Alastair
Member
Looking forward to seeing this planted up now mate. I kind of feel sad at the thought of all that gorgeous hardscape becoming planted 🙁
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NAtural Jurassic....shaky video p17.
- Thread starter Ady34
- Start date
could well be, with some r. rotundifolia mixed in too.
ha, yeah, it has a good shape now, and some nice texture on the rocks, im kind of hoping it doesnt get spoiled. The bolbitis and ferns i have are quite big, it has crossed my mind not to use them and go mainly moss, but i really like the look they have once 'settled'. I think it may look a bit of an ugly duckling to start until i can manage the shape and size of the bolbitis.....but i want the initial plant mass they offer to help during start up phase, especially given the rest of the plant species used 🙄
My plants all arrived today 😀
Thanks to Ed at Freshwatershrimp for getting my plants quickly and sourcing some good portions for me
.....and to Lindy who has scalped her shrimp tank branch of riccardia 
Also, thanks to John C for the large bolbitus and ferns....and Tim again for some extra bolbitis, and jojo for some peacock moss ....'aint ukaps brilliant!'Cheerio,
Ady.
zanguli-ya-zamba
Seedling
That's nice to have people around you that can supply nice plants for you !!!!!could well be, with some r. rotundifolia mixed in too.
ha, yeah, it has a good shape now, and some nice texture on the rocks, im kind of hoping it doesnt get spoiled. The bolbitis and ferns i have are quite big, it has crossed my mind not to use them and go mainly moss, but i really like the look they have once 'settled'. I think it may look a bit of an ugly duckling to start until i can manage the shape and size of the bolbitis.....but i want the initial plant mass they offer to help during start up phase, especially given the rest of the plant species used 🙄
My plants all arrived today 😀
Thanks to Ed at Freshwatershrimp for getting my plants quickly and sourcing some good portions for me
Cheerio,
Ady.
I am sure that you will made great use of them !
And I am sure that all the people who have send you these know that 😉 !!
I am at the airport leaving for holidays
Cheers
zanguli-ya-zamba
Seedling
I will follow your evolution during holidays !!
Hahahha ukaps, when it holds you, you can't go away from it lol
Long live ukaps
Hahahha ukaps, when it holds you, you can't go away from it lol
Long live ukaps
Well, finally getting things together.
I have purchased another filter to help with distribution in this tank as I don't think the 900lph Koralia nano circulation pump and single filter would have been up to the task. Im going to be running 2 fluval G6 filters, each with an inline Boyu c02 diffuser. I managed to pick up a great condition second hand one for a good price. I'm also trying to keep in tank equipment minimised so have added to my gush glassware collection with the opipe outlet to match the gpipe inlet i already have 🙂 ill also be using my Flo glassware which offer a different flow pattern. I have also purchased the NA stainless inlet and outlet pipe set, but will save those for when I break the glassware 😛
To fit the extra filter into the cabinet I had to remove the left side sliding shelf, but this may be a better use of the space for me. A hole was cut into the rear cabinet panel for pipework, however i may cut through the left side at a later date for neater pipework on the panel that faces into the room. I didnt want to just go ahead and do it and regret it afterwards....especially given ive just nicely painted the cabinet and the cut hole would need touching in!...ill think on it....
Tonight I made a start on planting. Most likely it will take me another night or two to complete. I need to drain the tank each time and refill after the session, but at least there's some 100% water changes being carried out 😉
10x pots of Anubias nana petite, plus what i already had in 'sticks and stones', maybe another 4 pots worth and some java moss were added this evening.....the Anubias were superglued as was some of the moss due to the shapes of some of the wood pieces. The rest of the moss was tied with fine fishing line.
I won't post any images until planting is complete.
Cheerio,
Ady.
I have purchased another filter to help with distribution in this tank as I don't think the 900lph Koralia nano circulation pump and single filter would have been up to the task. Im going to be running 2 fluval G6 filters, each with an inline Boyu c02 diffuser. I managed to pick up a great condition second hand one for a good price. I'm also trying to keep in tank equipment minimised so have added to my gush glassware collection with the opipe outlet to match the gpipe inlet i already have 🙂 ill also be using my Flo glassware which offer a different flow pattern. I have also purchased the NA stainless inlet and outlet pipe set, but will save those for when I break the glassware 😛
To fit the extra filter into the cabinet I had to remove the left side sliding shelf, but this may be a better use of the space for me. A hole was cut into the rear cabinet panel for pipework, however i may cut through the left side at a later date for neater pipework on the panel that faces into the room. I didnt want to just go ahead and do it and regret it afterwards....especially given ive just nicely painted the cabinet and the cut hole would need touching in!...ill think on it....
