Wookii
Member
So I've long been wanting to have a go at a biotope style tank.
I'm aware that some folks can get a bit funny about using the word Biotope, as traditionally there are very strict rules around what qualifies as such. I have no intention of constraining myself to any specific biotope at this stage (I don't have the patience nor the skills) so I've opted to call this a 'habitat style' tank.
I originally planned to produce a proper dirtied river bank style tank, as discussed in my thread here: How to create a muddied river bank . . . However my time is too limited currently and I had a new (to me) tank waiting in the garage, and hardscape aging/greening out in the garden, so decided to press on.
My aim was to simulate a river bank of some sort - lot of roots, lots of leaf mulch and mulm everywhere, minimal planting, and low shadowy lighting.
This is my initial hardscape effort, consisting of some Talawa wood, inverted to simulate roots and mangroves, and then loads of actual roots added (courtesy of an old gift from @Hufsa), combined with some nice round lava rocks recently acquired from @Earlscapes. The substrate is mainly Hugo Kamishi, topped with some pre-washed Wio Heaven River sand, and then with a few sizes of gravel added.
Whilst I'm relatively happy with it, it still looked a little sterile and more of a 'scape' rather than a random cross section of centuries old riverbank.
Adding a jug full of loose root fragments, and pre-soaked and shredded leaves has softened it considerably - and it looks a lot better filled and with some tannins starting to leach.
Planting consists of one lonely long leaved crypt (the identity of which I'm not sure of), some mosses (Miroshaki and Mini-Christmas), a few sparse bunches of grassy bits of Eleocharis of some sort, and an emersed dwarf Spathiphyllum - as I say, minimal planting; blink and you'll miss it. I will add a bit more of some grassy style plants here and there, but not much.
The end result, with the shimmer from the mini point source light (3 x Chihiros Z Tiny lights), looks great, and much more natural than my crap pictures might suggest:
I'm aware that some folks can get a bit funny about using the word Biotope, as traditionally there are very strict rules around what qualifies as such. I have no intention of constraining myself to any specific biotope at this stage (I don't have the patience nor the skills) so I've opted to call this a 'habitat style' tank.
I originally planned to produce a proper dirtied river bank style tank, as discussed in my thread here: How to create a muddied river bank . . . However my time is too limited currently and I had a new (to me) tank waiting in the garage, and hardscape aging/greening out in the garden, so decided to press on.
My aim was to simulate a river bank of some sort - lot of roots, lots of leaf mulch and mulm everywhere, minimal planting, and low shadowy lighting.
This is my initial hardscape effort, consisting of some Talawa wood, inverted to simulate roots and mangroves, and then loads of actual roots added (courtesy of an old gift from @Hufsa), combined with some nice round lava rocks recently acquired from @Earlscapes. The substrate is mainly Hugo Kamishi, topped with some pre-washed Wio Heaven River sand, and then with a few sizes of gravel added.
Whilst I'm relatively happy with it, it still looked a little sterile and more of a 'scape' rather than a random cross section of centuries old riverbank.
Adding a jug full of loose root fragments, and pre-soaked and shredded leaves has softened it considerably - and it looks a lot better filled and with some tannins starting to leach.
Planting consists of one lonely long leaved crypt (the identity of which I'm not sure of), some mosses (Miroshaki and Mini-Christmas), a few sparse bunches of grassy bits of Eleocharis of some sort, and an emersed dwarf Spathiphyllum - as I say, minimal planting; blink and you'll miss it. I will add a bit more of some grassy style plants here and there, but not much.
The end result, with the shimmer from the mini point source light (3 x Chihiros Z Tiny lights), looks great, and much more natural than my crap pictures might suggest:
