"Ne saurait faire d'omelette sans casser des œufs" (You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs) said François de Charette in 1742.
Which means in order to accomplish my new vision, I must bear hardships to gain something desirable.
The idea first came to me close to a year ago while I was still working on Office Space II during it's infancy that lead me to a fork in the road.
Shall I continue Office Space II on it's current trajectory, or take a risk and redo the tank while still in the grow out phase? I obviously opted to continue with Office Space II.
In retrospect, I should have changed gears and worked towards this vision.
Now that I have entered the AGA with Office Space II in it's current format, I am going to slowly retool the tank for next year's competition (and actively seek either Best of Show (top 10) or award winner) and a design which will be much more challenging and require me to rethink how this design will play out in the long term.
Changes, Additions, Deletions
What I am still going to use:
Equipment:
- Lights, the AI Freshwater Prime are amazing. I will never return to standard lighting. I have insane PAR levels
- Tank, the dimensions are what I want to challenge me on this next phase
- Heater, for time being. I am deciding if I should get an inline as I am upgrading hose size to 12/16 from my current 9/12
- My entire CO2 setup (the atomizer is much more nicer than the Bell)
- Eheim 2211 (for the time being, this has been promised to a member of my local Aquarium Society)
- Small Powerhead (once I get the 2213, this is also going to the member of my local Aquarium Society)
Plants:
- Blyxa japonica. I will never let this plant go.
- Bucephalandra kedagang, this will have a new location in the new look
Fauna:
- Chili Rasboras (Boraras brigattae)
- Red Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi)
What my End Goals are:
Equipment:
- Eheim 2213, a bit more power than the 2211 and larger hose diameter 12/16
- Stainless Steel Output (Jet) and Intake (w/Skimmer) for cleaner and better water flow
- Possible small inline heater to remove yet another piece of equipment from the Aquascape
Plants:
- Tentatively, Rotala rotundifolia (location will become apparent below), looking for a red plant I have not tried before, which I am finding is more daunting that originally thought
Fauna:
- Spotted Blue-Eye (Pseudomugil gertrudae)
- Corydoras pygameus/hasbrosus (still undecided which one, though I am leaning towards C.hasbrosus)
Hardscape:
- A few more Seiryu Stones
- 3 pieces of wood (will become apparent below)
Artificial Island you say?
The whole idea is to build on the name (also, an amazing song by Carbon Based Lifeforms: , video is trippy but worth the watch and listen) and continue my work with a true center island format in a small tank.
Hard? You bet, this is why I am doing it. Not because it is easy.
The real pain is retooling a tank while it is still currently running without causing too much disruption (admittingly there is going to be some) to the Chili Rasboras and Shrimp in the tank. In fact, I plan to do this in stages so keep the stress levels as low as possible. The first to go, is the Hairgrass, and that is today.
While I love carpeting plants, I have concluded I can grow them, have success with them but it is time to get outside of my comfort zone again and do more of an open substrate look. The dark color (Flourite Black Sand)) of my current substrate will have a more dramatic effect on the look I want to eventually achieve.
I want Corydoras and have for a long time. Having a carpet of plants is often counter productive to the Corydoras behavior on open substrate. Also with an open substrate, the focus again can return to the rocks which will be more plentiful this time around.
Carpet plants are debris, algae and gunk magnets. Having a small squad of Corydoras constantly shifting the substrate will help keep it clean, throw particulate matter into the water column to get removed and processed by the filtration and most importantly, getting to enjoy the antics of Corydoras once again.
A member of my local Aquarium Society, is having amazing success at breeding them (WTG NoodleAquatics) which includes C.pygmaeus. Local bred means they have adapted to the water where I live. Cannot argue with that logic. Which is making my decision tough on what species of Dwarf Corydoras. Either way, I will be getting one for Artificial Island.
Which means, I will be slowly shifting the substrate again to create a "mound" which will eventually form the basis for the final appearance.
The grey color will be the Flourite Substrate.
The Light Green will be the Buce growing on the rocks (also, some will be out in the substrate)
The Dark Green will be the Blyxa
The Red in the center is my tentative Red Plant
The Brown is the 3, bare pieces of wood sticking out.
This is the image that started it all. Can I achieve this? Not sure, but the only way to figure it out is to try.
Gary
Which means in order to accomplish my new vision, I must bear hardships to gain something desirable.
The idea first came to me close to a year ago while I was still working on Office Space II during it's infancy that lead me to a fork in the road.
Shall I continue Office Space II on it's current trajectory, or take a risk and redo the tank while still in the grow out phase? I obviously opted to continue with Office Space II.
In retrospect, I should have changed gears and worked towards this vision.
Now that I have entered the AGA with Office Space II in it's current format, I am going to slowly retool the tank for next year's competition (and actively seek either Best of Show (top 10) or award winner) and a design which will be much more challenging and require me to rethink how this design will play out in the long term.
Changes, Additions, Deletions
What I am still going to use:
Equipment:
- Lights, the AI Freshwater Prime are amazing. I will never return to standard lighting. I have insane PAR levels
- Tank, the dimensions are what I want to challenge me on this next phase
- Heater, for time being. I am deciding if I should get an inline as I am upgrading hose size to 12/16 from my current 9/12
- My entire CO2 setup (the atomizer is much more nicer than the Bell)
- Eheim 2211 (for the time being, this has been promised to a member of my local Aquarium Society)
- Small Powerhead (once I get the 2213, this is also going to the member of my local Aquarium Society)
Plants:
- Blyxa japonica. I will never let this plant go.
- Bucephalandra kedagang, this will have a new location in the new look
Fauna:
- Chili Rasboras (Boraras brigattae)
- Red Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi)
What my End Goals are:
Equipment:
- Eheim 2213, a bit more power than the 2211 and larger hose diameter 12/16
- Stainless Steel Output (Jet) and Intake (w/Skimmer) for cleaner and better water flow
- Possible small inline heater to remove yet another piece of equipment from the Aquascape
Plants:
- Tentatively, Rotala rotundifolia (location will become apparent below), looking for a red plant I have not tried before, which I am finding is more daunting that originally thought
Fauna:
- Spotted Blue-Eye (Pseudomugil gertrudae)
- Corydoras pygameus/hasbrosus (still undecided which one, though I am leaning towards C.hasbrosus)
Hardscape:
- A few more Seiryu Stones
- 3 pieces of wood (will become apparent below)
Artificial Island you say?
The whole idea is to build on the name (also, an amazing song by Carbon Based Lifeforms: , video is trippy but worth the watch and listen) and continue my work with a true center island format in a small tank.
Hard? You bet, this is why I am doing it. Not because it is easy.
The real pain is retooling a tank while it is still currently running without causing too much disruption (admittingly there is going to be some) to the Chili Rasboras and Shrimp in the tank. In fact, I plan to do this in stages so keep the stress levels as low as possible. The first to go, is the Hairgrass, and that is today.
While I love carpeting plants, I have concluded I can grow them, have success with them but it is time to get outside of my comfort zone again and do more of an open substrate look. The dark color (Flourite Black Sand)) of my current substrate will have a more dramatic effect on the look I want to eventually achieve.
I want Corydoras and have for a long time. Having a carpet of plants is often counter productive to the Corydoras behavior on open substrate. Also with an open substrate, the focus again can return to the rocks which will be more plentiful this time around.
Carpet plants are debris, algae and gunk magnets. Having a small squad of Corydoras constantly shifting the substrate will help keep it clean, throw particulate matter into the water column to get removed and processed by the filtration and most importantly, getting to enjoy the antics of Corydoras once again.
A member of my local Aquarium Society, is having amazing success at breeding them (WTG NoodleAquatics) which includes C.pygmaeus. Local bred means they have adapted to the water where I live. Cannot argue with that logic. Which is making my decision tough on what species of Dwarf Corydoras. Either way, I will be getting one for Artificial Island.
Which means, I will be slowly shifting the substrate again to create a "mound" which will eventually form the basis for the final appearance.
The grey color will be the Flourite Substrate.
The Light Green will be the Buce growing on the rocks (also, some will be out in the substrate)
The Dark Green will be the Blyxa
The Red in the center is my tentative Red Plant
The Brown is the 3, bare pieces of wood sticking out.
This is the image that started it all. Can I achieve this? Not sure, but the only way to figure it out is to try.
Gary