Photo: New HUGE tank & build, stay tuned!

[pookiewn]

It's looking fantastic, really inspirational! Have to say am getting a darker shade of green

 

[cml]

Great thread Mere, it makes me want to redo the tank again ^^!
Thats whats great about these kind of threads, they are an inspiration to all of us! =)

 

[memojo1979]

I haven't progressed past the artificial plants (except the new live plants I bought yesterday + nearly managed to kill off 1/2 of my cherry shrimp with!)+ basic hides yet, as I'm worried about water quality - when it all grows up nice + bushy, how do you keep it clean?

 

[ZoeT94]

looks sick!!!

Wish I had money, space and time for a new build!

 

[Jossie]

Looking gorgeous!

(XD i could see it in a reflection on the side of your tank in one of the pictures- even though it was a bit blurry)

 

[Mandy6]

That looks so awesome! I want a new tank now please ;-;

 

[MereB]

Thanks everyone.

Great thread Mere, it makes me want to redo the tank again ^^!
Thats whats great about these kind of threads, they are an inspiration to all of us! =)

I absolutley LOVE aquascaping and looking at everyone elses tanks. :lol: I get just as excited over seeing a new tank as I do seeing their new axie in it :rofl:

I haven't progressed past the artificial plants (except the new live plants I bought yesterday + nearly managed to kill off 1/2 of my cherry shrimp with!)+ basic hides yet, as I'm worried about water quality - when it all grows up nice + bushy, how do you keep it clean?

Hubby killed his only 5 Crystal red's a week or two ago when he added them to their tank and couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was until he found a small patch of bluegreen algae on a bot of hairgrass that he's added the night before. Took less than an hour for them to go down but unfortunately they stayed down and were very dead in the morning. I'm very lucky that I don't have to buy my plants or this thing would cost a FORTUNE to stock

It will for the most part keep itself fairly clean. The reverse undergravel will blow anything out from under the central hill so I can simply suck it off the sand. The lowest point of the tank is in the corner behind the house (our floor has a very slight slope) which is where the intake is too so anything that goes behind there will ultimately get sucked into the filter as will any presents the axies leave in the pipe under the house. The pipes in the main hill have holes in them to allow the water to move from back to front taking any muck with it. I can however get the hose into all of them to clean them out as well. The rocks on the right are easily gotten behind as well.
Cleaning all the moss will be no more difficult than it was cleaning the moss I've had on rocks and logs in other tanks. A gravel siphon and a wave of the hand does wonders to get any settled gunk out. Otherwise the usual baster and regular siphoning will keep it clean. There are only a couple of places where the sand is deeper than an inch and it will have plants in it. I'll also add a serve of live blackworms which do the same job as earthworms do in the garden keeping the sand aerated and stopping it from compacting and forming gas pockets. Wonderful little critters and the best part is that all the axies in there will have outgrown them and won't bother trying to eat them. Dillon Chrysta and Fish don't bother with them unless they are in a feeding jar and the other 5 babies are leavign them alone in their tank now too. I guess a mouthful of sand just is't worth it for one or two little blackworms
Surface movement was my only concern since the filter doesn't break the surface at all but I've managed to sort that out now too. Surface aggetation will help prevent the protein scum from forming and help stop the oil out of the axie pellet from forming an impermeable film.

(XD i could see it in a reflection on the side of your tank in one of the pictures- even though it was a bit blurry)

HAHA Yeah I know :happy: You'll note the absence of any reflection in the glass behind the blue bow though

So far it seems I haven't killed the filter bacteria which means I don't have to cycle it all over again YAY not that there are any axies in there to stress over anyway. If you're wondering the guppies (30 of them) are in there to feed the filter and keep it alive until it's ready at which time hubby will remove the pretty ones for breeding stock and the rest will be there for axie snacks.

Thanks again for all the compliments. This is a marathon of a build and the sheer magnitude of it has gotten to me every now and then when I spend a few hours on it and seem to get very little done and I've wondered why I'm bothering finishing it. So thank you!

 

[Minniechild]

Hey Mere!
So Awesome! Just wondering, could you post a diagram of how you're layering everything? Although your instructions are pretty clear, a pic would be of great help (Hopefully I'll be getting another tank soon, and I'd love to do something similar )
Also, any suggestions on cultivating plants? I'm getting sick of losing mine every three months!

 

[mewsie]

Yes!!

 

[iChris]

looking good mere, I love the pangonda/hut thing.


I'm taking my nephew to AQWA on sunday, so hopefully I'll get some inspiration while I'm there!

