Even though my tank won’t be anywhere near the scaped level of most of you I thought it would be good to keep a timeline of mine anyway to show what I’m planning and what I learn along the way as i'm new to all this (hopefully get a few pointers and ideas from any of you as well, be as brutal as you want….)
Main idea for this tank is a Japanese Bonsai Garden as a small community tank that is based around a betta. I had initially planned to keep it minimalist but the more time I spend on this site the more I want to plant, plus it will be more interesting for the fish as well. So I’m at a point where I’m looking for ideas so any comments are welcome, my plant knowledge is pretty basic.
Tank = Superfish Home 60 (55cm x 32cm x 35cm)
Lighting = Built in 10w LED lighting (4 levels) with blue light night mode (2 levels)
Filtration = Internal Superfish Aqua Flow 200 <400 lph> (Charcoal and half of the standard sponge removed and replaced 125g of Seachem Matrix and 2 layers of Juwel Filter Floss)
Heater = 100w Juwel Aqua Heat
Plants = so far (pretty sparse as you can see but just picked up a few from my LFS to help cycle the tank till I decide exactly what I want) = Hygrofillia Salicfolia Narrow Leaf, Micranthemum Monte Carlo, Java Moss Bridge (temp), Marimo Moss Balls, Christmas Moss & Fissidens Fontanus
Landscaping = 4kg ‘Mini Landscaping Rock’, Superfish Bonsai Driftwood - Small
Substrate = Hugo Kamishi Natural Sand
Ferts = Flourish Excel (1ml daily), Flourish Comp (0.5ml daily) but this will be replaced with Aqua Scaper Complete once it arrives and will be dosing at 2.5ml daily and also using Dennerle Power Root Tabs (once every 3-4 months but will monitor)
Photoperiod = 6 hours (5pm – 11pm), not much direct sunlight at all
Co2 = Liquid only as want to see how I get on and learn without gas first but I know I’ve been ambitious with the mosses for a newb so I’m open to adding if needed down the line.
Dechlorinator = Prime
Temperature = 25.5°C (78°F), currently at 27.5°C (81.5°F) to help the bacteria growth
Fish = None in this tank yet as still cycling, but planning on 1 x Betta (halfmoon), 6-8 x Espei Rasbora, 6 x Tertas (tbc), 2 x otocinclus catfish and possible a couple of shrimp if my betta allows it.
Tank progress = Currently in the middle of my fishless cycle where it is dealing with 4ppm ammonia in 24 hours (down to 0.25ppm) but still have high nitrites and nitrates, doing daily WC (30%, 50% and 70% over last 3 days) to try and keep the nitrites below 5ppm and after last nights WC it finally dropped to 2ppm so I brought ammonia back up to 2ppm.
Current ideas – Bonsai with Fissidens & Christmas Moss wall on the side of the filter housing. Considering making a spray bar mounted at the back to aid in circulation (need to see how the betta reacts with the flow and surface agitation and take into account)
Happy(ish) with the left side of the tank once the Bonsai is in and a few tweaks, but middle and right is very lacklustre right now and looks basic, was just planted quickly to cycle and I want to redo prior to introducing fish and plant a bit heavier, what plants i'm not sure yet....
Bonsai driftwood
Test of bonsai in tank
As it stands now
Main idea for this tank is a Japanese Bonsai Garden as a small community tank that is based around a betta. I had initially planned to keep it minimalist but the more time I spend on this site the more I want to plant, plus it will be more interesting for the fish as well. So I’m at a point where I’m looking for ideas so any comments are welcome, my plant knowledge is pretty basic.
Tank = Superfish Home 60 (55cm x 32cm x 35cm)
Lighting = Built in 10w LED lighting (4 levels) with blue light night mode (2 levels)
Filtration = Internal Superfish Aqua Flow 200 <400 lph> (Charcoal and half of the standard sponge removed and replaced 125g of Seachem Matrix and 2 layers of Juwel Filter Floss)
Heater = 100w Juwel Aqua Heat
Plants = so far (pretty sparse as you can see but just picked up a few from my LFS to help cycle the tank till I decide exactly what I want) = Hygrofillia Salicfolia Narrow Leaf, Micranthemum Monte Carlo, Java Moss Bridge (temp), Marimo Moss Balls, Christmas Moss & Fissidens Fontanus
Landscaping = 4kg ‘Mini Landscaping Rock’, Superfish Bonsai Driftwood - Small
Substrate = Hugo Kamishi Natural Sand
Ferts = Flourish Excel (1ml daily), Flourish Comp (0.5ml daily) but this will be replaced with Aqua Scaper Complete once it arrives and will be dosing at 2.5ml daily and also using Dennerle Power Root Tabs (once every 3-4 months but will monitor)
Photoperiod = 6 hours (5pm – 11pm), not much direct sunlight at all
Co2 = Liquid only as want to see how I get on and learn without gas first but I know I’ve been ambitious with the mosses for a newb so I’m open to adding if needed down the line.
Dechlorinator = Prime
Temperature = 25.5°C (78°F), currently at 27.5°C (81.5°F) to help the bacteria growth
Fish = None in this tank yet as still cycling, but planning on 1 x Betta (halfmoon), 6-8 x Espei Rasbora, 6 x Tertas (tbc), 2 x otocinclus catfish and possible a couple of shrimp if my betta allows it.
Tank progress = Currently in the middle of my fishless cycle where it is dealing with 4ppm ammonia in 24 hours (down to 0.25ppm) but still have high nitrites and nitrates, doing daily WC (30%, 50% and 70% over last 3 days) to try and keep the nitrites below 5ppm and after last nights WC it finally dropped to 2ppm so I brought ammonia back up to 2ppm.
Current ideas – Bonsai with Fissidens & Christmas Moss wall on the side of the filter housing. Considering making a spray bar mounted at the back to aid in circulation (need to see how the betta reacts with the flow and surface agitation and take into account)
Happy(ish) with the left side of the tank once the Bonsai is in and a few tweaks, but middle and right is very lacklustre right now and looks basic, was just planted quickly to cycle and I want to redo prior to introducing fish and plant a bit heavier, what plants i'm not sure yet....
Bonsai driftwood
Test of bonsai in tank
As it stands now
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