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Goldfish bowl - new plant selection (and exciting news too!)

Sounds really good! I have sent my friend whos going up to Oxford tomorrow to check the shop out :)

For second 2' tank how about a mini jungle tank? Using things like HC as a carpet and HM, limnophila sessiflora (or that plant in the small iwagumi display tank by the office at tgm) and hairgrass as stem plants with mini pieces of wood and everything. I was thinking about doing something like this.
Or a fossilised woody scape with christmas moss and crypt balasae as a background, hairgrass as a foreground...

You know, I have no idea where the ideas came from :lol:
 
If in doubt go for low-maint easy plants and layouts. Crypts, ferns, anubias, moss etc. These are suited to the lower light and nutrient levels etc. and are more forgiving. Less pruning than stems too...

I'd be very wary about setting up a glosso Iwagumi, personally. The light, nutrients and maintenance required are significant, especially with all the other tanks to maintain. Detritus may be an issue with 1-2x turnover also, leading ultimately to algae, unless fish stocking is very limited. Unless you can convince Barry etc. to go balls-out with big filters, ruthless 30ppm CO2, NPK daily, 1/2 WC weekly etc. etc. This can, of course, work in TGB's favour and ultimately lead to more sales of big filters. light units, CO2 gear, NPK etc.

How much time are the staff willing to dedicate to these tanks in your absence? It's a very busy shop if I remember correctly. Are you visiting the shopd regularly to maintain and minor re-scape etc. if required?

I'm not trying to poo poo the idea. Far from it. It is great the TGB are taking on the planted tank scene seriously and I hope it's a sign of things to come for the bigger retailers. It is worth spending a considerable amount of time planning and preparing though, in order to give this opportunity the best chance of success and promote this great hobby in the best light possible.

No pressure mate!
 
Hi Sam, just a thought on ideas for the other 2ft tank. Maybe you could do something along the lines of the scape Andy did at TGM on Saturday, whilst it's still fresh in our minds. The hardscaping was beautiful, and I think it could be an interesting comparison between the two tanks if you did something along those lines.
 
Thanks for all the encouragement and advice people, it is really appreciated and has given me lots to think about.

I'm going to postpone the HC trim in my nano I was going to do this eve and spend it planning the two rena's. If possible I'll try and delay the two 2ft'ers until the following week. As you say George it is better to wait and get it right than try and do to much and consequently not give anything the proper attention it needs.

The plan is for me to scape the plants, but the shop will do the ferts, WC, etc. You are right again George re the low maintenance approach, I will be aiming to maintain the plants once a week if possible, so the low light should help to control the growth rate.

I like your idea Martin in trying to recreate the scape we saw over the weekend, that too was low light and low maintenance, but getting the rocks might be tricky. Will see if I can sort a trip to the hills at some stage ;)

Thanks again all :) nice to know I'm not alone!

Sam
 
Next UKAPS meet at TGB it is then! ;)

Maybe the second 2ft could be an example of really easy/low maintenance. Starter plants if you like. Ferns, anubias, crypts, some nice bits of wood etc. Show what can be done by a beginner with a bit of imagination. This could be shown off to customers as an example of how easy it can actually be to start off in this hobby :)

Best of luck mate :)
 
I had the same thought as Steve when I was reading this. It's apparently only 4 miles further away from me than TGM was, so definitely do-able.

I'm sorry that I cannot actually give you advice seeing as I'm still very much the noob myself, but I think it's a brilliant idea and wish you all the success. Having seen pics of some of your tanks, I've no doubt you'll do yourself and the hobby justice.
 
SteveUK said:
Next UKAPS meet at TGB it is then! ;)
Sounds good to me, I can get to this one by train fairly easily ;)
 
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