Fluval Studio 900. Sticks and Stones.

[Ady34]

Hello,
following straight on from the brief 'Coastal Erosion' journal, i thought id better begin a new journal for the rescape.

After considering a hardscape only set up 😵 .... i came to my senses, and used the plants from coastal erosion to start the tank off. These needed adding to and after the extra incentive gained from Aquatics Live i purchased a few more and have the tank on its way.
The idea of a hardscape only scape has inspired the title, as it would simply have been sticks and stones in the tank.....these are still here and form the base for the planting....also maybe with a little reference to the bashing i may have taken for not planting up on an aquatic plant forum

For the hardscape only i wanted to keep as much visible equipment out of the tank so added some glassware and capped the drilled base completely....not a bad thing! In stripping down the last set up the inline Boyu c02 diffusor disintegrated so i reinstated the in tank ceramic diffuser for c02 injection, i may upgrade this later to another inline.

The 2x 39w ho t5 light unit is sitting 13" above the water surface, but the tank also has the glass covers back on as evaporation was an issue without them. The added benefit is they help stop jumpers and will slightly reduce lighting intensity.
Photoperiod currently 6 hrs (5pm - 11pm) with c02 also 6 hrs (on 2hrs pre photoperiod start and 2hrs pre finish).

G6 filter running with activated carbon as chemical filtration this time, and the Hydor inline heater set at 77 fahrenheit ish.

Substrate is a minimal amount of aquasoil powder at the right rear, and unipac limpopo black sand.....time will tell how the sand performs, it was bought for the hardscape only set up and i didnt fancy taking it all out once id decided to go planted, especially as the hardscape had already been positioned. I may need to supplement those plants positioned in it with root tabs.

Heres how its looking now after planting the new plants last night. I still need a few mosses for a couple of the manzy branches and the right most rock. I also had a background made to hide the wallpaper for the first time. The first 3 photos were taken with the light unit lowered to reduce reflections in the photos:

Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[Stu Worrall]

tank's looking nice and natural Ady and grown in already too! Is that Manzi wood in there? Looks real knarly

Was great to meet up again at aq live the other day and thanks for the encouragement on the tank 🙂

 

[Gary Nelson]

I like it mate, the wood looks fab! very natural looking to, I think when the plants fill in more its going to be a winner!

PS, great to meet you at Aquatics Live too

 

[jack-rythm]

I have to say ady I did love the hardscape aspect. I think its important for us aquascapists to create new and different scapes to challenge each others thoughts and debates. I remember seeing a hardscape only with beautiful discus swimming around this island like scape from just wood and rock. had such a strong impact it was amazing. It really made me think about what a scape actually was. what makes a scape, how does the scape relate to the surroundings and contrasts in the tank. I think its on youtube so check it out... its probably on here.. or could even be yours I really really cant remember and thats bad, but I was more focused on the scape than the artist 😉

That said you have made it look very cool indeed, the rock and wood formation is striking and the choice of flora etc works really well mate 🙂 really do like the fine substrate you have used. definitely adds proportion and realism.

🙂

Jack

 

[Ian Holdich]

love it mate, nice arrangement of wood and rock...I see nothing but a winner, that Echinodorus will also set it off, when it gets its new leaves.

Good to meet you as well, even though you were an old fart.

 

[Stu Worrall]

Good to meet you as well, even though you were an old fart.

 

[Iain Sutherland]

nice one ady, like this a lot, can see it will look great once it grows in with height from all the stems and the red stem through the middle.
Got a good feeling about this, looking forward to watching it develop mate.

 

[martinmjr62]

Nice looking setup. I do like the wood. One to watch


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[Deano3]

amazing setup mate looks great

 

[Ady34]

tank's looking nice and natural Ady and grown in already too! Is that Manzi wood in there? Looks real knarly

Was great to meet up again at aq live the other day and thanks for the encouragement on the tank 🙂

No worries Stu, good to chat again, and a well deserved win at AL, but all the tanks were great and it must have been difficult to pick one winner.
Yeah Manzy wood, bought it off George Farmer a while ago for a great price...its about time it was put to good use 🙂

I like it mate, the wood looks fab! very natural looking to, I think when the plants fill in more its going to be a winner!

