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Monolithic retreat - For FREE - everything must Go

Gill

Gill

Member
Joined
17 Mar 2008
Messages
3,916
Location
Coventry
Not being able to scape is doing my head in.
So after a little persuading. Grans Garage is mine. Already share the space with gym equipment.
So I am setting up the 2ft square cube that has not been used in a good while. I used it before as an outdoor tank in the past.
Going to try DSM method with this one, as Don't have any money to buy plants with. So will use what I have sitting in the daphnia barrels and willow moss i have been growing on the indow ledge.
Got So many ideas I am going to try with this one, to create interesting hidey holes for the critters.
Won't be ordering any fish etc yet. As want to wait for what will be coming up on next months import lists.
Will be using the cat litter with osmacote pellets.
To save the glass, will be using the microfibre method i have tried with other larger peices in the past.
Stand is already made and electricity is running on a seperate circuit for the garage.

As this will be in the garage, lights will be on a timer. And can use the roofing frame as a luminaire hanging structure.
 
Sounds good Gill, pleased your managing to get something up and running :thumbup:
 
Was going to try DSM, but little was pestering me to fill it up.
Forgot to boil some of the wood, so have a few floaters.
95% of the crypts have survived and only a little melting. Re-using my Lotus bulbs as they have already sprouted new stalks.
I really like the LED lightbox now that it is positioned correctly and hanging above the tank. My In tank LED light bars have been fitted aswell.
Will be added a few powerheads in the corners to get flow really going in this one.

Just hoping that the rat that lives in there leaves it alone (have put down baited trays).
 
Wouldn't it just be my luck that the exact shape and length peices of redmoor have been listed, and I can't Buy them.

Also reading thru my fish lists and trying to decide which fish to go for in this tank is going to be agony. Lots of new fish appearing these last 2 weeks.

Decided to keep this a Low light mood tank, and maybe highlight a few areas with some underwater spot leds etc.
Have left it open top, and Used the custom Frosted Acrylic cover as the background. And it looks Very good.

One thing that is not good, is that the external has sprung a leak, so for now have put it into a large bucket. Hopefully it will stop in a bit, as only a trickle. So have searched on ebay for a Tetratec nearby, and looking to win it.

Will be setting up my Brine shrimp as well later in the week, to get that started.

Was catching a few snails and shrimp in the garden, and sadly the little one knocked the pot out of my hand and the Contents went flying onto the concrete floor. Luckily it was only 2 red sakura and some greater pond snails.


Sadly have had to canel my car insurance today, as don't want the constant arguements with Dad over having access to it. Going to look for a cheap runabout that will tide us over untill things improve. Just wish i could drive manual cars without my left leg giving out after 10-15 mins.
 
Decided to Try my hand at Red Tailed Fairy Shrimp this year. As they dont need a salinity and I can set them up in the Loas Bowl, as it is nice and mature. And they don't predate on shrimp. Will be interesting for my little boy to watch them hatch and grow.
 
So this morning I received a Package of plants from tim.
I was overwhelmed at how many plants he sent me, and so very grateful. It Suprises me the kindness of members on this forum. And how much we are willing to help each other out.
So after taking the little one to the park, and getting the shopping.
I was inspired to to scape the hell out of the tank. And thus began 5 hours of prep to scape it, in order to do justice to the amount of plants I received.
Scoured my Hardscape stash for the best monoliths, and then also began the task of making the planting rocks for everything to be attached to.
Could not find my hot glue gun, so had to use cotton thread to attach everything. And then I thought I would make some nice shaped Moss Stones, So I began taking out all the Marimo Moss, and teasing it into shapes to fit the stones.
I then decided that it works for the Marimo, Why not try it on the hydrocotyle tripartita, so I teased that all apart into managle amounts and secured it to the rocks.
I think this method might work, and will be easy to move them around.

The tank is a little cloudy At the Moment, so Going to add an internal filled with floss to clear it all up.
Also I have been seeding it with lots of little critters to give the fish I eventually Add something to Hunt in the tank. Lots of bloodworm, mozzies, daphnia etc added.
And I will add the Fair Shrimp once they are large enough to go in it.
 
Sounds intriguing Gill....
 
So no pix as yet, as realised I left my NikonD70s at Dads. So will have to make a canopy to block out all the reflections and do my best with my budget phone.

Todays Plan is to go to the range and collect floating plants, and haggle to see how many I can get for free. As the staff do not care for the plants and maybe 2 plantlets in each pot are usuable.
Then Prepare for all the moss coming by getting all the tiny suction cups prepared. And also go to Poundland to find the feeding dish for the shrimp and suction cup planting disks.
 
So Been to the garden centre, and they only had giant water lettuce. And they were tooo big and was not going to spend £9 for one plant.
Got back home and plants from hogan had arrived, So went about prepping for them. Got my array of suction cups out and decided the best way in which to use them. Decided on using the ones for attaching Air Line. So pushed the stems into the little circular Clip thingy. And then secured them with a little cotton thread.
Placed them where I want them to grow at the surface of the tank just on top of the monoliths. I really like this idea as I can move them around easily and very simple method. Once the stems have grown a bit, can cut some off shoots away and replant using the same method.
Did the same for the Hydrocotyle, and it has secured them to the location I want them to start growing from.
Suppose this idea is similiar to how you train shrubs and roses.

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And a few pix of how I attached the anubias and java fern.

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And An Idea I am trying out, shower caddy partially filled with ceramic rings and Willow Moss, Java Moss, And Hydrocotyle Sp.Japan.
Shoould create lots of little hidey holes are it becomes covered in moss etc. And give ectra filtration.
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And note that the temp on the heater is barely 20. and the tank fluctiates between 24-28.
 
Also you can see in the 1st pic, the M+S brownie tub. This has I think Vinegar Eels, and I have not touched them since last May. Opened it up and it teaming with them.
What is the best way to harvet them ???
 
So another plant parcel arrived and WOW, so much moss.
Gave me so many ideas of how to use it, whether they will work i dont know.
Found these pads of suction cups in poundstretcher. And they work perfectly for securing the moss to the sides of the tank.
Just tied them on with thread and hey presto little bunches of peacock moss to scatter around all sides of the tank. I stopped though once my fingers were wrinkly and the little one was bugging me for a water fight. Will carry on tommorrow.
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And got my daphnia tub going ready for fish in a months time.
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Tommorrow will be finishing the peacock moss, and starting on the moss ledges, and a few caves for the Cichlids
 
Moss all done, what I did not attach, I shredded and let it settle where it rested.
Feel this is a more natural way of letting the moss attach, will see what happens.
Made a few caves and covered them in peacock moss. There are plenty of nooks and crannies in this created by resting the slate on each other when attaching the marimo balls.
Also been collecting mozzi egg sacs this morning to add to the many tubs i have set up. And also been sieving for ostracods aswell to put in a tub.
 
Glass is teaming with cyclops today, very interesting to watch them flit here there and everywhere
 
Can see new growth on the sp.Japan already, so that is a good sign.
Rejigged the baskets, as poundland had soap dishes in. And these look much better planted up with Peacock Moss, Willow Moss and a few cuttings of hydroctyle sp. japan. They will be used as feeding trays for the shrimp and stiph gobies, So that I can lower them further down at feeding time. And remove uneaton food easily wihout any fuss.
 
An Extremely Excited 3 year old today, as he thinks the Final peice of hardscape is his to play with. Cue mahoosive tantrum when trying to tell him it is for the fishes. 4 hours later he is a little bit more pliable to the idea. And want to help me with the Prepping of the peice of hardscape.
First time ever I am using this in a scape, and hoping it looks good. Will have to take most of it apart to make it fit in the tank, but I think broken apart it wil look even more spectacular especially with moss tied to the peices and buried into the current scape.
Just need to make sure it is safe to use in the tank.
 
Right thought I would add a Plant List so far:

20 Marimo Balls - Flattened and attached to slate and pebbles
Hydrocotyle Sp. Japan - Tied to slate, and in baskets and floating
Creeping Jenny - Attached to an air line suction cup and attached to the underside or the rim
Hydrocotyle - ?? which one - Again attached to suction cups on the underside of the rim
Peacock Moss - Attached to slate and planted, planted in baskets, Attached to glass, Attached to LED Light bar Emersed, Shredded and let drift in the water and settle.
Riccia Flutanis - Floating, Anchored, Emersed in Moss on Light Bar.
Java Moss - amongst the marimo
Willow Moss - Attached to Prefilter Sponge, Planted in Baskets using cermic Rings to weight it down.
Water Hyacinth floating
Wisteria, bacopa, cabomba, other mixed Stems - Attached to the underside of the rim and left at the surface to grow out emergent.
Various Anubias - attached to Slate and rested against the Monoliths.
Java Fern - Attached to slate and in crevices and left to drift and settle amongst plants.
Hygrophilia ? - planted in the crevices
Red Tiger Lotus
Green Tiger Lotus
Mixed Crypts
Echinodorous Rose Mother Plant
Apon Natans

Inhabitants:
5 Red Sakura
6 Orange Sakura
3 Rasbora
Red Ramshorn Snails
Brown Ramshors Snails
Greater Pond Snails


Fish are on Order and will be added next month.


Seeded with:
Bloodworm
Ostracods
Cyclops
Mosquito
Daphnia
Red Tailed Fairy Shrimp - hatching saturday
Seed Shrimp

Live Food Being Grown and Harvested:
Glassworms
Vinegar Eels
Red Tailed Fairy Shrimp
Mosquitos
Daphnia Magna
Ostracods
Gammarus
Spider Eggs
Ant Eggs, Pupae
 
Pooh, response from manufacturer is a NO, as it would leech into the water. So I guess it will be the little ones toy.
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Would have looked awesome in the tank covered in moss and algae. Almost 3 feet long
 
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