# Dom's Jar of Honey



## Dominic (12 May 2014)

This thread was started on another forum, however I will copy and paste everything up to date. It has been running for nearly a month now. My inspirations are Bigtom's Bucket of mud, Alistair's Chocolate puddle series, and Don's 200gallon Square.
Hope you guys like it 

I hereby apologize in advance for my lack of experience in carrying out tank journals. I hope to be able to reach the standards of the likes of other people on this forum 





Here is my empty tank, which arrived last saturday, (picture was taken on the day, sorry for the rubbish photo) in which i have been carefully planning, researching, collecting, and gathering for, for over 6 months now. Like i posted previously on another thread- I was sick, and tired of just 'making do' with all my tanks that i have ever had, and with the provision of a job to me around 5 or 6 months ago, and being 17 (18 in may) living with my parents,still being in study, without a car, without any taxes to pay, and some free time, i thought to myself- 'hey, I can do whatever the heck i want now!' after being in the fishkeeping hobby for years, beginning from a very young age where my late dad took me to the fish store one day and brought back a small, 2 foot long tank with him. His love for nature has definitely been inherited by me as one of my qualities. He would spend days and even nights on the riverbank, with a couple of fishing rods cast out into the river hooked up to a bite alarm, sitting in his little deckchair, smoking a cigarette and taking in the beauty of nature. I am hoping to recreate a similar imagery in this tank.

I am going to be doing a lot of work today to it, and hopefully it might be planted by the end of the day. This will be my first 'proper' planted tank.

I will keep you guys updated, but for now- here is my (messy, for now) tank. Here's the spec- 


Tank- Custom made 900x900x370, holding roughly 300 litres. 

Cabinet- DIY, made by my gramps for 100 quid. Not bad for a good sturdy cabinet. 

Lighting- 2x 38w T8's with a DIY light stand and fittings. This gives me just over 1wpg.

Filtration- Fluval 305 filter loosely packed (to prevent clogging) with sponges, ceramic rings and broken up bits of lava rock. 

Circulation- 2x newave 1600's- on the lowest setting (I'd rather not blow my tank to pieces haha) 

CO2- 1x 5kg canister with up aqua atomizer. Gonna crank up the co2 for the first few weeks to help plants grow in, then tone the co2 back down once fish are added.

Substrate- John Innes No3 compost, capped with kitty litter/moler clay. 

Fauna- I am considering Chocolate Gouramis, Rosy loaches, Chili Rasboras, and a bunch of cherry shrimp. It is undecided yet. 

Flora- 
immersed- Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis, Lilaeopsis Mauritana, Eleocharis s.p, Parvula and Acicularis, Sagittaria Subulata, Anubias, Microsorum Pteropus trident and narrow, a bunch of crypts, predominantly wendtii brown, green, and beckettii. 

emersed- Not sure yet. Will note as the journal goes on. 

It also has a built in fog system which goes around the back perimeter of the tank to help provide my terrestrial plants with some humidity. I bought a 6 litre humidifier from ebay, and it is on 24/7. It normally lasts 3-4 days before I have to refill it again. I spray the terrestrial plants twice a day. 




[DOUBLEPOST=1399919288][/DOUBLEPOST]The first thing i did was I checked my co2 system for leaks- I attached the regulator solenoid etc, and tightened everything as tight as i could. I then opened the valve, which made the pressure go up to around 60. I put a pen mark on it's position, and then turnt the valve off again. I left it for 8 hours to check whether the pressure had gone down (this would mean that there is a leak) but it was still in the same position! So thats all good!

I then waterproofed all the piping and hooked it all up. I used hot glue gun, as i tried to use silicone, but it did NOT hold well. And i found that hot glue was 10x better. I glued all the joints together and used pipe clips to hook everything up and put everything into position. All the filter's piping is DIY.
I then took it outside and did a test run to make sure everything was watertight. And then hooked everything up into its final place.

I then pushed the tank into it's final position- and started scaping. I wanted to use lots of lava rock to help create a slope. I used lava rock to help prevent the substrate from becoming stagnant and anaerobic. So i piled up all the lava rock, and then added a 2-4cm layer of John Innes No3 Soil over the top, and then a 3-5cm layer of moler clay on top.

