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My new low tech attempt

I've been thinking more and more about going high tech because I'm getting annoyed with limitations of being low tech. Having seen your journal Faizal, I realise I'm completely misguided!

I've been trying to figure out a plant list left to right, but not doing that well. Could you help please?

- Some sort of anubia (long leaves)
- narrow java fern
- mixed moss on the small stones?
- a nana anubia at the front of the wood?
- some sort of crypt poking above the wood at the rear
- crypt wendtii brown at rear?
- a bit of reineckii lurking at the back?
- more of that narrow anubia at the back?
- another nana anubia at the front?
 
Really good looking scape you have put together Faizal, maybe tie some flame moss around the vertical wood at the back to soften its appearance, will enjoy watching this one grow in mate, good job :)

Hey Tim,.. :) I was just looking at the scape & wondering what to do with that vertical wood & the bare left background area ,...... then i read your post.:) Cheers mate. Yeah i think i have some flame moss with me ,...great idea.

I've been thinking more and more about going high tech because I'm getting annoyed with limitations of being low tech. Having seen your journal Faizal, I realise I'm completely misguided!

I've been trying to figure out a plant list left to right, but not doing that well. Could you help please?

Wow,...never really thought my piddly attempt would get such a lovely response. Thank you so much for the kind words LansRick:).

The long leaf type of anubias = Anubias lanceolata
Mini java fern (at the left foreground)
All the mosses that you see there are Java Moss. The ones at the front are tied to lava rocks. Some are super glued to them.
Anubias petite nanas at the front of the wood.
The crypt poking out of the wood :lol: is Cryptocoryne nevillii.
Cryptocoryne wendtii brown at the right 1/3rd mid-background area
Cryptocoryne lucens just right to it ( i think that's the one that looks like reineckii )
More Anubias lanceolata at the right background
I also have some anubias var glabra which is at the left background but you can hardly see it. :oops:

Just mostly hard to kill plant types.

Thanks again for taking the interest.:)
 
Okay,..looks like i don't have enough of flame moss to cover the whole wood & this being low tech it will probably take me a year or so just to achieve the desired effect,...so i did the next best thing & removed it. It wasn't sunk into the substrate but was just placed on top of it.

So does it look better with or without the straight wood?

Without :

20130708_213809.jpg



With the wood:

20130630_212134.jpg



I probably need to add more plants at the back though. What do you guys think?
 
I would leave as is mate. Now you have removed the wood the tank appears to have a greater sense of depth. I would just leave it to do its thing now as personally I think its perfect

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Alastair,..cheers mate. :) You've been very kind with your comments. It's really reassuring when one gets support like this. I am leaving the wood out of the scape. You are right about the sense of depth. I noticed it immediately after removing it last night. The right rear corner looks much softer to look at now.
 
Hi Faizal, definitely wood removed is the way to go, only thing I would do is swap the crypt back right with the anubias back right IMO the sense of depth you'll achieve then will be awesome will really lead the eye around the scape. Really nice tank looking forward to seeing this mature.


Cheers Tim:). I really like the crypt wendtii brown as the focal point at the right 1/3rd though,..:oops: But you have a very good point there. If the crypt gets too tall for its placement I am planning on doing exactly what you have advised. If it stays low,...then i kind of like it this way:).

Like Alastair says,....i think it's probably that time now for me to keep my hands to myself & leave it be to settle down. :lol:. The joys of a non co2 after all are supposedly low maintenance. Maybe it's time to add some inhabitants but speaking of which,....

I noticed some little white wriggly worms last night. Very thin & hair like about 3-5 mm in length . Not stuck on the glass but floating freely in the current. Maybe they came in with the plants. I cant seem to get a picture because they are so thin & tiny . Any ideas on how to deal with them? There must be about 20-30 of them in there..Also,.are they dangerous to fish?
 
I finally managed to get some cherry red shrimps & fishes. :)

So here they are :) :

I am not sure what they are called but they are really tiny :

20130710_223236.jpg


This little fella is looking like he's enjoying his stroll ;)
20130714_212238.jpg



Can you spot my oto? ;)

20130714_212354.jpg



20130714_212521.jpg



Dinner @ The Moss Cafe :):

20130714_213737.jpg
 
I finally managed to get some cherry red shrimps & fishes. :)

So here they are :) :

I am not sure what they are called but they are really tiny :

20130710_223236.jpg
....Bob, Fred, Steve, Cindy and Martha..... I know, get my coat!

They are White Cloud Mountain minnows :)

Looking great Faizal, its always nice when you get some livestock in a tank, makes you feel less crazy watching it ;)
Cheerio,
Ady
 
I really like white clouds, they're quite understated but really active fish, and extremely hardy. They'll grow to a reasonable size, not far off Cardinal Tetra size, although they tend to be a bit smaller in the height of the body.
 
....Bob, Fred, Steve, Cindy and Martha.....

:lol: :lol: Cheers Ady,.....the LFS had them in a tank with some guppies. You really know your fishes well.:lol:

I have come across their name but didn't know that THESE were white clouds. Can't wait to see your tank planted by the way.

I really like white clouds, they're quite understated but really active fish, and extremely hardy.

Mate,... that's really good to know:). I was kind of worried about the cherry red shrimps too,...being sensitive to TDS and all. But my plan is if i keep up with some daily small water changes ( 10-15%),....i should keep it fairly low. I don't have a TDS meter. Plus I haven't dosed the tank's water column till date ( substrate being new and all). Will just have to see how it goes. Do shrimps like boiled peas ?
 
Hi all :) . There's really nothing much to update currently. The tank is settling in nicely. Growth obviously nothing much at all. Looks the same to me as the pictures above. Except maybe for the cryptocoryne wendtii brown which has perked up a bit.
My routine (just because i have nothing else to do when I come home :oops:) currently with this tank is:
Every other day water changes about 20%. I do it during lights on. Tap the moss, disturb the dirt out & siphon the water out. Feeding just 2 pieces of algae wafers per day for the shrimps & Minnows. I crush the wafers with my fingers till they look like powder. I do the water change after feeds. I switch off the filter during feeding.
Remove any occasional dying leaf,...this doesn't happen much. Most leaves that are dying are old ones & I can see new growth here & there. lanceolata showing some new light green sprouts.
I think it's only wise to show monthly pic updates of this tank,other wise everyone's going to get bored with the same scene day in & day out:lol: unless of course there's some problem which i hope it doesn't happen.:)
 
Anything new to report?

:) Hey Troi,...:) I am so sorry for the sudden long silence,...:oops: Things had been kind of busy lately with family & work taking precedence over other matters. The tank's coming along so nicely,....& so slowly :lol: . Not that I am complaining,...I love this pace. I finally get to enjoy the fishes & the shrimps. It has that slightly more matured look now,...though I think it's still at its "toddler" stage of life. I feel like I want to keep this little tank running forever.
It's so easy to manage. The shrimps have given off several new off springs. They still amaze me at how good they are when they suddenly go into hiding,...all at once. Then suddenly there they are scooting all about the tank :) . It's such a joy to watch them.:happy: Cute little fellas they are. I am so hooked onto low tech Troi. :happy: Promise to load up some pics soon.

The scape looks pretty much the same ,....the plants seem to have grown a bit bigger though,..and it looks lovely:)

Take care
 
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