PS, great to meet you at Aquatics Live too

Thanks, and really good to meet you too Gary, and the wife, its great she takes an interest in the hobby. Hopefully well meet again to discuss the finer points of Schnauzer health 🙂

I have to say ady I did love the hardscape aspect. I think its important for us aquascapists to create new and different scapes to challenge each others thoughts and debates. I remember seeing a hardscape only with beautiful discus swimming around this island like scape from just wood and rock. had such a strong impact it was amazing. It really made me think about what a scape actually was. what makes a scape, how does the scape relate to the surroundings and contrasts in the tank. I think its on youtube so check it out... its probably on here.. or could even be yours I really really cant remember and thats bad, but I was more focused on the scape than the artist 😉

That said you have made it look very cool indeed, the rock and wood formation is striking and the choice of flora etc works really well mate 🙂 really do like the fine substrate you have used. definitely adds proportion and realism.

🙂

Jack

Hi Jack and cheers Its great when people think about the scapes they are creating, im no expert and i tend to just put something together that i like the look of, but the scape youre thinking of i think was an awesome one by Jeff Senske, i posted a pic in the off topic section in my hardscape only thread, probably this one below. It was the one i took my inspiration from when considering a hardscape only set up, although i didnt have such large pieces of wood i tried to get a similar effect from what i had.

and a you tube video of him putting it together and the final result with those majestic discus fish:



There is a great article i found on the scape which goes through the fundementals of how it follows golden ratios etc and explains why it looks so great through its overall balance....even down to the photography and positionoing of the fish!
Heres a link:
http://www.scapefu.com/2012/03/08/analy ... hardscape/

But it may have been another scape altogether you were thinking of, perhaps from the aquarium design group, check out this link for some awesome scapes:
http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/inde ... 0&a=0&at=0

love it mate, nice arrangement of wood and rock...I see nothing but a winner, that Echinodorus will also set it off, when it gets its new leaves.

Good to meet you as well, even though you were an old fart.

Cheers Ian, and likewise good to meet you.
Echinodorus is a 'Red Diamond' variety, which theoretically doesnt get too big so should be manageable....hopefully it will flourish, although im not too sure with my lower lighting it will get the red tinge to the leaves.

Good to meet you as well, even though you were an old fart.

Im thinking next year i may wear my schoolboy fancy dress outfit to please Mark

nice one ady, like this a lot, can see it will look great once it grows in with height from all the stems and the red stem through the middle.
Got a good feeling about this, looking forward to watching it develop mate.

Hi Iain, good to meet you also at AL, your scape was really well thought out and looked awesome.... ive added some vallis nana to the rear of my scape as i liked it so much in your set up

Nice looking setup. I do like the wood. One to watch


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amazing setup mate looks great

Thanks very much Martin and Deano, just hoping i can grow the plants now as i do seem to struggle a little with that part

Cheers,
Ady

 

[jack-rythm]

No ady it was that exact photo and video of the discus created by Geoff that I'm on about 🙂

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[danmullan]

Looking good Ady

It's funny how you've gone from hardscape only to full of plants looks really nice though. The planting adds a lot to the scape I think.

That ADG discus tank is amazing, that's probably the best plant-less tank I've seen, but when you've got discus like that who would want plants? They'd only distract from the fish.

Good luck with this set-up.

Dan

 

[Ady34]

Looking good Ady

It's funny how you've gone from hardscape only to full of plants looks really nice though. The planting adds a lot to the scape I think.

That ADG discus tank is amazing, that's probably the best plant-less tank I've seen, but when you've got discus like that who would want plants? They'd only distract from the fish.

Good luck with this set-up.

Dan

Thanks Dan
Yeah i know, hardscape only seemed a good idea at the time, but when it came round to it i think you need an amazing hardscape with a really strong fish presence to pull it off.....like you say the Senske Discus tank does this brilliantly but i needed the comfort blanket of the plants.
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[OllieNZ]

Looks great Ady, I still think you could have pulled off a hardscape only tank. Nice to meet you at AL.

