• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Approaching Snowdon

GreenNeedle

Member
Joined
19 Jul 2007
Messages
2,750
Location
Lincoln UK
Just a few backdated entries to introduce this scape:


19th April 2013

Technical Specs:
30 litre Opti-white aquarium (L 40cm, H 30cm, D 30cm)
Eheim 2211 external cannister filter
Beamworks 9 x 1W Luminaire (8 hours per day)

Fertilisation 0.5ml Lush Max daily
Plants: Fissidens Fontanus, Ammania Bonsoi, Monosolenium Tenerum,Vesicularia ferriei, Taxiphyllum Sp (flame moss.)
Livestock: Neocaridina Heteropoda var Yellow.
Substrate: Akadama and inert pool filter silica sand
Hardscape - Slate Phyllite broken into small stones and shards.

This time after several failures trying to do simple scapes that didn't hide any negelct I decided to just make something that was very structural and use very slow growing plants on it. I guess it is supposed to look like a river with trees on the banks but that was more just a bit of fun. The scape's name wasn't really a description of something I was trying to achieve but purely that the rock reminds me of Snowdonia.

The main plant is Fissidens Fontanus that is laid inbetween all the rocks. There is some Pellia along the 'riverbank' and Ammania Bonsoi represents the trees.

The weeping and flame moss is purely some stray contaminants that appeared.

This tank will have 4 weeks emersed before water is added to let the Fissidens get a strangelehold over the substrate.

First I cleaned the tank out thoroughly, then smashed up some of the large Slate rocks I had in the Portinho scape. I built the scape in layers, adding rocks to get the slopes for the riverbanks then filling in another layer until I had readched where I wanted the top to be. At this time I was only using a small 3W clip on light while I waited for the beamworks luminaire to arrive.

IMG_0236.JPG


IMG_0239.JPG


IMG_0240.JPG


IMG_0241.JPG


IMG_0242.JPG


IMG_0243.JPG


IMG_0245.JPG


IMG_0248.JPG
 
04th June 2013

After waiting 6 weeks for the luminaire the Ammania Bonsoi was added. This will be flooded in 1 weeks time.

Unfortunately this extended has meant the Fissidens has gotten a bit gunked up and will probably have to be binned. Pity because I used a massive amount of it. I do have more though. Because it will be flooded and I don't want it all blowing about the tank I have chopped loads up and mixed it with some more Akadama.

That is in a single thin layer at the bottom of a tray. I am leaving it for 4 weeks so that these fine particles attach, then I can just sprinkle the grains of akadama onto the banks. I will probably repeat this process a few times until the attached Fissidens fills out a bit.

IMG_0288.JPG


IMG_0292.JPG
 
15th June 2013

The tank is now flooded and I can now sit back and relax. Water changes will be 10% weekly but I don't expect too much maintenance here apart from little shrimps loving to cover sand with Akadama.

I am leaving the 'river' covered though and every now and again when a bit of Fissidens starts showing up on these stray bits I pick the grain up and put it back onto the banks.

After the banks fill out I will simply suck all the akadama from the river part up with an airline and then add new sand.

My daughter is fascinated with this tank..............Ooh you can see one of the gloss white units I have discarded as well.

IMG_0318.JPG


IMG_0321.JPG


IMG_0322.JPG
 
I spy, with my little eye: a new tank:nailbiting: (cleverly tucked behind an innocent child).
Lol. That new tank (140ltr Opti) has been sat like that wrapped up since April last year. Is it old now, he, he. Struggled to find any motivation the last couple of years but will get to it eventually.

Looks great andy and having done snowdon myself I can honestly say that really does remind me of the path just beforw it turns and steepens to head straight up.

Really nice mate

Yeah I camped near the base of Snowdon once. A hiking team building thing for work which was cool and I remember this sort of path and banking from that weekend. It's a very loose name and I'm not trying to replicate that scene but it did remind me of that. I am at that stage of life where I am very nostalgic and have the past on my mind more than the future. lol
 
17 months since the last update and this little tank is still going. It hasn't changed a huge amount as I have had it on very very low light. The moss has started to cover the banks and the original Ammania and Tripiarta disappeared over this time.

The Fissidens also went a bit manky so most of that was pulled out although there are still some remnants remaining. I also planted a few stems of Proserpinaca Palustris in the tank. Will probably fail under low light but worth a try.

The white aquarium cabinet has been replaced with a zebrano one which matches the one I have under my 140ltr.

I have also changed the shrimp from yellow Davidii to some Blue Pearl Palmata. I forgot to tidy the path before taking the photos. The shrimp drag granules of akadama onto the sand

I've also included some shots where I am messing about with backlighting. They don't show up as good as they could because I took these in the daytime in a well lit room and with the luminaire above on one third power.

IMG_1026.JPG


IMG_1028.JPG


IMG_1029.JPG


IMG_1030.JPG


IMG_1031.JPG


IMG_1033.JPG


IMG_1034.JPG


IMG_1035.JPG


IMG_1036.JPG


IMG_1037.JPG




Also a couple of pictures of the adaptations to the Beamworks luminaire. This unit had a black panel with lenses fitted into it which was fine except the lenses were far too narrow a beam. So I took the lenses and that panel out and replaced it with a simple clear 3mm acrylic panel.

IMG_1042.JPG


IMG_1043.JPG


IMG_1044.JPG
 
Nearly a week on and this aquascape has been under all 9W of light since I got back to looking after it. As yet no algae problems and the shrimp all look fine.

I took a few pictures of them and they show how different blue pearls can be. Some are a nice icy blue while others barely show a trace of blue.

My 3 year old daughter loves this little tank and is always counting shrimp. She gets to 12 and then stops though. She will learn 13 onward soon enough.

IMG_1045.JPG


IMG_1047.JPG


IMG_1049.JPG


IMG_1050.JPG


IMG_1051.JPG
 
A backdated update here :) This is from 10th April 2015:

A long time since the last update of this little scape but it doesn't really change that much. It has moved on a little in terms of growth but not that much. I have been adding a few plants here and there but I am terrible at maintaining this scape.

It doesn't need much in terms of pruning and with just shrimp the filter doesn't really need cleaning but I sometimes don't dose it for 3 weeks and it can go a whole month or more between water changes.

These will probably be the last shots of this scape as I do have another DSM in waiting to replace this one. When I ordered this little Opti-white I was delivered one where I was not happy with the siliconing and they sent a replacement. I have however cleaned up the siliconing on the other one myself and therefore have 2 identical tanks so I can just swap over when the other DSM is ready.

So at 2 years old this scape has probably only ever had 10 - 15 water changes, has been dosed very irregularly and apart from its initial 'immature' months it has had no algae problems at all.

IMG_1367.JPG


IMG_1368.JPG


IMG_1369.JPG


IMG_1370.JPG
 
hi man,

wrapping my head around the timescale on this, pretty mental. :)

is that a drilled out bit of perspex as the lid?

Best regards,
John
 
Yeah, the lid is 8mm perspex/acrylic which I routed where the pipes and light were to go. Bends pretty quickly but does it's job.

This scape will be swapped for the one I have on DSM at the moment within the next month. Just waiting for the carpet in the other one to fill out.

This scape won't be finished entirely though. I plant to pull all the moss and plants off the banks, raise the height of the banks and then DSM it with carpet and other plants before letting my 9 year old son (who loves nature) have it in his bedroom :)
 
After saying that this scape was nearing its end I think I must have talked myself into doing it sooner rather than later and therefore with no further photos (it hadn't changed in a few days) thus ends this journal and another journal will replace it for the new scape :)
 
Back
Top