NAtural Jurassic....shaky video p17.

[BigTom]

That's the one! Amazing isn't it.

No pressure then, haha.

 

[Ady34]

I second George's comment.

The scape would lend well to this method/look.
Try 3-4 weeks, not 3-4 months.

It'll still work.
the other option; Buces/Anubias etc.

BTW, you can grow the Mini pellia on 5-7 cm dia lava rock with a DSM is a tray outside etc. Then use that to wedge into the filled tank at a later date.

Thank you Tom, Anubias are on the list, along with ferns and bolbitis.....but buce's a bit too pricey
I am now strongly reconsidering the dsm after 2 pro scapers have suggested it would be a good idea ive been re-reading George's journal and reminding myself of the natural way in which you get coverage....seems a small price to pay having to wait for a month before filling when you get a base like that.....and without glue or cotton

Nice tank Ady, I am a massive fan of this island style and I will be attempting the same feat for my next step, I cannot wait to see it in its full glory
Thanks for sharing

Thanks Vito, I cant either, hopefully it won't take 8months to fill in! Good luck with yours mate, I'm guessing your no longer selling which is good news, especially given the success your having with your current scape

Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[Ady34]

That's the one! Amazing isn't it.

No pressure then, haha.

Truly amazing!
pressure, ha, no none......ill have fish in mine though!

 

[Nice]

Luis tank is a nice tank.

I read it is a NA tank as well.

Lets hope you are successful as Luis .

 

[Ady34]

Luis tank is a nice tank.

I read it is a NA tank as well.

Lets hope you are successful as Luis .

i hope even half as successful, its a true beauty!

 

[plantbrain]

Thank you Tom, Anubias are on the list, along with ferns and bolbitis.....but buce's a bit too pricey
I am now strongly reconsidering the dsm after 2 pro scapers have suggested it would be a good idea ive been re-reading George's journal and reminding myself of the natural way in which you get coverage....seems a small price to pay having to wait for a month before filling when you get a base like that.....and without glue or cotton

Thanks Vito, I cant either, hopefully it won't take 8months to fill in! Good luck with yours mate, I'm guessing your no longer selling which is good news, especially given the success your having with your current scape

Cheerio,
Ady.

Ah heck, do not listen to me, I just like to test things out of guinea pigs
Glue/cotton trying etc, I try and avoid that mostly except for smaller branches.
Larger rock/wood: DSM, or a small grow out tray and then add.

Getting a lot of mini pellia is NOT EASY to start a new tank, you pretty much have to grow it.
I am doing a larger 70 Gal Buce tank, yes, the plants cost a lot, but I also am growing them out and selling them. So while the cost is high, the pay out and maintenance is as well.
And I can sell them, much like you could if you spent say 300 to 500$ on wood and rock.
I always get a good return on any plant I buy no matter what the cost, that's one of the benefits of being good at aquatic horticulture.
I am pretty open with my wallet with hardscape materials and other items that are well made and aesthetically pleasing.
I know I can at least get the $ back if I do not like it.

I really like your hard scape BTW, it'll look grand. Just do not cover it up too much with weeds. Moss/liverworts etc are fine, but too many stems can hide all the nice stuff.
Dome stem plant groups are nice, but I'd keep them trimmed down lower than many folks keep.

I like heaths and heathers:

Heath and Heather Garden

Japanese styles use similar dome low growing shapes.
3 pic down:

The Portland Japanese Garden: Where nature and ambiance meet « ThePhotoGardenBee

 

[Ady34]

Ah heck, do not listen to me, I just like to test things out of guinea pigs
Glue/cotton trying etc, I try and avoid that mostly except for smaller branches.
Larger rock/wood: DSM, or a small grow out tray and then add.

Getting a lot of mini pellia is NOT EASY to start a new tank, you pretty much have to grow it.
I am doing a larger 70 Gal Buce tank, yes, the plants cost a lot, but I also am growing them out and selling them. So while the cost is high, the pay out and maintenance is as well.
And I can sell them, much like you could if you spent say 300 to 500$ on wood and rock.
I always get a good return on any plant I buy no matter what the cost, that's one of the benefits of being good at aquatic horticulture.
I am pretty open with my wallet with hardscape materials and other items that are well made and aesthetically pleasing.
I know I can at least get the $ back if I do not like it.

I really like your hard scape BTW, it'll look grand. Just do not cover it up too much with weeds. Moss/liverworts etc are fine, but too many stems can hide all the nice stuff.
Dome stem plant groups are nice, but I'd keep them trimmed down lower than many folks keep.