 

[Ady34]

Looks great Ady, I still think you could have pulled off a hardscape only tank. Nice to meet you at AL.

cheers mate, good to meet you too, and good luck with the new project, look forward to seeing it in a journal?
Cheerio,
Ady

 

[OllieNZ]

Looks great Ady, I still think you could have pulled off a hardscape only tank. Nice to meet you at AL.

cheers mate, good to meet you too, and good luck with the new project, look forward to seeing it in a journal?
Cheerio,
Ady

I'll get one going when I get the tank(s) at the start of next year. Thanks for posting the links, great reads will definitley help me going forwards.

 

[Ady34]

Plants settling in. Few issues with the alternathera rosaefolia mini still, co2 deficiency and or a knock on effect from the transfer period when they had been uprooted and had no access to co2 at all. Will most likely trim them and see if they come back. If not ill opt for something easier. Trying to keep the fish happy regards co2 so running quite lean.
Need to add some mosses to some branches and as a carpet in some areas along the foreground when funds allow.
Carrying out 2x weekly water changes and siphoning a lot of fish waste/detritus from the sand substrate areas.
Adding 3 ml liquid carbon daily also, but don't want to increase this as I have some vallis nana that I don't want to kill!
Echinodorus red diamond is sprouting a few new rusty coloured leaves so that's nice to see. Also the tenellus is throwing runners out all over. Have trimmed a few microsorum leaves which had melted, hoping this is due to transition/ damage caused by transport.

Couple of phone photos, firstly the Echinodorus new leaves:



FTS:



Not really sure the riccia suits this set up, but hopefully it will blend better if I get a bit of a moss carpet going too.

And one if my favourite fish, sturisoma panamense juvenile. I have 2 of these little fellas and they are constantly on the go, they blend with the wood really well and my little boy finds it great fun to try and find them both!:



Still seeking the ideal balance for my tanks, I think I may be forever using crypts and ferns as I seem to struggle with everything else.

Cheerio
Ady

 

[Ady34]

Update:
been a while so here we go,
for some reason this tank has taken a while to balance. Ive suffered some repeat white spot outbreaks and have lost one of my whiptails so nothing has been added to the fauna, but it seems now that there has been an improvement and all is looking well and disease free.
The plants have settled and although growth hasnt been startling, they look healthy now and so the photoperiod has been slowly increased over the last month from 6 to 8 hours. There have been a few additions, namely a little more eleocharis sp mini in the foreground, some moss to a few branches and an echinodorus Aquartica which is a small variety reaching around 15cm. The vallis nana has not grown in as id have liked to add much needed height to the scape, but now ive stopped dosing liquid carbon it is showing signs of life. If it doesnt hurry up im going to add some aponogeton sp at the rear. Still need some mosses for a couple more branches but will await the right ones. The tenellus has been a success and im looking to fill out the left corner of the tank with this also. The alternathera mini which was showing signs of c02 deficiency had, after tweaking the c02 periods in conjunction with the alterations to the photoperiod, began improving and was sprouting new growth from the stems. Due to the slow growth i decided last week to lower the lighting an inch or so.......bad move as the left most crypt has immediately began melting, although the lobelia cardinalis mini has noticeably increased growth rates. The lighting has been raised again, but i may try tweaking the c02 further to lower it again for improved growth as it needs to fill in!
I really like the lobelia cardinalis mini as it seems to be an undemanding plant with a fresh green colour much like staurogyne repens which i cant grow for toffee! It makes a good alternative for those who struggle with stauro and it is marching on in my tank just in sand substrate.



I have probably doubled the amount i have of it now just by taking cuttings and replanting.

Anyway, heres a couple of fts,

hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2013!

 

[LancsRick]

I absolutely love this tank Ady, seriously envious of both your setup and your skills. When you next have a clearout you could sell me this setup to go with the Rio 180 😉.

Great work though, that will be gorgeous to look at over Christmas!

 

[Arana]

Nice Work