Sandy No More

**sidefunk** · 11-28-2011, 02:12 AM

FTS June 24, 2012

---
Just moved and finally got this tank out of the old place and set up in the new one. Was going to sell this tank to upgrade but I found a nice piece of wood this weekend while visiting home and decided to give this tank another go.

This is my first attempt using sand. My last scape was a little too ambitious so I'm scaling it back for this attempt. No moss will see the light of day in this scape. I just don't have what it takes to maintain moss to its finest. Funny enough there is some moss in there now which I will have to pick out.

Now I just need to figure out what plants I want to use in here. I have some left overs from my other tank including, anubias nana petite, stauro repens, sunset hydro, among others.

Any suggestions for plants would be appreciated.

setting up

Running two filters to help with the move cycle. Hope this will be enough with some water changes. Need to straighten the sand line.

I'll keep this rock here a week or two to make sure the drift wood will stay. Need to clean up the sand as well.

hope you like your new home guys.

Fish Ed · 11-28-2011, 02:27 AM

Great setup. I can't wait 'till see it with more plants.

Just be careful while you're vacuuming your substrate, because when your black soil/sand/gravel get mixed with the sand, it'll be really hard to get it out. It happened to me and it looks ugly when it's mixed.

**sidefunk** · 11-28-2011, 02:33 AM

Thanks. I will have to keep that in mind. I already have a few grains that have crossed the border. Need to bring my tweezers home to pick them all out.

Fish Ed · 11-28-2011, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidefunk

Need to bring my tweezers home to pick them all out.

Good luck with that, but it's gonna be hard.

discuspaul · 11-28-2011, 04:36 PM

Many rooted stem plants can and will do well in sand but suggest you use root tab ferts in the sand.
Some types that I have had do very well in sand, besides the Hygros you mentioned, are several types of Swords, Lydwigia, Crypts, Vals, Sags, Rotala, Bacopa, and Lotuses.
Of course, Anubias & Java Ferns are unaffected at all, assuming placement on rocks or driftwood with rhizomes exposed.

**sidefunk** · 12-04-2011, 11:32 PM

Planted. This is a relatively low maintenance setup at the moment, save the sunset hygro. Should fill in nicely in like six months. My first time trying riccia.

I ordered an inline heater. Should be nice to clean up a little clutter inside the tank.

FTS

Go shrimp go

**Doc7** · 12-04-2011, 11:55 PM

This looks great!

**sidefunk** · 12-11-2011, 11:15 PM

Just finished my final planting today. Got some new plants, all of which were in their emersed form of growth so it will be a while before the go into their aquatic forms. Excited to see how this tank will turn out. I'm going to do my best to keep on top of it.

I could not help myself and moss remains in the tank. I'm just going keep christmas moss which I love and grows slow enough and is manageable if you keep on top of it.

I'm also excited to see how the crypt balansae turns out.

Plant list:

Riccia
Stauro repens
crypt wendtii
crypt (? had it in my first tank and has stayed with me since)
crypt balansae
cypres helfri
HM
sunset hygro
bolbitus
anubias nana petite
christmas moss
(rogue needle leaf java fern)

diwu13 · 12-11-2011, 11:32 PM

Really like how this turned out. The shoreline looks fantastic and this is the first time I've seen someone use plants to create the divider (most people used rocks like you did at first). LOL at the lone cherry crossing the "ocean". Too bad the fish prefer to hide in the island instead of swimming in all that open space!

**sidefunk** · 12-11-2011, 11:43 PM

Thanks. Sure would be nice if the fish would swim out in the open. When the scape is really ready I will have to rile them up to get them out of hiding for pics.

Covering the rocks is really an Amano thing. I always thought it was a great way to help the transition. This was especially so because I don't think the rocks would have provided as nice a transition to the foreground if they were not covered with plants. Looking forward to giving the riccia its first trim next week.

doc bonsai · 12-12-2011, 12:15 AM

beautiful. Is the border moss then?

**sidefunk** · 12-12-2011, 12:28 AM

The border is a plant called riccia fluitans. Its my first time using it and I already like it very much. It is a floating plant, making it rather difficult to keep down. It is tied with sewing thread to the rocks so that it does not float up. Amano used to use riccia a lot in his scapes.

**sidefunk** · 12-15-2011, 02:53 AM

One of my shrimp took a walk. Boo found him in the bathroom. rip little man.

just having some fun taking pics.

these guys have been really happy and are really showing their color lately.

almost in focus. next time

diwu13 · 12-15-2011, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidefunk

One of my shrimp took a walk. Boo found him in the bathroom. rip little man.

What happened? Did it jump out of the tank?

And I gotta say. Using ricca as a wall is so smart :]

**sidefunk** · 12-15-2011, 12:03 PM

Not to sure what happened. I would imagine he just jumped and took a hike because I found him in the bathroom. I have had amanos do this before but not any crs to my knowledge. I'm assuming something was not quite right in the tank for him, whether it was parameters or someone chasing him. I think it was probably the latter.

