Aquatopia - 6x2x2 Low Light, High Tech Angelfish Jungle

[Mark.A]

This is the journal for my 6ft x 2ft x 2ft (680 Litre) planted tank, which I haven't got yet but I will be getting, hopefully, in the next month or two. I'm starting the journal now to keep track of my decisions prior to buying the tank.

I intend to buy the tank and cabinet from AC Aquatics and get the Opti white front and side panels.

I had a lengthy discussion here going over EI dosing until I could finally understand it all. I also had a discussion here when I was trying to decide whether to actually go high tech or not. I have decided in the end to go low-med light and high tech but with a caveat. I'm still going to use the EI mix for dosing and will be using pressurised CO2 but both will be at a much lower level than in a normal high tech tank and I won't be doing weekly water changes. In fact, I won't be doing regular water changes at all, just as and when I feel the tank needs one which could be just once or twice a year.

The tank is going to be open top with the hardscape wood coming up out of the tank and I will be having plants growing above the tank, either on the wood or at the back of the tank or maybe both. I'm undecided on which plants and how they will be situated yet. I'm still researching that part at the moment, so if you have any suggestions or advice please let me know.

Here is what I have planned for the build so far:

Substrate - Aquatic Compost and Peat mix capped with black sand.
Rocks - Black Lava rock.
Wood - Mopani wood with some Spider Wood roots for detail.

Lighting: 4 x Fluval Plant 4.0 Pro 90w LED Lights
Filtration, heating & surface skimming - Oase BioMaster 2 Thermo 600 x 2 and an Oase Crystalskim 600
CO2 equipment - 2Kg CO2 Fire Extinguisher, CO2Art Dual Stage Regulator with Solenoid, Aqua Medic Reactor 1000
Dosing equipment - D-D P1 Dosing Pump
Monitoring and control - Neptune Apex 3 Junior

Plants:
Anubias barteri v. coffeefolia
Anubias barteri v. nana 'golden'
Anubias barteri v. nana 'petite'
Anubias barteri v. nana 'pinto'
Aponogeton madagascariensis
Bucephalandra - several species
Christmas moss
Crinum calamistratum
Cryptocoryne crispatula v. balansae
Cryptocoryne spiralis 'red'
Cryptocoryne nurii
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'flamingo'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green gecko'
Echinodorus 'Red Diamond'
Echinodorus 'Red Flame'
Echinodorus 'Reni'
Eleocharis acicularis
Hydrocotyle tripartita
Hygrophila Pinnatifida
Java Fern mini
Java Fern
Ludwigia sp. Super Red
Nymphaea micranthra
Nymphaea rubra
Nymphaea tiger lotus red
Nymphaea tiger lotus green

Inverts:
Amano shrimp
Horned Nerite Snails
Malaysian Trumpet Snails
Ramshorn Snails

Fish:
10 Blue Zebra Angelfish
80 Emperor Tetra
2 Honeycomb Bristlenose Pleco (Pair)
10 Kuhli Loaches
20 Orange Venezuela Cory
30 Otocinclus
10 Red Swordtails
20 Snakeskin Barbs

If anyone has any questions, comments or feedback please feel free to join in.

 

[Mark.A]

I already know that the Hydrocotyle tripartita is a good option to grow up onto the wood over the tank, so I will be doing that.

I've seen quite a few recommendations online for house plants to use over the tank. From those there are a couple I like the look of so far - the Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) and the Red Aglaonema plant. The green variant of the Polka Dot Plant kind of looks like Anubias barteri v. nana 'pinto'.



I'm thinking the Hydrocotyle tripartita growing up the wood and out of the tank around the branches. Then the green variant of the Polka Dot Plant attached somehow to some of the branches out of the water? Not sure how to attach them yet though. Finally the Red Aglaonema plant at the back of the tank in something like this:

 

[Fishfur]

A tip - Hypoestes phyllostachya is charming when it’s small in those starter pots but it soon becomes quite unattractive, in my opinion at least. The distance between leaves increases markedly & it becomes more coarse looking. Some may like that but I never have.

Something that looks similar that might suit would be Fittonia. There are many different red, pink or white varieties or cultivars.

