Scape inside the wall

[Keybo]

I haven't been active on the site since my first scape due to a house where I couldn't have my tank.

I bought my first flat though which had an absolutely perfect place for my custom made tank and cabinet from my journal. I didn't get any photos of the spot in my kitchen before I got tool crazy a started pulling it apart. Essentially it was a cupboard with those green doors by the fridge on the left of this picture. These doors were mounted on a wooden frame which was also pulled out (just to the right).

I had to modify my light mounting from a TMC mount. I found some old plastic I took out of my marine tank customization project and made a simple bracket to screw to the top of the cavity. The lights are 3 x TMC grobeams.

For my journal scape I had sprayed the back with a matt black paint. This had to come off and fortuntely the house I bought had some old paint stripper in a cupboard.

Then I wanted to paint the wall behind the tank so I would have a clean backdrop.

I had to hardscape the tank with dragonstone and then it was not an easy task to edge it backwards into the wall.

The next stage was to take a trip to my local B & Q for some timber to build a frame for the tank.

I wanted to create that look with the small blocks at the bottom of door frames so I got some old timber and cut it down.

I didnt attach the top portion of skirting board so it comes out so I can access it for maintenance. I can reach all portions of the tank.

So my last scape was a full on jungle by the end but for this one I wanted an open feel so I was thinking of planting most of the slope with HC and then some sort of longer grass up the back with crypts. I have yet to plant it though so I am open to some suggestions thanks.

 

[Konsa]

Hi
Having in mind how nicely the tank is build in the wall.I will defo go for low maintenance plants as imagine maintenance will be painful.Think about marsilea and hairgrass instead of HC as will require much less trimming.
Regards Konsa

 

[Petra R]

That does look really interesting - looking forward to seeing how it pans out. The one thing that concerns me slightly is condensation from the "ceiling" dripping back into the tank with paint and whatever else there is (or might be) in it. I'd consider something like either sealing it or lining with foil or a sheet of plexiglass.

 

[tam]

It's a beautiful fit... I'm guessing there is a little more room at the top than there looks otherwise I'm curious how you will get the fish in

 

[Keybo]

Hi
Having in mind how nicely the tank is build in the wall.I will defo go for low maintenance plants as imagine maintenance will be painful.Think about marsilea and hairgrass instead of HC as will require much less trimming.
Regards Konsa

Good suggestion, thanks for that point. I also just had my first child last week so I will be extra busy from now on.

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[Keybo]

That does look really interesting - looking forward to seeing how it pans out. The one thing that concerns me slightly is condensation from the "ceiling" dripping back into the tank with paint and whatever else there is (or might be) in it. I'd consider something like either sealing it or lining with foil or a sheet of plexiglass.

I got condensation covers made for this tank which I first got it set up.

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[Zeus.]

Nice fit or should I say tight fit.

How do you intend to plant the tank with the base not being able to be pulled out, never mind the maintenance or am I missing something

 

[Tim Harrison]

Looks good and it's a nice idea, but I must admit to scratching my head and wondering how easy it'll be for you to maintain...struggling with limited access will get old very quickly.

 

[Keybo]

Nice fit or should I say tight fit.

How do you intend to plant the tank with the base not being able to be pulled out, never mind the maintenance or am I missing something

There is limited access but by removing the inside top panel of the frame (shown in pic) I can reach every point of the tank.

Maintenance will be possible for the tank but not the easiest. I think that low maintenance plants will be a lot better.

In the end I chose aesthetics of the setup over the practical ease of it. Need to make sure I chose a setup which stays aesthetically pleasing with lower maintenance.

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[Keybo]

My friend @Joe Turner recommended Micranthemum monte carlo for a low maintenance carpet plant and after a bit of reading I think I will go with this one. I was also thinking of Pogostemon helferi for the intersections between the stone and the substrate. Then I was planning on going with something else low maintenance for a bit more height nearer the back. I am open to any suggestions of plants that will look good with what I have chosen and are relatively low maintenance.

 

[MJF90]

Really interesting project! keep the pictures coming!

