So the awesome folks at EcoTech Marine sent me a review model of their Radion to test out in a planted aquarium setting. It’s the perfect excuse to set up a new tank.

I happen to have a 24 gallon Cardiff aquarium lying around so I decided to use it for this experiment. You can see it below. I’m going to run you through how I completed the initial set up. It’s a test tank so I didn’t spend the time thinking through the aquascape design that I would normally do. However, I don’t think it came out to bad.

Plocher System – Penac P and W

Yes, I use the Penac products. In my experience, I have better success when I use them especially for a long term setup. Call them snake oil if you like. However, before you cast that stone, ask yourself if you should try them first. Did you know Penac P is 98.1% CaCO3 and .9% MgCO3? How about Penac W being 99% SiO2 with the 1% being Al2O3, Fe2O3,TiO2, K2O, Na2O,CaO and MgO?

Tourmaline BC, Clear Super, Bacter 100

I also use the ADA base system that uses Tourmaline BC (an insoluble form of boron), Clear Super (tiny activated charcoal) and Bacter 100 (bacterial culture). Again, experience has taught me that my success with them is better than without for long term setups.

I start by adding the Penac W over the area to be planted as you can see here:

I then follow that with the Penac P over the same area:

Tourmaline is next. I prefer to use a lot:

Clear Super covers the Tourmaline. I also like to use a lot. It helps with quickly clearing the water:

Finally, the Bacter 100 goes over everything. I like to put it below the Power Sand. Some put it on top of it.

Here’s the finished substrate base. I’m now almost ready to add the Power Sand.

But first, I like to sweep the base out of the sides so that it won’t show later.

Ah. That’s better. Nice and neat. Well, kinda.

Power Sand L

Bring on the Power Sand. As with some of the base substrate additives, Power Sand will help you if you are setting up an aquarium for the long term. If you’re going to be redoing your aquarium annually, you can skip it. If not, use it or something like it. It’s a combination of pumice stone, peat and a few other ingredients that provide a great area for substrate organisms to flourish and do their job. Their job? Jobs, better said. Many processes rely on the work of the substrate microorganisms that live in the substrate solution. At the end of the day, think of it as the workers that live in the nutrient storehouse we call the substrate. They create the right conditions for the plant roots.

It is best to cut the tip of the bag and carefully pour it over the planting area. Be careful or it will go everywhere.

I like to pour it out in the center and then use a triangle to spread it out to where I want it. Notice the peat-coated pumice stones? I chose the large size due to the 24+ inch water column. The larger size won’t get squeezed down as much with the water pressure.

All done. Nice and neat and only over the area I plan to plant.

The hardscape – stone

I chose to use the stone I had lying around and available. I bought this batch at the last AGA Convention in Ft. Lauderdale and I’m finally going to use them. They will come in handy as I try to build a wall between my substrates.

The substrate – Aqua Soil Amazonia normal

I’ve tried almost every substrate out there except some of the newer European ones. In my experience, Aqua Soil has been set it and forget it. I normally would use the powder type for easier planting but as our ADA importers are currently out of stock, I’m using the normal. What are you going to do?

The boundary layer

One of the issues with doing a two substrate system is the unavoidable mixing that happens. When I don’t have time to do a bent acrylic boundary, I resort to using stone. They are heavy and do a pretty good job holding the separation. It’s not perfect but they do work.

Bring on the Aqua Soil. Note that I am using a container to control where it falls. Pour from the back when you need to be this careful is a bad idea.

The hardscape – wood

Tom Barr sold me some awesome wood a few years ago and I’ve been saving it. It’s time to get it wet. When I got the shipment from Tom, what you see here was one giant piece of driftwood. I cut it down to several piece so that they are easier to work with.

I chose a piece that I wanted to use as the focal point and went to work. At first I positioned it with the tall side to the front. As you can see here, this threw the aquascape out of balance.

I repositioned it to the back and BAAM! balance is back. It feels to me like it belongs that way so I left it. I’m already starting to visualize the moss, microsorum and bolbitis I may use on it. I’m thinking about the plants I’ll use to draw attention to the beautiful branches and to highlight it’s height by having low foreground plants. The aquascape is starting to reveal itself to me.

Here’s a view from the front. Apologies for the flash in the picture. I was working quickly.

The show sand – Forest Sand

I’m not a huge fan of the sand look for aquascapes because they are like owning a nice black car. They’re a pain to maintain no matter how much you look after it. However, I thought this scape really called for the look due to the aquarium shape and being visible from various sides. I chose the larger grained Forest Sand.

