Living Picture aquarium for moss and ferns - 30" depth

[dzwarych]

I am very interested in an aquarium design using only moss and fern species - no gravel substrate. I find designs using not more than 3 species of plant to be intensely powerful.

Ex. Nature Aqurium World Book 2 Pg 73 'Crimson Leaf Finery' using only Riccia and Barclaya longifolia red form (Tropica # 020). WOW!

Tenecor makes a wall mount aquarium 48"L x 7"W x 30" H of approx. 15 gallons for US$1,053. Note very narrow width!
See http://www.tenecor.com/livingpicture.php

With only top mounted lighting and 7" width, would moss growing at the bottom of this 30" tall aquarium receive enough light in this narrow width?

With no gravel, could additional lighting mounted at the bottom of the tank to shine up from underneath solve this problem?

What other problems would a narrow width and tall tank present for moss and ferns?

Does anyone have experience with this tank size heavily planted with CO2? Any Pictures?

Best Regards,
DaveZ

[RonWill]

Dave, I tend to use oversized pieces of driftwoods that appear partially submerged and then grow mosses emersed. These are open-concept setups and with such narrow-and-tall tanks, I'd be hardpressed to find suitable driftwoods to fit.

However, if you use only small pieces of driftwood with only mosses and fern, I don't see any lighting issues since ambient lighting will suffice to keep moss alive. Growing it lush might be a different story.

If you do end up with a Tenecor, I'd be interested to know how it's mounted to the wall.

[dzwarych]

I plan to use primarily black plastic mesh to create a moss ( and fern) wall background as per Kwek Leong's original 2004 aquarticle. Both moss and fern species Mircosorium, Bolbitus can attach easily - not requiring driftwood at all.

The wall mount installation instructions specifiy using screws driven into the wall studs. With total weight approaching 500lbs for 45 gal, multiple 3" long screws would be required on as many studs as possible.

Alternatively, an additional support or two ( 2x6) to the floor could be disguised with a decorative wood trim, similar to faux columns. This could also hide the CO2 line, power cords, and water/drain lines.

Making the installation look good is not my primary concern right now - frequent water changing ( 30% weekly), lighting to the bottom and CO2 is more important to solve first.

BTW I also found another acrylic manufacturer, about 50% less cost at http://www.bizarreaquariums.com/index2.html. They have an office nearby that I hope to visit next week to see first hand before buying.

Regards,
DaveZ

[FC]

Hi DaveZ,

Welcome here!

Lighting
I agree with Ronnie that the lighting is not likely an issue for the plants that you mentioned to grow. Your tank's water holding capacity is about 150 litres, for decent growth, you would need between 60~100 watts of lighting depending on the aquascape. Your main issue is the very limited top opening width of 7" where you need to hold lights, filter hoses and a cooling solution if/when your room temperature is above 25 degrees celsius. To obtain light quantity within the 7"width, use the compact light like the PL or T5.

Filter
As for filter and CO2 injection (CO2 is not compulsory), given the limited "real estate", you would need a neat/compact solution. I would suggest creating 3"~3.5" wide filter box by compartmentise one side (left) of the tank. Create a overflow filter by having the separator fully sealed the bottom and sides of the tank, leaving about 2" clear top for water to flow in. Use a small pump with flow rate of about 500 L/hr and place it at the mid-height of the separator and towards back side of the tank.

CO2
Store the CO2 tank at the right side of the tank. CO2 injecting can be done inside the filter using diffusor place under (and at tank's bottom most) the pump inlet. Then fill in the filter media with say bio rings/expanded clay/sintered glass/foam/etc, top it off with at least 3" of filter wool. This wool is the only filter media that you need to wash or change. The filter wool also help to trap undissolved CO2 for further reaction with incoming water. The water level in the filter should be maintained high - less than 3" different from tank water or separator's top edge.

The tank's front frame should, of course, hide both the filter box and the CO2 tank. The frame should also cover the water line.

Miscellaneous
Remember to house both multi-sockets and timers inside the frame, so that only a single power cable is needed to go into the frame. Good place to install them is at the right and near-front side of the tank's frame. Place the CO2 tank behind them, so that you can control the switches easily.

In this way, you should be able to achieve professional pictureque setup where no sight of equipment can be seen in the (viewable side of) tank.

Side notes
Do not worry of frequent water change, you can grow plants without it! To achieve that, you need to have discipline for less fishes and feed them only 3 times a week. However, you need to top up water loss through evaporations. You change water (max 50%) only when you do major shifting of your plants.