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First attempt at aquascaping - Rio 180

jamie_99

Member
Joined
23 Dec 2010
Messages
31
Location
Beccles, Suffolk
Hey guys and gals, im setting up my rio 180 which will be my first proper aquascape. Will use this journal to answer all my million and one questions :lol:

First up, a bit of history. Just got back into fishkeeping after a couple of years out due to uni, now im back home ive taken it back up. Never had anything fancy just your typical guppies, plastic plants and those tacky castle ornaments!
About 8 months ago i set up my first planted tank (Rio 125) with root tabs under plants and the odd squirt of tetraplantamin, despite my lack of skills/dedication the plants are growing! So thought i'd take it to the next level with an aquascape, any excuse for a new tank :D

Heres my Rio 125, first attemp at growing plants. 10 x Bronze cory, 1 x BN, 5 Swordtails.
DSCF1327crop-crop.jpg


Along comes the Rio 180, got this off ebay for a good price. Am unsure whether to have it as high tech or low tech, decisions decisions...

Went down to the beach at the weekend and found this lovely bits of driftwood, this is my first plan of the layout. Critisism welcome.

DSCF1342.jpg


When wet the wood is alot darker, and really stands out. Kind of decided on a mound design (the whole thing will be moved more to the left), with the pointy up wood as the centre, then roots running along with rocks and graded gravel into sand at the edges. Plants will probably be small grasses/crypts in the centre again with the edges uncluttered.

How does this sound as a plan? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Jamie
 
Hi Jamie

Congratulations on finding such lovely pieces of driftwood on the beach!

My only advice would be to plant carefully to avoid covering up the root-effect pieces of wood, close to the substrate.

Very promising indeed.
 
Looks great so far, and that wood does look grand.
I've personally always stayed away from wood off the beach, as I've worried about the salt in it affecting water chemistry, hardness in particular.

I'd love to hear anyone else opinions on this?????

I suppose boiling it is the best thing, but that's a huge chunk so I'm unsure of what prep you've managed to do????

Cheers

Gavin
 
Thanks all for the comments, im really happy with the wood. Am tempted to go back and get the rest...

George - I agree, the design is a bit flat, i've been playing around with it, think i will make the mound higher, with some rocks in aswell, to give the wood some height, dont want it all hidden by the plants.

Gfish - Im not really sure about what effect the wood will have on the water. My water is extremely hard (GH30) already, so i doubt it will do much. I'll soak it in water for a week or 2, to get the tannins and salt out, and waterlogg it. Got a few small bits in boiling water at the moment, water is almost black! It does need some more prep though, theres a few patches of bark still clinging on and the surface is abit cumbly in places, underneath is solid and doesnt look like it'll rot anytime soon, hopefully.

Am thinking of using rocks around the roots, but all i have round here are flints which dont look right. This scape by Chow Wai Sun is one of my inspirations for the tank, i really love the texture of the rock, it looks just like an eroding river bank. Anyone have an idea as to what type of rock it is? Cant find anything similar. Love the way it leads into an open area, with graded gravel/rock intermediate, looks very natural.

211.jpg


Jamie
 
Hi Jamie

Yes that is a beautiful tank isnt it. I can see where you're heading now. If the wood seems solid but is crumbly in places, scrape and scrub it really well until all that loose soft stuff is gone. Then see if the thing sinks in the bath. If it does and it fits in your bath. Wait until the missus is out and fill it with boiling water and leave the wood in for a while, held down with something if need be. The more times you can do this scrubbing it each time, the better.

I think that rock looks like petrified wood. A few places sell that stuff but I wouldnt know where you'd need to go to pick it up for free. It's worth checking out landscape garden places. Another rock that would look good with that wood is dragon stone. I think buying exactly what you like in rocks may be the way forward rather than making do with what you pick up off the beach.

Looking forward to seeing your scape come together :)

Gavin
 
Bad news im afraid :(

Didn't realise the wood was in such bad condition, had it soaking in water for a day or two, thought i would scrub it to get the loose pieces off, which happened all too easily. In fact i can scrape it off with my fingernail, not good!

Heres a pic of the wood i started cleaning, was using an old rusty blunt knive and without any effort took off about 4-5mm of wood, the end product isnt pretty. Its very light in colour, has absoulutely no texture, just a smooth piece of wood, eurgh!!

DSCF1345.jpg


If i was to use this in my tank with the crappy wood still attached, what would happen? I assume it would rot and release lots of chemicals and nasties into the water.

Back to square one, i think. Had this tank ready to go since November, but just been looking for the right wood/rocks, be hones i feel like giving up on this as an aquascape. None of the LFS have any decent wood that i like, manzinita wood is what id really like, but thats like gold dust, dunno what to do.

Jamie
 
Sorry Gfish - Yes, thats a beautiful tank, id very proud to achieve something even remotely like that. I think you may be right with petrified wood, certainly similar. My other hobby is fossil collecting, so haveing fossilised wood in the tank would be awesome! Unfourtanetly most of my fossils are in limestone, so would push the ph and hardness up even more, they're already near the end of the scale. This setup is a no go, but when i find some solid rot free wood i will try to replicate that tank.

Jamie
 
jamie_99 said:
Bad news im afraid :(

Didn't realise the wood was in such bad condition, had it soaking in water for a day or two, thought i would scrub it to get the loose pieces off, which happened all too easily. In fact i can scrape it off with my fingernail, not good!

