Reef to River.

[seedoubleyou]

I’m fully prepared for the runners, I’m the kind of hobbyist who can’t leave their tank alone, so regular maintenance may be good for me.
I was actually contemplating a full carpet but think I’ll go with sand and see how it turns out.
I think the tank is large enough to handle the Bolbitis and I’ll trim it back to keep it in shape.
In fact this whole tank will essentially be organised chaos.

 

[seedoubleyou]

Realised I missed some other epiphytes out of my plan, I do plan on adding bucephalandra and Anubis for smaller details in and amongst the hardscape.

 

[shangman]

The above is general arrangement, plants will be planted according to what looks most natural with plants appearing in more than one area.

Of course drawings are good but when you get all your plants you'll naturally find the right place for it. And of course nature never grows like you expect so it appears ends up different, but I think always better too.

View attachment 185862

Very cluttered. But here’s a quick planting plan for the tank. @shangman has really helped give the tank a great direction and I’m really excited to try and execute on the above plan.

I’m in the process of moving home so it will be a little while before this thing gets anything added to it unfortunately.
But that gives me more time to really nail the details and planting arrangements.

I’m set on my fish selection of separate danio species both staying below 3cm in size. I’ll likely stick between 10-15 of each fish.

I may go for the dry start method on this with the moss, and will try the soil version rather than yoghurt. But still undecided.

Thanks again to everyone who’s commented so far and offered advice, feedback and suggestions.

This tank would be boring without you all.

Glad to have helped! Your plan sounds really good, can't wait to see you start it once you've moved.

In fact this whole tank will essentially be organised chaos.

My favourite kind of tank!

 

[seedoubleyou]

I’m thinking of adding Blyxa aubertii to the back as the Red that it produces close to the surface will look incredible.

The below image was taken from a Green Aqua video.

 

[Courtneybst]

I’m thinking of adding Blyxa aubertii to the back as the Red that it produces close to the surface will look incredible.

The below image was taken from a Green Aqua video.
View attachment 185935

Very nice! I didn't realise it got that tall. I have some but it's much shorter than this.

 

[seedoubleyou]

Very nice! I didn't realise it got that tall. I have some but it's much shorter than this.

Well please let me know how yours goes. I’m a while out from putting anything into my tank. It will be interesting to see if yours gets that tall. (If you want to grow it of course)

 

[seedoubleyou]

Scape It

Scape It is a Aquascaping builder. Create stunning layouts with ease and minimal effort.

editor.scape-it.io

Think I’ll have a little play around on this. @shangman it might keep you busy whilst your tanks is hands off.

 

[seedoubleyou]

Here’s what I’m come up with for my scape, inspired by @shangman and lots of input from plenty of others, so thank you to all who have contributed on plant advice etc….

Please let me know thoughts, what you’d change, add, remove, place elsewhere etc…..

Thanks again,
Chris.

 

[shangman]

I think it looks great!!

One thing to note is that it can be very hard to get hygrophila pinnatifida to go that pink, it's usually green unless you heavily nitrate limit (which maybe you will try?). I have had good experiences with using stem plants like ludwigia AR mini and rotala hra as epiphytes by just shoving the cut ends with roots into crevices, and they just grow towards the light, so if you wanted some red/pink there, you could try that. Thy love the higher light that comes with being high up on hardscape I've found, and can easily take nutrients from the water.

 

[seedoubleyou]

I think it looks great!!

One thing to note is that it can be very hard to get hygrophila pinnatifida to go that pink, it's usually green unless you heavily nitrate limit (which maybe you will try?). I have had good experiences with using stem plants like ludwigia AR mini and rotala hra as epiphytes by just shoving the cut ends with roots into crevices, and they just grow towards the light, so if you wanted some red/pink there, you could try that. Thy love the higher light that comes with being high up on hardscape I've found, and can easily take nutrients from the water.

That’s a very good point, if it doesn’t manage to go red or pinkish then I won’t be overly fused, I’m hoping that I can grow Blyxa Aubertii long enough to go red at the surface.
Although this raises the question, would that need nitrate limiting too?
I much prefer to keep things simple and not incorporate too many factors. Too much happening means more to go wrong.

One thing I am really contemplating is a full carpet.

Having nutrients and soil capped with sand has never appealed to me, i believe a sandbed should be as thin as physically possible. I don’t mind building soil up as high as it needs to be and then planting it.

 

[shangman]

That’s a very good point, if it doesn’t manage to go red or pinkish then I won’t be overly fused, I’m hoping that I can grow Blyxa Aubertii long enough to go red at the surface.
Although this raises the question, would that need nitrate limiting too?
I much prefer to keep things simple and not incorporate too many factors. Too much happening means more to go wrong.

One thing I am really contemplating is a full carpet.

Having nutrients and soil capped with sand has never appealed to me, i believe a sandbed should be as thin as physically possible. I don’t mind building soil up as high as it needs to be and then planting it.

It might need nitrate limiting, I'm not sure though. You could instead look at getting some Cryptocoryne Red or Cryptocoryne Tiger (some users on here sell it occasionally) to mix in with your long plants at the back and add some red. Worth trying the Aubertii though.

For a full carpet, it's best to just use aquasoil like ADA Amazonia or Tropica so your plants have good nutrition. Having no sand area is fine with the fish you want to keep too.

 

[seedoubleyou]

It might need nitrate limiting, I'm not sure though. You could instead look at getting some Cryptocoryne Red or Cryptocoryne Tiger (some users on here sell it occasionally) to mix in with your long plants at the back and add some red. Worth trying the Aubertii though.

For a full carpet, it's best to just use aquasoil like ADA Amazonia or Tropica so your plants have good nutrition. Having no sand area is fine with the fish you want to keep too.

Yes it would be a complete ADA substrate system, I think adding a carpet will help the tank have a real feel of nature rather than a pedicured aquascape. But I’m yet to make up my mind.

I saw a picture of Cryptocoryne Red on here a few days ago, it was such a beautiful looking plant.

I’ll definitely give the Aubertii a chance, I think it will add a great sense of movement to the tank. I hope things start to look up for you and your tank.

 

[seedoubleyou]

Last night I added on the Chihiros WRGB II Slim, I’ve always been inquisitive of Chihiros and managed to grab this light brand new at a decent price.
I’m pleasantly surprised by it. It’s a nice looking unit, lots or controllability via the app.

Just debating whether to hang it or beep it mounted as it is. I’ll probably go with the acrylic legs and keep it mounted in the glass.

Side note: I think I need to wrap my cabinet in something lighter than the oak.

 

[Courtneybst]

I like the setup, and the neon lights just tops it off nicely 😁

 

[seedoubleyou]

I like the setup, and the neon lights just tops it off nicely 😁

Thank you, the light is my wife’s doing, but it actually really makes the look nice when the lights are ramping down.

 

[seedoubleyou]

Spanner in the works.
So often I like to throw myself a real curve ball, and today I have sold my current hardscape.
Although the rock was very different and would of provided an incredible canvas for planting, I almost felt anchored done by it, like it had control over what I do.
I’ve always have a love for an Iwagumi setup and I think I’d really like to explore that as an option going forward.

Whether I go Iwagumi or not. It now feels nice to have limitless options on the direction this tank takes.

 

[john6]

I'm pleased you've decided to change, it looked too much like a reef tank. Looking forward to what you come up with.

 

[seedoubleyou]

I'm pleased you've decided to change, it looked too much like a reef tank. Looking forward to what you come up with.

Admittedly it did. I just couldn’t bring myself to throw away £350. But now I have a clean break, I can start brainstorming a new start.

 

[The Miniaturist]

Another clean page like @shangman!
It will be interesting to see what you create now all the restrictions round the hardscape are gone!

 

[shangman]

Spanner in the works.
So often I like to throw myself a real curve ball, and today I have sold my current hardscape.
Although the rock was very different and would of provided an incredible canvas for planting, I almost felt anchored done by it, like it had control over what I do.
I’ve always have a love for an Iwagumi setup and I think I’d really like to explore that as an option going forward.

Whether I go Iwagumi or not. It now feels nice to have limitless options on the direction this tank takes.

Sounds like a great plan It's important to go with your gut and do something you really want to do, and often that means something completely new to you!! Can't wait to see what you come up with.