Hi George, thumbs up, very informative video from start to finish, very relaxed style suits you sir, maybe a redish plant , crypt. Springs to mind. Great thanks as always. Top top video.
We have this tank in white with a Betta, a few Black neon tetras, 3 albino corys, and 3 Amano shrimp and it does great....added two small pieces of sponge filter material to the flow nozzles to slow it down a bit and the betta seem happy. He made the top of one of the sponges his bed too. This tank got us back into the hobby after many years, and is a good all in one kit.
@@GeorgeFarmerStudios No george, thank you.. You are actually responsible for getting me interested in aquascaping. I think youre right up there with the best in the hobby, including dave chow. Again, thank you.
Nimrod looks very happy. Yes a red plant would look great against all that green. I set up my first scape a few months back using a Flex, love this tank. Great size for a first tank. Having success with all my plants. Watching your very informative vids has been why my tank is successful. Thank you.
Congratulations George! it's fantastic that an aquascaper master like you makes a video for beginners, an aquarium that I had thought of for a long time to introduce myself in the aquascaping, great tips, easy steps to follow, and consequently, minimal possibility of errors, thanks. Greetings from Majorca
Oh my goodness! This video couldn’t have come out at any better time, I was just making a whole shopping cart full of stuff for my new betta fish including this exact size aquarium and some live plants! Love your videos and thank you for your inspiration and caring for life!
Hey George ive had a flex for almost a year. Tip on water changes... Put siphon or hose in back left chamber opposite of the pump where u put the heater and less issues disturbing soil and the scape
@@kamenidriss yes bright for "easy" plants. I siliconed ss mesh on inside of the 2 intake vents. Vents snap off and i filled with sponges then snapped back on for fry and baby shrimp
Only need to clean filter intake pump once every 4-6 months. I also put a intake prefilter sponge over one of the output nozzle heads like fluval recommends
Just set up my first planted tank for my Betta Darth Fishy. It's looking fab I love it 😀 used easy plants like Vallis, Rotala, dwarf Sword and Ludwigia
Hi from France ! Thanks for the video because it's exactly what I need to start a betta tanks of 40l. You give me all the best information ! Thanks a lot 👍
Awesome video mate. I think the green back set is beautiful and it brings out nimrods colour’s, I would keep it. Keep up the good work man. Your an inspiration. PS loved the live OASE scape as well.
Hey, always nice to see you again. What i like about these video's is that they are personal, you're really connecting with the viewers and giving a huge amount of information. Same as (like you said) getting a relationship with the store owner, we're doing great but i'm not into marriage yet ;) About the plants for this tank, i like both as in full green or mixed with red.
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing! I love this style of video. You are helping lots of folks with your "rambling". Ramble on George! Cheeri-O! - Little Bobby
I need bigger plants in my tank! Looks so much better. Thanks George! This is the exact tank that I have... FOR NOW!!! Maybe I'll do a rework on mine when I get back home :)
Great George, looks very similar to my Flex 57 in layout, only yours is much better. Glad you used the best plant of all time, no prizes for which one!! Keep on scaping
George do you consider the Flex lighting, low light? I get algae occasionally, but I only run the lighting on full output for 6 hours. I must have 30 53b’s java moss and a healthy Anubias. One squirt of tropica premium nutrient each day. The bio load is 12 cardinals, 2 pigmy corydoras 2 oto’s 3 Amarno’s and about 12 CRS which are breeding. What are your thoughts on my algae problems? I do 50% water change a week and the tank has been established 5 months. Hope you can point me in the right direction? Thank You Neil. Keep on Scaping PS how’s the book coming on?
This is the first video I’ve seen of yours and it is excellent! Thanks for breaking things down so clearly. I have the Fluval Flex 9 gallon and am looking to turn it into a planted tank. Very new to the hobby so this is a perfect tutorial for me!
