Finally, after 10+ years of low tech planted tanks, from my first 30L nano, to my 110L main tank, keeping a max of 3 tanks at a time (currently 2)
I am finally going to try high tech!
I have always loved the amazing scapes that people have achieved in groups like this. I was inspired years ago by Andyh’s tank (he seems to have left now, but I loved his kitchen tank so much I tried to do a tank inspired by that with dragon stone and red moor wood in a low tech form in hard London water - not quite as successfully as I’d like! I have always been nervous about taking that step towards high tech though as my free time is very limited, and my shift work means keeping a schedule of fertilisers and water changes is impossible (plus I am very lazy on my days off!). I have been inspired by some of the midway tanks that people like George Farmer have done with his aquascaper 1200 which he has been able to slightly ignore at times, and feel like if I don’t try then I’ll never do it!
Finally, I have ordered the Aqua V Scaper 900 from Aquariums4Life. My space is unfortunately too limited to go bigger, but this is still more than double my current tank size so I’m happy. It looks like a beautiful tank and I cannot wait for it to arrive. I’ve bought a Twinstar 3 SA 900, a CO2Art Pro-Elite system with inline diffuser, and plan on using my Eheim Professional 5 600T filter with Lily pipes (yet to be bought) and maybe a nano power head which is somewhere in my attic as I suspect I’ll need more flow. I have got an Eheim Pro 3 250 filter I can add on, but with two viewing angles I’m trying to minimise things in the tank.
I plan to add the livestock from my 110L tank
6-7 dwarf chain loach (I never see them all together
3 Neon blue gobies
8+ Amano shrimp
1 surviving cardinal tetra and 1 endler guppy - all that survive from a group after ~5 years. I’m very sad they are alone but don’t want to add to their numbers yet when I’m about to upset everything in their little world!
I’m thinking of adding 4 Pearl Gouramis and a shoaling fish. I used to love my Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish, but worry they are bit big to have a reasonable shoal.
Hardscape will be dragon stone and redmoor wood - reusing my current stuff with maybe a bit of a top up for some bigger pieces.
In general I’ll go mainly easy/medium plants like bolbitus, crypts, buce, anubias with some stems still to be decided. I want a wild and overgrown look with lots of hiding places for my fish. Any tips would be welcome. I’m debating trying a carpet (never successfully done in my low tech tanks) or a sand beach in my swimming areas. The problem is my loaches and gobies who like to dig and move the soil around. They spend their time digging up my attempts at a crypt parvo carpet, and used to like to move the soil onto the beach in my old tank which drove me mad. I suspect a carpet wouldn’t survive them, but I may also get very annoyed with a beach. I have seen people using filter floss between stones used as a break for the soil, but by now I’d assume these fish would somehow still move this! Any thoughts from anyone experienced with these guys and sand/carpets would be appreciated!
Now I just need to wait for the tank and decide on plants!
I haven’t got many photos, but some previous attempts at low tech aquascaping attached
I am finally going to try high tech!
I have always loved the amazing scapes that people have achieved in groups like this. I was inspired years ago by Andyh’s tank (he seems to have left now, but I loved his kitchen tank so much I tried to do a tank inspired by that with dragon stone and red moor wood in a low tech form in hard London water - not quite as successfully as I’d like! I have always been nervous about taking that step towards high tech though as my free time is very limited, and my shift work means keeping a schedule of fertilisers and water changes is impossible (plus I am very lazy on my days off!). I have been inspired by some of the midway tanks that people like George Farmer have done with his aquascaper 1200 which he has been able to slightly ignore at times, and feel like if I don’t try then I’ll never do it!
Finally, I have ordered the Aqua V Scaper 900 from Aquariums4Life. My space is unfortunately too limited to go bigger, but this is still more than double my current tank size so I’m happy. It looks like a beautiful tank and I cannot wait for it to arrive. I’ve bought a Twinstar 3 SA 900, a CO2Art Pro-Elite system with inline diffuser, and plan on using my Eheim Professional 5 600T filter with Lily pipes (yet to be bought) and maybe a nano power head which is somewhere in my attic as I suspect I’ll need more flow. I have got an Eheim Pro 3 250 filter I can add on, but with two viewing angles I’m trying to minimise things in the tank.
I plan to add the livestock from my 110L tank
6-7 dwarf chain loach (I never see them all together
3 Neon blue gobies
8+ Amano shrimp
1 surviving cardinal tetra and 1 endler guppy - all that survive from a group after ~5 years. I’m very sad they are alone but don’t want to add to their numbers yet when I’m about to upset everything in their little world!
I’m thinking of adding 4 Pearl Gouramis and a shoaling fish. I used to love my Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish, but worry they are bit big to have a reasonable shoal.
Hardscape will be dragon stone and redmoor wood - reusing my current stuff with maybe a bit of a top up for some bigger pieces.
In general I’ll go mainly easy/medium plants like bolbitus, crypts, buce, anubias with some stems still to be decided. I want a wild and overgrown look with lots of hiding places for my fish. Any tips would be welcome. I’m debating trying a carpet (never successfully done in my low tech tanks) or a sand beach in my swimming areas. The problem is my loaches and gobies who like to dig and move the soil around. They spend their time digging up my attempts at a crypt parvo carpet, and used to like to move the soil onto the beach in my old tank which drove me mad. I suspect a carpet wouldn’t survive them, but I may also get very annoyed with a beach. I have seen people using filter floss between stones used as a break for the soil, but by now I’d assume these fish would somehow still move this! Any thoughts from anyone experienced with these guys and sand/carpets would be appreciated!
Now I just need to wait for the tank and decide on plants!
I haven’t got many photos, but some previous attempts at low tech aquascaping attached