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Gone_Troppo
 
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EditedEdited by Gone_Troppo
Hey all,

Its been a while since I did any updates on what's happening in any of my tanks so I figured I'd put it all in one thread ... a bit of history, as well as current events and thoughts on where to from here (apologies in advance for the monster length post)...

180 Gallon

Tank Specs
  • Tank Dimensions: 6x2x2 feet (180x60x60cm)

  • Lighting: Dismally low at a little under 1 WPG of NO Fluorescents (10 000K) run for 14 hours per day - the low WPG is really the limiting factor on plant selection for this tank

  • Substrate: 'Coffs Harbour Gold' 3-5mm rounded gravel

  • Stock: a couple of breeding pairs of blue acaras, a pair of angelfish, gouramis, various tetras, a peacock eel, a farlowella and a sturisoma.

  • Fertiliser regime: Substrate fertiliser - Dino Dung


History
This tank has been running almost constantly in this location for about 8 years now. Over that time there have been various livestock combinations, but its really only been over the last 18 months or so that we have been working to get a decent looking planted tank happening. As some of you may recall, about 6 or 7 months ago I had an almost blank canvas with this tank

.
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s250/Gone_Troppo/180%20Gallon%20/full_tank_24-11-07.jpg

Since then I've been slowly adding plants and sorting out what works and what doesn't.

Current status
FTS

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s250/Gone_Troppo/180%20Gallon%20/fts_21-07-08.jpg

I spent yesterday moving some things around.

I added a couple of pots of crypt petchii and about a dozen osiris sword plantlets (I originally bought a potted, emerse grown osiris sword from the local garden centre - it has repaid it purchase price several time over with the number of plantlets that have been harvested from this plant).

I've never had much luck with stem plants in this tank and since the addition of six Buenos Aires Tetras to the tank its been even worse - the Hydrilla at the far left end of the tank and in front of the right hand piece of ship has really suffered and looks very sad atm. I guess I'll have to either stick with the crypts, swords and other tough leaved species or replace the tetras with something more plant friendly.

Where to from here?
I'll be starting water column ferts with a PMDD fertiliser mix today in addition to the substrate fertiliser (substrate ferts have been used for over 12 months). It should be interesting to see if that makes any difference to the health / growth rates of the plants.

I don't think I need to add CO2 at this stage (the light level certainly does not demand it), but I'll see how it goes. I've recently been looking at some DIY CO2 options including using fire extinguishers or soda stream canisters which look interesting, if a little dangerous.. as I said we'll wait & see on that front.

I still want to add a few more crypt balansae to the background and some more E.parviflorus 'tropica' to the foreground, but that's really just bulking up the existing groupings rather than adding an extra dimension to the tank. Mostly its going to be watching it grow out and see what happens for a while.


10 Gallon

Tank Specs
  • Tank Dimensions: 20x12x12 inches

  • Lighting: 2x 15W screw-in 6500K Compact flouros (~3 WPG) run for 12 hrs per day

  • Substrate: 'Coffs Harbour Gold' 3-5mm rounded gravel

  • Stock: emerald-eyed rasboras, ember tetras, sparkling gouramis, kuhli loaches, peacock eel (undergoing rehab after after seeming to wane in the 180 gallon - possibly out-competed for food)

  • Fertiliser regime: 5-6 drops Dino Pee and 5 drops [link=Dino Spit]http://www.aquagreen.com.au/plant_data/Dinosaur_Spit.html [/link] (Excel alternative) both dosed every 2nd day


History
There has been no plan, nor any effort at scaping with this tank. It has kind of ended up being a dumping ground for some of the excess med-high light plants that I have been trialling in other tanks as well as a few extra bits and pieces to bulk it out a bit.

This tank has been a pain - I feel like I'm constantly battling BGA (the only one of my tanks that has this problem).

Current status
FTS

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s250/Gone_Troppo/10%20Gallon/10g_fts_21-07-08.jpg

What can I say??? its a mess!!

Where to from here?
This tank is on my 'to do' list - don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I'll think of something!


15 Gallon

Tank Specs
  • Tank Dimensions: 24x11x14 inches

  • Lighting: 2x 15W screw-in 6500K Compact flouros (~1.5 WPG) run for 12 hrs per day

  • Substrate: A mix of whatever I had lying around - some 1-2mm white 'sand', some 3-5mm black gravel and some natural coloured 10-15mm pebbles

  • Stock: Blue acara juveniles

  • Fertiliser regime: a few drops of Dino Pee & Dino Spit when I remember


History
This tank has been used to raise a few acara fry.

Current status
No pics of this one... you'll have to take my word for it that this is another mess of a tank. No scape, mish-mash of plants.. its not pretty.

Where to from here?
I've lost interest in raising any more acara fry and the results of the regular spawns in the main tank now mostly end up in the bellies of the other tank inhabitants. I'm not sure what will happen to this tank once the acara juvies move; I had thought of trying a shellie tank, or a small native tank (ie blue eyes, a couple of gudgeons, native plants, native shrimp).


Betta tank

Tank Specs
  • Tank Dimensions: 12x7.5x9 inches (~3.5 gal)

  • Lighting: 13W 6400K CF (~3.7WPG) run for 12 hrs per day

  • Substrate: 0.5-1mm black glassy sand (Aqua one brand)

  • Stock: 'Boris' the Betta, an otto and a kuhli loach

  • Fertiliser regime: 3 drops Dino pee & 2 drops Dino spit daily


History
This tank was originally purchased to sit on my desk at work and house a few shrimp (low maintenance but nice to look at was the theory); not long after setup, and before I could get any shrimp in there, I inherited "Boris" the blue & red crown tail betta, who has since become the permanent resident. The tank was moved home at Christmas time so I could maintain it over the holiday, which worked out really well as I ended up spending the first 6 months of this year working from home anyway.

The scape with this tank has been constantly changing and has undergone several different rescapes over the last year or so... More info (old nano thread)

Current status
FTS
It's coming... the lights have gone out for the night now so it will have to wait until tomorrow....

There has not been much happening in this tank over the last month or so - I'm trying to restrain myself to let the plants settle and grow in a bit.

I must say I'm not overly happy with the substrate in this tank. While it looks fantastic when fresh and clean even the tiniest amount of poop tends to settle on top of it and look unsightly until the next water change / gravel vac. Maybe once the plants fill in a bit more I won't notice it so much.

Where to from here?
I am noticing a lot of evaporation from this tank - it is open topped to combat excess heat (ambient heat not related to lighting or heaters) and I am finding that I am topping up about a litre of fresh water every few days. I'm seriously considering setting up a very simple DIY gravity / siphon auto top off system using a 2 litre soft drink bottle and some airline tubing.

I'd like to try and let the plants continue to grow in and spread a bit more so not a lot is expected to happen regards the scape in this tank in the near future.


Glass / Algae shrimp nano

Tank Specs
  • Tank Dimensions: 16x6.5x8 inches (~3.6 gal)

  • Lighting: 11W 6400K CF (~3 WPG)

  • Substrate: 3-5mm black gravel

  • Stock: 10 Darwin algae shrimp, several delicate blue eye fry

  • Fertiliser regime: a couple of drops each of dino pee & dino spit daily


History
I bought this tank in a 2nd hand shop in early June so it has not been running long. The plants that I initially put in the tank came with a couple of 'extras' - some welcome (delicate blue-eye eggs) and some not so (snail eggs).

Current status
FTS

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s250/Gone_Troppo/Shrimp%20Nano/09-06-08_shrimptank_2.jpg

I've been battling with the pest snails that have taken to munching on the plants leaving a litter of chewed stems and floating leaves . I'm going conservative on this one and manually removing the snails as I see them. It's slow going, but I think I'm making headway.

Where to from here?
More snail hunting, and letting the plants grow in a bit more. I'm considering some Marsilea hirsuta "Hansen's Nardoo", HC or glosso for the foreground but I'm not in a rush.


Cherry Shrimp nano

Tank Specs
  • Tank Dimensions: 14x9x9.5 inches (~5 gal)

  • Lighting: 11W 6400K Screw-in CF (~2WPG)

  • Substrate:thin layer of black gravel 3-5mm

  • Stock: Cherry Shrimp

  • Fertiliser regime: a couple of drops each of dino pee & dino spit daily or every couple of days


History
I initially wanted some cherry shrimp to add some contrasting colour to the 3.5gal glass/algae shrimp tank (see above). I was referred to a person selling cherry shrimp - he was selling them in lots of 40 specimens at a price that was almost too good to be true... I really wanted some cherries but 40 was way too many to add to the other tank... obvious solution - another tank! lol

So this tank has only been up & running for just under a month.

Current status
FTS

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s250/Gone_Troppo/cherries/cherrytank_21-07-08.jpg

Snails in this tank as well... same solution - manual removal. I've also had a couple of dragonfly or damselfly nymphs in this tank which I was able to remove without any noticeable shrimp fatalities after a few days attempts at catching them.

Where to from here?
The stem plants in the tank atm have been taken from my grotty algae infested outdoor tub as supplementary food for the shrimp and likely will not stay. I'm leaning towards just the java fern on large rocks in the background and java moss on river stones in the foreground. I think with this arrangement the gravel is probably unnecessary and I'm thinking of removing it completely.


Turtle Tank

Tanks Specs
  • Tank Dimensions: 24x12x15 inches (~19 gal)

  • Lighting: 1x60W incandescent (for basking heat) & 1x fluorescent / UV Reptile light

  • Substrate:3-5mm black gravel

  • Stock: 1xturtle (emydura victoriae), 1x glass shrimp (live food that's good at hiding) & 5 delicate blue-eyes (cleanup crew and eventual live food)

  • Fertiliser regime: nil


Current status
FTS
It's coming... after I've cleaned the tank

Its been interesting to work out which plants are turtle-friendly. The turtle, being omnivorous, has a tendency to nibble on plants so I've had to check that anything I put into the tank is either non-toxic to him, or sturdy enough that the turt isn't interested in munching on it.

A lot of turtle keepers seem to advocate bare bottomed, unplanted tanks or using plastic plants, ornaments and/or river pebbles for ease of maintenance (ie turtles are messy so poop and food scraps are easier to see and clean up if there are no gravel or plants to get in the way). I'm beginning to see how getting the plants to stay put might become a challenge as the turtle gets larger and clumsier but I refuse to give in and have a boring, bare tank, or even worse a tacky artificial thing.

I feel very strongly that having an appropriately maintained gravel bed with the associated resident nitrifying bacteria can only be good for waste management and water qual stability with such a messy critter. Live plants, even if not in sufficient mass to provide water qual improvement, have also got to be good for enriching the turtle's environment and encouraging behaviour that more closely resembles what they would get up to in their native environment (more closely than a bare tank with turtle dock anyway) like resting or hiding in clumps of plants, grazing on them as they feel like it and snuffling around in the substrate at the base of plants for food.

Where to from here?
At some point over the next 6 months the turtle will need a larger enclosure - I've got an empty 4 foot/ 50 gallon tank that I will probably start preparing shortly for this purpose. I've started thinking about how this might be done and I'm leaning towards planting the tank and getting it established mostly emersed, before filling with water and moving the turtle in.

The turtle will probably need to move to a yet to be constructed outdoor pond eventually but at the moment he is too small for that and would likely end up as food for any number of predators anyway so its tanks and UV lights for now with closely supervised visits outdoors.


I think that's all of the planted tanks done for now... Please feel free to offer any comments / suggestions / advice.

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 22-Jul-2008 19:24Profile PM Edit Report 
keithgh
 
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male australia au-victoria
Looks like you have been very busy up there. I like the look of all of the tanks, the shipwreck tank could do with a lot more of the thin Val as a backing. This would make thing stand out a lot better against the mid/dark thin green.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Post InfoPosted 23-Jul-2008 05:51Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Gone_Troppo
 
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EditedEdited by Gone_Troppo
I know what you mean about the background Keith - it definitely needs more tall plants of some description. At the moment the background plants are (from left to right): vals, banana lily, anubias, java fern and Crypt Balansae.

