• 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

Here is the proof...

Hi Will.

All of the wood on the right hand side is basically what I have picked up off the floor. Some of it is from an Almond grove in Spain.

The wood on the left is based around some redmoor wood (the only bought wood in this tank), but there is a lot of wood I have collected tie wrapped to it.

When I collect wood for my tanks, I just make sure the wood is dead and dried out, without any sap present, or signs of the wood rotting. If there is any bark, it should just fall off, or is easily pulled off by hand. Make sure you liberate all the resident critters before taking the wood in to the warmth of your house.

As for water chemistry, I haven`t noticed any adverse effects with any of my fish, so that is good enough for me. I use Seachem Purigen in all my filters to keep the water crystal clear and free of tannins etc..

Dave.
 
Here is what I would call an impromptu lazy shot I took whilst `er indoors watched her soaps, leaving me without the opportunity to set up the tripod or flashguns. I took it, basically, to show that I am still sticking plants in mud.

There has been no trimming, no glass cleaning and there is also a nice little bit of lens flare that Stu and Saintly can use to slaughter me. 😳

There has been a Koralia 1 powerhead added due to problems with my fish telling me I have too much CO2, and staghorn in places, telling me I have too little. The addition of the hardware flies in the face of my whole ethos, but I suspect it is a necessary evil.

It took me a long while to realise that misting Excel on to the Bolbitis during water change was killing it off. I just thought it was going through its transition. 😳

All the Rotalas along the back are being replaced. On the left there is now Hygrophila corymbosa `siamensis` 53B, and Ludwigia arcuata is now making its way along the back on the right hand side.

I have also added small amounts of Lilaeopsis brasiliensis and Marsilea sp for effect and a sense of scale. I have also added some Cryptocoryne willisii and Cryptocoryne willisii `lucens`. I am hoping for a transition of similar leaf shape from the Marsilea all the way up to the Cryptocoryne willisii, via C. parva.

The bare looking piece of wood in the centre with the scraggy bits of moss is a new addition, and should grow in like the branch on the left that is out of the water.

Positioning of the Anubias left a lot to be desired, as most of it is behind the Bolbitis, but I am slowly going to introduce it in to the forefront a little more.

This scape is a lot more maintenance than I anticipated, so I am in the process of upping the maintenance to get ot looking pristine for a properish photo shoot within the next couple of months or so.

The Nature Aquarium rip off marches on. :evil:

01-09-3-Editpb.jpg

Dave.
 
Disgusting, horrible, hate it.
Only playing mate it looks cracking, reminds me of my old scape, just prettier. How are you finding the moss? I found the trick is to thin it out before it's too thick otherwise you get so much detritus.
What are the stems in the back?
 
Dave Spencer said:
and there is also a nice little bit of lens flare that Stu and Saintly can use to slaughter me. 😳
Click to expand...

the only flare i see is the natural sort that you have for 'scaping Dave. looks brilliant.

from the sand to mid ground is proper NA and given time the rear should look smart too. does that power head really do a good job? im considering one.

mark
 
Very nice, Dave.

A lovely balance of well-selected and composed hardscape with an effective mixture of textures.

I anticipate this will look very special indeed in a couple of months.
 
Beautiful job mate, looks really natural. The sand you have used from TGM is the business. I used it on all my previous setups with Sera Mineral Depot underneath as fertilizer. What I like about the sand is that hair grass does really well in it.

I have never used Saechem Purigen or anything other than basic mechanical filtration media, Siporax etc. I wouldn't mind giving it a try. My filter is an Eheim Professional 2. How much Purigen would I need?

Cheers.

Steve.
 
just one of the bags of purigen is supposed to be enough for up to 100us gallons.
 
Cheers for the comments guys.

Garuf: Mosses require way more maintenance than I anticipated, and the way they sink after pruning doesn`t help either. Still, they are worth the effort in the right tank for sure.

Stu: I plan on raping your tank of its moss and Cherry shrimp some time. That new branch in the centre waiting for the moss to grow was the one I picked up in the slate quarry near Ffestiniog. We need to borrow the lights from the camera club and get tank photography sussed out.

Mark: I was surprised to see lens flare, so I went back to try it again, only to find it is a reflection of a lamp In the corner that I didn`t realise was on. I am beginning to think that the powerhead is vital in a tank of this size, despite the two EX 1200 filters. Tetratec really overstate their output in my opinion. Detritus had been collecting in the Bolbitis and mosses, but they are now kept clean. I can also up the CO2 a little now in an attempt to get rid of the staghorn. I am even considering adding a second in the opposite corner, but I just hate hardware in the tank.

George: Cheers. I think the next scape in this tank (still a few months away) could be influenced by your Mother Microsorum.

Redsteveo: Your tank looks better the more it matures. Keep on tinkering. 😀 I can`t remember how much Purigen is required, but I generally put one bag in.

Sorry for the late reply, but I have been out all day worshipping at Goodison Park Cathedral with my blue nosed son. :lol:

Dave.
 
I can help you on trimming the moss. What you need to do is cut it like you would hair, you can be really brutal moss loves it. Pull it tight between your fingers and with your other hand cut and don't let go. the other way I used is to put a net under the wood with moss on and trim into the net. Method a works best though.
 
It does look good Dave. Quite liking it's 'wild' feel.

I also like the dirty lily bend 🙂 I get carried away every time I see more than a 'little' dirt in mine and of course that means a full on hour or more cleaning session which I always wish I had waited longer to do :lol:

AC
 
I used to be meticulous cleaning the glass ware, but I have broken too many. They are overdue a clean and may get it at the next water change. I hate separating the pipe from the flexible hosing. 🙁

Dave.
 
I am quite aggressive when seperating all my glassware so must be quite lucky in not breaking any :lol:

It's more the disconnecting pipes, etc that does my head in. I try to leave it longer these days but sometimes it just catches your eye every time you look in the tank (which for a bored househusband like me is very often) and I just give in and take everything out. lol

AC
 
Here is a quickie pic of the right hand side. I rushed this one just before going to the camera club last night, to see Stu win his usual haul of firsts in the competitions. This is just after a major prune, so there are no Rotala sp showing at the back, and lots of unphotogenic pearling. Not Saintly quality, but this is my first tank pic in a couple of months. it`s about time I started sussing out how to take better tank pics. Me and Stu should get together and use the camera club lighting. 😉

I am struggling to get the "Siamensis 53B to grow properly (left hand side), so I may replace it with something like C. balansae. Still experimenting with or two things too, such as the Marsilea sp.

March-Tank.jpg

Cheers, Dave.
 
Looking sweet pal! now bring on the full tank shot 😉
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top