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Nice water garden!
I thought it would be nice to share about this outdoor set up that I have.
It is quite a large urn that I have had for quite a few years now. I initially got it to house a large brood of bettas. Eventually I filled it in with substrate and planted it.
Specifications
Size: Unknown
Lighting: Direct Midday Sunlight
Co2: NIL
Filter: NIL
Substrate:
Eheim Lava Rock base
4cm of Black Quartz Gravel
Flora:
1. Water Lily (don't know scientific name)
2. Sagittaria Subulata (Dwarf Sagittaria)
3. Cabomba Caroliniana (Cabomba)
4. Vesicularia Dubyana (Java Moss)
5. Limnobium Laevigatum (Amazon Frogbit)
Fauna:
1. About 20+ Tanichthys Albonubes (White Cloud Minnow)
Majority of the albino variety
2. 4 Otocinclus vestitus
3. About 100+ Caridina sp. "Malaya"
No water changes, only rainwater
Occasional pruning and removal of hair algae that builds up
Root tablets every few months
Sorry for the bad photos. Used phone camera.
Last edited by jiajuen900; 16th Oct 2014 at 00:29.
Cheers,
JJ
Simple and sweet! jiajuen900, do you happen to do a water temperature measurement? What is the average range of changes in temperature?
Sticky and Nutty in a Plastic Packet
Bad photos. Good Set Up. You are halfway there. Time to get iPhone6, Note4 or maybe new Google Nexus 6!
Just curious , I assume it's not sheltered therefore it's exposed to rain. Does the water get over flowed ?
As Above So Below
AS ABOVE / SO BELOW
Thanks! Unfortunately I don't measure the temperatures but when I meddle around with it in the afternoon the water temperature is usually quite cool to the touch. I would guess that it stays below 30 degrees?Originally Posted by boliaoguy
HAHAHA. I have a DXLR but lazy to take it outSlightly more than half way there
Yes! The water does overflow. Helps remove the duckweed when it overgrows.
Cheers,
JJ
I was just feeding the shrimp this evening when I discovered something quite interesting and quite alarming
Spotted a Dragonfly Nymph perched on a Sagittaria leaf. I removed it and went hunting around to see if there were more..... I didn't find anymore Dragonfly Nymph but I found several Damselfly Nymph. Pulled them all out and I think there were easily more than 15
I sometimes see the dragonflys around but I'm really surprised that they laid so many eggs.
Although the dragonfly and Damselfly nymph are predatory and are known to eat shrimp, I still see an abundance of Malayan shrimp in the urn. Especially berried mama's and baby shrimplets.
Might be due to the fact that the shrimp are reproducing faster than the nymphs can eat them. Or might be due to the abundance of vegetation that provides enough hiding spaces.
Although everything seems fine at the moment I'm afraid that eventually the nymphs might take over
None of the livestock seem to be large enough to take the full size nymphs. Which are about 7mm long?
Anyone has an idea of how the nymph population can be reduced? I've done some research and have seen some mention of traps. Anyone has a clue on how to make one?
I will take pictures when I am available. Probably bad photos with my phone
Cheers,
JJ
Cheers,
JJ
My dream outdoor setup! Don't mind sharing the type of soul you are using? How deep is the soil?
Cheers,
U.K.Lau
Hahaha! It is just lava rock (bought from NA) topped with black quartz gravel (also bought from NA). The build up mulm overtime and addition of Fert tabs have made it quite fertile over time. Plants growing well.
But if I were to do this set up again I would probably use potting soil or pond compost as a base topped with black gravel instead.
Cheers,
JJ
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, bro!
Cheers,
U.K.Lau
More pictures. In better quality
Lily pad leaves
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1413737102.709401.jpg
One of the dwarf Sagattaria flowers. They flower quite occasionally
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1413737156.006000.jpg
An attempt to photograph some inhabitants
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1413737291.513112.jpg
A check on some of the many malayan shrimp
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1413737322.908693.jpg
Same flower from a set up next to this
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1413737396.177818.jpg
Cheers,
JJ
Cheers,
JJ
Some more pictures
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1413737511.977700.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1413737532.540117.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1413737597.293798.jpg
Damn it's hard to get a good picture of the fishes.
Cheers,
JJ
Cheers,
JJ
Looking great! What root fert are you using? How old is this setup?
Cheers,
U.K.Lau
I used mostly a combination of these 2
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1414485077.519633.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1414485086.033003.jpg
Would add when growth seemed slow or about every 4-5 months.
Recently started using this as it seems a lot easier to slot into the dense root system.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1414485155.735404.jpg
Will see how growth it like
The set up is about 3.5 yrs old?
Images from Google (I don't own any of them)
Cheers,
JJ
Thanks for sharing, jiajuen900!
Cheers,
U.K.Lau
Sorry to necro this thread, but anyone know where I can buy mud for planting Lotus? I am thinking of repotting the one I have to a fish tank, so that I can see the state of the fishes in them.
I guess you could just use aquarium aquasoil (ie. ADA Amazonia aquasoil) to pot the lotus and put in your fish tank. At least, you'll know the soil itself is safe for the fishes.
Alternatively, you could also try the Aquatic Compost i posted in this thread:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...quatic-Compost
Thanks I got the aquatic compost from one of the flowerist at Kovan. Because the entire package is in German, I don't know what it says. Only the water lily flower on the photo is similar.
Reason I ask, I always thought that lotus, and water lilies only grow in mud. Not sure if soil is suitable for them.
If you managed to get your hands on the one UA posted about, I've used it with great success. No casualties with my fish and shrimp.
Far East Florist brings in the JAB Pond Compost every now and then. Good to keep an eye out for it and stock a bag for use
Cheers,
JJ
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