Attempting the unknown...

[Kye88]

My own first attempt getting into the planted world!

I originally upgraded a smaller tank to this 240 Fluval Roma. Then after reading the forum/online etc wish i wouldn't have got it for aesthetic reasons but making do with what i have!

'Scape i made do with some bits of wood i had, not ideal but i quite like the effect, wish i would have toyed around with the substrate more for some depth but hey ho.

Stuck with the Tropica range, easy and some of the medium moss.

Aiming for the weeping moss to cover the two pieces in the middle to create a nice visual effect.

Came with the standard T8 tubes but replaced the ballast and fittings to house T5 without the need to buy an aftermarket unit, co2 via a fe with inline diffuser on an Eheim pro 3. Have the powerhead in place so turn over is good, flow in the tank is great.

Planted a week ago, ill get some more pictures over the next few days, all iPhone pics so quality isn't great. Really excited to see what it can achieve. Have some more moss arriving this week to try and get a bit more coverage on some of the wood. Rookie mistake with the super glue as its now shining nicely in the tank which visually is annoying me! Was thinking to use some cotton to tie it down as well to help it spread?

Havent got room for another tank so 12/18 month plan is to rid of this and look for something from ADA or similar for the longer, lower style tank. Love the effect visually of things growing out of the water.

Learnt so much information from the forum, great place for a novice like me to learn.

 

[Kye88]

Little over two weeks since planting. Bit messy as its tidy up and water change day tomorrow. Added some Limnophila and Echinodorus in at the back just for some quick easy growers to see how they took.

The MC is spreading well already and the moss i am really happy with, looking a nice shade of green and really "bulking" out well in terms of growth. Im going to use some cotton to tie the Weeping down to try and get it to spread along the wood better.

Added 16 amanos over the weekend. All really active the first day now struggling to see more than a few at anytime. Possibly get some more in there to create a bigger group.

Also 24 Cardinal Tetra in now as well, tank has been up and running for a good few months before the planting etc took place so a nice stable environment for them. Shy little characters but the colours against the backdrop of the plants look amazing. Thinking of adding a black background to the tank to help emphasise it.

Really happy with the progress so far! Excuse the iPhone quality pics with bad lighting.

 

[Kamiel]

Nice scape, looking forward to see it grow

 

[JackMartins]

Looking forward to see this carpet closed.

Just a point. I believe if you make the front substrate more linear, this "wave" in the middle of the tank would call less attention! (Beneficial in my opinion)


Enviado do meu iPhone usando Tapatalk

 

[Kye88]

Thanks guys. I'll try and rectify the dip so it's not as obvious, very valid point.

 

[Lindy]

I think this looks great apart from the huge depth of substrate. If it were me i'd syphon out a lot from the front usine a hose going into a bucket through a sieve. The substrate you remove can be dried in the oven and then stored for a future scape. Great start though and I like the wood.

 

[Kye88]

Thanks Lindy. 4 or 5 bags of ADA I think it was in there. Complete novice mistake from my part for not playing around with it that much when setting up. At least the plants have enough depth for the roots though

 

[Kye88]

Really need to invest in a decent camera!

Moss seems to be thriving and really busing out well. Hard to get a decent picture of it. Going to tie it down this week to get it to follow under the wood as well, hopefully!

A couple of amano's at work. Haven't managed to count the full 16 i put in yet but quite a few seem active in the evenings when i am home.

Happy with the MC growth already in a few weeks, seems to be spreading well.