Llj's 8g Nano Nightmare!

[Guest]

Stunning ..You should be so proud of that tank... xx

 

[Guest_Heather._*]

Stunning ..You should be so proud of that tank... xx

 

[sophos9]

Your nano looks great, its come so for from 5 pages back! Plant growth and color is ace

You must be well happy, congrats!

 

[lljdma06]

Llj -- such a fabulous tank! It looks mah-va-lous! It really makes me want to get my little Finnex going again. I don't know though -- I promised myself only two tanks....especially with summer coming on. But after seeing this, I'm not sure if I can hold back!

-sondra

You know you wanna... Go low-light with the finnex. I run mine on the stock lighting and haven't looked back.

wow llj - what a stunning little tank and the water clarity looks awesome
shame about the little platy you lost.

Thanks Bloo. Yeah, I'm bugged about the platy, but I've three babies that are big enough now to go in.

Wowwww The colors really pop!!! So lush and healthy (but again, that's already expected from your tanks ).
Too bad they won't accept non-UK entries for the PFK nano contest. You would have made a tough contender

I think they did that on purpose. I wouldn't win anyways, there are tons out there that are a lot better than this one. Although I am pretty chuffed, this tank made the top five in the PFK website, #3, I think. And that was an old photo. I'll probably post the updates tonight.

What a beautiful tank! Plants look really healthy and colourful. The tank and photos look very professional.GJ

I think I took about 5,000,000 photos before I found the 5 that came out well enough to post. I really suck at taking pictures.

very nicely done. Love the combination of colours... lush... lovely...

Thanks, I really wanted to see if I could try a Dutch scape with such a small tank.

Stunning ..You should be so proud of that tank... xx

Thanks. Who ever you are.

Your nano looks great, its come so for from 5 pages back! Plant growth and color is ace
You must be well happy, congrats!

Yeah, I'm pretty pround. This tank doesn't use CO2 or ferts of any kind except platy poop, which is kind of wierd. I often wonder why it's even working, but Tom Barr won't tell me.

Thanks a bunch for all the really sweet comments. More are always welcome. Things move so slow with this tank that I probably won't have any updates for a while. I'll post pictures when the HM and E. tennelus fill in. I really like the E. tennelus, and will probably use it in other tanks.

llj

 

[Themuleous]

Still looking good Llj think the E. tellenus should look good in the front corner, certainly brightens that spot up.

Sam

 

[baboo_jenge]

wuhh.... it looks amazing!
I hope i can build a tank like that one day.

Dont the platies reproduce really fast? I kept some platies last summer in school tank and they tripled and doubled (lol what the heckever it is called) in number during summer.
We had to give away for free....

 

[lljdma06]

wuhh.... it looks amazing!
I hope i can build a tank like that one day.

Dont the platies reproduce really fast? I kept some platies last summer in school tank and they tripled and doubled (lol what the heckever it is called) in number during summer.
We had to give away for free....

Thanks a bunch. I'm sure you'll have better ones!

As for the platies, they actually don't drop much. They were sold as "dwarf" platies which means either a cross, line-bred, or just stunted. Supposedly, they are sterile, but I have a fertile female, though she drops a lot less than a typical platy. Don't get me wrong, I've got nearly double my initital population and there's more on the way, but the fry survival rate isn't as high, and I've had these fish since October. I figure if I can sustain the population for a time, I'm satisfied. Eventually, they'll start getting three eyes and 4 tails, so it'll be time to replace them.

llj

 

[stang1]

Your tank looks absolutely amazing!

 

[lljdma06]

Your tank looks absolutely amazing!

Thanks Stang!, it's appreciated.

I updated this tank recently, but the pictures were from late February, so I haven't taken pictures in almost 2 months. The major change was the removal of the crypts in the front and allowing the E. tennelus to do its job. It is spreading very nicely now and has nearly filled the front of the tank. Slow work, but it's happening. It is also staying small, which is quite good and forms a pretty contrast with the HM. That is quite compact now and an ideal place for fry. Out of six or so that drop every month, I usually get about 2-3 survivors. I'll have to consider moving platies to other tanks soon, I have some C. pygmeus on special order. Yeah me!

A funny thing with the R. rotundifolia. I have the var. narrowleaf, but a few days ago, I noticed a few stems of a rounder-leafed version creeping up. I really like the look of this and will cultivate this further. It's going to take a while, though, I only have about two stems. Still continuing the down-sizing work with the A. reineckii. The zosterfolia is also doing well, though I find I have to thin it out on occasion to get the best growth.

The overall scape is really starting to settle down, which means I can sit back and enjoy. I'm going for longevity in this one, as I think when competition time comes, this will please judges. I think they'd like to see a tank that's had a long-established scape rather than one that was recently planted then photographed. This tank is almost ready to add to the member's section, almost.

Thanks for looking,

llj

 

[Dave Spencer]

This one is definitely your best tank Llj IMO. There is a nice balance of red and green, alongside nice and varied leaf types. Having these types of plants alongside eachother without one type quickly overgrowing and subduing its neighbour is certainly testament to slower growing tanks. I found Echinodorus tenellus to be way too unruly in my 3.4WPG EI tank.

Dave.

 

[Themuleous]

I agree with Dave, once the E.tennelus (sp?) gets going in the front left it'll have a wicked graduation from front left to right back. As Dave also says the colours and leaf shape variation it top notch. Give it another month and it'll look superb. You could even call this a fully Dutch layout.

Sam

PS - As the PFK comp is only open to the UK can I 'borrow' some of these picsm please? Do you think George would notice?

 

[lljdma06]

I agree with Dave, once the E.tennelus (sp?) gets going in the front left it'll have a wicked graduation from front left to right back. As Dave also says the colours and leaf shape variation it top notch. Give it another month and it'll look superb. You could even call this a fully Dutch layout.

That's the idea. Who said Dutch scapes couldn't be done with smaller tanks?

PS - As the PFK comp is only open to the UK can I 'borrow' some of these picsm please? Do you think George would notice?

I think he'd notice.

 

[Themuleous]

Doh! I think he would unfortunately!

I think you should send them in some pics anyway just to prove what can be achieved, you might not be able to win but you'd certainly get a mention.

Just out of interest what do you think is the key to these sort of scapes? Does tank dimensions make a difference. The reason for asking is that as you probably know I'm trying to do something similar in my 20g, but I think its to tall and narrow for a decent Dutch scape?

Another question, what are the stems like lower down? Do they retain their leaves or if you pulled one completely out, would it be bold on the lower part with just leaves at the top? How do you prune the plants?

Questions, questions!

Sam

 

[lljdma06]

Doh! I think he would unfortunately!

I think you should send them in some pics anyway just to prove what can be achieved, you might not be able to win but you'd certainly get a mention.

I don't think I could even for a mention. It was pretty adamant about UK entries only. I am considering perhaps two other competitions. But I'm not certain. Either AGA or ADA, or both, but just for judges' commentary. I don't even know if I should even bother entering, my tank certainly isn't at the level of some people out there.

Just out of interest what do you think is the key to these sort of scapes? Does tank dimensions make a difference. The reason for asking is that as you probably know I'm trying to do something similar in my 20g, but I think its to tall and narrow for a decent Dutch scape?

I don't know, I'm just learning myself, but it seems that finding the right plants is a big part. There needs to be a representative amount of certain leaf-shapes and contrasting colors. In addition, things are never one length, but either staggered or even rounded. I've been reading up on Dutch layouts, and the irony is that I implemented some of their ideas without knowing. One thing I'm lacking in is a moss background or wall of some kind, which is a part of the Dutch style, but I personally think the tank is too small to do this effectively and my tank is seamless, which would make a side moss wall look really odd. In addition, Dutch tanks are traditionally much larger (90-200g), and are usually scaped to be viewed from the front. The sides and back are hidden via a moss wall of some type or a wooden frame. However, if you can easily fit three layers of plants (foreground, midground, background) then the tank is plenty wide enough to try a Dutch scape. Usually there are about 12-19 plant species used in a typical Dutch, which I have far too few of. On the flip side, usually 3-4 species of plants are featured per foot length of tank, and I sort of conform to this, except on a much smaller scale. I you divide my tank in half, it breaks down the folloiwng way.

Left side:
Background: Rotala rotundifolia
Midground: Rounded A. reineckii
Foreround: Cryptocoryne and E. tennelus in a sweep that takes up 2/3s of the front of the tank.

Focal point: Holly hock of HM starts 1/3 of the tank length in and takes up 2/3's of the tank length roughly, which sort of conforms to the rule of thirds, a popular rule in Dutch scapes.

Right side:
Background: Heternantera zosterfolia
Midground: Rotala rotundifolia
Foreground: HM.

Fish choice: I'm missing a bottom-dweller. Dutch scapes tend to have fish in each strata, and there shouldn't be more than one species per strata. If I add my planned pygmy cories, this will be good for the design, as the platies tend to occupy the middle and upper strata.

The limitations for me are the low-light conditions and the limited plant species, but again, this tank is small. But it shows that a Dutch style scape is possible even in a tank this size.

Another question, what are the stems like lower down? Do they retain their leaves or if you pulled one completely out, would it be bold on the lower part with just leaves at the top? How do you prune the plants?

Questions, questions!

I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability. My stems are fine lower down. They pretty much retain leaves all the way to the substrate, though they may be slightly more sparse, but they definitely have leaves.

I use several techniques. I'll either prune the old-fashioned way, cut the tops and replant just the tops. More often, though, I'll encourage branching by leaving the cut stems in. I think this creates a fuller look and you can begin to shape the plant better. I'll usually replant the cut stems in another tank. I don't aim for the same height, but rather for a gradual slope or a mound. Because the tank is so small, I'm finding I get smaller leaves by encouraging branching. This works especially well for the A. reineckii, which is now quite contained in this tank.

I hope this helps a bit, Sam. I'd eventually like to setup a larger system, 55g or so, in a Dutch style, but money as always is tight.

llj

 

[lljdma06]

Stay-tuned. I wanted to clean my gravel and re-fresh my HM by replanting and ended up pulling up everything when I pulled out the HM. So the tank is a big, cloudy mess right now (this is why I have double filters!). Funny, it wasn't the E. tenellus that caused all the trouble. What does this mean? Time for a beer and a new scape.

'Cause you know beer helps me think.

I don't know what I want, but I've extra of the following plants:

A. reineckii
H. zosterfolia
H. micranthemoides
E. tenellus
C. lucens or whatnot, I've no clue
B. caroliana
R. rotundifolia
Christmas moss
Java fern

I'll see what LFS have in stock. I'd love some wood. Small pieces or branchy pieces.

I still love Dutch, but I'm really liking the ease of my other scapes. Bare substrate in spaces and I'm still holding out for my pygmy cories. I can vacumn when I please too. Besides, I've got beautiful shots of the Dutch scape for competitions, so I can change things around if I want. The tank so old that I can do what I want with it now. See, this is what you wait 3-4 months for. In addition, my grave/sand is really pretty bare. Platies are haveing a great time digging through the crap.

llj

EDIT: I have no money. So, I can only use what I've got, so that possibly rules wood out, unless I can rob/break wood from my other tanks.