Great video George, I have been wanting to set up a planted tank but didn't want the extra expense of glass tubes and CO2 to begin with I think this is the perfect beginner set up
You’re absolutely correct about the water change. Adding 10-25% percent of new water doesn’t do anything as it’s small compared to the rest of the volume of the water. Larger water changes are better it provides more fresh water for the fish. Like you said in nature the water is constantly moving giving the fish new water every moment!
I loved this very much Thank you, i am waiting for this fluval flex kit set up to arrive I will be upgrading my betta Cormick from his 3.6 gallon to this 15 gallon and I was considering any possible tank mates you may recommend? But looking at how comfortable and happy your betta is in this video, maybe I should give him the entire 15gallon to himself 😍
I love watching these gorgeous, low tech tanks come to life. What a great home for Nimrod. Hello Tommy, you awesome, handsom pup pup. Such a good boy you are. Puppy kisses, 😘😘 👍💕👍
Hi George, Excellent video as always. Due to your older video on the Flex I purchased 2 with the cabinets. I'm using one for a planted tank and the other I'm converting to a marine tank. Great tank.
Hi George, love your videos. I have just set up my 33l Fluval Flex at the weekend with tropica plants. Hopefully it will look as good as yours in a few weeks!
Love this Video...have it saved and will try to replicate. Also would love to see some colour. Aesthetically and also curious to see what coloured plants would adapt to the lighting.
What about adding a few Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' in the mid ground for some red near the bottom and leave Nimrod to colour up the mid to top of the tank? It's one of my favourite plants in the aquascape! As always a top notch video George!
Love this video. Fluval usually a go to company here in the US. How about having fun with it and now transforming it to a high tech tank w c02 and high end light. I'm looking for always to convert mine. 😁
Great video, inspriational as always. i'm thinking of changing my Betta to my flex, I have the 34ltr. They are great tanks, looking forward to an update. Keep on rambling.....
Maybe a bunch of crypt flamingos, with maybe one-two plants from the java fern family, or an Amazonian sword as the vocal plant. Maybe some black lava rock for the hard scape, with some anubias and/or bucephalandra, and perhaps ludwigia palustrus, valisneria asiatica, and/or bacopa caroliniana for the back ground plants. For the foreground if you don't just want crypt flamingos, maybe have marsilea hirsuta.
Do you recommend trimming the roots before planting? Can you make a tutorial video on the transition phase of emersed to submersed? Like step by step, what we need to do and not to do. Difference in transition in a none CO2 injected tank vs injected. Paleaaaaasee.
Nice video. Great advice on the water changes! I’ve been looking at this Fluval Flex 15 and the comparable Waterbox Cube (20 US gallons) as my next aquarium. I did get an Oase Thermosmart 100 for my current betta tank two weeks ago. I really like it. It’s super quiet!
Hi George ... this is a fantastic video... now the tank has been running a while and also based on feedback what plant would you Chang from your original scape.
George, love this video, I am new to aquariums at 65 and got a Fluval Flex 15 for Christmas. I really enjoy the plants but I have been taking all my plants out to vacuum the substrate when cleaning. This is a real pain, It appears you do not have to do this with the aqua soil? That would be wonderful!
This is exactly what ive been looking for, i have same tank, new to aquascaping, and wasnt sure what would grow under the flex lighting, so ill definitely be getting these plants. I definitely think you should do some red plants to see if they will cope under the light. I love Dutch style so much because 1 im Dutch 😁 and 2 i love the red plants, so again it would be good to see if its possible in this tank. It would be great to see you do a series of videos on the flex as its such a popular tank 👍
i think the tank is okay without red stem plant i think it is look naturally lush and green and beginners usually trying to achieve that look, also can you try to set dutch syle aquascape george? i never see you did that i think it would be interesting how you do the dutch style
Hi George. I have a Fluval Flex 57 litre and It has been running for about 12 months. I am new to CO2 injection and have just bought the Tropica Nano system. I have 5 Harlequin Rasboras, 7 Rummy Nose Tetras an ever increasing colony of Cherry Shrimp. I am not fond of the flow nozzles and see you have left them off for Nimrod. My question is There obviously doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of movement near the surface, will this be ok for the CO2 system? Absolutely love all your videos! They are so helpful and great to watch. Thanks
George Farmer Perfect. I just ordered Tropica plant soil online because you can’t get in Ireland. Going to follow your setup at first and deviate as time goes on. Cheers my man
Hi George, could you plant all these plants in gravel rather than soil? I already have an established tank but now looking to plant it rather than the silk plants that are in currently.