I like heaths and heathers:

Heath and Heather Garden

Japanese styles use similar dome low growing shapes.
3 pic down:

The Portland Japanese Garden: Where nature and ambiance meet « ThePhotoGardenBee

Ha, I don't mind being a guinea pig....unless I end up one of those that reacts badly to the test
Do you grow your pelias emersed Tom, I'm guessing if I dsm I can use the tank itself as the grow out tray?
I really like the Japanese shaped domes, I was thinking already to include some heavy clusters of single species planting, like a cluster of riccardia....round pelia....fissidens.....etc as more focal points but that could take a while to fully develop, in the mean time sections of Anubias and ferns will add less subtle features, kind of the main structure, with the smaller moss/liverworts being details to search for which will become more prominent as time goes by.
One day maybe ill have honed the skills to be able to aquaculture, for now its definitely a hobby of outlay rather than self sustainability very enjoyable none the less.
Hardscape materials I too see as an investment, good stuff can be reused over many years so the outlay becomes small.....the Seiryu has been in the garage for quite a while now.
Thank you for the comment regards the hardscape also, it may take a bit of a hit visually early on until I can form the large submersed bolbitis I've acquired into smaller flatter clusters, but your right, I do need to keep the shape and show what is actually behind the plants creating the scape
Not really going to be using stems, only vallis nana as a rear gunner in the centre to continue the triangle shape formed from the rock work.....I really will need to have a go at some proper stem plant growth someday though
Many thanks again,
Cheerio,
Ady

 

[Tim Harrison]

This one? Luis Moniz.....truly inspirational....I feel like a rip off merchant

90*45*45 | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Worryingly for me Luis Moniz states one of the important factors to successful bolbitis is soft water.....mmm Seiryu sTDSones!!! Banghead!!!

Not really...well at least IME. Mine's growing in hard water (with Seiryu) and seems to be mounting a major offensive to take over my tank. I have to keep trimming leaves to stop it smothering other plants. I think that getting all the other usual parameters right is perhaps more important - good flow and distribution, and bright light.

 

[Ady34]

Not really...well at least IME. Mine's growing in hard water (with Seiryu) and seems to be mounting a major offensive to take over my tank. I have to keep trimming leaves to stop it smothering other plants. I think that getting all the other usual parameters right is perhaps more important - good flow and distribution, and bright light.

Yeah, we all know what grows plants really, I wasn't put off, I've just received some more bolbitis today, very generous Tim nice to have it confirmed though Troi....I hope I too will be having to trim off leaves regularly to control it

 

[George Farmer]

I'd go for Bolbitis difformis over the regular stuff. I think Aqua Essentials do it, supplied by Aquafleur.

 

[Ady34]

I'd go for Bolbitis difformis over the regular stuff. I think Aqua Essentials do it, supplied by Aquafleur.

I know I will kill it! I've killed it slowly before in sticks & stones, Im not even sure it's aquatic tbh, it is nice and small though and a would give the impression of shrubs, not being as overbearing as B. Heudelotii perhaps I think with this plant your signature quote....
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience"
....would have to be a very firm belief. I could maybe try it emersed on the wood.
Cheerio,
Ady

 

[plantbrain]

The Bolbitus is a easy one, and it loves N and P and CO2. Good plant to see if the CO2 is doign well, it'll go weedy on you fast then, but just be aggressive with the trimming, it'll sprout new leaves just fine.
Many are too timid with trimming this plant and it gets too far out of control.

I think you can use the smaller domes of moss/Riccia/Pellia etc on stones.
Note,: like the plants in my 120 Gallon, the stones with plants thing..........they are very modular, and make sure to have an assortment of different stone sizes for this, lava rock rumble works very well for this.

The above example has narrow/needle leaf java fern and you could use that in place of the Vals, less weedy and issues with maintenance I would think, another one Crypt spiralis, nice taller grass like Crypt.
I think Fissidens might be too dark with the various shades of green you are working with.

Xmas, Riccia, mini pellia. I'd stick with those and then the Ferns.

BTW, I have these in a neglected non CO2 80 liter tank in the garage, no CO2, feed a few fish and shrimp that are in there, have not done a water change for 3 months etc, they grow slow, but great.
I ought to try a tank like yours and try to go non CO2. I'm pretty sure I can do it.

