40 Litres Low Tech

[azawaza]

Plants Update, Final!

Okay, I am not going to add more plants: exhausted my budget due to the bucep and Tropica cryptocorynes.


cryptocoryne crispatula at the back, with c.parva foreground right; xmas moss on stone, foreground; bucep (unsure which sp.) midground; floaters, a must 🙂

I’m predicting a cryptocoryne melt so...

Just wait.

Patience is an aquarist’s best friend, far more required than that weekly (twice monthly, max) water-change.

Won’t update any time soon. Ciao.

 

[ReefLewis]

Love your tank. Looks awesome. Big fan of clear backgrounds as well

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Jayefc1]

Looks really nice mate im a proper fan of this minimal look just so clean and nice

 

[azawaza]

Let’s discuss stocking options...

2 zebra otos
6 pygmy cory
6 clown kili
1 horned nerite snail
10 cherry shrimps

or keep a species-only tank?

I saw two kinds of fish that made my fish-mind twerk the other day. First was some beige Japanese rice fish while the another was Tucano tetra.

The former is small, costs about 4 bucks a pop and has cute blue eyes.

The latter is slightly bigger, costs 10 bucks a fish and is so rare in the hobby.

Tough decisions to make soon. Whatcha guys think?

 

[Matt @ ScapeEasy]

I don’t think I could turn down those Tucano if they were available to me...
Seriously fish lists them as 15 to 17mm which is absolutely tiny! Are these the right species?

 

[ReefLewis]

Yeah those tucano look awesome. I would buy them if they were available to me... never seen them before.

 

[azawaza]

1) The 10 Gallon Stocking Dilemma

The human heart in conflict with... fish, haha! Sorry Faulkner fans. So, since we’re near the ding-dongs of doom (read: covid19), let’s do some elimination to narrow down potential stocking candidates.

First off, I’m gonna go the species-only way. Meaning no algae cleanup crew, no community tank. Not sure if this will work but we’ll see. Thoughts?

Second, we’ll work between keeping a low bioload vs keeping livestock quantity near behavioural requirements (e.g say min. of 6 for gregarious XYZ species), while taking into account natural habitat parameters. Workable?

Lastly, it must be easy on the wallet due to the impending global pandemic-induced recession. 30 bucks is good but 50 may be stretching the limit, digging into my wee retirement funds (hyperbole?).

Processing candidates...

While we wait, allow me to update you with:

2) Tank updates

Added another two plants: bucep sp. and anubias minima.
I’m telling myself that’s the last plant I’m buying but you know that I know that you know that I’m a liar who’s not good at lying.


I don’t wanna go full blown green lush like the previous tank iterations. I wanna have some control this time. Let’s set a lil goal here: if those cryptocorynes grow and don’t melt, say by the end of April 2020, then it’s a wee success for me. Get that crypt trophy ready!

Still processing candidates...

Think I’ll update you soon, once the results are out. Old computer, needs more RAM (not a pun; not the fish). Cheers.

 

[azawaza]

Stocking candidates progress:
100% completed.

Thank you for waiting.

It took a while but here are the results:

1) Betta - single male

https://ivenbetta.com/collections/show-betta

This LFS is a bus ride away from my place and they breed/sell healthy wow-wow bettas. Though at twice (or more, if you’re into competition grade ones) the normal market rate of those in sick plastic cups, which always makes me sad whenever I visit shops selling bettas in terrible conditions.

I’ll need to reduce my tank’s flow though, but I have Eheim double taps so no problemo there.

2) Pygmy corydoras - a group of six to ten

https://m.facebook.com/AquaticAvenue/

My go to LFS, which is one twenty-minute subway ride away, for dwarf bottom dwellers because they quarantine their livestock and house them in species-only tanks with sand for the corydoras (some LFS use gravel, which I read somewhere is bad, why?)

I have a packet of shirmp sinking food left so food is lock and ready should I get these cute little guys. They are cheap at less than two bucks a pop and the sand substrate is just perfect for them to rummage about.

3) pseudomugil luminatus aka red neon paskai - a group of five to seven

https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Aquatic-Pet-Store/thataquarium/posts/

This LFS is a ten-minute walk from my apartment and I saw they have these fish in stock at two bucks a piece. Love their blue eyes. Though if I get this, I’m tempted to get CPDs since the paskai dwarf rainbows will act as dithers for the CPDs to emerge from hiding and both will complement each other in terms of colours: yellow, orange, red.

Decisions. Your thoughts?

 

[kishan313]

Amazing scape, and great to see your journey! What did you go for in terms of stocking?

 

[azawaza]

Restarting!


Moving the tank to a new location where it doesn’t receive sunlight from a window.

More updates soon...

 

[azawaza]

Tank-Rescue Report

Not a lot of plants survived in the previous setup (had a large BBA breakout during lockdown so I switched off the lights for weeks), only two types did: anubias nana petite and java fern.


Added a concoction of snail remover, anti-algae meds and a secret sauce to the mix. I’ll probably use these to fill crevices between hardscape, though I doubt it’ll be enough. So, I got some Xmas moss as insurance:


Been fun keeping them moist for a few days. I’m in no hurry and don’t have a plan of what kind of tank I want this time. Will figure things out as time goes by.

Also, saved one little fish which survived the ‘pandemic blackout apocalypse’. Was shocked cos I thought everything perished. Must be one hell of a Mel Gibson character this fella!

Not sure if he’ll make it, looks frail. My evil half whispers ‘use him for fish-in cycling’. Hmmm, I don’t know. Should I though? Should have taken Fish Ethics 101 in college... Whatcha guys think?

Anyway, thanks for reading. Shopping around for hardscape next. Will report back soon! Cheers.

 

[azawaza]

Rock will never die!

I don’t usually use rocks or stones in my scapes, due to weight and difficulty in finding the ‘right’ ones, but today I bit the bullet and used my gut-feel. Woke up this morning thinking of cliffs, so I kept searching for cliff-like rocks with similar grain at the nearby LFS.


Not set in stone, I’ll be playing with their arrangements for a while. There’s some height and depth, I can work with these.


That little area at the back behind the rocks will be elevated and reserved for stem plants.

I’m not sure about using wood though. Will have to think things through and wait for the muse first.

Also, I plan to use lotsa sand in the other more open area. No carpet plants for me; I’m not a fan of grass-like scapes, however beautiful they may make as a focal point.

That’s all today. Thanks for reading this update. More? Soon! Cheers.

 

[noodlesuk]

Wow, that's a beautiful setup, so clean and simple. Very inspiring too.

 

[azawaza]

Stop tinkering!

I hate this part of scaping: hardscape placement. So many different possibilities! Which to use?! Urgh...

Decided to just get on with this:

I may stock the tank with pygmy cories so the little caves could provide hiding places in between sand-grazing.


Left-side view. Quite charming me thinks.


Right. I prefer to have my inlet/outlet here but with the electrical plugs so nearby, I’ll shift both the former to the other side.


Hopefully the 3kg substrate I have is enough to fill the back plant-out area.

Next up, decisions on wood. I’m thinking using small pieces to cover the ‘cracks’ found between rocks. If these wood run over onto the plant-out soil area, they’d provide planting lanes too. And more crevices to stuff epiphytes into!

That’s all for today, folks. Gonna take my time to piece this jigsaw 🙂 Thanks for your views and kind words of encouragement!

 

[azawaza]

Not out of the woods, yet.

Got some pieces of wood to fill the crevices between them rocks.

Flash boiled them for an hour, then the itchy fingers aquascaper disease caught me:


Something like an island with stem plants out the middle?


Nicely tucked in there.


May have to glue some pieces together though.


I don’t know if this will work. But I do know I have to soak these wood further for a few days. Off they go into the tea-coloured
water bucket!

Final pic:

Imagine finding lil critters in the morning while bending over, them looking at you as you eye everyone all back.

Next up, while waiting for the wood to soak, I’ll be cleaning the glass pipes (please don’t cha break, doi) and preparing them epiphytes. More updates in a few days. Cheers!

 

[azawaza]

Of false starts and imperfections.

My Ikea PS cabinet can hold 60kg. Means I had to work within constraints. Means first plans got thrown out the pram. Means soil and sand needed to be rationed. Yes, weighed like how one would with flour when baking a cake.

Then there was the spot of superglue left wide open, untouched by moss. Will the whiteness, a cause for eye sores, ever disappear as the moss grows in? Beats me.

So, five rocks were used. Seven pieces of wood, too. Hmmm, also, seven plant species; all easy growers, found much on most beginners’ lists. I’ll list them when they’ve grown in.


Cloudy water. Nothing the Eheim Eco Pro couldn’t clear come tomorrow.


If these melt, my heart may too...


I could get lil grey rocks to augment the set-up. Perhaps in the future, but for now: plants need tender care. I’ll start with weekly water changes until the stem plants grows in. Then, the commando lone ranger Mel Gibson fish gets thrown into the next phase of battle—tank cycling.

Thanks for reading. Cheers everyone. I made it 🙂 Day Zero, weee!

 

[azawaza]

Adding lil details (1 of 2)

Found grey pumice stones at a local art shop.


I think they’re meant for dioramas but who cares, right? Stones are stones, use them any way you want.


Rinse well before use.


Selection; leftovers may be used in another setup (N+1 tank syndrome symptoms have since appeared, help).


One area around the nana petite that could be augmented with these stones.


Lonely wood branch needs stones.


Here, too.


Adding a stone border to cap the moss would make this right side less sterile-looking.

Resultant images: next post!

Cheers.

 

[azawaza]

Adding lil details (2 of 2)


Don’t exactly know what I’m doing here.


But it was fun filling up those crevices.


And I’m seeing new green growths! That’s most important.

Also, I won’t be doing fish-in cycles no more. You can say I’m a born-again aquarist. The plan is to do WC on alternate days for a week, then slowly lessen the frequency until the plants have grown in. I’ll only add algae cleaning crew from week 6 onwards.

While waiting, I’ll be setting up a few other tanks adjacent to this one. Will set up a new thread soon. Cheers.

 

[tam]

It's looking good! In terms of details - and this is really fussy - I would push a few of those into the sand a bit or sprinkle a bit of extra sand around them so they look like they have been there a while rather than neatly placed on top. You might also consider taking a hammer to a few to give you a size gradient all the way down to smaller. Also, try adding a couple that aren't in the neat row you've places around things e.g. have an inch gap of sand at the end of the piece of wood that sticks out, and then have a little rock. It's just a little too neat at the moment and it should tie the sand portion and the rock/plant portion together more. That is being really fussy though!

 

[JellieTG]

Adding lil details (2 of 2)

View attachment 173438
Don’t exactly know what I’m doing here.

View attachment 173439
But it was fun filling up those crevices.

View attachment 173440
And I’m seeing new green growths! That’s most important.

Also, I won’t be doing fish-in cycles no more. You can say I’m a born-again aquarist. The plan is to do WC on alternate days for a week, then slowly lessen the frequency until the plants have grown in. I’ll only add algae cleaning crew from week 6 onwards.

While waiting, I’ll be setting up a few other tanks adjacent to this one. Will set up a new thread soon. Cheers.

I like it!