank

Geez, I hope that's it. I love technology but sometimes the older methods are the best

LOL, and I for sure agree.

Hey, two points, if I read this right:

First of all, Frank is old school (which is not a bad thing, btw). If you were to have a CO2 level of 50ppm you should still be fine, in new school terms.
More importantly though, 1bps in an 80G will not get you to 50ppm, not even close to it. As a matter of fact, I dare to say that it is too little CO2 to reach even 20ppm. So, IMHO, something is off in your readings.

With regards to the midground, just wait and see how the left side is growing back, slanting the Wisteria in itself may also work.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hi,
Any time I've purchased a probe it has been capped and
immersed in fluid. In fact, I remember the "destructions"
that came with my PinPoint pH probe to never let it dry out.

I would call the company and talk with them, explaining the
errors you are having and asking if the probe is not to
blame.

Old School Harumph!
Young Wipper Snappers

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Hehe...whippersnappers

What gave you the idea I was young? I'm 36 - thats really really old!

But seriously folks, Seems I've got the same destructions as you Frank. I thought the probe might be a little iffy - we will see. Gotta go do the thanksgiver thing, so I'll have to do the tests later tonight or tommorow. I'll report back when I have something more for you.

later guys.

.......jay gone to get some turkey...yoink!

Jay , Looks stunning , love the rock . Maybe a gap behind the rock to give a feeling of depth . But otherwise I love the foreground and the red plants . I see the wisteria is still there , if somewhat cut back .

Great job , well done .

Garry

Hey Jay,

I love the new look. As far as young wippersnappers Mr Frank, im almost 30 thanks... lolol.

And besides there is always going to be "Old School" and "New School" I love to see diversity and how different people attack different issues. Hence why i love these logs. Keep it up jay.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Man, these 14 hour work days are just doing me in

Anyway, I just got to doing a series of tests on my water and I got some pretty strange results. Here goes..

metered pH (via milwaukee controller) was sitting at 6.4
metered pH after new calibration is 6.5
liquid test pH looks to be around 6.4-6.6 - I have a hard time nailing values with these things.
kH liquid test is 4.
amonia, nitrates and nitrites are all good.
CO2 is still under 1 bubble/sec right now and turning off with the lights.

So, this can't be right..right? pH is checking out with 3 tests. This makes me suspicious of my kH test because there is no way that my CO2 saturation is in the 50 range. Then I look at the kH test kit and notice an exp date of 08 2001. I dont know why it's so old - I got it at a petsmart about a year ago. Also - I thought when these things went bad that you just got no result. Anway I'm going to pick up a new kH test kit as soon as I have a free second. I'm also going to get some sodium bicarb at the same time just in case my kH has bottomed. If it's not the kH then I'm a bit stumped.

Help me Obi-Frank-Kenobi - you're my only hope!

With all the knowledge on this forum I know I'm gonna get this thing licked yet.

Take care guys.

Yes Jay,

Naturally, a ph of 6.4 and a KH of 4dH would not happen, and with the addition of 1bps neither. well, maybe if the bubble is the size of a teaspoon, LOL.

I think it had been mentioned that the natural CO2 is somewhere around 4ppm, if I am not mistaken. 1bps in an 80G tank might bring it to about 8 to 10 ppm, but that is the best I would guess it could achieve.

I don't remember if you already have been asked to check your tab ph, once right out of the tab and once in a sample that you let sit for 24h.

Also, what does this mean: "amonia, nitrates and nitrites are all good." ?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo, I think I mentioned before that my tap water has a ph of 6.9 -7.0. I've never let it sit overnight though - I'll give that a shot. As far as the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, they are all well within range for a healthy cycled aquarium.


i'll set out some water and check it after 24 hours - i'm interested to see what happens.

Gotta go hit the road for another really long day . I'll check in with you guys later.

As far as the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, they are all well within range for a healthy cycled aquarium.

So, what does that mean?


About the ph: my tap is 7 as well, I buffer my KH with Baking Soda to about 3 or 4. In my 125, I add about 4 to 5 bps and get maybe 30ppm, in my 40G I add about 2bps and get about 40ppm. I thought you may like to get these values just as a comparison?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hi,
First of all, did they replace the probe with a new one
after you told them it came without a cap and was bone dry?
If not, then even though you re-calibrated it, I would guess
that it is still not reading correctly.