Heres a pic of the wood i started cleaning, was using an old rusty blunt knive and without any effort took off about 4-5mm of wood, the end product isnt pretty. Its very light in colour, has absoulutely no texture, just a smooth piece of wood, eurgh!!

DSCF1345.jpg


If i was to use this in my tank with the crappy wood still attached, what would happen? I assume it would rot and release lots of chemicals and nasties into the water.

Back to square one, i think. Had this tank ready to go since November, but just been looking for the right wood/rocks, be hones i feel like giving up on this as an aquascape. None of the LFS have any decent wood that i like, manzinita wood is what id really like, but thats like gold dust, dunno what to do.

Jamie

I you can't find any decent wood, what about buying some rock instead? Mini landscape for example... Don't give up! :)
 
Well look at this way, you've learnt something, best learned before youve finished the aquascape and stocked your tank. That would have been a nightmare!

Don't give up. This is a minor hiccup in the scheme of things and once you have a tank set up nicely, you'll look back and this really will be such a small set back.

Try looking at redwood. Alot of the websites like Aquaessentials and TheGreenmachine have lots of this to choose from and show pics of actual pieces available.
Also get on aquarist classified, there's often good pieces of wood available on there.

Put a Wanted ad on this forum and others. You'll be surprised of what becomes available.

Gavin

Where are you?
 
I think rocks may be the way forward, less hassle :oops: Although a tank never really seems complete without wood. Will have a look at redmoor, but not sure of buying without seeing the actual piece personally, but might just bite the bullet and order some. Same with the rock. Could spend hundreds on wood and rock, is this normal? lol

Will persevere!
 
You know, I tried to find the right wood and the right rocks and I did spend a fair bit of cash, but in the end the tank turned out quite different than how I imagined.
It really is good to have the materials you like, but don't get too fussy, enjoy using what you have to create the best you can. Nothings permanent and after 6 months, a year, 2 years you can change slightly or start over.

Talk with Jim at Greenmachine about the kind of piece of wood you're looking for and he will go through and pull a few potentials out with tags on, that you can then view on their website. Or call him while online and quote the pieces you like the look of. He will help you choose a good piece I'm sure.

Good luck, this is the best part of having a fishtank :)
 
Rio 180 - New hardscape

Went down to the garden centre and picked up some slate pieces, described as rustic slate, so hopefully should be ok for aquarium use, unlike the wood!! Picked this lot up for £18 which im pretty happy about.

I've never had a tank without wood, so this rockscape will be a first. Been playing around for hours, and cant get it how i want. Been struggling like mad, no idea where to start.

This is my idea thusfar, it's kinda turned out iwagumi 'style', but plan on using java ferns, mosses aswell as the usual iwagumi plants. Just going along with the process atm, and seeing where it takes me...

New hardscape
DSCF1351.jpg


Still not sure on rock position, thinking of adding another rock in the back right corner, apart from that im stuck! Any advise or critiscim welcome.

Thanks

Jamie
 
Perfect as is! Honestly, first attempt, are you sure you've not been secretly studying with Amano himself?
 
I'd say get rid of the upright rock and move one of the end rocks towards the middle one, to make it less symmetrical.
Just keep trying different positions with the rocks you have in there, moving things closer, further apart and back and forth. Take loads of pics and it will help you decide before you move onto planting.

Nice rocks by the way! :)

Infact, looking again, I'd then swap the two end ones around, and place the new one that's on the right closer to the middle rocks, and the new one on the left leaving a gap. Champion! Jobs a good un' :) lol
 
Sorry for lack of replies, tank was on hold as was on holiday. So so close to having this setup now, rearranged the rocks, added akadama substrate, and heater are all sorted now. Just a few bits to sort out.

Starting to think about plants, this is what i've come up with.

Glosso - foreground centre
E. tennelus midground, mixed in with glosso
Crypt parva midground
Crypt lucens background (already have these)
Crypt willisi mid-background

Will try to get the glosso to merge into a lawn of E. tennelus which will be dotted with crypts, well thats the plan...

Will upload some photos tomorrow, when i can find the camera.
 
Well its getting there...finally!

FE arrived yesterday, aswell as scissors, tweezers, powerhead and drop checker.

Just a few things to sort out, need to get a spraybar as im using it on the other tank, will just buy some 16mm pipe and drill holes in it myself, unless anyone makes a 1m long black spraybar?

Also the plug on the solenoid is japanese/american style, it has 2 flat thin prongs, not rounded ones like europlugs. Apparently these will fit into shaver adaptors, so going to focus tomorrow, see what they have.

So thats all the hardware sorted, i can now start thinking about the plants :)

Here she is at the moment.

DSCF1372.jpg


Plan as i mentioned in prevouis post is;

Glosso as a foreground carpet, manly in the valley in the middle.
E. tennelus - on the sides of the mounds, blended in with the glosso for a more natural look.
Crypt parva - dotted around the midground.
Crypt willisi - midground/background
Crypt lucens - background

How does that sound? Bearing in mind this is my first high tech tank, is Glosso that hard to grow? All the other plants seem relatively easy to grow. Fingers crossed.

The only thing i might tweak is the far left rock, bring it closer to the big centre stone. But overall very happy with the layout.

Any advice about planting would be great, thanks.
 
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