[Herfi]

So my wife saw this picture

and now she wants me to recreate the part that looks like "Hobbiton". I am not skilled in the whole aquascaping thing yet so any advice would be great.

What I know is that the plant is Riccia fluitans but other then that I have no idea how he made it look like that. Is it tied to rocks/wood? I think what I would be going for something that looks like a hill with an entrance to a cave/house in the front as a center piece to my tank.

Also I guess I should ask if this is even advisable to try in my tank. Some reviews on Riccia fluitans say it is as bad as duckweed and sucks nutrients away from other plants.

My Setup
38gal tank
36in 4x bulb T5 fixture(156watts 19in from substrate)
Pressurized CO2
EI dosing
EcoComplete substrate

Thank you for any advise you may be able to provide

 

[somewhatshocked]

It's easy to grow. Tie or mesh it down to rock/wood/slate/steel or plastic mesh sheets.

Can take a while to bush out but once it does, it's easy to trim down.

You could always start on a small scale with a few covered stones in your tank to see how it works out for you before going full-scale.

 

[Kathyy]

There are other hobbit hole tanks out there as well. Not sure I would want to deal with a Riccia filled tank either!

This one.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/121130-our-preciousss-adist.html

And this one. The bitty fence is so cute.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=planted+aquarium+hobbit&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&biw=1348&bih=575&tbm=isch&tbnid=3WbkE6gyddLllM:&imgrefurl=http://www.aquaplantedtank.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_kunena%26func%3Dview%26catid%3D6%26id%3D423%26Itemid%3D81&docid=1_KKfdaUng4UFM&w=600&h=412&ei=6FCHTtusOebeiAL7nfSuDA&zoom=1

 

[eser21]

All that riccia will be a PITA once its grown in. IME these sorts of tanks have a very short shelf life, once they reach there prime after 8-16 weeks they get quite tatty unless you replant regularly.
Just a warning if you plan to keep it long term.

 

[Abrium]

riccia..... sorry, no can do

 

[driftwoodhunter]

LOL - that pic with the tiny fence and the shrimp strolling by IS cute!

 

[Abrium]

yeah, good stuff but I agree with the overall life expectancy of that tank being short lived.

 

[Herfi]

Ok so any ideas of another plant that might work better? My wife says she likes the moss look but thus far I have been unable to keep moss without having major algae growing all over it. I have tried java moss and another that looks like plastic Easter grass but cannot remember the name. I just can't shade them easily with my setup, they do well when shaded though so maybe I need to figure something else so they can have some shade.

 

[DaveK]

My thoughts are, does the tank have to look exactly like that, or can it be a planted tank done with other plants, used in other ways?

This might be a case where a more conventional planted tank might work out fine and not have the issues associated using riccia.

As for the hobbiton themed tanks, and I'm not trying to be flip here, could someone explain how they are any different from tanks set up using "clown barf" gravel, plastic sunken ships, and divers that bubble? In other words, if you want a fantasy theme tank, go for it, but why is one nice and even cute, and another considered an eye sore?