Reply With QuoteJust shows that a beautiful tank need not take many hours to create!!
I recently decided to re-scape my 64 litre tank into an ultra-low maintenance aquascape.
It is based on just sand substrate, rock and wood hardscape, and hardy plants tied to objects. This setup will still retain the use of Co2 injection to support the plant growth.
The main objective of this aquascape is quick setup and easy adjustment of the layout without mess or hassle. The selected slower growing plants require alot less maintenance too. In addition, the tank will also be used to grow out various plants for transfer to larger tanks in the near future.
Here is a short walk-through of the tank's setup process...
I started by filling the tank with a small mound of sand in the back and middle, keeping the layers thin at the front.
The benefit of using sand substrate is the ability to aquascape with the tank filled with water, and it stays clear throughout without the usual mess and cloudiness associated with soil substrates.
Next i placed piles of small volcanic rocks across the sand substrate with paths between them.
This is followed up by the addition of branchy driftwood to simulate some random root-like structures around the rocks, along with Anubias sp. Angustifolia as the initial background plants.
Bunches of smaller Anubias sp. "Petite" and various Bucephalandra sp. are added to help fill in the gaps and create accents around the hardscape.
And its done... the entire layout was completed in less than 30 minutes. Quick and simple.
The tank's canister filter was allowed to run for a few hours, then livestock from the previous setup were acclimatized and added back into the tank (no issues with ammonia spikes or tank re-cycle due to the use of inert sand substrate).
I'll be swapping out plants and adding in new ones regularly (one of the objectives of this tank is to make that process easier), so the aquascape will change over time... and it'll help satiate my aquarist "itchy fingers" syndrome too.
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Here are the tank stats:
Tank Size: 60cm x 30cm x 36cm (High Clarity / Low Iron Glass)
Substrate: Sudo Reef Sand
Filter System: Eheim Ecco Pro 300 + 13mm gUSH glass intake / VIV glass lily pipe output
Filter Media:Seachem Matrix
Temperature: 28-29°C (Day) / 27-28°C (Night)
Lighting: Up Aqua Z-Series Pro LED Z-20 (60cm) 1st Generation Version
Light Duration: 8 hours (10am-6pm)
Pressurized Co2: ANS Co2 System + ISTA Inline Reactor / 0.25bps / 30ppm
Co2 Duration: 7 hours (10am-5pm)
Carbon Supplement: Seachem Excel / 1ml daily
Fertilizer: Tropica Plant Growth Premium Fertilizer / 1ml daily
Fan/Chiller: None
Water Change Regime: 20% Weekly
Water Parameters (Cycled):
Tested using API Freshwater Master Test Kit
pH = 7.0
Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 5-10 ppm
Fauna:
Otocinclus Cocama
Boraras Brigittae
Indostomus Paradoxus
Neocaridina Davidi
Clithon Corona
AA (Aquatic Addict) Member
Just shows that a beautiful tank need not take many hours to create!!
Thanks!Originally Posted by azman_haron
Sticky and Nutty in a Plastic Packet
Idol, you make it sounds so much like 'Yan-can-cook-so-can-you'.
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My Exciting Fishy Life My Other Not So Exciting Fishy Life My Non-Fishy Life
Occasionally, I would have some trimmings to give away in exchange for a can of Milk Coffee. PM me to deal.
Actually thats what i'm going for... its sort of a reference for those looking at low-maintenance easy planted setups too. Just trying out examples of whats possible with simple layouts and hardy plants. Especially for those who are keen to take a break from shoulder-aching planting and constant weekly stem trimming (aka lazy bones aquascapers).
so nice...you make it look so simple.
Clean, simple and nice! Not a easy combination. I will likely follow your style for my next re-scape of my 2ft tank.
This an inspiration. I would like to model that for a nano tank
Simple + Beautiful = Simply beautiful
Nice and simple!
Cories would absolutely love the tank!
A noob question, does it mean that I do not really need to cycle the tank if I rescape my tank and remove all the aqua soil and replace with sands but use the old media?
Thanks for all the nice comments!
Yeah, i've also been thinking of re-organizing the livestock and possibly swapping them with other fishes that will enjoy sifting the sand substrate... corydoras (like you mentioned) are a good choice, maybe khuli loaches or perhaps even stiphodon gobies too.
If your filter media is seasoned and stable, it shouldn't be an issue... i've done this type of conversion a few times before and so far haven't encountered any problems.
Though you will definitely need to acclimatize the existing livestock to the new water parameters, as it will usually be neutral to slightly alkaline at the beginning (ie. 1-2 hours slow drip acclimation is usually sufficient for most hardy species). This is especially important for those fishes and shrimps which are more adapted to lower pH conditions.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 15th Jan 2015 at 17:25.
Gorgeous! On hindsight, if I had known and done enough research before going into this hobby, I would've done a simple mix of the anubias and microsorum pteropus family only with white inert sand, like what you did. Been looking at and researching these low tech hardy plants and tank setup online for quite awhile now and they're all stunning. No need to worry bout carpet plants, red plants etc and their care.
Definitely going to go this route in my next setup for sure. Looking forward to more updates here.
edit: forgot to mention the driftwoods look perfect too. care to share where you got them, if you can recall? thanks!
Thanks!Gorgeous! On hindsight, if I had known and done enough research before going into this hobby, I would've done a simple mix of the anubias and microsorum pteropus family only with white inert sand, like what you did. Been looking at and researching these low tech hardy plants and tank setup online for quite awhile now and they're all stunning. No need to worry bout carpet plants, red plants etc and their care.
Definitely going to go this route in my next setup for sure. Looking forward to more updates here.
edit: forgot to mention the driftwoods look perfect too. care to share where you got them, if you can recall? thanks!
The driftwood i used were bought from various places like C328, Seaview, East Ocean etc... i guess one of my side hobbies is digging through boxes of wood pieces at LFS and collecting any nice pieces that catch my eye. If i remember correctly, i think they are sometimes labelled as "ANS Old Black Driftwood" or something like that.
Very stunning scape!!! Enjoy the calmness...bro UA, do you need to wash the sudo reef sand initially?
Yes, its best to rinse the sand a few times to wash away dust and floating particles before usage.
Very swee le. Ask u to help me setup, u not free !! TO u is simple and fast la.. for noob like me.. need to take up to hours !!
Beautiful! Simple elegance!
Waiting for updates!
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