Michael's 60 litre learning curve

[Michael DS]

Background / Intro

So, about six months ago, on impulse, I bought a 46 litre (12 gallon) Fluval Edge. It’s gradually evolved into a very rewarding low-tech planted tank in the corner of the bedroom, with threadfin rainbow fish and some cherry shrimp. I had no idea just how much fun it would be.

Here’s that first tank as it looks now:

And closer:

Somewhere along the way in setting up that tank, I bought some undemanding plants, looked for advice about fertiliser sticks, and stumbled across UKAPS.

Since then, well, the bug has well and truly bitten.

I used to read books. (Real, actual books, made of paper!) Now I just grab my iPad each evening and trawl through journals and tutorials and drool over the incredible galleries on this forum.

The planted tank bug has invaded my holidays too. I spent a couple of weeks back home in South Africa over Christmas, obsessed with combing the beaches of the Western Cape for rocks that might possibly fit into my hand luggage on the flight back to Singapore.

My family was starting to find me a little obsessive, so I’ve had to start self-censoring any idle talk about bubble counters, filter media and Christmas moss in mixed company.

Thanks a lot, founder members – your damned site’s turned me into a total anorak, dammit.

 

[Michael DS]

A new 60-litre tank

The reason I’ve finally decided to stop lurking in the corners of the forum, leeching off everyone else’s experience and knowledge, and start contributing… is that I’m be embarking on a proper high-tech setup with CO2, decent substrate, good bright lighting, and external filter with good flow.

Here’s the plan

Equipment

• ADA 60P
• Eheim classic 600
• 2x24w 60cm T5s – I picked up a cheap China-made over-tank lighting unit from my local for about SGD40 / GBP20, which I’ll replace with something more elegant when I see the right one. It’s badly made, but will do for now.
• Up-Aqua 2-litre CO2 cylinder
• American Marine pinpoint CO2 regulator
• Aqua Nature System opti-glass CO2 cup diffuser
• Cheap no-name glassware (lily pipe & inlet) from local fish shop - can't spot any difference between this and the Gush set that I was about to order online – at a quarter of the price

Plants

• Foreground carpet: Glossostigma elatinoides
• Between rocks: Echinodorus tenellus
• Middle-ground: Hemianthus micranthemoides
• Back of tank: Rotala sp ''green''

Substrate
A mix of ADA aqua soil Amazonia & an equivalent (also Japanese) substrate called Planta Soil made by ANS (Aqua Nature System)

 

[Michael DS]

Hardscape: first attempt

While gathering all the bits and pieces that I needed, I bought some rather pricey Japanese black rocks from the local fish shop.

I was really excited by them, but unfortunately, they're just too small for what I’m hoping to achieve, so I’ll keep them for a nano at some point.

Here’s a pic or two of the more interesting practice runs...

Check out the great veins running through the dark rocks on the right...

No worries, though - I'll definitely use these rocks at some point - perhaps for a nice spot of dipped yoghurt à la George!

 

[Michael DS]

Hardscape: attempt 2

Inspired by quite a few members’ accounts of using slate bought from a garden centre, I had great fun smashing up this big guy with a hammer. (Not sure my neighbours appreciated it, but I’m quite pleased with the results.)

The stone cost me around SGD 25 (GBP12), and after smashing, I had a LOT to play with. The only difficulty with slate is smashing it in a way that leaves sufficiently thick and chunky pieces of rock, rather than slivers.

I bought aquarium-safe epoxy, which I used to stick the thinner rocks onto bases, to ensure that they’ll stand.

The only issue with my approach, I now realise, is that the 'stands' are buried in the substrate, and it’ll be a nightmare to clean the rocks now… I can’t just lift them out without disturbing the substrate they're buried in, so I’ll have to scrub away any stubborn algae with them in the actual tank.

 

[Michael DS]

Placing the slate...

Before:

After... from above:

My biggest reservation was their narrowness, but I quite like the way they create dramatically different vistas from various angles.

And the full-frontal money shot...

 

[mi casa]

Hi and let me be the first to welcome you to UKAPS. Tank looks spot on and i'm looking forward to see it planted. Good luck on your First Hi Tech scape.

 

[Ian Holdich]

Interesting layout micheal. Looking at it head on you've hit the rule of two thirds perfectly. Well done!

 

[LondonDragon]

Interesting layout micheal. Looking at it head on you've hit the rule of two thirds perfectly. Well done!

Also using that type of rock plenty of space for planting! well done and welcome to UKAPS

 

[martinmjr62]

Hi Michael,welcome to UKAPS.The Edge looks really nice and i cant see any reason that the new venture wont either

My family was starting to find me a little obsessive, so I’ve had to start self-censoring any idle talk about bubble counters, filter media and Christmas moss in mixed company.

Unfortunately this is a common problem and it will only get worse as the hobby progresses
Looking forward to the journal updates
Cheers
Martin

 

[stu_]

Really like the layout
Only thing that would worry me, is the sharpness of some of those edges, though i'm sure you've thought of that.

 

[Michael DS]

Hi and let me be the first to welcome you to UKAPS. Tank looks spot on and i'm looking forward to see it planted. Good luck on your First Hi Tech scape.

Thanks, Mi Casa! If I get this right, hopefully one day I can graduate to something on the awesome scale of your Crypto Islands wall tank.

Interesting layout micheal. Looking at it head on you've hit the rule of two thirds perfectly. Well done!

Thanks, Ian - If all goes to plan, I foresee some truly obsessive trimming of stem plants in the near future to keep all those angles visible.

 

[Michael DS]

Hi Michael,welcome to UKAPS.The Edge looks really nice and i cant see any reason that the new venture wont either


Unfortunately this is a common problem and it will only get worse as the hobby progresses
Looking forward to the journal updates
Cheers
Martin

Uh oh...

 

[Michael DS]

Really like the layout
Only thing that would worry me, is the sharpness of some of those edges, though i'm sure you've thought of that.

Thanks Stu - the edges of the 'mountain range' look a lot sharper than they are in these pics, especially with that white cardboard background that I put up for the photos... I've sanded them down a bit, to make sure I don't chop off any fingers during planting, lol.

 

[bape]

nice idea with smashing up the slate and a nice looking scape so far

 

[Michael DS]

nice idea with smashing up the slate and a nice looking scape so far

Thanks bape, glad you like... although I can't take credit for the idea. I'm copying shamelessly - from a variety of other slate users, but especially Tony Swinney's 300L MA store tank - First trim | UK Aquatic Plant Society

 

[Michael DS]

My backbreaking evening with tweezers and whisky

Finally getting around to posting pics of my planting session... here goes:

Here's the plant selection:

• Foreground: Glosso
• Between rocks: Echinodorus tenellus
• Mid-ground: Hemianthus micranthemoides
• Back of tank: Rotala sp ''green''

I started by adding a bit too much water - just meant to dampen the substrate, and ended up shifting a lot of soil forward by mistake in the planting process.

I separated out all the plants upfront. I realise in hindsight that I should have done these one at a time, leaving them in their sealed packets, because even though I was spraying them every few minutes, they suffered quite a bit from drying out. Haha, did I mention the words 'learning curve'?

Getting there (my back hurts, despite treatment with several tots of whisky, lol):

And finally, flooded:

I'm running low light to start with (just one 24w tube for 4 hours a day, until the plants show signs of settling in)... And gassing CO2 like crazy, since as far as I understand there's no risk in overdoing it (about 5 BPS, an hour before lights on, stopping an hour before lights off).

The flow from my Eheim Classic 600 is immense, and threatening to turn the tank into a salad blender, so I'm being careful for now, and will keep a reduced flow until the roots take hold...

Reflections on the planting process:

1. I have to admit that I was left a little deflated by the end of the planting session... The layout's quite different than what I'd imagined. I've lost the starkness of the hardscape with that rotala in the background... and the concept feels obvious, and not at all minimalist. (I suppose I'm torn between two styles - iwagumi and jungle - and that indecision has been expressed in this result). I'll leave it for now, though. It may, ahem, grow on me. Also, I'll be happy if I can get the rotala to mass up and shape into 'hills in the distance' behind these sharp rocks. Any tips on that would be much appreciated.
2. I realise in hindsight that I should have been a little more picky, with the rotala and hemianthus especially - only planting the healthiest parts of the plant, and chopping away everything but perfect plants. Instead, I seem to have put in an awful lot of damaged foliage, which will be a nightmare to clear later. I'll wait for the roots of the rotala to take hold in a week or so, and then trim it back aggressively where I can, or uproot, trim and replant the stumps, following this great article: A general guide to plant maintenance | UK Aquatic Plant Society. The hemianthus will be harder to fix, so I'll just monitor that.
3. The easiest plant here by far was the Echinodorus tenellus. What a breeze! Perfect beginner plant. The individual spikes were easy to separate, they went in very fast, and I like how they look against the rock, defining that space well.
4. As someone on the forum (plant brain, I think?) said recently, when asked how he gets such perfect results everytime, he replied, "First, spend 20 years screwing up!"... I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I'm only setting out. Argh, but I just feel like I've made some real rookie mistakes.
5. Lastly, for all newbies, do yourself a favour and invest in some really good tweezers... I think I cut a corner here by choosing cheap ones with no 'feel' to them. It's hard to explain, but when inserting a plant into the substrate, and then releasing the grip marginally and sliding the tweezers out of the substrate, you need very fine control. My tweezers have very little feel, so I tend to grip too hard on the plant, bruising it, then spring the tweezers too wide, causing the plant to 'fly away' if submerged. Not sure if that makes sense.

I'll hopefully be able to post some pics with clearer water soon...

 

[Ian Holdich]

I like it Michael, once this all starts to grow in it'll take on another different perspective again. I think you've done a great job, so don't be to critical on yourself. Keep up with the water changes for the first couple of weeks and it'll be a real winner.

 

[Glenda Steel]

I bought a 46 litre (12 gallon) Fluval Edge

Michael I know I'm rather a few years late with this posting but could you tell me if you changed the HOB filter of the Edge to an external canister filter with lily pipes please? Also if so which did you use? Love your Iwagumi by the way!