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**PRL in the Mist** - JULY Updates

58K views 207 replies 60 participants last post by  Cajun27 
#1 · (Edited)
Here are a few pics of my progress so far on my relatively lo-tech shrimp project. It will be a BKK tank, and I'm dry-starting the moss with a reptile fogger - Hence, "Gorillas (BKK) in the Mist (Fogger)".

Tank: ADA 90p
Substrate: Akadama Double-Red w/Osmocote
Lighting: 2 Current USA TrueLumen Pro Led bars. For the dry-start only, I am using a 150w MH as well with ADA bulb.
Fauna: BKK. May focus on WR. Will have a neo component as well. May be PFR, may be the very bluest of my blue pearls or blue rili. Not decided.
Flora: Mini Pelia carpet. Mini pelia attached to rock scape via dry-start. Willow moss for some branches. Belem in a few key spots. I haven't decided on any background stems yet. May pull from other tanks. Still a consideration.

UPDATE: Anubias nana petite,Golden Nesaea, Hydro tripartita

CO2: I will likely pump in CO2 post flood to prevent any chance of melting. Later, I will consider jettisoning this all together as the TrueLumen Pro may not put out enough PAR to make me excessively worry about algae.
Filtration: I nixed the UGF, and I'm going with a SunSun 403b coupled with two sponge filters that will be hidden. The SunSun will be attached to a Jaqno 1.5L external pre-filter for ease of maintenance and more bio. A steel pre-filter on the intake glass (likely acrylic) will further slow down flow.

ADDED: Purigen reactor via leftover RO/DI canister and parts.


Rocks: They are a combination of ADA and found rocks. Focused mostly on color for consistency. Obviously, since this is a 90p, all the rocks turned this from a 48 gallon to a.... great question. I don't know the size any longer. It could be more like a 25 now.

Plan: I want to dry-start this for a few months since MP is one of the slowest growers possible. Best-laid plans... so we'll see. I'm only a few weeks into it now. As I'm using an external reptile fogger to keep it uber-humid, it's not much of a hassle yet. The mini-pelia stays super damp on rocks, and not so much on branches. May use more willow moss then first thought.

The biggest part of the experiment will be to see how a dry-started moss like MP clings to the larger pebbles of the Akadama post-flood. For rocks? I've done this experiment already so I am not worried on that front quite yet. It will stick and flourish no problem.

***I should add that there is a handful of smaller, foreground rocks going into place soon that will be seen in newer updates. This is done to further tie the scape together and make it less disjointed.



 
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#7 ·
so far that tank rocks!
 
#9 ·
Here is the latest emersed shot. The mini pelia is taking off nicely, especially on the substrate, and on the lower rocks. The largest rock has taken on some GSA I guess, and it is out-competing the mini pelia right now so a little melted. No big deal though. Every other rock and the every other location is growing rather quickly.

For lighting, I am running it about 14 hours a day, 1 150w MH with ADA/Nag bulb + 2 Truelumen Pro LED strips at 8000k which provide for nicer, even coverage. Obviously, it is putting out a ton of lumen/PAR. The rest of the flora, remaining moist with the reptile fogger, is reacting accordingly. Lots of really green, really lush looking growth right now.

The sand on the left looks particularly artificial right now, but the look will improve once those Yamaya stones are covered in moss and blend into the substrate. Will happen soon enough. The darkening of the wood post-flood along with the addition of willow moss on the middle branches will also help quite a bit.

Now I am mostly contemplating what will grow behind both rocks as far as mid-ground plants go (elevated with Akadama on the left). If I do use any CO2 at all long term in this tank, it will be via paintball at about a bubble every other second. From past experience this is enough for many CO2 hungry plants, but nothing that will register much to the picky fauna.

The goal, however is to go sans CO2. I will need a suitable plant for back there, but nothing is striking me as the perfect plant right now. Any ideas? I was thinking that maybe something like Heteranthera zosterifolia might work well if I get it thick during the cycle with tons of CO2, then slowly back off the CO2 to nothing and just let is be.

 
#11 ·
Ha. They ARE massive! I shudder to think how much I spent in rocks in this 90cm tank. I did get a few larger ones from Yosemite, but the rest are over-priced AF rocks. Yikes. Pretty excited for the flood, but that is still sooo far away it seems. Mini pelia will test anyone's patience.
 
#16 ·
Thanks! The trick I guess it getting them to look good long term. This tank needs one more sand pool somewhere to even out the tank because it already has two focal points. I can only sort of break those rules because there is so much focal point (Like a jungle tank but with rocks), and because I now have that rock foreground. ... but two sand pools as well is just too even. It needs a third I think.
 
#15 ·
The stones that aren't yamaya have already been vetted in my other 90p. Nothing to worry about. Either way, I was already going to throw some lower grade CRS in there before I take the further plunge.

