Back in the trenches......

fishorama said:
Paint it Black! (channeling the Rolling Stones for you youngsters, lol). The "golden rule", (just to slightly disagree w/Wild West), is more like 3/5 for your focal point (wood, rock or major plant.)..but 1/3's are good too. Just don't do 1/2 and 1/2, it looks really lame & artificial.

I would suggest not mixing those 2 types of "wood", nice as they both are. It can only look forced. Rocks hopefully will echo your substrate...too much contrast is off-putting unless it's by color...to me anyway.
Click to expand...

I'm the same generation, Fishorama! CAUTION! Wall of text below!

I am already second-guessing myself on the petrified wood anyhow....it in no way matches the oil-dri substrate, which is a kind of grey/white, darkening with age. As you can see, the petrified wood is tan/brown.....I'm not an interior designer, but those two colors don't appear to be complimentary, especially when you add the dark brown of the Mopani. I guess I can always go with the assumption that after I mess up the water chemistry everything will be shades of green, the difference in color of the substrate/petrified wood/Mopani wont matter....but, what happens in the infinitesimally small chance that I actually succeed and they DON'T become totally covered in 10 different species of alga and diatoms!? I AM going to use the Mopani, because I like it so much....the piece I got was relatively cheap....under $18 (still need more stuff, like ferts and a Cu test kit), I can get another to take the place of the petrified wood. I have plenty of time to soak yet another piece....the first one I am soaking is almost done...after several water changes in the tote, the water is nearly clear.....not as bad as the horror stories I hear in some Mopani reviews! :mad: With two Mopani pieces, I can create a centerpiece which would appear like a submerged stump, and leave the left and right hand thirds of the tank just planted, with no rock, or Mopani. The one piece of Mopani I have I feel somewhat inadequate of representing a stump situation in the center of the tank.

Currently, I am at 5 coats of urethane on the stand, hinges on order, so, I expect THAT to be done by the end of next week....then have to get my son to help me carry that monstrosity up from the cellar. And the aquarium from the cellar...hope it fits! I do like the "paint the back" idea, I will mask and tape it today, using black spray paint to do the job prior to putting it on the stand. I really cant envision a situation where I would want a clear background anyhow, since I abhor looking at pipes, hoses, cords, etc.

Am researching plants.....WAY back in the Stone Age, when I kept freshies, I always had huge luck with Anacharis and Cabomba...so much so that I still recall the cleanups from them...like raking leaves in the fall (if you're from New England, you know what I mean!)! They grew like mad and I am afraid to use them again, because of them shielding the rest of the stuff. Heard nightmare stories of crypt melt....that'd be me.....I'm liking sag and swords (yea, root tabs, I know!), java ferns and moss, and am also looking at low growers....don't really want to cover the substrate completely, anyhow.

Ferts? To start, Seachem Flourish, Nitrogen, Trace, Potassium, and they also make a root tab type of product (Flourish Tabs). I will be injecting CO2, controlled by the pH probe and meter, and am still fussing over LED lights atm. Fish load? Just a few guppies at the start (why I am looking at Seachem Nitrogen)....eventually getting Otos, shrimp, and Nerites. I am just concerned that cycling with my plants will be not a typical cycle, and don't want to endanger any more lives than possible through the cycle. :)
 
fishorama said:
Paint it Black! (channeling the Rolling Stones for you youngsters, lol). The "golden rule", (just to slightly disagree w/Wild West), is more like 3/5 for your focal point (wood, rock or major plant.)..but 1/3's are good too. Just don't do 1/2 and 1/2, it looks really lame & artificial.

I would suggest not mixing those 2 types of "wood", nice as they both are. It can only look forced. Rocks hopefully will echo your substrate...too much contrast is off-putting unless it's by color...to me anyway.
Click to expand...

I'm the same generation, Fishorama! CAUTION! Wall of text below!

I am already second-guessing myself on the petrified wood anyhow....it in no way matches the oil-dri substrate, which is a kind of grey/white, darkening with age. As you can see, the petrified wood is tan/brown.....I'm not an interior designer, but those two colors don't appear to be complimentary, especially when you add the dark brown of the Mopani. I guess I can always go with the assumption that after I mess up the water chemistry everything will be shades of green, the difference in color of the substrate/petrified wood/Mopani wont matter....but, what happens in the infinitesimally small chance that I actually succeed and they DON'T become totally covered in 10 different species of alga and diatoms!? I AM going to use the Mopani, because I like it so much....the piece I got was relatively cheap....under $18 (still need more stuff, like ferts and a Cu test kit), I can get another to take the place of the petrified wood. I have plenty of time to soak yet another piece....the first one I am soaking is almost done...after several water changes in the tote, the water is nearly clear.....not as bad as the horror stories I hear in some Mopani reviews! :mad: With two Mopani pieces, I can create a centerpiece which would appear like a submerged stump, and leave the left and right hand thirds of the tank just planted, with no rock, or Mopani. The one piece of Mopani I have I feel somewhat inadequate of representing a stump situation in the center of the tank.

