• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

dusting off the old Fluval Studio aquarium.....

Gary Nelson said:
Fantastic hard scape again mate, very nicely done indeed - looking forward to seeing this develop 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks Gary, I'm looking forward to it developing too....fingers crossed it will as its the growing plants bit i have most trouble with :banghead:

C02 reactor working well and achieving a nice lime green dc currently 24/7 injection. Daily 70% water changes to remove ammonia spike from soil. Water is going milky over a 24hr period, likely due to it being an immature tank, im going to add activated carbon to the filter to help and once planted will transfer some bio media from one of my mature filters on the 120cm.

Plant list still not finalised.....

Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Plant list:
Cryptocoryne Balansae
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Echinodorus Tennellus
Lilaeopsis Mauritius
Lilaeopsis Nove-zelandiae
Eleocharis Acicularis
Eleocharis Parvula
Micranthemum Monte Carlo

Some similar looking plant species in here, but I'm interested to see their growth characteristics and perhaps they will add some slight textural and colour differences to enhance a natural feel in the grassy area. Some slightly different plant heights also to help layer the planting......plus a little bit of covering the bases in case some don't take 😛:nailbiting:

Cheerio
Ady
 
alto said:
Sounds good but think you need to include this Eleocharis sp as well 😀

I picked up this plant recently & it's a gorgeous pink/red color (so far, at least)
Click to expand...
Hi, E. Montevidensis was on the list initially, however removed it as the Elecharis ecicularis will be plenty tall enough on the raised substrate line, I don't want the hair grass to reach the water surface, I plan on trimming it about mid height, the balansae will be the only plant to reach the surface :thumbup: Cool plant though.

Troi said:
Looks great...can't wait to see it planted.
Click to expand...
It's on the way, just waiting for some Monte Carlo from JohnC to finish it off 😀
Ordered the rest of my plants from Aquarium Gardens and the service has been great, plants arrived well packaged the next day in great condition so big thanks to them :thumbup:

Cheerio
Ady
 
Heres a few shots of the planting process so far:

started with the Crypt balansae as it is to provide a focal point in the scape:
P1150404_zpskzhhhq1u.jpg

Added more eleocharis ecicularis, parvula, and Lilaeopsios species to the grassy mound:
P1150411_zpsqp25tgye.jpg

and added the tennellus to the left of the main rock and HC at the very left and right foreground as its slightly smaller than the MC which will fill the two areas behind:
P1150416_zpspnu7pksq.jpg

Filled back up again with an initial photoperiod of 5 hours in the first week. C02 still 24/7, 60-70% water changes daily for the first week also. 3 pumps of Tropica premium and specialised alternate days:
P1150458_zpsmqsypokm.jpg

Hopefully the grassy area in the centre will form layers of texture and height to blend into the height of the balansae and out towards the edges of carpeting mc and hc...
P1150470_zpsxkzotlh1.jpg

P1150476_zpsnykuq19s.jpg

and a view through the plantless fish tank:
P1150449_zps8o97f9zr.jpg

Will update when planting of the monte Carlo is complete.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Last edited:
Planting complete thanks to a large portion of Monte Carlo from JohnC :thumbup:.
Ive added a circulation pump to improve distribution and hopefully now its just a case of waiting for it to grow into itself......:nailbiting:

P1150497_zpsqzgaiv6n.jpg

Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Thanks chaps, fingers crossed for growth although I am seeing slight melt in the hc, I've added the circulation pump now though which has improved distribution to it. C02 on 24/7 and the dc towards yellow so hoping it was a distribution issue. The balansae tips began to melt also, however they have stopped thank goodness as I didn't want it to take months to adapt like the first time I had it......

Cheerio
 
Do you have any future plans for this @Ady34? Plants? Shrimp? Fish? Looks awesome as is.
 
Hi GotCrabs,
yeah going to get some Amano shrimp hopefully in the next week or so once the plants have established roots to help keep things clean, then in a few weeks some fish. Im undecided really about fish but likely something very simple like zebra danios. Need something temperate and upper water level dwelling as I have no heater and it may cool down a bit over the winter and I need action towards the top of the tank for interest as it will be quite sparse up there 🙂 I also like the glowlight rasbora which may be less chaotic.
Cheerio
Ady


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ady34 said:
Actually Glowlight rasbora may be my favoured choice 🙂
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/trigonopoma-pauciperforatum/
Click to expand...

Nice, a school would look great!

Don't think we have access to Amano Shrimp down here in Australia, shame, we have some great Natives though, North Australian Chameleon Shrimp are my face Shrimp, they change colour depending on mood, water parameters, foods, temps, great Shrimp! Also Darwin Algae Shrimp, Blackmore River Shrimp but Chameleons are my fave by far!
 
Looks amazing already! I have a shoal of mixed rasbora, maculatas and brigittae, and their tiny size gives great scale. It also means you can get a large shoal which gives them confidence. I have around 50 in my tank and they are not shy at all.
 
Great hardscape, great planting plan. I'm so sure about Crypt balansae though, they tend to get unruly and everywhere, which is the opposite of a simple iwagumi. Will be watching this one with interest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top