From start to finish

[Wizard]

Just thought I'd post a diary of what iv done so far ....

Bought the tank with he stand for £250 second hand , came with lights , filter media , sump , heater and 2 pumps with a bag of alfagrog so can't complain

Stand was in a bit of a state ....kinda looked like it would collapse at the slightest hint of water , so stripped it down and re in forced with 24mm furniture grade ply , can hold a tonne of weight now

As to the tank itself , I decided to re seal it as its history was unknown .....took 2 days to scrape off the old sealent and clean it , then another day to re seal ., let's see if the pictures work! lol

 

[Wizard]

Tank with water in .....had fingers crossed "gulp"

 

[Wizard]

Well safe to say it held water so decided to do a mock up and get some guppies to start a cycle while I sort out the substrate / scenery and plants ect

 

[Wizard]

Got some polystyrene from work and did some reading on Google so decided to make my own fake rocks and scenery , its a 4 ft tank so to do what I want I would have to spend a small fortune on rocks ...

 

[Wizard]

All painted with acrylic paints , I need to take them to work to coat in epoxy (I work in a resin shop) then let them dry for a week before soaking them ready to be put into the tank .

 

[Wizard]

The other one

 

[Wizard]

Made some led lights then fitted the diy rock structure
Starting to take shape now all substrate is in ....just need to start planting and make the other feature

 

[Wizard]

Plants are in

 

[Wizard]

Got some new plants and now the others have grown a little iv split them up and re planted , got some wood turning up in the next week or so , then I can get the top right corner finished

 

[Wizard]

 

[Lindy]

This might look a bit more natural if you got some stone chips, in a similar colour to the fake stuff, and scattered it along the edge (of the fake stuff) maybe with a wee rock or two. Make it look less wall like....

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[Wizard]

Oh yeah I agree , I got to sort out the bogwood iv ordered once it arrives then I can add the finishing touches

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

This might look a bit more natural if you got some stone chips, in a similar colour to the fake stuff, and scattered it along the edge (of the fake stuff) maybe with a wee rock or two. Make it look less wall like...

I agree with Lindy, but I think the "rock-work" will look really good once the plants are grown in.

Assuming the fern with the large brown fond isn't a fake "plant"? It looks like Borneo Fern (Trichomanes javanicum), and it isn't an aquatic plant (although it is sold as one).

cheers Darrel

 

[Wizard]

It's fake yes , but its the only one , I was aiming for a low light low maintenance low tech tank , so thinking red plants wouldn't take too well , once the plants grow out more it will hide most of the rock ,
I'm also growing some Christmas moss to place on the exposed rock , just need it to grow out a little more, then figure a way to attach it

 

[Wizard]

Bogwooooood! Wooo!

 

[Wizard]

And in the tank

 

[Lindy]

I'd move the wood more to the foreground. Once your plants have grown it will be lost. You have lots of space so I'd use it...

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[Wizard]

You read my mind lol , going to do that tonight

 

[Wizard]

Done

 

[Lindy]

Much better

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk