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.

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.

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

One of the challenges we face in growing the planted aquarium hobby is maintenance. It’s hard work to keep aquascapes in shape. Let’s face it, most of the aquascapes we drool over are snapshots in time. They don’t look that way all the time.

In one of my podcasts, I had a great discussion with Mike Senske about this and he explained that they were focusing on hardscapes for many people. What?? An aquarium without live plants? I was a bit taken a back but he certainly did make sense. After all, I spend a lot of time explaining to hobbyists that it doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming, you just need to plan properly. So, I decided to take a look and this post was born.

Disclaimer: As I tend to do, I encourage you to take my comments in this analysis in the spirit with which they are given. It is with a heart filled with admiration and gratitude that I do these analyses. All aquascapers that I showcase are, in my humble opinion, the best in their field. In no way do I intend to disparage anyone’s aquascape. Please bear that in mind and let’s take this post as a way to explore the work and learn from it. /disclaimer

I am a firm believer that any good aquascape has good bones, i.e., hardscape. The hardscape shapes and supports the aquascape just like a good bass rythem gives the perfect foundation for the rest of the instruments. Pro tip: focus on your hardscape just as much as you do on the plants.

The tank above is one I love. The Senske brothers also have a similar one with albums. Beeee..uea..ti..ful! AND relatively simple to maintain! Nice… Let’s take a look at it using our aquascaper skills though. Can’t give the Senske guys a pass just because they’re good guys and have done so much for the hobby, right?

Overall impression

This tank is a piece of art. Doesn’t it look like a piece of modern art? No one would complain if we placed it at the entrance of the MOMA. Come on…there’s a thought!

This is not a nature aquarium per se but it certainly doesn’t feel like something alien. Even though I know the discus would normally be swimming in an area with plants I don’t find that they are out of place here. The schooling behavior in the picture support that feeling. If they felt out of place, they wouldn’t be schooling in such a natural fashion.

Rule of thirds

Why does this aquascape feel so well balanced even without plants? I know Jeff puts some real thought into his craft so we need to dig a little deeper to understand.

Here’s the tank broken into thirds:

Well, hello there. The bulk of the piece sits perfectly on the left third. The vertical branches with the density of where they unite really conveys weight. Even the rocks lend support to this concept. They also are carefully positioned to draw your eye up from the bottom up to the heaviest part of the scape.

Hmm… the image even has the discus exactly on this heaviest part. Coincidence? Only the Senske’s know but, well played, boys. Well played.

I also like to look at other thirds that an aquascape may have. The following image shows how the bottom third is well balanced with the branches above. This is a design element that is often forgotten by aquascapers.

Golden spiral

It is customary to use a mathematical formula to see if the focal point of an artwork is where it gives it’s most power. This formula is called the golden spiral and most good pieces of art follow it very well.

In keeping with what we found above using the rule of thirds, the Senske’s are “spot on” with their placement of the focal point. See below.

The large branches on the right are there to balance the piece and draw the eye back into the focal point. Nice work.

Triangles everywhere!

As human beings, we love triangles. No, I’m not a pyramid freak. It’s scientific fact. Triangles give us a sense of order and subtly adding them to your design increases it’s beauty to us.

Let’s see how this hardscape does:

Did you notice this triangle when you first viewed the aquascape? It’s subtle and well placed. It’s also diffused with those two vertical branches in the middle. However, this triangle serves as the backbone and allows the Senske’s to draw our eye down into the focal point. Nice. I also like the rock that anchors at the tip of the triangle. Without these rock, the aquascape would love something. Pro tip: Only add what adds to the scape. Remove everything else.

How about these two triangles?

These two are even more subtle than the first or main one. I think they are still very valuable. This is how you balance an aquascape folks. Many people use the word balance but it’s difficult to visualize and much less learn. Here the Senske’s are teaching us what it means and how to use it masterfully.

Notice the echo or reflection created by the diagonal branches on either side. They form the long side of the triangle.

Well done, guys!

I’m adding one more that may be difficult to see but I see it and think it’s important. The concept is called reflection or echoing and works well in many scapes. You typically see it with the V created by plants and it’s echoed by a triangle of sand on the bottom. Here, the Senske’s use the driftwood.

Final thoughts

I find the bones of this aquascape to be top notch. Truly the work of an aquascaper at the top of his game. The design of it really highlights key aspects that we can all learn from.

I also find it to be very monotone. Now, this may be on purpose and that’s fine. I think the discus are the show. That’ splash of color that really kicks up the excitement when viewing it. Perhaps using cobalt or pigeon blood would have made them pop more? Maybe. You’d run the risk that they would take over the whole work.

That is another lesson given to use by this scape- it must all work together. It’s the synergy between all aspects that truly creates a great piece of art. This aquascape does that extremely well.

I want to personally thank the Senske brothers for what they’ve taught me with this scape and for everything they’ve done for the hobby. You can see more about them on their site: Aquarium Design Group.

Hi,

I’m all about continuing the conversation about planted aquariums and aquascaping. That’s why I wanted to let you know about something we’re starting called the ScapeFu Letter.  It’s our own, personal email newsletter for readers of this site.

We wanted a way to be able to send out daily (or there abouts) emails to our readers when we didn’t have a substantial post to make in the blog.  It’s a way of continuing to share information and keep the discussion going without interruption.

We will be sharing tips, reviews, news and just our thoughts with readers in the convenience of their inboxes. If you love planted aquariums and aquascaping, I encourage you to subscribe. It’s free and it’s safe. We will never share your email with anyone.

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