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My new low tech attempt

Life as usual gets in the way of our plans,...but all is for good. :) I managed to do all the little things first everyday in preparation for the planting day. Each day after dinner i would spend about 30 minutes preparing the plants in the holding tank for planting. Like tying them up to wood,...super glueing some of the mosses,etc.

Funny how you start off with a picture of what you want to achieve in your mind but it kind of ends up on a different path during the actual planting ( in a good way,..i mean):). I realise it isn't as great as it should be because i am limited by my choices in plants and more importantly by my lack of imagination :) but i think it's gonna be a looker once it grows in nicely. I don't know for sure. I hope the moss bed doesn't rot on me. So here goes,...

Just coming to life,....
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Some of my favourite areas of the tank,...
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Full tank shot

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Note: A few changes were made to the bottom most subtrate layer which is the main source of nutrition in this tank: The layer comprises of JBL aquabasis plus + some old Aqua soil amazonia (1.5 yrs old that was lying in a box) + 1.5 hand full of coral sand mixed in. I don't know why I did that. No scientific reason but remember Clive telling me it's much cheaper than adding expensive substrate. It was an impulsive decision on my part:oops: . The tap water in my area is extremely soft so I thought some coral sand might be beneficial in supplying some added calcium & magnesium.
I am thinking of just some simple red cherry shrimps and some otocinclus & some tetras .
 

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I am sorry for the grainy pictures. i am taking all these shots with my cellphone.:oops: The sandy foreground looks pinkish on these pics.:banghead: It's actually light brownish to the naked eye.
 
looks great faizal, it has a really nice flow. Keeping the moss well hoovered, good shrimp population and low ferts seems to help especially when using as a carpet as it gathers a lot of debris. Any stocking plans?
Will be watching with interest :thumbup:
 
Iain Sutherland said:
... Keeping the moss well hoovered, ....:
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Cheers Iain. Much appreciated mate. What does " keeping the moss well hoovered " mean? I am sorry but i didn't understand that bit.

Yeah i am planning on adding some cherry shrimps, otos & some tetras but i am not sure of what variety yet. I might pay a visit to the lfs this week to see if any nice ones are available.

The filter has been running for 1.5 months now & i suppose its safe to add them in. Thanks for watching Iain.
 
Looks really nice Faizal, good stuff!
Really like that moss carpet :thumbup:
 
Iain Sutherland said:
keeping it well hoovered with a gravel syphon to remove debris. If moss starts to clog you can bet algae wont be far behind.
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Cheers Iain. :) I'll make sure i keep an eye on it. I am planning on doing daily small water changes on this one,...like 10 % or so. So i will vacuum lightly over it during the water changes. My light levels are very low too about 7-10 PAR at the substrate level. Photoperiod is just for 3.5 hrs only which i think should be okay given the choice of low light plants that i have in there. Might be dropping by the lfs in a few days to get me some lovely fishes & shrimps.:happy:
 
Ady34 said:
Looks really nice Faizal, good stuff!
Really like that moss carpet :thumbup:
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Thanks Ady,...:) Truly humbled by your compliments. There's really nothing much to do now I guess other than the little maintenance & the most awesome part of enjoying the tank. how is your plantless scape idea coming along? Really looking forward to that.

The tank is a lot clearer now. I had some purigen added into the cannister filter. Quite a bit of surface agitation too without any water splashing on the surface.
 
I dont agree with your comment on your lack of imagination Faizel I think youve done a brilliant job. Its fantastic and much better than I was expecting.
Youve kept the sense of scale right with out any plants overpowering the scape. Great stuff mate you must be proud. I would be. :D


Ps you can up your lighting by an hour a week after the first 2 weeks.

Chilli raspora would look great in here due to there teeny size. A shoal of those with your shrimp would conplete it
 
Alastair said:
I dont agree with your comment on your lack of imagination Faizel I think youve done a brilliant job. Its fantastic and much better than I was expecting.
You've kept the sense of scale right with out any plants overpowering the scape. Great stuff mate you must be proud. I would be. :D
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Cheers Al,...:) Awfully kind of you mate. I am rather chuffed with it actually. It's great to see it when the lights come on every evening from 9 pm till a little past midnight. It's sitting in a corner diagonally from my bed where i go to sleep. It's lovely to come home to such a pleasant sight. I am looking forward to seeing it progress.

I am following Iain's advice on keeping it clean by lightly tapping over the moss bed with my fingers to bring up any dust & then i try to siphon out about 10 % of water every day. I switch off the filter when i do this. I am planning on monthly filter & hose pipe cleaning. Haven't dosed anything yet since all the plants are very slow growers & the substrate is new.
 
Thanks Lindy :). Truly flattered by your comment. I almost gave up on it in the beginning,...when the main wood floated. Thanks for reading this journal.
 
Good recovery Faizal! It'd be interesting to see how you fare with low PAR at the substrate. My anubias seem to be in suspended animation at that sorta PAR levels :D
 
flygja said:
Good recovery Faizal! It'd be interesting to see how you fare with low PAR at the substrate. My anubias seem to be in suspended animation at that sorta PAR levels :D
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Hey,..:). Yeah I expect mine to do the same,...:lol:. I like it this way though. Not much fiddling around. I love the beauty of co2 supplemented tanks,..i guess it's just me whom i am worried about ,....fear of lacking the discipline that is required of one in maintaining a pressurized tank. Thanks for following this.:)
 
BigTom said:
Vertical stick at the back I'm not sold on though...
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:lol::lol: Cheers Tom, Yeah never really paid attention to that. Sort of developed a blind spot i suppose,...:lol:. I will try to do something about it. Thank you so much for the kind compliments. Much appreciated,...:)
 
Faizal you're a star, I'm loving the clean lines and healthy looking plants in this layout. Your definitely developing a distinctive style, and the joy in what you do is contagious.
 
Troi said:
Faizal you're a star,.....
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Thank you Troi. But a star?!! No sir, that actually felt embarassing a bit especially considering i got my inspiration from so many others here. I am just learning to walk now. One baby step at a time i suppose. I am actually still coming into terms that you guys find it pleasing to the eye. Very much flaterred & humbled to say the least. There are so many "giants" here. Mike Appleby's thread really helped me to understand the aquascaping techniques. So many others here who helped me at every inch of the way. No. You guys are the real stars in my honest opinion.The truth is i am just trailing behind you.
 
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