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Current Tank Shot (10/20/2014):
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Original Post:
Earlier this summer my wife and I stayed at a cabin along the North Shore of Lake Superior in NE Minnesota. I've been going up there my whole life, and looking at it this time made me want to build a planted tank that would remind me of it. As it turns out, I have a 3 gallon nano in my office at work that I'm not loving right now, so I decided the perfect replacement would be a 6.5 gallon "long" Mr Aqua bookshelf tank. I think it's the most amount of water I'm willing to deal with since I'll have to haul water to/from my office for weekly water changes (going high tech and EI dosing).
I know there are "better" rocks for aquascaping, but I wanted them to look like the North Shore, so I collected some rocks from the shoreline area that I thought I could make work. This is the shoreline the rocks came from:
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Side note: Last fall I was backpacking and fly fishing in the Cloud Peak wilderness in the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming, and there was a massive area (as in square miles) of conifer deadfall that had been dried out by the sun. Most of the trees were uprooted, and the twisted roots were exposed. I couldn't help myself, and I collected a small batch of twisted little roots for an unknown future project.
So, one fun thing about this tank for me is it's all personally collected materials!
Along the North Shore, trees send roots out running over the rocks. I've hiked and tripped over many of them in my life. There just isn't much digging into the dirt to be had, so the roots go where they can. This was the look I was seeking. I wanted the feel of an old dead tree trunk with it's roots running over big Lake Superior boulders. After 6 vastly different attempts with many different rocks and roots, this is what I've put together.
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Yes, it's pretty simple, but I'm really digging it. I have some more little rocks I might use, and I'm not sure about the little chips just yet, but this is definitely going to be the core. I'll have to glue the 8 or 9 wood pieces together, but it's pretty close to what I want for final layout. I'll also say that working in such a cramped area is pretty tricky (24" long, but only 6.5" deep and only 9.4" tall). This is a small space!
I'm planning on a mix between some sandy spots and some planted spots below the boulders (probably DHG belem). I'm thinking some willow moss and anubias nana petite around the trunk. Maybe a few little pieces of HC here and there around the tree. I'm still working out ideas for plants. To be honest, it's probably a bit premature posting this, but I'm pretty excited now that the tank is here and I'm settling on a scape.
Also, the egg crate is there to protect the glass. I'm going to trim it so it's only under the rocks in the end.
As for the rest:
This will house my growing RCS colony (about 35 right now, with 3 pregnant females) and potentially a few RCS friendly fish like Ottos, but not sure on that part yet. Would otto's like a tank of these dimensions?
I'm curious what people think about this whole idea?
Original Post:
Earlier this summer my wife and I stayed at a cabin along the North Shore of Lake Superior in NE Minnesota. I've been going up there my whole life, and looking at it this time made me want to build a planted tank that would remind me of it. As it turns out, I have a 3 gallon nano in my office at work that I'm not loving right now, so I decided the perfect replacement would be a 6.5 gallon "long" Mr Aqua bookshelf tank. I think it's the most amount of water I'm willing to deal with since I'll have to haul water to/from my office for weekly water changes (going high tech and EI dosing).
I know there are "better" rocks for aquascaping, but I wanted them to look like the North Shore, so I collected some rocks from the shoreline area that I thought I could make work. This is the shoreline the rocks came from:
Side note: Last fall I was backpacking and fly fishing in the Cloud Peak wilderness in the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming, and there was a massive area (as in square miles) of conifer deadfall that had been dried out by the sun. Most of the trees were uprooted, and the twisted roots were exposed. I couldn't help myself, and I collected a small batch of twisted little roots for an unknown future project.
So, one fun thing about this tank for me is it's all personally collected materials!
Along the North Shore, trees send roots out running over the rocks. I've hiked and tripped over many of them in my life. There just isn't much digging into the dirt to be had, so the roots go where they can. This was the look I was seeking. I wanted the feel of an old dead tree trunk with it's roots running over big Lake Superior boulders. After 6 vastly different attempts with many different rocks and roots, this is what I've put together.
Yes, it's pretty simple, but I'm really digging it. I have some more little rocks I might use, and I'm not sure about the little chips just yet, but this is definitely going to be the core. I'll have to glue the 8 or 9 wood pieces together, but it's pretty close to what I want for final layout. I'll also say that working in such a cramped area is pretty tricky (24" long, but only 6.5" deep and only 9.4" tall). This is a small space!
I'm planning on a mix between some sandy spots and some planted spots below the boulders (probably DHG belem). I'm thinking some willow moss and anubias nana petite around the trunk. Maybe a few little pieces of HC here and there around the tree. I'm still working out ideas for plants. To be honest, it's probably a bit premature posting this, but I'm pretty excited now that the tank is here and I'm settling on a scape.
Also, the egg crate is there to protect the glass. I'm going to trim it so it's only under the rocks in the end.
As for the rest:
- Light: Current Satellite Plus 24"
- CO2: Aquatek Paintball & 24 oz tank with a "mini" external reactor I'm making
- Substrate: Aquasoil and Sand
- Filter: Sunsun 602B
- Automated dosing and lighting control via arduino
- No heater (office is constant 72 degrees year round)
This will house my growing RCS colony (about 35 right now, with 3 pregnant females) and potentially a few RCS friendly fish like Ottos, but not sure on that part yet. Would otto's like a tank of these dimensions?
I'm curious what people think about this whole idea?
