22 Gallon ADA style tank - New scape - New pics 9/30 (56k)

[malaybiswas]

This is the second tank I started this weekend. The journal for the first one can be found here and the DIY process for the tank and stands is located here.

The filter has already been matured by "fishless" technique using Fritz zyme and household ammonia so I am ready to add fishes as well. But I could not find any cardinals or amano shrimps in my LFS so I will just start with a hand ful of cardinals I have in my old tank.

I am trying to portray a lush summer in the Swiss Alps.

The setup process was simple. Apart from fixing the Co2 equipment, filter inlet and outlets, I tried to capture the scaping portion as shown below.

First some power sand at the bottom


And Aqua Soil Amazonia - powder on top of it. A rough 2 inches flat on which I will place the main rocks.


After the rocks are placed, the contours are made by additional aquasoil. These contours are not final yet.


I will be using only HC and christmas moss for my scape. Got 4 bundles of HC on small rocks from my LFS. They are embedded in the soil towards the back of the tank so that they can spread to the front as they root out.

The main character of the scape (apart from the rocks) will be produced by a christmas moss "pine forest". This is the tedious portion. First I have to break bamboo skewers into necessary sizes. Then I need to tie the moss on the skewers. TThe picture below shows the first 10 skewers I made. 100s more to go. This will take a few days so I will put my next set of photos after I have placed all the "trees" in place and fine tuned the contours.

[CL]

Awesome diy! I look forward to seeing this tank mature as well! I always wanted to do the forest look, though, you should place the moss sticks farther apart, or the moss will all grow together into one huge mass

[malaybiswas]

Originally Posted by clwatkins10

Awesome diy! I look forward to seeing this tank mature as well! I always wanted to do the forest look, though, you should place the moss sticks farther apart, or the moss will all grow together into one huge mass

Thank you. Good point on the moss placement. The first set is just placed for the time being. They will be re arranged. I plan to give 1" space between the sticks (front to back) and the place them diagonally sidewise so that from the front they look close and bushy. Some thing like below (how they will look from top)

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[fishboy87]

I remember seeing an ADA pine forest aquarium. . .i just went on one of their sites in the gallery and this is it. . .


Is this what your going for. It'll most likely require constant trimming to keep it like this. I will be watching this one. Great job on the hardscape so far!

[dthb4438]

I really like the moss on the stick idea. I think that I will try that. I have lots of moss to try with.

[Phoenix-cry]

Nice hardscape, very mountain like!

[talontsiawd]

Definitely want to see this develop.

[malaybiswas]

Originally Posted by fishboy87

I remember seeing an ADA pine forest aquarium. . .i just went on one of their sites in the gallery and this is it. . .


Is this what your going for. It'll most likely require constant trimming to keep it like this. I will be watching this one. Great job on the hardscape so far!

Thank you.

I have seen this one too and it's awesome. My scape layout is different in the sense, that it does not portray the forest from so close, so the "tree" sizes will be smaller. But yes, as far as the pine tree structure is concerned, this is the shape I want to achieve. Not too worried about the trimming frequency. Once the moss starts to flourish, a trim every 2-3 weeks should keep them in shape.

What I am not sure of is whether I will be able to get this kind of shape with christmas moss or not. I have thought of using flame moss as well, but since I had christmas moss in hand, let me see how it goes with them before I decide on flame moss.

Any ideas are welcome.

[malaybiswas]

Originally Posted by dthb4438

I really like the moss on the stick idea. I think that I will try that. I have lots of moss to try with.

Great. I would be particularly interested to know the outcomes. What kind of moss are you planning to use. If possible, keep me posted on your journal when ever you create one

[malaybiswas]

Originally Posted by Phoenix-cry

Nice hardscape, very mountain like!

Thank you. Had a tough time erecting the tallest piece trying to support it one one of the shorter edges. Even now it worries me that if that tilts, it might knock of the rear pane

[malaybiswas]

Phew!! Finally finished all the moss "sticking". 105 in total. It's going to be a real PITA to keep them in shape but right now my enthusiasm level is high and hopefully it will remain that way long enough to make this a successful scape.

This is the picture after all the trees are placed and fresh HC planted. This is end of week 1. More to come next week. The water is still murky with the dust from aquasoil. Hopefully better pictures next week.


There was only one sad incident. I bought 5 cardina japonicas yesterday. This morning I found them all dead on my carpet. Never knew that they jump. Any ideas...are they known to jump or am I doing someting wrong?

Some pictures of both my tanks together

[talontsiawd]

Wow, that looks like some work. I actually am not a huge fan of "terrestrial" scapes that are very dissimilar to anything i could ever picture underwater but this is just soo damn cool. Nice work, you have alot of work ahead lol.

[ddtran46]

WOW. I cant wait for this to grow out. Its going to look sweeeett.

[mizu-chan]

Both of your tanks are AWESOME! I really can't wait for these both to grow out. subscribed to both!

[CL]

It looks awesome right now, but when the moss starts to grow.....