Dimensions 60 × 35 × 35 cm
Title Sweet
Volume 73.5L
Background Wall Buchepalandra
Lighting Chihiros WRGB 2 Slim 60 1 Set
Filtration Canister DIY
Plants 1. hygrophila corymbosa angustifolia
2. bacopa caroliniana
3. persicaria (polygonum) sp. 'sao paulo'
4. lobelia cardinalis
5. Ludwigia sp.'mini super red'
6. limnophila sessiliflora
Animals 20 Ember Tetra (Hyphessobrycon amandae)
12 odessa barb
2 Corydoras albino
Cherry shrimp, pond snail
Materials Substrate: pumice, base fertilizer and soil
Additional Information co2 reactor from insta, 30% water change 2x a day, micro and macro liquid fertilizer from aquarist from Indonesia, lights on 8 hours every day and feeding once a day.
this is my friend in the last few months, because every day I pay attention to his health and I regularly change the water every 2 days
Yet the full-tank photograph of this entry looks like it is merely a small part of a much bigger aquarium. It makes me ask 'Where is the rest of the tank?' This is because when you scape with a small/er palette you need smaller plants and smaller groups that makes the tank look big. The current selection of plants makes the tank feel very small.
The Hygrophila bush is large freshly trimmed and somewhat unkempt. The Ludwigia palustris Red bush is too big and dominant. Even the fish (Odessa barbs) are oversized for a tank this size. There is minimal contrast between Lobelia and Bacopa. The spot occupied by the Bacopa would be better served with a tall Eleocharis or Cyperus. Plant groups need a little more space between them.
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PRO-TIP: there is a rarely discussed aspect of Dutch scaping that I call 'Days-to-Peak.' Understanding this and applying this knowledge would have greatly improved the ranking of this entry.
Days-to-Peak (DTP) is the number of days it takes for a species to grow to perfect height and volume after a trim. DTP is different for every species and every tank. Given your light CO2 and fertilizer dosing Ludwigia inclinata Pantanal may take only 5 days after a trim to reach peak appearance of perfect height and volume. Whereas Rotala may require 10 days. Knowing the number of days it takes for each of your species to reach its peak or best appearance after a trim is critical. Knowing this tells you when to trim each plant so they all reach the perfect height and volume when you are ready to photograph the tank for competition. Maintaining the same species for a few months without changing light ferts and CO2 and observing them daily while keeping excellent records will help you determine the DTP for every species. Experimenting with dosing or CO2 while getting ready for a competition means your DTP will keep changing. Without knowing DTPs for each plant entries will look too freshly trimmed or overgrown.
More scaping tips here: https://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/Articles/Vin-Dutch/