Currently, I am at 5 coats of urethane on the stand, hinges on order, so, I expect THAT to be done by the end of next week....then have to get my son to help me carry that monstrosity up from the cellar. And the aquarium from the cellar...hope it fits! I do like the "paint the back" idea, I will mask and tape it today, using black spray paint to do the job prior to putting it on the stand. I really cant envision a situation where I would want a clear background anyhow, since I abhor looking at pipes, hoses, cords, etc.

Am researching plants.....WAY back in the Stone Age, when I kept freshies, I always had huge luck with Anacharis and Cabomba...so much so that I still recall the cleanups from them...like raking leaves in the fall (if you're from New England, you know what I mean!)! They grew like mad and I am afraid to use them again, because of them shielding the rest of the stuff. Heard nightmare stories of crypt melt....that'd be me.....I'm liking sag and swords (yea, root tabs, I know!), java ferns and moss, and am also looking at low growers....don't really want to cover the substrate completely, anyhow.

Ferts? To start, Seachem Flourish, Nitrogen, Trace, Potassium, and they also make a root tab type of product (Flourish Tabs). I will be injecting CO2, controlled by the pH probe and meter, and am still fussing over LED lights atm. Fish load? Just a few guppies at the start (why I am looking at Seachem Nitrogen)....eventually getting Otos, shrimp, and Nerites. I am just concerned that cycling with my plants will be not a typical cycle, and don't want to endanger any more lives than possible through the cycle. :)
 
Gonna go with bullet points here!

  • I agree with not mixing the 2 types of wood 110%.
  • 1/3 or 3/5 is general appealing to the eyes. Also varying colors and textures.
  • "Paint it black" (not of that generation but love it!!) is a common choice and always a winner in my book. Spray paint is better as brush on leaves tiny holes no matter how many coats! For me anyways, never do that again, only tried it cause they said it was easy to remove if you change your mind.
  • I have used paper backgrounds and it looks great. I have not had a paper background in use for that long, a few years though and have not noticed any fading.
  • I have never seen grey/white oil-dri. It is always a dark brown/black/red color in every tank I've ever seen. That's why I love it cause it is a dark but natural looking substrate, vs a jet black sand (which I also love but for different situations).
  • Crypt melt just happens, it's not a horror story it's a normal thing. It will come back better and stronger! Crypts are awesome, get them! :)
  • Sags, swords, java fern and mosses are all good choices but in your high tech setup you need more fast growing stuff too.
  • Have you already purchases the seachem line? If not, I strongly advise you to reconsider that route. You are paying a premium price for watered down dry ferts, just get the dry ferts yourself at dirt cheap prices and you can dry dose right into the tank or make your own solutions. There are several popular dosing methods like EI, PPMD, PPS pro.
  • In a high tech setup dosing extra nitrogen is almost always required. Plus I've learned recently that just cause your test kit says you have nitrates doesn't mean it is necessarily in a form that plants can easily use so don't stop dosing nitrogen. That's new info to me, but it makes sense.
  • When cycling with plants you can typically add new fish in small batches fairly regularly, maybe every 2 weeks? Maybe someone else can confirm because I am super slow to add fish...like I've had fish die of old age before adding the "last" of my intended stock. lol Only once!
 
  • Like
Reactions: fishorama and lousyweather
wow- you're a prolific poster, myswtsins! Appreciated!

Ordered another Mopani from DrF&S....by the time it gets here, my other will be done.....almost no tint to the water now, just hoping that when it dries out there wont be MORE to leech out!

Back of the tank is now painted black...spray paint worked will- just taped it off, put a droplight inside the tank and painted till I could see no more light. Couldn't be easier.

So far, my Oil-dri, which I've been watching, is a ubiquitous white/gray.....not unappealing....maybe different types, or maybe it changes colors with a bio load? Who knows? Still gonna use it!

ok ok, talked me into crypts! Are they fast-growing? Remember, no way am I going Cabomba or Anacharis! I know they are fast growing! But messy too. Any other suggestions? I thought java was supposedly fast?

Nope, haven't purchased any ferts yet. I can probably do the macronutrients (NPK) that way (dried), but Im a bit leery of doing trace elements by the same method. Seems easier to just get Seachem liquid for that. And either Root Tab brand or Flourish Tabs....are almost to the penny the same money.....not making them myself. Not sure I really want to just add the dry chems to the tank...seems better to put them in solution and them add. I can see me spilling dry add all over my living room, etc. And everyone wondering my I keep Fleet enema in my living room! :oops:
So, yea, will be adding N-P-K, just need to research methods more....

Coat 6 went on the stand last night.
 
Crypts are not fast growing. Depending on the species and other variables but once they get adjusted (which can take anywhere from a couple weeks to a year) a leaf or two a week would be average. Java ferns are also not fast growing. What IS good about these guys in a high tech setup is that they're easier to maintain and add very different leaf structures than most fast growing stuff. Also after a few years I see a lot of people back off the fast growing stuff completely (adjust their equipment) and stick with the amazingly easy and now well grown in slow growers (like java fern, anubias, crypts) and have amazing low maintenance tanks.

Good fast growers? With injected CO2 everything will grow "fast" but most any stem plant would be your fast growers, like rotala, ludwigia and hygrophila species. You should check out different online plant retailers and just look around, see what you like. You would be able to grow everything but the hardest plants with your intended setup (assuming you get lights figured out).

There are specific startup plants that are recommended like water wisteria, hornwort, pennywort, anacharis and caboma. Don't panic, let me explain! ;) Those plants adjust and grow fast so they are great to use at startup to keep algae in check while other plants are adjusting and getting established. Once the other plants are thriving you can remove all those starter plants. Personally I don't like anacharis or cabomba much so I always go with the other guys. I also like to use floaters at startup to help diffuse the light a bit and they use CO2 from the air so they grow fast and easy. For high tech I'd go with red root floaters cause you can. :)

Why leery of dosing micro nutrients dry but not macros? I wasn't suggesting making your own root tabs although it is done. I have DIY tabs using gel capsules and osmocote which is way cheaper then purchasing already made ones. No problem to start with bought tabs and look into other avenues later though! LOL you don't need any fleet enema. :D Dry dosing is a common practice but I completely understand your reservations, I had the same ones especially since I am a bit clumsy. Use solution methods like PPS pro then.

Have you been looking around for places to buy plants and/or fish? or ferts?
 
lousyweather said:
and what about backgrounds? Im not a real fan of cheesy printed stuff. Actually thinking of painting the rear of my brand new tank black.......Ive heard paper fades and doesn't tend to stayin place, and someone mentioned fabric.....I guess if I paint it black and want to remove it, I can use a single edged razor blade to do so....the choices! o_O
Click to expand...

Black painted works well. I agree about the scaping materials, too. Would stay with all Mopani or all petrified.

Mark
 
Its certainly nice to have your input,all! Yea, since the petrified wood is simply too large for the tank, it will have to be Mopani. I will put a few pieces together, basically creating a stumplike snag in the center of the tank. Working on it! (Thanks Wes and Myswtsins!)

I am liking pennywort, hygrophilia, ludwigia, and rotala. As for obtaining them, there are a few online resources, such as aquariumplants.com, extraplant.us, liveaquaria.com, etc. The LFS here dont have much, what they do have isnt very good looking, or they try and sell me bamboo. No fish clubs close either. So, it looks like online.

Phyllanthus Fluitans, right? They do look pretty cool....I dont expect much for fish fry real early, but ya never know!

As for ferts....seriously looking at PPS-Pro....its liquid, can dose it automatically thru a pump...a few companies out there for those....greenleafaquariums.com, etc.

As for fish...like I said....guppies...pretty common, LFS, etc. I dont really want any high dollar fish for awhile, and guppies amuse me....I suppose there is always Aquabid.....

Just put the 7th, and hopefully last, coat of urethane on the stand, next will be to mount the doors onto the cabinet, carry the thing upstairs, and put it in place, then tank on it. The tanks rear glass has been painted black- came out pretty nice! I like it!

I m getting there, slowly, but surely! :p
 
With co2, your plant options are wide open! I agree w/myswtsins, some fast growing stems at first should be good but almost all "carpet" plants do much better too. I have a couple different (?) marislea, staurogyne repens in non-co2 but they'd be great with it. HC or HM (dwarf & regular baby's tears) or dwarf hairgrass could be good too.

I'm also a crypt lover, mostly they don't "need" co2, but they are bigger & better with it. In my tanks they're alive & spreading but I know they'd be even better with (I've seen my plant clubbers crypts!). So many plants I wish I could grow well, downoi, HC etc, etc.

I see you were posting while I was, we need new pics!
 
Fish-o.....I will post more when I drag the stand and tank upstairs....just finished what I think is my last coat (7 is enough, right?).......I go to Roatan in less than a month, snorkeling, etc, then back to crank this thing up in earnest. I dont see much point doing it if I am away for that long....already stressing about the week I am away at the end of July, but by them, I hope to be close to automated. Thats why I want to dose liquid ferts! Can do it via a pump.....and the CO2 should be lined out by then...
So, for now, I am accumulating stuff....almost there, really, except for the lights.....
 
There's nothing to compare to dry macros & micros....even I can!.Do it! If I can you can too, lol. Get that tank upstairs!!! Pics! 7 coats seems like overkill, but you know best!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom