• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - The End

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite (now ft. plants & a bag of gravel !)

Graeme Edwards said:
the weeping moss could be difficult to look balanced. Look at where it is now, once it grows it will start to hang over the wood like a green blanket up in a tree. This may go against your vision.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing this out Graeme - this is the area where I havent got a clue really. I'm happy to try things out though, and see what happens ! At least with things tied to the woods, they're easier to remove or reposition without churning up the substrate.

I've had a quick play today with the bolbitis, and I'm not sure its going to work in there, which is a shame as its the main pant I had in mind (and I've bought loads :lol: ). It just seems to overpower everything else and dominate the tank, making it alot darker too. I'll play around some more tomorrow and see how it goes. It might be better to wait until the mosses and pelia are more established.

LondonDragon said:
moss looks really good, don't forget me for the first trim haha
Click to expand...
No problem Paulo, though I've got to succeed in growing it before I trim it :lol:

a1Matt said:
the tank is looking lovely. Great pics as always from you Tony.
Can I be cheeky and request a close up pic of the ectropthecium when you are doing your next set of pics?
Click to expand...

Thanks Matt. The ectropthecium doesnt look great at the mo, as its just been tied up ! This pic is just a crop from the full tank shot, so excuse the quality. Once it has started to fill out a bit I'll get you a better pic 😀
Optiwhite32_MUS1424.jpg

Tourney said:
I recognise that reg, solenoid and bubble counter Glad they've been put to such good use Tony
Click to expand...
Well spotted Tourney 😀

hellohefalump said:
Really nice tank, can't wait to see it all grown in and with fish
Click to expand...
Thanks Helena. Me too 😀


Tony
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite (now ft. plants & a bag of gravel !)

Cheers Tony 😀 As your mosses adhere to the wood it will be nice to let them creep out of the water so that you get some emersed growth off of them. (If I had an open topped tank I would have my moss (rear)wall poking a couple of inches above the rim).
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite (now ft. plants & a bag of gravel !)

Well, I had a disaster today 🙁

I'd removed the bag of gravel yesterday and all seemed fine, but when doing a 50% water change this afternoon the right hand root popped up to the surface, taking a load of plantlets with it, and causing a shift in the substrate.

As if that wasnt enough, the disruption in the sub caused a chain reaction which resulted in 4 of the 5 pieces of wood shifting around to various degress. I guess when I put it all together dry there was a certain amount of grip / friction between the substrate and the roots, but once one of them shifted slightly they all 'let go' :twisted:

So the right hand root is now floating, the 2 large roots on the left are now just resting on top of the sub, most of the foreground plants are floating around, and the sub movement has pushed some of the rocks forward, and mixed the gravel, sub and sand up 🙁

I tried burying the roots back down, but it was making things worse, so I've left it be. Fresh eyes will be on it in the morning, and I'll drain it down and start again. Not quite the weekend I was planning!

A lesson learnt in patience 🙄

Tony


Optiwhite33_MUS1454.jpg
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ( now ft. floaters 🙁 )

Exactly what happened with my scape a few days ago. I'll be soaking my wood in future. These things are meant to test us, you'll be fine!
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

Rotten luck, Tony.

Still looks really good though!
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

Ah well, these things are sent to test us... damned unlucky, but I'm sure you'll be able to make a proper job of sorting it!
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

a small flat piece of plastik glued or screwed to the bottom of each piece of driftwood will work as roots and keep the driftwood in the soil even if they would like to float.

As George said, still looks good though 😉
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

Even with floating plants, floating wood and wood all moved around it's far better than I could do! :lol:
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

I'm gonna be weird and say that I think it looks just as good, if not better with the shifted wood and floating plants! 😛
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

Thanks guys 😀 I was feeling pretty down with it last night (in fact I was surprised how down I was feeling !) but fresh eyes this morning, and a pot of coffee by my side, I've removed all the floaters and am draining the tank down now.

By the end of the day, it will all be done, and might even be better than before 😉

Cheers

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

Tonser said:
By the end of the day, it will all be done, and might even be better than before 😉
Click to expand...
That's the spirit, Tony!

Onwards and upwards.
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

In my wooden scapes the wood is just the tip of the ice berg. Beneath the substrate is a whole new world of rocks tie wrapped to the base of the wood. I`ve been here before Tony, and still find my wood gently drifts around a little over the following weeks and months.

Dave.
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

Bad luck Tonser, but i have to say the scape still looks good, even with the new floating plants. 😀
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. floaters 🙁

This hobby has a lot of ups and downs!!! Last couple of years have been a rollercoaster ride for me! :lol: :lol:
But we learn from it all and can only improve in the next attempt 😉 good luck Tony!!
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite ... now ft. stable hardscape 🙂

Well, 'twas a long day yesterday for one reason or another, but the tank is almost sorted 😀

The roots have now each got a square of 6mm ply screwed to the base, which is buried in the sub' and weighted with pebbles 😀 I've attached the Bolbitis now, but I'm not yet convinced about it - I found it really tricky stuff to work with, as its either too thin and spindly (as in the bit on the right) or its too thick and bushy ! I'll give it some time and see how the new growth goes, then start trimming the old stuff back. The plants I had were very large so the individual leaves are quite long.

Anyhows, heres the pic from this morning. I still need to do some work on the gravel grading, as it all got moved around during the upheaval - its also got a thin film of dust over it from the clouding substrate 🙄 😀 Plus I've just noticed the bit of root coming forward from the main clump of root bases which is really bugging me now - need a parva or two in there to hide that :lol:

Tony

Optiwhite34_MUS1469.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top