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Skinz180189's 60L Budget Tropical Tank *Now Planted!* (56K)

Re: Skinz180189's 60L Budget Tropical Tank *Going Planted!* (56K

skinz180189 said:
a1Matt said:
skinz180189 said:
I'm just going to get some small stones out of the garden and tie the ferns to them.

Sounds like a plan, remember to wash, then boil the pebbles (10-15min. is probably enough) then let them cool. Before you put them in the tank.

No worries, always do that :)

Good stuff. Sorry for telling you the obvious, I figured better safe than sorry :)
 
Well now I'm home and have received some plants, I've changed the water and rescaped whilst at it.

Now I'm not really following any styles with this (or win any competitions), I guess it's sort of like a riverbed with a load of non matching stones and a plant pot! I've yet to do the moss stones, just waiting for our lass to finish work and bring some netting. The stone situation is from collecting stones over a long period of time, so they are form many different places. Oh well.

Also a bit of bad news, my white male molly was found dead in an alcove within the fake plastic stone :(. Shame really, as he was the best looking fish in there.

Now for some pictures;

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Full Shot

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Hopefully the plants won't die lol, I'm going to do a 10% change tomorrow and sunday too just in case any nasty stuff starts up.
 
Nick16 said:
is the java fern attached to the rock or in the gravel?

Zip tied to stones. Although I've bunged some into the gravel as it was pissing me off trying to get them to stay. If it dies it dies. I lost heart by then.

I think it might all die off anyway, none of the plants look that healthy, and I'm not pumping money into ferts and co2. Maybe a planted tank just isn't to be.
 
well its the only way, co2 and ferts is the best way to go, my plants looked terrible and then i took the plunge and now my stems grow an inch a week :)
 
have you got an external filter for the tank? those elite stingray things are probably THE worst filters ever IMO.
 
aaronnorth said:
looking loads better already, i like the riverbank style you have going on.
What is the probe at the back?

Thanks, you're the first person to say they like the new style. It's the probe for the digital thermometer.

As aaron already knows, I'm looking into fertilisation options.
 
your definitely making steps in the right direction :D

IME very fine fishing line alone is great for attaching moss to décor. wrap it around several times. job done.
 
saintly said:
your definitely making steps in the right direction :D

IME very fine fishing line alone is great for attaching moss to décor. wrap it around several times. job done.

We have some fishing line somewhere in the (messy as hell) garage, but I couldn't find it so used cotton lol. It should be safe to remove the cotton once the moss grows onto the rocks anyway shouldn't it?
 
depending on what moss you've used, not all moss attaches it's self to hard scape. hence fishing line rather than cotton. but i reckon cotton last ages anyway.
 
i sent a mix of java, willow and weeping in one bag and pellia in another.
some plants so suffer a bit during posting but they should spring back from it ;)
 
Sorry there wasnt much of it, it was just the trimmings of what i hadd so i thought id throw them in :)
 
mr. luke said:
Sorry there wasnt much of it, it was just the trimmings of what i hadd so i thought id throw them in :)

I'm sure with time I'll be overrun with it!

Seeing as I'm in Loughborough I'm, going back to the woods to get some more rocks like the large triangular piece. Have some new/hopefully better ideas for it already!
 
skinz180189 said:
Nick16 said:
have you got an external filter for the tank? those elite stingray things are probably THE worst filters ever IMO.

Nope. Someone mentioned it before. TBH I'll change it when it dies, I've seen how much the filters a lot of you guys run cost!


Keep an eye out for them on ebay uk, i have seen some pretty cheap second hand deals on there. Fertz again to ebay, theres a guy on there called alchymest who is qualified chemist ( most helpful and does know what hes at that i can see, msds supplied etc ) sells dry powders well cheap. Co2 .. DIY . I have been using a big DIY job in an experimental tank at 6WPG with no algae in 6 weeks (cost a pound every 2 weeks ) yes i know stability can be a little more tricky but not impossible at all . You dont have to spend a fortune to get nice growth. Im currently writing an ariticle for planted tanks on a budget based on my limited experience , mostly for comment and it seems that it does not have to be that expensive at all. The more expensive something in this game is the better the marketing but its not the case that the benefit yielded is linear at all. An example , Arcadias new fangled Luminaire loses at least 20% efficency because they dont have reflectors on each tube.. There is not a lot of obstruction in that tank so I would hazard a guess that you dont need a massive filter if you keep the light down.
 
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