The 700 gal indoor sunken garden project

[CardBoardBoxProcessor]

that aro is in with neons.. to small to evne notice them or something?

[kzr750r1]

Originally Posted by medicineman

But they cost a lot and it would be disaster if the fish decided to jump out

And with out a cover it eventually will have an accident. Better go for somthing that is not inclined to launch out of the tank for food. At least I've seen footage of South American Areo leaving the water for a bug or two...

I always wanted to set up somthing similar having branches over the tank to feed them crickets on occasion....

May never happen though. Keep up the good work I like the progress.

[Martin]

Originally Posted by medicineman

@Symbiot,
LOL.. reading the thread is like drinking "poison".
You'll love this pic I shot at Singapore's Jurong bird park (highly recomended for tourist and businessmen alike!). A bit OOT but still has something to do with a garden pond-tank project. Trust me you'll love the place.



From the top it looks top notch as well.



The only thing it lacks is descent amount of aquatic plants.

Now go and echant magic on that pond of yours (I believe would be painfully expensive).

I _do_ have plans, and they're rather expensive. The include a river, a greenhouse/outdoor living room... the river flows through the greenhouse from the filter, the ends up in a/the pond. I also have an idea about a small basin about shoulderheight with Hemianthus c.. this would be in the greenhouse thing as well..
like a small powerhead sending water from the riverbit into a bowl/waterfall that just runs back into the river again...

[Y0uH0]

Great progress thus far. I am really excited to see everything fully in place and up and running. Now when did you come to Singapore and snap those photographs? I am still at the interview phase now but if i am lucky enough,i may land a job at the zoo so perhaps you can call on me the next time you are here. I guess both the zoo and bird park avoided having aquatic plants because maintenance is a thing and here in Singapore,i do not think that there are companies really specialising in this area yet.

[medicineman]

@CardBoardBoxProcessor,
Snakeheads are local fish. They can grow very big and highly predatory, I'd say more savage than arowana. They've been reports over the years that occacionaly thigh-sized snakeheads bite someone who is bathing on marshy waters (imagine it sees "winky" as a treat :eek)
You can actually pamper arowana so they prefer to be hand-fed on special menus like insects, worms or meat instead of chasing after small fish in the tank. In this case I think the owner of the tank does exactly that, otherwise bill for restocking neon will not be pretty.

@Symbiot,
Sounds like a fun plan, and will be looking beautiful too with all tropical plants and misting system. I would like to make something larger scale like that, perhaps sometime if I become filthy rich. Again a bit OOT but still in connection. What do you think about this plan of a garden with a planted stream/pond?

Could be my next project within the same house, but I must keep in mind of maintenance issue before making this one reality.

@Y0uH0,
I took the shots some time ago. It is always fun to go to those two spots, especially when you do it in a year or so time lapse. I'm happy to see that they will always have something new for me every time I visit.
They avoided aquatic plants for troublesome reason? Then convince them that you have the knowledge and capability. Show them that you are a good aquascaper, that should be a big plus to your points and you get yourself the job (and you can start to add more aquatic plants after you work there).
They actually have this simple low maintenance display at Jurong bird park, set naturally relying on sulight. Forgive me again for posting non-my tank pics.


see the guy on the right? Next time if could be you doing so!



The display mimics african waters. Plants also from africa: bolbitis, tiger lotus, anubias. Plenty of fish (small sized) like congos and such.

They use this shading net to regulate just enough sunlight into the display. Should have add a clear roof like my plan, you can see it just rained quite heavily for the past few days prior to my visit, and the water became murky.


Get the job, man. The place is so serene and far from pollution, least stressfull I say, especially if the pay is good.

[lumpyfunk]

MM yet another fantastic undertaking!! I am once again in a state of envious awe.

I can not believe that no one has suggested this for fauna yet, but have you considered archer fish? It looks like a great home for them you could actually see them hunt.

Thank you for sharing this project!

[Y0uH0]

I guess they avoided aquascaping their mega tanks because they are actually part of exhibits for some animals eg. the pygmy hippo so the movement by these animals may just end up stirring everything up. I am amazed by the tank at the bird park though,haven't been there for many years now. And just to give you an update,they have being doing a major overhaul recently and the bird park was just reopened sometime this year.So perhaps you may want to find some time to make a trip down and see for yourself the changes that may have taken place since your last visit.As for my job at the zoo,it will not involve anything near the scaping of the exhibit so i will not be able to help scape their tanks. Furthermore,such work are left to contracted landscape companies.Thanks alot for your faith in me and your encouragement though=). By the way,i love the plan you have of the possible garden/stream. I'd say if you have the resources,go for it especially when it is very beautiful. Unfortunately here in Singapore,for me to realise a dream like that,i would first have to get myself a bungalow which costs several million dollars so perhaps we shall see how in the future? Haha. But definately,i would support the projects that you have in mind.

[Aquamanx]

AWE, Lumpy just took the Idea of Fish from me! LOL! I thought I was going to be the first to mention it! I'm Surprised no one else said Archer Fish sooner also! the local zoo here has one, but, I have never seen it eat. Unsure what other fish they have in with it, it's been a while since I have been there... Well, maybe not that long ago, I was there this past summer... LOL! They have a couple of small displays of different fish. There is a cool looking planted one with all Rainbow fish, very attractive!

BTW medicineman, your pond/tank is looking AWESOME! I have an Idea for a greenhouse/pond also. My girlfriend (soon to be Fiancee, if everything goes Right.) is totaly supportive of everything I do. She loves the tanks I have & has even gotten into the planted tanks also. We're looking into purchasing a house (probably won't for a few more months...) & I have already brought up the point that I want a Greenhouse (I have always wanted a greenhouse) & have a pond in it. She was very Excited for me & said I can do whatever I would like to! She also said it would be a great place for her to do her reading. (She loves to read...)

[medicineman]

Archer fish?

I happen to have some pics of archer fish display, palud style. This one is mangrove setup with a fake mangrove trees. I guess they got good headache growing mangrove tree in high light level without spoiling the tank with algae, so they resolve to low light and artificial trees instead.





There are two connected display, L shaped with individual viewing windows.

Back to the pond...

Here you go, a full shot after some finishing job and the top part finished.



Water is a bit tainted, a good thing that you can see it filled around halfway of the windows. The windows frame is now also shaped to blend in with the rest of the cliff.

[Aquamanx]

Very Nice! I'm so excited for you! Can't wait to see the final outcome!

[Martin]

@Symbiot,
Sounds like a fun plan, and will be looking beautiful too with all tropical plants and misting system. I would like to make something larger scale like that, perhaps sometime if I become filthy rich. Again a bit OOT but still in connection. What do you think about this plan of a garden with a planted stream/pond?

Could be my next project within the same house, but I must keep in mind of maintenance issue before making this one reality.

I like it, though you should create it with 'maintenance free' in mind.
The larger the pond, the easier to maintain stability.
My pond is really boring, just a circle of water with fish.. My gf and I bought a house, and the 2 ponds were here already... I'm planning.. :-) I wish I could do a fully planted pond, but here we have freezing winters, and I dont know which plants would survive.. though I DO have plants in the pond, so some can survive below zero temp.

[medicineman]

Coloured

I'm presented this kind of colour theme by the team. It still needs another layer to go and is going to be the colour later on. The work on the house creates some stirrups and progress on the garden must be on halt accordingly.

What do you think of the colouring?



I'm considering to ask for for slightly darker colour with more light highlights for the second layer.

[Aquamanx]

It looks Great! Although I'm with you. I'd go a bit darker & use some lighter highlights too. Although, you should probably wet it down & see what it will look like while it's "up & running" to get a good idea of what it will look like. Seeing it will have water on it most of the time, right?

[the_noobinator]

i'd say add more browns and oranges. with the texture, it's going to look like cement anyway, so why not try to depart from that look. actually, a dark brown / almost black with lighter highlights might look awesome.

[BigB]

awsome, i was looking on how to do this but in a much smaller scale for something under a stairwell. Now i know it can be done!

awsome design. The glass is perfect hieght for chilling on a nice sofa and watching the fish swim.