Craynerds Planted Tank Mk.2

[oldwhitewood]

Don't put a black background on it for gods sake. Backgrounds are OK if you have a brightly coloured wall behind or wallpaper but if you have plain walls like yourself I would always not have a background. It gives a cleaner more modern look especially with a rimless braceless tank like yours. It just makes the tank seem bigger IMO, but again I have never really liked backgrounds.

I will await the cries of protest from the background loving posters here

 

[Graeme Edwards]

Top job buddy, i look forward to seeing it fill out.

Oldwhite is right leave it with out a backgound, looks more like WOW then

The rewards that you reap are equal to the effort that has been put in.

You have put allot of effort in my mate!

 

[Themuleous]

Tank looks absolute quality Chris, definitely worth the months of waiting we all had to endure And now i see it filled I think the wood placement is spot on, doesn't look symmetrical.

This is going to be truly stunning in a few months.

Sam

 

[MoreCoffee]

Chris, the tank looks great. I love that wood (wish I could find similar near me).
All your planning seems to have paid off

I'd also like to say that the work you've put in on the cabinet and light fitting really work now the tank is planted ............. very 'Amano'

I actually dont think it needs a black background ... but thats something you never really know until you see it in place !

I know the tanks has only just been planted and as it matures things will look different.
The only thing I would say is that, there seems to be a bit of a gap on the left hand side below the wood (maybe it's just me). Will fill in over the next few weeks, of is it intentional ?
Looking back at your original layout sketches, it looks like that was part of the plan.

Please dont think I'm being over picky or negative (I love this tank), it's just an observation.
Y'know what it's like when you seem something and your eyes seem to get drawn back to it


Once this setup is mature, are you thinking of entering it into any of the aquascaping competitions ?
I believe PFK are planning one !

Regards
Al

 

[Waterloo Kid]

Yeah, see what you mean about the symmetry! I didn't think about that. How much wood is stuck out of the water then? A tiny bit or a fair amount? I suppose I'll see it in the next pics. I just expect it to look like that piece didn't fit in the tank properly whilst all the others did.

Anyway, it's just my opinion and I'm about as artistic as a Turner prize winner so what do I know!?

Looking foward to the next pics!

WK

 

[craynerd]

thanks again for the kind words chaps!

Can people please stop posting, "hope you don`t mind me saying, don`t think i am being picky etc. I WANT YOU to criticise as long as it is constructively!! You guys on here are way too nice. The only way we will improve is by commenting on each others works! So keep it up, please, i am loving it!

Mr G - the gap in the left and right were intentional. HOWEVER great observation, it was something i was discussing with Neil (oldwhite) last night about on msn. In the original drawings both sides where ment to be empty, with hair grass growing, however my "artistic flair" LMAO ment that i added some extra smart detail with rocks and crypts when i was finishing it yesterday. This has no left the right a bit "alone"! The intention was that they would be empty with hairgrass growing into them, to create depth and a horizon level to the convex layout. NOW its done, lol, i think you could very well be right and it looks crap! I`ll just leave it for a few weeks for the hair grass to grow, and then re-assess the situation.


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NOW a small concern !!

When i looked at it this morning. I noticed a lot of the dead hairgrass (brown stuff) and the bad quality HM including a leaf of a crypt, has like a white cotton wool sort of thread on it. Surely it can`t be algae already?
Its definately white, and looks to short and soft to be cobweb algae....

anyone any thoughts?

Chris

 

[Ginge]

Sorry mate i cant really help you with that one but i just wondered if you have started your EI yetand also what plans do you have for fish (if any).

 

[MoreCoffee]

Mr G - the gap in the left and right were intentional. HOWEVER great observation, it was something i was discussing with Neil (oldwhite) last night about on msn. In the original drawings both sides where ment to be empty, with hair grass growing, however my "artistic flair" LMAO ment that i added some extra smart detail with rocks and crypts when i was finishing it yesterday. This has no left the right a bit "alone"! The intention was that they would be empty with hairgrass growing into them, to create depth and a horizon level to the convex layout. NOW its done, lol, i think you could very well be right and it looks crap! I`ll just leave it for a few weeks for the hair grass to grow, and then re-assess the situation.


------

NOW a small concern !!

