55 Gallon Crypts Riparium

[hydrophyte]

i had one last fish in QT that i added last night--an opaline gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus). this is another extremely common petstore fish.

this tank has a lot of fish biomass. i will have be diligent with my water changes. i intend to add another picture later today.

[malaybiswas]

If you feed them conservatively and clean the tank once a week you should be fine. I have over twice the recommended fish biomass for my tanks, but pretty much these 2 practices has helped me so far.

The bolbitis looks too good.

[hydrophyte]

yeah i agree that water changes and especially conservative feedings can go along way to maintaining water in tanks with lots of fish. i understand that some commercial fish breeders pack many large fish into smaller enclosures, but maintain excellent water quality with large frequent water changes. this is easier really than keeping fewer fish in a larger volume water, where water changes replace a smaller percentage fo total volume.

some of my fish in this tank really will grow too large. i know tht it is not such a good practice to stock with fish that will eventually outgrow the tank, but i am constantly moving fish around, and this combination of fish had the right look for this tank.

that Bolbitis ia a quite happy plant. i need to get another shot of it in the aquarium because it makes a nice effect. i really want to get some needle-leaved Java fern going on trellis rafts--i takes a while for them to fill in though because they spend a few months adapting to the emersed conditions then more time growing in.

i had this Java fern picture on the first page of the journal.




it has grown to probably 2X this size. i had some trouble with it tipping the raft over, but i was able to even it out with some pruning of the longest leaves.

[Gatekeeper]

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

it has grown to probably 2X this size. i had some trouble with it tipping the raft over, but i was able to even it out with some pruning of the longest leaves.

I meant to ask you about that. Aside from trimming leaves off, is there any way to counterweight the raft or provide some type of ballast to it to keep it from tipping? Can you interconnect rafts together to provide more stable buoyancy for the larger plants?

I really like this style of tank. At first I was very skeptical of it, but since you have done some nice journals of it, the more I look at it, they seem to be quite elegant really.

The "void" that is created under the plant mass gives it a very surreal look (almost a contemporary edgy feel).

In that last Crypt photo, what substrate is that? Schultz aqua soil?

What material are the screens in the planter boxes?

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by gmccreedy

I meant to ask you about that. Aside from trimming leaves off, is there any way to counterweight the raft or provide some type of ballast to it to keep it from tipping? Can you interconnect rafts together to provide more stable buoyancy for the larger plants?

I really like this style of tank. At first I was very skeptical of it, but since you have done some nice journals of it, the more I look at it, they seem to be quite elegant really.

The "void" that is created under the plant mass gives it a very surreal look (almost a contemporary edgy feel).

In that last Crypt photo, what substrate is that? Schultz aqua soil?

What material are the screens in the planter boxes?

the principal means of trimming up those rafts is with the use of the "dumbbell floats", which are cut form the same foam material as the rafts and clamp onto the raft segments. here is a shot of a float.



if you look closely at that Java fern picture you can see two of these along the bottom edge of the raft.

it also helps a great deal to steady the rafts in place against the planter cups with VelcroTM fasteners. this is also very important for keeping the rafts in place so they don't float all about the aquarium. the rafts can be fastened to each other too. the regular Trellis Rafts link together like this...



...or however you like. in that 120 Mexico river tank i have two pairs of these with healthy carpets of Bacopa, which have quite a pleasing appearance.

i think that the gravel in that planter cup was Turface. any clay-based planted aquarium substrate (Aquasoil, Fluorite, etc.) will do fine in there.

that screen is just a plastic-coated cloth screen.

i really want to get some needle-leaved Java started on a raft. that wil look cool.

[oldpunk78]

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

i was moving some plants around today and i just had to get a few shots of this crypt, which is one of my favorites.



i mean to divide this one soon, so i wanted to get a shot of the nice, full mature plant.

i don't know what this one is. it might be C. undulata(?). does anybody recognize it? it is similar to the stuff that i have that i believe to be C. wendtii 'Bronze', but it has a much tidier growth habit. this one grows pretty tall, which is good for my purposes. here it is about 6" tall and still growing bigger.

isn't it a nice plant?

did you ever figure out which crypt you have there? i have some of the exact same stuff i bought under the name c. wendtii 'red'. i also believe mine was grown emersed. anyway, awesome plant!

[hydrophyte]

i still don't know which one it is. my best guess is still C. undulata. i think that it is probably not a wendtii. i have several wendtiis and they all bloom constantly. i still haven't seen a spathe from this one. has yours flowered?

[oldpunk78]

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

i still haven't seen a spathe from this one. has yours flowered?

nope.

[hydrophyte]

here is a quick shot from today. the plants have grown in a little more.



i hung up the new Jump Start light fixture, which i describe here.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...tml#post858409

[Hilde]

I think it be cool to add a turtle scheme to this setup. You, know what I mean. You, know a rock for the turtle to bask on. Oh, you know add turtle too.

[chase127]

awesome dude these ripariums are great.

[hydrophyte]

thanks very much. i have a lot of fun building these.

a turtle would create real mayhem in there. the above-water area is primarily just for the observation of the plants and their flowers. any animal bigger than an ant would just knock down those delicate crypt leaves. there is quite a bit of water for the fish to swim around in.

[idontknow]

Great looking setup. I love crypts. Have you thought about adding a sunset crypt in there?

[SPECIAL||PLANS]

the light fixture is nice. like a delicate louis poulsen fixture over your overly robust frame.

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by idontknow

Great looking setup. I love crypts. Have you thought about adding a sunset crypt in there?

there is a 'Florida Sunset' in there. it is growing faster than anything else. do you know if that one is just a variation of an existing wendtii variety. in addition ot the variegation, it has really nice leaves--more robust than any other wendtii that i have and with a beautiful satiny luster. i need to pull that plant out and get some shots of it.

Originally Posted by SPECIAL||PLANS

the light fixture is nice. like a delicate louis poulsen fixture over your overly robust frame.

my overly robust frame? i'm really pretty scrawny in fact.

i was pleased when i scored that light. the whole shebang was just 85 bucks including fixture, chain and my rustic hanging hardware.