I want to make more of a feature of the C. Balansae by increasing the number of them and spreading them out across the back a bit more (the existing ones seem to be doing well and I really like the look of them). I also need to go hunting for some more scrap pieces of driftwood to hide behind the ship and host more java fern. Hopefully once I get those two items sorted out and let it grow in a bit more the background will look a little more full and lush.

Although I love the vals, I've found it difficult to keep a full wall of them healthy along the back of the tank. They do OK for a few months at a time and just as I think they are about to take over the tank they run out of steam and start losing leaves all over the place - it highly likely that there's just not enough light for them to really thrive long term.

I'm a bit disappointed with how the full tank shots turned out - none of them turned out as well as I would have liked ... the 180g in particular appears much nicer, and more densely planted when viewed in person.

G_T

Edit - I've just been looking at the recent pic of the 180 again and realised just how bad the black backing really looks with all those wrinkles
I've added that to my list of things to do over the weekend ... #63 - fix tank background!


Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 23-Jul-2008 19:12Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
keithgh
 
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For my old 4ft tank I had a piece of vinyl coated paper it was rather thick but it always remained flat and firm. It was sold at the LFS in roll lengths. Fixing it on could be a problem mine was only ins from a solid brick wall. I placed the backing down and filled the gap with insulation bats.
Both my tanks are painted black
The other thing can you paint it black?

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
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Post InfoPosted 24-Jul-2008 05:13Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Gone_Troppo
 
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Update....

180 Gallon
PMDD ferts have been in use for about 2 weeks now. I am using the Sears Cronin recipe diluted as per recipe instructions and dosing 20ml of solution every 2nd day.

I'm not noticing an explosion of growth (I wasn't expecting one with the dismal light level) but I have noticed a few small improvements:

  • Stem plants are showing a small amount of growth - previously stem plants in this tank would 'survive' but not really do anything;

  • Banana lilies at the back of the tank have started sprouting flower buds and very small bananas under the surface pads - I had noticed nodules forming in this area previously but they never developed into anything before the pad or stem broke off;

  • Sword plants are doing well and appear to be holding the reddish leaf colour rather than reverting to green; and

  • All the plants generally appear to be in better health, like they actually don't mind being in there and growing rather than just struggling to survive, if that makes any sense


I'm also noticing that since starting the ferts the nitrate levels in the tank do not appear to be rising as fast... not sure if that's just my imagination or whether with the other required nutrients now available to them the plants are taking up more nitrate

While I am happy with the little improvements to plant health that I am noticing since starting the PMDD routine, I'm not as happy about what its doing to the appearance of my water. The fertiliser solution is a deep reddish colour (much like a rich red wine) which makes the tank water appear heavily tannin stained. The discolouration does not appear to fade significantly between doses. The water colour, combined with my low lighting tends to make the tank look rather dark towards the end of the weekly fertiliser / water change cycle. Running some carbon in the filter would probably clear up the discolouration but I can't remember if carbon is likely to bind with the nutrients I am trying to make available for the plants. Any thoughts?

Betta Tank
I finally got around to taking an updated pic of this tank (missing from the original post)



That's it for the updates for now (I do need to do an update on the turtle tank which is looking pretty good since I added some more plants this week, but that will have to wait until I remember to take pics when the tank lights are on)

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 09-Aug-2008 17:20Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
keithgh
 
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I dont think carbon would be good for the ferts check with the fert supplier.

If you can get a small bottle of GEO and try that it should not effect any ferts I use it at every water change and it has no effect on the Seachem liquid ferts.

Its either that or change the ferts.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW
Post InfoPosted 10-Aug-2008 03:40Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Gone_Troppo
 
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I've also sought some advice on another forum about the discolouration of the water from the fertiliser I am using and the general concensus there was that I had been dosing way too much for the plant load I have at the moment.

My reading of the Sears Cronin Recipe was 62g of crystal mix to 300ml of water then dose the solution at 3ml per 100 litres tank water - so a full dose for this tank would be approx 20ml of solution which is what I dosed initially. Obviously i didn't take into account that the given dosage is on the assumption of a full plant load (which I don't have).

