Right as people are often posting asking the best way to go about aquascaping and how to plant I thought I'd do a more detailed planting.
This kind of covers re-scaping from an old layout too just in case its not a new tank your setting up so in my case the filter is mature already. If your using a completely new set up then after planting you'll need to do a silent cycle which means daily water changes to keep ammonia spikes down for a couple of weeks then gradually slow it down to one every other day until you get down to weekly. The great thing about the silent cycle is you can add fish after a couple of days, just keep up with the water changes, also it will avoid the diatoms.
Here goes.
Firstly before I broke the old tank down,I made sure I had enough containers, to put everything in, my scaping tools, a spray bottle filled with water to keep planted plants moist, cleaning equipment and all my new plants ready. I start by grouping plants together from the old scape in bunches of their own species and putting them in a bucket/container deep enough for me to layer them with wet news paper between the species of plants. Also if using any of the old plants now is a good time to inspect for damaged leaves or any that show signs of deficiencies and get them off the healthy plants. I also use my lighting for the planting by putting it beside the tank as room lighting is terrible for scaping. Also don't forget to give the tank a good clean at the empty stage, there is nothing more annoying than trying to clean the glass once planted heavily.
One more thing, don't forget to keep the plants moist with the spray bottle while planting as Swords and ferns can dry out quickly.
Undiscovered by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Undiscovered by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Next step is sorting out the substrate, I used about 7 litres of Colombo Florabase, good stuff, nutrient rich, lowers PH and leaches some ammonia to help the cycle along. Once the substrate is in and sculpted to your liking, add your hardscape. I normally add the biggest first and work my way down moving the substrate around the edges of it as I go to make it look more natural. I used Redmoor root in this and no rocks this time as in a tank this size can take up valuable planting space but the choice is yours.
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Once I'm settled on your hardscape which can take a while I must admit, there's always a million different layouts to try, I fill a little water to the lowest part of the substrate making sure to wet the whole substrate in the process as this makes planting so much easier. Once I have done that I get planting. Now there is no set way to plant, it all depends on your plan in your mind which can change at any moment, some say plant front to back, some say back to front but I work in a way that suits the scape so I don't have any plants getting in the way of planting others.
I trim the roots to promote new growth and depending which plants I'm using I may trim the stems too such as Staurogyne. On this scape I started with the Staurogyne around the wood using 12 inch tweezers. Next I started on the hardscape planting using superglue as string takes forever, plants used were Anubias Petite, Microsorum Mini and Needle, Weeping and Xmas Mosses and Bolbitis Mini.
Undiscovered by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
My next step on this scape was to plant the back ground using Blyxa Japonica, Hydrocotyle Tripartita, Pinnatifida, Aponogeton Crispus Red and Aponogeton Natans.
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Lastly the foreground, Utricularia Graminifolia pots and 1-2 Grow from Tropica. Great stuff the 1-2 Grow range, out of 2 pots of 1-2 Grow I got about 10cm2 coverage and with the 2 regular pots I got about 3cm2 coverage and its only a quid more a pot. The way to get the most out these is to take out of the pot and wash off the gel on the roots under the tap with room temp water as cold takes a little longer and then cut the disc into about 9 portions with sharp scissors. After this is done you can plant, make sure its about 5cm apart and push it as far in as possible without covering the top.
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Once I get to this stage I cover the whole scape in newspaper and spray it with water, then once its moulded round the scape its time to fill up. One quick thought tho, if your using new wood then put some rocks on it otherwise it will likely float. Newspaper is great as it stops the water pouring in from disturbing the substrate. Once filled, remove the newspaper, fit lighting and turn on the heater and filter.
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
All done and finished pic coming tonight as I need to find the camera for a decent picture as these were taken on the iphone.
This kind of covers re-scaping from an old layout too just in case its not a new tank your setting up so in my case the filter is mature already. If your using a completely new set up then after planting you'll need to do a silent cycle which means daily water changes to keep ammonia spikes down for a couple of weeks then gradually slow it down to one every other day until you get down to weekly. The great thing about the silent cycle is you can add fish after a couple of days, just keep up with the water changes, also it will avoid the diatoms.
Here goes.
Firstly before I broke the old tank down,I made sure I had enough containers, to put everything in, my scaping tools, a spray bottle filled with water to keep planted plants moist, cleaning equipment and all my new plants ready. I start by grouping plants together from the old scape in bunches of their own species and putting them in a bucket/container deep enough for me to layer them with wet news paper between the species of plants. Also if using any of the old plants now is a good time to inspect for damaged leaves or any that show signs of deficiencies and get them off the healthy plants. I also use my lighting for the planting by putting it beside the tank as room lighting is terrible for scaping. Also don't forget to give the tank a good clean at the empty stage, there is nothing more annoying than trying to clean the glass once planted heavily.
One more thing, don't forget to keep the plants moist with the spray bottle while planting as Swords and ferns can dry out quickly.
Undiscovered by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Undiscovered by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Next step is sorting out the substrate, I used about 7 litres of Colombo Florabase, good stuff, nutrient rich, lowers PH and leaches some ammonia to help the cycle along. Once the substrate is in and sculpted to your liking, add your hardscape. I normally add the biggest first and work my way down moving the substrate around the edges of it as I go to make it look more natural. I used Redmoor root in this and no rocks this time as in a tank this size can take up valuable planting space but the choice is yours.
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Once I'm settled on your hardscape which can take a while I must admit, there's always a million different layouts to try, I fill a little water to the lowest part of the substrate making sure to wet the whole substrate in the process as this makes planting so much easier. Once I have done that I get planting. Now there is no set way to plant, it all depends on your plan in your mind which can change at any moment, some say plant front to back, some say back to front but I work in a way that suits the scape so I don't have any plants getting in the way of planting others.
I trim the roots to promote new growth and depending which plants I'm using I may trim the stems too such as Staurogyne. On this scape I started with the Staurogyne around the wood using 12 inch tweezers. Next I started on the hardscape planting using superglue as string takes forever, plants used were Anubias Petite, Microsorum Mini and Needle, Weeping and Xmas Mosses and Bolbitis Mini.
Undiscovered by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
My next step on this scape was to plant the back ground using Blyxa Japonica, Hydrocotyle Tripartita, Pinnatifida, Aponogeton Crispus Red and Aponogeton Natans.
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Lastly the foreground, Utricularia Graminifolia pots and 1-2 Grow from Tropica. Great stuff the 1-2 Grow range, out of 2 pots of 1-2 Grow I got about 10cm2 coverage and with the 2 regular pots I got about 3cm2 coverage and its only a quid more a pot. The way to get the most out these is to take out of the pot and wash off the gel on the roots under the tap with room temp water as cold takes a little longer and then cut the disc into about 9 portions with sharp scissors. After this is done you can plant, make sure its about 5cm apart and push it as far in as possible without covering the top.
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
Once I get to this stage I cover the whole scape in newspaper and spray it with water, then once its moulded round the scape its time to fill up. One quick thought tho, if your using new wood then put some rocks on it otherwise it will likely float. Newspaper is great as it stops the water pouring in from disturbing the substrate. Once filled, remove the newspaper, fit lighting and turn on the heater and filter.
Untitled by ps3steveo, on Flickr
All done and finished pic coming tonight as I need to find the camera for a decent picture as these were taken on the iphone.
Well done. Strange thing is, that tank looks identical to mine. Wish I'd have had the patience to do all that planting! How do you go about vacuuming the tank with soil and the fact that you uproot plants? That's if you can even see the soil?...