Tonight I made a start on planting. Most likely it will take me another night or two to complete. I need to drain the tank each time and refill after the session, but at least there's some 100% water changes being carried out 😉
10x pots of Anubias nana petite, plus what i already had in 'sticks and stones', maybe another 4 pots worth and some java moss were added this evening.....the Anubias were superglued as was some of the moss due to the shapes of some of the wood pieces. The rest of the moss was tied with fine fishing line.
I won't post any images until planting is complete.
Cheerio,
Ady.
Alastair
Member
Nail biting mate cant wait to see it planted up. Ten pots of nana petite too??? Well jelous
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
The planting process:
Due to the nature of the plant types used and family life, i knew planting wouldnt be done in a night, its taken 3 and i still have the round pelia to tie to mesh and position, but i can do that with the tank full 🙂
I took some photos of each stage so thought id share them so you can see the progression.
Each night the tank was drained to allow planting and refilled as many of the plants used were in submerse form. Misting was important throughout to ensure the plants did not dry out.
The first night consisted of planting mainly anubias nana and nana petite (they look the same in the most part), with some Java moss on the wood too. Each anubias plant was superglued in position, the moss was tied where possible with fishing line, and superglued where tying was'nt practical. Gel type cyanoacrylate glue was used to give a good build contact.....as little as possible was used, just one or two dots to try and minimise any damage which could be caused to the plants (unsure if this happens or not) but thought less was best. The anubias were positioned under branches, and also in areas where they would be shaded by plants, they will do well with lower light.
Anubias:
Java moss, positioned on the surface of the wood which receives light:
that was enough for the first session, so filled up the tank, got the new filter running and packed up:
The second night saw the addition of the bolbitis, ferns, some Riccardia, fissidens, more java moss and the vallis nana. It takes quite a long time prepping plants, removing fissidens from mesh and superglueing tiny bits to rock work. I used a brush on superglue for the delicate mosses to give a thin smear of glue which was easy to apply 😉 Some of the ferns were attached to small pieces of seiryu stone with 'wood tight' for ease and positioned, others were superglued.
again this took quite a while so filled up again ready for finishing the next evening
The third night was adding the remaining mosses; peacock, a small amount of christmas, some creeping moss (in vitro) more fissidens and riccardia. Some hydrocotle sp. japan was also added to the tops of the stone, in an attempt to get a trailing creeping look of lighter coloured (light loving) plants trailing down the rockwork amongst the other plants.....ive not had much luck with hydrocotle in the past so time will tell if i can grow it, and if i can keep it compact and going where i want it to, if not ill have to remove it. To plant this i simply removed each plant from the pot, cut approximately half of the rock wool off the bottom, halved each portion and pushed the rockwool into gaps between the wood and rocks.
My brush on superglue broke so had to rely on rubbing riccardia and mosses into cracks in the rock work. I hope the stay put long enough to take a hold, but if not i may need to re-do some planting. Some fissidens was left on the meshes, which was shaped to fit some of the foreground rocks, looks a little unsightly now, but once the fissidens grows it will cover the mesh completely and spread onto the surrounding rock.
Refilling after planting:
There is still the round pelia to attach to mesh/rocks and position inbetween some of the lower rocks, but as said, this can be done filled so no worries. I also have to decide on whether to use the riccia i have. The plan for the riccia was to tie to riccia stones and place on some of the peripheral lower rocks where there is less shading, however im not sure if they will be too bright a green in the lower areas? I will sit on it for a few days and let things settle and decide then.
I only have one filter running currently as the other is still on the other tank until i rehome the fish. I have set up the c02 via inline diffuser so will crank that up and run a 6hr photoperiod to start, half an hour led light period either side of a 5hr fluorescent burst.
The tank looks a little 'scruffy' at the moment having just been planted. Ill give it a few days to settle and will likely trim some of the larger trident fern leaves to add more shape. Ill see how the bolbitis lays and maybe trim that also. Ill see how some of the other plants develop and may remove/move some over the coming weeks.
Oh, i also added a bilbitis difformis to the emersed wood peak, i know it will dry out, but im hoping it develops some new hardier leaves in the future....
There are a few other finishing touches to complete, sorting electrics under the tank, attaching the background properly, positioning filter outlets/inlets, pipework etc etc, but the back has been broken 😀
Just need to wait and hope the moss and pelias take and spread now to cover more of the rock....fingers crossed! 😛
Cheerio,
Ady.
Due to the nature of the plant types used and family life, i knew planting wouldnt be done in a night, its taken 3 and i still have the round pelia to tie to mesh and position, but i can do that with the tank full 🙂
I took some photos of each stage so thought id share them so you can see the progression.
Each night the tank was drained to allow planting and refilled as many of the plants used were in submerse form. Misting was important throughout to ensure the plants did not dry out.
The first night consisted of planting mainly anubias nana and nana petite (they look the same in the most part), with some Java moss on the wood too. Each anubias plant was superglued in position, the moss was tied where possible with fishing line, and superglued where tying was'nt practical. Gel type cyanoacrylate glue was used to give a good build contact.....as little as possible was used, just one or two dots to try and minimise any damage which could be caused to the plants (unsure if this happens or not) but thought less was best. The anubias were positioned under branches, and also in areas where they would be shaded by plants, they will do well with lower light.
Anubias:
Java moss, positioned on the surface of the wood which receives light:
that was enough for the first session, so filled up the tank, got the new filter running and packed up:
The second night saw the addition of the bolbitis, ferns, some Riccardia, fissidens, more java moss and the vallis nana. It takes quite a long time prepping plants, removing fissidens from mesh and superglueing tiny bits to rock work. I used a brush on superglue for the delicate mosses to give a thin smear of glue which was easy to apply 😉 Some of the ferns were attached to small pieces of seiryu stone with 'wood tight' for ease and positioned, others were superglued.
again this took quite a while so filled up again ready for finishing the next evening
The third night was adding the remaining mosses; peacock, a small amount of christmas, some creeping moss (in vitro) more fissidens and riccardia. Some hydrocotle sp. japan was also added to the tops of the stone, in an attempt to get a trailing creeping look of lighter coloured (light loving) plants trailing down the rockwork amongst the other plants.....ive not had much luck with hydrocotle in the past so time will tell if i can grow it, and if i can keep it compact and going where i want it to, if not ill have to remove it. To plant this i simply removed each plant from the pot, cut approximately half of the rock wool off the bottom, halved each portion and pushed the rockwool into gaps between the wood and rocks.
My brush on superglue broke
so had to rely on rubbing riccardia and mosses into cracks in the rock work. I hope the stay put long enough to take a hold, but if not i may need to re-do some planting. Some fissidens was left on the meshes, which was shaped to fit some of the foreground rocks, looks a little unsightly now, but once the fissidens grows it will cover the mesh completely and spread onto the surrounding rock.Refilling after planting:
There is still the round pelia to attach to mesh/rocks and position inbetween some of the lower rocks, but as said, this can be done filled so no worries. I also have to decide on whether to use the riccia i have. The plan for the riccia was to tie to riccia stones and place on some of the peripheral lower rocks where there is less shading, however im not sure if they will be too bright a green in the lower areas? I will sit on it for a few days and let things settle and decide then.
I only have one filter running currently as the other is still on the other tank until i rehome the fish. I have set up the c02 via inline diffuser so will crank that up and run a 6hr photoperiod to start, half an hour led light period either side of a 5hr fluorescent burst.
The tank looks a little 'scruffy' at the moment having just been planted. Ill give it a few days to settle and will likely trim some of the larger trident fern leaves to add more shape. Ill see how the bolbitis lays and maybe trim that also. Ill see how some of the other plants develop and may remove/move some over the coming weeks.
Oh, i also added a bilbitis difformis to the emersed wood peak, i know it will dry out, but im hoping it develops some new hardier leaves in the future....
