[Pseuro]

Hello guys,
after bugging everyone for so long, my tank is finally planted!

I just wanna ask what plants do i have in the background? (i just ordered an algae buster pack and these were what i got)

I had to use a bottle as a bell diffusor for now since i broke my diffuser by accident

please tell me what you think!

 

[[ Benek ]]

Grate Tank! when plants gowe's up, it will be beutifulkl tank. congratulate

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

What size is this tank? Is that rock or wood? I like the effect either way though!

 

[tsunami]

It's a bit hard to identify plants with such a general shot, but I can say that the plant on the far left is Ceratophyllum demersum.

Nice 30g long (that's what it is, right?). However, I feel that the arrangement on either side of the tank is a bit too balanced both in plantings and in hardscaping. Try adding/taking away driftwood from one side or adding more plant density to one side --pull the line of tall plantings on one side further out to the side to cover more negative/background space.

Keep us updated,

Carlos

 

[Pseuro]

Thanks for the replies =)

Sir_BlackhOle: it is a 48 x 12.5 x 13, acrylic tank ordered from glasscages.com. It contains Malaysian driftwood.

tsunami: thanks for trying to identify the plants for me, when my lights turn on i'll take some closer pictures, hopefully it'll be easier then.

Also since it took me so long to complete this aquascape (and it IS my first one) i kinda want to keep it like this for awhile first. Is it difficult to change the aquascape after the tank has been established?

 

[pineapple]

The 'glasscage' is unusual in terms of its dimensions. You can work with the dimensions or you can fight them. Fight the dimensions by planting the tank with stem plants that need constant pruning (just about all stem plants). Or make artistic use of the dimensions by having a 'landscape' somewhat like a prairy or pampas. Punctuate it with rocks, or unusual wood topography, use smaller plants like Eleocharis sp., Blyxa japonica, small Cryptocorynes, Anubias sp., moss, Riccia, and you could have a wonderful aquascape with a lovely horizon line.

I can see you seem to have thoughts somewhat along this theme. The wood is interesting in its use, almost as if it was rock. I would remove the stem plants though. Place some floating plants in if you need to absorb some nutrients early on in the evolution.

Pardon me for dreaming it...

Andrew Cribb

 

[Pseuro]

pineapple: to be honest, my original plan was to make a flat landscape view like what you described, but since i recieved the algae buster pack i just thought i might aswell plant them, i will almost definantly remove them after 2 weeks or so.

I just wanted to try planting some more since i had the chance.

I have a question though, there are some yellow grass leaves within the bunches i planted, are there any ways to remove them without pulling out the whole bunch?

Also before i planted the grass, i trimmed them to desired length. However, probably due to a poor cut the very tip of the grass is yellow. any ideas how i can fix this? (i'm assuming trim it again with sharper scissors?)

Since it's only the 3rd day from planting, there arent many changes to the tank. i'll post some pics when something more interesting happens

 

[pineapple]

I think the grass (Eleocharis sp.?) should recover without too much intervention. I have a very fine pair of tweezers which I find useful for removing various debris and smaller leaves. All tweezers are not equal - some are better especially those which have a bend in them. I also noticed that adding a little PO4 encourages good growth in Eleocharis.

I'd like to see this aquarium in a month or two.

By the way, are you happy with the quality of the aquarium and service from glasscages?

Andrew Cribb

 

[aquatic-store.com]

That tank has the beginings of something great.
It is quite pleasing to the eye!!

 

[Pseuro]

One week after planted, got my new diffuser now =)
Just another pic to share..

Hairgrass loosened up abit, new growth getting to surface and i removed some of the plants in the back

When do you guys think its safe to remove all of the plants?

I was plannign to just remove some weekly until they are all gone.

Lots of bubbles from the hairgrass... they produce trails of bubbles (white particles seen in photo) kinda getting annoying

 

[pineapple]

It's looking good. But I'd keep an eye on the diffuser and make sure that enough CO2 is getting dissolved and dispersed. Keep up the plant matter until you have a dense covering of Eleocharis, at least.

Andrew Cribb

 

[giddygid]

hi..how many feet long is this tank?

it's nice!

 

[Pseuro]

it is a 48 x 12.5 x 13
4 ft long

Thanks! =)

 

[Pseuro]

Woo! finally got a camera off a friend, i managed to remove all the background plants and my hairgrass has filled in pretty good now =)

Oh yeah.. and fish =)

 

[tsunami]

Great job, Pseuro! The chunks of wood look like lonely mountains in a field of grass.

Carlos

 

[pineapple]

That is an inspiring aquarium. Excellent job well executed.

I have been wondering what the best way of maintaining Eleocharis is? After a while, it gets pretty dense and tends to trap detritus. I usually vacuum it gently when doing a water change. But how does one 'thin it out'?

Andrew Cribb

 

[turtlehead]

whered up get those nice pieces of wood?

 

[Pseuro]

Thanks tsunami, pineapple.

Thats a good question pineapple, as i was also thinking the same thing.
well a mechanical way that you can do it is buy a pair of those scissors that are used for that purpose.. thinning hair? it looks like a normal pair of scissors, just that its blades are as a comb. What do you guys think?

turtlehead - it is just malaysian driftwood, available in many LFS.

I wanted to create a stone type landscape tank and i remembered someone suggesting a field-type tank with wood, so i took that idea and brought it to reality. (Plus it was alot cheaper =) )

Im prob gonna add about 15 more fish to it and take another picture, hopefully with a better camera (this was only a cheap 1 MP camera)

 

[pineapple]

That might be a good idea. I have tried cutting off the top, lawn mower style, but was not greatly pleased with the effect. The cut ends tended to get a BGA condition as well, to complicate matters. When I tried to thin out the stems, it was like catching a wool scarf - it would run - the whole runner would come up and I ended up replanting areas of the "grass." That's what I do now anyway.

An Afro-style comb is useful to untangle stems that get into unruly shape during water changes.

Andrew Cribb

 

[turtlehead]

haha nice idea with the afro comb.