#308: 178.1L Dutch Aquascape #WomanLifeFreedom

Omid Niavarani Long Beach, United States

Awards and Comments

Third Place
My first impression: This is a real and nice looking Dutch style tank.
The red lotus is still small now and perhaps you should separate it from the group of Lobelias. Make the group of Lobelias on the right a little smaller and plant the Lotus there free from the Lobelias and next to it. Nice in front of the Limnophila aquatica.
Nice fish stock. Another small fish could be added to the surface.
Technology well hidden and out of sight.
— Bart Laurens
There is so much here that I love. The first feeling I get is of warmth and peace. That immediate emotional response is not an accident. We have a top level aquascaper here worth following and emulating. Great contrast. Foreground with restraint great moss wall good sense of depth and not too many reds. This is in my Top 3 and as such I'll go into detail on comments. Criticisms are few: the Lobelia street should have tapered and disappeared behind the orange Limnophila. And the Limno seems too-recently trimmed which should ideally have stair-stepped whorls leading the eye to the surface and the Val nana curtain needs a couple fewer sprigs. The Nymphaea popping out of the Lobelia street is clever but I wonder if the effect you were going for would have worked better if the street was made of Limno helferi (Mini Vietnam) instead. May be it's the light that makes the Eriocaulon and Acmella seem a standard green instead of agave-ish and dark green respectively. On the flip side traditional Dutch tanks have a somewhat warm light color temperature and this is one of the very few tanks that winks and nods at that old tradition. I'm nodding as well.
— Vin Kutty
The basics of Dutch style are there. The overall composition would however benefit from a few improvements.

As an example the shape/direction/flow of the rotala vietnam could be improved to avoid too much focus on the centre of the tank. Also right front side is too barren.
— Marco Aukes

Aquascape Details

Dimensions 91 × 46 × 43 cm
Title #WomanLifeFreedom
Volume 178.1L
Background Riccardia Chamedryfolia aka Mini pellia moss
Lighting Week Aqua P series
Filtration Aquael 2000 canister filter
Plants 1. Nymphoides sp. 'Taiwan'
2. Eriocaulon lineare
3. Bacopa caroliniana
4. Penthorum sedoides
5. Cryptocoryne undulatus red
6. Acmela repens
7. Limnophila helferi vietnam (mini)
8. Hygrophila cf. corymbosa "dagger"
9. Lobelia cardinalis mini
10. Nymphea rubra
11. Limnophila aquatica
12. Vallisneria Nana

Background: Riccardia Chamedryfolia aka Mini pellia moss
Animals Danio margaritatus (celestial pearl danios) x15
Corydoras venezuelanus x10
Materials None
Additional Information This tank was setup about a year ago and went through some changes before getting ready for this year's contest.

Substrate: ADA Amazonia
NO3 10+5ppm weekly
PO4 7ppm weekly
K 20ppm weekly
Low dose custom micros
Pressurized CO2 supplementation
Water change ~60% weekly

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