Dimensions 76 × 43 × 43 cm
Title Sunset Dreamin'
Volume 144L
Background Black plastic mesh suction-cupped to the glass with Buces attached
Lighting 4x T5HO. Bulbs are 2x Isun LED T5, 1x Powerveg 660, 1x KZ Fiji Purple. Its around 120 uMol at the sub
Filtration SunSun Canister
Plants 1. Myriophyllum sp Guyana, 2. Lobelia cardinalis mini, 3. Hemianthus callitrichoides, 4. Helanthium bolivianum 'Angustifolius', 5. Acmella repens, 6. Rotala Nanjenshan, 7. Limnophila Hippuridoides, 8. Rotala blood red Singapore, 9. Rotala serpyllifolia 10. Heteranthera zosterifolia, 11. Rotala ramosior Sunset, 12. Aponogeton crispus red, 13. Bucephalandra 'Arrogant Blue', 14. Fissidens Fox on driftwood
Animals 12x Lambchop Rasbora, 7x Celestial Pearl Danio, 20? Fire Red Cherry Shrimp
Materials Substrate is Landen Aquasoil. Additional hardscape is driftwood with moss and plants attached to it
Additional Information My general routine is 80% weekly water change. DIY ferts. Macros front loaded all at once after the WC. Micros 3x week
There are several masterful strokes here. I could sit in front of this tank for a long long time. Clearly not a novice entry and as such comments may seem nitpicky but the criticism is aimed at a person operating at a very high level. I hope my comments will help similarly situated top-players like this improve even more.
Are there too many reds? Yes but the tank almost pulls it off. Anyone who can scape with Rotala ramosior Sunset and R. serpylifolia so effortlessly is well as they say 'flexing.' My hat remains humbly off. Still the R. serpylifolia isn't adding much to the scape...actually it gets in the way of the nice contrast between the cool-green Acmella and Fissidens.
The Lobelia street is subtle and very effective. Most tanks have streets that go left to right. So the Acmella zigging where everyone else zags is nice...if only I could see it.
The Red Aponogeton curtain is a novel touch but I would like to see a little more green Heteranthera between the two red plants. The foreground triangle of Hemianthus is brilliant. Even though it is a small tank there's some unplanted free space in the front which is such a visual relief.
The Bucephalandra wall provides some texture to the back wall but the purple almost disappears in this lighting. I would have eliminated the Limnophila and spread the Acmella all the way to the back right wall...that would have also prevented the red-on-red in the back right half of the tank and covered up the silicone corner seam.
All in all one of my favorites.