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  • Yeah, that's my tea!

  • The basic hardscape element here.

  • I'm not doing anything without my tea!

  • But good news is Tommy,

  • you get to choose your own music!

  • [Balazs] Because you're gonna be the main star of this video!

  • Oh yeah!

  • I can't even choose my own T-shirt, so...

  • It's gonna be a work in progress the whole day,

  • so we should leave it up,

  • and then people can't see, what I'm doing.

  • Yeah, just hide the hardscape!

  • [Tommy] Until it's finished.

  • Ahh!

  • [Balazs] What did you do to Dave Chow's tank?

  • [Tommy] It wasn't the idea behind it!

  • [Balazs] Sorry Dave!

  • [Balazs] So shall we go to see,

  • what kind of hardscape you did?

  • [Tommy] Yes, I've prepared it,

  • so this is not gonna stay empty for long now!

  • Let's go!

  • [Tommy] Let's go!

  • He didn't say the most important thing!

  • Oh!

  • Welcome to the beautiful world of aquascaping!

  • So what are we doing here, Tommy?

  • So after quite a while,

  • I'm gonna build a new tank finally, in the showroom.

  • This is gonna be a 120P,

  • inspired by one of my old tanks.

  • Actually it was my best rank, hundred-thirty-something, which is...

  • That's great! Congratulations!

  • You're a great Iwagumi scaper.

  • We're using the Frodo stones,

  • that came from our friend, Adam Paszczela.

  • Yes, and thank you Adam, for sending them so quickly!

  • Tommy has this very distinguished, very clean style

  • and he's going by the picture composition rules,

  • being a photographer previously and all,

  • even now, I think.

  • Yeah!

  • Sometimes!

  • Without further ado, let's just let him work!

  • Have a good luck!

  • Thanks, dude!

  • So what you can see at the moment,

  • are the main hills in the aquascape.

  • I don't want it to be pushed to the glass,

  • like it is now.

  • It's actually gonna be a bit towards the inside of the tank,

  • but I can't make it without the soil.

  • And then, I have a lot of these guys.

  • So these are very-very small rocks,

  • and these gonna be some hilltops in the backside,

  • so it's gonna make it look very-very deep.

  • I want to add a lot of depth to the aquarium.

  • I'm gonna raise the soil, up to about here.

  • And on the other side,

  • I'm thinking about almost fully filling up with soil

  • and having the small hilltops in the backside.

  • In the center, from about here to here,

  • we're gonna have sand.

  • I'm thinking of ADA Colorado Sand.

  • And it's gonna be lifted upright to the back,

  • about at least the middle of the tank.

  • It's quite tricky, to make it stand like that, with sand.

  • My experience is that from time to time,

  • you have to refill the top of it,

  • because it just gets a bit shorter and shorter with time.

  • With these types of aquascapes,

  • you always need to make sure to use

  • very small bits as well.

  • I think it's better to have an image

  • without the golden ratio, if it looks natural.

  • I think it's quite subjective.

  • I'm not even sure, if this is perfect for golden ratio.

  • [Balazs] This is golden ratio right here.

  • [Tommy] Yeah!

  • [Balazs] This is golden ratio right here.

  • That's the basic idea, let's see if we can make it work!

  • [Balazs] Very heavy!

  • [Tommy] Ah, it's quite heavy!

  • [Balazs] I don't know what to do, man!

  • [Tommy] Nah, it's just two pieces!

  • [Balazs] What?

  • Tropica was kind enough, to sponsor this episode

  • and sponsor this tank behind me.

  • I'm gonna use Tropica substrate,

  • Tropica soil and Tropica plants.

  • This is the base layer fertilizing substrate.

  • The first bag of the Tropica Aquarium Soil.

  • The general plant substrate.

  • Don't we usually use a step or something?

  • [Balazs] You're too short!

  • [Tommy] Yeah, I am!

  • This is the first bag, just to start off with.

  • As I'm gonna start putting in the hardscape,

  • we're gonna start to raise the level of soil as well.

  • I'm gonna start off with this one.

  • As I mostly remember the place of this.

  • You're gonna find some very small pieces.

  • [Sebastian] This one?

  • [Tommy] Yes!

  • I need a very-very small one.

  • [Balazs] We've got a new colleague at Green Aqua,

  • his name is Sebastian.

  • We call him Szebi.

  • I like to start at the front, with the first layer of rocks,

  • because now I actually have about this height behind the rock,

  • which I can easily fill up with soil,

  • without risking it falling to the front.

  • Woah!

  • [Balazs] He's breaking the step!

  • [Tommy] Yeah!

  • [Balazs] Do you want it like this?

  • [Tommy] Yes, exactly!

  • I think we should leave it now.

  • I'm gonna build up the other side of it

  • and then we'll see the ratios.

  • Now we have space, to put some plants in the front.

  • This is just for holding the other rock.

  • Now you can actually see what I mentioned before,

  • that it's not actually touching the glass.

  • [Balazs] How's your back, Tommy?

  • [Tommy] It's good for now!

  • I'm only gonna feel it tomorrow morning.

  • It doesn't really want to stand in the place, I want it to.

  • [Balazs] You want me to hold it?

  • [Tommy] Nope!

  • Good, we're good!

  • Please let me know in the comments,

  • if this state is actually better,

  • than it was in the original plan,

  • or I'm just making it worse!

  • Found its place!

  • Always trust physics and Nature!

  • [Balazs] Like this? You like it like that?

  • [Tommy] Okay, I can live with that.

  • Now my only issue is that they are actually the same height,

  • with the other big rock.

  • Let's see if we can push it a bit downwards in the soil.

  • [Balazs] Yeah, that's it!

