First Attempt at Aquascaping (2 ft tank journal)

[reveru]

Hi guys. I have kept a 2 ft bow front tank for close to 2 years now, generally keeping small fishes and some plants, but never really tried my hand at doing something nice to the scape. Recently decided to 'reset' my tank because quite frankly, I was getting bored with it. So I emptied the tank and slowly researched and stocked up on the equipment and supplies needed. I did not want to rush into it without researching enough. I read from online resources and forums (including AQ) and also the ADA manual sticky (http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=27279) and found them very useful.

Here is a picture of my empty tank. As you can see, it's a normal 2 ft tank, 24"x12"x15", except that it is bow front (curved). Below the tank is a piece of hard compressed foam bought from Popular bookshop to spread the weight of the tank evenly.


Earlier today, a friend of mine (also forum member) came over and together we started the tank setup! Following closely to what we read, first step went in ADA Power Sand (S). A border of about 2 cm was left around the front and sides of the tank.


Next step, we added Bacter 100, Clear Super, Tourmaline BC, Penac P and Penac W. The only reason why I could afford these was because I bought a 'package' for my 2 ft tank. Basically, these additives were packed into individual small packets with enough for a 2 ft tank.


Then we added ADA Amazonia II to the tank, starting from the back and sloping to the front. The front was intentionally left empty.


For the foreground, ADA Amazonia II Powder was added to the tank from the front and sloping towards the rear.


Here you can see the grain size difference in the soil and soil powder.


Subsequently, we arranged the stones and bog wood into some sort of arrangement that was visually pleasing (sorry no experience here, so our only guidelines were that it should at least LOOK natural to us).



After taking a step back, we realized that a smooth scape (even though it was sloping from back to front) was not very interesting. So we took out the stuff and added in some contours.

[reveru]

We then arranged everything back again after wetting the substrate with a hand-pump bottle and tying some mini-nana and xmas moss to the bog wood. We decided to leave some wood exposed so that the growth of the moss would not 'overpower' the shape of the wood branches in the future. A small hose was used to fill the tank with some water up to the level of the substrate.





HC was then planted in the foreground extensively. MM (sorry don't know the full name, I know its related to micrathemum umbrosum) was planted at the left and right of the tank in the middleground. The left background has a rotalla-lookalike (sorry don't know the plant name again) that I was told will grow tall and turn red under the right conditions. Japanese hairgrass was planted in the background, near the 'horizon' of the contours. Intend to plant the long long hairgrass at the right background but couldn't find it at LFS, I think it is eleocharis vivipara. Please correct me if i'm wrong! Anyway, also considering planting Pogostemon Helferi to substitute the vivipara. Comments about their suitability are welcome!




After scaping was done, we filled up to 90% water and surprise, no cloudiness! Most probably because we use a small hose to siphon water in slowly and we aimed the hose at a big rock to diffuse the water flow. Point to note, contours should be made more exaggerated next time because after filling, the contours will become more mellow.



Next in was the lights, inlet and outlet. For the light, a 4x24watt Illummax was used with 2x12000K and 2x6700K. Inlet and outlet used was from ANS lily-pipe pair. Looks almost invisible in the water. Clear piping was used to attach the inlet and outlet to the filter.



Finally, a ceramic diffuser was added and a couple of pieces of frogbit was thrown in to help absorb any excess nitrate.


Overview of my tank occupying a corner of the living room. Using an Atman CF-600 (740l/hr) with a Hailea HC-150a. Pressurized CO2 canister is used. Fertilization using Green Brighty Step 1, Green Brighty K, and Flourish Excel.


So that sums up the end of Day 1! Suggestions are welcome and thanks for reading! Will update this thread every week with photos.

[edwardchuajh]

wahahahaha nice! (ok i was that friend)

comments are welcome!

[eviltrain]

err, sorry pouring cold water. Since you restart everything, why don't you get a new fish tank. i'm just worry that there may be leaking issues.
but, overall very nicely done.

[Fuzzy]

Good start, My only input is your rocks/stones may be a little too small, they will be mostly covered up by the plants in the future.

[blue33]

Oh so is you. lol

wahahahaha nice! (ok i was that friend)

comments are welcome!

[blue33]

You dont really need those ADA stuff actually, you should use the $ and buy a better tank instead maybe a ADA tank. Firstly the slope is too low, stone is too scatter around and low, no impact. The tank front curve will give you a magnifying effect which happen to my first tank when i started this hobby. IMHO

[neverwalkalone]

Congrats on a new start. It's always exciting.

Good start, My only input is your rocks/stones may be a little too small, they will be mostly covered up by the plants in the future.

Concur with Fuzzy - your rocks are a little small/flat. You may want to pile them up higher if you can't get bigger ones. Also, IMHO, I think they are spaced a little too neatly, ie somewhat too equal distance amongst/between them. I'd prefer a more 'uneven' spacing to give a natural look.

Time to consider background plants to give it some depth. The space on the right behind the bogwood can use some tall plants.

Great equipment though. Good job on the detailed journal ling and photos!

[reveru]

Hi guys. Thanks for the comments. Anyone knows what is the full name of the MM plant? Also, it would be great if can ID the rotalla-lookalike at the rear left. I will take a close up later and post it up for ID.

Anyway, is my old fish tank really that ugly? Haha. I kept it cos it was given to me and I thought it was still looking pretty good. Somehow when viewed from a distance, the magnification effect isn't quite noticeable. Only when close up, can get a bit giddy from the warping effect of the glass. So since its still usable i did not get a new 2 feet! But personally I like those tanks with curved seamless edges. Very nice.

I'm a bit sad about the slope also. Initially before filling water it was really quite nice. After filling with water it came down! See, that's why its a first attempt. Next time in future will remember.

In the mean time, i'm going to let the plants grow and see how with the rocks sizes. Somehow when putting in the rocks they all look quite big already leh. Perhaps if really kena block i'd have to swap in some bigger pieces. Thanks for the input!

Need some suggestion for plants that I can use for the space on the right behind the bogwood. Help?

[Shadow]

MM (Micranthemum micranthemoides) was rename to HM (Hemiantus micranthemoides)
Plant on rear left look like ludwigia brevipes

It is not too late to increase the slope

Behind wood you can try tall plant like vallisneria nana or Cyperus helferi

[edwardchuajh]

Oh so is you. lol

haha yep me =)

anyway first time trying, was quite fun =)

my 1.5ft is still growing quite nicely, pretty happy with it..

and my empty 3ft tank outside is calling out to me

[Jungle-mania]

The nanas are tie to evenly spaced out. I will get a small bamboo tube about 10cm and tie them to it and place them at the base of the branch. With the mosses I will tie them closer to the top to create a tree like effect (pruning is almost weekly in full growth). Good effort nonetheless, I think you should go further with it since you have already invested much at the start.

[knight]

Good day Bro,
Very impressive creation you have there! Great job. Mind if you can share where you got the Bow Wood & Rocks.

Was wondering if I have something like yours but only in all fissiden, what will it looks like.

Cheers
Knight

[SCOPE]

nice simple setup....and detail photos

[reveru]

Hi guys. Thanks for all the feedback.

Shadow: Thanks for the ID of the plants. I think i will consider using vallisneria nana in the rear right background. Now i just have to FIND it at some LFS. How do i increase the slope without clouding up the water? And I would have to pull out and replant the plants and reposition the rocks again. Hmm. Maybe I'll just leave it as a lesson learnt.

Jungle: What do you suggest I "go further with it" with? Lacking ideas on my part.

Knight: I got the bog wood from NA at Thomson Road. They kinda float though, so you gotta soak them for a couple of weeks to remove the leeching of tannin and let it sink. I had to change water to remove the yellowish colour yesterday because I did not let it soak enough. The rocks were acquired from Mizu World. I think fissidens would look very nice in a tank like this, but I did not use them because they grow slow.

Scope: Thanks for the encouragement.

Will post a couple of updates soon.

[knight]

Hi guys. Thanks for all the feedback.

Shadow: Thanks for the ID of the plants. I think i will consider using vallisneria nana in the rear right background. Now i just have to FIND it at some LFS. How do i increase the slope without clouding up the water? And I would have to pull out and replant the plants and reposition the rocks again. Hmm. Maybe I'll just leave it as a lesson learnt.

Jungle: What do you suggest I "go further with it" with? Lacking ideas on my part.

Knight: I got the bog wood from NA at Thomson Road. They kinda float though, so you gotta soak them for a couple of weeks to remove the leeching of tannin and let it sink. I had to change water to remove the yellowish colour yesterday because I did not let it soak enough. The rocks were acquired from Mizu World. I think fissidens would look very nice in a tank like this, but I did not use them because they grow slow.

Scope: Thanks for the encouragement.

Will post a couple of updates soon.

Bro,
Thanks for the advice.

You mention that rocks from Mizu World, Suntec City?

Cheers
Knight

[felix_fx2]

Great details, your slopes still can go higher.
Do it before the plants take root.

If your after a igwami, some of your stones need to be larger. Maybe some background plants too (as shadow mentioned). Is it just me or its due to the lower slope that makes the bogwood stand-out too much.

P.S: I actually like the left side rock-arrangement, good job.

[reveru]

Day 2 updates:

Water still clear, although bog wood still leeching tannin. Did 20% water change. Did not do any test for ammonia/nitrite. Tank average temperature 25 deg C. GH 3, KH 5 (probably due to the seiryu rock).


Ludwigia Brevipes as Shadow so kindly ID-ed for me - thanks.


HC bubbling under the light. Actually noticed some Cladophora algae that came with the HC mat bought from C328. Spot-dosed with 2 ml hydrogen peroxide and 1 ml excel, not sure if will kill the HC or not. *crosses fingers* Also notice got some white worms in the tank, seems like dying from suffocation cos my CO2 is 3 bps for 24 hours. Heard that this would likely reduce the chance of the HC melting due to switching from emerse to submerse state.


Tank with night light, looks quite peaceful, really enjoy it. Can't wait for ludwigia brevipes and hm to grow into thick bushes.



Knight: Not sure about Suntec but I think Mizu World has no shop front. The url is here http://www.mizuworld.com/ , you can have a look at their stuff. Possible to share orders with forum members so you can split the shipping cost

felix: Thanks for the feedback The rock arrangement on the left was mostly edwardchuajh's idea, not mine. Anyway would like to ask if there is any way I can top up the slope with substrate without clouding up the water? Is it pipe out the water and pipe it in again after topping up? It's not really iwagumi tank, it's more like anyhow-style-tank. Not so experience so don't know what is considered 'iwagumi' also. Just trying to elicit a peaceful and calm feeling from it. Hopefully the moss grows thickly on the bogwood, maybe will look like a tree in a meadow. Haha.

[Slash]

Nice Setup bro!

[zonkkie]

hey bro. What brand light did you change your Illummax bulb to? Standard comes with 4x12000k right?