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Hi gang,

Just like to introduce you to my latest project, this is my desk top tank. I've been working on it, playing around with a few things, poking and prodding and I think I like this set-up now.

Plants are: Blyxa japonica, HC, anubias petite nana, narrow leaf and windelov java ferns.

Fauna: 3 japonica shrimp

Lighting: 26 W PC lighting

Substrate: ADA aquasoil

Ferts: Just excel and the occasional smidgen of K2SO4. Some KNO3 very occasionally, the aquasoil gives the rest.

Right now I'm not sure about the windelov fern, it looks kind of messy, I may replace it with another narrow leaf java fern for continuitys sake.

The Blyxa is doing very well with just excel, it really loves the substrate (pulled one up this evening, the roots were spread around the back wall of the tank ). Javas and anubias are tanks. The HC is the only problem, as I realize now that it will need more CO2 to flourish and spread properly. It has spread decently enough as it is, and from the angle it looks rather straggly, but it's not that bad. I plan on adding DIY CO2 pretty soon, just to see if I can get the HC to take off a bit more.

So, any thoughts are appreciated, and without further adu, here it is:

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Back in the saddle!

Very nice nowher Really well laid out.

The Wendelov is a bit big. Has some new leaves come in maybe trim off the big ones to tidy it up.

The wood is quite dark, why not try to see how a white background looks to show off the wood. Or maybe a little bit of moss to soften it. Not too much , just a bit.

Another way might be to adjust the NL Fern slightly. At the moment it's in the rear left corner. Angle it slightly so it coming through that gap between the horizontal piece of wood the NL is attached to and the the diagonal section of the main wood thats almost touching the glass. This will show off the fern better and soften the lines of the wood at the same time

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Looks great!

Thanks both of you

Bensaf, good call. The Wendelov actually isn't too big, it's just kind of hanging out there - that's the great thing about ferns and wood, it's not attached to anything but I still think it works, as long as the base is hidden enough. I pushed it down a bit, and that helps show off the other NL fern to its right. There are actually two NL ferns, one to the left and one to the right. I guess what I want to figure out is if it may look better with a third NL fern in the middle rather than the Wendelov... though the W does add a bit more interest. I also made the other NL adjustment, angling it through the space in the wood... is this sort of what you had in mind? (disregard the poor image quality, this was just a snap shot)

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Back in the saddle!

Well, well, well, what do we have here
You might be called Nowher, but your definitely somewhere with that tank. That is really nice . Love the use of the large DW in a small space.

For argument's sake, I pretty much agree with Bensaf's comments. Again the tank is beautiful, but the NL Fern in the left corner looks, well like it's been put in the corner. It need to interact more with the DW.

The Blyxa looks really healthy. Interesting about the root system. Is it the soil or is it the 6+wpg? What I mean is if you didn't have the Aquasoil, but had regular gravel and were dosing the WC with your 6+wpg would it still look as good?

Definitely a nice piece of art for your desktop

My Scapes

What is that grass like plant?

Very Nice aquarium.

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

Rich,

Good job, finally we get to see the little one .

I think it looks very nice as it is. Why don't you go ahead and tell us how old it is, what changes you made over time, and where the hell you goit the HC from .

I like it very much

That is what I have to look at while I am still sitting at work, about 18 hours after I started this work day .
I actually will sleep a few hours in the office, and then work again, I mentioned in my threads that work had been crazy, but so far this is the worst day

Great Rich,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

U really need a betta.

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

Rich,

That's exactly what I had in mind with the NL Fern. I think it looks better that way , you ? It'll look real good there when it fills out, NL Fern tends to grow in a compact lush ball, show it off, don't keep it hidden in a corner

Planning any fish?

A betta , I think would be too showy for the tank, distract from the 'scape.

A handful of micro rasboras? Maybe a pair of Sparkling Gouramie? A few neons ? Or go the invert route - a pile of cherries ?

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Thanks again everyone

Is it the soil or is it the 6+wpg? What I mean is if you didn't have the Aquasoil, but had regular gravel and were dosing the WC with your 6+wpg would it still look as good?

Well, I'm sure the light doesnt hurt, but the root systems on these plants are extremely well developed and widespread, so they clearly like the AS. I think this allows for less WC fertilization, less work etc. We've seen in many cases plants with small root systems when the substrate is inert yet still having full lush leaf growth, so we know they can grow just fine as long as everything is there in the WC for them. I guess this just shows you can do it the other way around too - little to no WC ferts, but a really nutritious substrate.

linkinpark, the grass like plant is Blyxa japonica, which is actually a stem plant. Seems to like high light. It gives a grassy appearence without the runners etc of tenellus. Tetra has a lot more experience with this than I.

