dean
Member
Hi all now that the decorating is nearly finished time to turn my attention to my old mate whose been in our lounge about 10 years it's been many things in the past including general community all the way through to a lake tangyanika tank, all have been fish first, plants if possible second,
With me fish will always come first but now plants are more than something fry hide in they are a necessity
So far I've ripped the tank to pieces and removed everything including the lid
I've painted the backs with black acrylic paint as it's easy to remove with a scrapper if I ever wanted to, then I've sealed it with a coat of pva just to stop it coming off by mistake, both were very easy to apply with a mini paint roller
My idea is to make this as simple as possible to maintain, gone are the annoying canister filters, pulling them out of the cabinet to clean was a chore that only got done when needed as it was a pain in the but
So I've bought an Eheim Compact+ 3000 pump that will supply a trickle tower filter situated above the tank
Lighting is going to be supplied by cheap led security lights
Substrate I'm going with Tim's soil mix 50/50 pond soil & Irish moss peat (both made by Westland) topped with fine gravel
Decor is going to be some big pieces of wood which they sell for vivariums which I've had soaking for the past 6 months as they would take a tonne of weight to keep them down
Then I want to plant up with crypts, ferns and moss plus other stuff that catches my eye
Then the exciting part is going to be having plants above the water line Riparium style these will hide the trickle tower and make the whole corner of the room a slice of nature
I've been looking for ideas for absolutely ages and then after numerous web searches for inspiration I came across this photo that hit the right spot with me
Her indoors also thinks it's nice that's the first time we've ever agreed on a tank layout I usually don't consult her
I'm thinking off extending the two back walls up so the plants aren't attached to the walls and causing damp problems etc etc
I'll probably use acrylic so that I can build the trickle tower Into it
I'm not sure whether I'm placing the pump inside or outside the aquarium yet
Can anyone spot any likely problems or pitfalls to avoid ?
Photos to come as I start
At present it's just a tank that's been cleaned
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
With me fish will always come first but now plants are more than something fry hide in they are a necessity
So far I've ripped the tank to pieces and removed everything including the lid
I've painted the backs with black acrylic paint as it's easy to remove with a scrapper if I ever wanted to, then I've sealed it with a coat of pva just to stop it coming off by mistake, both were very easy to apply with a mini paint roller
My idea is to make this as simple as possible to maintain, gone are the annoying canister filters, pulling them out of the cabinet to clean was a chore that only got done when needed as it was a pain in the but
So I've bought an Eheim Compact+ 3000 pump that will supply a trickle tower filter situated above the tank
Lighting is going to be supplied by cheap led security lights
Substrate I'm going with Tim's soil mix 50/50 pond soil & Irish moss peat (both made by Westland) topped with fine gravel
Decor is going to be some big pieces of wood which they sell for vivariums which I've had soaking for the past 6 months as they would take a tonne of weight to keep them down
Then I want to plant up with crypts, ferns and moss plus other stuff that catches my eye
Then the exciting part is going to be having plants above the water line Riparium style these will hide the trickle tower and make the whole corner of the room a slice of nature
I've been looking for ideas for absolutely ages and then after numerous web searches for inspiration I came across this photo that hit the right spot with me
Her indoors also thinks it's nice that's the first time we've ever agreed on a tank layout I usually don't consult her
I'm thinking off extending the two back walls up so the plants aren't attached to the walls and causing damp problems etc etc
I'll probably use acrylic so that I can build the trickle tower Into it
I'm not sure whether I'm placing the pump inside or outside the aquarium yet
Can anyone spot any likely problems or pitfalls to avoid ?
Photos to come as I start
At present it's just a tank that's been cleaned
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk