SuperColey1
Planted Section
'UNDER THE FOREST CANOPY'
TANK:
Fluval Duo Deep 800 (125 Litre / 33USG)
FILTRATION/HEATING:
Tetratec EX700. Vecton2 200 8W UV steriliser. Hydor ETH-200 external in-line heater. Glass 'lily' outflow and inflow pipes.
CO2 INJECTION:
Disposable 600g cannisters. Dual gauge welding regulator. Lunapet needle valve. Lunapet CO2 hose, Gamba XII glass bubble counter. Gamba XII non return valve. Rhinox 2000 glass/ceramic diffuser.
(Running 24 hours @ 1-2bps)
LIGHTING:
1 x 29" T5 30W Hot5 Daylight. 1 x 29" T5 30W Hot5 SpectrumGro (1.8WPG).
Timed 4 hours @ 0.9WPG, 2 hours @ 1.8WPG, 4 hours @ 0.9WPG.
WEEKLY ROUTINE:
Macros - 6.5ml dosed daily. Solution consists of 500ml DI Water, 17g Potassium Nitrate, 3g Potassium Phosphate, 36g Potassium sulphate, 16g Magnesium Sulphate.
Micros - 3ml Tropica Plant Nutrition Daily
Hard tap water loaded with nitrate and phosphate.
10-15% water change on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
BIOLOAD:
10 Cardinal tetra, 4 Pitbull plecs, 3 Otocinclus, 2 Bolivian Rams and 10 Malaysian trumpet snails (I counted them in.)
PLANTS:
Bacopa caroliniana (giant bacopa).
Nymphea rubra.
Nymphea zenkeri (tiger lotus).
Nuphar japonica (spatterdock).
Philippine java fern.
Needle leaf java fern.
Anubias Barteri v Nana.
Anubias Barteri Petite.
Cryptocoryne Balansae.
Cryptocoryne Undulata.
Cryptocoryne Spiralis.
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green.
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Brown.
Christmas Moss.
THE SCAPE:
The substrate contains fresh mulm (from previous setup),leonardite (Earthworks soil builder granules), Tropica plant substrate and finally J Arthur Bowers silver sand.
First the ferns, anubias and moss are attached to bogwood so that they aren't out of the tank for too long a time. One Anubia has a flower on it from the previous setup.
A nice clean and empty tank and then in situ with white fablon background.
Fresh mulm is spread across the bottom. Still in a little amount of tank water that it was mixed with when I boxed it.
A ½ inch layer of leonardite added which will be invisible as it is below the bottom border of the tank. This is quite a powdery substance rather than granules as it says on the box.
Tropica substrate goes in as close to planned scape as possible. I can't give a review on this for a long while because I don't know how long it will last etc, but I'm chuffed to bits with the colour because it is the same as the sand and therefore blends in much better than some of the more orangey/brown substrate additives.
Finally the silver sand goes on the top to complete the substrate. I love the colour of silver/dry/play sand. They are all the same material with the only difference being that dry/silver sand is sterilised and play sand is not. It is also the perfect colour to see Pitbull plecs do what they do best which is to change their colour to match their surroundings within reason so when they are on the sand they go a very light sand colour and when they are in the shade or greenery they darken up and show their greeny freckles
Then hardscape is positioned, the tank one third filled with water and equipment added, planted and then filled.
And this is how it looks now.
The scape's title 'under the forest canopy' is really based on what I envision this scape will turn into, which is to use the 7 Nymphae bulbs in the tank (5 x Rubra, 2 x Zenkeri) to provide the 'tree trunks' and stagger their pads through the top third of the tank which will make the 'forest canopy'. I hope I don't need to rename it!!
I have also added Bacopa Caroliniana as individual stems as it has developed nicely in the previous setup and has nice thick stalks and a lovely texture to the leaves. I hated the look of this plant when I first got it in a cheapo collection but I have developed a fondness for its fully grown appearance.
All this cover will provide the plants below with the shelter they need as they are all low light plants (Ferns, Moss, Anubias, Crypts.) These should fill out the floor nicely and provide quite a bit of foliage. In greens and browns and yellows.
I cut the leaves from most of the crypts and Lilys so that I won't need to fish out dead leaves and also because the Lilys need to be trained to stagger again because during my recent 2 weeks holiday they all got carried away and would look a little bit too much for this scape.
Therefore this tank will be a slow grower and the vision I have of it may not come into fruition for 6 months or more which I think will be quite interesting to watch (Do I sound boring or what?)
I have chosen the white background because when you walk through a wood or forest you see the horizon through the trunks as white although I'm not too sure about the fablon backing. I chose fablon because my equipment is all glass and it needs to be suckered to the outside of the tank. The fablon is very smooth and lets the suckers hold on whereas paper, cloth etc doesn't let you do this. I may yet paint the back of the tank white but I'm not too keen on this.
At the moment it looks poor and people may say black would be better but if the tank develops as I am planning then it will get a lot darker with the Lily pads blocking a fair bit of light and then the white will be integral to the overall effect. Black would look better at the moment but in a couple of months would mean you couldn't see much at all. This tank is very much a case of planning for the future and I may well keep it the way it is for many years to come if it turns out the way I want it to.
Another integral part is the hardscape. Some may say that it is too low for a high tank but there are no set rules in this hobby and I have intentionally left the hardscape low because I want the sense of depth to make the tank seem taller and give an illusion of height to the 'forest'.
Let me know what you think. I am open to critique, both positive and negative, but please be gentle as this is my first real attempt at an aquascape rather than just a tank with plants in it.
Andy
TANK:
Fluval Duo Deep 800 (125 Litre / 33USG)
FILTRATION/HEATING:
Tetratec EX700. Vecton2 200 8W UV steriliser. Hydor ETH-200 external in-line heater. Glass 'lily' outflow and inflow pipes.
CO2 INJECTION:
Disposable 600g cannisters. Dual gauge welding regulator. Lunapet needle valve. Lunapet CO2 hose, Gamba XII glass bubble counter. Gamba XII non return valve. Rhinox 2000 glass/ceramic diffuser.
(Running 24 hours @ 1-2bps)
LIGHTING:
1 x 29" T5 30W Hot5 Daylight. 1 x 29" T5 30W Hot5 SpectrumGro (1.8WPG).
Timed 4 hours @ 0.9WPG, 2 hours @ 1.8WPG, 4 hours @ 0.9WPG.
WEEKLY ROUTINE:
Macros - 6.5ml dosed daily. Solution consists of 500ml DI Water, 17g Potassium Nitrate, 3g Potassium Phosphate, 36g Potassium sulphate, 16g Magnesium Sulphate.
Micros - 3ml Tropica Plant Nutrition Daily
Hard tap water loaded with nitrate and phosphate.
10-15% water change on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
BIOLOAD:
10 Cardinal tetra, 4 Pitbull plecs, 3 Otocinclus, 2 Bolivian Rams and 10 Malaysian trumpet snails (I counted them in.)
PLANTS:
Bacopa caroliniana (giant bacopa).
Nymphea rubra.
Nymphea zenkeri (tiger lotus).
Nuphar japonica (spatterdock).
Philippine java fern.
Needle leaf java fern.
Anubias Barteri v Nana.
Anubias Barteri Petite.
Cryptocoryne Balansae.
Cryptocoryne Undulata.
Cryptocoryne Spiralis.
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green.
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Brown.
Christmas Moss.
THE SCAPE:
The substrate contains fresh mulm (from previous setup),leonardite (Earthworks soil builder granules), Tropica plant substrate and finally J Arthur Bowers silver sand.
First the ferns, anubias and moss are attached to bogwood so that they aren't out of the tank for too long a time. One Anubia has a flower on it from the previous setup.
A nice clean and empty tank and then in situ with white fablon background.
Fresh mulm is spread across the bottom. Still in a little amount of tank water that it was mixed with when I boxed it.
A ½ inch layer of leonardite added which will be invisible as it is below the bottom border of the tank. This is quite a powdery substance rather than granules as it says on the box.
Tropica substrate goes in as close to planned scape as possible. I can't give a review on this for a long while because I don't know how long it will last etc, but I'm chuffed to bits with the colour because it is the same as the sand and therefore blends in much better than some of the more orangey/brown substrate additives.
Finally the silver sand goes on the top to complete the substrate. I love the colour of silver/dry/play sand. They are all the same material with the only difference being that dry/silver sand is sterilised and play sand is not. It is also the perfect colour to see Pitbull plecs do what they do best which is to change their colour to match their surroundings within reason so when they are on the sand they go a very light sand colour and when they are in the shade or greenery they darken up and show their greeny freckles
Then hardscape is positioned, the tank one third filled with water and equipment added, planted and then filled.
And this is how it looks now.
The scape's title 'under the forest canopy' is really based on what I envision this scape will turn into, which is to use the 7 Nymphae bulbs in the tank (5 x Rubra, 2 x Zenkeri) to provide the 'tree trunks' and stagger their pads through the top third of the tank which will make the 'forest canopy'. I hope I don't need to rename it!!
I have also added Bacopa Caroliniana as individual stems as it has developed nicely in the previous setup and has nice thick stalks and a lovely texture to the leaves. I hated the look of this plant when I first got it in a cheapo collection but I have developed a fondness for its fully grown appearance.
All this cover will provide the plants below with the shelter they need as they are all low light plants (Ferns, Moss, Anubias, Crypts.) These should fill out the floor nicely and provide quite a bit of foliage. In greens and browns and yellows.
I cut the leaves from most of the crypts and Lilys so that I won't need to fish out dead leaves and also because the Lilys need to be trained to stagger again because during my recent 2 weeks holiday they all got carried away and would look a little bit too much for this scape.
Therefore this tank will be a slow grower and the vision I have of it may not come into fruition for 6 months or more which I think will be quite interesting to watch (Do I sound boring or what?)
I have chosen the white background because when you walk through a wood or forest you see the horizon through the trunks as white although I'm not too sure about the fablon backing. I chose fablon because my equipment is all glass and it needs to be suckered to the outside of the tank. The fablon is very smooth and lets the suckers hold on whereas paper, cloth etc doesn't let you do this. I may yet paint the back of the tank white but I'm not too keen on this.
At the moment it looks poor and people may say black would be better but if the tank develops as I am planning then it will get a lot darker with the Lily pads blocking a fair bit of light and then the white will be integral to the overall effect. Black would look better at the moment but in a couple of months would mean you couldn't see much at all. This tank is very much a case of planning for the future and I may well keep it the way it is for many years to come if it turns out the way I want it to.
Another integral part is the hardscape. Some may say that it is too low for a high tank but there are no set rules in this hobby and I have intentionally left the hardscape low because I want the sense of depth to make the tank seem taller and give an illusion of height to the 'forest'.
Let me know what you think. I am open to critique, both positive and negative, but please be gentle as this is my first real attempt at an aquascape rather than just a tank with plants in it.
Andy
Its a great idea! Are you going to plant any major fast growers to combat algae in the first instance?
Not sure I follow how its attached though 