 

[zanguli-ya-zamba]

Hi Ady,
how is it going so far ?
Maaan if mail post was working very well in Congo, I would send you a suitcase of wild Bolbitis !!!
We have a small canyon with 5 nice waterfall at 100 km from kinshasa fuuuuuull of Bolbitis and different type of anubias.
just for the story, it's a very pleasant place where you can sit under 2 of the 5 water falls to get a strong massage !! I ll go there and in a similar place in september for my only congo plant tank. I ll get pic.

keep going mate
cheers

 

[Deano3]

Hi Ady,
how is it going so far ?
Maaan if mail post was working very well in Congo, I would send you a suitcase of wild Bolbitis !!!
We have a small canyon with 5 nice waterfall at 100 km from kinshasa fuuuuuull of Bolbitis and different type of anubias.
just for the story, it's a very pleasant place where you can sit under 2 of the 5 water falls to get a strong massage !! I ll go there and in a similar place in september for my only congo plant tank. I ll get pic.

keep going mate
cheers

sounds like a great place mate and very handy for you, bet saves you some pennies

Dean

 

[Ady34]

Hi Ady,
how is it going so far ?
Maaan if mail post was working very well in Congo, I would send you a suitcase of wild Bolbitis !!!
We have a small canyon with 5 nice waterfall at 100 km from kinshasa fuuuuuull of Bolbitis and different type of anubias.
just for the story, it's a very pleasant place where you can sit under 2 of the 5 water falls to get a strong massage !! I ll go there and in a similar place in september for my only congo plant tank. I ll get pic.

keep going mate
cheers

Sounds idyllic zanguli maybe il l just pop over there to collect some
Will look forward to some pictures, its always nice to see our commonly used plants in their natural environment
Cheerio,
Ady

 

[Ady34]

Right,
I've decided to go with the suggestion of a dsm (dry start method) for coverage on my rockwork and some wood to give a natural aged look. Hoping to use fissidens, riccardia, some java moss and other pelias in areas. I plan on following this very successful technique used by George Farmer in his recent journal 'Rooted in Nature':
George's TMC Signature | Page 12 | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Its all new to me too, and im hoping to emulate George's Success ....time will tell! Im going to attempt it without any additional heat, just sealed top in a warm house with regular misting, but may need to adapt this to include a jug of water and a heater to create the humidity if necessary. I think i will also use several blended mixtures of different species for different areas of the tank, like more java moss on the upright wood, and more fissidens and pelias on the flatter surfaces of the rock work.
Larger epiphyte plants such as the Anubias, ferns and bolbitis will be more straightforward to plant/tie/glue/wedge so will be done just prior to flooding as I have a lot of already submersed stock which i will add to once the dsm is complete. Also the possible addition of some various other mosses will be undertaken prior to flooding to give clusters, but the 'base' coverage will be from the dsm ......just need to source all the plants I need now in decent quantities, then I can get started.
I don't know how long ill be dry starting for, I will have to see how it goes but I'd be expecting at least three weeks from initial planting, but maybe longer depending on growth.

Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[Deano3]

Right,
I've decided to go with the suggestion of a dsm (dry start method) for coverage on my rockwork and some wood to give a natural aged look. Hoping to use fissidens, riccardia, some java moss and other pelias in areas. I plan on following this very successful technique used by George Farmer in his recent journal 'Rooted in Nature':
George's TMC Signature | Page 12 | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Its all new to me too, and im hoping to emulate George's Success ....time will tell! Im going to attempt it without any additional heat, just sealed top in a warm house with regular misting, but may need to adapt this to include a jug of water and a heater to create the humidity if necessary. I think i will also use several blended mixtures of different species for different areas of the tank, like more java moss on the upright wood, and more fissidens and pelias on the flatter surfaces of the rock work.
Larger epiphyte plants such as the Anubias, ferns and bolbitis will be more straightforward to plant/tie/glue/wedge so will be done just prior to flooding as I have a lot of already submersed stock which i will add to once the dsm is complete. Also the possible addition of some various other mosses will be undertaken prior to flooding to give clusters, but the 'base' coverage will be from the dsm ......just need to source all the plants I need now in decent quantities, then I can get started.
I don't know how long ill be dry starting for, I will have to see how it goes but I'd be expecting at least three weeks from initial planting, but maybe longer depending on growth.

Cheerio,
Ady.

Glad to hear using DSM ady it worker well for me problems started once flooded lol seems to work brilliant for others also and plant selection sounds great cannot wait for updates keep them coming mate

Dean

 

[Ady34]

Glad to hear using DSM ady it worker well for me problems started once flooded lol seems to work brilliant for others also and plant selection sounds great cannot wait for updates keep them coming mate

Dean

Thanks Dean.

Currently the tank is still full, I thought it a good opportunity to allow the wood to leach tannins before the actual set up.....it's amazing how brown the water goes, so I'm carrying out water 50-80% water changes every few days. I'm running a cheap internal filter to keep the water circulated. This will be drained once I've sorted plants for the dsm, I'm even considering removing the sand so as not to run the risk of algae on it during the dsm.

Cheerio,

 

[Deano3]

Sounds great mate looking forward to seeing it planted, good idea might aswel do that rather than have the tank just sitting, think I will have wood in next scape aswel as rocks and looks really good and natural I think and great in aquariums

Keep us posted mate
Dean

 

[Achintya]

excellent neat and clean tank.love it