LancsRick
Member
- Joined
- 18 Apr 2012
- Messages
- 683
Right, so I'm going to try and do a slightly different journal to the offerings that I've seen thus far on the site (although if it's been done before please let me know!). Rather than this being a finished picture of "my first tank", or a new setup with an experienced user, I'm hoping to do a journal from pre-tank right through to established product (hopefully a successful one!).
So, what have I got to work with to start with?
- Trigon 190 tank, with standard pump, filter, heater, T8 lighting
- Soft/Very Soft water (need to check exact hardness)
- The vague memories of keeping tropical fish as a youngster
- Time (one week of holiday!!)
And what do I want to achieve with this?
- Minimal maintenance
- No adding of CO2 if possible (cost and maintenance)
- Habitat for fish/inverts
- Aesthetically pleasing (lounge feature)
Step One: Starting the learning and the planning
Once I started looking at planted tanks I realised I had failed just grasp just how much I didn’t know. All the different styles that were available, all the different techniques, I didn’t even know they existed, let alone the pros and cons of each. I also realised that although the corner tank perfectly suited by room requirements, they appeared to have a reputation for being difficult to aquascape – nothing like starting at the deep end!
Of all the research I did for inspiration, the most useful one I found was a thread on UKAPS by JohnC who has re-scaped his corner tank multiple times, and some of his work I loved.
Really like the short grass at the front in this picture (JohnC's tank) http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj30 ... G_3122.jpg . [EDIT - blyxa japonica]
There's a long stemmed small flat leafed green plant in the front left foreground by the driftwood – no idea what it is, but I like it! http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj30 ... CF2388.jpg (JohnC's tank) In the same picture, the vivid red long leafed plant which is central in the picture.
Really like the look of weeping moss for use on some driftwood.
The tall green plant in the back right could be a good background… http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj30 ... g21sep.jpg
I also did a fair bit of reading on substrates and tutorials on planted tanks, some of which answered questions, some of which just generated more. It gave me ideas to pull together an initial proposal though to post in this journal and then get some critique on (have I mentioned this is going to be a bit of an interactive journal log?!).
Step Two: Proposal Mark One…
Substrate choice was probably the easiest one to narrow down at this point, and the result is Tesco Lightweight Low Dust Cat Litter (aka Moller clay). I’m going to need about 40 litres of this, and it will need thoroughly rinsing before I put it in the tank to remove the perfume. It’ll give me a nice terracotta colour to work against, so I want to keep the plants in the foreground quite vivid to give a contrast. This will be around 2 inches at the front, moving to 3inches+ at the rear of the tank.
I’m very keen on some of the plants from JohnC’s tank, so I’m going to look to ID those. I’m also going to put some Java Moss in the foreground to ease the “grass” (ID tbc) transition into the substrate, and there will be an area of bare substrate at the front to give some openness.
I’m going to include some driftwood as the focal point (golden rule positioned), with plants around it and moss on it to soften its presence.
Now to ID those plants and see if they’re suitable for no added CO2 and my water hardness…
So, what have I got to work with to start with?
- Trigon 190 tank, with standard pump, filter, heater, T8 lighting
- Soft/Very Soft water (need to check exact hardness)
- The vague memories of keeping tropical fish as a youngster
- Time (one week of holiday!!)
And what do I want to achieve with this?
- Minimal maintenance
- No adding of CO2 if possible (cost and maintenance)
- Habitat for fish/inverts
- Aesthetically pleasing (lounge feature)
Step One: Starting the learning and the planning
Once I started looking at planted tanks I realised I had failed just grasp just how much I didn’t know. All the different styles that were available, all the different techniques, I didn’t even know they existed, let alone the pros and cons of each. I also realised that although the corner tank perfectly suited by room requirements, they appeared to have a reputation for being difficult to aquascape – nothing like starting at the deep end!
Of all the research I did for inspiration, the most useful one I found was a thread on UKAPS by JohnC who has re-scaped his corner tank multiple times, and some of his work I loved.
Really like the short grass at the front in this picture (JohnC's tank) http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj30 ... G_3122.jpg . [EDIT - blyxa japonica]
There's a long stemmed small flat leafed green plant in the front left foreground by the driftwood – no idea what it is, but I like it! http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj30 ... CF2388.jpg (JohnC's tank) In the same picture, the vivid red long leafed plant which is central in the picture.
Really like the look of weeping moss for use on some driftwood.
The tall green plant in the back right could be a good background… http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj30 ... g21sep.jpg
I also did a fair bit of reading on substrates and tutorials on planted tanks, some of which answered questions, some of which just generated more. It gave me ideas to pull together an initial proposal though to post in this journal and then get some critique on (have I mentioned this is going to be a bit of an interactive journal log?!).
Step Two: Proposal Mark One…
Substrate choice was probably the easiest one to narrow down at this point, and the result is Tesco Lightweight Low Dust Cat Litter (aka Moller clay). I’m going to need about 40 litres of this, and it will need thoroughly rinsing before I put it in the tank to remove the perfume. It’ll give me a nice terracotta colour to work against, so I want to keep the plants in the foreground quite vivid to give a contrast. This will be around 2 inches at the front, moving to 3inches+ at the rear of the tank.
I’m very keen on some of the plants from JohnC’s tank, so I’m going to look to ID those. I’m also going to put some Java Moss in the foreground to ease the “grass” (ID tbc) transition into the substrate, and there will be an area of bare substrate at the front to give some openness.
I’m going to include some driftwood as the focal point (golden rule positioned), with plants around it and moss on it to soften its presence.
Now to ID those plants and see if they’re suitable for no added CO2 and my water hardness…