Notice how those rocks you probably thought were too big and ugly are now starting to disappear and doing their job.

Here’s a few shots showing a close up of the separation line. Note that I will be further hiding this line with additional stones and transition plants.

The aquascape is now starting to take shape and really speak to me. I can visualize placement of plants and the types of plants I’m going to need. I’m also starting to visualize the species of fish I will like use to give the impression of a cloud around the tall branch on the right.

Here’s an angle view. This aquarium is really nice as it gives a seamless transition due to it’s curves.

A close up of the old tree. What types of plants do you see on it? What does your imagination tell you about this tree? Is it old, barren, lush, green?

Finally, a quick shot of the leftovers. After so many years and so many aquariums, a part of me still feels bad leaving stuff out. However, as I’ve learned from the masters, what you leave out is just as important as what you put in.

I hope this quick view of the initial set up was entertaining for you. Please stay tuned for the rest of the series that walks you through the entire process up to and including the hands-on testing of the EcoTech Marine Radion. It’s going to be very cool.

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

Like the Mac fans out there, unboxing an awesome piece of hardware is special. That’s what this post is about. No, it’s not my latest Apple gadget although it’s just as cool for planted tank hobbysts. Heck, for aquarists in general. It’s the latest EcoTech Marine Radion LED pendant. I throw in my thoughts on unboxing the MP10 Vortech wavemaker pump at the end. Let’s start to geek out and drool.

I was surprised at how small and light the box is. I’m used to having a huge heavy metal halide ballast so at first I thought I was missing a box. How could they fit the light fixture and the ballast in this box that measures 11.8 by 7 by 1.5? As I found out, it was all in there but things are just a lot smaller these days especially with state-of-the-art LED fixtures.

Anyway, the box shows you one of the reasons EcoTech Marine’s Radion is the state-of-the-art- they won the 2011 Reef Builders LED Showdown. I took a look at the competitors that they were up against and they were all big boys. It’s impressive how they came out on top.

On the back of the box, EcoTech Marine chose to put a lot of information that’s very helpful to see what this powerhouse can do. For example, they tell you that one of the Radion fixtures is about as powerful as a 250w metal halide fixture! They also suggest that 1 fixture should be used per 40 gallons of water and cover approximately a 24 by 24 inch area. However, I think they may have been thinking about our reef friends when they came up with these guidelines. What this series is about is determining whether this will be correct for us on the planted tank side.

Also of great interest to us is the LED specifications that they list in the back. The fixture has five channels that you can set. Each channel has a different color, wattage and number of LEDs. So, as you can see below, the colors go from cool white to Royal Blue to Blue to Green and to Hyper Red. LEDs used range from 4 to 10 and wattage from 10 to 40.

Here’s what you find as you open the box.

Man! Doesn’t it look like a black laptop? The fixture is a glossy black with the EcoTech Marine logo etched on it’s top. The ballast is white and surprisingly small and light.

Thankfully, the EcoTech guys include a Quick Start Manual to get you going quickly. As you’ll see in another post, this was very helpful to me and it was easy to follow.

The LED fixture has the LEDs on either side of a built in fan. Immediately, I started to think about fan noise. I have a little case of anal retentivity about noise coming from my aquarium. I want (need) it to be quite so one of the things I’m going to be critical about is how loud this fan is going to be. Also, what happens when it fails, as they all do. How easy will it be to replace? Stay tuned on that. So, first impression on looks, this thing is awesome.

As my tastes have changed over the years, I’ve become more of a minimalist with my planted aquariums- both in and outside of the aquarium. It may be the Takashi Amano influence. The Radion is perfect for that. The fixture is thin. Check out the picture below where I use a quarter to give you some perspective on how thing the unit is.

The ballast

Call me an old timer but I remember ballast as these huge ugly boxes that I tried to hide, typically unsuccessfully. This is certainly not what EcoTech Marine has done with the Radion. The ballast is white, relatively small and light. As you can see from the images below, the ballast is about as tall as a “tall” (small) cup of a Starbuck’s coffee.

On one side are the connections. The front as the typical heat reducing sink and the other side has a nice sticker for the unit. While the unit I received has a few bubbles underneath the sticker, I can easily take care of that myself. I did initially feel that this is an expensive unit and these details matter so someone at EcoTech should have fixed it before sending it out to customers. However, my anal retentivity may be showing so I decided to relax about it. You know, don’t sweat the small stuff and all that.