There are a few other finishing touches to complete, sorting electrics under the tank, attaching the background properly, positioning filter outlets/inlets, pipework etc etc, but the back has been broken 😀
Just need to wait and hope the moss and pelias take and spread now to cover more of the rock....fingers crossed! 😛
Cheerio,
Ady.
George Farmer
Founder
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2007
- Messages
- 6,741
Boom! Perfect execution. Well done mate.
tim
Member
Superb ady, looks mature already, can't wait to see it in 6 months, you've done that stunning hardscape proud with the planting mate.
clonitza
Member
Nice one Ady, looks really really nice. 🙂
Considering the plant choice I'd keep it low light, maybe turn the halide lamp only for 2-3 hours after a couple of months otherwise the sand and stones won't stay that clean 🙂
Good luck with it!
Cheers,
Mike
Considering the plant choice I'd keep it low light, maybe turn the halide lamp only for 2-3 hours after a couple of months otherwise the sand and stones won't stay that clean 🙂
Good luck with it!
Cheers,
Mike
John S
Member
Looks fantastic Ady. Does bolbitis grow upwards or does it tend to sag?
Gary Nelson
Member
Very nice that Ady... another great scape! Id like to see a FTS showing off the new finish on the cabinet too - those nights of scaping and planting have certainly paid off
Lee Sweeting
Member
- Joined
- 7 Jul 2013
- Messages
- 677
Looks awesome Ady, love the scape and the planting.
High praise George, much appreciated, i hope unlike myself it gets better with age 😀
Im a fan of the term 'Boom', i use it frequently to the amusement of the wife, even the kids say it now 🙂 I think i got it from the film 'Couples Retreat', and just watched 'Here comes the boom' the other night which exaggerated my recent use 10 fold!
Thanks Tim, i liked the hardscape, but the plants bring it to life, cant wait for some livestock....but ill have to 🙂
Hi Mike, ive got the light unit raised as high as i can and will keep a short photoperiod with just the flourescents for now, its just shy of 0.6w per litre. C02 will be high whilst there is no livestock, being dialled down slowly for their introduction. The halide looks beautiful when it is on, the colour, shimmer and shadows are unbeatable imo, it looks so natural and with fish in it will be really nice to watch them....but ill refrain from all but occasional use until im sure things are balancedNice one Ady, looks really really nice. 🙂
Considering the plant choice I'd keep it low light, maybe turn the halide lamp only for 2-3 hours after a couple of months otherwise the sand and stones won't stay that clean 🙂
Good luck with it!
Cheers,
Mike
I suspect sand cleaning will be a regular task regardless, but i have plenty of fresh clean sand spare whilst i clean the dirty if i need to 😉like on the other scape images ive shown i hope
most likely depends on flow....slightly upwards and outwards id say.Thanks Gary, ill try to get a shot which shows the cabinet too.Very nice that Ady... another great scape! Id like to see a FTS showing off the new finish on the cabinet too - those nights of scaping and planting have certainly paid off
I have a slight back ache from reaching in from my little step!! 😛
Thank you Lee
I think i bought just the right amount
Judgement or luck, you decide Thanks to everyone for the comments and likes, just need to ensure i do the best to make it work now
Cheerio,
Ady.
Looks cracking Ady. Great use of the anubias in particular. Give it a few days for the plants to figure out which is way is up then have a bit of a re-arrange/trim as required and it should look much neater.
My only thought is that perhaps the bolbitis across the main rock might prove to be a bit too much? Just some anubias along the crack and some little patches of moss to break up the face might be worth trying?
My only thought is that perhaps the bolbitis across the main rock might prove to be a bit too much? Just some anubias along the crack and some little patches of moss to break up the face might be worth trying?
Looks very promising Andy, I wish you the best of luck with the Anubias as that is the plants that always lets me down - or rather that is the plant I always let down!
Never managed to get it looking lush & algae free at the same time...
Never managed to get it looking lush & algae free at the same time...
Yeah, I know what you mean, it may well be too much but with trimming I'm hoping to keep it lighter there. I'd quite like the planting to be darker green to balance each side of the tank also. I also think the anubias would struggle across the crack as its quite high up and bright there....I may have issues with algae on the very slow grower.
Cheerio
Ady