11-28-2011, 02:12 AM	#1
sidefunk Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 282	Sandy No More FTS June 24, 2012 --- Just moved and finally got this tank out of the old place and set up in the new one. Was going to sell this tank to upgrade but I found a nice piece of wood this weekend while visiting home and decided to give this tank another go. This is my first attempt using sand. My last scape was a little too ambitious so I'm scaling it back for this attempt. No moss will see the light of day in this scape. I just don't have what it takes to maintain moss to its finest. Funny enough there is some moss in there now which I will have to pick out. Now I just need to figure out what plants I want to use in here. I have some left overs from my other tank including, anubias nana petite, stauro repens, sunset hydro, among others. Any suggestions for plants would be appreciated. setting up Running two filters to help with the move cycle. Hope this will be enough with some water changes. Need to straighten the sand line. I'll keep this rock here a week or two to make sure the drift wood will stay. Need to clean up the sand as well. hope you like your new home guys. Last edited by sidefunk; 06-25-2012 at 12:00 AM..

12-04-2011, 11:55 PM	#7
Doc7 Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: North Jersey Posts: 507	This looks great! __________________ 40 Breeder Journal Eheim Pimp Club - Member 468 (2 x 2217, 1 x 2213) ---- New Jersey? Nearby State? Join the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club!! Meetups, Swaps, Local Members to discuss your tank, issues, and accomplishments! NJAGC Member since 11/2011

12-11-2011, 11:32 PM	#9
diwu13 Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (24/100%) Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Willimantic, CT Posts: 6,168	Really like how this turned out. The shoreline looks fantastic and this is the first time I've seen someone use plants to create the divider (most people used rocks like you did at first). LOL at the lone cherry crossing the "ocean". Too bad the fish prefer to hide in the island instead of swimming in all that open space! __________________ ~~Fish~~ Shrimp tanks are like cups of coffee, one is never enough. ヽ（ﾟヮﾟ）ﾉ.・ﾟ｡・+☆ Twin 10G Shrimp Tanks & 20L Grow Out Tank*

12-15-2011, 02:53 AM	#13
sidefunk Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 282	One of my shrimp took a walk. Boo found him in the bathroom. rip little man. just having some fun taking pics. these guys have been really happy and are really showing their color lately. almost in focus. next time Last edited by sidefunk; 12-15-2011 at 11:59 AM..

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

11-28-2011, 02:27 AM	#2
Fish Ed Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Malaysia Posts: 200	Great setup. I can't wait 'till see it with more plants. Just be careful while you're vacuuming your substrate, because when your black soil/sand/gravel get mixed with the sand, it'll be really hard to get it out. It happened to me and it looks ugly when it's mixed.

11-28-2011, 02:33 AM	#3
sidefunk Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 282	Thanks. I will have to keep that in mind. I already have a few grains that have crossed the border. Need to bring my tweezers home to pick them all out.

11-28-2011, 04:36 PM	#5
discuspaul Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 1,588	Many rooted stem plants can and will do well in sand but suggest you use root tab ferts in the sand. Some types that I have had do very well in sand, besides the Hygros you mentioned, are several types of Swords, Lydwigia, Crypts, Vals, Sags, Rotala, Bacopa, and Lotuses. Of course, Anubias & Java Ferns are unaffected at all, assuming placement on rocks or driftwood with rhizomes exposed.

12-04-2011, 11:32 PM	#6
sidefunk Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 282	Planted. This is a relatively low maintenance setup at the moment, save the sunset hygro. Should fill in nicely in like six months. My first time trying riccia. I ordered an inline heater. Should be nice to clean up a little clutter inside the tank. FTS Go shrimp go

12-11-2011, 11:15 PM	#8
sidefunk Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 282	Just finished my final planting today. Got some new plants, all of which were in their emersed form of growth so it will be a while before the go into their aquatic forms. Excited to see how this tank will turn out. I'm going to do my best to keep on top of it. I could not help myself and moss remains in the tank. I'm just going keep christmas moss which I love and grows slow enough and is manageable if you keep on top of it. I'm also excited to see how the crypt balansae turns out. Plant list: Riccia Stauro repens crypt wendtii crypt (? had it in my first tank and has stayed with me since) crypt balansae cypres helfri HM sunset hygro bolbitus anubias nana petite christmas moss (rogue needle leaf java fern)

12-11-2011, 11:43 PM	#10
sidefunk Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 282	Thanks. Sure would be nice if the fish would swim out in the open. When the scape is really ready I will have to rile them up to get them out of hiding for pics. Covering the rocks is really an Amano thing. I always thought it was a great way to help the transition. This was especially so because I don't think the rocks would have provided as nice a transition to the foreground if they were not covered with plants. Looking forward to giving the riccia its first trim next week.

12-12-2011, 12:15 AM	#11
doc bonsai Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Ames Posts: 57	beautiful. Is the border moss then?

12-12-2011, 12:28 AM	#12
sidefunk Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 282	The border is a plant called riccia fluitans. Its my first time using it and I already like it very much. It is a floating plant, making it rather difficult to keep down. It is tied with sewing thread to the rocks so that it does not float up. Amano used to use riccia a lot in his scapes.

12-15-2011, 12:03 PM	#15
sidefunk Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 282	Not to sure what happened. I would imagine he just jumped and took a hike because I found him in the bathroom. I have had amanos do this before but not any crs to my knowledge. I'm assuming something was not quite right in the tank for him, whether it was parameters or someone chasing him. I think it was probably the latter.