Oh, and talking about details, how about EcoTech include a cool cloth to wipe off any smudges your fingers make on that glossy black? Props to you EcoTech.

Vortech

More and more we are beginning to understand that flow is critical in planted aquariums. It’s necessary to make sure CO2 gets to all corners of the aquarium. It also removes the water boundary that surrounds leaves to make it easier for them to exchange gases from their leaves. Finally, flow helps to remove waste by keeping it in the water column where the filter will get it sooner or later.

The EcoTech Marine Vortech ware pump is awesome for creating flow in the aquarium. Flow is water movement enmasse. It is not a current stream. The Vortech’s propeller technology does that and it’s been doing it extremely well in the reef hobby.

What’s cool about this pump is that it’s half in your aquarium and half outside. A strong magnet keeps the tow pieces together. Check out the picture below.

The technology of the pump itself is made that much better because of the EcoSmart driver that lets you do all sorts of cool things with the pump. I’ll be writing about what you can do with the driver, this post is about unboxing so stay tuned for how I’ve put this pump to work and how you can too.

The EcoSmart Driver comes with velcro strips so that you can put it anywhere you want. I think it’s cool so I’m putting it out where it’s easy for me to see.

It’s thin as you can see below. That’s a quarter showing how thin this thing is. It’s size makes it feel great in the hand so I find myself unripping it from the stand and hold it when I’m making changes.

To control the driver there are three button and a knob. The buttons are Mode, Set and Option/Power. The knob is very smooth as it turns. The lights that visually show you what you’re doing do a great job and, hey, they look very cool. I like.

Concluding thoughts on unboxing and initial handling

At the end of the day, what matters is how a product works. I haven’t put the Radion and the Vortech through a real life test yet. The install happens this week and then we’re going to get our hands wet.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Ecotech Marine provided me with a review model of the Radion and the Vortech. In fairness to them, they didn’t have to do that but they truly wanted to see how these two products would work in a planted aquarium environment. I thank them for caring enough about our side of the hobby to do that.

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

Well, it was about time for a new podcast. Here’s Scapefu Podcast #11.

Please join me in welcoming JJ as the new co-host for the Scape Fu podcast.

This being our first podcast together, we just talked plants.  Please tell us what you think!

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

Just wrapped up a talk with Robert Hudson of Aqua Botanic Radio. We had fun talking about Cryptocoryne. Go listen to the cryptocoryne talk.

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

As I’ve said before, an aquascape is as much about what is outside the glass box as what is inside. Rich’s (Uptown193) awesome “peekaboo” setup is a great example of what I mean.

As you can see above, Rich’s ADA 60P looks great. He’s obviously a talented aquascaper. However, and with all due respect to his aquascaping skills, I love his out of the box (pun intended) thinking when it comes to his overall setup. Check out what he did with his stand!

Oh no he didn’t! Oh yes he did! That’s a plexiglass door on his cabinet. Peekaboo! He’s letting it all hang out and it looks great! He even threw in some colored LEDs to really showcase the innards.

I got a chance to trade messages with Rich over at Planted Tank and he was kind enough to tell me a little about his tank.

Hey Rich, thanks for taking the time to tell me a bit about you and your tank. How’d you get started with planted tanks?

I started this hobby in August, 2009 when my girlfriend Cassandra bought me a Betta fish. From there a month later I bought a 10g tank setup from Petco. I played with that for a about year and learned a lot about fresh water fish, plants and aquariums. I then started buying real plants because the fake plants were boring and I always had to clean off the algae every month. Then I got into the CO2 setups and bought a small 80g setup. I got tired of refilling those little tanks so I purchased a GLA CO2 setup with a 5 pound tank.

What gave you the idea of setting up your ADA 60P and doing that unusual stand?

In August, 2011, my girlfriend bought me a ADA 60p for my birthday. So I then decided I wanted to build a stand for the 60p. I did some research on many threads about fish tank stand building and got so much information to be confident I could do it. I wanted the stand to mimic the one from ADA, which are sleek and shaped the same way as the tank.

The inspiration for the Plexiglass front door was from me wanting to show off the guts of a successful fish tank. I knew I wanted an excellent and nice looking filter so after research I chose the Fluval 3G. I also felt that it would be cool to show off the CO2 because it is an important part of having successful plant growth. I also felt that when people would come visit me it would be a good conversation piece. I feel that my Fish tank setup is a piece of art in my home. I was not afraid to show off the inside of my stand becasue I knew that it was going to look interesting to people. I think people should show off as much as possible. I know there are aqua-scapers who rather just show the tank because to them that is the focal point but to me everything is a focal point, plus when the light is out you can barely notice it. (Giggle)

And the lights inside the cabinet? That’s awesome! It reminds me of those custom computer rigs.