Hi George Good general advice as always. It would be really good if Tropica put a use by date and storage suggestions on their packaging on their sealed plants, many shops as you suggest, simply hang then up in the store, outside of chilled cabinets and they are often a long way on their journey out of this world by the time of sale. If using C02 or keeping some plants and fish, lowering the hardness means less carbon dioxide needs to be injected and soft water plants and fish are healthier. Not suggesting anything extreme but London tap water is too hard for black tea, taking the hardness down by about 50% works really well for most planted tanks - you need to take it down further if you want nice yellow limescale free black tea! For a tank of this size mixing tap water with water from a Brita filter would involve little bother and time and easily produce ideal water conditions. Big water changes are fine so long as the water being put in doesn't lead to fish chill - I once killed Rummy Noses by letting a cold seam of water develop even though I was only changing around 20%. Not sure about your point about more water changes needed in a high energy set-up, lots of light & C02 with rapid plant growth mops up macro nutrients. Black mollies - we used to add a small amount of 'tonic' salt to protect them from nitrite and nitrate, in a heavily planted high tech tank they don't need the salt and the water change routine can be much less onerous. Even basic systems, with, as this tank has, very low light benefit from C02 - cheap yeast systems can work really well if the diffusing system is effective. C02 helps plants keep ammonia/nitrates/phosphates/ low - really good for many fish, and the control of algae. Back in the early 1970s as a teenager, I kept a tank super healthy and on a low maintenance regime by regularly harvesting duck weed from the surface - a good net-full at least once a week. Plants are great, the secret to living in harmony for us all. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to another interview with an ichthyologist soon.
You're awesome. I love this. I just recently bought my flex 15. I'm restarting the tank and want to plant. Yes contrasting colors would be nice but I honestly think this is amazing as is. Is aquarium soil an absolute "must" though? I'm an old school gravel girl. Gorgeous set up!
Hi George in looking at setting up a flex 34 with a betta and ghost shrimps fluvial stratum substrate with live plants I was just wondering is it best to do 1 or 2 50% water changes a week as you said and what's the best amount of hours to have the lights on and off also should I just stick to white lights or use the range of colours . Love the channel every video very informative
Brilliant channel and videos George, I’m an ex marine keeper but haven’t kept fish for years. Looking at now getting into some planted tanks very similar to what you have here. Now youve had the tank for awhile is it worth mod’ing the filter system on this? I’ve seen other videos of people moving a sponge filter into the first compartment and totally filling the second compartment with bio media. Do you run carbon on your planted tanks? Also how is the pump noise on this tank? Sorry for all the questions, keep up the great work
Cool, thanks for the response. I’ve set it up now, spent ages on the scape, water went in...wood floats away 🥴 and dragged half of what I’d done with it! Lesson learnt haha Re-scaped it, but couldn’t get it back how I liked it as I didn’t want to totally rip it all back out again.
Hi George. Thank you for all your tips. You mentioned that you use tropica soil, to confirm it’s the soil “powder” bag rather than Tropica’s “substrate” bag ? Ty!
Is it just me or does all the wood scapers seem to use have a sensual human resemblance ? Beautiful scape and nice refresher with pro tips - thank you @georgefarmer!
Hi George, thank you for sharing. From my side I think Cryptocoryne Wendtii brown would break up a bit green of the other plant. Thank you and "Keep on scaping!"
Great video, very informative. I'm looking to start my first planted tank soon, getting a lot of tips from your videos. I've already got a fine gravel in my tank, is it OK to keep this and use root tabs rather than replacing it with aqua soil?
You mentioned hard water being suitable to use, but whenever I used to use regular tap water (of which my area has hard water) the plants used to develop a brown sludge coating? So was I doing something incorrect? Thanks!
can i always ask did you take your carbon out the back of the foam of the filter? cause i herd that carbon will basically take all the fertiliser etc out the tank, all thinks plants needs to do well. is that true?? thank you very much for all the help and time for answering my questions helping and beginner out
Love this video, goes to show just what can be done for a lower budget set up 🙂 Can I ask, what setting do you have the lights on, just full power, white light only? Cheers!
Great video. I’ve decided on the fluvial flex 15, so this is just the video I needed. Your plant choice is ideal for a beginner like me and I love the look of it. I’m think of a blue nano theme. Blue dream shrimp and blue Rasboras maybe an oto or two. Either that or cardinal tetras. How many Cardinals can I put in the Fluval 15?
Hi George, thumbs up, very informative video from start to finish, very relaxed style suits you sir, maybe a redish plant , crypt. Springs to mind. Great thanks as always. Top top video.
Thanks Terry. Always grateful for your feedback 👍🙏💚
We have this tank in white with a Betta, a few Black neon tetras, 3 albino corys, and 3 Amano shrimp and it does great....added two small pieces of sponge filter material to the flow nozzles to slow it down a bit and the betta seem happy. He made the top of one of the sponges his bed too. This tank got us back into the hobby after many years, and is a good all in one kit.
Great to hear! 👍
Low tech aquascaping tutorial by george is here at long last.. Im soooo happy!!
Thanks 🙏
@@GeorgeFarmerStudios No george, thank you.. You are actually responsible for getting me interested in aquascaping. I think youre right up there with the best in the hobby, including dave chow. Again, thank you.
Nimrod looks very happy. Yes a red plant would look great against all that green. I set up my first scape a few months back using a Flex, love this tank. Great size for a first tank. Having success with all my plants. Watching your very informative vids has been why my tank is successful. Thank you.
Thanks Jeff! 🙏
Congratulations George! it's fantastic that an aquascaper master like you makes a video for beginners, an aquarium that I had thought of for a long time to introduce myself in the aquascaping, great tips, easy steps to follow, and consequently, minimal possibility of errors, thanks. Greetings from Majorca
Thanks so much 🙏
Oh my goodness! This video couldn’t have come out at any better time, I was just making a whole shopping cart full of stuff for my new betta fish including this exact size aquarium and some live plants! Love your videos and thank you for your inspiration and caring for life!
Thanks so much for the kind words 👍
Have been looking at the fluval flex for a while. If i get one i wanna do a low tech betta aquascape as well :) great inspiration
Thanks 🙏
Hey George ive had a flex for almost a year. Tip on water changes... Put siphon or hose in back left chamber opposite of the pump where u put the heater and less issues disturbing soil and the scape
hwo do you find the tank? are lights strong enough to grow plants? I heard filter intake are a bit troublesome due to its large size
@@kamenidriss yes bright for "easy" plants. I siliconed ss mesh on inside of the 2 intake vents. Vents snap off and i filled with sponges then snapped back on for fry and baby shrimp
Only need to clean filter intake pump once every 4-6 months. I also put a intake prefilter sponge over one of the output nozzle heads like fluval recommends
@@thejenks1004 how do you clean the filter intake?
@@kamenidriss its a filter pump. u clean the foam cover intake of the pump and impeller.
George, love these non co2, low light setups. Useful for us average plebs!
Thanks Andrew 👍
Just set up my first planted tank for my Betta Darth Fishy. It's looking fab I love it 😀 used easy plants like Vallis, Rotala, dwarf Sword and Ludwigia
Hi from France ! Thanks for the video because it's exactly what I need to start a betta tanks of 40l. You give me all the best information ! Thanks a lot 👍
Glad to help 👍
I enjoy all of your videos, I am just starting out so I really enjoy your beginner videos. You always answer questions I didn't know I had!!
Thanks Chris 👍
As a newbie, I find your info indispensable.
Awesome video mate. I think the green back set is beautiful and it brings out nimrods colour’s, I would keep it. Keep up the good work man. Your an inspiration. PS loved the live OASE scape as well.
Thanks Ben 👍🙏
Thanks Ben 👍🙏
Hey, always nice to see you again.
What i like about these video's is that they are personal, you're really connecting with the viewers and giving a huge amount of information. Same as (like you said) getting a relationship with the store owner, we're doing great but i'm not into marriage yet ;)
About the plants for this tank, i like both as in full green or mixed with red.
Thanks Morris appreciate the feedback! 😊
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing! I love this style of video. You are helping lots of folks with your "rambling". Ramble on George! Cheeri-O! - Little Bobby
Cheers mate
I need bigger plants in my tank! Looks so much better. Thanks George! This is the exact tank that I have... FOR NOW!!!
Maybe I'll do a rework on mine when I get back home :)
Yey, nimrods pad! Looking very lush that tank!
Thanks Tabitha 👍🙏
I sent this one to my mate. Nice one George.
Thanks Steve 👍
New at this hobby and I fully appreciate the scientific break down of every explanation. Most informative channel I've seen, keep going!
Great George, looks very similar to my Flex 57 in layout, only yours is much better.
Glad you used the best plant of all time, no prizes for which one!! Keep on scaping
Thanks Neil 👍
George do you consider the Flex lighting, low light? I get algae occasionally, but I only run the lighting on full output for 6 hours. I must have 30 53b’s java moss and a healthy Anubias. One squirt of tropica premium nutrient each day. The bio load is 12 cardinals, 2 pigmy corydoras 2 oto’s 3 Amarno’s and about 12 CRS which are breeding. What are your thoughts on my algae problems? I do 50% water change a week and the tank has been established 5 months. Hope you can point me in the right direction? Thank You Neil. Keep on Scaping PS how’s the book coming on?
Very useful for beginners like me. Many thanks
Great video, the scape looks great to me.
Thanks Darryl 😊
This is the first video I’ve seen of yours and it is excellent! Thanks for breaking things down so clearly. I have the Fluval Flex 9 gallon and am looking to turn it into a planted tank. Very new to the hobby so this is a perfect tutorial for me!
Thanks and good luck 😊
I love Nimrod in here! Very informative video thanks George 😁
Thanks Isabella 👍
Great video George, I have been wanting to set up a planted tank but didn't want the extra expense of glass tubes and CO2 to begin with I think this is the perfect beginner set up
Great looking tank. I love my flex tank, really easy to set up and maintain. So far all plants and fish are doing well. Keep up the good work
Thanks Amanda 👍
I'd love to see some Lymnophila Hippuridoides in the background.
Very nice scape, as always.
Good shout 👍
Fluval is a very good company. Thanks for this George. I will use Fluval substrate and their LED 3.0 light which is programmable with the cell phone.
You’re absolutely correct about the water change. Adding 10-25% percent of new water doesn’t do anything as it’s small compared to the rest of the volume of the water. Larger water changes are better it provides more fresh water for the fish. Like you said in nature the water is constantly moving giving the fish new water every moment!
👍
Love this simple scape !
Thanks Martine 👍
I really like how you scaped this tank!
Love it! Just got a 10gal to put a betta in and getting it started on a bunch of plants! keep up the good content!
It's a very beautiful tank setup a perfect one for a betta good video as always George 👌👌👌
Thanks Karl 🙏👍
ludwigia super red mini would look fire on background :)
I loved this very much Thank you, i am waiting for this fluval flex kit set up to arrive I will be upgrading my betta Cormick from his 3.6 gallon to this 15 gallon and I was considering any possible tank mates you may recommend? But looking at how comfortable and happy your betta is in this video, maybe I should give him the entire 15gallon to himself 😍
Thank you George! Tons of super useful info and tips! Great vid
Thanks Carlos 👍
Thanks Carlos 👍
Beautiful planted aquarium. Congrats
Nice setup. Just did my first setup in the same type of flex. Not 100% satisfied but will run it for some time as a learning proces.
