Windowsill Nature pt. 2

[Akwaskape]

And the diy stand from reclaimed hardwood bed slats.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

are you grey yet, im getting there lol.

It's basic, simple, cost effective and rewarding. And most of all great for the fish. When I post a video of my tanks on Instagram people are amazed / stunned in fact at just how relaxed and natural my fish behave.

But wow trying to convey that is difficult when there is so much conflicting information available. And for some reason everyone wants to take that and then add something to it or take something away to make it "better"

I'm pretty grey anyway.

It is difficult at times, but you've got keep on going. I've been called an idiot and a "fish killer", mainly when posting on "cycling" threads.

The thing that really gets me going is when the companies that sell water conditioning products, filter media, non-aquatic plants etc produce advertising that is designed to obscure the truth and deliberately mislead the people who buy their products.

cheers Darrel

 

[Guest]

...but my intention is to not really differentiate between low and high. It is to create beautiful looking tanks that are available and attainable to the big majority of hobbyists in the middle between the Walstad's and the Amano's

Amen to that...I've tried to coin the phrase Hybrid-energy in my tutorial...but it doesn't seem to be catching on🙄

 

[BigTom]

Lovely, lovely setup there Akwaskape. Just my cup of tea 🙂

 

[Akwaskape]

Big thanks @BigTom

Sustainable Aquaria

 

[JohnC]

yup, loving it. my journey into planted tanks went (after extensive reading) straight to higher tech. always refreshing to be reminded of alternatives.

I look after a couple of non CO2 planted tanks nowadays and am constantly amazed by how good i can keep them going and looking.

just shows how heavily my mindset has been engrained in high energy aquascaping that more "normal" aquatic plant keeping comes as a surprise. 🙂

 

[EnderUK]

Hi all, I'm pretty grey anyway..

The thing that really gets me going is when the companies that sell water conditioning products, filter media, non-aquatic plants etc produce advertising that is designed to obscure the truth and deliberately mislead the people who buy their products.

cheers Darrel

Trouble is that a lot of aquarium shops would probably go under if they didn't have these money making magic beans.

Lovely tank btw

 

[Akwaskape]

I don't know I think many independents can't compete with the Internet on dry goods these days anyway. That's for the manufacturers to sort though. Personally I pay top dollar for livestock stock because I know it's the real deal. Ie not far east mass produced. I think locals should be pushing quality livestock stock and good quality plants. But it's just an opinion. 90% of the shops I've visited in Essex have shocking livestock yet they all moan about Internet prices for dry. And even worse plant stock tanks.

Sustainable Aquaria

 

[EnderUK]

Yeah I was at another LFS asking about apisto and they said people really aren't keen on paying 6 quid for a tiny fish.Though you probably don't really want those people as customers they are probably the bread and butter customers who also spend stupid money on filter media.

I hold my hand up I was one of them.

 

[Akwaskape]

Sorry @EnderUK thanks btw

Sustainable Aquaria

 

[Akwaskape]

Yeah agreed, I spend a couple of hours a week with my trusted LFS kinda learning and helping out a bit. And the amount of people usually more on the elderly side who come in regularly to buy their filter sponges is amazing. But worryingly for the LFS that wont be around for too much longer b'cos the younger gen are Internet shoppers! I feel we have a responsibility to educate new hobbyists about locally tank bred stock and the vast difference in quality and the benefits fir keeping this hobby going. It's a really tough one because I've watched it over the last few years and we could be in danger of losing them. The only reason my guy can survive now is because he owns the property and overheads are low. Funnily enough another shop went down (garden centre rent jobby) just this week in Essex.

Sustainable Aquaria

 

[Sarpijk]

I keep coming to this thread for inspiration! Hope you are well!

 

[mort]

Thanks for the bump Sarpijk, I'd not come across this journal and it's my kind of tank. I have a setup that gets plenty of direct sun but not up to this level. I just love the sun filtering through the water in the summer.

 

[Karmicnull]

+1! Thanks for the pointer Sarpijk; what a fabulous tank!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Unfortunately @Akwascape hasn't been on the forum for a couple of years, it is a real shame. I've referenced <"these posts"> in a couple of threads <"more recently">.

cheers Darrel

 

[tiger15]

I read this journal with inspiration, as I also have four zero tech planted shrimp bowl set up by the window that receive afternoon sunlight. Do you have any algae issue? I am still learning and evolving to make mine do better.

I have zero algae in the guppy grass bowls due to fast growth or allelopathy?

Dwarf Sag bowl has mild but persistent spirogyra invasion which I removed from time to time, but easy as they don't stick and come out in strands.

There is stubborn cladophora in the DHG bowl which I had hard time removing without sticking to and uprooting some grass. Neither shrimp nor snails eat clado, so I am experimenting with excel treatment and introducing molly fry to see if they help.