  • Now we need some soil. It's starting to shape up!

  • Can you get me some...

  • these small balls?

  • We get the fish...

  • [Balazs]You've got two of them already!

  • Tommy's balls!

  • Vicky and Orsi's gonna help us with the planting here!

  • I don't like it!

  • It's still not perfect.

  • Actually it's really hard,

  • to make a hardscape like this, from the start.

  • The one I talked about at the start of the video,

  • that was made in about 8 months time.

  • I've made a basic hardscape, I started a tank

  • and then I added details along the way.

  • I'm gonna work with the sand now.

  • [Balazs] I thought you were supposed to put in the sand last,

  • as Filipe told us.

  • Sorry Filipe!

  • This is my way.

  • As you could see, it just started to roll down,

  • so that's the physical limit of raising sand.

  • [Balazs] So I hammered some stones for you.

  • [Tommy] No, you did not!

  • These have been sent by Adam,

  • for Dave Chow's event.

  • My aim is that you don't actually see the back of the tank.

  • So you can see the line of sand coming up here.

  • It just turns in-between these two rocks.

  • It actually adds a lot more depth to the aquascape,

  • because you don't see, where the road is going.

  • Actually I'm quite satisfied with the look now.

  • We're gonna start planting.

  • Girls, are you ready?

  • Now I can work.

  • I always liked to use the shortest one available.

  • [Coughing]

  • Regarding pinsets!

  • Yeah okay, so sharp pinsets and small balls.

  • That's what I always have with me.

  • We are starting off by planting Elatine hydropiper in both sides.

  • By using Elatine, I can actually reserve the texture of the rocks,

  • because it won't be so high.

  • It's always good, to have some assistance.

  • Thank you!

  • We usually make sure,

  • that we don't build symmetrical scapes.

  • Make sure, that you don't make the planting symmetrical.

  • If the tank is already filled up,

  • and you need to clean the glass with something,

  • you just use vinegar.

  • Or lemon juice, it actually helps a lot.

  • As usually, I'm not planting as dense,

  • as Balazs would do.

  • I actually have this thing, called patience.

  • A very nice part of aquascaping is to see the plants grow,

  • and see the tank evolving.

  • This way, with these kind of carpet plants,

  • with these kind of lights and CO2,

  • so if you have a perfect system,

  • it takes about a month,

  • for these plants, to grow as a carpet.

  • You should spend on more proper technical stuff

  • and proper soils and the hardscape you really want.

  • Because plants, they grow.

  • [Balazs] A lot of plant mass will help with the establishment

  • of the biology in the tank.

  • So you're not gonna have any algae issues,

  • or... you're gonna be safer from algae.

  • I'm curious, if we would make a video

  • about two hours of planting.

  • How many people would watch it

  • all the way through.

  • Let us know in the comments,

  • if you want to see a video, like that.

  • Always good to have a few plants right up to the glass,

  • so you can actually see its roots.

  • This way, after a few days you can check,

  • if the roots have actually started to grow.

  • Putting sand and soil beside each other,

  • they will start to mix immediately.

  • Plants themselves, their roots can keep

  • the soil and the sand apart.

  • I'm ready!

  • [Tommy] Oh you're ready!

  • [Vicky] Yeah!

  • [Tommy] Please come and join me!

  • Dense it up!

  • Okay, so I don't want them in any new places,

  • just where I already put them, make it more dense.

  • So Vicky, we've got a lot of comments,

  • asking about when the next part

  • of Aquagirls Rock is coming?

  • [Vicky] It doesn't depend on me.

  • Guys?

  • I have some new ideas.

  • What was your result for your first aquascape ever built?

  • It was #394.

  • My first ever application was #1500 something...

  • In the very back, I'm gonna use the normal Eleocharis parvula.

  • I'm not good at calculating the amount of plants needed.

  • [Balazs] What are you doing, Tommy?

  • Just these two!

  • [Vicky] Did you break this?

  • Or another?

  • [Tommy] I didn't break it, it just made a noise.

  • I'm gonna start to glue the Riccardia,

  • that comes as these small patches.

  • And I'm gonna use the Seachem Flourish glue.

  • If you have rocks this big,

  • you should break them in some parts with some plants.

  • So actually I'm gonna glue some Riccardia in here.

  • I need a lot more details!

  • Especially in the sandy part, it's way too empty.

  • I'm just gonna pour this in,

  • in-between the rocks and the sand,

  • so that it makes a nice transition in-between them.

  • And now actually I'm gonna pour some sand

  • on top of the gravel,

  • so it makes it more mixed.

  • I'm basically finished!

  • We've got to fill it up with water!

  • Cause we cannot leave it like this!

  • Cause the comments are gonna come.

  • [Tommy] I actually left out a plant,

  • a plant called Eriocaulon polaris.

  • Even though they are quite small plants,

  • I think they would be too big for this scape.

  • Yeah, but they will grow this big.

  • And also, very small bits of rocks may come in.

  • It's gonna be an all-time evolving tank,

  • so whenever you come around and see it,

  • always look for the differences!

  • Thanks Tommy!

  • Thank you!

  • [Balazs] Great work!

  • Let's see, if you can do any better next week!

  • The viewers will decide anyway!

  • Yep, exactly!

  • Alright, so thanks guys for staying here with us!

  • I hope you liked Tommy's work,

  • I for one, did love it!

  • Let us know, what you think, in the comments!

  • Smash that like button,

  • if you really like this video and this scape

  • and also subscribe to the Green Aqua YouTube channel,

  • if you didn't do so yet!

  • And until next week!

  • Bye!

  • Bye!

  • [Laughter]

Yeah, that's my tea!

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