webtrawler84

hi again all.
well this is the result of my first attempt of aquascaping. I have only just finished getting the plants in so please excuse the cloudy water, And the rock weighting down the driftwood. any advice welcomed.

The substate is a combination of JBL ProFlora AquaBasis Plus and Jet Black Gravel and also has a DIY CO2 Injection, using the internal box filter as the diffuser.

the lighting was upgraded with another 15w T8 light unit(restricted due to hood) along with two new bulbs, one FloraGlow and one Tricolour.



Thanks in advance for any comments

josh11551

that is beautiful!!! wish i was that skilled lol how big is the tank?

webtrawler84

thankyou, it is a 63L Tank with the following dimensions 61 x 31 x 42 cm.
this is kind of a test tank, I might have a go at one of my larger tanks if this one is successful.

Beeker

Great job!
I don't have the nerve to go too heavy with live plants to have to do the CO2 injection. Maybe some day.

Please keep the pics coming as you update with stock.

It looks great!

Nate McFin

Beautiful tank with a well thought out design. Your plant placement is very nice and should only look better in the future. What type of fertilizers are you planning on or currently using?
BTW the use of Stresszyme is not needed...Stresscoatis a great conditioner but stress zyme is IMO not doing a thing for you.

Beth1965

Your tank looks fabo.
You could I think tie the rock to the bottom of the wood to hold it down if you wanted.

peacemaker92

Beautiful aquascaping for the first time. Mine was a fail. LOL I like the driftwood too. As the others said, hope to see some more photos along the way. Good luck!

click

It looks amazing

bigreddog

Looks great wish I had the time to go with a planted tank looking forward to pics when you tackle the larger tanks,once again nce job

webtrawler84

thanks for all the comments all,just a quick update really.

Ive been forced to remove the CO2 at the moment as I went to add fish today (Blue Neon's) and within a minute of putting them in the tank they were ALL on the surface gasping for air. As soon as I realised I disconnected the CO2 and put a Air line in the output pipe to try and get as much oxygen in as quick as possible. so far all apart from one has survived and Ive just ordered a Drop Checker with express delivery so hopefully I should be able to the levels right in a day or two.

I have also removed the driftwood for now as the rock kept slipping and crushing my plants, Im going to see about trying to attach something to the bottom or may leave it for my larger tank. A few of the plants dont look too good but im hoping they will pull through as Ive spent a lot of money on these (for me anyway) and cannot really afford to go out and buy more plants again.

thanks again for all the input and comments and will update as things progress

mark

Blub

Looking more succesful than my first scape! (Epic fail on the DIY CO2 unit!) Is that rock suspended in mid air? Crikey! I like you hardscaping with the bogwood, and the foreground. I forget the name of that plant... Pogostemon Helferi, right? If it was my scape though, I think I'd place the rock poking out of the substrate slightly to the right of the bogwood - as it is coming across as the focal point which usually looks best slightly off the centre. Good job!

webtrawler84

just another quick update:

Recieved my CO2 Drop Checker through the post this morning, Set it up and reconnected my CO2 using a revised recipe. got home tonight to find that my CO2 Checker had turned from blue to green and within a minute of turning the light back on to check everything my java fern started perling

A few of the plants are not looking so hot at the moment and I think I may have to try and get more light to the back of the tank somehow. Will try and upload some updated photo's over the weekend.

mark

reef dude

Hey
How much did those anibus set you back,they look real good in there!
what are the plants in the foreground,looks amazing.

aquarist48

Hello Webtrawler. You've done a "wonderful" job!
Beautiful tank!
Ken

peacemaker92

Hi Webtrawler. Sorry you're having problems with your co2 and some of your plants. Hope everything goes back to normal soon and it won't cost you anymore $$. Keep us updated as you are. Good luck!

jana

Good luck with ya plants

webtrawler84

Thanks everyone for all the great comments.

Since I first took the photo's as I have said above some of the plants did not look so good. I have tried to save as many as possible but some ended up getting removed.

I decided that if I was going to spend any more money then the best thing would be lighting, This was going to mean a few modifications being done to the hood to get them to fit. I ended taking a disc cutter to the hood to remove the original ballast that came with the tank as It was molded in and was in the way, I also took out the other T8 Unit that I had fitted (This will be going into another tank). The replacements is a Duel 36W T5 Compact Setup, This has made a massive difference to the tank and all the plants are now pearling away very happy.

This has also enabled me to replace some of the plants with some that required higher light conditions, I have also re-arranged things slightly and re-instated the driftwood. Here are updated photo's of what the tank looks like as of tonight.




The mesh that you can see in the side has java moss in between it and all being well with create a nice wall.

thanks again all for the comments

mark

speed0factory

your tank really look cool, me too now starting the cycle of my 15 gallon. now i also wanna put more plants to my tank, cos it's looking to plain.