# Temporary tanks (two become one) Finally come to an END



## tim (10 Aug 2014)

Evening folks, couple of quick pics of my temporary homes for the livestock from my 3ft tank, after moving I think I underestimated the time needed to re scape the 3ft so I'll chuck these two up in their own thread.
Pencil fish temporary home 40x40x30 tank.




Pygmy Corries and cherry shrimp 40x40x25 tank



Not ideal size wise but beats plastic storage tub for a month IMO.


.
Need to sort out the landlords taste in curtains next .
Eventual plan once fish are back in the 3ft is to look into a 100x40x30 to run low tech with emersed section may even go as shallow as 25 high.
Anyway as always cheers for looking


----------



## Iain Sutherland (10 Aug 2014)

Both are quality Tim, not sure you can call them temp or holding tanks!
Id only go 30 minimum, gives a bit more scope than just straight shallow, even 35... Not sure of hand what the golden ratio would be for 100 off hand? Not that it must be followed at all.
Al has a 3x3 that's looking for a home


----------



## tim (11 Aug 2014)

Thanks Iain, had considered throwing in for Als very kind offer but unfortunately would mean 1 tank only to fit it in and I'm not sure I'm ready for just 1 tank . Thanks for the comments mate.


----------



## Tim Harrison (11 Aug 2014)

Temporary...both look awesome to me. I especially like the 40x40x25...nice.


----------



## tim (13 Aug 2014)

Troi said:


> Temporary...both look awesome to me. I especially like the 40x40x25...nice.


Thanks Troi, I say temporary as they were setup quickly with bits and bobs I had lying around purely to hold my livestock until I have time to set their tank back up, the 40x40x25 is fast becoming my favourite and swmbo's so may be not so temporary .
On the subject of bits and bobs the substrate was reused from my previous "low tech experiment" been kept bagged up in a cupboard and over the last week this has popped up.



I'm baffled, I vaguely remember a small bulb with a root my lfs gave me which got chucked in that tank but nothing grew and I assumed I'd syphoned it out long ago, but the resilience of plants astounds me


----------



## Mr. Teapot (14 Aug 2014)

Brilliant! Good to see someone else has a wormhole throughout to an alternative universe as well… all manner of new plants just pop into existence in mine. Quite freaky really.


----------



## Tim Harrison (14 Aug 2014)

That is amazing How long had it been hibernating?
...Regardless, it almost gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside, to know no matter what we throw at it nature will always find a way to rebound... 
...On the other hand a good rest was probably just what it needed...


----------



## Iain Sutherland (14 Aug 2014)

One for the 'give nature a chance' thread


----------



## Tim Harrison (14 Aug 2014)

Haha...definitely.


----------



## tim (14 Aug 2014)

Troi said:


> That is amazing How long had it been hibernating?
> ...Regardless, it almost gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside, to know no matter what we throw at it nature will always find a way to rebound...
> ...On the other hand a good rest was probably just what it needed...


Since April until end of June then substrate was chucked in the tank for a dry start for a month, plants are  Am assuming its a nyphaea of some sort.


Iain Sutherland said:


> One for the 'give nature a chance' thread


will add to the thread


----------



## Tim Harrison (14 Aug 2014)

Yep definitely looks like a nyphaea. It'll be interesting to see how it develops and then maybe get a positive ID.


----------



## tim (25 Aug 2014)

Quick update on these two tanks
Rotala added as a background to this one, bit of trimming practice needed to get it nice and bushy



Bit of a trim and thin out of the java fern other than that this one ticks along nicely



Cheers for looking.


----------



## Vinkenoog1977 (25 Aug 2014)

Hi-tech temp tanks, now I've seen it all, and I feel ashamed of my own temp tanks, sitting in the window sill with some leftover plants, and loads of algae. 

They look awesome, no one could ever guess they were just "temporary".


