Gozer_1

Ok so it's not quite ready but I'm close. SHould be pretty good to go early next week. Here's some shots.
It will be home to
2 Gold Gouramis
and.......................? I figure Otos at some point but otherwise I'm not sure yet.

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Isabella

Can't wait to see it planted

Gozer_1

Me either lol. I can't wait till the plants get here. I hope I ordered enough. I hope I didn't order too many. I hope it doesn't get too cold while they are being shipped. I'm a nervous wreck. OK maybe just a little anxious. Atleast if I come up short I can always order more.

Butterfly

Love your centerpiece!
Carol

Isabella

Gozer, where have you ordered your plants from?

Gozer_1

Aquariumplants.com. I went from site to site till I found the one that had all the plants I wanted. Made my choice on that, pretty much. Guess we'll see how it turns out eh.

Gozer_1

Thanks, I took a little vote here on FishLore. There was a choice of Fairy forest fantasy type OR Lost City themes. Lost City won by a landslide. I actually have an Atlantian Temple ornament, but it was WAY too big to fit in this 45. It's in the 150. Misread dimensions when I ordered. Anyway, the Seahorse matches that "set". The statue I got to match the theme since the temple was too big. I'm getting a "12-14inch" piece of drift wood with my plant order also. I'm debating using a couple broken pieces of scrap marble counter top. I have a small strip of scrap marble. I'm thinking about breaking it and using a couple pieces.

neverendingninja

Just remember the marble may affect your pH and hardness. Keep us updated with your progress!

Gozer_1

I was kind of curious about that. I'm not sure what marble would do. Guess I need to read up on marble. I'm thinking it will be OK because it's for a counter top so I think if it's safe to use in the kitchen it should be safe in the water. Hmmm Gonna have to up on it right now. lol

jsalemi

Do the vinegar test on the marble -- put a couple of drops on a piece, and if it starts to foam, that means there's calcium in the marble and it will affect your pH. If it doesn't foam, you should be ok to use it, so long as it doesn't have any kind of chemical or oil coating on it already.

Gozer_1

Hmm interesting trick. I'll definitely try that. Thanks for the advice.

Gozer_1

OK, so it turns out that Marble IS Calcium Carbonate. It is a metamorphism of limestone, Calcite. In other words, it most certainly will effect my PH. It would be better off in my reef lol. Not going to work in my planted. Thanks for suggesting I check. Could have been frustrating in the future.

Anyway, they tell me my plant order will ship today so I should be planting tomorrow.

Isabella

I am really curious of what your experience with AquariumPlants.com will be I already know about AZ Gardens and Aquarium Garden, but I never ordered from Aquarium Plants.

Gozer_1

Well so far so good. They replied to my email pretty fast and were very friendly. They were willing to do whatever they needed to to make up for the plants they ran out of. I guess I won't know the whole story till I have plants in hand though. They have a great selection of plants and seem to be a pretty big operation so I think its gonna turn out AOK I hope so anyway lol.

Isabella

Before I ever ordered my plants online, I actually wanted to order with AquariumPlants.com, but then I was told they suck. So I ordered with Aquarium Garden and then with AZ Gardens. I was told AZ Gardens suck too, yet my plants from AZ Gardens came excellent. So, I don't listen to anybody anymore. I judge based on my own experience. Your plants from AquariumPlants.com may be very good for all we know Their quick and friendly responses are a very good sign.

Gozer_1

Well, it's planted. Several hours later lol. WOW, I learned several lessons lol.

The plants arrived as I expected them to. In plastic wraps inside a plastic bag, wrapped in news paper. They all looked pretty good. All were potted except the Ludwigia and the Vals. I found a couple empty pond snail shells and a couple potential egg patches. I picked them off., rinsed them and gave the ones with snail sign a real quick, VERY weak, (36:1) Bleach dip. I went really weak because it freaks me out to use bleach on aquarium stuff lol. So far everything looks ok. I had trouble with the bunched Ludwigia. They're just cuttings. They were a bit stubborn to get to stay put. The Vals long leaves kept sticking to my hand and getting pulled up when I moved my hand back. The Crypts are looking a little sad too. All frustrations aside, I think it's looking good. Cloudy right now but clearing up fast. I have also decided to use a small top and an extra 15W light in the front to help out the Hemianthus. Well enough talk, here's some pics. Like I said it's still kinda cloudy from planting it.

You may notice the Emperor Tetras. I picked them up with some feeders for my Oscar. I thought they'd go well in this tank. I'm going to move the Gouramis over after it clears up and I'm done fine tunig.

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	Anubia2FL.jpg (76.0 KB, 18 views)
	NeptunefullFL.jpg (92.3 KB, 15 views)
	SeahorseSpriteFL.jpg (57.8 KB, 17 views)
	NeptuneTetraFL.jpg (52.8 KB, 11 views)

COBettaCouple

i'm glad the sorry UPS finally got there. Best of luck with the plants and i hope they all spring into shape and grow like crazy!

bhcaaron

I love the theme! Triton and the sea horse lol. Looks great!