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60p nature aquarium

Alpaca

New Member
Joined
11 Sep 2022
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20
Location
London
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So I am starting a new aquarium, which is my second, but the first where I actually know anything about what I am doing and what I am trying to achieve. Here is the basic idea, though I will probably tweak the rock layout a bit. I want a cliff on one side and a sort of forest bit on the other, and perhaps a path (I know it's rather clichéed) curling round. ADA 60p, with other ADA bits and pieces. The filter in the picture is an Oase 75 HOB filter, which is probably underpowered. Elderly stone from Aquarium gardens. Some plants arriving today. Moss and small bucephelandra on the cliff, some carpet, some moss on the trees, not sure what to put at the back and on the far left, but I want it not to be too heavily planted.

(Edited to add, very happy to receive any suggestions/advice, still a novice. )
 
Looking good so far👍. Watch those rocks don't scratch your glass. If you are not aware, here is a thread to let you know what types of moss that will attach to your wood and which won't(Thanks @GHNelson👍)...

 
Looking good so far👍. Watch those rocks don't scratch your glass. If you are not aware, here is a thread to let you know what types of moss that will attach to your wood and which won't(Thanks @GHNelson👍)...

Second this, weeping moss needs glue or has to be tied. I found out the hard way.
 
Hello ! Nice scape !
If you want to keep the aquasoil slopes, you should add some stones to prevent it from flowing down. Making some "dams". Otherwise after some weeks/months the soil will be completely flat down 😉.
 
Second this, weeping moss needs glue or has to be tied. I found out the hard way.
Tell me about it. I used it in my new low tech build before knowing it wouldn't attach(I had always glued it when I used it before) and attached it to my Spider Wood with only thin cotton thread(meant to dissolve). It's still holding on, for the most part, so far after 26 days but, I suspect I'll need to swap it out eventually...
 
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Hello ! Nice scape !
If you want to keep the aquasoil slopes, you should add some stones to prevent it from flowing down. Making some "dams". Otherwise after some weeks/months the soil will be completely flat down 😉.
This is a good point OP. I learned this lesson the hard way too😁. If you can get a good root system going it can retain a slope a bit too but, that takes time.
 
Yes, I shall have to more or less rescape my tank due to gravity... and thanks to amano shrimps... All the decorative sand on the front sides is now covered by the aquasoil... The stones i used to build the shields were too small and i must admit that the sealing operation with filter moss was a little bit neglected... The result is this : everything is slowly flattening.
OK the tank is highly planted and the perspectives are not more driven by the hardscape which is fully covered with plants, but I really would like to recover the nice sand places on the front.

Anyway as your design is mainly based on perspectives and field depht you should consider this point as a warning 😉.

Maybe you should consider adding something in the back left, as a stone to highlight a little bit more the focus point in the background. 👍🏻
 
Yes thanks for these tips; I am thinking of putting filter bags filled with lava rock as a base for the slopes. That should stop the whole slope from collapsing but do I also need to put rocks at the edges to stop the soil exposing the bags themselves?

Plugging holes with filter floss: does this need to be glued in or is it ok if I just stuff it in?

Also excellent advice to be careful about scratching the glass, slightly too late as there are a few faint. scratches which won't be visible with this scape but may need some polishing out (is that a thing) for the next iteration.

Many thanks!
 
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I planted this lightly and filled it up. I put sone floaters in, and a bunch of moss, used old aquarium water and took the canister filter from another tank. Put CO2 on as well. A day later added a few small invertebrates some on purpose and some who hitchhiked in on the moss. Sone plants floated up but basically ok at this point. My understanding is that the mature filter will keep water parameters ok with this very low bio load ? The substrate is Tropica soil. Planning to do a 50% water change shortly.
 
Critically: CO2 diffuser is obviously too small and in the wrong place; I left some bits of rock wool around the roots in a few annoyingly visible places. The big anubias on the front at the left is too big I think. I need to tidy up the gravel at the front and maybe add some sand. Needs some more carpet at the base of the cliff.
 
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A bit of green algae coming in as you can see on the back wall so I have put some more snails in and a few Amano shrimp. Things seem to be growing , though that might be an illusion , no ammonia , nothing too much floating or melting, though there are little bits of moss all over the place.


Replaced the diffuser with something deeper. Can’t quite position the outflow to really spread the bubbles but it seems ok.

I have to leave it for five days tomorrow which makes me nervous.
 
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The stem plants are growing crazily fast. I thought the left side was overly regular so when I took down my 45p which this is an upgrade from I moved a couple of pieces of wood in, with moss and buces attached.
I'm quite happy with the effect of a tree falling across a stream or path.

I also moved in the fish from that tank, 4 otos, and a school of about 12 chilli rasboras, who seem very happy, otos especially keen on the green spot algae which they have been cleaning up.

I think I may have taken a risk with moving them in to such an immature tank, but the growth and water tests seem fine, since I was using a mature filter. I also added the HOB filter from the other tank to help with flow.

I made a sandy path, which I don't really like. The sand is too light coloured, and the contrast with the dark substrate is too much. Indeed I don't really like having the substrate visible on the front at all. I think I didn't use enough substrate on top of the bags of lava rock, so I will need to add some, and I have some more foreground plants arriving to plant the bare substrate at the bottom of the cliff.
 
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More plants at the base of the cliff and on the side some hydrocotyle tripartita.
I changed the moss on the overhanging branch in the middle but my thread skills are very poor. Looks rather raggedy at the moment. Fish all happy, though the giant Ramshorn snail seems to have a death wish.

The path/riverbed — I know it’s such a cliché — looks more natural now with the denser planting on the right.

I was thinking of adding some more fish - currently 4 otos and 12 chilli rasboras. Maybe some more chillis or 3 or 4 slightly larger fish ? What are some options ?
The younger member of my household is agitating for more fish.
 
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Overgrown at the moment, but I like the clutter tbh. Fish seem happy , a couple of gourami, sone kuhli loaches hiding away. Lots of small shrimp and small snails.

The dwarf sag at the front is getting a bit carried away but not sure how to prune it. Some duckweed snuck in.
 
Nice aquascape! I like the small glimpses of hardscape visible through the plants, gives good depth & has the feeling it carries on further.
You also have a nice, well behaved clump of hydrocotyl tripartita, it's my nemesis plant! Whatever I do I end up with a couple of straggly stems with minute leaves on them & it's  supposed to grow like a weed even in low tech! 😄
 
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