Redid the hardscape and redid some of the species, still the same intense Dutch like contrast. Tank is about 3 weeks old now.
Better perspective given the shape of the tank than the last piece I had in there.
Still a few more things yet to change around.
Then wait for things to grow and then retrim a few times.
The addition of the new driftwood does add more depth to the tank. However, compare to the previous scape, the new driftwood kind of "steal the show".
I think i love the previous scape too much, Haha. The New scape is amazing too by the way, so much better than what i can achieve. Kudos!
Inspired by AmanoLimited by Yusof Ishak
The new drift wood look great.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Some changes and I have a theme in mind later.
Rotala Sunset, Erio Compressum, and Ludwigia sphaerocarpa are all nice native USA plants that have recently come into the hobby via the work of fellow hobbyist.
Highlighting these species will be pretty much the central region of this tank.
I have to move a couple of things and wait for the plants to grow in some more.
I'll also be adding as row of Syngonanthus uaupes in the front and hack back some of the UG.
I can move the Tonina to the rear section somewhere and add the Erio compressum there, or maybe Erio setaceum type 3, we will see. Depends if I can get good growth form from the Erio compressum.
I might move the Tonina back to the far Right where it was before and then scratch the Syngonathus "madeira".
I also have Hydrocotyle verticillata I may work in somewhere.
Another native I've never seen in aquarium other than one book is P. americana, a nice little grass like fern. I have to wait till spring to hunt for it. It's local for me. So that's 5 months away.
Some groups need to grow out, some need added still, but the overall color and contrast is coming together.
Beautiful!
i love Dutch aquascape.
What kind of driftwood is that?
Manzanita, I have just a little bit
A few tonnes actually.
Tonnes??!! Damn!!Originally Posted by Plantbrain
Manzanita, I have just a little bit
A few tonnes actually.
Nice.......
Nice setup and nice DW ~~~
Thats the best way to get nice driftwood... collect and keep ALOT of it, for "just in case".Manzanita, I have just a little bit
A few tonnes actually.
Awesome layout, i believe your dutch-style tank is one of the most popular reference scapes for most of us here!
Definitely following this thread for sure.
E. hydropiper is growing in after much replanting, the top sloped part is still getting uprooted by the elephant noses and shrimp. The soil is new and is lighter up in that section.
Blood vomits are doing well, and time to split a few already.
I need to find a better home of the S. uraupes and lago grade.
I'll likely switch the UG with them and then move them back somewheres.
A few other minor changes I suppose.
E hydropiper is a PITA to get a larger decent rug if you have fish.
I have ample Belem grass and Monte carlo as well as HC if need be.
It grows, but fish go after it. It roots deeper than HC etc also, so it's weird to me.
Speaking of which, I now have 100 Rasbora kubotai green neon.
Very nice fish, does not leap to it's death, but does not contrast well in this tank, so it might end up over in the 70 Gallon Buce tank. Nice fish though.
I drilled some more holes in the wood and will add some more Mini pellia in those spots.
The tops of the wood are coming along well with this liverwort.
What a beautiful setup!!! Especially the awesome looking driftwood... :thumbup:
Have not seen any "S. uraupes and lago grade" in Singapore before.
Reckon it will take some time before it gets here.
Sir, Any requirements for this plant to thrive ?
I am balding but i am still young!
This is what the tank looked like after uprooting the EH, Cuphea and UG
Nice eh?
So when I folks whine about why the water is a little hazy, well, frankly they HAVE NO IDEA.
A day later it looks like this:
The Erio compressum is a good fit in this location.
Mostly through fellow hobbyist. So it might take some time. But if you have someone that travels back and forth from say Taiwan or USA, Canada, you might score some.
Lago Grande is simialr to Belem but has a more rounded rather than float top.
Uraupes is a lower grower, there's the Maidera which is a nice plant, sort of an Erio on a stick.
Most are fairly similar.
Care is the same etc.
I have not found any of the Syg's to be that hard, but they are a little picky about current and CO2 is about all.
what is your dosing regimen?
EI...
Modified a little but same basic idea.
😍 simply stunning!
(Clueless to the plants used in the set up though. Haha)
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Tank continues to thrive. I hacked a lot of the groups back yesterday. Mowed others back down. I removed the P stellata narrow in the right corner and then expanded the Erio type 3 out since it is doing well in that position.
The section is still weak for now, but in 2-3 months, it'll be real nice. The Syngonanthus canuck and the maderia are doing very well, one is albino white and is still growing well, might be a mutation, but more likely just got a chlorine or the water was too hot during a water change since the in/out was on top of the plant, only 3 or the 15-20 stems were effected though and the others corrected themselves. I'll find out in a month or two, but doubtful it's a real mutation, but you never know. Elatine hydropiper is doing well, thickening up and piling on itself. I added some more along the side of the tank to see how it'll fair. Some of the older Erio compressum leaves are getting a bit of green spot algae. I'll need to trim those off sometime, plenty of nice new growth that's well out pacing any algae. I must have 12 side shoots at least now. Also got a touch of BBA for about 2 weeks, but, the gas was out for a couple of days, just kept up on everything and it's stopped about 2 weeks ago. Not on the plants, but the wood had tiny bits forming. Why? Not sure, maybe from adding the fish, maybe the CO2, maybe slacking on water changes, hard to say. Certainly manageable, but I know it need not be there at all. All new growth of BBA stopped about 2-3 weeks ago and it's slowly going away. I changed the current which increased the CO2, reduced the degassing Fish seemed a bit more sluggish, but still fine. So that might be it also, or a combo of the CO2/current ripple adjustment, more water changes, staying on the CO2 tank switch if it runs out, adding new livestock etc.
Also, there's been a huge rise in RCS population the last 2 months, they are everywhere like flies.
Filter side view
A reineckii mini. I have pruned off any raggy looking leaves, and the nice new side shoots, fill in nicely. This is the best way to prune this plant it seems. You can uproot and then replant the side shoots, but there's a little bit of delay as the plant establishes the root system, but that method is good if you need more or a larger area for planting. I just top of the taller stems from here and remove some older side leaves now.
Blood vomit, sort of like Belem hair grass almost if you allow it to fill in and grow thick. I'd hoped for something different look wise, but they sell well, I've had trouble finding an optimal location in this design for them also, they really need a long row, not what I have now.
UG continues to do even better in this version of the 120 Gallon redone. If I were to focus more on nature style, I'd use this plant mostly along with Mini pellia/Ricciacardia, mini Myrio, maybe the Rotala mini butterfly.
The tank today:
I redid the Trithuria, blood vomit section and will treat it like hair grass basically, it's like a red based Belem hair grass etc.
I think it now looks much better against the wood vs lost next to other plants.
Also added more Mini Pellia and decided to add more of that throughout the scape.
Hottonia will have a small rown hanging over the Trithuria and be pressed outward b the A. reineckii mini.
This will offer some needed contrast in this central area. I wanted to use the Limnophila guinea wavy, but I might use it elsewhere at some point later.
For now, the Limnophila has no home in this tank.
Erio Type 3 is doing better and better, but it's hard to tell from the pics.
It's growing as it should. Making a nice larger group of this plant is not easy
But at this point, it's just patience.
Same for the other plants.
Some labeling of the Sygonanthus varieties I have here, all of which are the same species, but other varieties.
Some detail on how I use a drill and add Riccardia and do not use cotton string. the mesh like form of the plant acts like a spring to hold the plant in place, then it grows out nicely from there.
Here's some algae from about 6 weeks ago when the CO2 ran out. BBA popped up and it was very minor. Some leaves got a tinge, they were trimmed off, the wood got a few tiny bits, and most were removed.
The Trithuria species against the wood. This will fill in be 2-3 months from now pretty thick. I'm good with this position for the plant and was never happy prior.
So it'll stay here for awhile I suspect.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks