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Mangrove Beach (A journey into the unknown!)

I think I have completed the purchase of all my hardware this morning! I'm going to update the opening post with purchased goods.

My aim is to buy everything right now and not spend money on buying/upgrading parts in the near future!!
 
Thanks! Yes, I only used an air saw and shed loads of rubbing down paper, took about 4 hours I guess.

Acrylic is quite a hard material to work with as it didn't like getting hot, it feathers the edges or chips them. Overall I am happy though
 
Finish the light raisers I have been working on today, reasonably happy. I'm abit of a perfectionist so am never 100% happy with my own work. They do their job though..

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Chris
Nice job, Acrylic is indeed a very difficult material to machine with diy tools.. I know the feeling i'm a bit the same, always with an image in my head more pefect than the end result. But hey, in the end the little imperfections only highlight the diy aspect and show the craftsmanship of good vintage handwork involved. :thumbup: And as long it meets the functional needs, the little flaws in it are something you'll have learn to like as well. It gives that little beautifull artistic abstract a robot could never replicate. :) I love it.
 
Looking great :)

BUT
(how can I not have a but ;))
I really liked the hardscape with a bit more "stretch" to the wood ... somehow that jumble just seems a little too tight/dense (though this will soften with plants)

Depending what sort of fish you're intending, you might wish to include another possible "territory" (rather than the singe root zone)

Do you have a plant list in mind?

(you mentioned looking for Saturday plant delivery but you could easily store shipped plants a couple days without ill effect)
 
Thanks for your input alto!

Here is my initial plant list, was unsure if this would be enough to give the tank a good start though? Also being a beginner to this I'm on the side of caution when it comes to plant choices.

My aim is to soften the bulk of that would with huge amounts of trident and narrow lead Java fern?

Here's my shopping list so far, changes and improvements are very welcome!

image.png

Many thanks
Chris
 
Some additional plants you might consider

Nymphoides hydrophylla Taiwan - this plant starts fast & furious so is a good "early" plant, it offers different leaf shape & color for your list
Myriophyllum sp - again these can be good start up plants as they seem to require almost no transition period, again offer leaf shape & color contrast

I'd be inclined to add a "grass" type plant to soften the transition between sand & substrate (once established it would also provide a barrier to limit transfer of soil onto the sand) - E parvula is likely the quickest to fill in densely

C wendtii green is a lovely soft leafed crypt, it can vary considerably in height, if you want something that is consistently smaller & a deeper green color, C beckettii 'Petchii' is one of my favorites (in the photo you can see the very nice contrast with P helferi)

Both Cardamine lyrata & Hydrocotyle tripartite would look nice winding about the wood

I'd extend your plant choices somewhat as you've a couple of species that can be given to "melt" (S repens - read the Tropica article - & P helferi) & a few that take some time to establish (microsorum sp)
Depending on how easy it is to pick up additional plants, you might do better to begin with a bit more variety
If you want to stay within a certain budget, I'd sub out 2 of the M trident (this can actually fill in quite quickly once settled) & 1 S repens, buy just singles of the H siamensis 53B & R rotundifolia (both grow quite quickly & should (trim) propagate easily)

Don't forget that ADA protocol means daily water change for the first weeks, then alternate day, then twice weekly etc, also lean dosing (mostly potassium I believe) during the first weeks.
 
Alto! Once again thankyou for such an educating post, I am more then happy to change some of the plant choices up to make this tank work better and look stunning!

Hows this updated plant list?

Vesicularia Ferriei 'Weeping' Moss Portion x2
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp']Microsorum pteropus 'Trident' x3
[/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp']Rotala Rotundifolia x 2[/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp']Microsorum Narrow Leaf x2[/URL][/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-wendtii-green-110-p.asp']Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green x3[/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-wendtii-green-110-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hygrophila-siamensis-53b-1040-p.asp']Hygrophila 'Siamensis 53B' x1[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-wendtii-green-110-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hygrophila-siamensis-53b-1040-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/staurogyne-repens-tissue-culture---hortilab-891-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0']Staurogyne Repens Tissue Culture - Hortilab x2[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-wendtii-green-110-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hygrophila-siamensis-53b-1040-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/staurogyne-repens-tissue-culture---hortilab-891-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/eleocharis-parvula-1198-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0']Eleocharis Parvula x3[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-wendtii-green-110-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hygrophila-siamensis-53b-1040-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/staurogyne-repens-tissue-culture---hortilab-891-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/eleocharis-parvula-1198-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hydrocotyle-tripartita-japan-tissue-culture---hortilab-857-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0']Hydrocotyle tripartita 'Japan' Tissue Culture - Hortilab x2[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-wendtii-green-110-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hygrophila-siamensis-53b-1040-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/staurogyne-repens-tissue-culture---hortilab-891-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/eleocharis-parvula-1198-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hydrocotyle-tripartita-japan-tissue-culture---hortilab-857-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cardamine-lyrata-794-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0']Cardamine lyrata x1[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-wendtii-green-110-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hygrophila-siamensis-53b-1040-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/staurogyne-repens-tissue-culture---hortilab-891-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/eleocharis-parvula-1198-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hydrocotyle-tripartita-japan-tissue-culture---hortilab-857-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cardamine-lyrata-794-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-becketii-193-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0']Cryptocoryne Becketii x2[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum-pteropus-trident-1059-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/microsorum--narrow-leaf-448-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-wendtii-green-110-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hygrophila-siamensis-53b-1040-p.asp'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/staurogyne-repens-tissue-culture---hortilab-891-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/eleocharis-parvula-1198-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/hydrocotyle-tripartita-japan-tissue-culture---hortilab-857-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cardamine-lyrata-794-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][URL='http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/cryptocoryne-becketii-193-p.asp?uid=3798dc1b-c304-4475-b0dd-fb950c03c8a0'][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
Also looking for an all in one fertiliser recommendation? Will this amount of plants give me a good head start to compete with any algae?

