asian theme tank photos

[nvision]

thanks again everyone.

Candace, i noticed your first post in here. i'm so honored!
welcome to the forums...

yeah, the bamboos do float. but they hold down pretty well with at least 2" of gravel at the bottom. just gently plant them down with a slight twisting motion. i've always tried to avoid stabbing them in, in case they go thru the glass, lol...

 

[Tiger15]

This artistic aquascaping gave me inspiration to turn my office 10-gal tank into a bamboo marsh tank. I did a research and found that the Lucky Bamboo is not truly bamboo but belongs to the lily family grown naturally in SE Asian forest canopy. It requires dim light and so they thrive in indoor condition. In fact, too much light will kill them. Here is a link for its cultivation:

http://www.flowershopnetwork.com/pages/newsletter/NewsletterJuly2003.php

I don't know how long the leaves can be submerged. Being a wetland marsh plant,I assume that the leaves do not like to be permanently submerged. In oriental shops where they sell in abundance and cheaply, I saw only the canes are submerged but never the leaves. I don't mind the leaves come out of the the tank as I am creating a marsh tank.

Also, I don' t know if they like hard water as my tank as currently housed with small African cichlids with dolomite substrate. If the lucky bamboo is not expected to do well in hard water, I have to convert it into a soft water tank.

This is a new idea that no one has tried it long enough to know how it will do in the long run.

 

[brookelyn]

Wow. That's truly the most stunning aquascaping project I have seen yet. Great job!

What are the white figures in your tanks made out of, and where did you find them? I have searched for such figures, but so far have been unsuccessful. Also, what kind substrate is that? Looks like black sand, but I am not 100%.

 

[Seaman]

I hate to break it to you, because that looks sooo good, but the bamboo wont last long at all completely submerged, my mom put a couple pieces in her tank....it diddnt really start coming back untill i got the part of it where the leaves meet the hard stalk out of the water. And all the part that stays underwater will grow roots. not to rain on your parade....

 

[Copper]

That's an inspiring setup, thanks for sharing! Plan on keeping any swimmers in it?

 

[nvision]

thanks guys. some personal observations:

- "bamboo" grows fine in most any water, including hard ph8 water where i live. just keep the water clean.

- tanks been set up for about a month now, with no change to the condition of the bamboos. most of the branching stalks in the 20g have actually grown out of the water by now. i'm not sure how they rot as i've never seen it happen. those submersed in the 50g still looks healthy and growing slowly. i'll continue to monitor their condition, and worst case scenario, can always reinstall with taller stalks and grow them the traditional way. i've experimented on the bamboo before i started the tank idea, so i'm not really going cold turkey on this, i hope.

the statues are actually call 'foos dogs" in english, not sure exactly how they got this interesting name. i've picked these up at the asian markets in the Bay Area. and they're made of marble, so fairly inert and weighs down well in water. you'll find pages of these on ebay but watch out for the metal versions.

the dark sand is seachem's onyx sand. there's also a larger gravel version that they sell.

as for fish, i took up the suggestion for white clouds in the 20g. they look good! hey, design by committee. the 50g is now housing a trio of japanese ryukins. i'm gambling that they won't chew up my hygros. i'll have photo updates in a few weeks to show the tanks and the status of the bamboos for those interested.