Get satisfied with your pH reading first.
Next, get satisfied with your KH reading. The KH is a
measure of the buffering ability of your water. Most
run a KH of at least 3. The greater the KH, the more CO2
you will have to inject to make a difference in the pH
and CO2 saturation. Too low and a small amount of CO2
can make a big difference in the pH. To high a KH and
it will take allot of CO2 (run the bottle out faster) to
attain the desired saturation level.

How well a given number of bubbles per second attain, and
hold a given saturation depends upon the KH of the aquarium,
the capacity of the aquarium, and the method by which the
CO2 comes in contact with the tank water.
As I mentioned earlier, too high a KH means you have to
increase the rate of delivery to attain a specific saturation.
Obviously, a bubble per second will have a greater
influence on a 20 gallon tank than on a 100 gallon tank.

Remember, the longer the CO2 is in contact with the tank
water, the greater the absorption of the CO2 by the water.

The way you put the CO2 in contact with the tank water can
take two common devices.

One device is called a "diffuser" which is a fancy
air-stone.
It can be a regular air stone (NOT) recommended.
Or it can be a lime wood air "stone". This breaks the
CO2 up into very, very, fine bubbles.
If you opt to use the air-stone method, then the lime
wood ones are the best. The resultant bubbles are so
very very fine, that nearly any currents in
the tank will keep the bubbles circulating around
the tank as they work their way to the surface and
burst into the atmosphere.

This is an example of a lime wood air"stone:"
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9851


The very best Diffusers are made of sintered
glass and the tiny passages within the glass break the
stream of CO2 into many tiny bubbles that are susceptible
to the tank currents. Again, the longer the bubbles are
circulating throughout the tank the more CO2 the tank water
absorbs.

This is an example of a sintered glass diffuser:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3747+9915&pcatid=9915

The problem with using a regular air stone is that over
time, the grains of sand, in contact with the CO2 become
"uncemented" and the stone falls apart. (The glue that
bonds the grains together dissolves.)

The problem with any diffuser is that it eventually becomes
clogged, the bubbles get larger, and you have to clean them
regularly. Immersing the the glass ones in a weak Clorox
solution will take care of much of the clogging.

The other device that is used to put the injected CO2 in
contact with the tank water is called a reactor. These
can be connected to the output of your canister filter,
or are driven by a power head. They can be internal to the
tank, or mounted on the outside of the tank. With a
properly installed reactor, absolutely all the CO2 injected
into the tank, is absorbed into the tank water, there is
no waste.

This is an example of an internal powered reactor:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3747+15524&pcatid=15524

This is an example of an external reactor that would
hook up to your canister output, or another water pump:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3747+9918&pcatid=9918

Personally, I prefer the reactor, but we have many members
who are using the sintered glass diffusers just as
successfully.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

All fixed!

I just got a new DSL gateway after my last one bit the dust. I've been offline almost a week. On a good note, my pH imbalance has been fixed.

Frank, thanks for all the advice - I had a bad batch of kH testing solution. A new test revealed that my kH was pretty dang low. I got that fixed up and then the pH stabilized. Nice! Add more CO2 and we are off to the races! Some things that may or may not be related to the increase in kH and CO2 are an increase in my snail population and an increase in green spot algae. Yeuch! I've been picking out snails for days - gross!

Also Frank, my pH probe seems to be working just fine after a bit of calibration. Funny story about the controller - and my entire CO2 setup for that matter
I was buying a UV sterilizer that I found on craigslist. When I went to pick it up the guy and I started chatting. I guess he was going to be a new dad for the second time and their family was going to be moving to a much smaller location. To make a long story short, his wife wanted his excess gear gone and I got very very lucky. For a mere 45 dollars (the price of the sterilizer) I went home with that as well as a complete CO2 rig (tank, regulator, bubble counter, controller, 2 diffusers, lots of plants, fish, chemicals etc etc etc. Green with envy yet? Later on he calls me back and says that he found more stuff that he has to get rid of. I go back and pick up ferts, a garbage bag full of plants, some bogwood, tons of substrate, more fish and some other odds and sods. wOOhOO! As you can imagine, I'm okay with the fact that the electrode came without a cap

Fish Patty -

You finally get to see the rotala after a trimming. I'm pretty sure it will be overgrown again in about two or three weeks I gave about 30 stems of each of the rotala's to my LFS. I wish some of you FP'ers were from around Vancouver. I don't really like someone else profitting from my plants, but then again, I don't want to just trash them either.

