Tom's Bucket O' Mud

[Ferg1985]

Nature in a [glass] box! Looks absolutely sublime!

 

[BigTom]

Nature in a [glass] box! Looks absolutely sublime!

Thanks! Here's hoping everything keeps growing while I'm away.

 

[lljdma06]

I like this setup a great deal. Hope it does well with your extended absence. In my neck of the woods, certain plants did better with less maintenance. My aponogetons thrived and I got many seeds to germinate after the plant flowered. My crypts on the other hand really prefer frequent waterchanges.

Liz

 

[ian]

great pics Tom, love this set up.

 

[bae1994]

i still find this amazing just really natural and stunning congrats

i still find this amazing just really natural and stunning congrats

 

[Verminator89]

This is just genious. Coming back to this i'm just more amazed each time. Can't wait to see how this looks once your back

 

[BigTom]

Thanks chaps. Verm, glad you like it but not sure its genious

I've basically stolen ideas form various other places, this being the main one - http/www.tuncalik.com/2009/09/biotope-in-my-study/

 

[PuffKing]

New pics please

 

[BigTom]

Hurrah! Just got home after nearly 6 weeks and everything isn't dead

Flatmates decided to go on holiday so water level was down to about 5 inches, but everything bar the juncus repens seems to be alive (although one of the lillies is very wilted, hoping it's going to bounce back). No algae except for green dust on the glass. Emergent echinodorus is now over 2 feet tall!

Bajillions of little shrimp everywhere, microfauna seems to have done very well.

Pics tonight once I've had a bit of a tidy.

 

[electropunk06]

Glad to here it is still going strong.
Looking forward to the pics

 

[BigTom]

Well, here you go -

A bit warts-and-all (excuse the plants I'm growing in on the right hand side). Lots of mulm collecting in the middle of the tank, which is looking a bit bare now. Need to give some thought to how to scape that bit. As you can see, the echinodorus is taller than anything else now and is only inches off the light. Might have to start trimming it, which would be a shame. I've straightened it up now, but it was casting a lot of shadow, mainly over the glosso, which is frankly a dead loss. Need to think of something to replace it with, I think.

Microfauna doing well, shrimp have exploded nicely, and seems to be a good collection of arthropods, nematodes and other monsters. Fished out what appeared to be a 1.5" leech, #32### knows where that came from!

 

[ian]

Love it Tom, it looks beautiful. The rock and wood look so natural.

 

[micko]

I love this.

 

[Carlovel1]

I'd love to see a FTS with room lights turned on.

 

[BigTom]

Thanks chaps. Carl, its just sat in the corner of my bedroom so the wider view isn't very exciting, but I might put up a room shot at some point.