Bardus71

Hi all, here is a quick build of my 4' NPT "Scape". As a newby, I didnt know if anything like this had been done before and rushed in to give it a whirl. Seems to be doing well so far. Enjoy.

Ideas:


Floor Plan:


Styro Contours:


Inert Gravel in Styro Steps:


Soil & Sand Substrate:


Capped Substrate:


Groundcovers in:


Stems:



Cost:
$100 4' Tank, stand, hood, light, filter, heater (From eBay)
$ 15 Soil & Potting Mix (From Bunnings)
$ 20 Black Gravel 2-4mm (From LFS)
$ 10 Sand (From Bunnings)
$150 Plants (From Forum sponsors, forum members & LFS)
$ 60 API Master Testing Kit (From LFS)
$ 15 Water Ager/Dechlorinator (From LFS)
$370 TOTAL For The Basics


Substrate
Approx 9L 50/50 Potting mix & Naked Farmer brand Soil Activator
Approx 4L sand. Sand is fine Play Sand from Bunnings, has proven to be a little too fine I think.
Approx 4L gravel.
I have created a "River Bed" through the centre of the scape with no soil underneath also.


Lighting
3x36W T8 = 2.2W/G, photoperiod 15+hrs/day on a timer


Plants
Groundcovers:
Marsilea hirsuita
Lilaeopsis spp.
Staurogyne tropica

Mid Ground:
Blyxa japonica
Pogostemon stellatus

Side & Back grounds:
Hygrophila polysperma
Hygrophila polysperma 'sunset'
Filigree milfoil
Rotala wallichi
Ludwigia repens
'Scarlet' Ludwigia
Ludwigia glandulosa


Stock
Blackworms
Various Snails
RCS
2 Corys
8 Glass Catfish
5 small Angelfish
2 Otocinclus Catfish
(to come)
12 Rummy Nose Tetras
12 Kuhli Loaches
10 more Otos
12 Pygmy Corys

Michael

Nice looking design, please keep us updated as it grows in.

I did something similar to your styrofoam with ceramic tile instead. The tile doesn't float, but I'll bet the stryofoam was easier to work with.

By the way, welcome to APC!

--Michael

jerilovesfrogs

looks nice so far =]

Bardus71

Update: I decided to add an Eheim 2215 so that I could increase the stock in my tank, not the NPT ideal, but suits my plans. Here is a recent pic or 2.

Michael

The maturing tank looks great! It has a little of a Dutch design to my eye.

How did the styrofoam topography work out? Did the slopes hold their shape the way you wanted them to?

frroK

Incredible. I was actually thinking about styrofoam for depth when I saw in in the craft store. I wasn't sure if it was safe for aquarium use. I guess so! Great work.

Bardus71

Thanks Michael. The front right corner is obvious in its topograph & contour, but I think the effect is lost on the left rear mound. I had a few notions I was trying to entertain with it that Im not sure were so successful. The first was to create a flow for the eye to follow from the front of the tank down through the "river bed", which I am semi pleased with. The other I wanted to achieve was a sense of depth & scale that didnt end up being effective. I am still a newby & scale is a first grade lesson, I am just getting the basics right in Kindergarden. The other thing I was trying to achieve was a Walstad inpsired NPT, but have ended up with a hefty filter & medium lighting which werent in my original ideal. I seem to be riding this wave and giving myself room for exploration to find what works & what appeals.

Michael

One tip for establishing greater depth is to use coarse textured plants in front, and fine textured plants in back. This is called forced textural perspective. Your task is made more difficult by the long, narrow shape of the standard 55--it is just hard to work with.

I've found that the river bed effect is harder to achieve than it looks, LOL.

Plants do tend to cover up subtle topography, except if the plants are very short and very uniform in height. A lot of what we see in award-winning tanks that we think is topography is actually created by the mass and smooth uniform height of the plants. The substrate may be close to flat.

Plants also cover up stone and wood, so those elements often need to be exaggerated so that they are not obscured by maturing plants.

In my own aquaria, I also tend to have medium light and high flow and biofiltration. I think of these as enhancements of the Walstad technique that permit greater flexibility, without creating greater maintenance. I do not fertilize the water column or use CO2.

Please keep us up-dated!

kshafer

How are the RCS doing in there with the Angelfish?

Bardus71

A bit like Jonah and the whale mate. When I started, I only put in 12 RCS, and there was more hardscape to hide in. A short few months later there is easily 100, & the Angelfish pick them off easily. As a result, the Angelfish are extremely healthy looking. Their coat has a glisten to the scales and they look amazing. I also feed them flake, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, daphnia & cyclops. They do pretty well, just waiting on them pairing up so I can breed them.