I finally started playing around with a few hardscape ideas- and this is all i have come up with so far. I am hoping to create a little island in which i can grow terrestrial plants on.

Also, i had previously made a background for the tank. I covered wood with pond liner to waterproof it, and then stuck hygrolon onto it, which is a material that is apparently very good at holding moisture and is very good for growing plants on. I will add some moss mix onto it- i am hoping to have the whole background covered with mosses with some plants growing onto it.

Thats all for now. Finishing the hardscape and planting and filling tomorrow! 







[DOUBLEPOST=1399919549][/DOUBLEPOST]these pictures were taken as soon as i finished planting- i still need to put loads more plants and stuff in, but i just thought i'd do some update pictures 

 enjoy


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## Dominic (12 May 2014)

Disaster. The pipes i made for my filter didnt work. They began leaking. And it is going to be such a pain in the bum to try and sort it out, and i should really be dedicating my time to my education right now, and i just do not have the time. I have loads of work to get done before easter is over, and i've been using that time for my tank. 

I will have a couple of circulation pumps in there to help with the flow and distribution of nutrients. 

I only plan on doing this until the summer holidays- to allow me to be able to focus on the last few weeks of college.

finished planting, still need to add some plants to the wood that is out of the water but... this will do for now. 

 The water is still hazy but i added a small filter to the tank to help get rid of the haziness. Enjoy!













[DOUBLEPOST=1399920330][/DOUBLEPOST]Update time! Been doing a lot of work to the emersed section over the last week or two, with my spare hour or two that i get sometimes. Ammonia and Nitrites are now zero and nitrates have gone up a little to around 60... the cycle is nearly over! Without a filter as well! 





I'm hoping to get the actual filter running on tuesday on my day off (spending half the day on assignments and the other half trying to fix it) I got some acrylic cement to help bond the pipes a little better than hot glue/silicone. Hopefully it works. 



Anyhow, for now, enjoy!

























That's it so far guys


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## Lindy (12 May 2014)

Great size of tank!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


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## tim (12 May 2014)

Nice


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## Iain Sutherland (12 May 2014)

That's a pretty great start to a journal, full of potential. Will be great to watch it grow in! 


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## Leesey (12 May 2014)

That looks brilliant with the display above the tanks also.


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## Alastair (13 May 2014)

Hi Dominic 
It's looking good now mate. You could still run the filter using the original outlet and inlet just drill holes big enough in the diy back ground which is a great idea. A nice mist each day and that back ground will look great. 

Very well thought out and glad you finally posted it. 
My only criticism is the change of bulb colour. I liked the initial tubes but it's your preference that counts. Looking forward to seeing it grow 

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk 2


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## Dominic (13 May 2014)

Thank you very much for your kind words guys!  

Alistair- it is still the same light, an interpet tropical daylight (apparently 16000k, but it gives off a pinkish light, so I assume its at the lower end of the spectrum) The photos leading up to my most recent update were taken on a mobile phone. The ones in the most recent update were taken with a slightly better camera, a nikon coolpix, but still not great. 

Hoping to get my girlfriends Nikon d3200 to it, to try and get some better pictures. Also, I think the water has a little bit of tannin in it from the wood, so i assume that may contribute to the look.

And my plan is to have the outlet and inlet hooking over the DIY background, so it will be visible, but i hope to cover it with reptile cork, and place a few tillandias and stuff on there. If it looks too bulky and unsightly, i'll just wrap it with hygrolon and allow the moss to grow over it.


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## Alastair (13 May 2014)

Sounds like you have it all planned dom. Look forward to it. 

Regarding the light I just meant the most recent photos everything looks really pink??

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk 2


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## Leesey (13 May 2014)

This and the other tanks mentioned above has made my mind up that i really want a large shallow tank!


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## sanj (13 May 2014)

That is an unusual tank, is it black silicone or is that a frame around it?

Looking like its off to a great start.


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## Dominic (14 May 2014)

Thank you guys,

Alistair- it is a relatively pinkish light, however the contrast has been turned up a little in the images so that may be why it looks so pink. 

Leesey- Go for it mate! i'll never regret making my decision  

And Sanj- Its a black plastic frame- the guy that built my tank said that he put it there for support- kind of like bracing, as I wanted it rimless. I dont see how it would help that much- i'd prefer to have it off, but i dont want to risk my tank collapsing lol  Thank you though! 


And I am contemplating what to do now- Should I leave it-

-Low tech without a filter, as it is now 

-Low tech with a filter

-Inject co2? 

I would inject co2 however from what i understand, you will need to carry out many water changes, which is a pain when using r.o water. I'd prefer to just top up, and maybe do a 10% water change every so often. Or could I inject co2 without water changes?


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## Dominic (30 May 2014)

Update time! The tank is getting onto around 6 weeks old now, and i am pretty darn happy with how things are getting on. Everything is growing steadily, but really well.

I have also decided not to keep chocolate gourami. The pH was fine, but my gH and kH were just too high, even with the use of R.O water. Maybe sooner or later down the line i may be able to keep them in a smaller tank. Or even better when i move out, i move into an area with naturally soft water  

I have completely and utterly given up with my filter for now. I have been spending more time on my tank than i should have.... and I have around 16 assignments to do within four weeks so i am in a bit of a panic mode right now. What has happened is that the original pipeworks that i made began leaking, so that took a backseat. I used pvc cement on the pipeworks, that didn't work either. I finally resorted to using the original pipeworks that came with the filter, just for the sake of providing more surface area to build bacteria in (this meant that I couldn't use my inline diffuser for my co2). Those pipes then started leaking, as they had a hole in them from the previous owner. So the next day I went to buy new fluval 305 pipes. Fitted them to the filter, and then the actual canister started leaking. AAARGH 



However, everything seems to be absolutely fine without a filter and a weekly 10-15% water change.

I added my old amano shrimp a while ago, probably around 3 weeks ago, when i saw that my ammonia and nitrites were at zero. I lost him for a while, and i assumed he died due to the fact there was no filter in there, but a fortnight or so later, he made a reappearance and seemed perfectly fine! Happily grazing on the fluffy detrius around the wood. 

I added three otos, an assassin snail, and 9 cherry shrimp around a week and a half ago, from my old tank, and they seem happier than ever. A good 4 or so of the cherry shrimp are berried too! Shrimp babies soon!  

So, with everything seeming to be going swimmingly, (please excuse the pun) i went to the LFS on tuesday, and picked up some gorgeous honey gourami. (Black breasted yellow dorsal fin variety, not sure what it is called) One male and three females. They are not in full colour as they are only small. I plan on getting another four honey gourami. They are really shy at the moment and i have only seen glimpses of them, they are hiding in amongst the lava rock. However they are beginning to pluck up their confidence and I have seen the odd one coming out every so often, on one occasion in twos, to have a little look around. They're so damn cute  (i should also note that the hydra infestation in the tank has almost completely disappeared... coincidence?)

I also got 3 assassin snails on the trip to the lfs and they have done an awesome job clearing up the snail infestation in the tank. Probably eaten about half of the snails. 

I haven't bothered to take some pictures of the tank yet as I am just doing a quick update before bed, but hopefully if i get enough time ill put some up over the weekend.


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## Dominic (5 Jun 2014)

Picture-heavy update now! These pictures were taken on sunday, when I added a further 4 honey gourami and 6 pencilfishes. Everything has been absolutely fine! Even with no filter! I even came home on monday to find my pencilfishes breeding! It was a surprise! They were displaying like mad and kept going into the spawning embrace under leaves. I can't see any eggs though.. oh well im just chuffed that they are happy! 

Been having an aphid problem and should be adding my new mints when I get a chance as don recommended them to help deter aphids, alongside dabbing a 20/80 rubbing alcohol solution with a q-tip, however I dont fancy dabbing each individual aphid, so i'll see how the mints work first  

By the way, my two male honey gourami are shy little buggers and i dont see them much, however when they do, they are GORGEOUS, lovely vibrant colours of red black and yellow. I need to get a picture soon. However pictures of the females will do for now.  

