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Forest Scree, 40cm Cube (60L).

Joe Turner

Member
Joined
14 Aug 2014
Messages
150
Hi folks.

As my first contribution to the site, I would like to document the process of a 60l Nano I have started recently.

After making a move out of the city, I have had much more time to dedicate to the planning and process of such a tank. The local wooded hills make for perfect composition inspiration, added to more time stuck in Takashi Amano's 'Nature Aquarium World' volumes.

The tank is a converted Marine AquaNano 40. I removed the backbox and silicone, and frosted the background giving it a crisp and fresh finish. Here are the setup details:

Tank: AquaNano 40 (60 litres)
Filter: JBL e901 greenline.
Heater: 75watts
Lighting: TMC Mini LED 400, then TMC Grobeam 600
CO2: JBL u401 pressurized.
Substrate: JBL Volcano Soil, JBL Plant Soil, JBL Manado and JBL River Sansibar.

Fertiliser: JBL Liquid NPK and Fe
Glassware: TMC AquaGro Lily inlet and outlet, and CO2 diffuser.


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Hardscape: Dragonstone and Redmoor.

Plants:


Cryptocoryne balansae
Alternanthera rosefolia 'Mini'
Bucephelandra 'Green Velvet'
Liliaeopsis novea-zelandiae
Didiplis diandra
Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo' 1-2 Grow
Eleocharis sp 'Mini' 1-2 Grow

Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Hydrocotyle tripartita
Vesicularia montagnei


I wanted to try and recreate the similiar sort of environments I had been seeing recently. Dense, matted growth of vibrant plants around rotting pieces of wood.

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The stones are only being used to hold the substrate support in place, they are covered in Sansibar sand now.

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Due to the wood still floating, I had to position some leftover rock to keep it submerged. The tank is nearly two weeks old now, and the wood still floats so I'm hoping this is effective soon.

1 week:

After setting up, I realised my GroBeam 600 may be overkill for some of these young plants, especially those in-vitro. My Didiplis has melted quite severely, as has the very exposed Eleocharis Mini. Eleocharis shaded by the Hydrocotyle has been flourishing, so I opted to dim the light. Without access to the TMC controller, or a wallet deep enough for it yet, I decided to downgrade the light for a while.

I switched the light unit to a TMC Mini LED 400, which instantly gave the tank areas of depth and shadow, whilst shading areas of the plants.

The following images are taken with exactly the same exposure settings, the only variable changing is the light:

Grobeam 600:

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Mini LED 400:

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As the wood still floats, I haven't set up the tank for a proper full tank shot yet. However, here are some more detail shots from just over a week in.

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Water changes have been daily, from the tap. Photoperiod is set to 6 and a half hours, with surface agitation at night. I will be slowing the water changes over the next couple of days, and start testing the water. I am eager to setup my new SENEYE unit and read PAR levels.

Already I think I would like to add some more stems such as Rotala rotundifolia, and maybe add some more Didiplis diandra now the light isn't so intense.
 
Hey

If you didn't tell me about the polystyrene mishap you would never know for those photos, Good job :thumbup:

Cannot wait to see it grown in. Any more thoughts on fauna? I think purple pencil fish would look great

Jonny
 
Fantastic start:clap:
Thanks, I'm sitting on my hands now waiting for things to happen :D

Hey

If you didn't tell me about the polystyrene mishap you would never know for those photos, Good job :thumbup:

Cannot wait to see it grown in. Any more thoughts on fauna? I think purple pencil fish would look great

Jonny

What do you mean polystyrene mishap...?!

Jonny is referring to my slight brain fart when setting up the tank. I piled substrate around the wood and rock, then forgot to remove the polystyrene supporting it all, underneath. Planted it looked amazing, so slowly started filling with water. Can anybody guess the end of the story?!

Safe to say after putting some pennies in the jar, I topped up the substrate with Manado to bulk it out, and re-planted.

Catastrophe averted, dignity stung.

Not sure of fauna yet, I think I'm holding out for the right Rasbora shoal ;)
 
Algae crew have arrived!

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Otocinclus cocama shot from above the water surface.

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Emersed HC 'Cuba', Xmas Moss, Bucephelandra and unknown terrestrial fern.

Now that the wood has soaked, I removed the rock holding it in place and set the wood in it's final resting place. I moved Crypt balansae from the back and planted it in between the branches of the wood. Rotala rotundifolia and Ludwigia palustris have been used to fill out the space behind the wood. (Please excuse the hardware in shot)

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I think the GroBeam on 100% for the first week melted the Eleocharis Mini, I have been removing a lot of dead matter from the plantlets, however tiny green shoots are now appearing, so only time will tell. Hydrocotyle's are doing well, stems are pearling, as is the moss. Monte Carlo (1-2-Grow) is slowly starting to show signs of growth, I'm hoping the next week or two will see an improvement.

In terms of Fauna, I'm thinking of adding a shoal of Microrasbora erythromicron (Dwarf Emerald Rasbora) and some Boraras brigattae (Chilli Rasbora), I'm just hoping the Dwarf emerald's can handle my softer water. Endemic to Myanmar's Lake Inle, the average pH sits around 7-7.2.

Opinions on fish choice anyone?

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Thanks for stopping by, comments appreciated!
 
Looking great and we've all had floating wood at some point :shifty: I have boraras brigattae and they are lovely little fish and would do well in your soft water but no idea on the other ones. If you have really soft water you might want to look at a trio or group of parosphromenus. These are one of my very favorite fish. This is a clip of my fish.
 
Looking great and we've all had floating wood at some point :shifty: I have boraras brigattae and they are lovely little fish and would do well in your soft water but no idea on the other ones. If you have really soft water you might want to look at a trio or group of parosphromenus. These are one of my very favorite fish. This is a clip of my fish.


Beautiful! I've requested them, just hoping that they come in now!
 
Like the layout joe! And especially the Cocama oto's one of my favourite fish.
Should fill out nicely, How much Co2 are you giving it?
Listen i have a Seneye siting doing nothing if you are intrested mate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hey folks,

Boraras brigattae shoal added, and a pair of Betta channoides, amazing fish.

Plant growth has been slow if I'm honest, not what I would have liked. I've recently acquired a lot of Seiryu stone to play with, so considering a rescape, with EI fertilisation. My CO2 is good, light is good, flow is good , substrate could be better, and it seems my fertilisation may be letting me down...

However. I am greatly enjoying the tank, I seriously enjoyed getting my camera out for a shoot. Let me know what you think, and any opinions on the potential overhaul...

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I'm still yet to get a decent shot of the Boraras...

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Male channoides.

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Asplenium Fern and an in-situ shot

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Thanks for looking!
 
I have used a 1-2-3 grow moss previously with not bad results, but why not potted hairgrass the tall variety planted heavily can be trimmed to redo the substrate?
 
I like your scape! The fish I see in the pictures are white cloud minnows not chilli rasboras..
 
I like your scape! The fish I see in the pictures are white cloud minnows not chilli rasboras..

If you look in the second photo top right hand side you can see the chilli rasboras

Hey Joe,

Loving the Betta channoides!! That emerged growth is looking great as well. I think with some careful pruning and some more rigourus maintenance there will be no need to do a escape.

Im rooting for you to bring this one back first!!!!

Jonny
 
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