LukeDaly
Member
- Joined
- 3 Jan 2014
- Messages
- 106
Hey ladies and gents,
I have been out of the hobby for about 2 years now and have decided to jump back in! This build will eventually become a fully planted tank hopefully home to some form of dwarf cichlid. This time I thought I would try out the dry start method and see if I can get my moss to attach before I fill the tank as I have not been overly successful with using thread to tie it too the wood in the past.
Here are some of the items I have collected over the years that I intend to reuse for this build:
Dennerle Scaper's tank
Dennerle Scapers light 24W
Fluval 306 Canister filter
Hydor inline heater
C02 fire extinguisher with C02 Art regulator
C02 Art lily pipes
Hydor Koralia 900lph
Aquarium plant food dry ferts
Clear filter hosing & clear c02 tubing
JBL Sansibar river sand
Dragon stones
And last but definitely not least is my wood, im not sure on the type but I love this piece of wood I personally think it looks awesome.
I also have some catappa tea bags, oak leaves and small pine cones
My plant list currently consists of some java moss, some chopped up and painted on (with de-chlorinated tap water) & some just wrapped around/sitting on the wood. I am also looking for suggestions on planting, what sort of plants do people think would look good in this tank/my scape? I would love to give dwarf baby tears a go for the front left of the tank to create a sense of scale (I think DBT looks like very very small tree tops).
I am a complete noob when it comes to the dry start method so any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
I am not at home at the weekends and was wondering if I would be fine to leave the tank unattended for that long if I use a reptile fogger on a timer? I was thinking the fogger should turn on for 2 mins every hour or so? If I choose to use this method should I peel a corner back on the top of the tank because currently it is fully sealed with cling film. I have also read that with the DSM I can give about 10 hours of light but I am scared to dry the moss out to much? My moss seems to dry out very quickly, especially closer to the top.
You can also choose to rate my scape as it stands, although some of the rocks have moved due to the sand becoming wet but I will be sure to fix this before I flood the tank!
I have some photos and a video to better explain what I am talking about (Sorry for the phone photographs):
Some shots to give an idea on the scape:
A translucent piece of perspex I actually got cut for the back of the tank I thought would reduce the intensity of the light for the Moss:
Some close ups of the moss (In the second photo you can see I have an air pump hooked up to a few different fittings to help circulate the mist in the tank not sure if I should leave the air pump on all the time for gas exchange tho) :
Misty shot:
And finally a small video showing the fogger in action (before I added the air pump to blow it around)
https://imgur.com/EdMIVsM
Thank you for taking the time to have a read at my thread and for replying to any of my many questions!
I plan to update the thread as often as people request or as often as I make changes.
Luke
I have been out of the hobby for about 2 years now and have decided to jump back in! This build will eventually become a fully planted tank hopefully home to some form of dwarf cichlid. This time I thought I would try out the dry start method and see if I can get my moss to attach before I fill the tank as I have not been overly successful with using thread to tie it too the wood in the past.
Here are some of the items I have collected over the years that I intend to reuse for this build:
Dennerle Scaper's tank
Dennerle Scapers light 24W
Fluval 306 Canister filter
Hydor inline heater
C02 fire extinguisher with C02 Art regulator
C02 Art lily pipes
Hydor Koralia 900lph
Aquarium plant food dry ferts
Clear filter hosing & clear c02 tubing
JBL Sansibar river sand
Dragon stones
And last but definitely not least is my wood, im not sure on the type but I love this piece of wood I personally think it looks awesome.
I also have some catappa tea bags, oak leaves and small pine cones
My plant list currently consists of some java moss, some chopped up and painted on (with de-chlorinated tap water) & some just wrapped around/sitting on the wood. I am also looking for suggestions on planting, what sort of plants do people think would look good in this tank/my scape? I would love to give dwarf baby tears a go for the front left of the tank to create a sense of scale (I think DBT looks like very very small tree tops).
I am a complete noob when it comes to the dry start method so any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
I am not at home at the weekends and was wondering if I would be fine to leave the tank unattended for that long if I use a reptile fogger on a timer? I was thinking the fogger should turn on for 2 mins every hour or so? If I choose to use this method should I peel a corner back on the top of the tank because currently it is fully sealed with cling film. I have also read that with the DSM I can give about 10 hours of light but I am scared to dry the moss out to much? My moss seems to dry out very quickly, especially closer to the top.
You can also choose to rate my scape as it stands, although some of the rocks have moved due to the sand becoming wet but I will be sure to fix this before I flood the tank!
I have some photos and a video to better explain what I am talking about (Sorry for the phone photographs):
Some shots to give an idea on the scape:
A translucent piece of perspex I actually got cut for the back of the tank I thought would reduce the intensity of the light for the Moss:
Some close ups of the moss (In the second photo you can see I have an air pump hooked up to a few different fittings to help circulate the mist in the tank not sure if I should leave the air pump on all the time for gas exchange tho) :
Misty shot:
And finally a small video showing the fogger in action (before I added the air pump to blow it around)
https://imgur.com/EdMIVsM
Thank you for taking the time to have a read at my thread and for replying to any of my many questions!
I plan to update the thread as often as people request or as often as I make changes.
Luke