When i looked at it this morning. I noticed a lot of the dead hairgrass (brown stuff) and the bad quality HM including a leaf of a crypt, has like a white cotton wool sort of thread on it. Surely it can`t be algae already?
Its definately white, and looks to short and soft to be cobweb algae....

anyone any thoughts?

Chris

Woooahhh .... Chris, I certainly dont think anything about this tank looks crap
Far from it ! This is a stunning looking tank.

When I looked at your original sketches I did wonder if it was intentional and understand from your post what effect you were looking for. I think once the hair grass takes hold and the stem plants bush out a little, I think you'll get that 'depth' you are looking for without any suggestion of a 'gap'.

As for your problem with the hair grass. I'm assuming they are Tropica plants, as far as I know they grow them emersed. Is this a case of the emersed leaves dieing off before new submerged growth develops ?

As for the HM ..... no idea !. I may have some spare HM in a week or two if you need any. I've got some in my grow out tank waiting until my Birstall order comes in next week. It all depends on how much I need for my setup.

Cheers
Al

 

[George Farmer]

Your hairgrass should improve. Tropica plants are grown emersed so will take time to adapt. On the subject I would have personally split up the pots into more, smaller bunches. Did you trim the ends off the leaves? This will help boost growth too. I bought 5 pots of hairgrass from Birstall and they soon started carpeting. I trimmed the ends off the leaves on day one. FYI I got a full carpet in around 6 to 8 weeks - 2.2 wpg, EI.

Your crypts etc. may be adjusting to their new environment. Crypts are notorious for this and will often shed off leaves before growing new ones. This may be the cause of any algae on your plants as dying leaves are algae magnets.

Be patient, give it time.

 

[Jen]

That looks amazing. I love the wood placement and the plants within it. It will look awesome once they have filled in. I too would suggest that you un-clump the hair grass. Not into individual plants, but maybe split each clump into 4. It will carpet faster, and look more lush with one a bit of growth, while with it how it is now, all the grass will need to be that thick and dense to look like more of a carpet.

I don't know what else to say other than great work. All your planning has most certainly paid off!

 

[Waterloo Kid]

I once added a piece of wood to my tank and within a day or two there was a white 'growth' on it. It looked like a cross between algae and fungus. I left it in place and it gradually faded over a week or so. That was after treating the wood in boiling water to remove some tanins too. It could be something like that. I can't recall hearing of white algae though.

WK

 

[Bufo Bill]

I honestly think your tank is truly inspiring.You deserve a medal for your patience. I only noticed this thread today and I've read through the whole process in one evening! You must have been white hot to the touch when you finally got the basic layout sorted!

Once again, great stuff, from Bill.

 

[zig]

Lookin good Chris!

Personally I wouldn't put a background on this tank, I would just leave it natural for the mo and you can always add and subtract light etc for different background effects.

What way are you going to run the lights on this tank Chris? maybe you could give the current tank stats to give us a basic idea of where things stand in the tank at the moment so we can get a starting point.

 

[craynerd]

Sure zig,

First just a little update.

George and Jen, thanks for the hairgrass advice. I have now seperated it into smaller clumps, it looks much much better, got rid of all the dead brown and its covered a lot more area and looks more healthy.

----------------

Ok basic stats, schemes and schedules:

CO2 - 4bps

Light - T5 3 x 24w - 11hours solid - (1pm-12pm)

Dosing - 1 ml step 1 - 1ml brightly K and 5ml bulk trace. 5ppm Nitrate dosed 3 times a week. (tap water is 4ppm phosphate! <- may become an issue?) Every other day 5ml TMG

Water Change - 30-40% 3 times a week for 2 weeks -- 50% twice weekly there after

Filter: Eheim Classic 2213

Temp: 24oC

............have i missed anything.

 

[NAL]

Chris,

Looking very good mate. Leave the background out-you don't have bright walls so it looks just fine-Neil must've been referring to my orange walls earlier!

Don't get hung up on any algae issues or anything. Expect to get a little of the brown stuff-perfectly normal at the beginning. Hold the line, keep cranking the CO2 and start getting ready to dose and get some shrimp in. And you're right, don't trim anything (bar may be the hairgrass-as George suggests. Article in Aquajournal also suggesting trimming it after to planting to get it going).

Great job!

Cheers,
Nick