Love your vids.
I love watching these gorgeous, low tech tanks come to life. What a great home for Nimrod.
Hello Tommy, you awesome, handsom pup pup. Such a good boy you are. Puppy kisses, 😘😘
👍💕👍
Kisses for SRL 😘
Nice easy Scape 💛👍
You may be the best in the business.
Hi George, Excellent video as always. Due to your older video on the Flex I purchased 2 with the cabinets. I'm using one for a planted tank and the other I'm converting to a marine tank. Great tank.
Hi George, love your videos. I have just set up my 33l Fluval Flex at the weekend with tropica plants. Hopefully it will look as good as yours in a few weeks!
Good luck Pete 👍
Love this Video...have it saved and will try to replicate. Also would love to see some colour. Aesthetically and also curious to see what coloured plants would adapt to the lighting.
What about adding a few Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' in the mid ground for some red near the bottom and leave Nimrod to colour up the mid to top of the tank? It's one of my favourite plants in the aquascape! As always a top notch video George!
Love this video. Fluval usually a go to company here in the US. How about having fun with it and now transforming it to a high tech tank w c02 and high end light. I'm looking for always to convert mine. 😁
I love Betta splendens my favorite fish 😍😍😍.
😃🙏
I have the Same Tank with one betta i love it
Has the bow window have any effect or is it just a design ?
@@morrisfalker2773You can see the Fish a little bit better
But its rather Design
@@everythinginashorttime2566 ok thanks :D
@@morrisfalker2773 No Problem ;)
Awesome video! Lots of info! Thanks George! I always pick up a tip or two for sure!
Cheers Mike 🙏
Very great Video and for Beginners perfekt. Wait for Updates LG Mona 👍❤
About to begin a similar scape with the 9.5 gallon version for my dorm room!
Great video, inspriational as always. i'm thinking of changing my Betta to my flex, I have the 34ltr. They are great tanks, looking forward to an update. Keep on rambling.....
cool video george
Definitely needs some red. Maybe some crypt flamingo or ludwigia palustrus.
Maybe a bunch of crypt flamingos, with maybe one-two plants from the java fern family, or an Amazonian sword as the vocal plant. Maybe some black lava rock for the hard scape, with some anubias and/or bucephalandra, and perhaps ludwigia palustrus, valisneria asiatica, and/or bacopa caroliniana for the back ground plants. For the foreground if you don't just want crypt flamingos, maybe have marsilea hirsuta.
Love this thank you from Australia
Do you recommend trimming the roots before planting? Can you make a tutorial video on the transition phase of emersed to submersed? Like step by step, what we need to do and not to do. Difference in transition in a none CO2 injected tank vs injected. Paleaaaaasee.
Another great video with excellent tips. 👍 Beautiful tank, hope Nimrod is happy with his new home.
Could you put shrimp in there with Nimrod?
Shrimp are a risk but with plenty of hiding places could be ok. Thanks 🙏
Nice video. Great advice on the water changes! I’ve been looking at this Fluval Flex 15 and the comparable Waterbox Cube (20 US gallons) as my next aquarium.
I did get an Oase Thermosmart 100 for my current betta tank two weeks ago. I really like it. It’s super quiet!
Awesome
Omg been waiting for this so long lol. Just stopped cooking my tea to watch it!
😊🙏
A great video, big help, thanks
Hi George ... this is a fantastic video... now the tank has been running a while and also based on feedback what plant would you Chang from your original scape.
Thanks Bob. I’d probably change the 53B so something with a finer texture
No red is needed but different shades of green would be nice, and yes to a more slender leaf would be great.
Thanks Carol, appreciate the feedback 👍
George, love this video, I am new to aquariums at 65 and got a Fluval Flex 15 for Christmas. I really enjoy the plants but I have been taking all my plants out to vacuum the substrate when cleaning. This is a real pain, It appears you do not have to do this with the aqua soil? That would be wonderful!