LF, thanks And I can empathize with your work hours. I have done the five straight days of 20 hours at work per day, I've also done the 50 straight hours at work, and the close the office door and put your feet up to sleep for 2 hours thing - it's rough, but keep your spirits up, hopefully it'll pass soon and you'll be able to spend some quality time with your tanks.... and family etc

The tank has been up since May, mid May - I'll try to dig up some pics.


Now as for fish, I'm not sure yet. Definetely not a beta. They're just too big, and adding one would ruin the illusion of the small tank - it's only a 12 inch tank, and a beta with finnage is nearly 4. Would just look awkward. Plus they eat shrimp, so my algae crew would be gone. Betas and high light tanks don't mix

To be honest, in the immediate future it'll just be a shrimp tank, a bunch of cherries. They're small and keep the right perspective. Further down the road maybe a school of boraras merah/ macandra etc. Boraras don't really swim around too much, they just seem to hang out and "flit" every now and then so I think they'd work in a tiny tank like this. But I want to let eveything settle in first and experiment with CO2.

Thanks again for the compliments all

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Back in the saddle!

Very nicely done!!!
It appears to be a lot larger than a 4Gal in my opinion.
Great work in creating such a wonderful artwork!

Cherries will look lovely in that tank, as you pointed out - they will fit right into the overall impression that the tank appears much larger than it is.

Yeah, please go ahead and dig out some pictures, I am curious to see its developmental stages.

And - I am still at work

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hey, that's a nice little nano tank. I'm sure it will look stunning when things fill in a bit. I can't wait to see the progress on this tank.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

It'll be interesting to see how it fills in. As of now I can think of two spots that can use something extra, circled in red below.

The first cicrle on the left needs something to cover up where the NL fern is tied onto the wood. problem is that area is shaded. I would liketo put a Blyxa there but we know from tetra's experience it won't do well in the shade. I have a few crypt parva in a 2.5 gallon grow out tank, I may try 2 of them there. they won't grow fast, if at all, but at least they wont die off like Blyxa may do.

The other area in red is on the right. This may be as simple as moving the right NL fern over so that the leaves "bear hug" the wood a little more and accent it, separating the wood from the background. or maybe adding some moss. the third option is to tie on a few more anubias petites which I have in the 2.5 gallon so that they run along with the shape of the two intersecting pieces of wood. either way it'll be a challange to separate them from the wendelov fern - I really will have to remove some of the bigger leaves as bensaf suggested.



Attached Image:

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan6, great looking nano tank. Can't believe it's only 4 gals.

Cheers
TW

Rich,

If you want to add something to the left side circle then it would have to be able to handle shade, Anubias Nana Petite (which you have already) comes to mind.

For the right one, that is actually in my opinion not that easy. Although some green may brighten up the display, the plant would cover up the fact that the wood has little branches there, and that would be a shame.

Just thinking,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The light foreground plant, is that Anubias Nana Petite? If so, I didn't realise it was that tiny.

Cheers
TW

Robyn, the small foreground tank is HC, hemianthis callitrichoides. Tiny tiny leaves and very pretty.

Ingo, thanks for the suggestions - I don't think im going to cover up the right side, im going to just put another NL fern back there and remove the wendelov, it just doesnt fit.

Earlier you asked for an initial set-up shot... well here ya go

I was experimenting with an idea I had in my head to just use a few rocks to create the scape. The problem was, not only were the rocks not a very nice color, but they were too small to create any drama, and the scape was just plain flat and contrived looking. The "large" pieces of wood i have now are more dramatic IMO, which is much more interesting.



And just another perspective shot, this one taken from the top down. It shows off the neat spot on the surface where the wood breaks the surface. God I love rimless open top tanks

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Back in the saddle!

Really no comparsion between the two layouts. I like the layout you went with even more in that "from the top view"
very nice.

BTW - What light is that on top. It looks like a coralife.
I have a 9" coralife reflector with 2 9watt bulbs but it doesn't have the track for the legs.

My Scapes

thanks tetra. the light is actually from http://www.catalinaaquarium.com

They provide some more options besides the usual coralife etc. fixtures. They have some nano tank packages up there, plus some good options for small tank PC hoods. This one is 10" 2X13W, $30 which isnt too bad - less than the coralife I think. The only thing I had to add was a piece of acrylic to cover the bulbs.

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Back in the saddle!