 

[Keybo]

I got the initial load of Micranthemum monte carlo planted for a decent dry start.

As every room in the flat is south facing, there is nowhere that doesnt get direct sun at some point in the day. The place I have it get about 30 mins in the afternoon so my solution was to make a curtain. I screwed a wire curtain pole behind the top part of the frame and sewed a couple of hems into a nice piece of fabric my friend gave me. I will just pull this curtain across before I go to work each day and back when I get home

 

[Keybo]

So I added some moss to my dry start - Fissidens fontanus. After reading around and hearing a lot of different methods I went with my friends suggestion of chopping it finely with some water. I also made a slight modification to the technique. At the end of spreading the minced moss around there was very little material left in the water but it was deep green and I had it in my head that there was still some moss-ness in this fluid. So I grinded up a couple of spoons of my substrate (JBL plant soil) into the green water and pasted this onto the areas where I wanted the moss. I have sprayed / misted the tank a couple of times since adding the moss / paste mix and am not having any problems with it getting dislodged.

Felt a bit like sacrilege to stick this expensive moss into my smoothie machine but hey we will see if anything comes of it!

 

[JackH]

Looking good to me so far! Intrigued to see how this looks once it's flooded!

 

[Keybo]

So I finally flooded the tank and added some fish. Here is the last couple of shots of it before I filled it up.

So plant wise I have the main carpet of Micranthemum monte carlo, Pogostemon helferi by the rockwork, Cryptocoryne willisii in the centre of the rocks, and as a backdrop I planted the smallest samples of Cyperus helferi i have ever seen (cant wait for them to grow in and provide a bit of movement). Oh yeah and I got a free Rotala rotundifolia that I put over on the right.

Moss wise I have a decent bit of java on the main rock, some peacock Taxiphyllum spp. on the main wood and some pheonix Fissidens fontanus dotted around. I also got some free weeping Vesicularia ferriei that I put at the end of the small bit of bogwood.

I got bored of waiting for more Fissidens fontanus growth and had some success and some melting with Pogostemon helferi (at the front right it). I also had to spin the main bogwood in order to keep it submersed but seeing that comparison I will definitely be moving it back when it is waterlogged.

Two fish really grabbed my attention at my LFS. I went for 13 Pentazona barbs (five banded) last week:

Still in need of lots of healthy feeding to colour up. At the moment they are still not used to me so instead of running forward to collect the food, they all disappear and hide for 5 minutes

Asides from being pretty skittish I really love their behaviour when they are being natural! lots of benthic exploration and swimming through my rock work channels.

Then this weekend I added 10 of these really nice small loaches which I hadn't seen before and I think are ideal for an aquascaped tank - Yunnanilus cruciatus

They are still very timid so it was hard to get a decent picture of them but I will be boosting their numbers at the weekend when I get the last load of fish. I will definitely get a few ottos for clean up and then I was thinking about getting a pair of dwarf chichlids, probably Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. Some red cherry shrimp would look nice on the carpet but I need to collect some more dosh before I can get those probably.

So that is it, FINALLY the tank is up and running! It was quite a mission getting it in there so I don't think I will be in the mood to rescape this one for a while!

Better than a TV dinner if you ask me!

 

[rebel]

The amount of effort going into the hobby makes me happy!

Kudos for your persistence.

 

[Keybo]

I went down to the Fishkeeper Edinburgh store and got my final fish: a pair of Ram Cichlids (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) and 4 ottos. The guys down at Fishkeeper always have cracking quality fish and I think these are quite possibly the nicest Rams I have ever seen!

They have only been in the tank just over one day and already they are very colourful and his fins are really nice!

They are just so photogenic the way they pause for a wee pose.

The pentazonas are gaining more confidence and colour.

I lost more of my P. helferi at the front right. I will give it one more try and then I will switch to another plant or just leave it uncovered as the substrate looks quite nice.

I also picked up some Anubias nanas bonsai and bound it to the larger bogwood and a small piece fell off which I put in the dragon stone.

The F. fontanus is growing in slow and steady. It gets quite clogged up with fine silt pretty easily but looks nice when i clean it.