Castaway

[SuperColey1]

21st November 2009

After neglecting this tank for a second time with the aquascape Triangle of Life I decided to rescape again. I have found that this small 10 litre tank is quite unlike the larger 125 litre in that if it does get neglected the scape can be beyond repair very quickly whereas with the larger tank it can be pulled back by reimplementing simple procedures of pruning, cleaning etc.

Specs:
TANK : 33cm x 15cm x 20cm homemade 10 litres.
FILTRATION : Boyu external 200lph.
HEATER : Newattino K 10W.
LIGHTING : 3 x 3W 5500K Luxeon LED - underpowered to circa 7.35W (3.5WPG.)
SUBSTRATE : Leonardite bottom layer, Natural sand.
DOSING : No CO2 No Nutrients

PLANTS : Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'green', Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'brown', Cryptocoryne Parva, Anubias Barteri v Nana, Anubias Barteri v Nana 'petite, Lileopsis Brasiliensis.

INHABITANTS : Corydoras Schultzei Black (Fry), Cherry Shrimp.

I named this aquascape 'Castaway' because I seem to ignore it after a while and also that I decided that soon I will put the remainder of my emersed Crypts in there along with other 'trims' from my main tank and also some emersed Lileopsis Brasiliensis.

The main hardscape is the same as in Triangle of Life because I like it but the plants have been changed.

Her you can see the tank in position in the new bookcase I made. I then turned the little luminaire into a hanging version and finally veneered it in ash to match the bookcase. I will take some closer pictures at a later date

And finally this little tank on the right of my 'entertainment' wall. 'Once upon a time on the riverbank' is to the left and as you can see I was in the process of building a matching cabinet to the bookcase at this time

AC

 

[ian]

looks nice, looks a lot bigger than 10 ltrs!

the sand looks like Limpopo sand?

 

[lljdma06]

looks nice, looks a lot bigger than 10 ltrs!

the sand looks like Limpopo sand?

I agree, it looks quite good and I look forward to its development. You and I tend to get very clear water.

Small tanks are like that SuperColey, they will always require more maintenance than a larger system and they cannot be "let go" like a larger system. That is why I dismantled my 8g. I couldn't let it lie fallow for 3+ weeks while I am away. My 36g is a non-issue.

llj

 

[SuperColey1]

The aquascape is now 5 months old and has grown significantly. In January I had added some more Cryptocoryne Wendtii. Some of which became a little too big and had to be removed. This has brought up some darker parts from the lower substrate. I also added some Anubias Barteri v Nana, a clipping from 'Once upon a time at the riverbank' to the hardscape.

The Lileopsis Brasiliensis struggled a little and so I resorted to a different type of 'carpet'. I made some java moss 'rafts' comprising of a little piece of mesh with a pebble cable tied to it. This will stop the 'rafts' from floating. Then I tied java moss to the upper side and put them into position. Hopefully these will eventually hide the mesh and also join together.

At the end of March the black corys from my main tank spawned and from the eggs approx 12 of the fry hatched. They have been in this tank since then and are now approx 4 weeks old. They are various sizes but on average about 1cm from head to tail.

Hope you like it so far

AC

 

[Biulu]

The moss patches look good and will at the same time provide micro-organisms for your fry. Did you use double mesh as in the moss wall, or is it just a single piece?

What is the plant that you have in front of the anubia which can be seen in the full tank shot?

All in all a very attractive tank for both the eye and the fry!

 

[SuperColey1]

The moss 'patches'are just single mesh.

The plant in front of the Anubias is a well grown Cryptocoryne Parva (The smallest common crypt

AC

 

[Biulu]

The moss 'patches'are just single mesh.

The plant in front of the Anubias is a well grown Cryptocoryne Parva (The smallest common crypt

AC

Ok, thanks! I like the look of the c. parva, nice plant

 

[chrisbassist]

What mesh is it and where did you get it from?

 

[SuperColey1]

no idea what the mesh is called but I got it from Aquatic Magic on ebay years ago to make a moss wall. basically just plastic with 4mm squares.

AC

 

[chrisbassist]

Cheers, I'll have a look in a hobby shop or something.

I'd love to see that moss once it starts growing somemore.

 

[SuperColey1]

13th August 2010

I'd let this tank go again. I have been putting offcuts and all sorts into this tank and as you can see in the first picture below there was some Cryptpcoryne Spiralis which was getting burnt on the lights. This stuff grows 60cm tall in my larger tank. lol

So I put a little effort in and took out all the monsters. I also removed some of the larger Anubias and then decided to add some HC instead of the scruffy Riccia and moss stones. No fully finished pictures because the water was really cloudy.

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

Some more changes. This current plant arrangement is now 5 weeks or so old. I did however remove another of the larger anubias. I'm going just with the 'petite' variety here with 1 large one that seems to give off smaller leaves.

The background has been ditched. I'm very much in favour of the clear background again at the moment. Just so much more full of life.

One little development is you may see the tiny 'sponge filter' in there. My Boyu external is out of action now. The O ring was stretched and then snapped. I let it struggle on with PTFE tape sealing it and it did work but was very noisy. I have a Resun filter similar to the Boyu on its way.

AC

 

[Verminator89]

It looks so much bigger than it actually is, and that is down entirely to your skill in scaping. This will be fantastic once it matures somewhat more.

 

[ian]

can't believe how much that moss has come on. Are you cultivating any HC at the moment?

 

[SuperColey1]

can't believe how much that moss has come on. Are you cultivating any HC at the moment?

I added some moss. When I put the 'petite' in I glued them to some small stones and then put some strands of moss on the glue that was uncoverd

The original moss is the left hand front corner and some at the back plus a few other strands here and there. wasn't there intentionally. Just bits that fell off the moss wall in the previous scape and has grown on from there.

Just started a new tray of HC. The rest went on ebay 2 weeks ago. 5 weeks or so and I'll have 'hopefully' 8" square

AC