Location: Netherlands, Zoetermeer
I got in touch with Cody a while ago. We had, and still have, many conversations about all sort of things. Suddenly he asked me if I would be interested in blogging for AquariumCo2. Writing blogs is something I’m not familiar with, but it seemed like a great challenge I was happy to take on. I love spreading information and I hope it helps people to a successful aquarium!
So... who am I? My name is Nick, 30 years old and I am born and raised in the Netherlands. I started this hobby about a year ago, but way before that I always had great example, my dad! He had aquariums and terrariums when he was younger. Later we had a big paludarium in our living room, and a 19.000 Liter pond with Japanese koi in the garden.
So when I started living together with my girlfriend, it didn't take long for me to start my own adventure into this world. My first tank, a Superfish 20L, was a gift from my girl (a gift she might regret giving me now).
After the 20L I decided I wanted to go bigger, I got myself a Juwel Lido 200. Didn’t have any aquascaping plans, just got myself some wood, rocks and a bag of sand. Bought some random plants I liked and slowly bought some more, it was a learning experience. Some plants didn’t last a month where others thrived and reached the surface!
Slowly I started to learn more and more about nutrients, filtration, fertilization and co2. Had my fair share with algae also... mainly black beard algae which I’m slowly defeating now. I’m going to do a rescape on this tank after the holidays, removing the internal filter for an Oase Biomaster 600, change the background, add aquasoil and ofcourse, more plants!
*Update! Here is the endresult status of that tank:
While having the 200L tank, I wanted to try something else.. I ordered a custom ILA optic white tank, 50x22x26cm. I got a Chihiros WRGBII and bought an Oase Filtosmart100 filter. I added aquasoil and started scaping, playing with lava stones and a piece of wood. I couldn’t find the right scape and just wasn’t satisfied with what came out every single time... A friend of mine really helped me out and told me I should buy more hardscape; seriously, you can’t have enough hardscape!
After a while this was the result of the hardscape:
After planting, the hardscape did changed a bit, that’s what they call ‘scapers sickness’ I guess. I always wanted to have a carpet, so I tried that with the Eleocharis acicularis 'Mini'. I got some red plants like Rotala H’Ra and Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini'. Together with some bright green Staurogyne Repens it makes a great contrast with the red! Below is the most recent picture of that tank!
If you have any questions, or want to follow my adventures, take a look on my Instagram: NickMaas91.