1 foot cube journal!

[antitrust]

after looking at so many fellow bros out there with their pretty 1 foot cubes, i finally got my hands on one!

so this will be my 1 foot cube journal, i will try to update you guys as and when i can, so maybe myself or other people can learn and benefit from my experiences and failures.

so here we go!

List of Tank Equipment:
DIY DC Fan
Ocean Free 1 foot 18w PL
GEX S size Hang on filter filled with ceramic rings

Mr. Aqua base fert
Lapis sand
Driftwood

[antitrust]

this is the base fert we'll be using here... i was actually thinking of getting JBL's florapol from Mizu world but i was too impatient so i just whacked the cheapest one from C328. costs less than $10 and PERFECT amount for 1ft cube.


here's the base fert, covering the base of my tank with roughly 5mm-10mm thickness.. pretty crumbly as you can see...


laid the lapis on top of the base fert... total substrate combination is at 4cm thickness at the front.. did two hilly slopes... not sure if they would stay there after the water is filled in or not...

[antitrust]

here are my driftwood pieces that i will be using in my hardscape... all these pieces actually originated from only 2 pieces of driftwood... but they didn't really fit the scape and what i originally intended it to look like, so i took out my little trusty saw and started sawing them up into little pieces! am pretty happy with the results which you will see why in the next picture...


i've decided on this layout after playing around with it for a couple of days on the toilet floor i had to soak these little shiiiits for 1 week with 100% WC of hot boiling daily. good thing they were cheap! i bought these two pieces for a green note only. good deal! hope they don't leach any more tannins...


next, i unwrapped the hairgrass i bought and laid them out.. pretty good roots! seperated them into little bundles and....

[antitrust]

gave them all a good haircut! i trimmed them to trigger growth but after cutting i realised they might not do so well with the trimming and the transplant... hope they don't die out on me!


here's a top down view of how i planted my hairgrass. pardon for the reflection my prosumer cam is not filter friendly...


lava rocks tied with taiwan moss were then added. these pieces of rocks were once again sawn using my trusty hacksaw from one big piece. good thing lava rocks were easier to saw then the driftwoods. the driftwoods were a real pain in the arse... my thumb has some blisters on it because of that..

the lava rocks were pushed into the lapis, right at the bases of the 'mountains' i created with the driftwoods. wanted to tie the taiwan moss directly on them but the shape was too irregular for fishing line to hold them in place.. hence the idea of lava rocks....

be back in awhile! going for dinner now... hope i haven't been boring you guys too much

[antitrust]

so this is the overall tank shot after all the plants are in. taiwan moss was used to stuff the cavities in the big driftwood, wonder how they will turn out.. still felt the tank was a little bare...


so i added some black river stones and a driftwood tied with flame moss that's been growing wildly in my previous tank!

its my first real scape so far i think. most well planned and executed. my 2 feet is quite a mess... i'm quite proud of it and i realllly like the results! can't wait for the taiwan moss on the lava rocks to grow out. and hopefully the hairgrass will creep nicely..

[juggler]

Interesting. The pieces of wood looked like stones!
So what fish or shrimps are you keeping in there?

Keep us updated!

[Mizu World]

It's a good attempt for a first scape. It will surely improve over time.

However, it's quite underplanted. Do consider some fillers for the background or add some floating plants to soak up excess nutrients.

[k3nlim]

Now i know where those e.tenellus will go..

Nice scape!

[antitrust]

Interesting. The pieces of wood looked like stones!
So what fish or shrimps are you keeping in there?

Keep us updated!

yea! i thought so too! looked like those ohko rocks eh? when i saw them in C328 i was so excited because they were cheap also. was looking for branchy woods... but i guess this worked out pretty well too.

probably going for cherry shrimps! malayan will just blend into the lapis sand and i've added some MTS.. right now i've thrown in 4 commando white cloud mountain minnows to hopefully clear some of the seed shrimps i stupidly introduced into the tank by mistake. those little buggers cling well onto the moss. roar.

It's a good attempt for a first scape. It will surely improve over time.

However, it's quite underplanted. Do consider some fillers for the background or add some floating plants to soak up excess nutrients.

thanks i'll probably heed your advice and add in some hornwort later... how would you judge if a tank is underplanted? and what plants would you put in there?

Now i know where those e.tenellus will go..

Nice scape!

heh heh thanks! i'm actually still thinking if i should plant in this tank or not leh, got hairgrass then now e.tenellus.. hmm.. any ideas?

[k3nlim]

e.tenellus will certainly be a nice filler plant..i will try to get u those small plantlets..can form nice lawn nearer to the front and those longer one to form the backdrop

I'm having e tennellus and hg lawn too

[Mizu World]

Your tank is not even 50% filled with plants from looking at all the bare spots on the substrate.

A heavily planted tank matures faster.

[antitrust]

e.tenellus will certainly be a nice filler plant..i will try to get u those small plantlets..can form nice lawn nearer to the front and those longer one to form the backdrop

I'm having e tennellus and hg lawn too

alright! thanks! see you soon man!

Your tank is not even 50% filled with plants from looking at all the bare spots on the substrate.

A heavily planted tank matures faster.

okay will take note!

[wei]

I would think that it would be better to use a thinner fishing line for the rocks with taiwan moss.

Also maybe a moss weeping or taiwan moss wall as well??

[antitrust]

i think the fishing line is as thin as it can get leh... but the taiwan moss will outgrow the line is a couple of weeks, so i'm not worried..

yea the moss wall is tempting!!!! you guys are not helping

[antitrust]

ok here's an update of my tank! day 1 (yesterday was day 0 )


alright! after some advice from other bros in another forum, i've decided to add more gravel, creating a sloping effect, enhancing the depth of the tank. i pretty quite love it being bare like that. hmm..

should i add e.tennellus on that slope? but i think its abit too far from the base fert.. will inserting root monsters help?


flame moss driftwood added back in.. looks like crap now. roar. i think i will eventually remove it... maybe add it to my dwarf puffer tank which i will be setting up within the next two months..


and this is how it looks like... with fissidens, taiwan and flame moss all on mesh everywhere. oh and also a remainder pot of hairgrass over there. :/ i'll get some suctions pads to make it look more organised until i can find a good place to house them in.....

[Trevor]

i think the fishing line is as thin as it can get leh... but the taiwan moss will outgrow the line is a couple of weeks, so i'm not worried..

yea the moss wall is tempting!!!! you guys are not helping

See i told you... a moss wall will be nice!! i told you i told you!!

U lucky i will be around for 2days only... If more than that.. i will chant Moss Wall.. Moss Wall.. Moss Wall.. each time i see you.. LOL..

[antitrust]

See i told u... a moss wall will be nice!! i told u i told u!!

U lucky i will be around for 2days only... If more than that.. i will chat Moss Wall.. Moss Wall.. Moss Wall.. each time i see u.. LOL..

sorry lah sgt... LOL.

aiyah......... ley chey leh. can i just leave it bare.... lol. maybe whack e tenellus on the slopes... hmmm

[Trevor]

Bacopa amplexicaulis or Eusteralis stellata

I personally like these 2

Ehhh dont call rank hor.. tml also.. i not wearing uniform.. even if i wear.. i wont wear my SGT.. i will wear CPL

[antitrust]

Bacopa amplexicaulis or Eusteralis stellata

I personally like these 2

Ehhh dont call rank hor.. tml also.. i not wearing uniform.. even if i wear.. i wont wear my SGT.. i will wear CPL

okay SGT, noted. heh heh heh.

hmm the Eusteralis stellata looks nice! shiat. i hate looking for plants to grow. too dang many of them with different requirements... roar.

[Trevor]

Yeah balls.. Eusteralis stellata one of my fav background plants.. Always like the effect of it when on sloping substrate.. a pain in the *** when comes to trimming to give that sloping effect though..

Nevertheless, if too troublesome to think too much, just go for the good ol` Blyxia Japonica... Simple and nice if given the right conditions.. especially when it gets all long and hang around the surface thus creating a sort of canopy like feeling over your woody "Mountains"