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Emerald Forest "a low energy scape in progress"

Tim Harrison

Tim Harrison

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5 Nov 2011
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Leicestershire
The last few days have seen the dismantling of my old soil substrate tank to be replaced with a new one. I am hoping that it will eventually live up to its namesake "Emerald Forest". It is really my first attempt at anything approaching a half decent scape and is still very much a work in progress.

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I hope to add A. barteri var. nana here and there and to the sticky out bit overhanging the meadow, C. willissii - syn C. nevilli to the bare gravel corner, and willow moss to the top of the tree. Any other suggestions would be greatfully received.

More images to follow, including those showing the setup phase.
 
looks awesome. very nice piece of wood and the pebbles and bare patch of sand look great too.
 
The new tank in position - 90 litres, w60cm x h45cm x d35cm, and another tank on the floor with more plants for the new aquascape

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In goes the soil - a mixture of 50% aquatic compost and 50% Sphagnum moss peat to a depth of around 2cm - 3cm

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A gravel tidy or soil retainer is placed on top, the mesh prevents soil disturbance during aquascaping but allows plant roots to penetrate the soil layer below: it's simply a matter of geotropism - the downward growth of roots in response to gravity.

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The coarse sand goes on top to a depth of around 2cm - 4cm, and then the hard scaping, in this case an oversized lump of bogwood, and cobbles from my garden. The bog wood is actually 5 separate pieces, sawn, drilled, and screwed together.

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More to follow soon.
 
like it . The landscape fabric will work well.
 
Hi thanks, the fabric makes no difference to plant growth whatsoever, but it makes a huge difference to water clarity during scaping; the soil is not disturbed at all, even if the fabric is exposed.
 
The carpet of Lilaeopsis and Eleocharis goes in with some Aponogeton bulbs, and other assorted stuff.

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It's late by the time I'm finished with the planting and I can't be bothered to hook up the Eheim eco pro, lily pipes, and the external Hydor heater, the temp filter and heater will have to do for now.

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More shots from different angles:

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Finally managed to hook everything up, and a week later unbelievably the tank has self-cycled; the fish are introduced and are very happy in their new environment.

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The tank looks great. I just don't personally fancy that anubia on the tip of the branch. Other than that the tank is spot on :)

Keep the pics coming.

GM
 
who put that anubia there? ;) really liking a lot about this tank, the right side looks deep and verdant.
 
Add algae eaters, shrimps etc, something to help gnaw on the algae on plants and to break down the larger particulate waste. Maybe some more floating water sprite or something to reduce the light.

This can be thinned as needed.

Also a DSM works really well to get the tank well established, bacteria cycled........ then you fill it up without waiting so much.
 
Thanks for the comments guys as always they are gratefully received. Tom I am sure that the DSM works very well but I have found that the ammonia given off during mineralisation works well to self-cycle the tank, and it only took a week. I have ottos and amanos to, and as for the other comments I like the anubia on the end of the sticky out bit, but I can appreciate that it might be bad taste in the scaping world...but hey dare to be different!!! On the other hand the comments are perhaps right it might have to be repositioned at some point anyway since I have more plants on order...it really is a work in progress, I hope. :)
 
Troi,..did you do any water changes in this last week to help control with the ammonia spike and are you using an established filter media from an older running filter? Or are the filter media brand new?
 
Hey faizal

I knew that someone would ask me this, I might have guessed it would be you. The answer is I did not do any water changes for the first week, and neither did I have established filter media. During that time ammonia, nitrites and nitrates peaked at a reasonably high level then quickly returned to a trace.

After that initial week I did regular and substantial water changes twice weekly, but that was more to do with my ferts dosing regime, and an attempt to reduce a very thick biofilm. All the afore mentioned parameters remained stable.

What I did do though, and this might not have any bearing whatsoever, was add a minuscule amount of peat from my old filter to the soil substrate, honestly no more than a few teaspoons full. But perhaps it was enough to inoculate it and speed up the cycling and mineralisation processes; micro-organisms are amazing things so who knows, and when combined with the wonders of a soil substrate...well your guess is as good as mine. I am sure there is a perfectly rational scientific explanation, but it's late and I've had too much wine, and I think I will leave that for another day or for someone else to ponder.
 
that is a very quick cycle :) how do you deal with soil compaction? I think i will employ soil for my next tank. My first efforts went well , even though i used zero ferts after the initial set up.
 
that is a very quick cycle how do you deal with soil compaction? I think i will employ soil for my next tank. My first efforts went well , even though i used zero ferts after the initial set up.
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Well I use grit sometimes with a little Tesco's cat litter to improve the soil structure. And I think plant roots do the rest, so dense planting helps, as does, I think, adding peat. I am not sure whether the amount of soil compaction you get in an inch or so of soil is much of an issue anyway, unless it's covered with too much sand; macrophytes are adapted to living in some fairly fine and anaerobic sediments.
 
on you think a thin layer of ceramic rings under the soil will be beneficial in any way..... ? Just a thought.
 
on you think a thin layer of ceramic rings under the soil will be beneficial in any way..... ? Just a thought.
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Not sure...but I would be interested to know what the thinking is behind their use though, sounds intriguing.
 
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