Undiscovered

[Ps3Steveo]

Tank - Arc 60
Filter - Aquamanta 800LPH external
Heater - 100W internal soon to be external
CO2 - 2KG FE, Dici reg, UP inline diffuser 1.5BPS
Lighting - DIY LED 33W
Ferts - Neutro T 6ml daily
Hardscape - Mini landscape rock maybe & redmoor
Plants - Not sure yet got some Microsorum mini(app its new), Utricularia Graminifolia (first time using this and app difficult) and some Hyrgophila Pinnatifida. So some challenging plants so far and maybe some from the old scape but no where near as many, completely different layout too.

Here's some pic's of the new wood layout I'm liking, sat on top of the tank as its still full but helps me make sure it will fit. Going for kind of an NA style but more of a manicured look.

New redmoor by ps3steveo, on Flickr


New redmoor by ps3steveo, on Flickr


New redmoor by ps3steveo, on Flickr

 

[Wills]

I know this is a planted journal but just a geeky idea for your fish - why not pick fish that dont have a full scientific name yet - ie undiscovered

Things like Aquiedens sp.Jenna Herra - though this is too big for this tank.... Cant think of any off the top of my head for this size but Im sure there will be something

Wills

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Lol I'll look into it .

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Right as there are quite a few members talking in planted about aquascaping and the best way to go about it I'm gonna do a detailed write up on this so everyone knows the easy way to do it and the best route to take step by step. Will have this complete and the step by step guide with all the pics up Saturday, providing the last couple of pots turn up tomorrow.

Steve

 

[Sharpy1987]

That bit of wood on the right is awesome. I'd love to get something like that for my tank re-vamp

 

[Ps3Steveo]

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. If your not interested in the read and just the scape then further down will be all specs and finished product.

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. 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.

 

[ian]

Looks pretty good Steve, have you secured that redmoor down?? i anticipate float off if you haven't. Good look with the UG as well, it remains one of the hardest, if not the hardest plant to grow.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Thanks, yeah the UG is spreading,was quite surprised how quick actually, yet to see it pearl tho considering every other plant does daily even moss its annoying. The wood is held down by some rocks for now, after smashing up all my old mini landscape rock I struggled to find some big enough to hold it there lol. Wont be smashing any up again any time soon, Anyway yeah the UG, its a beautiful plant and all seems to be growing in the same direction which is nice as it looks like it flows with the water so all good, I know its a difficult one too but my nemesis is still Pogostemon Stellata, but looks like its coming around in the 35L now.

P.S. Those Anubias are the rhizomes you sent me ages back that the dog chewed up and slowly came back to life, hopefully now they're not stuck in a jungle the leaves might grow without those couple of holes.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Ok so here is the finished product plus a few extra pics.

Rocks are purely to hold wood down.



Dave's Camera 077 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Dave's Camera 082 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Daves Camera 2 007 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Daves Camera 2 008 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Daves Camera 2 009 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Daves Camera 2 010 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Daves Camera 2 011 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Daves Camera 2 012 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Daves Camera 2 013 by ps3steveo, on Flickr



Daves Camera 2 014 by ps3steveo, on Flickr

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Quick update, the tank seems to have settled and the plants are comfortable as all of a sudden everything has taken off, the Utricularia has gone mad and started shooting up through the substrate as it spreads, the 2 x Crispus Reds threw up 6 new shoots between the 2 of them and the Hydro is going mad so gonna have to get trimming before it takes over. Pic's to follow once it gets dark and I pick up the new camera later too.

 

[snazy]

It looks really nice. I never liked blue background but this specific colour really makes the tank look great. Actually is this the wall and the blue is a reflection of the lights? Also, not sure if it's the pictures or not, but the light nuance looks great, not too bright and not too dark. May I ask you what type of lighting is this?
My lights make the wall look green and although I like it, from what I understand that's definately not the best type of light for the plants.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Hi mate, its the wall behind its white but looks blue from the water and lights, my lights are custom LED I built. Thanks for the kind comment.

 

[mike455555]

always love your journals mate. where did you get utricularia graminifolia from? and tropica say's its carnivorousness? what does it eat? :L

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Got the UG from tropica lol, some 1-2 grow stuff, it only forms bladders which trap tiny inverts and insects if its not well fertilised and smothered in CO2,mines really coming along,just want it to go faster so I can enter Dec TOTM lol.

 

[mike455555]

you'd get my vote

i hadn't heard of it until today. is it hard to grow? and was it expensive?