The stone in the river

[akwarium]

Hello all,

After being without aquariums for some time after changing jobs and moving a couple of times, I found a place to stay for a couple of years and could not resist to set up my small tank again.
My main inspiration was a song, called "de steen" (the stone) part of the lyrics go like this

I've moved a stone in a river on Earth.
Now I know I'll never be forgotten
I provided proof of my existence.
Because by shifting that one stone
The water will never go the same way again

I like that idea and decided to use it as the concept for my aquascaping attempt.
In short I wanted a river theme, so rounded rocks. with a clear main stone that expresses stability and its impact on the surroundings.
although there is definitely room for improvement I'm quite happy how it turned out so far:

 

[_Maq_]

One of the very few tanks with STYLE. My sincere congratulation.

 

[Katharine]

Absolutely love the inspiration! The tank looks lovely too!

 

[akwarium]

thank you both,

for those who care to know:

dimensions:
51cm x35 cm x 40 cm
DIY lamp with 6500K 2700K en 660nm red LED's, the last two are only on during sunrise/sunset. for 5 hours a day at the moment.
filtration is a hydor professional 250, and a hydor koralia 1600 for extra flow.

Fish:
Rhinogobius sp bazhaigou

Plants:
Cryptocoryne nurii
Cryptocoryne spirallis "red"
Eleocharis acicularis
Eriocaulon sp "Japan needle leaf"
Helantium tennelum
Lilaeopsis macloviana
"creeping moss"

I need to find some algae crew that is not to much harassed by the gobies and can stand cooler temps. Shrimp are no option, except as dinner guests..... So suggestions are welcome!

 

[_Maq_]

for those who care

What about the substrate? Only silica sand?

 

[akwarium]

What about the substrate? Only silica sand?

in the front ADA la plata sand. In the planted area filter bags filled with ADA Amazonia version 2 and ADA aquagravel on top. Under the main rock there is also a bag of pumice, raising it a little and keeping it stable.

The bags are there to keep the fish from digging into it, not that they dig much, just some holes under the rocks. But better safe than sorry.

 

[akwarium]

Hello all,

The tank is doing ok, most plants are growing despite the fact the tank is unheated. The cryptocoryne nurii is growing really slow, the eleocharis acicularis is hardly growing at all. I did not expect that.. any thoughts on making it grow better?

The moss I want to replace by a species with a darker green color. I was thinking fissidens but maybe there are better options..?
(And yes I should clean the glass)

 

[CooKieS]

Lovely, Eleocharis loves a good light and co2 situation, is your light enough?

 

[akwarium]

Light output is around 20 umol/s for five hours. Thats on a 20% setting. So could be increased. CO2 is around 15 ppm.

 

[Cazza]

Looks great!