amy4342
Member
- Joined
- 22 May 2008
- Messages
- 338
Hi all
I've had this scaped for a while now, been meaning to post it on UKaps for ages, but with an 8 - 8 job and two Level 3 Open University courses, it just hasn't happened. I was wanting to do a week by week update, but it's been set up now for 12 weeks now, so I guess that's out the window .
I was going for a hi-tech setup here, but fairly low-maintenance - my last scape was great, I loved it, but loathed the weekly trimming lol.
Anyways, specs:-
30" x 15" x 18" Seashell tank
Oliver Knott Fine Black Naturesoil
ADA Forest Sand Xingu
Dragon Stone
Manzanita Wood (from Tom Barr - thanks dude!)
Eheim 2126 with Inline Cal Aqua Diffuser
Koralia 1
Ok, pics,
Here's with the gravel in, seperated, and some sort of wood structure ( you wouldn't believe the number of times I went up and down the ladder to tweak stuff! )
Then the dragon stone went in to seperate the substrates. I had a few absolutely massive pieces, so cutting them down to size was fun!
Half filled (I had taken out the wood previously to soak)
These are the plants I ordered - all from Planted Tanks, although the Hygrophila pinnatifida came from Aquajardin.
Then came the planting! I meant to take pics along the way, but that didn't quite go to plan either . So you can see the Cyperus Helferi in the background with the Crypts mid and the Lilaeopsis at the front. I didn't plant the Hygrophila pinnatifida at that time - too tired after climbing up and down the ladder! I also had two bunches of Lilaeopsis left over which you can see hogging the foreground.
By the 13th of May, most of the Crypts had died off and were making a comeback but everything looked a bit dull, so had a bit of a fiddle with the co2 and actually connected it up to the inline diffuser.
So here are the latest pics - on the 20th May. Everything's started to make a comeback - new Lilaeopsis shoots and new growth from Cryptocorynes. The Lillies definately need a prune!
At the moment, co2 is waaaay up, blasting around the tank at about too fast to count bubbles per second, drop checker is greeny/yellow in various places and I'm dosing EI. Haven't seen a peep of algae yet so I'm really really pleased! I thought my initially low biomass may have had the algae coming out in force.
All in all, I'm really happy with how it's progressing. I'm really glad I went for low maintenance - I reckon I can just let this grow and grow and I'll be happy even if it turns more jungle-like. In fact, I quite like the idea of wild growth behind the dragon stone.
Going to keep the Co2 up until the Lilaeopsis has a firm hold on the Naturesoil, and then I'm going to think about fauna. My massive Synodontis Eupterus is coming back to this tank (rehomed in one of my other tanks for the time-being), along with a large shoal of Corydoras, and possibly four or five small Discus, with an eye to growing them on in my larger tank once they outgrow this one. Also, a shoal of dither fish, probably Hemmigramus Armstrongi (gold tetras) if I can get any.
I've left this tank now for a week, but going home on Thursday so I'll see if I can borrow the DSLR for some good pics!
Comments and opinions welcome!
Thanks for looking.
I've had this scaped for a while now, been meaning to post it on UKaps for ages, but with an 8 - 8 job and two Level 3 Open University courses, it just hasn't happened. I was wanting to do a week by week update, but it's been set up now for 12 weeks now, so I guess that's out the window .
I was going for a hi-tech setup here, but fairly low-maintenance - my last scape was great, I loved it, but loathed the weekly trimming lol.
Anyways, specs:-
30" x 15" x 18" Seashell tank
Oliver Knott Fine Black Naturesoil
ADA Forest Sand Xingu
Dragon Stone
Manzanita Wood (from Tom Barr - thanks dude!)
Eheim 2126 with Inline Cal Aqua Diffuser
Koralia 1
Ok, pics,
Here's with the gravel in, seperated, and some sort of wood structure ( you wouldn't believe the number of times I went up and down the ladder to tweak stuff! )
Then the dragon stone went in to seperate the substrates. I had a few absolutely massive pieces, so cutting them down to size was fun!
Half filled (I had taken out the wood previously to soak)
These are the plants I ordered - all from Planted Tanks, although the Hygrophila pinnatifida came from Aquajardin.
Then came the planting! I meant to take pics along the way, but that didn't quite go to plan either . So you can see the Cyperus Helferi in the background with the Crypts mid and the Lilaeopsis at the front. I didn't plant the Hygrophila pinnatifida at that time - too tired after climbing up and down the ladder! I also had two bunches of Lilaeopsis left over which you can see hogging the foreground.
By the 13th of May, most of the Crypts had died off and were making a comeback but everything looked a bit dull, so had a bit of a fiddle with the co2 and actually connected it up to the inline diffuser.
So here are the latest pics - on the 20th May. Everything's started to make a comeback - new Lilaeopsis shoots and new growth from Cryptocorynes. The Lillies definately need a prune!
At the moment, co2 is waaaay up, blasting around the tank at about too fast to count bubbles per second, drop checker is greeny/yellow in various places and I'm dosing EI. Haven't seen a peep of algae yet so I'm really really pleased! I thought my initially low biomass may have had the algae coming out in force.
All in all, I'm really happy with how it's progressing. I'm really glad I went for low maintenance - I reckon I can just let this grow and grow and I'll be happy even if it turns more jungle-like. In fact, I quite like the idea of wild growth behind the dragon stone.
Going to keep the Co2 up until the Lilaeopsis has a firm hold on the Naturesoil, and then I'm going to think about fauna. My massive Synodontis Eupterus is coming back to this tank (rehomed in one of my other tanks for the time-being), along with a large shoal of Corydoras, and possibly four or five small Discus, with an eye to growing them on in my larger tank once they outgrow this one. Also, a shoal of dither fish, probably Hemmigramus Armstrongi (gold tetras) if I can get any.
I've left this tank now for a week, but going home on Thursday so I'll see if I can borrow the DSLR for some good pics!
Comments and opinions welcome!
Thanks for looking.