Left hand view



Right hand view



Head on corner



Aerial view





Experimenting  





Views from behind tank







Fishes! 
Pencilfish


Female Honeys (found it really tough to get a good picture of them, sorry about that!) 








And finally, a couple of randoms! 

Loved the coloura of the crypts! 


And i found a random sort of spider web with dew on it from the humidifier, looked awesome! You can also see the moss is finally starting to grow! 




Any advice, criticism, anything is welcome! Would love to see some comments!


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## tim (5 Jun 2014)

This has the potential to be epic dom, do you have tillandsias on the emersed section? Nice beckfordi pencil fish have a lot of character IMO, keep the updates coming mate and good luck with the studies.


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## Andy D (5 Jun 2014)

Looks great!

Just wish I could see it under more 'normal' coloured lighting.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (5 Jun 2014)

Agreed with Andy, the only criticism I have, is the light colour, it takes away from the natural look and intention of the tank IMHO.

Other than that, it looks very promising!


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## Dominic (5 Jun 2014)

tim said:


> This has the potential to be epic dom, do you have tillandsias on the emersed section? Nice beckfordi pencil fish have a lot of character IMO, keep the updates coming mate and good luck with the studies.



Thank you tim i appreciate it! Yes I do, Tillandsia Usenoides (spanish moss) and Tillandsia Ionantha  Give a lovely pink colour, and has small purple flowers when in bloom. I'm trying to think whether i can induce it to bloom. 



Andy D said:


> Looks great!
> 
> Just wish I could see it under more 'normal' coloured lighting.





Vinkenoog1977 said:


> Agreed with Andy, the only criticism I have, is the light colour, it takes away from the natural look and intention of the tank IMHO.
> 
> Other than that, it looks very promising!



Not the first person that has said that, lol! They are T8 interpet 'tropical daylight' tubes, gives off a very pinkish light, and is supposed to be 16,000k. I will change the tubes soon, maybe 6,500 or 10,000k?
However I may upgrade the lights to t5's, for stronger lighting, because I want to raise the light even more. Do you think the upgrade is necessary or am i safe raising it anyway without losing much plant growth?


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## tim (5 Jun 2014)

What camera do you use for the photos dom ? It's worth playing around with white balance settings if you can.


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## Dominic (5 Jun 2014)

I use a nikon coolpix, not the best camera in the world but theres a setting on there that makes it more vivid. Should I turn that down?


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## tim (5 Jun 2014)

Try Turning it down mate, you can also try playing around with the exposure compensation setting on the coolpix I think ? Not so great with photography myself dom


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## Dominic (5 Jun 2014)

Haha i will mate, i'll get my girlfriend to help me out, she's got a better camera and she takes a photography a-level! haha. Im cr*p at photography! 
Also what do you think of what i said in accordance to upgrading to T5's if you dont mind mate?


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## James D (6 Jun 2014)

Hi Dominic, it's looking fantastic mate, when it all grows in it should be spectacular.

6500k is generally regarded as about the optimum for viewing your tank, the plants won't be that bothered either way though.


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## Greenfinger2 (6 Jun 2014)

Hi Dominic, Great Scape


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## Dominic (7 Jun 2014)

James D said:


> Hi Dominic, it's looking fantastic mate, when it all grows in it should be spectacular.
> 
> 6500k is generally regarded as about the optimum for viewing your tank, the plants won't be that bothered either way though.


Thank you! And yeah I may try a 6,500k tube alongside a 10,000k. Just have to have a play. My girlfriend said she will take some pictures on her nikon d3200 and edit them. So all's good!  

Added some more plants today, and really need to sort out the lighting as they are growing above the lights. Unsure whether to just raise it or upgrade the lights then raise, i'll start a seperate thread on that if i need to. 



Greenfinger2 said:


> Hi Dominic, Great Scape



Thank you! So far so good!


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## Dominic (23 Jun 2014)

Bear with me guys i've only a week of college left, then i'll have more of a play around with the tank and take some decent pictures. Been experiencing problems with nutrient deficiency, but seems to be sorting itself out now after a dosage of EI. I will do another dosage after my next water change/top up. 