Thanks

Chris
 
make this tank work better and look stunning!
;)
I think your planned plants would also make a stunning tank :D
Don't feel compelled to change anything!

Note that Tropica branded C beckettii Petchii is a small variety of C beckettii so take note of the height difference - it will still look great inter-planted with the C wendtii but will likely be taller or similar height

You can use some of the H tripartita as the foreground plant, trim to keep it short & use the trimmings to add green tangle to the wooded areas

As you like the P helferi, why not add a pot back to order - again you can plant trimmed stems to propagate :)

Note that when using the in vitro plants, they need good light access so sometimes it's better to start them in more open areas & later transfer the bigger stems/plant to (intended) shaded areas
I really like the in vitro cups as you get so many plants, they just need a bit more attention to detail.

I'm a fan of Tropica fertilizers - I use the duo.

For startup with ADA soil, I'd choose a potassium (I use Seachem aqua vitro as it works well in my very soft water) & Tropica Premium, adding small amounts of Tropica Specialized only if growth seems lacking etc (begin using this regularly in a month or so, depending).
There are other branded fertilizers that work well, just understand what you're adding ... I'd choose macro & micro from a single brand as they are usually formulated to compliment each other.

I don't use the EI method as I tend to keep wild caught fish from very soft (nutrient lean) water areas.

There are many successful ways to run a planted tank - when starting out, I (strongly) recommend choosing just one method (eg, don't jump into EI with ADA soil)
 
Thanks Alto, I am will looking to add some LIMNNOPHILA HIPPURIDOIDES to the rear of the tank at some point but couldnt find any on aquarium gardens where I am ordering everything else from. I will add this in a month if things are going the right way.

Will I need ferts for the first month?? I live in a hard water area so not sure if the aqua vitro ferts will be best suited for me? Also with the daily water changes required with the Amazonia will i simply be throwing the ferts down the drain to begin?

I will take on board the tips from growing the vitro plants on and will start them in a solid light area of the tank, will the Eleocharis Parvula eventually grow in low light areas (under the wood and crypts)?


Chris
 
Most (fertilizer) potassium is available as potassium carbonate or potassium chloride (I prefer to add carbonate over chloride) - request a water analysis report (may be online though sometimes the comprehensive analysis is only available through personal communication) & that should add some clarity.

I prefer Tropica over ADA so not really up on the why's & how's of ADA protocols (re ADA stepped fertilisers, TGM should be able to answer this sort of thing) ... ADA Step 1 is (rumoured to be) predominantly a potassium additive but no idea if this is to balance some aspect of the ADA substrate series or just perhaps a high demand nutrient during plant transition or ...
Tropica also advocates light fertilization while tank is establishing ... the larger pot plants tend to have more in the way of stored nutrients available than the in vitro plants so keep this in mind

I believe Pedro Rosa mentions his fertilizer use in Going Dutch by the book - tank sponsored by Tropica

Also with the daily water changes required with the Amazonia will i simply be throwing the ferts down the drain to begin?
Ever the conundrum :D
Choose a time for your water changes re start of photoperiod or end of photoperiod - this should also tie in with CO2 addition
(so you don't remove CO2 at start of photoperiod)
Then add (any?) fertiizers back after water change

New plants don't have a root system to access nutrients so they depend on water column availability
Some plants will show a preference for root or leaf feeding (hence the covering of both bases in planted tanks)

Hard water can be "loaded" with nutrients - that may or may not be easily accessible to plants - or it may still be nutrient lean while having heavy calcium (& carbonate, sulfate etc) hardness
I believe Darrel has posted maps etc showing the low availability of magnesium in (most) UK waters ... as I mention, it's always worthwhile obtaining a detailed water report for your area
(you don't need the daily test data, just the annual report - I had to go through several levels of phone "support" to get to the person that could send out the information I was looking for)

No idea why this text insists on being green :wideyed:
- & now it posts black!!!

 
Once again, thank you.

I will give Pedros journal a good read and try to learn from his work.

Here's the information from my tap water, not really sure what parts are useful to the plants

image.png

image.png
 
Hi all,
Here's the information from my tap water, not really sure what parts are useful to the plants
It is hard water (both dGH and dKH), and it has a fairly high (and consistent) level of nitrates. You could deduce from that you are going to get some potassium (K) and phosphorus (PO4---) as well.

Pretty standard water for anywhere in the SE of England where you have the combination of limestone geology, intensive agriculture and lots of people.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,
anything there that isn't good for plants?
No not really, a lot of plants do better in hard nutrient rich water. More nutrients means more plant growth. You may find green filamentous algae are a problem, as they often occur naturally in nutrient rich alkaline water.

Lots of members will have similar water to yours and should be able to make suggestions for plants.

It isn't ideal if you don't have plants, because the only way you have to reduce NO3 levels are to use RO water or rely on anaerobic denitrification using a plenum etc.

cheers Darrel
 
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