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~Green's Resurrection Aquarium Gallery~ 50g Updates 6/20/12 pg.4: Mountain Scape

11K views 64 replies 22 participants last post by  StraightAddicted 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello everyone,

Welcome to my Resurrection Aquarium Gallery. Some of you may know I have had 140g and 50g when I started this hobby last year (Summer). Almost a year has gone by, I have learned A LOT. I am talking A LOTTTTTTTT:smile:. The best lesson learned in the beginning of this year (2012), where every single tank that I have crumbling down. My 140g was ok, but I didn't get what I expect it to be. My 10g was dying slowly but surely because of algae issue. To top it all off, my 50g which I was somewhat proud of, were destroyed within hours because of CO2 issue (here is the thread: (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...n/174439-when-co2-strikes-killing-all-my.html).

Yup, that's right. I was very very very very close to quit this hobby. I basically didn't really care for a while. However, inside me will never quit. I know that "giving up" is not in my dictionary. I got knocked down, but I didn't get knocked out.

This is why I decided instead of quitting to have 0 tank, I would have actually dedicated a room just for aquarium/fish tanks only. This will be my Resurrection Aquarium Gallery. From 0 tank, this fills up to 6 tanks (140g, 2x 50g, 30g, 10g, 5g). :smile::smile: I know that I am still learning, but I can tell you this. IT WILL BE EPIC. Not to be cocky or overconfidence, but you will enjoy it as much as I do. Let's get started with the pictures of the room.

Here are some pictures as I am building the smaller tanks around my 140g (She's the big momo) :icon_smil







Here comes the soldiers :bounce::bounce::









Hahahahah, yeah I am happy, but they're not done yet. LOL. It was pretty painful to move 5 tanks around to get the best view and functions at the same time. However, I enjoyed it. So look out, I will be rescaping all these and Updates pictures at least tomorrow. Btw, I would start with 140g.:thumbsup::thumbsup: Get ready people. The RESURRECTION is on the way.

Comments, Opinions, Supports, Suggestions, etc are greatly appreciated. :angel:

PS: I will have all the tank journal at this thread only instead of 1 by 1.
 
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#9 ·
Thank you. Your wish will come true. It's more enjoyable indeed. As far as the 140 scape.....eeeehhhhhhhhh....It was alright. It was my first scape as I was learning aquascaping with 10g (LOL), and I went ahead and did it. I know the new scape will be much better.:D

Sweet! :drool:

I think I missed the 50gallon at some point. Not sure how. Maybe that one came and went in my hiatus? Oh well. I am here now. Carry on good sir.:proud:
:bounce::bounce:Yayyyyyy, Yyyayyyy, ....Cable is here:bounce::bounce:

Yeah, I know you missed my 50. I thought you just hated it. :frown:
 
#19 ·
:proud:Thanks 150. I am super excited :bounce: But I won't play around these tanks though. I usually fall asleep. :icon_mrgr

Lol, maybe a lil but nothing official :tongue:
PHewwwwsssssssss, at least it's not official.

Naw. I just wasn't around for a bit. With the new baby and all. Then I got the salty bug, and work is crazy. Everything is settling down a bit now though. So I should be able to pay better attention now.:proud:
:bounce:Yay...Thanks Cable. ............How's the baby btw?.
 
#21 ·
Hello everyone,

Let's get to more updates. Here comes more pictures and comments:


Did you see the 140g scape? yeah, it's been cleaned out. It wasn't too bad. Good thing is also, no smells at all. That's a great sign as O2 goes pretty deep. Remember it was pretty high hills.





Just like that, booooommmmmmm :proud:


These are the components involved. Rocks, which are about close to 300lbs. Manzanita tree, man oh man, I love this tree. mmmmm mmmm mmmmm:biggrin:




Then here comes the fun part. Designing the hardscape. This step also has been well thought before I bought everything I needed. This is not a magic thing and it's just there. The idea was to have natural look, high on the left, and flowing to the lower part at the bottom. Natural baby :angel: So yeah, a lot of cutting, turning, adjusting at this stage. :icon_lol:








This is where your vision, artistic skills, and imagination come together. So after a few hours, I decided with the bigger branches. More solid and perfect as far as composition wise. Once I simulate the scape that I like outside the tank, here comes another challenge: Putting them all in there. This is obviously a not very easy task. Did I mention about 300 lbs of rocks? :eek: One of the big one was about 100lbs. I am a big fan of Styrofoam as the base. Another challenge was Manzanita woods, if I didn't calculate right, I would be screwed. Even with the exact measurement, I had problem putting it it. You know why????? because of that dang divider in the middle. It was pain to maneuver that wood. So now its a more fun thing, which is scaping inside the tank. PHewwwwssssssssss...............

By the way, please excuse my HOT body in the reflection :icon_lol: hahahah

















Ok, now more hot body for you, ooopsss ...I meant hardscaping. :flick:
Now, time for the substrate. Very close guys....very close.












Finally Ladies and Gentlemen..........After a couple of days,
:bounce::bounce: :bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

 
#29 ·
Hello everyone,

More update:


Planted those plants.:flick::flick:




Time for the water:




Unfortunately the miracle gro was leaking somewhere and sand looked ugly :mad:




Finally it's done. But guess what? I made a HUGE mistake. That's why we learn everyday. I didn't wash the sand. Look at the cloudyness :angryfire:angryfire Uggghhhhhhhh. Guess what??? I had to redo the sand and drain the water. I took out the sand and do it again. painfulllllllllllllll




Ok, so here we go guys:

Specs:
W: 183 x D: 46 x H: 64 (cm)
Plants: Anubias Barteri (broad leaf), Anubias Congensis,
Anubias Nana (petite),Anubias barteri var. 'coffeefolia',
Crypt Wendtii
Fish:Rummy Noses, corydoras Panda, corydoras Albino,
corydoras, Leopard, siamensis algae eaters, siamensis
Flying Fox, Albino Pleco bristlenose
Substrate: ADA AquaSoil, Miracle Grow capped with
EcoComplete
Light: Worklight T8 x2 (48 inches)




_________________________________________________________________

:bounce::bounce::bounce:OH by the way, Check out my youtube video. :bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVeJEGrt70c

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

_________________________________________________________________
 
#35 ·
Thank you for your compliment.

Paid off????? not yet not yet :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin: JK, I see what you're saying. Yes, it was hard work for this project, specially for the 140g. But guess what???????? I love scaping, I enjoyed it so much, even though I was pissed off here and there. It's part of the game. Yeah, I was confused to have 3 journals, that's why I just combined them all. Specially when it's going to be 7 soon. Hahahahah....

You, sir, have gone from fish keeper to artist. That tank is stunning. That video was amazing. I am at a loss for any more words. Absolutely fantastic.
I am humbled and sincerely thank you for your comments, Sir. I can not describe how I feel about those comments. I am thankful. :angel:

Oh btw, you are part of this project, Sir Cable. I don't know if you remember months ago in my journal as I was asking about what type of fish in this 140g. You said, it would be nice to have those "tons" of schooling fish in this big tank. Since then, I did a lot of research, and BOOOOMMMMM :fish::fish:, there you have them. Rummy noses.......:fish::fish:


Wow you have been busy!! Love how the tank flows with the driftwood, looks real natural. Also love how the fish school and kinda flow with the driftwood as well. Nicely done :proud: The video does this tank alot more justice!
Been busy indeed. That's right, you got the artistic eyes there. Manzanita flow from higher left to lower right, Naturalllllllllll babyyyyyyy. That's right, rummy noses would make amazing flows time to time. When I stressed out, I watch both video and the real tank. :hihi::hihi:
 
#41 ·
Hey my fellow addict. Hahahhaha, Don't be jealous be cause you are on your way to be one. Yes, I have had that idea before. Each room has a tank. Unfortunately, the down side is that maintenance. The good thing about 1 room, they look just like a collection display, plus the maintenance is so much easy with them side by side. But that's just my experience.

I'll get more pictures as I am working on my 50g.
 
#44 ·
Thank you. Yes, I love it. I love it I love it. Blood Sweat and Tears :):):)
Yay...Yay...Check it out .....tell me what you think....

Well done on your scape and plant selection, very pretty tank, nice selection of fish also.
Thank you, Sir. I appreciate your comment. Nothing much to choose for Low-tech tank, but that's why it's easier too. Fish are amazing, I love them:fish::fish: I am still debating if I should go with Discus or not. Hmmmmmmmmm:confused:
 
#49 ·
Hello everyone,

Now it's time for the 50g Mountain project. This is basically the tank that was disastrous, which killed all my fish. But hey, sometimes the best lesson is when you got burnt. So let's go to the point:

I decided to go with DSM, but it didn't work for me. The temperature and High humidity just killed them HC. The stupid mold (spider thingy), I hated them.







Few weeks later, here they come:





I knew it was going down the hill, so I decided to just rescape it again. These are the picture of inspiration around my area:









Nothing was really special about the view, but it inspired me enough to do Mountain scape. And decided to do DSM again, and would do a little different by trying to keep the humidity level down. Last scape, the humidity went 99%, and high temperature. This is the next scape:














But guess what???? DSM is not working again. Molds and fungus are all over HC. So, ...Yeah....$#$#%#&*@ DSM :angryfire:angryfire:angryfire. I am pretty sure you guys know what I am saying including 4 letter words. DSM is just not for me. It's just pissing me off then anything else. NEVER AGAIN I will do DSM. So I decided to fill in the water, and look at those ugly dying melting HC from DSM..... HATE IT :angryfire:angryfire:angryfire





Then while I was looking at the scape, there is something bugging me. It's just bugging me the fact that the scape was too flat. I need more hills and valley. High and low. Not good enough, so I decided to redo it again. Yeah, I know, within a month, this tank has been rescaped 3 times. Here is the current hardscape in the making. It will be better, I promise:













Hehehe:redface:It's a sneak peak, I'll update it soon. I Promise.

Btw, #%$$@#$:angryfire:angryfire DSM. This time, it's going straight water. No more wasting my money and time. :):)
 
#53 ·
Totally agree with you. It works for some people and good for them, but not for me. Forget that method. Yup, after all, with the water will work perfectly fine, and yes, dose CO2 like insane without fish in there until rooted pretty good. At least I can see water and not empty tank.

Thanks for the advice, and I'll keep trying this HC. Been trying to get nice carpet, but still struggling. I know it's here soon.


That last scape is it bro! That's the one!

Where are you getting your HC from? The mold could be coming in on that. You could also try propping the lid of the tank open a bit to allow some air flow. That might help and it will keep your humidity down a bit too.
The last scape huh? ...clue: it might be part of it. Hahahahha, there will be more tweaking here and there :hihi::hihi:

HC was perfectly healthy from LFS. Yup, I did more holes on top to get lower humidity, it was about 70 to 80% humidity. I tried any combination, it's just not working for me. Forget the hassle and wasting money. You know I spent at least 25 HC pots already?..........yeah, hate it that method.

I agree with Cable, last one is looking best. You were definitely right about needing more height. :) Love watching your tanks develop, Green, and that you aren't shy about posting your disasters! Give a noob like me a bit more faith I'll get there in the end! :)
Last one huh? hmmmmmmmmmm. :wink: I'll have some surprises soon. Hahahahah. Thanks for loving the development of my tank. Don't be shy or ashamed. People might learn from your mistakes.

Btw, noob or expert, it doesn't really matter. Accident can happen to anyone. :biggrin:
 
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