Lake Tanganyika Planted Riparium

[hydrophyte]

Lake Tanganyika Planted Riparium

Hi folks! I am a new member here. I am mainly interested in plants, although I have a few interesting fish as well.

Most of my planted setups are ripariums and I have collected some very good riparium plants. I currently have a 50-gallon setup that houses some Lake Tanganyika fish. Rift Valley cichlids and other fish from that area are not usually kept with plants because those waters have a lot of dissolved mineral content with high pH and there are few underwater plants that grow well in such conditions. Riparium plants, on the other hand, are less fussy and many of them will grow very well in Rift Valley conditions.

I'll post some pictures of this setup soon. I just need to go find some image links. I also have a few new pictures that I got tonight and I just need to process them and upload.

More soon!

[hydrophyte]

Here is a picture from today!

The riparium planting is a little bit thin and needs to grow in some more. These plants all grow pretty fast, so it should be looking pretty full in about six weeks.

[AQMS]

Hi , nice setup!
Is the tall thin plant Oryza sativa?

[hydrophyte]

Hi , nice setup!
Is the tall thin plant Oryza sativa?

Thanks so much! The tall grassy plant is Phalaris 'Strawberries & Cream'. It grows very fast.

Here's a quick picture of the Julidichromis transcriptus juvenile fish that I have in this tank. They are super cute.



Here is a better look at some of the riparium foliage.

[Kengwee]

Hi, i think your tank is simple and beautiful.. How to start a riparium?

[hydrophyte]

Hi, i think your tank is simple and beautiful.. How to start a riparium?

Thanks so much! You should ask zerofighterx101 if you want to start a riparium he can help... http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...erofighterx101

[hydrophyte]

Thanks for the likes you guys!

Here are a couple more shots.

I really like the view of the water in through the top.



Like I mentioned before, the riparium planting needs to grow in some more, but it looks more full if you view it from the side.

[Urban Aquaria]

I've been following your riparium style tanks for quite a while on the other forums... really nice work!

I also tried arranging some DIY planter pots with dark oyama sticker background in a tank recently, but could still see the bottom of the planter pots when looking at the tank head on (i guess this style looks best when looked at from the top angles).

Was thinking if it were feasible to position or merge cork bark or twisty root backgrounds to cover the planter pots? or maybe create a custom "river bank" background that has planter gaps built in at the edges? That would be interesting!

[marle]

I love your riparium setup! I believe this concept might be the future setup of many apistogramma dwarf cichlids lovers here.

[hydrophyte]

I've been following your riparium style tanks for quite a while on the other forums... really nice work!

I also tried arranging some DIY planter pots with dark oyama sticker background in a tank recently, but could still see the bottom of the planter pots when looking at the tank head on (i guess this style looks best when looked at from the top angles).

Was thinking if it were feasible to position or merge cork bark or twisty root backgrounds to cover the planter pots? or maybe create a custom "river bank" background that has planter gaps built in at the edges? That would be interesting!

The riparium trellis rafts help a lot to cover up the planters. When you plant a few stem plants on the trellis raft the foliage covers up the planters from above, while the extra shade hides the planters in the underwater portion. A fully grown-in riparium looks very natural with the planting accessories all covered up with plant foliage.

The trellis rafts are very easy to use; they just snap into place and then you stick the plant stems thought the holes.

I love your riparium setup! I believe this concept might be the future setup of many apistogramma dwarf cichlids lovers here.

Thanks so much! Riparium planting is very adaptable and maybe easier to use with more kinds of fish as compared to regular fully aquatic plants. You just have to give the plants some room to grow up. The riparium plants do not need extra CO and the fertilization is also easier. And no algae!

[aquarius]

It's very interesting that you chose to use Tanganyika cichlids instead of using the traditional community fishes for your setup. Very nice!

[hydrophyte]

It's very interesting that you chose to use Tanganyika cichlids instead of using the traditional community fishes for your setup. Very nice!

Thanks so much!

Yes, that was the idea for this setup. Very often people say that it is difficult to keep plants with African cichlids, but riparium plants offer some good options.

[cylap888]

What type of lighting is best for Riparium plants? 6500K florescent? 6500K LED?

[AQMS]

The difference between 6500k florescent and 6500k led are,florescent used more watt and produce more heat than led.
It depend on the setting of the hobbyist,like whether do you want to have aquatic plants with your set up or just riparium plant.
The light positioning is also a factor,like hydrophyte he has a over hang light set which probably attched to the ceiling or wall.
Anyway 6500k is good for plants,if i have to choose,i go for LED.
I found this blog that have good info about riparium plant,im not sure whether it belong to hydrophyte,they have same name.
check this out
http://hydrophytesblog.com/?p=182
http://hydrophytesblog.com/

[hydrophyte]

What type of lighting is best for Riparium plants? 6500K florescent? 6500K LED?

The difference between 6500k florescent and 6500k led are,florescent used more watt and produce more heat than led.
It depend on the setting of the hobbyist,like whether do you want to have aquatic plants with your set up or just riparium plant.
The light positioning is also a factor,like hydrophyte he has a over hang light set which probably attched to the ceiling or wall.
Anyway 6500k is good for plants,if i have to choose,i go for LED.
I found this blog that have good info about riparium plant,im not sure whether it belong to hydrophyte,they have same name.
check this out
http://hydrophytesblog.com/?p=182
http://hydrophytesblog.com/

Most of these riparium plants grow well with just moderately bright light. For most of these setups I just use one or two HO T5 strips or equivalent lighting. T5s and LEDs are both good.

6500K is a good color temp because it has a good deal fo photosynthetically-usable light and because plants look good under that neutral white color.

[cylap888]

Where can we get these Riparium suitable plants in Singapore? Quite interested to setup a riparium tank.

[hydrophyte]

Where can we get these Riparium suitable plants in Singapore? Quite interested to setup a riparium tank.

You should talk to zerofighterx101. He can help you.

[stormhawk]

Excellent choice of fauna for your tank. I love Julidochromis too. They're not easy to come by here. Is that Mondo Grass aka Ophiopogon japonicus I see?

@Urban, you might want to see this link if you're planning something similar:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...m-project.html

The OP in that thread literally built in his own planter boxes into his DIY background for his mudskippers. Final setup was great before his main plant became a weed.

[hydrophyte]

Excellent choice of fauna for your tank. I love Julidochromis too. They're not easy to come by here. Is that Mondo Grass aka Ophiopogon japonicus I see?

@Urban, you might want to see this link if you're planning something similar:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...m-project.html

The OP in that thread literally built in his own planter boxes into his DIY background for his mudskippers. Final setup was great before his main plant became a weed.

African cichlids are popular here. People use the Lake Malawi species a lot because some of them have such bright colors and they are generally hardy. The Tanganyika species like Julidichromis tend to have more interesting behaviors, but most are smaller and not so showy.

That setup from Finland is more like a paludarium. He got a nice effect with it, but a riparium planting is generally easier to put together (and take apart) and leaves more room for the fish to swim around because there isn't a big built-up hardscape.

[AQMS]

You can get a few species of plants at C328.