The reason i am posting is because i did a little experiment with an orchid- Brassavola Cucullata. This is my first orchid, i tied it onto a piece of bark using cotton thread and covered the roots lightly with some moss, just to keep the moisture in slightly. I didnt stick the bark onto the background, however, i just 'hung' it off the top of the background. Reason being it will probably take a year or two for it to properly root onto the bark, and it just seems like it would be a shame to pull it off if i ever shut down/re-did the tank, and also some areas of the tank will be better than others in terms of lighting/humidity etc, With the bark i can just move it and experiment with different locations. However, fingers crossed it will stay alive! 

Pictures -

Roots with moss






In situ-


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## Johnbol (23 Jun 2014)

Hi Dominic!

Nice orchid - congrats! I hope it will cover up with flowers soon for you. Good idea with the bark pad. Makes it easier to care for the plant. Even for watering you can just put it in the tank for few sec for the moss to soak in. With all the ferts provided it should be the best method.
I'm guessing this won't be your first & last orchid now that you have started with them. It's easy to catch a bug - I know something about it.

Good luck!

Cheers!


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## Dominic (25 Jun 2014)

Yup, my girlfriend is much better at taking pictures than me! Sorry it's so picture heavy, she took a lot of pictures. haha!































As you can see, it's surviving from it's nutrient deficiency quite well.




An old classic- the venus fly trap!


Cheeky little ember tetra!


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## Dominic (5 Jul 2014)

I made something new for my tank last week, it is a little 'root' feature for the emersed portion that i hope to get some nice pilea involucrata growing on with some nice mosses. I also added an orchid to it- Haraella Retrocalla. Here is a step by step on how i made it-

First- i cut off a piece of branch from a plum tree which I had cured for a previous setup a few months back and had laying in my garden.

I then added hygrolon onto the patches where i wanted the mosses and the majority of the growth to be. I placed the hygrolon in a way in which it was able to wick water from the actual tank, and my hygrolon 'wall' too.







I then drilled holes into the flat portion of the wood which i wanted to go onto my wall, so i could cable tie it onto the hygrolon. I would have preferred to drill it into the wall using stainless steel screws, but I did not want to break the plastic that was protecting the wood from the moisture, and having issues with the wood inside the wall rotting further down the road.







I then cable-tied it onto the hygrolon wall, and covered with moss and stuff-







In situ:





I then tied a newly bought orchid onto a piece of bark, and then thought this could be a good place for it- resembling a 'tree'. Please tell me what you think, and whether you think it does not suit its position in the tank and whether i should move it.









That is all for now. Please do tell me what you think. More updates should be up soon when i find the time


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## Dominic (12 Jul 2014)

Update time! The other week I bought three Juncus Spiralis to be added to my tank. There are also now 18 ember tetra. I also added a betta today from work that I could NOT resist- he's a beautiful bluey-black and orange colour. Sorry for the crap photo of him- I think i may buy a better camera.

Betta Splendens-



Emerse-

Left hand side needs growing in a little- will be adding more plants. Still not sure on the bark and orchid position.








Salvinia Natans Closeup
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I have since cut off the unhealthy growth from the peppermint plant due to lack of nutrients and it has grown back perfectly after getting into a fert dosing regime!
[URL='http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Domthemenace/media/DSCN0314_zps8265c2e3.jpg.html'][ATTACH=full]98720[/ATTACH][/URL]


Submersed

From the left
[URL='http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Domthemenace/media/DSCN0327_zps84f702e9.jpg.html'][ATTACH=full]98721[/ATTACH][/URL]

[URL='http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Domthemenace/media/DSCN0323_zps58249334.jpg.html'][ATTACH=full]98722[/ATTACH][/URL]


From the right
[URL='http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Domthemenace/media/DSCN0333_zps51d863c4.jpg.html'][ATTACH=full]98723[/ATTACH][/URL]


Shoaling Ember Tetra
[URL='http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Domthemenace/media/DSCN0324_zps35dc2f98.jpg.html'][ATTACH=full]98724[/ATTACH][/URL]


However, one plant i just CAN'T seem to get the hang of is eleocharis parvula- It always dies back, and doesn't seem to be taking root very well. However I can see a couple of healthy strands at the bottom. These photos were taken at roughly the same time I realised I had a nutrient deficiency, could it be because of that?