 

[laalflaach]

That is looking so cool! Im so jealous! Well done on a fantastic job!

 

[cml]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, you got me to want to something to my axxietank as well Mere =), and I was thinking about building something like your hill of stones, only smaller and about 1.5 feet wide (I got a 3 and a little feet long tank).

My question is, something Ive actually wondered about for some time, how much weight can a standard tank take (that is, the bottom glass)? The glass is pretty standard and the tank is in good condition, Im just worried ^^.

Cheers!

 

[MereB]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, you got me to want to something to my axxietank as well Mere =), and I was thinking about building something like your hill of stones, only smaller and about 1.5 feet wide (I got a 3 and a little feet long tank).

My question is, something Ive actually wondered about for some time, how much weight can a standard tank take (that is, the bottom glass)? The glass is pretty standard and the tank is in good condition, Im just worried ^^.

Cheers!

VERY good question and one I forgot to address earlier.
It will all come down to how thick the glass on the bottom of your tank is. I wouldn't try anything to this scale (rock right along the length) on anything less than 8mm glass on the bottom and if you did I'd suggest you have the base FULLY supported. That said if you were only planning on doing it to 1.5ft of a 3ft tank it should be fine as long as you have 8mm's on the bottom.

My tank is not entirely the standard for it's size. It has 10mm glass around which is normal but it has a 12mm base (a former marine tank) so I know it will take the weight but you need to be absolutely certain that none of the rocks you place in could be knocked over or down by an axie or you will almost certainly lose your tank or your axie.

There are lighter alternatives to pea gravel. Filter noodles for example would do the same job and be much lighter they are unfortunately more expensive but on a smaller scale that may not be too bad.


@ Minnie I will see what I can do for you in regards to diagrams and some more detailed pics. I can get around the 2 ends with my camera but not behind or under but I'll see what I ca draw for you. Was there a particular area you really wanted to know about?
Aside from the filter base with the bioballs on top it really was just stacking the gravel bags in behind, over and around the various rocks and pipes that I wanted to display to keep them securely in place and to provide a good growing surface for the mosses.
The only real secrets to plants is to pick ones that are naturally suited to the cold water and higher pH that will require as little light as possible but if you want to keep plants alive you WILL need some light. An aquarium light for a few hours a day is enough for some species and as long as you have some beautiful dark hides for you axies to retire to while they are on it will be fine.


@ Chris oooooh AQWA I LOVE aqwa. I'll bet you'll come back with a million ideas :happy: Have fun! the seals were gone last time I was there... maybe 12 months ago, I was really disappointed. Had to be content with the touch pool.

 

[cml]

Cheers Mere, my glass is a bit on the thin side I think.
But you got me thinking and I have got an idea I think will be nice...will post them in a previous thread I made. Basically I want another hide and some plateus to make the landscape more dynamic.

 

[Shizeric]

Also, larger tanks tend to have tempered glass which is much stronger than the standard glass on smaller aquariums.

 

[MereB]

Cheers Mere, my glass is a bit on the thin side I think.
But you got me thinking and I have got an idea I think will be nice...will post them in a previous thread I made. Basically I want another hide and some plateus to make the landscape more dynamic.

Sounds like you've got a plan going on. I look forward to seeing it :happy:

 

[Minniechild]

Thanks Mere! I remember you saying earlier you were putting in your canister as well, and I think that's where i'm getting myself confused in wondering where it goes (so that when I get around to doing my tank, it will be able to take the bio load of my babies ), but what you were saying with the base itself made that part crystal clear *Bounces in anticipation!*. And thanks for the advice on the plants- I've kinda killed off everything apart from Java moss and the very first anubias I got....(And I've got the light running 12hrs a day at the moment, so fingers crossed I won't lose the survivors...)

 

[MereB]

Thanks Mere! I remember you saying earlier you were putting in your canister as well, and I think that's where i'm getting myself confused in wondering where it goes (so that when I get around to doing my tank, it will be able to take the bio load of my babies ), but what you were saying with the base itself made that part crystal clear *Bounces in anticipation!*. And thanks for the advice on the plants- I've kinda killed off everything apart from Java moss and the very first anubias I got....(And I've got the light running 12hrs a day at the moment, so fingers crossed I won't lose the survivors...)

