George's Nano Journal Mk. 2

[George Farmer]

I'm pleased to share with you all a second journal for my latest nano aquascape. Many of you may have seen my first attempt here - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=160501

Specs -

Aquarium - Clearseal 30x20x20cm (12x8x8"), 12 litres (3 gal.) before displacement.
Lighting - Interpet 24w PC T5 Daylight Plus (6500K), 6 hour photoperiod
Substrate - ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia (powder type) and ADA Bright Sand (decorative only)
CO2 injection - None, I will be dosing Seachem Flourish Excel to supply carbon
Water and dosing - 50% water changes every other day, 1ml Tropica AquaCare Nutrition, and KNO3 dosed with each water change

As with the first layout I will be exploring some new techniques, for me at least. The first is my use of ADA Aqua Soil. This is widely regarded as the best substrate in the world and I look forward to experiencing it for myself, at last. The use of an inert substrate to provide a decorative element is also new for me.

The second is using Flourish Excel to replace CO2. My hope is that this supplies sufficient carbon to maintain healthy growth, thus avoiding algae. I've decided against CO2 as this will be a longer-term layout. CO2 makes plants grow like mad so a slower growing layout will be a welcome change. However, if I do experience algae issues then CO2 injection is an option.

Aquascape

Some of you may be familiar with my style of aquascaping. It's very simple, using just a few plant species in a Nature Aquarium style layout. This will be no exception, as I feel simple suits such a small aquarium. I also lack the talent to compose complex aquascapes successfully in such a small space. This will hopefully be a case of "less is more".

As you can hopefully tell from the substrate layout, the overall impression that I am trying to achieve is that of a valley with a sand path separating the two banks. Using the path idea is very popular these days with many aquascapers.

I have gained some inspiration for this design from a trip to Snowdonia, Wales last year.









Small rocks will be placed in the Aqua Soil. The choice, quantity and design of rock layout is yet to be decided.

I have six pots of Utricularia graminifolia (Tropica, of course!) ready to be planted. They've been holding in my daughter's 33 gal. for two weeks and have already grown significantly. My only concern is that UG is sensitive to environmental changes so I will be keeping a close eye after planting. Aqua Soil is well-known to play havoc with water chemistry so plenty of water changes will be the order of the day.

Fish/inverts are yet to be decided. They won't be added for at least four weeks, giving the tank plenty of time to settle.

Substrate installation

Here's how I set up the substrate, using similar techniques to Amano (see 2006 ADA catalogue). However, I'm using a translucent plastic barrier that is better than card. It doesn't matter if it gets wet and it see-through, ideal for ensuring the Aqua Soil and Bright Sand are level with one another.

I soaked the Aqua Soil (powder) for a few hours, as I heard reports of floating particles etc. Note that this is different to washing it, that shouldn't be done. The Bright Sand was washed thoroughly prior to adding to prevent clouding.

Empty tank


Substrate barriers


ADA products, 9 litres of Aqua Soil Power, 8Kg of Bright Sand - will last for a good many layouts to come


Aqua Soil and Bright Sand added and shaped to suit


Rear tank view, note the depth


Plan view


After careful filling with water, note the clarity!


Next will be deciding what rocks to use and where to position them. Then planting the UG. The water will be emptied prior to placing the rocks and planting. Hopefully in the next couple of days.

 

[richiej1979]

Here he goes again, putting us all to shame! - George, howe come you took the dividers out?

I would have left them in there until I finished. Just incase an of the substrate mixed up.

It looks great already!

 

[Dave Spencer]

It is going to be interesting to see how the ADA substrate is going to affect your water chemistry. I am pretty sure it will be my first choice substrate next time round.

Do you intend to leave the sand valley`s destination visible? I was thinking in terms of covering it to give things a sense of "I wonder where that valley leads to?" as it disappears in to the distance of your aquascape (all 20cm of it).

 

[Miss Wiggle]

It is going to be interesting to see how the ADA substrate is going to affect your water chemistry. I am pretty sure it will be my first choice substrate next time round.

I think it would be brilliant to use first time round, as it gives off ammonia, could effectivley fishless cycle your filter for you with no effort, just need to monitor all the levels.

looks really good George, look forward to seeing the updates

 

[George Farmer]

Here he goes again, putting us all to shame! - George, howe come you took the dividers out?

I would have left them in there until I finished. Just incase an of the substrate mixed up.

It looks great already!

Thanks. I took the dividers out because I wanted to see what it looked like. I may well place them back in for rock placing and planting. They slide in and out very easily actually as I've been experimenting.

It is going to be interesting to see how the ADA substrate is going to affect your water chemistry. I am pretty sure it will be my first choice substrate next time round.

Do you intend to leave the sand valley`s destination visible? I was thinking in terms of covering it to give things a sense of "I wonder where that valley leads to?" as it disappears in to the distance of your aquascape (all 20cm of it).

I probably won't know too much how the substrate will affect the water chemistry. I rarely test my water these days. I'll probably just test for NH3/4 and NO2 before adding animals, even then the filter is mature and the 50% every other day water changes will keep things safe. IME test kits aren't necessary for set ups like this i.e. EI (modified), and heavy planting.

Good point on the valley's end. One thought is the lighting may hopefully give the illusion of it running off into infinity. I've yet to mess about with lighting effects. Early days.

Thanks Miss Wiggle.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Looks like you're off to another great start (is there no stopping this man!)

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the ADA AS Powder. I've never used the Powder variety, but am considering it
for my PFK nano, when I eventually get time to do it.

I'm wondering if the AS hills will settle over time or if your filter will disturb it,as the water flow is in a downward direction with those HoB's.

No doubt this will be another 'must read' journal...

 

[lljdma06]

Finally! A George Farmer thread with only 1 Page!

Of course that won't last long.

I love the idea of a sand path, that is a great idea. I'm also glad you're going to try a long-term layout. It's great to watch a layout progress over months rather than weeks. Excel is an excellent product on the whole. Some plant species, however, are sensitive to it, so be careful. I nearly melted my A. reineckii to get rid of thread algae on one leaf. It would have been better to just remove the leaf. In addition, Excel doesn't effect pH like standard CO2 injection so if you do decide to convert later, make sure that the fish you add is an adaptable species capable of handling the swing. I was going to suggest an adaptable species anyways because of the ADA soil.

Look forward to seeing this planted, George, it is already promising.

llj

 

[George Farmer]

Looks like you're off to another great start (is there no stopping this man!)

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the ADA AS Powder. I've never used the Powder variety, but am considering it
for my PFK nano, when I eventually get time to do it.

I'm wondering if the AS hills will settle over time or if your filter will disturb it,as the water flow is in a downward direction with those HoB's.

No doubt this will be another 'must read' journal...

Thanks Al. The HOB is running in the photo and disturbance is minimal. It does need to be at the front though.

Finally! A George Farmer thread with only 1 Page!

Of course that won't last long.

I love the idea of a sand path, that is a great idea. I'm also glad you're going to try a long-term layout. It's great to watch a layout progress over months rather than weeks. Excel is an excellent product on the whole. Some plant species, however, are sensitive to it, so be careful. I nearly melted my A. reineckii to get rid of thread algae on one leaf. It would have been better to just remove the leaf. In addition, Excel doesn't effect pH like standard CO2 injection so if you do decide to convert later, make sure that the fish you add is an adaptable species capable of handling the swing. I was going to suggest an adaptable species anyways because of the ADA soil.

Look forward to seeing this planted, George, it is already promising.

llj

Thanks llj.

I've researched the Excel/UG issue thanks. Should be fine if don't overdose. I've tried it in Emily's tank where the UG is and it is great.

IME fish and pH swings aren't an issue with CO2/no CO2, I know this because when using a solenoid previously i.e. pH dropped to around 6.5 during the day and 7.5 at night (the HOB soon drives off any CO2). Wild-caught Microrasbora nana are quite sensitive normally and they were just fine, even spawned apparently.

Also the Aqua Soil stabilises the water once it is matured, so sensitive species are fine, if not better in an Aqua Soil tank. See Tom Barr's thread with altums, discus etc. Thanks for the thoughts though.

 

[George Farmer]

I've been playing with various rocks/stones. I have three types; slate, pale granite and the type used in my previous layout.

The slate looks good actually, protruding at "jaunty" angles from the substrate, and the dark colour I think would contrast well with the light green of the UG. The shape and thickness makes it look quite similar to these rocks - http/www.adana-th.com/limagegal/page/gal1.htm , but obviously on a smaller scale.

I'm hoping the overall impression will, like my previous layout, be one of a bigger tank, using the sense of scale to advantage.

What is a PITA though is the Aqua Soil moving about so easily and migrating onto the sand. It is so light compared with regular quartz. I will basically have to re-do the sand path and sloping after the rocks are in position. It won't be easy but once the rocks are in position, (they are deep-set into the Aqua Soil) I'm hoping they'll prodive sufficient support for the steep substrate profile/gradient, and hopefully prevent the substrate from levelling too much over time.

I have a feeling it's going to take a while for me to come up with a decent rock layout. I've already spent a couple of hours messing, and ruining the substrate profile in the meantime. Such is the labour of love that is aquascaping......

I'll try to get some more photos soon.

 

[RadaR]

Exciting times ahead. Look forward to its development.
As for the potential problem about the AS slipping down to the BS, could you not separate them off with some curved rigid plexi glass? Only a piece of about 1" but getting taller as it gets towards the back. Sort of like the terracing done in Dutch scapes.
Oh and the rocks will look good if they do look like the ones in the picture. You dont think there will be to much contrast?
Just my thoughts.

 

[three-fingers]

I think it would be brilliant to use first time round, as it gives off ammonia, could effectivley fishless cycle your filter for you with no effort, just need to monitor all the levels.

That's what my AS is doing right now in my pfk nano, I have no ammonia but i do have nitrites at the moment.

What is a PITA though is the Aqua Soil moving about so easily and migrating onto the sand.

I've put a pile of small stones under my AS slope, since every time I moved or added a plant, it all fell down and I needed to start again. It seems to be working, though it's still not as sloped as i would have liked, and planting while there's water in the tank is still a problem. I'm sure it will be OK once the plants have good root systems.
I can only imagine how easily the powder stuff moves around .
I can't wait to see how this one turns out George, I'm really looking forward to it and I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two!

 

[mlawson]

It's going to be another great tank by you, George.
Just how do you do it...

Looks brilliant already

 

[Castellop123]

Just the substrate is a work of art... What has happened to your other Nano which you setup a few weeks ( months ) back...

 

[Themuleous]

Interesting experiment with the excel, be interesting to see how it does compared to conventional CO2 in a high light tank. Like the idea of the path, should look nice.

Interesting to see the clarity of the water after such a short time, but it sounds like it can be a bit of a sod due to being so light. Planting the UG might be fun!

Sam

 

[George Farmer]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

As for the potential problem about the AS slipping down to the BS.....

Oh and the rocks will look good if they do look like the ones in the picture. You dont think there will be to much contrast?
Just my thoughts.

My hope is once I've planted then it will be left alone, letting the UG do its thing, so migration shouldn't a big issue.

Too much contrast? I don't think so personally, I guess I won't really know for sure until it's planted, as my foresight is rubbish.

I'm really looking forward to it and I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two!

Me too!

Just how do you do it...

It's no secret, it's all here for you to see.

Just the substrate is a work of art... What has happened to your other Nano which you setup a few weeks ( months ) back...

My previous set up has been stripped down. Check out the end of my last journal (link in my sig).

Interesting experiment with the excel, be interesting to see how it does compared to conventional CO2 in a high light tank. Like the idea of the path, should look nice.

Interesting to see the clarity of the water after such a short time, but it sounds like it can be a bit of a sod due to being so light. Planting the UG might be fun!

Sam

The Excel will interesting. I don't think 8wpg is particularly high light in my tiny volume, and by limiting photoperiod I'm hoping algae won't be an issue. Soon I have some CO2 kits to test for PFK for I may well try them out on this anyway, depending on how it goes.