Ed's Rio 180

[Ed Seeley]

Hi Ed,

The tank looks superb! Do you have any issues with the wood in your tank? I tried putting some oak branches into my tank once. I stripped all the bark off and cleaned it with a power hose, but after a couple of weeks the wood started to grow a cloudy fungus in certain areas mainly at the ends and around the knots and where the wood branched off.

Rob

Cheers Rob.

I have only had a tiny bit of fungus grow on the end of one branch and that was either eaten by a shrimp or Oto or it fell off. I think the repeated hot water soaking and the soaking in Milton Sterilising solution really helped. I did have to throw some pieces of wood out through that simply disintegrated or smelt awful; they are now in a water butt outside soaking long term for possible future use.

 

[Ed Seeley]

I apologise for ever doubting this scape, it's turned out AMAZING.

Apology accepted!

I'm still sure the cobbles aren't as good as they could be and, once I've replanted the glosso today, they will all be visible again. We'll have to see how they look again then. I am happy with them from many other aspects though; they keep the Aquasoil and sand nicely separated and do, to my eyes, give the hint of a river bed that craggy rocks never can. Guess we'll see when I post some pictures later!

I'm also having real issues with the choice of cichlid for this tank. The pelvics are happily breeding in another tank and will decimate the shrimps in here so they will not be going in (so much for them being the inspiration for this whole tank eh?!). I was thinking of adding some Apistos or other South American dwarfs as they are much less efficent predators, but apparently they will polish the shrimp off too, just maybe not as quickly! So i'm left with a problem here. I've got to have some cichlids as a tank isn't worth having if it hasn't got cichlids in! 😉

 

[Lisa_Perry75]

I saw Apistogramma panda for the first time ever in the MA @ Fareham. I think they look absolutely stunning, and after a little research seem to be pretty peaceful. Their colours would look lovely against a green background.

 

[Ed Seeley]

I saw Apistogramma panda for the first time ever in the MA @ Fareham. I think they look absolutely stunning, and after a little research seem to be pretty peaceful. Their colours would look lovely against a green background.

Thanks Lisa, but I've bred A.nijsseni before and they are amazing and stunning, but can be nasty little you-know-whats! I bought two pairs and the dominant two offed the others before I could intervene. That was in a 3ft tank too! The female's colour is even better when she's guarding fry; she almost looks artificial! They're much more varacious than my current Apistos, A.eremnopyge, and I've been advised that they will quickly off the shrimp too!!! I'm pinning my hopes on Dicrossus, Biotoecus spp. or smaller Apistos like A.elizabethae, but not sure about any of them either! The shrimp may well be moving!

 

[Ed Seeley]

Well I've done the trim and hacked all the plants back!

I' was trying to carefully pull the glosso up a bit at a time but...


In the end the glosso was so mixed in with the Eleocharis that that had to all come up too. At least it means there is plenty to send out to people.

To hopefully prevent this I have put a clear divider in made from the clear plastic top of a sweet tub. As it's food safe it should be ok in the tank.

The plan is that this will stop the Eleocharis runners under the sand and I will be more diligent removing glosso runners that spread above the sand. I should then be able to let them both really thicken.

You can just make it out in this picture.


So this is what it looks like now,

 

[James Flexton]

looks great Ed much better, you have instantly got the depth back. shame about the glosso but better off in the end. you would only have delayed the inevitable by pruning it after all. All looks nice and healthy as well

should grow out nicely. i'll take some off you if your sending out. i dont mind paying you for it, or making a donation to UKAPS if you would prefer.

 

[Fred Dulley]

Hey Ed. Havn't noticed this before. I think you've done a really good job.
What's the name of the long, elegant grassy like plant at the back? (on the left, behind the crinium). Thanks.

 

[Luketendo]

Hey Ed. Havn't noticed this before. I think you've done a really good job.
What's the name of the long, elegant grassy like plant at the back? (on the left, behind the crinium). Thanks.

Isn't it vallis?

 

[Fred Dulley]

Just looking back through the thread, it might be the Hygrophila lacustris.
Ed, how did you find the sevice of Aquaspot World to be because it's got to come from the USA hasn't it. Did you have to pay tax ontop of your order to make up for the exchange rate?

 

[Ed Seeley]

It is Hygrophila lacustris Fred yes. Rapidly becoming a favourite plant. The stems are very rigid and upright while the leaves billow wonderfully in the current. And it's growing quickly, but not rampantly. Would probably be even better in a deeper tank.

The Aquaspot World order was great; I put a thread up about it here, Ordering from Aquaspot World
Postage cost $50, but altogether the whole order came to about $90 and was cheaper than I could have bought everything here, and some of the things I couldn't have got at all AFAIK.

Aquaspot world is in Singapore, it's just most of their shipping is to the US I believe.

 

[Fred Dulley]

Appreciate the link and the reply Ed.
Thanks.

 

[Steve Smith]

Looks fantastic Ed! Love the growth, and looking forwards to getting some of that moss into my own tank today 🙂

 

[Ed Seeley]

Looks fantastic Ed! Love the growth, and looking forwards to getting some of that moss into my own tank today 🙂

Cheers mate. Enjoy the fiddly moss tying!

 

[LondonDragon]

Looks great Ed, now I know where my glosso came from 😉
Spent all afternoon sorting it out, the moss is great too, thanks again.
Keep up the good work and keep us posted 🙂

 

[Garuf]

I'm still waiting on my arrival, the tank looks so much better for the trim good job! 🙂

 

[Ed Seeley]

I'm still waiting on my arrival, the tank looks so much better for the trim good job! 🙂

Hope it arrives soon! They all got sent at exactly the same time! If it doesn't arrive we'll sort out some more, it won't be long at the rate things grow in here!!!

 

[beeky]

The tank before the moss haircut made me think the tank had a '70s afro!

I really like the way it's come together. From the pictures it looks like the Crinums have got lost in the undergrowth. Do they show up more in the flesh?

Re. your cichlid choice I like the idea of the chequerboards, but what about A. thomasi?

 

[Ed Seeley]

The tank before the moss haircut made me think the tank had a '70s afro!

I really like the way it's come together. From the pictures it looks like the Crinums have got lost in the undergrowth. Do they show up more in the flesh?

Re. your cichlid choice I like the idea of the chequerboards, but what about A. thomasi?

I'm after a cichlid that won't eat the shrimps. I did consider A.thomasi 'Guinea' (a nice form with more colouration than normal thomasi) but they'll eat shrimps I'm sure like the Pelvicachromis.

I've now ordered 4 Biotoecus sp. 'Tapajos'. They're very delicate SA cichlids from open, sandy areas with subtle metallic and pastel colouration. Should look good and breed in here hopefully, though I may have to soften the water even more!

The crinums are starting to get going now and are standing out, see what you think in the pictures below...

 

[Ed Seeley]

I've tried to take some better pictures today (not sure I've succeeded though 🙄 )

First a standard front shot,


Then I tried taking some larger shots of both sides,



And stitching them together,


I need to try this again, and will try later (and edit this post if I succeed!) using a tripod to make sure the photos are at the identical angle and distance from the tank.

I also took a snap of the glosso already growing in; not bad in 7 days! (Amazing what 2wpg, Aquasoil and ferts and 30ppm CO2 can do eh?)


Even the Nymphaea micrantha has got going now with some gorgeous leaves,


Just waiting it's final fish later this week...

 

[ceg4048]

Looking good Ed. 😀 It seems like you have a better color balance now than on the earlier shots. Did you change the WB setting in camera or did you do it in post processing? Still not sure about the background though. Seems like blue or gray vinyl might be a better option. I keep wanting to post a classified Ad back there.

Cheers,