Thinking of rescape (for Chinese New Year)

[grey_fox]

Hi there,

Been quite some time since I last posted here in AQ. Was busy with my marriage preps and the actual wedding, etc.

Now that I have more or less settled down, I am looking at a rescape of my entire tank.

Here's there last picture of what it looked like.



I have turned the tank low-tech (no CO2, no ferts and rarely any water changes). The fishes are all still alive (and the discuses have grown up) however I noticed that the plants are not as "plump" as before. Except for the ferns and various nanas which apparently are growing really well, with or without any fert.

My crypts are still the same but growing 10 times slower and have become thinner. (last time i did any form of trimming since going low-tech was, never...)

One thing I have noticed. Before converting to a low-tech method, I had BBA issues that I noticed was spreading a little on the nanas, however, after going low-tech, no more BBA at all.

My lighting is still at has been cut down to 6 x 55w tubes instead of 8 tubes but at 10 hours a day instead of 12 hours. I have also removed the chiller since then.

Still I am thinking of having things spun around, to the high tech side again since I have time on my hands now and can stay dedicated back to my tank.

What I have in mind is to transfer out all the fauna to a makeshift empty bare / large bucket and re-do the entire tank (which I have done before with minimal casualties).

I have some questions though.

Should I re-fertilize the gravel by sticking root monsters, etc in or should I remove all the current substrate and get Ada soil or Onyx sand? I know that once I should stir up the current gravel bed when I should clean everything up, the entire tank will turn pure brown.

(any idea how much NA is selling their 10kg packs of both brands?)

I'm not really sure what sort of 'shape' should I go with, any suggestions for a 5 footer tank?

I'm thinking of having the entire back wall plastered with a wall of moss and to maintain the valley shape (as basic as it can get) but would also be removing the moss balls on the right of the photo and transferring them into the moss wall instead.

Should I have the right side with the same flora as the left?

I intend to start this project of mine come 2 February 2007.

Thanks again.

[ahkarboy]

Yoi can re-do the tank without having the tank turning brown! I have just re-done my 5 footer up and the water was almost as clear. What i did was i saved some of the water and filled it into a new tank and chuck the fishes and plants in them. The hard bit is taking out the gravel and getting the base of your tank dry.

[grey_fox]

Hey ahkarboy,

Thanks for your input. Just wondering, did you re-use your current substrate or replaced it entirely? I guess leaving my substrate how it is at the moment would minimise 'damage' and of course, workload as well.

I'm also pretty sure that my current base fert has since probably disintergrated as it has been a year odd since I made any form of re-fertilisation to the base (root monster, etc).

Removing the large driftwoods in my tank will be the challenge for me as all the driftwoods come with various nanas, ferns & moss attached to them.

I agree, if I should remove the substrate, the difficult part is to get the base of the tank try.

I'll take this period to re-plan the structure of the layout as well as to purchase the required item(s) if need be.

It's always a challenge in-general (fertilisation, water flow, CO2 distribution, hardware, etc) when it comes to a bigger tank.

Speaking of hardware, I intend to re-use the external Eheim 1260 universal pump and have that attached to external CO2 reactor. Previously, my setup was the following for my CO2.

Eheim 1260 powered.
Sponge-filtered Inlet >> CO2 reactor >> Chiller >> Outlet.

Would the below mentioned work better in the distribution of CO2 around the tank? (minus the chiller)

Eheim 1260 powered.
Sponge-filtered Inlet >> CO2 reactor >> Outlet.

Since there is no filtration at all via the 1260 pump or different levels of the water passing through to anything, would the flow be too strong as there is no way to cut the flow of the water flow rate from the pump.

I am currently using 2 x Eheim Pro II.

[grey_fox]

I've always liked Oliver Knott's creations and of course, look at his creations for inspirations (I lack that creativity) and will follow the below scape. Since I can re-use most of my plants again & decor.


Image courtesy of Oliver Knott.

[AquaObsession]

Try not to change the substrate and replace it by ADA. I think it is not worth the trouble. Just add some root fert will be enough.

[grey_fox]

Thanks AquaObession, you are right. It'll be pretty troublesome. I managed to find two really twisty & really brancy driftwood (new) from a nearby shop near my location that's about estimated 3 feet (smaller one probably 1 1/2 to 2 feet), its 'design' is really nice but from the coloration I can tell that it has never been soaked at all.

I wonder if something that big will end up floating should I attempt to submerge it into the tank or will it sink? I don't think I can keep my fauna in a bucket for 2-3 weeks...

[valice]

Just use a piece of rock to tie to the base of the wood to keep it in place...

Bogwoods interestingly don't leech more tanins... So no yellow water like normal driftwoods...

[grey_fox]

Hey valice,

I agree that it does not leach as much tannin as normal driftwoods, even after almost close to a year, my water is still yellow due to the driftwood.

I'll probably test out by soaking the driftwood in the bathtub to test its buoyancy. Visually, it looks too huge to float but then again its a bogwood.

By the way, any suggestion about the CO2 reactor layout that I have? I don't intend to have the spray bar spread across the back.

[ranmasatome]

Woa Greyfox...
So long never see you post liao..

Anyway.. i'm confused.. this is a low tech tank right?? and you're turning it back to high tech??

If so there is no need to change the gravel... you dont even need to put root monsters in the gravel or do anything to it if you plan on going back to high tech.. that is because you'll be dosing much more often andthe plants will switch intakes.

[grey_fox]

Hey Ranmasatome,

Heh yeah long time since I last posted. Was busy with my wedding and the post wedding events as well.

Yup I will be turning the tank back to a 'high-tech' tank. Cool, that'll make the entire process easier if I don't need to insert the root monsters.

[ahkarboy]

I actually wanted to try the Eheim idea(for the co2) but the darn thing cost bout 700 bux. I got rid of my old gravel because it was used for bout 10 years and mainly due to BBA.

[grey_fox]

What costs $700?

[ahkarboy]

Eheim universal pump

[grey_fox]

Eheim universal pump

wow, that's expensive. 700 for that. i bought mine at a fraction.

[grey_fox]

Anyways,

I'll be getting the following items for my rescape.

1. Windelov and other assortments
2. Hairgrass
3. Taiwan moss & other assortments
4. Refill of CO2 canister
5. Large bogwood
6. Hemianthus micranthemoides
7. Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba"

*rubs hands together* I can't wait to start.

[grey_fox]

Just purchased the bogwood. Its roughly 2 1/2 feet in length and about 1 feet or more in width. Leaving it to soak in the bathtub. Wonder how long this fella will take to sink. Hopefully before the deadline of my rescape

[victri]

I don't think you need to change the substrate. Most of the plants you're planning to use won't be "planted" anyway. The only tricky one might be the HC. You might need some roots tabs under them.

As for the 1260 --> CO2 --> chiller plan, I think it'll work. I have previously run something very similar for a 6 ft tank. The 1260 is powerful. It should push through without much affect on the flowrate.

Oh. The bogwood will take about 2 weeks to sink completely. Occassionally pouring boiling water over it will help. Nice wood!

[grey_fox]

Hey victri,

I'm actually going for a non-chiller setup. It will be as mentioned below.

1260 > CO2 reactor > outlet.

Probably 2 weeks would be just nice. Gonna pour boiling water on it again tomorrow when I am back from work.

[grey_fox]

*rubs hands eagerly together*

Tomorrow is my big rescape day.

So far I bought/am going to buy the following items.

1. External reactor (my dad destoryed my previous one... instead of pulling out the checkvalve attached he ripped out the entire connector plus the joint)

2. HC, HM, Blyxa, Hairgrass, frogbits, peacock moss, taiwan moss (a bit of these plants, some purchased, some given to me)

3. Some large rocks with lots of holes.

4. 2 different extra large bogwoods

5. Top-up of CO2 tank.

[Wackytpt]

awaiting the journal of your rescape.