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Jeff , the beautifull simplicity of the scape of this tank is breathtaking . I can't wait to see the new setup . Congrats
Garry

Editorial piece in TFH beating the "Tank of the Month" ???

Not when it comes to what we (the plant nerds) value most, a planted tank, not by a long shot .

Granted, the TFH thing was a nice accomplishment as well, but it was all about breeding Espei, and for that your tank can (theoretically) look like a bomb exploded in it.

There is no taking away from the work, thought, and even restrain that you have displayed to make your tank what it is today, and that's why you really earned this reward.

And yeah, I had to request my password to log into the site as I haven't been logged in in ages. My postcount there is the opposite from here

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Tetra,

Any plans to enter this tank into the AGA contest? If you haven't already I think you should.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

well done houseofcards, aka tetratech, aka Jeff.

If I wasn't so scared of the mess I'd make, I'm almost tempted to try the two substrate idea (eco & sand) in my new tank. I still just don't get it. How do you keep it separate. I have no digging fish - so no problem there.

Cheers
TW

If I wasn't so scared of the mess I'd make, I'm almost tempted to try the two substrate idea (eco & sand) in my new tank. I still just don't get it. How do you keep it separate. I have no digging fish - so no problem there.

There's always going to be some mixing issue, but if the substrates are separately somewhat by a rock border it will be minimal.

My Scapes

I've been searching for petrified wood, since you told me that's what your rocks are. Couldn't find any here & I am bidding on a couple lots on ebay in USA. Hope they look okay in real life, when I get them.

None of the rocks I find in LFS ever look natural.

I will think about this twin substrate idea. If it doesn't work for me & everything gets messy, I assume it be a real hassle to remove the sand from the tank.

but if the substrates are separately somewhat by a rock border it will be minimal

Should I place the rock border, which divides the 2 substrates, directly on the glass bottom of the tank?

Cheers
TW

I've been searching for petrified wood, since you told me that's what your rocks are. Couldn't find any here & I am bidding on a couple lots on ebay in USA. Hope they look okay in real life, when I get them.

Be careful what you are getting. some petrified wood isn't very attractive in both structure and color. Some look very light and orange and other's might be very straight and flat. So make sure it's WYSIWYG.

I don't think it's critical that the rocks are on a clean glass bottom. I mean some substrate underneath the rock is fine. Just make sure the darker substrate is held back by the rocks. You can pour some more substrate in the area and see how much leaks through than adjust your rocks.

My Scapes

So make sure it's WYSIWYG

That's what I'm scared of. I've been outbid on this one already, & I don't know if I'll up my bid or not. What do you think of this one?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110132809194&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com.au%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D110132809194%2B%2B%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

I already one a batch of this stuff http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Petrified-wood-All-natural-Arizona-petrified-wood-1-2_W0QQitemZ140123651975QQihZ004QQcategoryZ3219QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem I'll ask if the seller can pick out the red / brown ones for me. What do you think of these. They were fairly cheap, so I won't be too heartbroken if they are no good & I can't use them. Also, the guy seems to have heaps of them. If I like them & want more of the same, shouldn't be a problem.

Comments invited.

Cheers
TW

Robyn,

The first piece you were out bid on, looks kinda light and it will look almost white when placed in the tank under the lights. I haven't found those that attractive, but again that's my opinion. The ones that are more brown and less orange or off white like the one in the pic usually look better and more natural. Also stay away from pieces that look like they have broad striping from brown to white, again they don't look natural in the tank. You want to try and find pieces that look like little boulders and not flat rectangles, if that makes sense. Happy rock hunting.

My Scapes

Robyn,

The first piece you were out bid on, looks kinda light and it will look almost white when placed in the tank under the lights. I haven't found those that attractive, but again that's my opinion. The ones that are more brown and less orange or off white like the one in the pic usually look better and more natural. Also stay away from pieces that look like they have broad striping from brown to white, again they don't look natural in the tank. You want to try and find pieces that look like little boulders and not flat rectangles, if that makes sense. Happy rock hunting.

My Scapes

Thanks for the comments. I won't bid again on the first one then. What about the 2nd bunch? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Petrified-wood-All-natural-Arizona-petrified-wood-1-2_W0QQitemZ140123651975QQihZ004QQcategoryZ3219QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300116230944&rd=1&rd=1 AND THIS? TOO RED?

Cheers
TW

Hey,

I don't know much about this type of wood/rock, so I let you two figure out the right color and such.

But I want to comment on the last link from Robyn:

that chunk of rock is 8 ounces - meaning half a pound, right? I recently saw a rock of the kind that I have in my 20G at the LFS, about the same size as the larger ones in there (as such, not really big). Asking what it would cost, and learning that price is by weight, we checked the latter. 3 Pounds ++ !!!

Petrified Wood is just as heavy, I take it, so this 8 oz. one must be tiny, I doubt the measurements.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Robyn sorry to be critical but that last link is very glassy looking and I don't think you will like it in your tank. I have a few pieces like that and I don't really use them or I use them in the back somewhere.

Do you definitely want petrified wood. Aren't there any landscaping supply type stores that you could look over their rocks. Around me I recently went to a landscape supply store and they let me pick through a pile of Moss Rock and take anything I wanted for $10. I might be using these in my new 46g.

My Scapes

ha,

funny thing:

and they let me pick through a pile of Moss Rock

Just last night I heard the name Moss Rock for the first time, from a NJAGC buddy. He likes them very much but couldn't show me an example as we were at AF and they had none.

Can you get a picture of one up here, tetratech?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

the criticism for the rocks is just what I want

I don't think you've commented on these ones yet. Seller said he can pick out the darker & browner ones for me. I'll also ask if he can pick out the rounder ones, instead of the flat ones - but I may not have a lot of control over what he sends me. At worst, I can always the tops completely with riccia and use them as little borders.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Petrified-wood-All-natural-Arizona-petrified-wood-1-2_W0QQitemZ140123651975QQihZ004QQcategoryZ3219QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem
.
This is what I have now. I sort of like the rock itself, but doesn't look natural. It's typical of the sort of rocks I find in LFS - more pretty patterns than natural. I will wander around some gardening type places & see what they have as well.

BTW, I'm posting my pics these days via photobucket - so they will never disappear, unless I remove them from the photobucket album - even if I'm no longer a premie, I think they'll remain. Is that right Matty - or will they still disappear?

Cheers
TW

Well here's one in the backyard. You can get an idea of the color. It has a flat sandy texture.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/files/1/8/9/5/IMG_7987_original.jpg

My Scapes

Well here's one in the backyard.

So, every time you want to add a piece to your tank, all you have to do is go outside with a sledge hammer and bang away

I like that type of rock, I for sure would not have assumed that it would be called Moss Rock, I thought such a stone should be greenish.

Once in a tank for a while, even the clearest sections of it should be somewhat "normalized" anyway.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

So, every time you want to add a piece to your tank, all you have to do is go outside with a sledge hammer and bang away

I did attempt that to supply my new tank with rock (hint, hint) but I wasn't happy with the results so I ended up going to a landscape suppy and as mentioned picking throught a mountain of moss rock for the little pieces.

This is a a skid of moss rock you could buy for $250.
(not what I picked from). Many of the darker areas around the crevices, etc is actually dried moss, thus the name.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/files/1/8/9/5/IMAGE_001_original.jpg

Sorry for the bad quality. It was taken with my cellphone.

My Scapes

The best landscape place in my area, at least with concerns to rocks, is only open during the week, so usually not at the time when I can go there. I am off today, so maybe I have a chance go there.

Do you know of any other name by which this type of rock is known as? For example, the rock in my 20G and 40G and now also in the 125G (seems like I need more variety) is known in your fish store in LI (the big store, forgot the name yet again) as Picture Rock, but at my LFS as Zebra Rock.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

All the landscape suppliers out here call it moss rock, but your right, I'm sure there are several names.

the rock in my 20G and 40G and now also in the 125G (seems like I need more variety) is known in your fish store in LI (the big store, forgot the name yet again) as Picture Rock, but at my LFS as Zebra Rock.

That big store knows very little about the fish, plants let alone the sticks and stones they carry. I believe Zebra rock is the term most use.



My Scapes

Update..

I promise fresh pics of this tank once my TOTM run has concluded. I've refreshed it a bit and added some new plants including HC Cuba and Ludwigia repens. I've also added in some additional hardscape which includes some locally found driftwood.

Stay tuned...........

My Scapes

Can't wait

Cheers
TW

TOTM

Dose this mean what I think it means?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Jeff ,Looking forward to the update .
Garry

Here's a current pic of the 72G. I've added some driftwood to the valley that I personally found in the bluffs overlooking the Nissequogue River on the north shore of Long Island. They are beautiful pieces that I've tried to incorporating into the curve of the valley in a sort of dramatic way. You can also see the HC growing in the foreground as well as a thicket of Ludwigia repens growing in the midground on the left side.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/files/1/8/9/5/IMG_0681apc_original.jpg



My Scapes

Tetra , Thats a very different look now in the central part of the scape .
It looks like you have moved some rocks out of the scape to accommodate the driftwood ?
You've also got some plants blocking the view up the river .
Much as it daunts me to say this ( of one of the "Masters" scapes ), isn't that a little distracting.
Oh well it is hard to improve of perfection ( geez I'm a suck up )
Love the driftwood BTW.

Garry

Hm ,

Not my favorite either, sorry to say that. Here is why:

- the driftwood, as nice as it is, seems artificial in these positions. I can imagine though that it will look better once it "ages" and doesn't look that polished anymore.
- the divider line created with the very bright green Wisteria is somewhat out of place. Why split the valley?

All other parts look nice and I am truly looking forward to the HC growth, in particular if you should go with the ADA substrate test. Once the HC covers the foreground the whole tank will look very different as any darkness from the ground will be gone. Hard to imagine now for me though.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yeah, before I even posted the pic, I knew I would get comments similiar to LF and Country. The wisteria should have been cut so it doesnt completely cut off the valley and the pic is alittle dark to see the flow through it.

At this point it's experimentation with this tank. It's kinda done, but I'm looking for something maybe alittle different.

I just trimmed so I'll probably post a different pic possibily from a different prospective.

My Scapes

I knew I would get comments similiar to LF and Country.

Aren't you glad that you have such careful observers in your audience ?

As is often the case, a picture rarely represents the "real" tank, for better and worse. More shots from different angles for sure help in understanding the 3 dimensionality of a tank.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Tetra,

Do you have any close ups of your riccia? Mine had been a little weird lately. Some parts are dark green, some are bright green. It looks like yours is the same.



55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Hey tetra, what're the plants growing in the valley itself, in the sand part on the right side? Looks like e. parvi., but fluffier, like hygro poly.?

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Back in the saddle!

Hey tetra, what're the plants growing in the valley itself, in the sand part on the right side? Looks like e. parvi., but fluffier, like hygro poly.?

Nope that's just Difformis living up to its name. I must have 10 differnt leaf shapes depending on trim,light,location, etc.

I'm surprised no one picked up on the L.Repens as it slants in the same shape as the valley. That was the idea behind the wood on the left as well. It's sort of bending into the curve of the valley.

My Scapes

I'm surprised no one picked up on the L.Repens as it slants in the same shape as the valley.

I sure didn't see that

I didn't even notice the repens (which, btw, looks rather pale in the picture) as I focussed in on the wood and valley.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Current shot about 4 days post trim. Really nice color here, yeah the repens were recently hacked as well. I trimmed the wisteria on the sand so you could see through the valley again.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2460889960048205226BYLOVY?vhost=outdoors

My Scapes

I think that little change made all the difference. The wood somehow,oddly maybe, seems to fit much better than before.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Tetra , I agree with Matty , that makes a big difference .
Looks like you've done a big trim and added some Ricca ????? to one of the rocks on the left side of the river .
Looks like the HC has spread quite a lot in 4 days.

Great shot as always , and I agree with Ingo more shots from different angles would be a treat to see.

Garry

Current tank shot:

Current Pic

My Scapes

Tetratech

How have you been able to compensate for the PH raise the petrified wood has put on the tank? If now how did you know that it wouldnt raise it? If it did how if at all are you keeping it down?

Thanks
Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Very nice tetratech,

but I wouldn't be me (or you wouldn't be yourself either, in that situation) if I couldn't find something to bicker about :

I think the rocks are now a little too bare. I would rather like to see some plants overhanging the outer sides of the rocks (sides away from the valley) or even some small plants growing on the rocks, for example (albeit not a good one) having Nana petites growing out of the gaps between the rocks and such.

But maybe you just did a trim job and that is why the center is rather bare.

Otherwise, just as gorgeous then the day you won TOTM,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Beautifully sculptured tank no matter what you keep doing to it

fishmonster
The petrified wood should not affect the PH / Hardness of the tank

LF
Thanks for your comment. Your right, there's always some tweaking to do here and there. Maybe if I could get my tank in TFH like someone else I know I'll go all out.

fishpatty
Thanks for the nice comment.


My Scapes

What happened to all your cardinals? Didn't you have something like 30 in there?

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Back in the saddle!