----------



## tim (25 Aug 2014)

Thanks vinkenoog, high tech but keeping the light low 1x39w t5 suspended about 50cm above the tanks, slow steady growth, not much algae, looking forward to replacing them after the end of the year though


----------



## tim (1 Sep 2014)

Couple of co2 related issues to iron out with these two, 50 ltr bba outbreak on the wood, 40ltr bit of a flow dead spot so I've removed some hardscape, raised the light another 10 cm from the tanks and switched to running boyu inline diffusers on the filter intakes, so far so good better ph drop, also diatoms on the 40ltr so floss out and replaced with carbon, pics later.


----------



## Lindy (1 Sep 2014)

Bulb looks like nuphar'red'splatterdock.  I have them.


----------



## tim (1 Sep 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> Bulb looks like nuphar'red'splatterdock.  I have them.


Looking at the bulbs, via google it's nyphaea not spatterdock purely due to the shape of the bulb, I may be wrong


----------



## Iain Sutherland (2 Sep 2014)

tim said:


> also diatoms on the 40ltr so floss out and replaced with carbon, pics later.


 Hmm, call me stupid but that is something I hadn't put together.... Now I think about it I've used loads of carbon in the big tank both times on start up and no diatoms.

Is this a well know trick that I've missed along the way tim?


----------



## Iain Sutherland (2 Sep 2014)

Oh and still love the 40, black and green works so well.


----------



## Greenfinger2 (2 Sep 2014)

Hi Tim, Superb Little scapes


----------



## tim (2 Sep 2014)

Iain Sutherland said:


> Hmm, call me stupid but that is something I hadn't put together.... Now I think about it I've used loads of carbon in the big tank both times on start up and no diatoms.
> 
> Is this a well know trick that I've missed along the way tim?


I've had success with Purigen before on Ian holdichs recomendation, seemed most effective run with carbon so thought I'd give carbon on its own a shot see if it makes a difference.


Iain Sutherland said:


> Oh and still love the 40, black and green works so well.


Black & green yes, trying to stop the brown & green, it's not such a good look 


Greenfinger2 said:


> Hi Tim, Superb Little scapes


thank you Roy.


----------



## tim (14 Sep 2014)

Evening folks, quick update on these two, slowly sorting out some co2 issues, diatoms have cleared up, can't say if it was solely the activated carbon addition as I've been tweaking co2 and light intensity but I will be using it in future setups, some I phone pics
Some amania bonsai I received from big clown cheers Andy  not melting for the first time in 3 attempts with this plant.




Anubias in flower, had this plant for a few years now and it flowers this time of year every year.



Buce growing, had this for a while in other setups and it hadn't fared well resilient in the right conditions though.



Fts 40 ltr



The 50 ltr is growing well but got plenty of bba on the wood I'll get round to removing it once I've got co2 stable.



Cheers for looking.


----------



## Greenfinger2 (14 Sep 2014)

Hi Tim, Stunning  The Anubia Flower


----------



## Andy Thurston (14 Sep 2014)

Looking good tim nice spot for the bonsai. Told you it was easier than the 1-2 gro
Watching


----------



## tim (15 Sep 2014)

Greenfinger2 said:


> Hi Tim, Stunning  The Anubia Flower


Thank you Roy, I've had the same anubia flower for the last 4 years, probably triggered by the autumn drop in tank temperature.


Big clown said:


> Looking good tim nice spot for the bonsai. Told you it was easier than the 1-2 gro
> Watching


Thanks Andy, they were quality stems to start with


----------



## Deano3 (15 Sep 2014)

Looks great tim 2 stunning tanks


Thanks Dean


----------



## REDSTEVEO (15 Sep 2014)

Temporary my a$$..

By the way what is the rock you have got in these tanks, and where did you get it from? It looks like the Spirit stone I saw in Hong Kong, dark sort of sandy porous material, can be filed, drilled, shaped and scooped out to put planting substrate and plants in to it...