Not a problem at all :happy:
The canister pumps the water down under the hill and out through the under gravel base. The intake is in the corner behind the hut :happy: eventually I'd be able to remove the canister entirely and just have a power head doing all the work..... maybe. I could just leave the canister there as added filtration and I'll need it if I need to put in a chiller and since I've just ordered an new one for this tank I should probably get my moneys worth out of it. The one that's on there is currently sitting in a bucket to keep the carpet from getting drenched It's always had a small leak and apparently it's a fairly common problem in this particular filter but it's gotten a whole lot worse in the last week and the impeller is starting to rattle a bit even after a thorough clean out so it's time for it to retire. Besides, hubby needs a new filter for his 4x2x2 and I need a new single outlet air pump anyway might as well make it worth the postage.

The plants might not have been your fault then if they were getting a good dose of light. Most pet and aquarium stores will sell plants that are not all that suited to long term life under water as aquarium plants. There are HEAPS that fall into the marginal category and these are the ones that look fine for a few days and then they start dropping leaves and most will simply rot off at the substrate level and all you're left with are floating sticks with mushy ends

Most of the plants we stock our aquariums with are not true aquatics, that group is actually very small, but there are quite a few that adapt well to being under water and will grow quite happily after their initial transition period. Sword plants for example are a terrestrial plant, they live out of and very close to water BUT they will also transform nicely into aquatic plants over a few weeks. Others and this includes almost all the stem plants do not and are really more like the potted colour you buy for your garden. Mature flowering annual plants that give a good show of colour for a short time and then die.

All the plants should grow in your tank and there are more of the higher light plants that will be happy too :happy: and for anyone else who is curious....

If you want to keep your tank in a wardrobe or in the spare room with the window blocked out and never ever turn a light on then your only option is plastic. Real plants NEED light.
If however you keep your tank in a well used room in the house, the family/lounge room for example and your tank gets some light each day, say enough for you to be able to see into it clearly or if you ware happy to have an aquarium light on for a few hours (you can buy different light intensity tubes. Some dimmer than others) then you can have some real plants.
SO plants for the tank that gets a few hours of light. You can google these if you want pictures
Java MOSS
anubias nana
Vallisneria but avoid any corkscrew/twisted varieties Ammericana Gigantica is excellent for these conditions.
Elodea but this one is illegal in Australia because of it's weed like tendency to take over if it gets into waterways.
and my personal faves
Ambulia (Limnophila sessiliflora or Asian Ambulia and NOT its cousin Limnophila aquaticum which requires more light and slightly warmer water)
Water sprite - (ceratopteris thalictroides) my guys LOVE this one. It's under water leaves are VERY different to it's out of water ones which is what it will have in the shops since they are usually grown emersed to be sold as it's faster. But the submerged leaves are beautiful and very fern like. My babies in particular love sitting in the huge cluster of leaves that sit just below the surface of the water. It is a nice fast growing plant, which means it uses more Nitrate, that sends it's leaves to the surface quickly which gives great shade underneath and wonderful hiding spaces. It also multiplies by producing plant-lets from it's leaves which you can plant as you find them and they quite quickly turn into big adult plants. LOVE LOVE LOVE this plant.

You might be able to grow a few of the Echinodorus (sword plants) but avoid any that have variegated leaves particularly of they are green and RED. Red plants require a lot of light. The regular old Amazon swords and maybe the melon swords are probably your best bet but these do require some light.

Plants where the tank is lit for up to 7 hours a day with relatively good light.
all of the above PLUS the medium light loving plants
Echinodorus - including some of the variegated varieties but avoiding the pygmy chains and any that are predominantly red they like very strong light from my experience
Lilaeopsis (a cute little grass like ground cover)
Java FERN
Cabomba caroliniana (pH up to about 7)
Bacopa (Australis, monnieri, and maybe Carolinana if you have the 7 hours but not if less than that)

You could try the Blyxa family if you're feeling confident but they may fail the thrive in the slightly too cold water.

 

[Minniechild]

Thanks so much for that, Mere! I know where all my money in August is going!
Also, any further suggestions on the best substrate to keep axies and plants happy?

 

[MereB]

Thanks so much for that, Mere! I know where all my money in August is going!
Also, any further suggestions on the best substrate to keep axies and plants happy?

LOL. Ahhh you gotta love the tax return splurge Just spent some of mine on filters :lol:

Sand all the way! There are special fine gravels and not so fine ones that are made to support plant growth etc. but they are horribly expensive, usually brown and are rarely axie safe
You will need it to be, as a minimum, an inch to an inch and a half deep where you want to plant to keep it anchored. You may, depending on the plant as some plants are more buoyant than others, need to to put a couple of larger stones around them to keep them down while they get their roots set and have a good hold in the sand so axies have a harder time knocking them out It doesn't have to bee that deep right through the tank just where you want plant.