[bratyboy2]

FREAKING SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

yah i can see what u mean bout the lighting under the water. u r really going to have some issues getting the plants to grow down there. i would just stay with the low light plants so u dont have to spend much more.

 

[Tex Gal]

The top is really looking beautiful! I'm sure you will figure out the bottom.

 

[chris_todd]

As of today (12-1-09), the pics aren't showing up...

 

[HX67]

Thanks, Chris. I don't know what's wrong.

The whole "stream" album containing most photos referred to in this thread can be viewed at my photoblog.

Linking photos straight to large size is of course illegal, I don't know if they made it impossible or what...?
Bummer.

 

[bratyboy2]

i think you need more color on the far left to gray. more green!

 

[HX67]

It seems that the whole photoblog is broken, no pics can be viewed full size, even when logged in. Remains to be seen if/when they get it fixed.

i think you need more color on the far left to gray. more green!

Thanks for the comment.
There's Pellionia, Vanilla and Soleirolia waiting to grow in on the left. I put them in an oakbark "pot", just barely visible in this shot

...looks pretty stupid, actually. Gotta do something about it.

EDIT1
Testing the APC gallery for storing pics...

EDIT2
Hmm, seems to work great.

EDIT3

Modest blooming going on:
Ludesia discolor


Hydrocotyle leucocephala


And the new pics downloaded to my photoblog can be viewed full size... wtf?

 

[bratyboy2]

im really liking this tank so much. how is the under water part coming along?

 

[salamanderFreak]

That is Awesome i wish mine loooked like that

 

[Zapins]

Dude! Wow. Seriously you could make a killing selling models like this in the hobby. I'm sure you could get a few hundred dollars per setup you make. Maybe you could even pour plaster of paris onto a set and make a mold. Then you can just spray foam into the mold and paint it without having to hand craft each one individually. That way you can have a few designs and standardize them for certain size tanks.

 

[HX67]

First of all, sorry everyone, the photoblog doesn't seem to be recovering and the linked full-size picks are not showing. Sorry.
If a mod happens to read this, I'd like to ask if there is a possibility to give me a chance to edit my previous posts in this thread? You know, to change the links to thumbnails of the photos originally linked?

im really liking this tank so much. how is the under water part coming along?

Thanks once more, B.
Not much happening underwaterwise. Well, the plants are actually picking up a bit with growth. Still trying to figure out the hardware to spotlight 8 feet of tank down from a feet and a half.

Thanks, Salamanderfreak.

Dude! Wow. Seriously you could make a killing selling models like this in the hobby. I'm sure you could get a few hundred dollars per setup you make. Maybe you could even pour plaster of paris onto a set and make a mold. Then you can just spray foam into the mold and paint it without having to hand craft each one individually. That way you can have a few designs and standardize them for certain size tanks.

Thanks, Zap. Been thinking about molding these, but never gotten around to it. I don't know, I just like the one of a kind kinda thing...
But I did just order a largish amount of molding silicone...

 

[Zapins]

How are those spotlights working for you? Are they putting off enough light to allow the plants to grow? Any specs you can give us on the lights themselves? I've wondered about using spotlights for a while now, they seem relatively cheap.

 

[HX67]

I haven't come up with the spotlights I'm looking for. If you mean the small halogens that are seen in the pic, then no, they don't make a difference for the plants. I use them to create a dim dawn/dusk period.
This is what they do:

So far there's just 6 x 28W t5:s and the 5 x 20W halogen spots (12 volts).

My earlier request for a possibility to edit the links in this thread can be forgotten, the photoblog and the links to full-size pics seem to work again.
Thanks

 

[MoonFish]

That is an inspiration. Does the filter foam work well? Did you buy a big sheet from swiss tropicals? I'd grow moss in the bottom or really overstock it with fish. The plants up top should really be able to suck up massive nutrients.

 

[HX67]

This whole site has been an inspiration to me, so I'm happy to hear my project adds to it.

The filter sponge is working great. I use mattenfilter in several tanks and one of the nice characters of it is that you can very quickly notice when the sponge is clogged: as soon as that happens, the water surface on the pump side drops compared to the other side.
I have bought several bigger sheets, different grains. The pre-filter for the Tunze stream is the "coarse" grain, the sheet in the sump is the "middle" grain.
The pre-filter is not a genuine mattenfilter, the flow being too strong. But as a pre-filter it seems to work great. No drop in the water level on the Stream side, no diminished flow. And I haven't cleaned it at all, yet.

Overstocking is usually not my way of doing things, but I sometimes ponder what it would do to CO2 levels...? I mean in a good way, getting the levels up.

Thanks for your words.

 

[Angry the Clown]

Just finding this thread now... WOW, awesome job!

I have two quick questions:

1. What type of concrete are you using... does it matter?
2. In this picture, what did you use to get the tonal/coloring gradient?

I am trying to figure out how to do this for a tank with a divider in the middle. Thanks for sharing.

 

[HX67]

Hi and thanks.

The cement I usually use is grout. Tilegrout is the stuff they stick in between tiles to fill the gaps...
Concrete is basically cement with mixed gravel. Grout is cement with a very fine to fine sand and coloring(powder).

The gray colour in the pic you linked is mid-gray grout, the darker tone on it is made by "washing" it with black grout. I brush a very watery mixture of black on the whole piece and quite quickly after that wash it away from elevated parts with water and brush. Black stays in indented bits.

 

[dewalltheway]

I just wanted to say that your tank is awesome and awe inspiring. You have amazing talent to do what you did. Great Job!

 

[orlando]

Beyond awesome. This is really cool

Thanks for sharing!

-O

 

[dewalltheway]

When I first started looking I started on page 6 so I went back to page 1 and read thru and O is right.....beyond awesome! You have a gift and use your imagination well to create those pieces. You should work in Hollywood making movie sets with your talent or start your own business selling these pieces.

If you could, can you explain in alittle more detail on how you coat the rocks and tree trunks? I would like to play around alittle.

 

[wet]

Your paludarium is dope. Amazing job. I'll bet all that work shading will look even better with the natural patina.

What are you using as soil in the land section? I've been stuck with Tilandsia sp. and epiphytes in mine as it's difficult to make potting areas. Did you carve planting pockets in your structure? Got closeups if so?

Truly inspiring.

* oh, and how are you handling drainage in the above-water soil areas?