----------



## tim (15 Sep 2014)

Deano3 said:


> Looks great tim 2 stunning tanks
> 
> 
> Thanks Dean


Cheers Deano 


REDSTEVEO said:


> Temporary my a$$..
> 
> By the way what is the rock you have got in these tanks, and where did you get it from? It looks like the Spirit stone I saw in Hong Kong, dark sort of sandy porous material, can be filed, drilled, shaped and scooped out to put planting substrate and plants in to it...


thanks redstevo, the rock is just plain old lava rock, I have to admit I've shaped it somewhat, tried chisels screwdrivers and a hammer, got the best result with an old meat cleaver, I hasten to add don't try this at home I nearly lost a finger


----------



## ADA (15 Sep 2014)

That 40L looks fantastic, little messing and a reasonable scape there.


----------



## tim (21 Sep 2014)

ADA said:


> That 40L looks fantastic, little messing and a reasonable scape there.


Cheers ADA, it needs some tweaking and the background isn't growing in as well as I'd like still early days 
Couple of pics from this evening I've added a couple more buces and some anubias petite from my 12ltr
Follow the leader 



Can't beat a 2 year old cherry shrimp for colour



Suffering a little thread algae at the moment still trying to stabilise co2, reluctant to treat it with glut as there's some nice ricardia fissidens mix growing on the lava rock underneath it.



Cheers for looking.


----------



## stu_ (21 Sep 2014)

Looking good mate.
Like the Cherry shot.What's the aqua soil in there with it ? Love the contrast.


----------



## tim (21 Sep 2014)

stu_ said:


> Looking good mate.
> Like the Cherry shot.What's the aqua soil in there with it ? Love the contrast.


Thanks stu  it's the soil discussed in this thread http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/shrimp-soil.29615/ not sure it's very nutrient rich but it holds it shape well I've found it a little dusty compared to colombo florabase the only other aquasoil I've used to date.


----------



## dw1305 (22 Sep 2014)

Hi all,





tim said:


> I've had the same anubia flower for the last 4 years, probably triggered by the autumn drop in tank temperature.


 I've just noticed a couple of my _Anubias_ are flowering as well. I've never really thought about it, but I thing they might  normally flower about now.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Tim Harrison (22 Sep 2014)

Very nice Tim, and those little fish are stunning too.


----------



## tim (28 Sep 2014)

Quick iPhone pic from this evening



Slowly ironing out the few algae issues, regular maintenance and constant co2 doing the trick.
Cheers for looking.


----------



## The_Iceman (28 Sep 2014)

You know that your temporary tanks look better than some "real" tanks that I have seen... 

Amazing!


----------



## BigTom (28 Sep 2014)

Lovely stuff Tim. The one on the right is cracking, great textures.

Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk


----------



## Greenfinger2 (28 Sep 2014)

Hi Tim  Three cracking scapes


----------



## tim (27 Oct 2014)

Morning folks, little update on these two tanks, shallower tank is having a few issues with a little melt in places, probably due to slack maintenance with filter/co2 diffuser cleaning gave everything a good clean and trim yesterday so will get this back on track.
Few pics some emersed growth on top of one of the rocks



Buces are growing well, a little algae on the leaves but they are under quite high light



Full tank



The other tank will not be so temporary now, will be taking a lovely hmpk betta off ldc groomer towards the end of November, so to that point I've shut the co2 off this one, added some floaters, almond leaves and alder cones, I'll spend a couple of weeks removing any melty plant issues I have and get the tank ready for him 



The pencils will eventually return to my 3ft tank so this will be all his, I have set up a small 25ltr in case there's any aggression etc etc but I'm hopeful he'll be alright in with them for a month or so.
Cheers for looking.


----------



## Wallis97 (29 Oct 2014)

Both look better than my tanks...


From Alex - Internet names may vary. Comment not fit for human consumption. Contains small parts.


----------



## The_Iceman (14 Nov 2014)

I love 'em... 

Classic, natural look! You truly know how to do it! Well done!

Cheers,
Chris


----------



## tim (30 Nov 2014)

Betta has arrived and seems to have settled in well, very handsome little fella who Mrs tim adores, this means these tanks become a more permanent fixture so to that note the shallower tank was rescaped Friday night, few reasons flow was always a bit of a pita due to the two large rocks, I've also switched the inline diffuser out for a reactor, the inline becomes clogged far to easily due to my hard tap water, and the position of the tank meant it was viewable from two sides, although it looked good from the front it looked like s*** from the right side, I've gone for an island style scape reusing all the plants from the previous scape plus some lillaeopsis nz and hygrophilia lancea in places, will try and get some pics up this evening.


----------



## tim (30 Nov 2014)

Few pics as promised phone only so not great, betta tank had a reshuffle changed the wood because the thin branches had started to soften badly,




The betta



He's quite a character and spends more time watching me than I do him (a lot ) but appears to be camera shy



And the rescape of the shallow tank doesn't look much but should grow in well.



Viewable from 3 sides if I get round to making cabinets for these two tanks and move them.



Cheers for looking.


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

He's  looking well. Once he gets used to you he'll  get braver.


----------



## tim (30 Nov 2014)

Thanks lindy, he's quite nosey and aware of his surroundings tbh but does seem happier when my wife's near the tank, even though it's me that provides his food and clean water  lovely little fish though, many thanks again.


----------



## tim (5 Jan 2015)

Morning folks, quick update on these two, both tanks have been somewhat neglected of late due to one thing and another, the betta tank has been quite resilient could do with a bit of a substrate clean but other than that ticks along slowly



The betta seems to have settled in really well, lovely little fish



The rescape on the other tank completely went Pete tong, to the point I nearly took it down, worst diatoms outbreak I've ever suffered, but I've decided to persevere, reactor has gone and I've returned to an In tank diffuser which I clean with vinegar every waterchange due to blockage from hard water, water changes every two days untill it's back on track and a few ramshorn snails to help cleanup the diatoms, anyway after two weeks of regular maintenance detailed above things seem to be stabilising with noticeable growth and diatoms receding, lost quite a lot of plant mass through this so will be slow from here but patience is a virtue as they say 



Cheers for looking.


----------



## Lindy (5 Jan 2015)

I love that wood in the betta tank. He looks well.


----------



## tim (6 Jan 2015)

ldcgroomer said:


> I love that wood in the betta tank. He looks well.


Thanks lindy, he does seem to be doing great, using ro and tap 50/50 to keep the tds around 120-150, I was lucky with the wood it's one branch I got in a box of manzi from Tom barr a couple of years ago, been used in a couple of scapes and has held up well.


----------



## tim (16 Jan 2015)

Bad news on the betta front, I stupidly neglected to fit the acrylic cover to the tank after yesterday's wc and completely forgot after returning home from work late last night, found him on the floor this morning beyond saving, gutted beyond belief actually considering jacking the hobby in or at least going back to closed top tanks.


----------



## Michael W (16 Jan 2015)

Sorry about your loss tim.


----------



## Lindy (16 Jan 2015)




----------



## tim (16 Jan 2015)

Michael W said:


> Sorry about your loss tim.





ldcgroomer said:


>


Thanks guys, I am absolutely gutted.


----------



## Andy D (16 Jan 2015)

tim said:


> Bad news on the betta front, I stupidly neglected to fit the acrylic cover to the tank after yesterday's wc and completely forgot after returning home from work late last night, found him on the floor this morning beyond saving, gutted beyond belief actually considering jacking the hobby in or at least going back to closed top tanks.



Sorry to hear that Tim. 

I was gutted when I lost my Betta. 

Don't let it get you too down though. You know you would miss the hobby if you jacked it in.


----------



## tim (18 Jan 2015)

Andy D said:


> Sorry to hear that Tim.
> 
> I was gutted when I lost my Betta.
> 
> Don't let it get you too down though. You know you would miss the hobby if you jacked it in.


Probably andy, I only seem to lose fish through my stupidity though


----------



## Andy D (18 Jan 2015)

tim said:


> Probably andy, I only seem to lose fish through my stupidity though



Well the way I see it you got two choices:

1. Let it get to you and quit. 

2.  Learn from it and carry on knowing that is one less mistake you are going to make. 

As a hint, pick option 2!


----------



## tim (22 Mar 2015)

These two are still running, shut the co2 off and lowered the light intensity as I'm really short on time for the hobby at the moment.
Nice little buce in flower 



That's all for now cheers for looking.


----------



## tim (3 May 2015)

These two are still temporarily ticking along 



Could do with some background plants on the shallow one maybe eleocharis in the corners and an easy grow stem behind the wood, any suggestions welcome ??, cheers for looking.


----------



## Tim Harrison (3 May 2015)

Ticking along nicely...


----------



## Lindy (4 May 2015)

Looks great! I have a lovely home bred betta boy looking for a home...... .....for postage...


----------



## tim (4 May 2015)

ldcgroomer said:


> Looks great! I have a lovely home bred betta boy looking for a home...... .....for postage...


Very kind offer Lindy, I have started to put together a scape in my 90cm which will replace these two tanks, I am letting Mrs Tim make the decision as to whether we can keep one of the 40cms running To offer another betta a home, I will get back to you soon.


----------



## tim (23 May 2015)

Morning folks post waterchange pic from this morning




New additions to this tank hygro pinatidifida and hygro polysperma rosanervig also 8 neon green rasbora.
Cheers for looking.


----------



## Iain Sutherland (23 May 2015)

Well that looks rubbish 
Think you need to change the thread title Tim. Great looking tank pal. Is it still running low tech? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## tim (23 May 2015)

Iain Sutherland said:


> Well that looks rubbish
> Think you need to change the thread title Tim. Great looking tank pal. Is it still running low tech?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Ha ha temporary tanks have run longer than most if not all of my previous efforts, yep still low tech Iain, dose 1/2 ei macro couple of times a week and half ei micro three times a week, very slack with cleaning the filter hence staghorn in the mc carpet but slow tech suits at the moment and algae etc stays present but controllable, cheers for the feedback mate.


----------



## Lindy (24 May 2015)

very nice.


----------



## tim (5 Jul 2015)

Hi folks, these two have come to an end(sort of ) I've actually taken the wood from the shallow tank and moved it to the deeper tank and used most of the plants to keep it running a while longer, not the best image but you get the picture 



Am looking to either get a cabinet made for this or if I find time make a DIY Ada style stand then it'll get a complete rescape so I can fit a cover and hopefully take lindy up on her offer of a male betta,
thanks for looking.


----------



## tim (19 Jul 2015)

Quick iPhone pic during water change



Crop from the same pic



Shallow scapes give great depth don't they ?


----------



## tim (13 Sep 2015)

Evening folks, this tank will be coming to an end next weekend pencils will at last be moving back into the 3ft tank, tank has become a bit of an overgrown mess the last couple of months but I will try and end the thread with a photo before I take it down, anyway thanks for watching and all the comments and likes along the way.


----------



## Andy D (13 Sep 2015)

Looking forward to the pics!


----------



## tim (4 Oct 2015)

Hi folks, as I'm finally going to get round to taking this down next weekend I thought I would post a few pics from the iPhone, I've really enjoyed the hassle free nature of this tank and I've let it go in terms of trimming and general glass cleaning, filter cleaning etc, though I have kept up with the regular water changes and it is mostly algae free 
The hygro polysperma at the back has taken over somewhat, but it does provide some nice cover for the pencil fish


by timyapp
buces have ticked along nicely even giving me a new plantlet in just over a year 



by timyapp
view from the side



by timyapp
and a full tank shot


image by timyapp
I will be starting a new scape in this tank eventually, cabinet to build or source first though so may not happen this side of Christmas, anyway thanks for following the thread and all the likes and comments along the way


----------



## Ady34 (4 Oct 2015)

Lovely!


----------



## Tim Harrison (4 Oct 2015)

Looks great...my kinda scape.


----------