I do have a remote control RGB LED light bulb, yes I did say remote light bulb that can change colors which I purchased from ElementalLED.com. It is the perfect size for the inside cabinet of my stand and will help show off the guts of my setup.

I see you use a lot of ADA products.

I used all of ADA products when setting this tank build. I learn at lot about this hobby from them, but I have learned more from forums like Plantedtank.net where I have my build thread.

There is not much I would do different other then purchasing a bigger tank next time, lol. No, but seriously, the thing I didn’t like most about the ADA products was their Power Sand Special because it would keep rising to the top and there would be tiny white pebbles on my ADA AquaSoil substrate and I would have to pick each out.

So next time I will not use that one product, everything else they have is excellent. I say they have excellent products because they work. My new 60p tank cycled in 2 weeks, that is not a bad turn around time considering it usually take 4 weeks.

Any tips for new aquascapers?

I recommend that everyone just take their time and plan everything out on paper. When you build a stand write out all the measurements so that you can refer to it when need to because, trust me, you will need to refer to it many times when cutting wood. I also recommend purchasing the right tools and equipment, this is a must in this hobby.

As always, to be successful in what you are doing you have to have a passion for it or you will not succeed.

I couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks again for agreeing to be interviewed for Scape Fu.

Here’s some details about Rich’s aquascape:

Title: Subterranean Passage of NYC
Year: Late 2011
Location: New York City
Tank Size: ADA 60P (24″x12″x14″)
Volume: 17 Gallons (Approx.)
Lighting: Catalina Solar 2x24w (Geissman Midday (1) and Geissman Aquaflora (1)
Filtration: Fluval G3 using ADA inflow and outflow glass lily pipes
Filter Media: Seachem Purigen 200ml Bag (Chemical)
Substrate: ADA Aqua Soil New Amazonia and ADA Power Sand Special
Substrate Additives: ADA Bacter 100/Clear Super/Penac P + W
CO2: GLA Pressurized CO2 System (14 hours/Day) 2 bubbles per second
Decorative Materials: ADA Sarawak Sand
Water Parameters: N/A
Water Maintenance: 30% water change bi-weekly
Plant Fertilization: Pfertz High-Tech Solution includes one bottle each of [m], [n], [p] and [k]

Plants: Red Nesala, Erio cinereum, Crinum Calamistratum, Belem Grass, Sunset Hydrophila

Fish: 7 Japonica Shrimp (Amano), 6 red shrimps, 1 Bamboo Shrimp, 5 Neon Tetras, 2 Mickey Mouse Platy (7 are babies), 2 Pristella Tetra, 6 Rasboras and a lone Leopard Snail.

Here’s some more eye candy and two great videos of the setup. The videos are the best for appreciating the cabinet LED color change.

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

Copyright Aqua Design Amano

The April 2012 version of the online Aqua Journal is out and this one is packed full of knowledge and inspiration for the aspiring aquascaper. Amano goes through layout techniques that I think will help any aquascaper perfect their craft. Go check it out!

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

Our friends at AQA Espai Aquaris Naturals will be hosting the first ever (to my knowledge) aquascaping course for those of you in Barcelona. The class will be given by one of Spain’s best known and talented aquascapers, Jordi Pelegrí.

This is a fantastic idea and should be copied by other vendors in other countries. Getting people into our hobby by actual, hands on training is invaluable and dramatically increases the chances that the students will stay with the hobby long term.

The class will last four months with a maximum of five students. The class will consist of online tutorials and sessions with aquascapers. All the equipment is provided. The program will focus on the following:

1. Designing an aquascape (trends and sketch creation)
2. Setup techniques
3. Maintenance and trimming
4. Photographing the aquascape (techniques and Photoshop touchups)

For more information, contact Aqua Espai at info@aquaespai.com.

(Via Acuaristíca.)

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

Our friends at Definite Aquascape TV have a great video of nano cubes from Zoo Expo 2011. I have no idea what is being said but the eye candy is great. Big thanks to them!

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!

There are aquascapers and then there are AQUASCAPERS. Check out Felipe Oliveira whip out the power tools!

Find more great aquascaping with aquarium plants and tropical fish articles at Scape Fu - A planted aquarium podcast!