I did a 50% water change last night which pretty much eliminated the discoloration and then dosed the fert solution in 2.5ml increments until I noticed that a very slight tinge of red was lingering - 10ml in total. I dosed the tank again this evening, this time in 1ml increments, and used 5ml before the colour became evident.

While I know its not the most precise method of measuring fert levels in the water column I think I'll keep this method up for at least the next couple of weeks and then review to see what effect it has on the health of the plants and the look of the tank generally.

If I find that I need to increase the ferts again to a point where it noticeably colours the water then I'll look at investing in some Purigen (which is reportedly better than carbon for clearing up the water) or something like that.

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 12-Aug-2008 11:12Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Running some carbon in the filter would probably clear up the discolouration but I can't remember if carbon is likely to bind with the nutrients I am trying to make available for the plants. Any thoughts?
Yep ,carbon will take all the goodnes out of your regime without taking out the ugly bits .

As far as dosing is concerned ...what is too much .. only if your plants can't outcompite algae ...not sure this happening here . More thoughts latter ... and more sober .

Just wanted to be here to help and support after such a long absense .


Regards

Garry
Post InfoPosted 11-Sep-2008 13:38Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Gone_Troppo
 
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EditedEdited by Gone_Troppo
OK another rambling and long update on the 180G....

I've added a few more plants; trying some new ones and bulking up existing groupings. I've also been fiddling with the fert regime trying to find a happy medium between good fert levels and red coloured water.

First the plants...
Since the last update I've added more C.balansae to the back of the tank (behind both the middle and right ship pieces). The ones on the right seem to be doing well but the ones in the middle not quite as good - they melted a bit recently so they now can't be seen behind the ship, not sure whether it was transport shock or the changes I've been making with the ferts but they seem to be making a slow recovery. Hopefully once they grow in the background will be almost complete.

Pics of C.balansae - right & C.balansae - centre (obviously not doing as well as the others)

I've added more E.parviflorus 'Tropica' to the centre foreground. When it arrived the petioles were very long and the plants seem a bit out of place in the foreground but new growth seems to be more in line with the 'pin cushion' shaped growth form I am used to. Once there are a few more new leaves on all of them I will trim the older leaves off completely.


The number of osiris swords has been increasing as I harvest more from the emersed parent plant . There is now a field of this plant between the centre and right ship pieces (as well as wherever else I can fit them in). I'm a little disappointed that these plants are not growing as tall as I had hoped, they are getting lots of new growth but remain at about 2.5 inches tall. I was hoping to have a mid-ground jungle of these but now I'm thinking I might need to either find something that grows a bit taller as a transition between the tall C.balansae and java fern at the back and the foreground plants or swap the swords and crypts so the crypts are more toward the back.


By now you've probably noticed that there are a couple of inverted plastic strawberry punnets in the tank. These are in place to temporarily protect a couple of new plants from the acaras re-scaping efforts and the nibbling of the buenos aires tetras - at least until they have had a chance to establish themselves.

The first plant I am trying under the punnets is Marsilea hirsuta (Hansen's Nardoo) which is apparently reasonable as a ground cover / foreground plant in low light tanks such as mine. I'm trying two separate and equal sized plantings of the nardoo - one with the protection of the strawberry punnet:

and the other without the protection:

The results speak for themselves I think even at this early stage!

The other punnet is protecting a stand of E.tenellus. There's not even a few stumps of the unprotected planting left of that one to show.


Finally on the plants - I've added a few stem plants (which have also been subject to the darn tetras nibbling )


Now the ferts....

As mentioned in a previous post I was having an issue with water discolouring because of the PMDD mix I am using. I did a big water change to dilute the discolouration then dosed for a couple of week at the reduced level (using water discolouration as an indication of fert levels). There appeared to be little difference in the plant growth between the apparent overdosing and the reduced fert level - things were slowly chugging along which is just how I want it.

After the next water change I got really slack and didn't dose ferts at all for a week - algae explosion!! algae on the glass, algae on the anubias (more than usual anyway), algae on the leaves of the crypts! This was also the period during which half of the new C.balansae started melting (may have been coincidence and caused by transport/ replanting).

