# lukes first riparium!



## dr zaius (8 May 2010)

I have been on the planted tank forum from the beggining of the year and decided it was time to join a more english based forum and as hydrophyte suggested this one!!

I have a 70 litre tank which has just been converted into a riparium, also a 7 gal shrimp tank but ill make another journal for that!






Latest photo of rip sorry about poor quality only had phone camer, will re-take on camera.

Light - glo over tank luminare with 15 watt t5 bulb

filter- fluval 105 external filter

ferts-root medic tabs, dosage of lquid ferts

co2-none

flora- (above water line)diffenbachia,spathilium, type of pilea (in nano trellis)Houttuynia cordata(chameleon plant), lysimachia nummularia (creeping jenny), and a marginal pond plant im trying didnt have a name in shop.
(below water line) crypts, wenditti green,hydrocotyle verticillata ,nymphaea zenkeri(red tiger lotus) and Echinodorus 'Marble Queen'.

fauna- 5 kitty tetras, panda cories, male and female betta.

will post more pics later, thanks for any replies and critiques!


----------



## Pixels (8 May 2010)

I will be keeping an eye on this one! 

Much better than my attempt which took a bad turn while I was away. Did you source your _Houttuynia cordata_ from an average garden centre? I must admit in my one visit to a garden centre to find _Pilea cadierei_ I was unsuccessful 

Nice to see another riparium.

Cheers
Paul


----------



## dr zaius (8 May 2010)

yeah from garden centre its doing great! I cant find pilea any where! its getting really annoying now!


----------



## Pixels (8 May 2010)

Another trip to my local garden centre is in order as I only have one of my three planters with anything in it!


----------



## hydrophyte (9 May 2010)

When you are at the garden center you might look among the houseplants for some _Pilea_ plants. _Pilea cardierei_ (aluminum plant) is one of the best for planting on those Nano Trellis Rafts.


----------



## dr zaius (9 May 2010)

if you can find a garden centre that does pilea! all the ones close to me doesn't! if any one lives near london let me know if you see any thanks!


----------



## dr zaius (9 May 2010)

following on from my first post Im going to show you the stages I went through,

firstly a pic how my tank did look,








After joining the Planted tank forum, I read and saw a alot of really great threads about ripariums, this made me want to convert my tank!

So I got my planters, trellisis from ripariumsupply.com, ordered my new light fixture, got my new external filter and substrate and was off!





riparium supplies came through the post from america with no problems, will be ordering more soon!





new filter, fluval 105. Had to buy more piping as fluval only give you enough lenght to reach the top of the tank, as mines half full had to extend down to near enough bottom of tank. Decided to get an external filter because I didnt want to take up too much room inside the tank. (have an internal fluval U3 filter if anyone wants to buy it?)







tank half way through pull down





like new!





the Houttuynia cordata





the hydrocotyle verticillata 





the  lysimachia nummularia (creeping jenny) and what I think is a CALLITRICHE PALUSTRIS (Starwort), If anyone can ID that plant as anything else will be great!

I will take more full fron tank shots when I get my camera back! thanks for looking!


----------



## Pixels (9 May 2010)

I like the close up of the _Houttuynia cordata_. 

Not in the London area, but I will be looking for pilea. I live in the South west, but if I come across any pilea I will let you know and see what I can do about posting.

Cheers
Paul


----------



## dr zaius (9 May 2010)

Ok thanks a lot!


----------



## hydrophyte (9 May 2010)

That's all looking great Luke. Your riparium project is coming together quick! Those are some nice pond plants that you got going in there. I will be interested to see how the _Callitriche_ does. That is a plant that I have wondered about.

Have you given much thought yet to fertilizer dosing?

Oh and it looks like you do have one _Pilea_ in there already. The plant floating in front of the _Dieffenbachia_ looks to me like _Pilea_ 'Silver Tree'. That is a good one. It grows quickly so it is good for filling in. As it gets taller you can just chop the top right off and use those pieces to root new little plants.


----------



## dr zaius (9 May 2010)

thought it was a pilea! 

I have root medic tabs in the planters, have easy carbo(liquid c02) think im going to start dosing that to the water and Nutrafin Plant Gro  . Not at home at the moment so cant give the exact specs of the Nutrafin Plant Gro . Here is a link to it if you can see if its any good!

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=3433715

Little stuck on how to dose what ferts and when??

Help!!!


----------



## dr zaius (10 May 2010)

new plants, pilea and aluminium plant I think!


----------



## TBRO (10 May 2010)

Interesting plants, will make a great tank for your Betta when the marginals grow in, do you have any females in there? Breeding would be on the cards for sure. T


----------



## dr zaius (10 May 2010)

thanks TBRO, I have one female in there at the moment thinking about getting two more but unsure of specific betta breeding!


----------



## dw1305 (11 May 2010)

Hi all,
For Betta breeding it is better to have several females, and no other fish. The male will build his bubble nest and will try to entice a ripe female into it, if you only have one female and she isn't receptive he is quite likely to harass her to death.

The problems usually start after spawning, the male is a very good parent, so good that he nearly always slaughters all the other fish in the tank, or dies in the attempt. If you have a very weedy tank the females may be able to hide, otherwise you need to remove them.

The fry when they hatch are minute and need to have access to very warm, humid air to breathe (so you need a very shallow tank with a cover) as they will drown if they can't access the air (it is to do with their anabantoid organ), a tank with a lot of "biofilm" helps with fry survival.

To condition the fish, mosquito larvae are best, and a layer of _Ceratopteris_ (Water sprite) for the bubble nest. I also like some water lettuce (_Pistia_) as it has great roots and the rosettes form little pockets of warm wet air at the waters surface. 

The other thing is to separate the male fry before they get too big, you'll know which ones are males even before the fins develop, they will be the ones that are fighting with one another. After that i is 1 male per tank and as the spawns can be several hundred fish it can get difficult to house them.

cheers Darrel


----------



## dr zaius (11 May 2010)

thanks for your advise darrel, maybe i wont go out of my way to breed them as I have no spare tank to house the fry/other fish. Luckly the male in the tank now is a vary placid and doesnt even look at any of my other fish!


----------



## dr zaius (11 May 2010)

just thought id shar this pic of my red tiger lotus really love the colourations on this plant


----------



## hydrophyte (11 May 2010)

Nice work Luke. Lotuses are certainly good low-tech choices for ripariums.


----------



## dr zaius (11 May 2010)

its growing really well, the other plant, which i am nearly trimming daily is the creeping jenny! im onnly trimming as i want a thick spread on the raft.


----------



## dr zaius (13 May 2010)

i'm so pissed off! was cleaning out my filter (fluval 105 external) and was clipping the hosing unit back into the filter and heard this slight snapping noise, taking no notice I started to pump the water back into the fiter. Looking down I saw water leaking everywhere!!!


----------



## Garuf (13 May 2010)

Ooo look out, the cussing fairy will tell you off!
What happened? Is it the filter or the tank?


----------



## dr zaius (13 May 2010)

lol, the filter, the clip which connects the piping to the external filter has a tiny little bit snapped off and water is leaked everywhere!


----------



## Garuf (13 May 2010)

At least it's not the tank. I dropped a landscape rock and shattered the base of one of my tanks. Contact the maker asap and see if you can't get a replacement part.


----------



## dr zaius (13 May 2010)

ouch, makes my filter not seem so bad!


----------



## dr zaius (17 May 2010)

filter is back up and running!!!










creeping jenny is growing everyday hope it flowers!


----------



## hydrophyte (17 May 2010)

That creeping jenny looks great Luke. How is the palm doing? Can you tell if it is beginning to root yet?

If you can get a raft with plants in front of that peace lily in the middle it will help to cover up that planter. 

Your water is nice and clean.


----------



## dr zaius (17 May 2010)

going to get another pilea tomorrow i think have one nano trellis left, the palm looks like its doing well cant tell if its rooting, 

thanks!


----------



## TBRO (17 May 2010)

I had a very similar looking palm sticking out of my big tank (rescued from a Christmas centre piece!) It did really well. Do you know how to get a peace lilly to flower? I've got one that's not flowered for about 4 years? T


----------



## dr zaius (18 May 2010)

im hoping mine does too! To be honest no! this one came already flower but has produced another two already!


----------



## dr zaius (18 May 2010)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I teste my water for the first time today

ammonia 0.25 ppm
PH 7.6
nitrite 0.25
nitrate 40

as the nitrate is high I have added some nitrate down hope this helps,

new pilea and floating plants


----------



## dr zaius (18 May 2010)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forgot to add I have two new inhabitants, new panda cories.

So the fuana list now is,

3 panda cories (shoaling nicely!)
4 kitty tetras
male/female betta (plan on getting one or two more females)
and a brittles nose pleco
and four amano shrimp


----------



## beeky (18 May 2010)

What on earth is a "kitty tetra"?


----------



## dr zaius (18 May 2010)

that is what they was labeled up as in my local maidenhead aquatics


----------



## dr zaius (18 May 2010)

to add to previous post, the Kitty tetra - Hyphessobrycon heliacus, if any one does want to knoe more go here


http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=kittytetra


----------



## dr zaius (21 May 2010)

pic update, added driftwood and 3 more female bettas


----------



## hydrophyte (21 May 2010)

That  is looking great Luke. This is a lot like the mix of plants that I have going in a 55-gallon tank.


----------



## TBRO (21 May 2010)

Looking cool, a Betta paradise, the Hydrocotle you have planted underwater also works great as a carpeting emergent plant. How about a good amount of anubis underwater. Seems to do well in low light but high ferts enviroment? T


----------



## dr zaius (21 May 2010)

thanks hydro, and tbro anubius is a good idea but i dont want to over crowd the submerged section at the moment.


----------



## dr zaius (30 May 2010)

Update on new plant its a Houttuynia Cordata Plena ( Orange Plant ) or (rainbow chameleon plant) simmilar to the other chamelon plant I have already in the tank.





tank shots as it is now


----------



## hydrophyte (31 May 2010)

That's looking great Luke. Your _Lysimachia_ creeping jenny is doing much better than it ever did for me--I could never get that stuff to grow. I like that silvery _Pilea_ that you have. I have seen pictures of that one before, but never yet found it in a shop.


----------



## dr zaius (31 May 2010)

thanks again hydro, Its growing really well I just want it to bloom! Its a shame I cant send you one!!


----------



## hydrophyte (1 Jun 2010)

I think that I can find that plant if I look around a bit. 

The blooms of _Pilea_ aren't much to look at really. Most of them have green flowers of granular texture held close to the leaves.


----------



## dr zaius (1 Jun 2010)

no sorry hydro ment bloom of creeping jenny


----------



## hydrophyte (1 Jun 2010)

Oh yes that is actually a pretty little bloom.


----------



## dr zaius (4 Jun 2010)

two new plants, golden japanese rush and umbrella palm










new tank shots









thanks for replying!


----------



## hydrophyte (4 Jun 2010)

That umbrella sedge and the sweetflag are both excellent riparium plants. Great find!


----------



## Pixels (4 Jun 2010)

This is looking very impressive now.  

Makes me want a bigger riparium. I wonder what my chances are of getting another tank into the house?


----------



## dr zaius (4 Jun 2010)

hydrophyte said:
			
		

> That umbrella sedge and the sweetflag are both excellent riparium plants. Great find!



thanks hydro! Only got them because of a list you suggested to me! As thats all my planters used up now I think I will let the plants I have grow in and see what happens!



			
				Pixels said:
			
		

> This is looking very impressive now.
> 
> Makes me want a bigger riparium. I wonder what my chances are of getting another tank into the house?



Thanks again! Lol I think you should try! I'm so happy with my riparium!!!


----------



## dr zaius (20 Jun 2010)

got my moonlights!


----------



## hydrophyte (21 Jun 2010)

Hey Luke has that little palm started to grow at all? I have wondered about trying those but haven't heard whether they grow very well in the water.


----------



## dr zaius (21 Jun 2010)

th parlour palm? Yeah its doing great not the fastest of growers but all the same growing and rooting!


----------



## hydrophyte (21 Jun 2010)

I'll have to try that one. It looks like it could be good for filling up much of the background for a smaller layout.


----------



## dr zaius (22 Jun 2010)

hydro, I have a really thin layer of "oil" on the top of my water when i disturb the water it breaks up, then reforms a while later, any ideas?


----------



## hydrophyte (22 Jun 2010)

I would try the paper towel method.

I have had that organic film develop a few times on new setups. It usually disappears as the system matures.


----------



## dw1305 (22 Jun 2010)

Hi all,


> I have a really thin layer of "oil" on the top of my water when i disturb the water it breaks up


 it is bacterial. It may be a _Leptothrix_ species, in which case it is a to do with the REDOX reactions in the sediment.