[URL='http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Domthemenace/media/DSCN0303_zps375c2e6d.jpg.html'][ATTACH=full]98725[/ATTACH][/URL]

[URL='http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Domthemenace/media/DSCN0304_zpse73fda10.jpg.html'][ATTACH=full]98726[/ATTACH][/URL]

Anyhow, hope you like it so far!


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## tim (13 Jul 2014)

Looking great dom, really growing in nicely, personally I'd trim the eleocharis right back to substrate and wait for the submersed growth to come through, hairgrass can be a bit of a slow plant ime.


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## Martin in Holland (13 Jul 2014)

I also often have some start difficulty with hairgrass. But whenever it starts to grow, there is no holding back.


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## Dominic (13 Jul 2014)

alright cheers guys! I'll trim them back and see how it goes  Hopefully they will take hold!


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## EnderUK (13 Jul 2014)

I was going to say that looks a right jungle but swamp would be closer to the mark. Looks amazing.


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## Dominic (13 Jul 2014)

Cheers man! That was the sort of look i was hoping for! Hopefully it will look even better further down the line


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## Dominic (26 Jul 2014)

Got my shipment of plants in the other day, the utricularia Livida looks fricking awesome and with flowers! I'm glad I bought it, I might keep it in the cling film cover it came in, and just conceal the cling film in the tank to keep the nutritious substrate separate from the nutrient-hating  utricularia soil. However I didn't manage to get a picture as my tank is in need of a spring clean, however I couldn't not take a picture of my aponogeton flower spike! Enjoy


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## Dominic (15 Aug 2014)

Since the previous update, i have made a number of changes. The circulation pumps have been unclogged and are running fine now. No more fish losses ever since, apart from a pencilfish that decided to jump out of the tank! -_- i think the honey gouramis may have just been a dodgy batch. I have cut off the dead growth on the black peppermint plant and refrained from spraying water onto it, 

The Tillandsia Flabellata has been moved from its original 'planted in the substrate' position and has been mounted onto the hygrolon 'wall'. 

Planted-


aannddd Mounted! 



My carnivorous Utricularia Livida has grown really well and looks much healthier than when i received it and I have put it into its final position-




However, i am carrying out an experiment- I have put a small pinch of utricularia livida onto a patch of moss in the substrate which comes heavily into contact with the nutrient-rich water, to see how it fares. It has been there for a week or so and it seems to be doing okay. If it goes well, i may move it again in a way that it comes into contact with the substrate rather than keeping the substrates seperate with cling film- 



I have also added some polygonum sp 'sao paulo' in emerse form, it has taken well to emersed growth. I placed several stems around different areas of the tank, some with lower humidity, some with higher humidity. A couple of them did wilt, however they are laid across the substrate in the emersed section and i can see new growth already. Don't give up!





Also, after much thought about what to do with my 'walls', which were very dry and not ideal for moisture loving plants, i decided to google 'drought-resistant plants', and it came up with sedums, which i thought were a very good idea! They were cheap too, so didnt matter too much if it didnt work out. I bought an assorted mix bag of clippings from ebay for roughly 4 quid and cable-tied them to the 'wall'. It has been about a week now and they seem to be doing well and putting out roots already! 

Just after planting, just over a week ago-



Roots! 





I have also managed to kill my first plant- An orchid called Bulbophyllum gracillimum. However, it did arrive in very bad condition, with only one leaf left. I have moved it into another spot in the tank in the hope that it will come back, regardless. Fingers crossed! 



One of my Juncus effusus 'spiralis' doesnt seem too good either- think i placed it in too dry an area of the tank.



And also, i saw this little plant pop up from in amongst the mosses! I love seeing unexpected plants! Could anyone ID it for me?  Dead centre of the photo-





Problems and such aside, here are some photos! 

This was my first orchid- Brassavola Cucullata. I absolutely love this orchid! It is doing really well, and has had some noticeable growth, however it hasn't given me any flowers yet.


