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Fec's 60cm opti-white "ROOTS"

B7fec

Member
Joined
10 Feb 2010
Messages
411
Location
Pembrokeshire, Wales
After some surprising success with my 90x45x45 opt-white, growing a nice carpet of HC and thick bank of stems etc...... oh and not killing a single plant! ;) I have decided to let the success go to my head and splash out on a second tank a 60x40x40 opt-white. My first tank has been a steep learning curve with a huge amount of maintenance, :wideyed: so I wanted this tank to be something I wouldn't have to cut back to often but could still for fill my appetite for design, attention to detail and of course be something I'd enjoy looking at. :)

So my hunt began for some inspiration and after trawling through loads of my own photos I hit upon an image on the net which at first I discounted but with some thought and interpretation I could see that the image was actually exactly what I was after, the perfect starting point.
360077654_fc3c649b93_m.jpg

I liked the roots intwined in the earth and throughout the stones, with the look of a steep bank edging down.

After a few hours scaping and planting up I came up with this, well 6 hours to be precise! so much for taking up less of my time :lol:
Fulltankshot.jpg


I'm pleased with the overall look of the tank and it is close to what I set out to achieve so I'm a happy chappy :thumbup:

Tech Spec

60x40x40 opti - white
eheim pro 3 thermo (temporary)
aqua one luminaire 3 x 24watt

Dragon stone (about 15 bits)
ADA power sand special
ADA clear super & bacteria 100
ADA Aqua soil - Malaya
ADA Aqua soil - Malaya powder
Zambezi sand
3 graded gravels

7 pieces of driftwood off my local beach (only 30 secs away :thumbup: )

Plants

Cryptocoryne wendtii Tropica
Cryptocoryne wendtii green
Cryptocoryne Balansae
Cryptocoryne x willisii
Bolbitis heudelotii
Microsorum pteropus 'Narrow'
Marsilea hirsuta

Ferts

2ml TPN+ - daily
4ml easy carb - daily ( will reduce when livestock added) although advice greatly received!
C02 with diffuser high at the moment (as no livestock)

I think thats about all.......some more pics.......
Fulltankshot_2.jpg

leftsideview.jpg

rightsideview.jpg

planycloseup.jpg


comments welcome....... be gentle! :lol:

Cheers Ben
 
chump54 said:
very nice, I'm digging (ha) the graded gravels. I like the way crypts look with them.
look forward to seeing it mature.

Chris

Cheers Chris, am looking forward to seeing this setup mature too, I get itchy fingers waiting! I chose the crypts especially for there look with the gravels and sand and the low maintenance with them, there actually 10 pots of crypts (Thanks TGM) in there but the photos don't quite show the smaller crypts just yet :)

Paulus said:
looking good :thumbup: a great nature looking tank. it is like a piece of nature. good job :) and the crypto's are great :D

Thanks Paulus :D wanted to get back to nature with this tank, sand, gravel etc.... I only live 30 seconds from 2 lovely sandy beaches with one dominated by a large rock formation, so I think subconsiencly I have drawn on inspiration from my surrounding with out actually knowing to much about it. :thumbup:
 
SteveUK said:
Excellent stuff! Really have managed to capture the feel of your inspirational photo!

Thanks Steve, I've really tried to stay as honest to my original idea as possible, with abit of artistic license of course :thumbup:
 
looks stunning - that 10cm extra depth and height compared to a more "normal" 60x30x30 makes a massive difference, and your excellent 'scaping adds to a massive sense of depth - had to check your tank dimensions to be sure i'd got it right!
Pictures are equally amazing!
What are your plans for livestocl? Maybe crustaceans to pick up on the seaside theme:)
Matt
 
bigmatt said:
looks stunning - that 10cm extra depth and height compared to a more "normal" 60x30x30 makes a massive difference, and your excellent 'scaping adds to a massive sense of depth - had to check your tank dimensions to be sure i'd got it right!
Pictures are equally amazing!
What are your plans for livestocl? Maybe crustaceans to pick up on the seaside theme:)
Matt

Thanks Matt,

I decided to go for a more unconventional 60x40x40 to give me the extra depth and with the scape in mind I thought I could make the most of it and hopefuly have done, especially going on your kind comments! :thumbup:

As for livestock not so sure yet, I tend to like thredfin rainbows, but I really like most rasbora's and although not always seen very often I do like Glo light Danio's and have 12 of them in my other tank. However not so sure these choices would suit this setup?? As for inverts going to have shrimp as I have a load of cherries and CRS (thanks to A1matt) in a nano and may look into some crustaeans such as fresh water clams etc.....
 
oldwhitewood said:
I really like your aquascape in this tank, the rock placement and wood looks very natural, it has a rustic coastal type feel to me. The mixture of sand and stone is great. :thumbup:

Thanks mate :thumbup: I've worked hard to obtain the look, gathering the driftwood from my local beach and looking at the rock formations etc.....

It's a look I have really grown to like.
 
AdAndrews said:
Wow, this is amazing, the hardscape is sublime, well done :thumbup:

Cheers Ad! :thumbup:

Will have some update photo's soon, I've been trimming melted crypt leaves (by the dozen! :wideyed: ) and have hacked away the older Bolbitis leaves as theres a lot of new growth shooting out.

Have also added around 15 to 20 Cherry Shrimp from my nano, let the clean up crew commence!
 
That is really nice, very natural looking with an impactful hardscape. But... an Eheim Pro 3 on that small a tank? :wideyed: It's gonna turn into a tsumani in there :lol:
 
flygja said:
That is really nice, very natural looking with an impactful hardscape. But... an Eheim Pro 3 on that small a tank? :wideyed: It's gonna turn into a tsumani in there :lol:

Thanks for the great comments! The tank is getting there....... still trimming off bits of melted crypt's, also not sure wether I'm missing some more low growing plants between the rocks or gravels, maybe some HC or Glosso (Or something else? open to ideas?), I've got some I could transfer from my larger setup, although may just leave it a week or two before making a decision.

Yeah the eheim pro 3 is way over kill :loll: But it's actually for my larger 90x45x45 which currently has a Fluval G3 which I'll swap and put onto this tank (The 90x45x45, I'm rescaping now....journal to start soon) I'm just maturing it in this tank.

When I first set it up and started the filter I did have water spraying over the top of the tank, from where the spray bar is in the photo's on the right, over the top of the glass on the left had side :wideyed:

Ended up with nearly as much water on the floor as was in the tank :oops:

That was until I realised I could alter the flow rate and turn the filter down!

Cheers Ben :thumbup:
 
You've got a Fluval G? I think the folks here are dying to hear your review and experiences! Please do share when you have the time.
 
Yeah I have a Fluval G3 the smaller of the two new G range filters, its a nice piece of kit. Will do a review for all to see very soon. :thumbup:
 
Not sure how I missed this, Ben!

It's really very good. The hardscape selection and composition is top drawer and as the plants mature it will only get better and better.

Gotta love DIY hardscape collecting too!

Keep up the good work. :)
 
Yes very nice hardscape, cant help thinking the crypts are planted a bit close to the front of the tank , could be totally wrong though, see how it grows in and then you can decide. All the wood in my tank for my entry to this years ADA competition came from the beach as well, you can find some great pieces sometimes, good work Ben :thumbup:
 
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