As Hydrophyte says It usually disappears as the system matures, or you can add some surface agitation (but this will increase the rate of gas exchange).

cheers Darrel


----------



## hydrophyte (30 Jun 2010)

Any updates for this tank?


----------



## dr zaius (1 Jul 2010)

I came back from a weeks vacation the day before yesterday and waterchanged and trimmed right back, was like a jungle even after a week!


----------



## hydrophyte (2 Jul 2010)

Nice work Luke! You have really gotten some fantastic growth from those plants. 

I really have to try some of that _Lysimachia_ again. I have planted it a couple of times but it fizzled for me. It is growing like wild in your setup. You lotus looks happy too.


----------



## dr zaius (8 Jul 2010)

just a few new pics of growth 
















_spathilium_ bloom









found a bit of pilea floating in the creeping jenny and it has started growing floating!


----------



## TBRO (8 Jul 2010)

Really nice Luke, worlds happiest Betta ?


----------



## Krishs Bettas (8 Jul 2010)

Yep, you had a perfect place for you betta to live in, kinda like the natural habitate, trust me on this one


----------



## dr zaius (10 Jul 2010)

yeh they love the riparium set up! They like "sitting" on the lotus pads!


----------



## dr zaius (31 Jul 2010)

pic updates


----------



## TBRO (1 Aug 2010)

Lovely effect, I love the fish against the dark background. As previously stated, nice to see youÂ´re fighter with his ladeez, any spawning ?


----------



## dr zaius (1 Aug 2010)

he's making bubble nests all the time and i think one female is pregnent but not sure if its the righ conditions for fry?


----------



## Garuf (1 Aug 2010)

The top halfs very nice, the underwater sections a little untidy but over all very well done. 
Does your lily behave for you? Are all the pads pretty small?


----------



## dr zaius (1 Aug 2010)

thanks! the lily grows really fast but is easily controlled. The pads start small but grow really large. How would you improve the under water section? Im fairly new to aquascaping and would love some pointers!


----------



## dr zaius (3 Aug 2010)

any ideas?


----------



## dw1305 (3 Aug 2010)

Hi all,
I think it looks really good, the emersed section is brilliant. I'd may be add some moss/java fern planted bog wood to add a bit of interest underwater.

cheers Darrel


----------



## dr zaius (10 Aug 2010)

hey guys thinking about trying to train the creeping jenny up a piece of larger driftwood, id rescape the rest, any thoughts?


----------



## dr zaius (7 Sep 2010)

right so moved house now and eventually found some time to sort out my tank looking good, cut the creeping jenny right back as it melted a little but its started to grow back already!  also trimmed the pilea as they where getting taller than the spathilium!




















sorry for some refelctions in pics havent got blinds up in livingroom yet, still the tank isnt in direct sunlight


----------



## wearsbunnyslippers (7 Sep 2010)

looks great luke!


----------



## dr zaius (7 Sep 2010)

thanks! Just gettin the water paremeters back up to standard now!


----------



## Pixels (7 Sep 2010)

Now that is looking very good.


----------



## LondonDragon (7 Sep 2010)

Loving this tank, just keeps getting better  congrats


----------



## dr zaius (7 Sep 2010)

Thanks so much guys!


----------



## dr zaius (6 Oct 2010)

im moving all my bettas to another tank along with the kitty tetras that are left.

So the two species of fish left in the riparium will be a brisstle nose plec and three panda cories.
I really want to make a tetra riparium and not sure which way to go? Either to have jus one species of 12 fish or have a mixed shoal?


----------



## Pixels (7 Oct 2010)

I recently mixed my shoal in my 180 litre and I'm not sure if it was a wise move. But saying that, I have seen some tanks where it really works? 

My point being, that I have no point! 

Tank looks great, I'm hanging on to my planters for when I can fit another, bigger tank into the house that I can turn into a proper riparium like yours. 

Cheers
Paul


----------



## dr zaius (8 Oct 2010)

thanks! heres some newer pic updates


----------



## hydrophyte (12 Oct 2010)

Nice going Luke!


----------



## Nick16 (24 Oct 2010)

how are you keeping everything moist? are you useing a bottle mister? 

or a mister that you can use for dart frogs? (electronic one?)


----------



## Gill (24 Oct 2010)

Looks really goos, Liking the mix of plants you have used.


