New shots... SE Asian and African biotope tanks
- Thread starter DrNo
- Start date
Depending on the shape of the available peices of obsidian, it may or may not blend into the substrate, which could be cool or not depending on the structure(s, if any) you build with it. Let me make a couple of suggestions about that, then: 1) Obsidian is glass. Be very careful to dull all edges with a file, particularly if you break any of it into smaller pieces (if you have or can lay hands on a dremel, that would make it really light work.) 2) it might look really cool to take a could 2 or 3 large sized pieces and lay them sort of randomly on/in the substrate. 3) if you have some small pieces (thumb sized to two or three times that) tie some anubias to them and tuck them in your driftwood or any rockwork you build. 3) Using a combination of rounder and flatter pieces, you could build a honeycomb rock pile for the left side of the tank that would make a great hiding place for you bichir, Ctenos if you get them, or any cichlids or catfish you get. You can distribute the weight by sinking a piece of egg crate lighting diffuser in the gravel under where you'r'e putting the pile (file the corners on that too, if you have any diggers), and you can reduce the weight by builing an interior structure out of PVC tubing (so the rockwork would be a shell to cover up the PVC cave system.) Soften the whole thing with Anubias and/or Java Moss and/or Bolbitis.
Have you considered maybe putting a tiger lotus or two in there?
Have you considered maybe putting a tiger lotus or two in there?
Thanks BK... yes, fert schedule includes NPK, Flourish and iron once a week and Excel daily. Still tweaking to find the best dosing though (seems like that process is never really complete).
Thanks Bob and Coler for giving a thumbs up on the rock.... always nice to have trained eyes make an objective critic.
Tophat, awesome suggestions. All of the edges appeared to be smooth, but I will certainly file down as necessary. Dremels are not in short supply here, as I also have a model railroad (G scale) in progress and this is mandatory equipment.
Good call on the larger pieces with smaller ones for visual blend. My intent for this tank was a more spartan rock/driftwood tank so with the exception of a few anubia to soften the lines, its doubtful I'll be able to showcase a lotus (would look fantastic though!) or fern. I've found the nana to be relatively hardy and the only fert/supplemetation will be Excel for algae control.
This stuff is pretty heavy, and I was indeed planning on the eggcrate buried in substrate to help distribute the weight. what I did not consider was the PVC bracing... might make a nice project to aquarium silicone a structure together and then place it in the tank to maximize options for caving and structure. I'm running back to the store this weekend to make the purchase, so a construction update is almost guaranteed.
Thanks again all for the great ideas and comments!
Tophat, awesome suggestions. All of the edges appeared to be smooth, but I will certainly file down as necessary. Dremels are not in short supply here, as I also have a model railroad (G scale) in progress and this is mandatory equipment.
Good call on the larger pieces with smaller ones for visual blend. My intent for this tank was a more spartan rock/driftwood tank so with the exception of a few anubia to soften the lines, its doubtful I'll be able to showcase a lotus (would look fantastic though!) or fern. I've found the nana to be relatively hardy and the only fert/supplemetation will be Excel for algae control.
This stuff is pretty heavy, and I was indeed planning on the eggcrate buried in substrate to help distribute the weight. what I did not consider was the PVC bracing... might make a nice project to aquarium silicone a structure together and then place it in the tank to maximize options for caving and structure. I'm running back to the store this weekend to make the purchase, so a construction update is almost guaranteed.
Thanks again all for the great ideas and comments!
Stark works fine. At my aquarium society meeting the other day, a fellow was talking about an Amazon biotope - sand, maybe a little wood, nothing else. Sounds like you have a plan, and looking great so far. Keep posting pix as you add stuff.
