Hi guys, finally got to put this old 2ft tank ive had hanging around to use, plan was to have two "cliffs" with path down the middle, have topped the cliffs with Monte Carlo as this one wont have Co2, and the MC should be nice and close to the light at the top of the stones.
With the hight of the ikea cube shelf the tank is sitting on this is the eye sight view of the tank
Great scape. Only thing is could you make the path a bit thinner towards the back. Also, putting a small stone under where the stone hangs may be good. As the hanging stone bothers me I dunno why hahaha.
Yeah I mite make it a bit thinner, probably a good idea, that stone does annoy me also, I mite remove it tho its holding up a bunch of soil... at first I liked it because it was hanging but now I think its to big!
Ooo it could be a disaster if you remove it. I would tread lightly with that. Anyway good luck! The scape is already pretty damn good. Also, maybe having the tallest stone the focal one tilted a bit may make it look nicer.
Will this fissiden moss recover? I soaked it in some 50/50 excel solution to kill some hair algae and I think ive fried the moss, its gone from a dark green to brown...
I have ordered a small ISTA canister filter for this one, probably to small but we will see, I also dont want to run a heater. I may not stock with any fish, or perhaps only DAE shrimp, will the lack of heater be any issue for the MC?
Also when i flood, I plan on not using Co2, am I setting myself up for failure by doing the dry start, I have read the plant will become reliant on the large amount of Co2 present during a dry start.
Cooler temperatures will decrease growth rates, which will probably be a good thing since this is a Low Tech. Also, you've done most of the growing already.
You could possibly keep some fish that like cooler water like Tanichthys micagemmae. Although the Aussie summer may be rough. When I visit some of my family in Melbourne during summer, many a time it was hitting upwards of 40 degrees Celsius.
For when you flood you could be okay without CO2, although you may get a lot of melt, but you may not get more than what is usually seen when people flood dry-starts. If you think about it the plant needs to transition from emersed to submersed anyway, so will also adapting to lower CO2 levels be such a big deal? Could be, I don't quite understand all the plant mechanics to give an answer. Also, the dry start allowed you to carpet the MC which may not have been possible just growing it in a low-tech without waiting for years. So, overall I think the dry start was a good choice. We shall see though.
Thanks Opare, good advice, slow growing wont be a issue here as I would like to keep this one low maintenance, so I think ill trial no heater, I live in Perth which is probably warmer than Melbourne but generally not as cold! I keep some native Australian shrimp in a non heated tank they seem to do ok so I may run with more of them if I want to add some life to the tank.
Hopefully I dont get to much melt without Co2, I will be dosing liquid carbon, I mite go a little heavy on the dose.
Received my little ISTA filter today, did a dry test fit. Mite flood this weekend. I am tempted to run Co2 on this at the start just to establish the MC... not sure if this is a good idea tho, could I be asking for algae if I stop Co2 after a few weeks?
It not be a good idea especially when you consider that the first few weeks are a critical period in tank maturation. The bacteria in the tank may really not like the sudden change in parameters, and could lead to algae. Something you could try though, I've seen people suggest using water from tanks you inject CO2 in at water changes. The idea is to help enrich your low-tech tanks.
Smashed up some more rocks, looks a bit more dramatic now, going to head into Aquarium Gallery Perth tomorrow and try get some more mosses, perhaps some Anubias Nana Petite and a few floaters for when i fill this thing up hopefully during the week!
Here is a photo roughly from the angle the tank is viewed from. I had just finished glueing some mini pellia for the rocks and sealed the clingwrap, the glass is a bit foggy but you get the idea.
I have a feeling the moss on the tops of the rocks will dry out quickly, I am thinking i should flood this in the next few days.
Progress shot of the fill! My regulator from Aquascape Design arrived today, seems to work well, gets hot tho, been running for 30 minutes and its already very hot. Also they sent the wrong diffuser so hopefully they can send out the item i ordered.
I should position the diffuser somewhere else but for now I think this will give the Co2 the best chance of being pushed around the entire tank, thinking i will move it up next to the inlet, if co2 gets sucked into the filter surely thats a good thing?
I am happy with the flow from this little ISTA hang on canister filter, tho it will most likely slow down as it starts to do it job and get dirty.
Lookin snazzy! Really like the stainless steel tubes on the diffuser. And yes CO2 bein sucked up in the filter isn't a bad thing, and may help some dissolve a bit more.
Thanks Opare, yes I think ill move the diffuser tomorrow. Running the Co2 24/7 at a very low bubble rate to hopefully transition the MC from emersed to submersed with out to many issues
Few more angles, cant wait for this moss to grow in, just need some shrimp in here to bring the tank to life
They are Seiryu Stones, you should be able to find them at some pet stores / Fish stores and landscape suppliers. I had to smash up a large amount to get the look I was after.
Added some floaters, everything seems to be going well, lights on from 5pm until 10pm, Co2 on from 4pm - 9pm tho my Co2 solenoid is a bit noisey, like a buzzing noise which seems to go away the more it runs, anyone ever had this problem, thinking I should contact the supplier.
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