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.
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.
The stones are only being used to hold the substrate support in place, they are covered in Sansibar sand now.
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:
Mini LED 400:
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.
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.
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.
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.
The stones are only being used to hold the substrate support in place, they are covered in Sansibar sand now.
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:
Mini LED 400:
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.
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.