Treants - 155 Dirt build (56K) It's Flooded!

[Dutchworks]

Start of a new build. tore all the old out, cleaned etc.
Going to use a DSM methodology, yup, a big terrarium for 2 or 3 months.

Specs:

155 bow front tank. 72 x 24 x 21(roughly)

Substrate:
Soil\Clay with dolomite and potash underneath. Cap will be using Black Diamond blasting compound.

Lighting:
320 watts T5HO AquaMedic SunBeam (2 @ 2x80 watt) Geisemann midday and aquaflora bulbs
130 watts CFL (2 x65 watt) Current dual-daylight

Filtration:
sump/wetdry, needle wheel, mag or Eheim (used for CO2 injection)

Fertilization:
Estimate Index

Flora:
Staurogyne reopens
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Glossostigma elatinoides
Fissidens Fontanus
Pogostemon helferi
Eriocaulon cinereum
Hydrocoytle sibthorpides
Needle leaf java fern
Diandra (Didiplis diandra)
Rotala Magenta (Rotala macrandra v. 'narrow leaf')
Rotala Wallichii (Rotala wallichii)
Mayaca (Mayaca fluviatilis)
Rotala Indica (Rotala roundifolia)

Fauna:
<TODO>

Blank Canvas:

[Dutchworks]

Wood was placed and fitted, built up a hillside using old substrate and nylons.

[Dutchworks]

Framed the tank with a 2 inch wall to hide the mud, sprinkled dolomite and potash down, and filled with ~80 pds pulverized top soil with 5 pds of red clay mud mix.

Shot of the mud pit:

[Dutchworks]

On top of the mud I cut and placed some nylon mesh to help keep it in place.

[Dutchworks]

For a cap i went with the black diamond blasting compound (20/40). I made this layer about 1.5 inches.

[Dutchworks]

Planted the foreground this weekend, took a while, 14 hours I think. Plants were not in the best of shape, but they are starting to snap back. Ended up using 12 pots each of hc and glosso.

[scapegoat]

that's gonna be one kick ass tank

[Solid]

That looks like its going to be a really sweet tank! looking forward to see this scape mature.

Will the nylon mesh interfere with the root system and kind of defeat the purpose of a nutrient rich layer?

[Dutchworks]

The nylon mesh is basically wedding veil material from a hobby store. Roots will have no problem growing through the stuff. I read here somewhere that using a mesh will help keep the soil in place if you ever have to uproot a plant, so i thought I'd give it a try.

ty for the feedback!

[RipariumGuy]

Looks good. A little doubtful as to the driftwood piece on the left, but then again, a lot of things look weird in a dry tank. Have you thought of adding a background at all? Again, looks great, can't wait to see the finished product!

[ChadRamsey]

this is going to be an amazing tank, i cant wait to see how you plant it and it fills in

[Dutchworks]

thanks for the feedback all.

Rip, what about the left piece looks out of sorts? It's actually two pieces of wood wrapped around each other. the topmost part is dry so it has a different coloring than the other. I will be adding a background in the near future, either black or blue.

Starting to think of plants to go on the backside of the tank, any ideas here would be appreciated.

tnx!

[Daximus]

I like the driftwood on the left personally. The nylon is a neat idea too!

[RipariumGuy]

Left is the new right... :P Sorry about that, I meant that the right piece of driftwood looks a little off. It just seems to be in the middle of no where. The driftwood on the left has a solid base leading up to it, giving it a focal point. The right piece on the other makes my eye wander. That may just be me though.

[Marconis]

This thing is freakin' sweet. Looking forward to it.