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It's fine here, keep the updates coming.
Here is my new project sunken garden taken shape. It is time to say Hi!
If you havent seen this on neighbour's forum, this is a pic to give you an idea of the scale
Just want to share it to the forum and get useful comments. Feel free to ask. I'll give details later.
Mods: since this is not a vivarium, not a paludarium either nor I can say this is a tank. It is not a pond either and it is still far away from being planted. But I post it here anyway.
It's fine here, keep the updates coming.
...I love rubies too ...
Ken
definitely looking forward to more updates!!
Fatherhood - The most challenging role a man can take on but, funnily enough, the most fulfilling too.
Wow... direct sunlight...?
Want to do experiment / research in finding the best solution to get rid algae fast...?
Wow! Keep us posted please.
The Happiest of people don't neccessary have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way
When will there be 25 letters in the alphabets?
NICE!!
Any more updates? Details man! Give us more details!
- eric
That alots of works and ideas behind this project. Looks like a huge vivarium with water flowing down. It would be nice to see plants growing out from the tank.
Wow medicineman, it looks like you are operating a mini botanic garden here! Keep up the good work.
(l)(l)4 Echinodorus leaves(l)(l)
Very cool & nice..keep us updated!
New 2ft Project Coming Up
Aquascaping since 2006-Present
Since there are many requests and most of you probably did not follow at the the other forum, I'm going to flashback to square one on the plan.
Basically the project is planned as a replacement of an old dry plant-only terrarium (pothos, phillodendron) with an artificial cliff which is inside our living room. The old house is outdated its 70's style and getting old, so it needs to be renovated. Along with the house, the terrarium was demolished, stripped to bare walls
Layout of the room :
Green colour is garden area
The idea is to replace this old terrarium with something with a punch and blend it to the house.
I made a top view picture as a concept of the sunken garden like this :
1. Water section of garden
2. Glass for viewing
3. Floor (lowered)
4. Dry section of garden
5. Filter compartment
6. Floor (raised)
more to come...
awesome set-up! Cant wait to see when the plants are set-in. Guess you are gonna need alot of pump if you are planning to have plants on that huge cliff....
Hi medicineman, can post a link of your jewel project in the other forum? I'm very interested to know more about your new garden.
@wks,
If you like thrills and want to wait for some more, I'll be updating slowly
@eddyq,
I did some research and ask opinions during planning and building. Dont know if I did it all right the first time, but hopefully with the experts backing me up most things are done OK.
@Betta Almighty,
Yes, the walls are going to be planted just like before (too bad I have no before pic). For the parts of wall which does not get water from the waterfall, I will resolve with automatic misting (still tinkering how to DIY it) or manually spray them once a day.
In case someone did not notice, there are parts of waterfall (gentle flow) coming out of that backwall.
@Sweet Angel,
To answer that question on direct sunlight...
I do plan to utilize some sunlight, but to call it not so direct. The garden area is within reach of direct sunlight for 2-3 hours, that is during noon 11-2.
This ones shows the area in early stages (nothing built yet) at 3.30. Sunlight hits from an angle. Lighting is generally there from morning to afternoon but not bright and direct all the time.
For something that is built permanently right inside a living room, it will run for as long as the house stand. So I must build it efficient to run, that is maximizing what is free from nature.
There is an opening measuring around 3m x 3m at the top and considering how pollution and rain can effect the garden (furthermore it is right inside the living room, and not just inside the house), I decided to seal it off. No excess dust, acid rain and stray animals to mess up my garden (and house).
1. House walls
2. Garden walls
3. Opening with clear polycarbonate/laminated glass roofing
Since there is probably not enough sunlight to go around, I resolve to additional lighting for supplement and viewing purpose. Bigger metal halide with or without HPS combo. 1 x 400W might be enough for lower maintenance setup, 2 x 400W will definately enough as a regular setup. No high light setup for me, at such scale it is too troublesome.
I see, yup, glass roof will do help
Without it although only 2-3 hours direct sunlight can cause disaster to your awesome & $$$ consumed project...
Medicineman, thanks to your link. Your new garden is indeed slowly taking shape. May I suggest you keep some native fish instead of koi or South American fish? Indonesia's famous red arowana will definitely be my top choice! If you think that will hurt your pocket too much (but I doubt so
@Sweet Angel,
I know what excessive sunlight can do to a planted tank, dont worry, trust me I've tried it before. To let you know there is already algae growth inside the pond after more than two weeks of filling and everyday constantly hit by sunlight. If you add fertilizer.. bad news... but there will be plants to counter that.
@wks,
Well you see those neighbour forumers are mostly western people who rarely find or see a point in keeping arowanas, especially the endangered and protected "red dragons". That is why nobody seems to chime in the word arowana. I cannot keep other kind of smaller fish when I have arowana around, but it is also a nice option. The red ones may cost above S$ 2000 even just for a juvenille. The golden ones are a lot cheaper though. I know what you are talking about because I've kept golden one in the past and have witnessed a staggering red arowana specimen. The beauty and grace is almost unmatched compared to other type of arowanas.
Back to the project story...
And so I look for a willing and experienced lanscape contractor and found one. Blueprint generally comes from me, but I give the team some freedom to give me a design based on the plan. I'm forced to stay to watch and order the base work during the early stages. We cannot afford to do some mistakes from the base and sorry later.
The cliff section is far from done but has taken a good shape to give an idea of the rough layout. First the team measured working area and dug as neccesary to desired depth. Bottom plumbing was then installed before they poured in concrete for foundation. Thick steel wires were shaped and laid as base shape forming skeleton along with guideline/basic brick works. Work progress from bottom up with earth/sand fillings by the empty inside.
Spots where water will drip from are reinforced for extra strength and water resistance (the grayish unfinished spots) and the outer skin is carved on (a process that requires artistic hand). As you can notice there are several (I think 5 of them) whitish pipe appearing out of the cliff part. Those are spots where water will gush out and drip down to the pond. The debit of water of each outlet will be controlled remotely by valves to achieve maximum effect. The sticking pipe pole by the center is just there to cover pond drain from getting covered by debris (it will be a draining hole at the bottom of the pond).
Here we can see the floor is excavated for waste water plumbing, huge drain pipes will be installed along that hole. Excess water from plant watering drain, pond overflow, floor drain will be channeled into one huge control box, pre filtered and goes into waste water plumbing with the rest of the house.
Eek! This project is massive! is that your home? Beautiful design by the way. I'd imagine you'll be planting ferns and the like along the wall...
Simply Fantastic,
Am spell bound and am eagerly awaiting to see the end results in the comming months. Am sure looking at all your attention to details and your extensive knowledge on plants/fishes, you will end up with something truly out of this world.
All the best again!
WOAH!! Nice .... really looking forward to updates.
BTW what other forum exactly are we talking about here?
Medicineman, have you decide on the type of aquatic plants in your new tank? It will be interesting to see the layout on paper (or the forum) first and that will generate lots of talking points!
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