Hello George love red plants cheers...
Great video! Inspirational Channel! 🌿
Thanks 🙏
This is exactly what ive been looking for, i have same tank, new to aquascaping, and wasnt sure what would grow under the flex lighting, so ill definitely be getting these plants. I definitely think you should do some red plants to see if they will cope under the light. I love Dutch style so much because 1 im Dutch 😁 and 2 i love the red plants, so again it would be good to see if its possible in this tank. It would be great to see you do a series of videos on the flex as its such a popular tank 👍
Interested to see how the carpeting grows in the coming weeks. I'm preparing a flex for my father shortly. :)
H Corimbosa looks so good. You should keep it. Nice low-tech tank. :)
Thanks Mike 👍
You welcome. :)
Great work George👏🏼 however it would be more attractive when add some contrast warm colors along with the green...feeling very monotonous
Great job!
Thanks 🙏
i think the tank is okay without red stem plant i think it is look naturally lush and green and beginners usually trying to achieve that look, also can you try to set dutch syle aquascape george? i never see you did that i think it would be interesting how you do the dutch style
I’ve tried a couple of Dutch scapes. Too much maintenance 😃
@@GeorgeFarmerStudios hahaha it's always a pain to keep those demanding stems in check😁
Hi love this aquascape. Do i still need to use the carbon in the sponge if growing plants?
Hi George. I have a Fluval Flex 57 litre and It has been running for about 12 months. I am new to CO2 injection and have just bought the Tropica Nano system. I have 5 Harlequin Rasboras, 7 Rummy Nose Tetras an ever increasing colony of Cherry Shrimp. I am not fond of the flow nozzles and see you have left them off for Nimrod. My question is There obviously doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of movement near the surface, will this be ok for the CO2 system? Absolutely love all your videos! They are so helpful and great to watch. Thanks
Brilliant vid, thanks!
Great keep informing us. TK you
very cool sir
Hi George, did you cycle the tank first or rely on plants and water changes until filter became cycled
Just rely on plant growth and water changes 👍
George Farmer Perfect. I just ordered Tropica plant soil online because you can’t get in Ireland. Going to follow your setup at first and deviate as time goes on. Cheers my man
8 hours, got it. But at what intensity? Great videos. Filipe
Amazing work I love the style you placed out, so is that the 9 or 15 model version ?
Hi George, could you plant all these plants in gravel rather than soil? I already have an established tank but now looking to plant it rather than the silk plants that are in currently.
Highly recommend these Tropica plants, or other brands that are grown this way. I've had a nightmare with plants importing BBA spores
Super nice tank "D and the backgnd plants looks fantastic thks :D
no cO2 is good so that is low maintennace
Hi George
Good general advice as always.
It would be really good if Tropica put a use by date and storage suggestions on their packaging on their sealed plants, many shops as you suggest, simply hang then up in the store, outside of chilled cabinets and they are often a long way on their journey out of this world by the time of sale.
If using C02 or keeping some plants and fish, lowering the hardness means less carbon dioxide needs to be injected and soft water plants and fish are healthier. Not suggesting anything extreme but London tap water is too hard for black tea, taking the hardness down by about 50% works really well for most planted tanks - you need to take it down further if you want nice yellow limescale free black tea! For a tank of this size mixing tap water with water from a Brita filter would involve little bother and time and easily produce ideal water conditions.
Big water changes are fine so long as the water being put in doesn't lead to fish chill - I once killed Rummy Noses by letting a cold seam of water develop even though I was only changing around 20%.
Not sure about your point about more water changes needed in a high energy set-up, lots of light & C02 with rapid plant growth mops up macro nutrients. Black mollies - we used to add a small amount of 'tonic' salt to protect them from nitrite and nitrate, in a heavily planted high tech tank they don't need the salt and the water change routine can be much less onerous.