The basic timeline...

- Another month to two months of drystart.
- 6 weeks of cycle.
- 3 weeks of testing lower grade CRS.
- Actual long term inhabitants see the tank.

Since today is March 8th, and I have about 3 months of prep still, I expect this to all happen around the middle of June. Pain... ful.
 
#27 ·
Added fauna:

Anubias nana petite
Golden Nesaea
Hydro tripartita

Time for a new journal entry. The flood may be as soon as a week away because I don't really know how much more I can accomplish emersed.

Here is a semi-overhead shot. You can see how much the mini pellia has taken off from when it was just little bits.


Here is another overhead. The difference in MP texture here is dramatic. I love them both, but sometimes it's hard to believe they are the same moss. Hate that this turned out blurry. Will take a do-over.


Speaking of "hard to believe", this is also MP. This is, by far, the closest to the light. Unlike lots of other plants, MP, at least when grown emersed, tends to get more leggy the more light it receives. You can see some hydro tripartita in the background on the right.


Here is some MP that is on a rock, dropped right on the substrate. It's uber-compact, and a nice contrast shot to the one prior that got so leggy. You can also see the green slime algae having it's way on that rock. This is the only rock that's been affected, and it's one I pulled out of my other 90p. I definitely had a too much light/too much moisture thing going on. The MH has since been shut down.


I honestly don't know how these branches will turn out in the end, but it will be fun to see what happens. With as well as this stuff sticks emersed, it has me realizing that someone with patience could make an entire MP wall on the rear glass if they chose that route.


Here is a line of fissidens on the rear rock that will grow vertically. I have it strategically placed throughout the scape. In my other 90p, I have two 2x2 meshes with fissidens. In one the leaves are tiny and immaculate. In the other they are leggy and rather large. This has me thinking they are different species.


You can see some of the nana petite here as well as 3 rocks draped in MP that was originally in my other tank and not doing well at all (Guessing it didn't care for the 850 tds all that much). Now growing emersed, it as first melted away, and now it's rebounding with delicate new "leaves".
http://www.migrantworkingbee.com/aquarium/akadama/IMAG0309.jpg


I am so close to a flood now. All I need is media.
 
#29 ·
In one the leaves are tiny and immaculate. In the other they are leggy and rather large. This has me thinking they are different species.
i don't know anything about fissidens specifically, but i do know that a good number of aquatic/semi-aquatic plants have different leaves depending on whether they're emersed or submersed... could it be the same way with the fissidens?

EDIT: assuming your 90P is currently submersed. i read it that way.
 
#30 ·
Right, most definitely they report different growth. I have 2 90ps, the emersed setup in this thread and a submersed 90p that I've had going for quite some time now. In the submersed tank, I have two swatches of fissidens, and up until now, I thought them both fontanus. However, although they are right next to each other on the substrate, one exhibits tiny, rather dainty structure while the other is much larger and also more leggy. The difference is quite distinct.

Similarly. In this tank, the emersed one, I am pretty surprised how different mini pellia can look. Close to high light it's a completely different plant. Actually, if one didn't know better, it looks like I actually have 3 different types of emersed pelia, but I know them all to be the same species.
 
#35 ·
It is sad to imagine all the plant species I've that have come and gone in my tanks, and probably don't know the names of half of them. Terrible aquarist!
haha, well... as any ...planted aquarist(? not to say that the aquarist is the planted one, oh well) knows, there are two sides to aquarium-keeping... the scientific side, where you can study aquatic life in an easily-observable simulated habitat, and the decorative side, where you combine different plants and fish and nonliving items simply to make everything look pretty.
i don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to focus more on one aspect than another, nor does it make one a poor aquarist- it really just depends on your individual interests. anyways, better late than never to start documenting the various species you collect! it's all part of the fun! :D
 
#37 ·
Agreed. Many aspects to enjoying the hobby. Difficult to negotiate them all at once.

Looking good as it fills, the new pool you put in look hot also.
Thanks! In another 90p, I glued sand to mesh and created little steep hills. I may try to create "waterfalls" in a similar fashion in this scape someday that drains into the "pools". However, I would have to make sure I was getting no GSA. Once the glued sand turns green, there is no changing it back.

Possibly, I will go this gimmicky route just for a few pics though as I haven't seen anything else like it yet.
 
#39 ·
Thanks Madness! I have a Nikon coming soon so I may finally document with pride. I dry-started my other 90p as well, but that was only for 5 weeks. This is, like your username suggest, madness.

If anyone else has suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them. Sometimes you can get so wrapped up in a scape that you miss the obvious stuff. Right now it's still just a bunch of rocks.
 
#40 ·
wow, wow, nice tank..I was about to post something about needing a taller plant in the back between the rocks..then I read the post further and saw it. Looks to be an amazing scape when done.
 
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