Gorilla83's 40cm Planted Tank Journal

[gorilla83]

Hi ppl! It's been awhile...

Well, after seeing the tank by Dave Chow in Venturing into the Whole World Series - Vernal Equinox, I was greatly inspired to create a similar looking tank... http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=20819

So there I go starting a 40cm tank with rocks... (can't get larger than 45cm because of tabletop space constraints.. wanted to get 45cm but no stock... so thought that 40cm won't be too much smaller anyway) - The previous 1ft moss tank was torn-down to give way to this tank...

Just planted the background plants, kind of coarse-looking and too 'monotonously' green... think i'm going to change it...
The stones also seemed to be a little too large, but "boh bian", buy already...


I think the background looks kind of odd and unnatural.. think I need more red + softer looking plants...


Had a hard time tying the christmas moss on the peak of the rocks... almost gave up.. And the moss still looks sucky...


Intend to use HC and/or glosso for foreground... Maybe leave the centre open and cover it with sand...


Do you think I should remove the right rock and replace with a smaller one? Can't help thinking that it's quite big and takes up a lot of space...


Lol.. I don't think I will be able to get anywhere close to 'Vernal Equinox' by Dave Chow... Just hope to make this tank as natural looking as possible...

Anyway, any suggestions on what plants to get and also the plants layout???

Think I definitely want to replace some of the background plants with softer/reddish looking ones... I think I need need plants with very small leaves to make the scape look more "to-scale" with the rocks... The rocks are supposed to be mountains...


All suggestions and comments are welcome

[gorilla83]

Maybe I should include some tank specifications too...

Dimensions: 40x25x25cm
Filter: Eden 501
Substrate: I forgot.. think JBL something..
Lighting: 10000K PL (10hr/day) & 24hrs DIY Fan

[richietay]

the rock really kind of big, doesnt not have the zen/mountain feel. colour of the rock also looks bit unnatural.

given your current tank's height, the present plants probably will outgrown in no time. suggest you consider other plant.

[gorilla83]

Yea thought the same abt the rocks... damn feel kind of stuck...
maybe i'll use the rocks as paperweights..

[kemp]

the rock certainly too big and too tall for your tank

[Jungle-mania]

ermm..bigger tank?

[the_r0ck]

I feel the piece of rock is too big too.

Maybe you can "thrash" it onto the floor and use the smaller fragments, I did that with most of the stones I found a little too big for my tank.

Anyway for your background, you can try to trim it so there is a sloping effect. The flat line now makes it a little monotonous.

[Jungle-mania]

Use a chiesel and a hammer would be better in getting a cleaner break on the rock, but maybe you could some riccia for your foreground. I think one pot of it should be sufficient.

[gorilla83]

Thanks all for all the suggestions ! Definitely going to try them and will post pictures here after the rescape...

[Fei Miao]

Good attempt!
... here's my take:
If you want to show the proportion of scale; ie:- making the rocks looks like "mountains", then they are not too big, just keep to small leaves plants such as HC , APP, MM and prehaps some Xmas or taiwan moss tied on bigger rocks and place near the base of the "mountains" (on higher ground) and HC as lawn would look great with this combination, have some more smaller rocks of the same kind jugging out of the HC lawn.

That said, I found the threads tied to the moss bit of a sore-eye, either use darker rocks or lighter or similar coloured threads, I don't like the colours of the substrate as well, I prefer lapis and some bare areas of river-sand for this set-up.
Cheers

[gorilla83]

Hee.. Thanks Fei Miao!

Yea gonna try ur suggestions too.. probably covering the substrate with lapis sand i think...

[gorilla83]

Hi ppl, did a rescape and decided to do away with the rockscape... liked this present one much more
Though I'm feeling embarrassed for giving up the previous scape...

For this rescape, i'm trying a achieve a "wild old tree" with "some of the tree's roots exposed" sort of look...


Photo (14th July'06) taken a day after the rescape...
Sorry about the brown/green spot algae on the glass... will post a clearer picture soon!
Also, there's white cotton-like substance growing on the light-brown driftwood, hope it goes away after a few days...
Felt that the driftwood still looks a little oversized, but that's the best I can do in for this small tank

Used mainly crypts, xmas moss, java fern as well as some HC in the foreground in this scape... Loved the crypts! I feel they kind of matched nicely with the driftwood...
Now I'll have to wait for the plants to grow... this is going to be a low maintenance tank..


Current tank inhabitants:
1 boraras merah (used to be 2, the other jumped out without my knowledge during the rescape)
2 SAE
2-3 snails


Any suggestions/comments?? Thank you in advance!
I have no idea how to do the foreground... maybe i'll leave it bare for the moment..
I think i'm going to plant more crypts/other plants at the front-right side...

[genes]

you've got the wild look alright...but isin't the substrate alittle thin?

[richietay]

Embarrassed?? why??

genes is right, substrates kind of too thin. just feel that the color of substrate not suitable, hmm!! since this setup is young, can consider adding more, next time you be able to play with more various plants.The wood has a character, having those wild old look.
Can consider playing with nanas within the wood, just my 10 cents suggestion.

[gorilla83]

Haha yeah, about the thin substrate in front, I purposely left it thin so that I can add a new substrate later (soon)... The substrate thickness at the back is thicker though, about 1.5 inches..

Yeah Richie, was thinking the same about the substrate colour; should I add fine sand or a dark substrate? (was thinking blackish/dark-brown/muddy/soil)
(was embarrassed because I torn down the rockscape almost immediately after it was set up... )


Thank you for all your suggestions!



The SAEs are feasting in the tank (occasionally eating the white fungus ) as I'm typing this... The bellies are all big and round and pooping constantly.. lol

[guan]

the wild look is nice, but some how, the center portion looks really weird, doesnt match well with the environment, (too dark i think).

and the plants, are they java ferns? they seems too un even, and most importantly, you should cover your background, so people will not see through your tank and the wires are hanging around, making it look unwild.

[gorilla83]

Slightly clearer tank pictures after cleaning the glass...
Water is slightly cloudly though...







Added some new substrate over the previous one...
Added a small pump to improve water circulation...
Added some dwarf sagittaria (i think) in the foreground...

Some of the crypt leaves rotted, but new leaves are growing out quite quickly...
Intend to add more nanas and some boraras brigittae & shrimps soon...

you should cover your background, so people will not see through your tank and the wires are hanging around, making it look unwild

I tried hiding the wires out of sight, but I think I'll leave the background uncovered for now =)

Getting busy with my industrial attachment, so can't really doing much about the tank nowadays... guess I'll just let everything grow for now...

[gorilla83]

Another update


Plants growed a little bit... growth was quite slow, but it's okay because there's neither any CO2 supplementation nor fertilizing...


Another view...


Another view...


One of the $3 CRS i got from C328... really pretty shrimps they are...


All comments are welcome
(seems like there's no comments since my last post )

[avant]

It is definitely much much nicer compared to the initial setup! Certainly a wonderful wild look!

[gorilla83]

Thanks a lot avant!