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HC mountain range scape - advice please

James Flexton

James Flexton

Member
Joined
21 Aug 2007
Messages
358
Location
Stotfold, Herts/Beds
Hi All,
Its been a long time since ive been on here so hopefully a few of the old gang still here. and to all you new people HI! im starting a new project in my Juwel rio180 tank (40G) which has been a cichlid tank for a couple of years. its split a seal which i am fixing this week. fish rehomed etc so i am left with an empty tank and a ton of rock. My plan is planted HC covered mountain range. some of you may remember ZIG did one a number of years ago.

However im stumped for ideas on how to initially secure the Hc to the rock. if i plant when fully submerged it will just float away so im thinking of having the water level just below the top of the rocks (with the rocks spread across the whole tank) and laying the HC on the rock in that position and leaving for a few weeks to get a grip. then building the rock piles once the hc has rooted to it and fill the tank afterwards.

I will get a FE co2 bottle on it and add the additional lights that i had on the tank back in the old days of the 180 journal below. so hopefully it will all work out. then stocking with cardinals and shrimp i think. but thats up for discussion..

Any thoughts as to any better ways of doing it??

thanks for looking and any ideas you may have.
(and sorry ive been absent for a number of years...)
 
Hi James nice to meet you,

Sounds good but I think you can achieve the same thing without water and use the dry start method. I'm thinking the rocks' texture is rough enough for the rots to cling on so you can just place the HC on the rocks and keep them moist by using cling film over the tank to minimize evaporation and mist them occasionally to start with. Eventually the roots should take. If heat is a problem and creating a humid environment inside the tank is a problem then you can add water and place a heater in the aquarium or use a heat mat under the tank.

Hope this helps,

Michael.
 
Hi James, if I remember zig used aquasoil between the rocks, I would build my hardscape then pack the gaps with aquasoil, the hc will spread over the rocks from where it's planted, drystarting for a couple of weeks to get some root growth established should benefit the hc too. If building steep slopes substrate supports, cut up takeaway tub lids work well or Iain Sutherland uses garden center lawn edging. Good to see members returning to the forum :thumbup: look forward to a journal.
 
thanks for the input guys, rock isnt exactly ideal as its a kind of granite type finish, slightly rough but nothing like lava rock or anything. hopefully it will get a grip.

is there a link to the dry start method anyone could post i had forgotten about that.
cant really use aquasoil as id need a ton of it. i have a full tank of rocks to use and the gaps would be far too many to fill i would imagine it would all just fall through to the bottom. its in the office and goes on the "staff welfare bill" lol. cant really get away with putting a ton of aquasoil receipts through the books!!
 
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