Frankie is a very pretty pinkish-red one with ruffled leaf edges, if you can find it. Skeleton is a yellow-green with red veins - also quite attractive. There are many more.

Fittonia (aka Nerve plant) likes high humidity and will remain fairly compact as it grows, which the Hypoestes most definitely will not.

 

[Mark.A]

A tip - Hypoestes phyllostachya is charming when it’s small in those starter pits but it soon becomes rather elongated & nowhere near as attractive with a little maturity. Mind, thst might appeal to some - but I find it I attractive once it’s past a few inches in height.

Something that looks similar that might suit would be Fittonia. There are many different red, pink & white varieties or cultivars - Frankie is a very pretty pinkish-red one with ruffled leaf edges, if you can find it. Skeleton is a yellow green with red veins - also quite attractive. There are many more.

Fittonia (aka Nerve plant) likes high humidity and will remain fairly compact as it grows, which the Hypoestes most definitely will not.

Thanks for that. I'll have a look at them. Any idea how I could attach them to the branches? Can you just super glue them on or tie them on like you do aquatic plants?

 

[Fishfur]

Thanks for that. I'll have a look at them. Any idea how I could attach them to the branches? Can you just super glue them on or tie them on like you do aquatic plants?

Fittonia has relatively fine roots - you might be able to glue them or tie them - how thick are the branches?

 

[Mark.A]

Fittonia has relatively fine roots - you might be able to glue them or tie them - how thick are the branches?

I don't have any yet but they will be fairly thick.

 

[Fishfur]

What I’d be inclined to try would need some good quality long fibre dried sphagnum moss.

Soak the moss until it’s saturated & apply a thin layer along branch top, tying or gluing it on. I’d likely glue it. A little more moss covers any unsightly blobs of super glue.

Spread cleaned roots along the layer of moss & add another layer of damp moss to cover them up so they won’t dry out.

I think you’d have to wrap thread or some fishing line over this to hold roots+moss layer in place at least for awhile - maybe indefinitely.

Over time the roots should bind the moss layers together but early on you will probably have to water the fittonia so it never dries right out. Its roots can’t be allowed to dry right out - it’ll just die if that happens. It may come back from very minimal wilting, but it is a plant that thrives in humidity & moisture around its roots.

 

[Mark.A]

What I’d be inclined to try would need some good quality long fibre dried sphagnum moss.

Soak the moss until it’s saturated & apply a thin layer along branch top, tying or gluing it on.

Spread cleaned roots along the layer of moss & add another layer to cover them up so they won’t dry out. I think you’d have to wrap thread of some fishing line over this to hold roots+moss layer in place. Over time the roots would bind the moss layers together but early on you would probably have to water it so it never dries right out. Its roots can’t be allowed to dry right out - it’ll just die if that happens. It may come back from very minimal wilting, but it is a plant that thrives in humidity & moisture around its roots.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Mark.A]

What I’d be inclined to try would need some good quality long fibre dried sphagnum moss.

Soak the moss until it’s saturated & apply a thin layer along branch top, tying or gluing it on. I’d likely glue it. A little more moss covers any unsightly blobs of super glue.

Spread cleaned roots along the layer of moss & add another layer of damp moss to cover them up so they won’t dry out.

I think you’d have to wrap thread or some fishing line over this to hold roots+moss layer in place at least for awhile - maybe indefinitely.

Over time the roots should bind the moss layers together but early on you will probably have to water the fittonia so it never dries right out. Its roots can’t be allowed to dry right out - it’ll just die if that happens. It may come back from very minimal wilting, but it is a plant that thrives in humidity & moisture around its roots.

I was thinking of having them low down near the water anyway, so the roots would actually be in the tank water. I just need some way to attach them to the branches so they don't come off.

 

[Fishfur]

Hmm. Interesting challenge. They don’t normally grow epiphytically. You may have to give them something to grow into until the roots hit the water.

 

[Mark.A]

What I’d be inclined to try would need some good quality long fibre dried sphagnum moss.

Soak the moss until it’s saturated & apply a thin layer along branch top, tying or gluing it on. I’d likely glue it. A little more moss covers any unsightly blobs of super glue.

Spread cleaned roots along the layer of moss & add another layer of damp moss to cover them up so they won’t dry out.

I think you’d have to wrap thread or some fishing line over this to hold roots+moss layer in place at least for awhile - maybe indefinitely.

Over time the roots should bind the moss layers together but early on you will probably have to water the fittonia so it never dries right out. Its roots can’t be allowed to dry right out - it’ll just die if that happens. It may come back from very minimal wilting, but it is a plant that thrives in humidity & moisture around its roots.

What I could do is use the sphagnum moss like you mentioned and have the plants go much further up the branches that way, then I could hide a small pump in the back of the tank and feed water from the tank up the branches in thin pipe (air line?) pinned to the back of the branches and then let it run back down over the branches into the tank. Creating like a waterfall effect. What do you think?

I just realised - if I did that I could also add the aquatic moss to the branches as well.

 

[Mark.A]

Anyone got any suggestions for the lighting? I was going to use 4 x Fluval Plant 46w before I decided on open top. I could still use them but they would need to be hung higher up over the tank and the protruding driftwood. Obviously they would probably need to be turned up high or even full that high above the tank. This means I would also need to try and find a way to block the spill of light into the room.

I do want dimmable lights and I also like the ramping for sunrise/sunset.

 

[Fishfur]

What I could do is use the sphagnum moss like you mentioned and have the plants go much further up the branches that way, then I could hide a small pump in the back of the tank and feed water from the tank up the branches in thin pipe (air line?) pinned to the back of the branches and then let it run back down over the branches into the tank. Creating like a waterfall effect. What do you think?

I just realised - if I did that I could also add the aquatic moss to the branches as well.

I think that could work. I did something a wee bit similar with a tiny fountain pump & a fairly tall chunk of dragonstone which was about 2/3 above water in a tiny long tank. 20” x 6 x 6”.

The trickle of water down the front of the stone kept it wet & allowed moss to grow upward emersed & cover a lot of the rock.

 

[bazz]

Anyone got any suggestions for the lighting? I was going to use 4 x Fluval Plant 46w before I decided on open top.

I have no suggestions with regards to the light as it is personal choice and it depends how much money you want to spend, but I am quite sure (although I have never used one) that the Fluval lights have a wide beam angle being designed to be close to the water surface, and as such will more easily spill over when raised.

 

[Mark.A]

Hmmm, I'm actually reconsidering the open top now, the lighting is going to be a pain. It would also mean an extra dehumidifier in the living room.

There's no real problem with us using a hood, the reasons we wanted to go open top were for aesthetics and ease of access to the tank. A hood will make it a bit more of a pain to access the tank and trim, etc. and we won't be able to have the wood out of the tank but with a hood the Fluval plant lights will be fine and there won't be issues with light power, coverage and/or spill and no need for a dehumidifier either.

After talking it over again we now think a hood is going to be a better option for us. Less hassle and less cost at least.

 

[MrClockOff]

If you look at Oase StyleLine tanks they have a “hood” which is actually two piece sliding glass. When you remove the “hood” the tank coverts into open top. I found such hoods the best solution you could ever wish for. There are many more brands offering similar designs.

 

[wearsbunnyslippers]

Anyone got any suggestions for the lighting? I was going to use 4 x Fluval Plant 46w before I decided on open top. I could still use them but they would need to be hung higher up over the tank and the protruding driftwood. Obviously they would probably need to be turned up high or even full that high above the tank. This means I would also need to try and find a way to block the spill of light into the room.

I do want dimmable lights and I also like the ramping for sunrise/sunset.

i am using the chihiros wrgp 2 pro, and it has shades to stop the light spill, and can be dimmed, ramped up and down etc. change the colour all from the companion app, super happy with this light!

 

[megwattscreative]

Hmm. Interesting challenge. They don’t normally grow epiphytically. You may have to give them something to grow into until the roots hit the water.

I've found this with fittonias - had very little luck with them in my tank, although I think I either fried them or drowned them.

Edit: I love a drippy mossy log! I recommend checking out serpa design on YouTube: he does lots of DIY tanks and paludariums with waterfalls, made via tubing. Here's a small example, and a bigger one!