Also, I've taken out as much of my tennelus as I could get to. I really wanted a bit more space in the foreground, so out it came. It was not looking very healthy anyway, so I think it worked out pretty well. I also finally severed the 5 fairly large sword plantlets - they are now floating as well as a few val plantlets and are waiting for a new home.

All in all, after the trim, the kH increase, the pH stabilization etc etc etc, all the inhabitants of the tank seem much more frisky and happy - and to me, that's what really counts.


Full Tank
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t178/plankton9/80%20Gallon/80G_Full_1021.jpg


Enjoy guys and gals, and as always, comments are very much welcome.

Jay.

Green with envy yet?

You bet I am!!!

How did you up the Kh? With Baking Soda I hope.

Your increase in snails is without a doubt not related to your stabilized tank, except if living conditions beforehand were so bad that not even the snails survived. Snails are increasing because of one of two things (anyone is welcome to share if he/she knows of other reasons):

- Too much fish food
- Larger than usual die-offs, usually in plant matter but it could also be fish left in the tank

Otherwise, the tank looks very nice,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Ingo,

Yep, baking soda did the trick.

Also, I've always had a thriving snail community, but after the upped kH, they seem to be in happy land, reproducing like crazy. I've got lots of trumpet snails that I'm happy with, but the pond snails and the ramshorns - geez. I hate em. About water polution, absolutly no fish were harmed in the making of this tank and I only have a tiny bit of die off in my vals. The rest is going great. I haven't seen many of the amano's around over the last few days...I'm hoping they are just hanging out somewhere that I can't see. I'll have to spend a bit of time eyeballing for tiny skrimp corpses. Yuck!

As for the food, I'm very good with portioning. I only feed in small amounts and watch it get eaten before feeding more. I'm pretty frugal with the eats having heard many times about the perils of overfeeding. The fish aren't starving, but they for sure aren't overfed.

Any ideas on how to reduce their numbers would be appreciated. For now I'll keep on picking them out.

:j

You did do a trim!

My favorite part about that tank was the path in the middle leading back to that feathery tall plant in the middle that came to a point. It's not pointy anymore. Nothing like being picky, is there?

Great haul on the free stuff! That's always so much fun!

Jay,

The only other explanation I can imagine for the snail explosion is that you somehow have more calcium in the tank, usually by having a higher GH or specific calcium addition as a fert. That's the stuff snails need to build their shells (I think) and if it is lacking then shell buildup is weak and snails die off before becoming large enough to be seen.

If that were not the case in your tank then somehow they must have a food source, otherwise they cannot be there. Do you have more algae than before? Or, as a last resort, did you reduce surface agitation and now have a film of protein on the surface (great snail food) ?

With regards to removal support: I am opposed to use fish for that means, except if one wants to have these specific fish anyway. Here I am thinking in particular of Loaches, most people recommend Clown Loaches.
I am even more opposed to chemicals to kill off snails.
Hand removal is the right thing to do, it will take some time but you are the closest to the subject and can identify changes in the population easily (as such, identify changes in tank conditions).

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo - Yep, I've had much more algae recently. I had attributed that to my UV bulb dying but I supposed it could be something else. Also, my spraybar is under water and does not agitate the surface very much at all. I raise it every once in a while to get rid of the protein scum, but haven't done that in around two or three weeks.

Everyone else - two questions.

First one, what the heck is this stuff?

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t178/plankton9/80%20Gallon/whattheheck.jpg

It wraps itself around everything.


Second question. My girlfriend is moving in with me and bringing her two cats. It's not that I don't like cats, but my tanks are open to the air - no tops. Are there any other fish keepers out there who have to deal with cats jumping on their tanks? Catdancer perhaps

Just wondering the best material to cover the tank with. I tried eggcrate but it sucks. It blocks a ton of light and isn't very strong. I'm thinking a sturdy piece of glass, say 1/4 inch or so. If I use glass, how much space do I have to leave for air exchange? Any suggestions for other materials? I'd love to keep it open, but I think that's probably out of the question.

Cheers!

:j

Hi,
We have cats. My tank has a 1/4 inch piece of glass on
it that covers all but the last inch and a half in the back
leaving room for the heater and filter connections. On top
of the glass sits my hood. It has a fan in it and the cats
don't like the fan.

Whenever I am cleaning the tank, I have one that sits atop
the computer hutch staring down at the operation,
supervising. The other will jump from the desk top to the
top of the tank, when I leave the tank open, and balance
with three feet on the black plastic rims, and go "fishing"
with the fourth. She swipes at the fish when they swim
past her. That, of course, gets her paw wet, and what
self respecting cat will tolerate wet feet? So she shakes
it hard to throw off the drops and somehow still maintains
her balance. I swear some day she's going swimming!
She's never caught a fish as they sense the sudden movement
of her body and paw and dive deeper into the tank. But it
is a riot to watch.

What you picture could be a plant fragment, or more
probably, stag horn algae that is growing. The green glass
would indicate that you also have sheet algae growing on
the glass.

Here is a site that should help identify the types of
algae, their causes, and "cures":

http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Frank -

Thanks for the reply. Man, it would really really suck if your cat took a header into the tank. Makes me cringe just thinking about it.

The green you are seeing are the plants. The camera is pointing at the glass divider and down into my tank. The more brown stuff on the right is a bit of florabase sludge. I'd just been working in the tank. My glass is pretty much clean as a whistle.

And I don't think the mystery stuff is staghorn. For one, it doesn't attach itself to plants. It just sort of drifts along in the current until it gets snagged by something. It seems to act mostly like a moss. I don't think it's a plant fragment - these always look pretty much exactly the same size shape etc. I've been plucking it out of the tank about on par with the java moss that I'll never see the end of.

Also, it never seems to get bigger than whats shown About 16th inch in thickness and about 1 1/2-2 inches in length. The pictures I've seen of staghorn show that it grows quite large.

I could be wrong though, I've never dealt with staghorn and don't know much about it other than what I've read on a few websites.

I'll go have a peek.

Jay , If you want to control pond snails , Dwarf Loaches are a pretty good option .
Active little fellas that perform for you as well as eat snails .
Don't take up much room either ,as they only grow to a couple of inches unlike Clown's .

Garry

Everyone else - two questions.

Does that mean I am not allowed to answer the questions?

Well, I got one anyway

Frank, get your glasses

That Staghorn is a piece of Riccia. very often tiny bits get stuck in plants from vendors, in particular in mosses. These then grown in the new owner's tank to normal structures and are used by various people with great success in aquascapes.

Jay - Search for Riccia on Google

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

hehee..okay Everyone else, including Ingo...especially Ingo...uh how about just Ingo.

Thanks for the info EVERYONE.

Hmmm Riccia eh? Yep I'm canadian and the ever present 'eh' is a big part of my vocabulary. I've only seen it in photos where it is in lush mounds. I never saw a piece of it on it's own before. I was trying to find some a while back - I went all over the place, but nobody had any - and I had it in my tank the whole bloody time

Garry, how do loaches do with the rest of my clean up crew? I've got amano's, ottos and a couple of SAE's? I remember reading somewhere that they can be pretty ornery...

:j

Look what just popped up! Now I know where your avatar came from Ingo.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t178/plankton9/anubiasflower.jpg

Out of curiosity, what is the biological purpose of these flowers? Do they propagate via seed? If so, how are the seeds harvested/planted?

:j

Jay , Funny you should mention that . Mine seem to have taken a dislike to the SAE's , chase them about a bit . The SAE's are big enough to look after themselves though . Don't seem to bother the Ottos or anyone else . Remember these guys are pretty small .

Garry

Hi Jay!

I just happened to think of your tank this am. & was wondering how it was doing? It might be a jungle by now.

I suppose gone are the days of it's nice slim, trim look that I liked so well? It's ok, I still have the picture. A recent one might prove interesting though, if you feel up to it?

Jay-

I am new to planted tanks.. well new to fishkeeping period lol. I just wanted to tell you that your tank is very nice, looks quite natural. I like the addition of the hardscape material, the big stone especially. It sort of breaks things up a bit. Those tetras look shard against the darker colored plantings... very nice, what a showpiece! It looks like you've spent a lot of time with this tank!