I have recently joined the forum. I am not new to fish keeping. I have kept fish in various ways for over 30 years. Marine on 3 occasions (one was a reef tank), a community tank (but with plastics plants), however, most of my tanks have been African Cichlids which is what I have currently. I have got to the point where I am fed up with the aggression of the African cichlids and want a change. What I would like to do is have a planted tank with some more peaceful fish but I have never done real plants before. The first issue is my current tank. It is ok but not perfect. The lighting is the main problem so I am looking for a new 4 foot tank. Most these days seem to be open top which I don’t want. I am currently looking at getting a Seabray tank. I have 2 Fluval 407s and I want to install a Fluval Plant 3.0 light. I don’t want to go down the CO2 route at this stage. I have an idea of what fish I am going to keep but I am still in the planning stage. I have recently had an operation so I can't do anything much for a few more weeks anyway. The biggest issue I have at the moment is the aquascape and what plants. I prefer a natural look but I also like the look of some of the other aquascape styles so I think some sort of hybrid would be nice. I definitely want a mix of red and green plants. I am thinking of something along the lines of a V shape aquascape sort of resembling 2 islands from each end of the tank one side bigger than the other. Difficult to describe but I know what I mean! I don’t mind a bit of wood in a tank but not too much. I would prefer more rock and plants. The problem is I am an Engineer so my artistic ability is non-existent! If there is anyone in the South London or North Surrey area that would be willing to help with scaping, any knowledge and assistance would be very welcome! One question I have is how do you keep a boundary between aqua soil and sand in the tank? Do you just put sand over the top of the soil, use a barrier of rocks or put the soil in mesh bags before covering with sand. I am used to stirring up my substrate, which I know I have to stop doing, but I am thinking I prefer the mesh bags solution.
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Thinking of a big change and moving from my current set up to my first planted tank
- Thread starter PeterBD
- Start date
MichaelJ
Member
I would recommend visiting the Featured Journal section / Journal section and find something inspiring - lots of great scapes and walkthroughs !
Cheers,
Michael
You don’t have to be an artist, you just need a little creativity and imagination. You’re an engineer, I bet you come up with creative and imaginative solutions to problems all the time.
Take a look at the Planted Tank Gallery, especially the 2 sticky threads, find a scape you like the look of and copy it. It’s the best way to learn. It’s how many talented scrapers cut their teeth. It’s about process, and being an engineer you should know a thing or two about that as well 🙂
As for putting it all together take a look at the tutorial and articles section, in particular this
Take a look at the Planted Tank Gallery, especially the 2 sticky threads, find a scape you like the look of and copy it. It’s the best way to learn. It’s how many talented scrapers cut their teeth. It’s about process, and being an engineer you should know a thing or two about that as well 🙂
As for putting it all together take a look at the tutorial and articles section, in particular this
Soil Substrate or Dirted Tank - A How to Guide
The Soil Substrate Planted Tank - a How to Guide... ...or Zen and an Introduction to the Art of Underwater Gardening with Soil or Dirt... ...or The Hybrid-Energy Approach. Introduction In writing this I hope to illustrate that using soil substrate offers a range of possibilities and that it's...
www.ukaps.org
DioramaDieHard
New Member
Great idea! In relation to your question. you can easily use rocks to form a border around your islands and then put a thin layer of sand around them. Use fine filter mesh to fill in the cracks between the rocks, and where the solid is high you could cut out some plastic or acrylic dividers and push them into the soil for greater soil stability. This will help you achieve higher soil towards the back where your stems will be. I would probably stick to 'easy' plants if you do not inject CO2, such as some java mosses, trident fern, anubias and easy to grow stems like rotala rotundifolia, hygrophila polysperma and limnophilia species. You might also like valliseneria, which looks great as a background. Check out the tropica website and choose easy plants and find what you like from there! I would stilll reccomend a mix of fast growing plants at the back because these really help achieve a balance at the beginning of the aquarium quickly. Another tip is to buy a bit of superglue and glue hardscape together(also used for attaching plants). Even though it seems you are leaning towards the nature style, it is always best to have them anchored down in place, making maintenance much easier. For inspiration, look towards dutch style aquariums and nature aquariums, they are easier to build than diorama and look great! Also check out some tutorials on youtube for inspiration such as those from MD-fishtanks, George Farmer and even ADA Japan. There are some good tutorials that help a lot starting out. A last tip would be to get a nutrient rich 'depot' layer below the aquasoil. Even in low tech scenarios this helps develop a healthy substrate layer whih is important for a healthy tank and prevents the chance of root deficient. it also means you tank will last much longer than a couple of months and you do not need to keep adding liquid fertiliser and root tabs!
Thanks for all the responses and tips. I will look in to those aspects especially the gallery for some ideas. I have already been binging on videos including from MD Fish Tanks and George Farmer.
With the particular job I have have processes are key. I am in aviation and if we didn't get things right it could be catastrophic!
With the particular job I have have processes are key. I am in aviation and if we didn't get things right it could be catastrophic!
