• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

300L MA store tank - First trim

Tony Swinney

Tony Swinney

Member
Joined
14 Dec 2008
Messages
1,185
Location
Cobham, Surrey
So, here we go with another journal :)

I've been asked to scape a tank in my local Madenhead Aquatics, using only products available within the store, or, in the case of hardscape, available in the garden centre they are within :D

I had some time this afternoon, so I played around with the rockwork, using black garden slate from the garden centre. Having dug through two huge troughs of rocks, I made some choices and came up with this...

MAscape_2204.jpg


Looking at it this evening, I'm not happy with the angle of a couple of the rocks, but I think its getting there. Hopefully a little tweak or two on Saturday morning will get it right, then I'll plant it up :) Alot of the gravel will be stripped out, and the substrate will be Florabase Black. Planting will be 'grassy' :D

Tank Specs:
120w x 60h x 45d (cm) - approx 300L
Lighting: 4 x 54w T5
Pressurised CO2
Flaura and fauna to be finalised ;)

Tony
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Tony its amazing. The only thing i would do is just move the left rock back a bit without changing any angles. Looks very natural. I am surprised how slate could turn out in proper hands :clap: Who'd say now slate lacks texture!
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Nice one, Tony! Hardscape is great - best use of slate I've seen! :thumbup:

I always harp on about how most shop's planted display tanks are rubbish, and how more folk on here should offer their services. So seeing journals like this is wonderful! It's the best advert for the hobby possible, and if you can achieve a stunning planted aquascape with using only in-store products, then there's little excuse for others not being able to replicate, especially if the staff pay attention to you too.

Will you be running 4 x 54w T5? Does the shop stock decent ferts with NPK? I know Mark had issues with this with his in-store displays.

Great work mate. Looking forward to following this, and seeing how the staff and customers react. :D

Which MA store is it?
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Very nice layout tony, I like it a lot.

I'd love to do something like this at my LFS, how do you go about arranging it? Things like daily maintenance. Water changes filter cleans, budget and equipment ect. I would be really interested to know.

Who will be picking fish?

Cheers
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

nayr88 said:
I'd love to do something like this at my LFS, how do you go about arranging it?
Click to expand...
I hope Tony doesn't mind me interjecting in his thread. This subject is somewhat of a passion of mine.

Strike up a good relationship with the staff.

If they have a planted display tank then ask questions about it. If it's full of algae and/or suffering plants (most are!) then suggest to them that you may be able to help if they're interested.

Bring in some photos of your previous work to back up what you are saying. A lot of staff are still frightened of nitrates and phosphates so don't mention this right at the start or they may stop listening from that point onwards.

It's really important to come across as polite and well-mannered, and not arrogant. Most staff have been into the hobby for many years and won't take kindly to being told what to do!

If they are interested then maybe suggest you can do a re-scape of their current set up using their current stock. You will have to design the 'scape and planting around the available stock. No point in having a glosso carpet if CO2, lighting, nutrients and circulation can't be supplied appropriately. Low maint plants are always a good choice - Java fern, Anubias, crypts.

If it's local then and you have time then offer to maintain it once a week or more frequently. Try to get a member of staff to shadow you throughout the whole process, so in your absence they can take over. Once the staff have a bit of ownership of a nice looking planted aquascape they will want to keep it looking good.

Long-term the display tank will not only look great in the store and sell them products, but it will be a training aid for the staff and potential customers.

It's no surprise that shops with decent planted display tanks sell a load more plants then shops without... A decent planted tank will pay for itself in no time. Think about excess plant cuttings, as well as the advertising aspect.

It's a real win win process. You get to 'scape and maintain nice tank, they get to sell more stuff and the customer gets educated properly.
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

If its looking like that already Im sure once planted and mature will look even better :)

How tall is the tank? Or is it wysiwyg? Will you be keeping the mound at that height? I think just a tad more height will be nice :)
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Hi Tony,

Really liking the scape layout, very interesting use of slate......most slate scapes tend to struggle to create the look you've achieved, nice start for sure. Whats the thoughts on planting?
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Thanks guys, I got lucky with some very textural pieces of slate - it took some digging out amongst the square, flat slabs !

Here is a quick retouch of the tweaks I'm planning, and to give an idea of the black substrate too. I'll try to get this tomorrow when I go back to plant it up.

IMG_2204_retouched.jpg


George Farmer said:
Will you be running 4 x 54w T5? Does the shop stock decent ferts with NPK?
Click to expand...

Hi George. There'll be 4 x 54w T5s above the tank, but only two will be on all day. The shop is open 9 to 6, and they like to have the lights on the tanks for the whole time for obvious reasons, but that would be a 9 hour photoperiod so I'm going to try to get them to leave them off for the first and last hour. Alternatively I might raise the lights higher to reduce the intensity. After a few weeks I'll probably look to introduce the second pair of tubes for a midday burst, but we'll see how it goes.

The ferts are a slight concern, and I have to resolve that tomorrow. I have to use stuff they sell, which is a JBL product which specifically boasts about not having N or K :wideyed: They do order Tropica in for customers so I'm going to try to get them on to TPN / TPN+ instead :thumbup:

George Farmer said:
...seeing how the staff and customers react. :D Which MA store is it?
Click to expand...

Me too, the staff are really keen so hopefully they'll take it on, and follow my initial instructions. The tank is right in the entrance to the store ( its the Weybridge MA ) so every customer sees it first, so I'm hoping it'll get alot of attention. I'll find out on Saturday as its their busiest day, and I'll be there, tweezers in hand :lol:

nayr88 said:
I'd love to do something like this at my LFS, how do you go about arranging it? Things like daily maintenance. Water changes filter cleans, budget and equipment ect. I would be really interested to know.

Who will be picking fish?
Click to expand...

Hi nayr, fish choice will be led by me, but obviously has to be in stock with them - they've a lot to choose from :D Georges explanation is pretty much exactly how this came about - thanks George :thumbup: I've been buying from the store for a while, and the guys in there are really friendly and very interested in all things aquatic - particularly plants. I know that should be a given with their jobs, but its not the case in every aquatics store ! I'd offered some advice with their planted tank which was suffering algae and pointed them towards ukaps where they spotted my journals. Then when they were talking about rescaping the tank they asked my advice and I offered to do it for them :D

I had a chat with Mark, about his MA tank, and he made me aware of some of the issues that I may face - different staff looking after the tank each day, limited choice of ferts and hardscape etc I'm going to try to tackle these as George suggested by getting one person to look after it as fas as possible, and take responsibility for it. I'll pop in once a week or so, but I'm hoping after a couple of months they'll be looking after it all, without much input from me. Their enthusiasm for it suggests this might well work.

mlgt said:
How tall is the tank? Or is it wysiwyg? Will you be keeping the mound at that height? I think just a tad more height will be nice
Click to expand...
Hi Rick, its 60cm tall. You're right about the height, and I tried to get more ! The substrate will come up an inch once filled, and the tank canopy hangs over the top inch too, so that will help. Despite having all the garden centre rocks to choose from the only other taller one was very slab sided and just didnt fit in. :twisted:

B7fec said:
Whats the thoughts on planting?
Click to expand...
I've got to finalise that tonight but the overall plan is 'grassy', with E Acicularis , E. Tennelus i (both of which are due in today from AquaFleur), and hopefully vivipara at the back, though we're struggling to get any right now. That said, they've some really nice Lilaeopsis novea-zealandiae in stock, and I want to try a glosso / riccia carpet too :? I'll accentuate the rocks with some crypts, maybe parva and some beckettii "petchii". I'll decide tonight :crazy:

Tony
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

I think the black substrate suits it better and probably a better chance to create a better slope.
Hopefully over time this will compact better.

Look forward to seeing the updated pics on this mate.
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Looks even better! Love it mate. :thumbup:

Plant choice sounds good too. Similar to Mark's latest, which is a very good thing! :D

Good luck with it all mate. I can see there being a UKAPS / LFKC get together at Weybridge MA soon...
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Tony, like George, this in my opinion is the best use of slate I've seen. A great advert for so called 'inadequate hardscape' here in the UK. It just goes to show...talent will always prevail

it's killer mate.

I look forward to the next process of planting :thumbup:
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Really like the use of the slate. And will sure be great show tank.
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Ye, fair play to you Tony :clap: . It'l be a great advert for the hobby, Looking great so far....especially with the limited choice on hardscape :thumbup:
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Thanks guys :D I was a bit nervous about having to use the garden centres slate, but once I got rummaging around in the crate, I found bits that could work OK.

I planted it up this morning :wideyed: 6 pots of glosso, 12 pots of E Acicularis, and 10 pots of E Tennelus went in, along with 5 pots of riccia on slate stone. I could've done with a bit more glosso really, but that was all we had. I had to head off to a family do, whilst the tank was still filling, so I left the guys in the shop to gently fill it, get the filters up and running, and the CO2 aswell - I'll pop in in the morning to see how its doing, and take some pics too.

I've some cryptocoryne petchii set aside which I may place in amongst the rocks as a few feature plants, and I still have to decide whether to go with a tall 'grass' at the back like vallis nana. At the minute I'm thinking not, as I think it might detract from the rocks, but we'll see.

Pics tomorrow ;)

Tony
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Looking forward to the pics. :thumbup:

Good to see you've chosen nice and slow, low maintenance plants like Riccia, hairgrass, glosso and tenellus!! :lol:

Who will be maintaining the tank?

Did you get much interest from staff and customers during planting?
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

JEK said:
Great use of slate! Were you inspired by this 'scape: http://www.pracownia-roslin-wodnych.pl/ ... m_lasu.jpg
Click to expand...

Hi Johan. I hadn't seen that scape, but its a stunner - just goes to show how good slate can look :D

I checked in the garden centre yesterday and those rocks are £2.60 each, so for this tank thats £13 - bargain considering there's over 40kg in there.


George Farmer said:
Good to see you've chosen nice and slow, low maintenance plants like Riccia, hairgrass, glosso and tenellus!! Who will be maintaining the tank? Did you get much interest from staff and customers during planting?
Click to expand...

Hi George. Yep I'm throwing them in at the deep end :lol: The assistant manager Chris is in charge of the day to day running, with instructions from me. I'll pop in a couple of times a week in initially to keep an eye on things and do initial trimming etc.

There was loads on interest when i was doing it :D It sits right next to a huge marine display so has some competition in the eye-grabbing stakes, but judging by the initial response I think it will do well. I was asked lots of questions, and gave a few demos of prepping the plants and planting them, and of course, I pointed everyone towards ukaps ;)

Tony
 
Re: 300L MA store tank

Tony Swinney said:
JEK said:
Great use of slate! Were you inspired by this 'scape: http://www.pracownia-roslin-wodnych.pl/ ... m_lasu.jpg
Click to expand...

Hi Johan. I hadn't seen that scape, but its a stunner - just goes to show how good slate can look :D
Click to expand...

You're absolutely right. Maybe "slategumis" will be the new trend in the hobby. :D

Also good that it's so cheap. I can image many newcomers in the hobby getting shocked when they see the prices on mini landscape rocks, dragon stone and not to mention, manten stone, so it is great with a cheap alternative.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top