Even basic systems, with, as this tank has, very low light benefit from C02 - cheap yeast systems can work really well if the diffusing system is effective. C02 helps plants keep ammonia/nitrates/phosphates/ low - really good for many fish, and the control of algae. Back in the early 1970s as a teenager, I kept a tank super healthy and on a low maintenance regime by regularly harvesting duck weed from the surface - a good net-full at least once a week.
Plants are great, the secret to living in harmony for us all.
Keep up the good work. Looking forward to another interview with an ichthyologist soon.
Thanks for the input! Much appreciated 👍
You're awesome. I love this. I just recently bought my flex 15. I'm restarting the tank and want to plant. Yes contrasting colors would be nice but I honestly think this is amazing as is. Is aquarium soil an absolute "must" though? I'm an old school gravel girl. Gorgeous set up!
Hi George in looking at setting up a flex 34 with a betta and ghost shrimps fluvial stratum substrate with live plants I was just wondering is it best to do 1 or 2 50% water changes a week as you said and what's the best amount of hours to have the lights on and off also should I just stick to white lights or use the range of colours . Love the channel every video very informative
More water changes is better than fewer... 8hrs light. I use the white and red 👍
Brilliant channel and videos George, I’m an ex marine keeper but haven’t kept fish for years. Looking at now getting into some planted tanks very similar to what you have here. Now youve had the tank for awhile is it worth mod’ing the filter system on this? I’ve seen other videos of people moving a sponge filter into the first compartment and totally filling the second compartment with bio media. Do you run carbon on your planted tanks? Also how is the pump noise on this tank? Sorry for all the questions, keep up the great work
I don’t see a need to mod the filter. The plants do the majority of the filtration in a heavily planted tank 👍
Cool, thanks for the response.
I’ve set it up now, spent ages on the scape, water went in...wood floats away 🥴 and dragged half of what I’d done with it! Lesson learnt haha
Re-scaped it, but couldn’t get it back how I liked it as I didn’t want to totally rip it all back out again.
Excellent drift wood selected! Is that mopani wood? Please advise. Great video!
Hi George. Thank you for all your tips. You mentioned that you use tropica soil, to confirm it’s the soil “powder” bag rather than Tropica’s “substrate” bag ? Ty!
Is it just me or does all the wood scapers seem to use have a sensual human resemblance ? Beautiful scape and nice refresher with pro tips - thank you @georgefarmer!
Ps. Tommy is getting so big!!! So adorable!
Thanks Jamie 👍
Hi George, thank you for sharing. From my side I think Cryptocoryne Wendtii brown would break up a bit green of the other plant. Thank you and "Keep on scaping!"
Thanks 🙏
what vaccum are you using for your water changes? looks like it nicely hooks into the feeding hole?
Great video, very informative. I'm looking to start my first planted tank soon, getting a lot of tips from your videos. I've already got a fine gravel in my tank, is it OK to keep this and use root tabs rather than replacing it with aqua soil?
You mentioned hard water being suitable to use, but whenever I used to use regular tap water (of which my area has hard water) the plants used to develop a brown sludge coating? So was I doing something incorrect? Thanks!
Hey George beautiful setup I am looking to purchase this exact setup and was going to ask you what you thought of it ? How long to cycle the tank
What is the brand/model of the stand are you using for the auqarium? Looks like a perfect fit.
Very handy video. About how much do you trim the roots?
can i always ask did you take your carbon out the back of the foam of the filter? cause i herd that carbon will basically take all the fertiliser etc out the tank, all thinks plants needs to do well. is that true??
thank you very much for all the help and time for answering my questions helping and beginner out
Love this video, goes to show just what can be done for a lower budget set up 🙂
Can I ask, what setting do you have the lights on, just full power, white light only?
Cheers!
Great video. I’ve decided on the fluvial flex 15, so this is just the video I needed. Your plant choice is ideal for a beginner like me and I love the look of it. I’m think of a blue nano theme. Blue dream shrimp and blue Rasboras maybe an oto or two. Either that or cardinal tetras. How many Cardinals can I put in the Fluval 15?