aquascaping with algae

[auban]

well, here is the first pic of the new tank. i was a bit hasty in setting it up. the driftwood doesn't quite want to sink yet, so i pinned it between the tank wall and the maxijet/filter. and yes, the algae is stapled to the wood. ill add more to the tank when the water clears up a bit.

[Acro]

That
Is
Fantastic!

So is that just straight gravel on the bottom?
Any worries that the staples will rust?
How are you doing lighting?

[sdbrewer]

Originally Posted by auban

well, here is the first pic of the new tank. i was a bit hasty in setting it up. the driftwood doesn't quite want to sink yet, so i pinned it between the tank wall and the maxijet/filter. and yes, the algae is stapled to the wood. ill add more to the tank when the water clears up a bit.

Something about this is so ugly, beautiful, backward, and wrong. I'll have to subscribe to this thread as I wait for the Walking Dead to return in February.

[auban]

the gravel is just rinsed paver base. i saw several bags of paver base and paver sand on sale at Lowes for like a dollar or two per bag, so i stocked up on all ill ever need... about 800 lbs i think. if i remember correctly, i paid 42 dollars for all of it. i have no idea how it affects ph and i really dont care. by the time i add fish to a tank, the water has pretty much stabilized anyway. as for lighting, its just two dome shop lights on top. i really dont care if the staples rust, but i dont think they will. i have dunked many a stapler into water and the staples never rust in the stapler, so i dont think they will rust in the tank.

here is another pic, with a couple pieces added. the wood is starting to stain the water, so ill probably do a water change next weekend.

[auban]

if this works the way i want it to, im going to try making a giraffe out of algae, kinda like the shrubs they prune into animals at theme parks. once it grows in thick, it holds its shape pretty well. the marimo looking thing i have in the main tank is already showing promise in this area.

[Crob5965]

Awesome I'm glad to see this thread is still going strong I'm enjoying the progress.
still to scared to try it myself but it looks great keep up the good work

[auban]

another pic, showing a bit of growth. im going to keep posting these up so you all get a good idea of how the algae grows, rather than the before/after type photos i had up before. im guessing that i will need to trim it in another few days. i started injecting CO2 tonight.

[Acro]

That's great!
I think it's important to try keeping this tank as "normal" as possible, so that others may attempt it with out being too afraid (as I know you like to experiment, but others won't risk it). lol So please do check the PH and see if the staples rust and things like that.
But that's just my thoughts, do what you want, I will enjoy watching either way!

[auban]

update: this photo is of the algae just before i trimmed it. after trimming it, the water was pretty murky, so i will have to wait till later to get another pic of it. the lights up till this point were going 24/7, so the algae grew fast. from now on though, im reducing the photo period to about 14 hours. ill keep trying to reduce it more and more, but since i leave for work at 6AM and dont return till 6PM it will be hard for me to reduce the photo period to less than 12 hours without getting a timer. ill probably get one sooner or later.

the tank is showing new tank syndrome, cyano, bacteria, mold, etc. i expected this, it always happens. it should pass within two weeks. i added shrimp to test the idea that the algae may grow fast enough to keep the ammonia down. one of them got stuck in the filter and died, but they are otherwise doing ok. it may not mean anything though, they ARE cherry shrimp after all...

[vodoc]

That is awesome! Experimenting with something different! I love it.

[auban]

after changing the filters and adding a little aragonite(the algae likes high kh) the tank is coming along quite nicely. the algae is getting pretty thick. when i touch the driftwood, it feels like a fuzzy guinea pig. the shrimp love it.

the wood is still leaching tannins, but it is starting to slow down. i do an 80% water change every week to clear the water.

[wicca27]

only thing i would do is check the staples since there are shrimp in the tank. heavy metals like copper will kill the shrimp over time. its looking good and cant way to see how this goes. with shrimp checking the parameters is not a bad idea. those look like cherry shrimp am i correct? they should be able to handle a wide range in parameters so this could get interesting

[auban]

the tank is coming along quite well. it has finally balanced itself out pretty well. i some of my cherry shrimp to it, as well as several amano shrimp. i also started adding fry from my bluefin killifish tank into it, as well as some H formosa fry. they grow incredibly fast in this tank. once they are large enough to not be eaten, ill return them to larger tank with the adults.
i added old used carbon to the bottom.

[auban]

changed the filter again, and moved the little "trees" from the big planted tank to this one. the algae is really starting to look pretty. the tank overall is looking better and better. it hasn't had any CO2 injection, just decent flow. the powerhead in the video doesn't run, its actually there because the driftwood STILL wont sink. it has just enough air in it to cause it to slowly float. so, i'm just pinning the driftwood down until it will stay put. it shouldn't take much longer.

there are three different kinds of fish in here, H. formosa, Lucania goodie, and Lucania parva. they are all fry i rescued from another tank, except for one female H. formosa, which i added because it was a surprise i found in the other tank. i thought they had all died when i moved from north carolina to california(i only had a few to begin with). in the last few weeks it has produced a nice little colony.

the fry are growing unbelievably fast in this tank. i think it is because of the little critters that are living in the algae. some of the algae has blackworms in it, which i couldnt disentangle from the "truffula trees". the surprising thing is that they are actually reproducing quite fast in there. i see new small worms fall out of it every time i shake them around a bit.

http://s1242.beta.photobucket.com/us...04357.mp4.html

[Robotguy]

Originally Posted by auban

if this works the way i want it to, im going to try making a giraffe out of algae, kinda like the shrubs they prune into animals at theme parks. once it grows in thick, it holds its shape pretty well. the marimo looking thing i have in the main tank is already showing promise in this area.

Yes! The engineer in me really wants to try to pull off an aquatic formal topiary garden. Natural smatural, I like symmetry and geometry...



Subscribed! And first thing in the morning I'm going to go mess with my marimo that's getting quite shaggy.

Originally Posted by auban

i start a siphon going into a 5 gallon bucket and use scissors to trim it. i hold the siphon tube close to the scissors and all the algae trimmings get sucked right up

Like an underwater Flowbee!