Gt Turbo's 10g re-scape

[gt turbo]

Hi all.

New to the whole aquascaping arena, so here is my re-scape of my 10g on my desk at work. It's a work in progress and for me it's more about the end-product. I have in my mind what i want it to look like in a few months when it matures. Please note this tank is Ultra-low tech. I recently got married and because I was on vacation/honeymoon for a total of 5 weeks my tank suffered from some neglect. Fish were fed daily but that was basically it.

Equipment:
1) Aqueon 10 gallon basic tank kit (Tank dimensions are 20"x10"x12", and it came with a HOB filter w and incandescent light hood)
2) Tetra mini heater, rated for a 10g tank (I'm only using this because it's in an air-conditioned office, our average daily temperatures here are around 29-31 degrees)

Substrate:
Aquarium gravel and Laterite

Lighting:
Swapped bulbs for two (2) fluorescent 6500K bulbs at 15w, comparable to a 75w incandescent.

Plants:
Reusing plants that were in previously, but lasted though the rough period.
Vallisenaria- Seemingly three different types 055, 056, 056B.
Hygrophila corymbosa
Cryptocoryne wendtii
Anubias nana
Very tiny piece of elodea
And two bulbs that I bought in a pack, waiting to see if it actually they actually sprout, they are supposed to be an onion plant (Crinum thaianum) and a dwarf lily (not id'd yet)

Ferts:
API Leaf Zone

Fish:
Tetras - 5 Aphyocharax rathbuni, 3 Paracheirodon axelrodi and 2 Paracheirodon innesi
Also 1 Xiphophorus variatus (there were a pair until recently , will take hime home to be with his siblings)

Now onto the pics.

Old setup.

Picture 011 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

What i returned to after the long vacation.

IMG_8937 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Removal of plants and decor

IMG_8939 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Nothing beats calcified algae and calcium deposits like Ms. Fix-It

IMG_8943 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Poor pic of emptied tank

IMG_8946 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Start of re-scape

IMG_8947 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Top view

IMG_8950 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Re-fill time

IMG_8954 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Top view, finished scaping or replanting really, testing equipment

IMG_8972 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Fishies acclimation, trusty heavy duty dechlorinator and liquid ferts

IMG_8983 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Complete

IMG_8992 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

View from Side

IMG_9001 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Tank - 5 days later

IMG_9004 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

DIY Light fix

IMG_8964 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Light close-up

IMG_8967 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

My office flower, that almost died but a steady diet of aquarium waste water caused this

IMG_8957 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

[gt turbo]

Any and all advice is welcomed. I'll also take any RAOK for CO2 equipment and plants. I'll pay postage.

[loucas6290]

i think i have the same hood. what light bulbs are you using, and what has your growth been like?

[gt turbo]

Originally Posted by loucas6290

i think i have the same hood. what light bulbs are you using, and what has your growth been like?

The lights are regular grocery store lights they just have the right/best Kelvin range for plant growth. Plus at 15w with an output equivalent to 75w of an incandescent bulb, if we use the very old and in-accurrate measure of watts per gallon, I'm around 15 wpg.

In actual fact the growth has been pretty good. I had to trim my tank and remove at least a small grocery bag full of Vallisenaria. I had to cut back the Hygrophila quite a bit.

Will post a pic of the tank in 2 weeks. The only other thing i'm going to add is 3 root tabs tomorrow. There's also a tiny piece of Hygrophila Polysperma ‘Rosanervig' in there that i thought was dead but i replanted it anyway and i'm seeing growth. So let's see how it goes.

[gt turbo]

Well guys it's been two or so months since the original rescape, which I really didn't like. It was more of a tank with plants in it. Not really a beautiful scape which is what i really wanted.

Sooo, re-rescape was in order.

Additionally, I procured a Seachem Plant Pack: Fundamentals, and have started to dose the tank as per the instructions and I added some Osmocote to the substrate.

I know you guy like pictures so enjoy.

FTS - sorry about the dirty glass.

IMG_9170 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Right Side view

IMG_9173 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Added a few small stems I had at home to fill in between the rock border - Bacopa and hygrophila polysperma.

IMG_9189 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr

Stem close-up

IMG_9194 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr