lljdma06's New Nano Dutch! More musings.
More Moss Musings
I was wavering whether or not to use thread for my moss wall venture. I decided against it. Incase the moss doesn't anchor to the wall, I want it to remain attached regardless. Thread degrades over time. So, I opted for a very fine test fishing line.
This is what I ended up with after about 20 minutes in the sports section of Kmart.
It is particularly well-suited for making knots and twisting, which is precisely what I want it to do. It is also strong and won't degrade. It is transparent, so it will be hard to see, yet it has a green tinge, so it will blend with the moss once it grows in.
Another advantage is that it give me a lot to work with for very little and I was able to splurge and purchase nice quality line. There were much cheaper lines available, but they came with warnings of lead content. Not that that is horrible, we use lead weights to anchor plants all the time, but it is never permanent and the moss wall will be up for much longer. I didn't want that risk.
Now, I just have to wait for the moss.
Hiding everything
The CO2 tubes, the light cord, and the HOB cords can create an unsightly mess. I wanted to hide as much of the hardware as possible this time. I found this neat little box at Marshall's (I know not your typical fish place).
It is flimsy enough that I can make holes for the tubing and chords and ventilated so that I can hide the power strip. It also fits well underneath the end table, effectively hiding all my hardware. I also purchased these suction cups.
These will secure the CO2 tubing close to the wall of the aquarium. I'm thinking about everything with this tank.
Now, I just have to wait for them to arrive.
Hardscape
After much sawing and hacking, I've narrowed down my hardscape choices. The irony is that I ended up not using the wood I spent the better part of an afternoon hacking away at.
It was just too big. I have several smaller pieces, which I may still hack up.
Different angle for one piece
With the knots and holes, I think they'll be great for attaching things to. The large piece will probably be the focal point wood and will play off the HC/HM street. It will probably end up being an anubia petite nana street which will end on the high point of the wood 2/3 into the tank, forming a focal point cluster with petite nana, a red plant, and possibly a taller grass specimen plant. Hard to picture. I can see it, but it is hard to explain.
The two smaller pieces, which may be further cut up into smaller pieces will possibly have pelia attached to them and be placed towards the front of the tank to form little mounds. Which will contrast very well, I think, with P. helferi. I don't know, though, Pelia is so darned messy. Christmas moss might work too. The wood will have
something on it and that something will contrast well with P. helferi. The little "woodland" corner of the Dutch will be rounded out, I think, with some toadstool-like Hydrocotyle verticillata. It will be an attractive little corner that will play off the focal point and lead the eye to it. H. verticillata has some street potential as well, and it may be explored for this purpose. I just have to make sure I can purchase it here. Another possibility, though not as cute, Marsilea hirsuta or minima. Those, I can easily find in the US, but they will not make as pretty a picture.
Waiting, waiting, I've been waiting...
I'm playing the waiting game on this tank. I'm waiting on the following, which is currently being shipped.
TPN+
Two Rhinox 1000 diffusers
Clear CO2 tubing
Suction cups
Check valves
Dropchecker
Jewelry scale
Willow Moss
Christmas Moss
Once these items arrive, I can get started and order the rest of the plants, as that process will take very little time. The fish, though extremely important to this setup, will not be added until the tank has been planted and the tank has settled somewhat into a routine. I will be playing with some fragile species and I will not compromise their health. Which leads me too...
Which Fishies?
Remember this?
Happy Dutch Principle #3 -
Fish play a very important part in this style as well. The bottom, middle, and top zones of a tank should be filled with fish to make each area interesting to the viewer. All fish species should be different in shape, color, and size, but the least number of species possible should be used to fill all niches in the tank (so no blue rams in a tank with kribensis, or silver hatchetfish with marbled hatchetfish, etc). Schools must be as large as possible.
Well, I think I've narrowed it down somewhat. All images were taken from a yahoo search and are only for illustration, not reproduction.
Upper strata: Heterandria formosa; a cute little livebearer
Middle strata: Boraras brigittae; one of my favorite microrasboras and the "spot of color" in this tank.
Lower strata: Erethistes jerdoni (formaly Hara jerdoni)
This is the trickiest fish. It doesn't like a lot of nitrate supposedly, so it is a matter of doing a dance between the nitrate needs of the plants and this fish's needs. The challenge of the group. Another option is Corydoras habrosus, but I thought E. jerdoni was too cool. All three can be acquired from one trusted source, so that makes me happy.
If I have surplus, they can easily find a home in my other peaceful tanks.
All three would do well in densly planted tanks with either a covered substrate or a sand substrate with wood as the decoration and lots of plants to hide in. Kind of what an old-fashioned Dutch scape looks like. Their range of water conditions also conform well to a planted aquarium with CO2 injection. Even the livebearer, which was neat. All of them are also extremely small fish and relatively peaceful, which is a huge plus. This isn't a final list, though, a great top three, but if something comes up and they won't do well, they won't go in.
As always, thanks for looking, and comments are always welcome.
llj