So, I'm now back to judging the fert levels by water discolouration... 7-10 mls per day seems to be about right atm with up to 15ml on water change day. I probably should invest in a couple more test kits so I can make a more educated assessment of the fert levels in the tank but for the parameters I have tests for (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, hardness) there has been no adverse change since I've started messing with fertilisers. In fact nitrates are probably at the lowest level I've ever seen in this tank hovering between 10 & 15 ppm.

So that's it for now. As always comments, suggestions criticisms etc welcome.

G_T






Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 14-Sep-2008 05:30Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Gone_Troppo
 
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Oops.. forgot to post a FTS...



G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 14-Sep-2008 05:44Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
keithgh
 
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That is getting along very nicely any chance of adding some tall thin type plants at the LH end also the back LH end of the tank now?

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW
Post InfoPosted 14-Sep-2008 09:18Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Gone_Troppo
 
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Good point Keith, that left hand corner has been a bit neglected in all my fiddling with the tank. TBH I tend to ignore that side a little as its the 'functional' end with both the HOB and the canister outlet, and not quite as visible as the centre and right side from the prime viewing position in the lounge room (the couch).

I'm a bit hesitant to add anything too tall on that end because I'm a bit paranoid about reducing the flow through the tank too much (and anything I've put there before got a bit beaten around by the flow). In saying all that there are some smaller vals behind that left hand piece of ship that should start making themselves known a bit more over coming weeks and maybe I'll try a bit more wisteria or java fern on the end under the filter outputs - they should be able to handle the shading that seems to occur in that spot because of me not being able to rest fluoro tubes along that section because of the HOB (would be so much easier to rig up a hanging light system if I didn't have solid concrete ceilings and an unwillingness to ever move this tank out of the way to install it - we've moved it twice in its life and that's more than enough!)

Maybe I should invest in another canister and do away with the HOB completely ...

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 14-Sep-2008 14:12Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
keithgh
 
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male australia au-victoria
The Val should not obstruct any water movement if is an outlet if I am correct both outlets should come from the top and all it would do is add movement to the plants there. Is the ship starting to show any signs of aging yet?

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
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Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Post InfoPosted 15-Sep-2008 06:47Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Gone_Troppo
 
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Is the ship starting to show any signs of aging yet?
I'm not quite sure what you mean by this Keith.

The ship is a poly-resin thing so its not going to age or weather like a real timber one would. The only way I could see that it would 'age' is either the painted surface coming off (leaving white moulded plastic ) or for algae to grow on it (the farlowella and sturisoma do an excellent job of preventing that).
I have previously tried growing java moss on some if it, but that experiment was mostly unsuccessful. There are a few random strands of moss still attached but its not pretty.

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 20-Sep-2008 05:12Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
keithgh
 
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GT
I am referring to the not so new look. I think it is the type of scape that will develop over the period of time and there will always be the little minor adjustments.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
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Post InfoPosted 20-Sep-2008 11:01Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Gone_Troppo
 
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EditedEdited by Gone_Troppo
I am referring to the not so new look. I think it is the type of scape that will develop over the period of time and there will always be the little minor adjustments.
Ahhh OK I kinda get what you mean now.

The more plant mass that goes in there the less the eye is drawn to the ship so it definitely appears to be less imposing now than it used to (in person at least. I don't think its conveyed as well in the photos I've been taking). I find myself working around the hardscape with the plantings rather than building the hardscape into the overall scape which I guess is a bit of a back to front way of doing things but I like how its progressing atm so I'll stick with it for now.

Quick update.. its been a pretty horrid weekend for fishkeeping here. We lost an angelfish on saturday and the 2nd angel and the farlowella today No external symptoms before death, no changes in behaviour to indicate any illness or injury, all feeding well, water parameters all where they are expected to be (pH 7, 0 & 0 ammonia & nitrite, 20ppm nitrate). I've analysed it to pieces all day and without lab/ vet testing the only thing I can come up with is that the small school of emperor tetras I introduced last weekend or the plants I got during the week brought something in with them. I'm kicking myself for not quarantining now. I really should know better...

G_T


Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
Post InfoPosted 21-Sep-2008 18:13Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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