Grogans 60p

[grogan]

Hey planted crew,
Well I finally decided to stop messing around and picked up a 60p and the complete substrate system. I used power sand, both of the penacs, and bacter 100. I then toped it all of with a bag of Amazonia. The driftwood is an older piece I pulled of the Matanuska Glacier last summer and decided it would work perfectly in this aquarium. I tried adding some rocks into the scape but could not find any layout that worked with the driftwood. So for now its going to be simply the driftwood. Im have ordered some lily pipes to go along with it.

Right now Im working on my plant selection and will be ordering them next Monday.

[Geniusdudekiran]

I love the tank, but I'm not a huge fan of that wood. It seems too straight, wood with curves and twists gives more character.

I think that that new Rotala sp., Rotala mexicana 'Goais' or something of the likes, would be pretty cool. Glosso and Blyxa would be neat in this tank as well.

[tropicalmackdaddy]

Sweet start, i agree, maybe some rocks would help it out.
How many bags did you use? Im wondering how much i need to order

[grogan]

Originally Posted by Geniusdudekiran

I love the tank, but I'm not a huge fan of that wood. It seems too straight, wood with curves and twists gives more character.

I think that that new Rotala sp., Rotala mexicana 'Goais' or something of the likes, would be pretty cool. Glosso and Blyxa would be neat in this tank as well.

I get what your saying on the driftwood. Ill go out this weekend and see if I can find something with more character and a bit smaller.

Originally Posted by tropicalmackdaddy

Sweet start, i agree, maybe some rocks would help it out.
How many bags did you use? Im wondering how much i need to order

The size of the driftwood is one of reasons I didn't add any rocks. If I find another piece on the river that I like I may incorporate some rocks into the scape.

I only used one bag of Amazonia 9L. It was plenty but if you want some more dramatic slopes you might want to get the 9L and one of the smaller bags. Make sure you get the Power Sand to go under it. That stuff is really neat.

[grogan]

This is a really hard tank for me! I love doing rock scapes, and have a huge pile of awesome rocks in my yard. The problem is my last three tanks have all been rocks and no driftwood. I need something new and out of my comfort zone. This driftwood hunting is going to be tuff. It usually ends with me and 2 buckets full of rocks...like last time:


and the rock I wish I could have taken home with me:


Also got my spare C02 setup our of the closet and prepped for setup:

[Jules]

Originally Posted by grogan

and the rock I wish I could have taken home with me:

Wow - rock porn! This rock is gorgeous - you should totally build a tank big enough to hold it and forget all this drift wood nonsense.

[grogan]

Ha that would be awesome. Its kind of in a remote location next to the most amazing waterfall. Im surrounded by amazing rocks up here. Its almost like I should just start a thread for all the cool rocks I wish I could use.

[akdylpickles]

How often do you go up there? Sweet tank man! can't wait to get one ;P

[grogan]

The location is in Wells Bay. Its half way in between Whittier harbor and the Port of Valdez. My Pops and I made the journey for fathers day and took the dingy to shore to scout around. Getting that rock into the dingy and back on the boat..would be colossal.

[djdan724]

Beautiful pics! Must be a lovely hike.

Also, nice start, maybe break off the middle branch? May add a better line. Just a thought

[grogan]

It wasn't a hike, it was a 4 hour boat ride.

But enough about the rock Im not using in this tank. I just got conformation from ADG that my lily pipes are in the mail. Once they get here all I have left is to order my plants next Monday from Jermack.

[Jules]

That's pretty nice scenery you've got there - but I may be somewhat biased as it looks a lot like what you find around here. I love the scrubby conifer + cool rocks look

But since you insist on getting back on topic - I actually think the driftwood in the op would work well with a few alternations - try removing the right-most branch (cut it off at an angle so it's not obvious that something was cut off) and rotating the wood counter-clockwise a little so that the left-most branch isn't quite so vertical.

[grogan]

Thanks for the ideas Jules. I have till friday to finalize the hardscape so I might be doing just that.

Well I tore the thing apart this afternoon and tinkered with rocks and the driftwood. I know its alot of vertical lines but I think its getting closer to completion. Im going to try and find a few more small rocks this coming week to add more complexity to the scape. I will also be picking up more Amazonia to level off the slopes and fill in some of the empty spaces under the rocks and wood. I picked up the lilly pipes today and installed them as well. The craftsmanship on the whole ADA package is truly impressive.

[tetra10]

Subscribed!

[grogan]

Plants are coming in Friday and Im not quite there...crap! My only saving grace is that Im the local plant specialist at the LFS. I ordered the plants for the whole store so they can sit at in my tanks at the shop until I am ready. My full square foot of Glosso is going to have to be watched like a HAWK!