The Cryptocube

[Minsc]

30 gallons of low-tech cryptocoryne goodness!


Equipment:
30 gallon Oceanic cube
XP2
Hydor inline heater
DIY light fixture 2x15w T8, with fancy Tek style reflectors

Flora:
Crypts!
Narrow leaf J fern

Fauna:
Betta Splendens
Boraras brigittae
Pseudepiplatys annulatus

This tank is a continuation of my long running 15 gallon, but I feel it deserves it's own thread as:
1) It is starting to take on it's own personality
2) I accidentally deleted most of the pics of the previous tank, making the previous thread pretty useless

[Minsc]

In my previous tank, I was using soil capped with eco-complete as the substrate. Which I figured would be a great substrate for a low tech crypt tank... It seems it all depends on the soil. My fancy soil from the bag actually contained mostly peat moss, though I was too inexperienced to understand the difference at the time. For two years my plants sat in that stuff and struggled, and I could never get the tank to look healthy.

This time around, I'm using mineralized top soil, made with good old Portland dirt, dug directly from my back yard.

The difference has been immediately apparent...

Compare the old leaves to the new:

[nemosreef]

Looking good. looking forward to seeing it with some more growth.

[Digsy]

Sweet! I love all crypt tanks. I'm headed that way with my 105 gallon as I slowly banish everything else. Beautiful new growth, makes me wish I could start over with mineralized soil rather than relying on gobs of root tabs.

[benon]

You've achieved a very natural feel. I like this tank a lot.

[Minsc]

Originally Posted by nemosreef

Looking good. looking forward to seeing it with some more growth.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Digsy

Sweet! I love all crypt tanks. I'm headed that way with my 105 gallon as I slowly banish everything else. Beautiful new growth, makes me wish I could start over with mineralized soil rather than relying on gobs of root tabs.

Thanks! Have you read the thread on adding soil and/or nutrients via icecubes? It seems like it is never too late! I just wish I had done something sooner.

Originally Posted by benon

You've achieved a very natural feel. I like this tank a lot.

Thanks!

[Minsc]

After looking at these pics, and discussing with my wife, I am going to redo all the hardscape. I'll be using larger pieces of wood to provide height and add some boldness. I'm soaking some pieces now, and have a new batch of crypts on the way, so the redesign will hopefully be in a week or two.

[Digsy]

Looking forward to the rescape, those Oceanic cubes are really nice looking! Thanks for the heads up about the ice cube method to add mineralized substrate. I hadn't seen the Tom Barr thread and that's an awesome idea!

[Minsc]

Changed it up a bit...

[nemosreef]

Nice.