These are some of the newer orchids, recieved around the same time as the one that died- probably just over a month old. No flowers yet-

Haraella Retrocalla


A very small Ascocentrum Pusillum


This is one of my favourite plants in my tank and i think it suits it's position well! 
Muehlenbeckia Complexa



Emersed anubias- The older leaves do not seem to have adapted to emersed growth well, however, note the new leaf spike  


Emersed twig absolutely overgrown with riccia! (note, i didnt put the riccia there in the first place! -_-) 


Tillandsia Ionantha, has been there since the early stages, no flowers so far- 


After being DESTROYED by aphids a couple of months back, my hydrocotyle seems to be making a comeback! 


Uncinia Rubra (red hook sedge), one of the newer plants in the tank, some new healthy growth, however some of the leaves have died back. Will see how it goes. 


Emersed moss portion that was made with java moss and hygrolon since the early stages of the tank. It has grown amazingly well and looks more like a part of the structure rather than a stuck on piece of hygrolon with a few pads of moss on it! I love the transtition into the water too with the riccia pieces.


This is the result of a MASSIVE portion of moss that i bought from a very generous member, it is a mixture of dark riccia, Riccardia Chamedryfolia, monoselenium tenerum, and fissidens fontanus. Here's to seeing how it will grow in! 

Two of the newer plants- Peperomia Angulata bottom left, Doryopteris Cordata (antenna fern) Center. 


The antenna fern seems to be sending out some antennas! 


I bought two plantlets of Crinium Calamistratum, and they arrived today, and wow what a crazy looking plant! I love the texture! These are just before i planted them-



One of the plantlets seems to be sending an offset! 


And finally, a photo of a spider which seems to have taken up residence on my peperomia pereskiifolia! Slightly off-center.


These were all taken with an iphone, so please excuse the crappy photos. I am currently refraining from taking pictures of the underwater section because it is slightly messy at the minute- the glass needs algae cleaning, lots of plants floating about waiting for me to get rid of them, and lots of pads of moss that i havent decided what to do with yet. Aside from that everything is very healthy! 

Hope you guys all like it and please let me know what you think of it so far!


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## mattb180 (16 Aug 2014)

This is a great read. Loving all the different plants. Given a few months to mature this will be awesome.


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## Dominic (16 Aug 2014)

Thank you matt! Hopefully it will!


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## Crossocheilus (16 Aug 2014)

Great tank Dom I'd love to set up a tank like this at some point, especially the emersed section with all the tropical plants and mosses and orchids nestled amongst the wood. Gonna be great once everything has grown in, those sedums should be nice. Oh and great name! 

Good luck!


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## Dominic (17 Aug 2014)

Crossocheilus said:


> Great tank Dom I'd love to set up a tank like this at some point, especially the emersed section with all the tropical plants and mosses and orchids nestled amongst the wood. Gonna be great once everything has grown in, those sedums should be nice. Oh and great name!
> 
> Good luck!


You totally should, man! And thank you, i really appreciate it! I still need to get some pictures of those damn honey gourami! 

Cheers!


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## Crossocheilus (17 Aug 2014)

I would love to but I don't have the time, money or space for something like this, but hopefully I'll have a tank as good as yours sometime in the future, one day!


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## Dominic (18 Aug 2014)

Oh i see mate, I would honestly own a zoo if i had the time money or space! Haha! But cheers man its good to know you like my tank


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## X3NiTH (18 Aug 2014)

Cracking stuff!


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## Dominic (19 Aug 2014)

Some underwater and full tank shots! Sorry some of them are rubbish, i'm having a real tough time getting decent pictures of the fish, but you should see some photos of my group of honey gouramis together if you look real close! Haha! 

























Hope you all like it!


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## James Flexton (19 Aug 2014)

Fantastic tank and journal dom. Lots of things here I haven't seen or thought of doing before. Very refreshing. The potential of this tank is huge. Keep it up. Sub'd


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## flygja (19 Aug 2014)

That's a brilliant concept. Well done!


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## mattb180 (29 Aug 2014)

Your underwater section has grown in really well!


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