Jeff as always , your scape is nearly perfect . They are never quite perfect are they
always someting to do , that's what keeps us interested .

Not sure I'm as game as LF to make suggestions , but it does appear to be a little bare
in the area LF pointed out . Are you in the process of changing things ?

Garry

nowher,

You mean I'm suppose to have fish in my planted tanks, oops I forgot hehe. Actually there's about a dozen or so in there. I think I had 25 or so at it's peak. I'm coming up on two years for these cardinals so I'm sure some died off from age. Since they are wild caught, one never knows how old they are when acquired. Interesting though I still have an amazing 6 otos from my original 9 or so. And some of my Amano shrimps are pushing two years as well.

Garry,

I'm really debating a complete redo of the tank, but to echo Ingo, do I have the time to do it.

My Scapes

tetratech,

About the fishies: first off, I hear you on the ever decreasing "interest" in fish as they serve more of a decoration role for the tank (except worker bees).

I can see the cardinals having reached their age limit, and maybe the Amanos as well, althogh I am reading some reports of a life span of over 4 years.

Otos,on the other hand, will easily exceed 5 years, just ask Cali on this site.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well that's interesting about the shrimp. I didn't realize they can live that long. Anyway I haven't purchased a fish in I don't know how long. I'll probably let these fish run their course and then decide on one big school. It definitey won't be cardinals. I think the whole idea of a large tight school all the time is a myth to a certain degree. You can't go by those shots of Amanos tanks since he throws them in and takes pictures. They always school at the point. One of the artistic APCers referred to fish in his tanks as "Paint Strokes"

At current between my three tanks I probably have about 100 cherry shrimps

My Scapes

At current between my three tanks I probably have about 100 cherry shrimps

It doesn't take long. I still have 99% of mine in the little 1.5 gallon. I am guessing there are over 50 of them in there. Maybe it's time to sell some as I don't think I can set up the 20G long right now.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Here's a current pic about a week post trim. I'm pretty much moving things around here and there on a somewhat monthly basis. In this shot I added more riccia to the rocks in the valley. After moving the riccia away from some foreground areas I also added a new plant (Echinodorus tenellus 'micro')to both the foreground and valley area.

Current Pic

My Scapes

Tetra , The Ricca on the rocks is a great touch . So a new plant , how about a close up ?

I agree about your fish selection Btw , I'm so over Card's mine hide all the time ,
Rummys are a hoot to watch in a bigish school ( I have 17 ) they play follow the leader
at speed all the time . Occasionally this cause's a pile up .
I think you would love them .

Garry

tetratech,

Looking very nice and way more natural now that the center area had time (and your help) to incorporate the rock valley some more

Tenellus Micro, yes? It should grow rather similar to normal tenellus then, right (albeit smaller, and isn't it reddish as well? ) ? While individual plantlets look very nice right now, wouldn't you have to take care of runners all the time?

The darker green areas on the right hand rocks of the valley, is that Riccia as well somehow shaded or some form of moss?

The only slight criticism I can make is that it seems like the way left group is not attached cohesively to the closer groups at the left rock area. The way right side seems to create more flow, but the left has even a hole.

Otherwise, better than mine anyway

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for the comments guys.

Garry,
Rummys are very nice fish and definitely much better schoolers than cards. I might in fact go with those in this tank since they are fairly easy to acquire around here. I'll try to get a pick up of the new plant soon.

Ingo,
As usual very perceptive. Yes the far left is slightly detached since there's a space where there isn't anything in the substrate and the wisteria is sort of hovering over that area. I was just to lazy to plant more wisteria there about a week ago.

Yeah I expect the runners from the ETM will go around things but I'm not to worried. I think they'll be easy to remove. Yes the plant does have sme nice reddish hues to it, one reason I wanted it. The guy I bought them from said the plant is a really slow grower, but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case.

Very interesting comment about the Riccia and yes it's all Riccia. The darker Riccia on the right was taken out of my Aquasoil-based tank and was growing very dark in there compared to this tank. After having it in this tank for about a month it continues to grow this way. Also the left shape is smaller and tighter. Here's a pic from a few weeks ago when they were both side by side in the tank. The AS-based Riccia is on the right.

Riccia


My Scapes

Back in the day (a couple of months ago) when I had my 40G set up, my riccia would grow dark sometimes too. I never really did figure out why...

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

so what ever happened to the posting on this one i loved this tank

Yes Tetra ...long time ..how about an update ?


Garry

He does still stop in!

Last Visit: 04-Feb-2008 07:58

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric