My 4 gallon Grass land

[Danialavr]

My 4 gallon tank, well minus the substrate and hardscape it is only 3 gallon of water LOL
Have been lurking in the forums looking at the aquascapes and got inspired to post my own.

Tank: 40cm(L) x 18.5cm(W) 24cm(H)
Lighting: GreenElement Evo 12
CO2: 1bps
Substrate: Advanced soil topped with Sudo sand
Ferts: NONE
Filtration: Prefilter(mechanical)>Eheim 2211(chemical and biological)
Temperature: 24 celsius
10% water change weekly.

Tank residents:5 Pygmy cory and 4 Fire red shrimps
Plants: Japanese Hairgrass and Dwarf Hairgrass

Initial scape was only with advanced soil for about 3 weeks and the hairgrass covered the entire substrate. Pygmy cory added at week 3 and I realised they cannot dig due to the substrate size, so removed the hairgrass on the right side of the tank and topped with sudo sand. No ferts added, only occasional excel.

PS. Pics taken using iPhone 5s, no DSLR haha


WEEK 4:


PYGMY CORY COUPLE?! haha


Dwarf hair grass spewing out bubbles after trim:

[thebaldingaquarist]

Very nice. any reviews on the lights?

[Danialavr]

Very nice. any reviews on the lights?

Hi eric, the evo is good and i like the colour temperature. But i wish it is a little bit brighter. It seems to grow the plants well though but it gets a little too hot so i diyed a heatsink and fan mounted onto the lights to cool it abit.

[thebaldingaquarist]

Ok. I think it's normal for lights to go hot while in operation. I like the use of 2 smaller rocks to accentuate the depth of field. You planted the larger hair grass in front as well right?

[furyprix]

simple yet elegant! shall take this into consideration for my next project!

[lzw814]

Do you have a chiller? How do you keep the temperature at 24?

[Danialavr]

Ok. I think it's normal for lights to go hot while in operation. I like the use of 2 smaller rocks to accentuate the depth of field. You planted the larger hair grass in front as well right?

Japanese hairgrass is a type of dwarf hair grass right? Actually I wanted all to be japanese hair grass but i bought wrongly so there is a pot or 2 of normal dwarf hair grass mixed in at random spots.

simple yet elegant! shall take this into consideration for my next project!

Hehe thanks! I might add in some hc for the next scape cos i miss seeing those things pearl

Do you have a chiller? How do you keep the temperature at 24?

Yup running a resun CL650. Too overkill for a 4gallon but thats all i have to work with for now so yeah hahah. Running it with an external temp controller cos the eheim 2211 flow rate is too slow.

[Ingen]

Very nice, i like it!

[thebaldingaquarist]

Japanese hairgrass is a type of dwarf hair grass right? Actually I wanted all to be japanese hair grass but i bought wrongly so there is a pot or 2 of normal dwarf hair grass mixed in at random spots.

to my limited knowledge, jap hair grass curls, while dwarf hair grass grows upwards in a straight fashion.

So they are not the same.

jap hair grass is called Eleocharis sp., some say its Eleocharis japan.. sp normally denotes that there is still not sub species ID-ed yet.

dwarf hair grass is called Eleocharis PARVULA.

in scapes like yours, sometimes the aqua scaper will position lower growing plants (with smaller leaves) at the back to give a false depth of field to the tank.
The opposite, to plant smaller leave plants in front gives a false impression of scale to the tank.


Hope it helps.

[Danialavr]

to my limited knowledge, jap hair grass curls, while dwarf hair grass grows upwards in a straight fashion.

So they are not the same.

jap hair grass is called Eleocharis sp., some say its Eleocharis japan.. sp normally denotes that there is still not sub species ID-ed yet.

dwarf hair grass is called Eleocharis PARVULA.

in scapes like yours, sometimes the aqua scaper will position lower growing plants (with smaller leaves) at the back to give a false depth of field to the tank.
The opposite, to plant smaller leave plants in front gives a false impression of scale to the tank.


Hope it helps.

Ah i get what you mean by placing different sized plants at different locations. Will sure try it for my next scape. Quite happy to see the plants growing eventhough i'm still fresh to planted tanks. Thank you so much for your advice Eric!
ps. Nice nick btw haha ideal for online games cos it looks cool too

[thebaldingaquarist]

Ah i get what you mean by placing different sized plants at different locations. Will sure try it for my next scape. Quite happy to see the plants growing eventhough i'm still fresh to planted tanks. Thank you so much for your advice Eric!
ps. Nice nick btw haha ideal for online games cos it looks cool too

Cheers! Looking forward to your next scape.

It's not too often I see newbie(me too) be disciplined enough to use less than 3 kinds of plants in a scape. And also the use of a chiller and co2 in a newbie tank. Some newbie you are... Hahaha..

[betta_luRver]

That's a very pretty setup! So I guess you won't be adding any ferts?

[Danialavr]

Cheers! Looking forward to your next scape.


It's not too often I see newbie(me too) be disciplined enough to use less than 3 kinds of plants in a scape. And also the use of a chiller and co2 in a newbie tank. Some newbie you are... Hahaha..

Well i think i'm only crazy about mini carpet plants haha had hc in my previous experimental setup but those things are slow growers and i wasnt exactly very patient back then. Still learning from reading your posts and other fellow enthusiasts here.

That's a very pretty setup! So I guess you won't be adding any ferts?

Nope not anytime soon but i was looking at Borneowild Lush since it is shrimp safe. The soil should be able to support the plants for a few more months i guess.

[Danialavr]

image.jpg
Corydoras pyramid not pygmaeus hahah. These fishes are too cute

[Danialavr]

Finally decided to dose ferts.
0.5ml of BW lush and vivid.

[Mir]

Such an awesome setup!
Do the cores mess up the scape? How do they forage when the tank floor is covered in grass?

[Danialavr]

Such an awesome setup!
Do the cores mess up the scape? How do they forage when the tank floor is covered in grass?

Luckily they dont forage at the grass area cos they cant squeeze through between the grass blades so they are normally seen digging at the open space with the sand. The hairgrass roots anchor quite deep so no damage to the scape hahah

[Danialavr]

After more than 2 weeks of not scrubbing the hardscape rocks, what is the norm? To keep the hardscape rocks clean or to leave it naturally green/brown?

[thebaldingaquarist]

After more than 2 weeks of not scrubbing the hardscape rocks, what is the norm? To keep the hardscape rocks clean or to leave it naturally green/brown?

No guide. Whichever is nicer for your tank. I guess.

[Danialavr]

Scrub and trim!
The scape is getting boring since there wouldnt be any change even months from now hahah