----------



## LondonDragon (27 Oct 2010)

That betta lives in paradise, lovely looking tank


----------



## dr zaius (28 Oct 2010)

thanks guys!

as these are all emmergant plants any way, or house plants they dont need to keep moist. plants like the spathiluim(peace lilly) in their natural habitat they live on river banks or in really moist soil so their roots a near enough submerged all the time. Other ripariums need to be kept moist as they have submerged plants grown emmersed, like crypts and mosses. This style of riparium needs constant misting and a portion of the tank covered, the style of plants i chose makes it easier to manage but still has the same great effect


----------



## dr zaius (30 Jun 2011)

havent posted for so long! ive brought a house moved and and this is my tank now!!






obviously not a riparium! but i am setting it up back to its fomer glory! more updates soon


----------



## dr zaius (30 Jun 2011)

havent posted for so long! ive brought a house moved and and this is my tank now!!





obviously not a riparium! but i am setting it up back to its fomer glory! more updates soon


----------



## dr zaius (5 Jul 2011)

sorted out the tank ready to recieve the planters again, have had to order a couple of bits that i had lost/damaged. then need to search for some acceptable riparium plants.


----------



## ghostsword (5 Jul 2011)

Hi.. 

You say that you need to search for riparium plants..  You do know that most stems grow emersed, right?

And some quite tall as well..


----------



## dr zaius (5 Jul 2011)

yeah i know that but you then have to consider covering at least some of the the tank, getting a mister and actually converting the submerged to emmersed!

i mainly focused on using house plants like _spathilium_ and pond/marginal plants like "creeping jenny"


----------



## ghostsword (5 Jul 2011)

Nopes, that is slightly incorrect.


			
				dr zaius said:
			
		

> yeah i know that but you then have to consider covering at least some of the the tank, getting a mister and actually converting the submerged to emmersed!
> 
> i mainly focused on using house plants like _spathilium_ and pond/marginal plants like "creeping jenny"



This is what I have on the garden, in London:

Polygonum sp? by GHOSTSWORD, on Flickr


Untitled by GHOSTSWORD, on Flickr

About the other plants, look on the planted tanks website, they sell marginal plants..  or check out garden centers.


----------



## dr zaius (5 Jul 2011)

ok cool, ive got a couple of plants already, whats the first plant you have in that picture looks really good?! want to send me a cutting?! lol


----------



## dr zaius (5 Jul 2011)

Acorus Gramineus Ogen ( Golden Japanese Rush ) 
Cyperus Aternofolius ( Umbrella Palm )
Chamaedorea elegans (palour palm)
Pilea cadierei (Silver tree)
Pilea
lysimachia nummularia (creeping jenny)
diffenbachia
spathilium (peace lilly)
Houttuynia cordata (chameleon plant)
Houttuynia Cordata Plena (rainbow chameleon)

list of plants in my previous set up


----------



## dw1305 (5 Jul 2011)

Hi all,
Luis, your unknown plant is _Veronica beccabung_a "Brook-lime", a British native with a nice blue "Speed-well" flower in the spring.

cheers Darrel


----------



## ghostsword (5 Jul 2011)

Thanks Darell.. I stand corrected.. Bought it as Bacopa. This plant is a weed, it grows very fast.


----------



## dr zaius (17 Jul 2011)

have a new tank! its the same litre as the previous set up but its a long. Still waiting on some riparium supplies then ill plant up.


----------



## dr zaius (22 Jul 2011)

heres some updates have plants in!!


----------



## dr zaius (7 Aug 2011)

update, light hung, back painted


----------



## ghostsword (7 Aug 2011)

It is looking amazing, great plants.

Why not try with aquatics? Maybe some rotala, hygrophilas, hydrocotyle and others? They flower !


---
- .


----------



## dr zaius (7 Aug 2011)

good idea but id need to cover the tank for humidity and am not going for emmersed plants as ive hung the light, i have another tank with a musk turtle in which im thinking about doing a humid riparium with emmersed plants like crypts and some of the plants you mentioned above!


----------



## dw1305 (8 Aug 2011)

Hi all,
_Anthurium_ look good, I'd be interested to see how they get on grown that wet, as I have a green spathed one that I'm contemplating trying in a riparium.

cheers Darrel


----------



## ghostsword (8 Aug 2011)

You would not need to cover the tank, the plants grow fine at room humidity.


----------



## dr zaius (8 Aug 2011)

but surely i would have to source them from a supplier who grows them emmersed? I know the conversion from submerged to emmerged requires a lot of moisture


----------

