As promised to certain members, I shall be creating a journal of my new 12g nano cube on this forum. I'll be updating its progress weekly. I decided to use only easily obtainable, undemanding species for this layout, use only the 2 wpg provided by the JBJ Nano Cube manufacturer, and use DIY CO2 --a forgiving, undemanding setup.
Setup date: March 7, 2004
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Out come all the materials! :
Bucket, siphon, glass cleaning wand, tooth brush, tweezers, scissors, and plastic dish are in the bucket. To the right of the bucket is a bag of spaghnum peat moss (base layer), two bags of Florabase, and a box of Ehfisynth (fine filter floss). To the left of the bucket are my mail ordered plants. The cube itself comes with a very spacious filtration compartment in the back, containing three coarse sponges, bioballs, a bag of ceramic rings, and a power head. I decided to take out the activatedgravel and replace it with a big wad of filter floss (Ehfisynth).
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Filling it up:
I placed a thin layer of peat on the bottom, followed by a few bits of charcoal, and some crushed Flourish tabs. I used a generous amount of Florabase to cover this mixture. Don't forget to slope the gravel, keeping it deeper in the back and shallower in the front to help create some depth.
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The plants I will use for this layout from left to right:
Anubias barteri v nana
Hemianthus micranthemoides (baby tears)
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica' (synonym: Cryptocoryne wendtii 'bronze')
Eleocharis acicularis (hairgrass)
Vesicularia dubyana (Java moss)
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Driftwood:
Assorted bits and pieces of self-collected mangrove driftwood for this layout.
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Arrangement:
I played around with what I had for about thirty minutes. In the end, I settled with this arrangement of three pieces. The two smaller spikes between the two larger pieces of driftwood is actually a single, small piece. I felt that the two larger ones looked too plain and uninteresting by themselves. I found that the branches produced by the middle piece enhanced the impression and accented the two main pieces very well.
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Planting:
I cut off all of the enormous leaves off of the Anubias barteri v nana I received in an effort to stunt it. Otherwise, they would have been too large for this layout. I placed one under the branch on the extreme left hand side. The other rhizome was placed under the branch on the extreme right hand side. I then planted the Cryptocoryne wendtii v 'Tropica' in a swath between the two branches on the left hand side. The hairgrass bunch was taken apart into smaller, tiny bunches and planted heavily in the midground and more lightly in the foreground. I then planted tiny bunches of java moss between the bunches of hairgrass. Finally, I planted the background heavily with bunches of Hemianthus micranthemoides (as much as I could fit), planting 4-6 stems at a time.
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Finished product:
The water is clearing up quickly after only a few hours.
Carlos
Setup date: March 7, 2004
Out come all the materials! :
Bucket, siphon, glass cleaning wand, tooth brush, tweezers, scissors, and plastic dish are in the bucket. To the right of the bucket is a bag of spaghnum peat moss (base layer), two bags of Florabase, and a box of Ehfisynth (fine filter floss). To the left of the bucket are my mail ordered plants. The cube itself comes with a very spacious filtration compartment in the back, containing three coarse sponges, bioballs, a bag of ceramic rings, and a power head. I decided to take out the activatedgravel and replace it with a big wad of filter floss (Ehfisynth).
Filling it up:
I placed a thin layer of peat on the bottom, followed by a few bits of charcoal, and some crushed Flourish tabs. I used a generous amount of Florabase to cover this mixture. Don't forget to slope the gravel, keeping it deeper in the back and shallower in the front to help create some depth.
The plants I will use for this layout from left to right:
Anubias barteri v nana
Hemianthus micranthemoides (baby tears)
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica' (synonym: Cryptocoryne wendtii 'bronze')
Eleocharis acicularis (hairgrass)
Vesicularia dubyana (Java moss)
Driftwood:
Assorted bits and pieces of self-collected mangrove driftwood for this layout.
Arrangement:
I played around with what I had for about thirty minutes. In the end, I settled with this arrangement of three pieces. The two smaller spikes between the two larger pieces of driftwood is actually a single, small piece. I felt that the two larger ones looked too plain and uninteresting by themselves. I found that the branches produced by the middle piece enhanced the impression and accented the two main pieces very well.
Planting:
I cut off all of the enormous leaves off of the Anubias barteri v nana I received in an effort to stunt it. Otherwise, they would have been too large for this layout. I placed one under the branch on the extreme left hand side. The other rhizome was placed under the branch on the extreme right hand side. I then planted the Cryptocoryne wendtii v 'Tropica' in a swath between the two branches on the left hand side. The hairgrass bunch was taken apart into smaller, tiny bunches and planted heavily in the midground and more lightly in the foreground. I then planted tiny bunches of java moss between the bunches of hairgrass. Finally, I planted the background heavily with bunches of Hemianthus micranthemoides (as much as I could fit), planting 4-6 stems at a time.
Finished product:
The water is clearing up quickly after only a few hours.
Carlos
