Early Pics of Downoi Foreground Attempt

[travis simonson]

Well I've been slowly growing in a Pogostemon helferi (Downoi) foreground in my 125G ARLC tank. It has been a very slow process because Downoi does not propagate very quickly in my hard water. And I'm trying out a new blue, backlit background. I'm hoping it will give the tank a better feeling of depth. Hope you like it


The left side of my tank, showing the most grown-in portion of the foreground so far. It has some growing to do yet, but gives you an idea of how well this plant can work as a slow-growing, easily maintainable carpet plant.

A holding Pseudotropheus demasoni female coming out of her well-hidden cave. My Africans just love all of the plant cover.

Downoi makes incredible cover for fry in an ARLC tank. It is just thorny enough that it discourages the predatory males from digging into it to find the tiny little fry that use it for protection.

A full tank shot. You can see that the Downoi still has some growing to do. The best part about it is that this much has taken over two months so, once it has grown in, it should be quite easy to maintain in a nice carpet state, unlike the faster growing plants like Glosso or Elatine.

 

[nitrous]

dang i must say both of ur tanks r the nicest fw ive seen

 

[Wood_Dog]

That is awesome. I had cichlids before I went to saltwater. I never thought to do anything like you have....wish I had. Well done

 

[travis simonson]

I can't believe people think my grow-out tank merits any acclaim. I seriously did not even try to aquascape it. I spend all of my time working on my big tank (probably too much really ) I'm really glad you guys like it

 

[travis simonson]

This is how the backlight works. Sort of ugly if you can see it. With the right background it gives a really nice lighting effect, sort of like the sun on a cloudless day. Only takes 2-3" of backspace

 

[azn_fishy55]

Looks great,I hope my 30 gallon will eventually turn out like this since I am planning to switch from DIY CO2 to pressurized.I can't believe you didn't really try to aquascape it,it tooks me days to find an aquascape for my 30 gallon and I wasn't satified with it.Have you tried entering one of your tanks into a contest?I bet you'll get first place or at least an honorable mention.^_^

 

[travis simonson]

Oh, this is the one I spend all my time on. I'm still not satisfied with the way the plants are currently growing. Work to do

My grow-out tank, a 30G, is the one that, for some weird reason, people seem to like. It's just full of plants that won't grow in my big tank's hard ARLC water parameters. They probably look a lot better in the 30G just because it has soft water. Just shows you that soft water is more forgiving

 

[Toirtis]

Very nice....almost worth it to build a lightweight box for the back to reduce the light pollution into the room....I may have to try that sometime...it looks quite attractive.

Where did you get the Downoi? I would like to obtain some.

 

[flanque]

Take a high res panoramic photo of that tank and I'll make it into a framed wall picture. That's awesome!

 

[travis simonson]

And a pic of the right side of the tank. I'm trying to grow a wall of Anubias barteri v nana "Petite" on an extremely porous piece of lace rock. That stuff is so slow growing

 

[Purrbox]

As always, I think your tanks are just amazing.

It really is too bad there isn't a way for most of us to see eachothers tanks in person. I just know I'd love sitting in front of your and quite a few other member's tanks for hours. Guess I'll just have to settle for staring at the pics for hours!

 

[travis simonson]

I totally agree. If anyone of our members is ever in the Denver area they are more than welcome to come over for a visit. I'll even cook dinner for them

 

[Piscesgirl]

Looks great, Travis -- and I just LOVE the backlighting effect!

 

[Holokai]

Travis, I'm 15 hours from you. I excpect pancakes and hashbrowns when I arive!

Just incredible. I second the hi-res image, I would love to use your tank as my background

- Chris

 

[travis simonson]

Here's a link if you want the original

http://dump.fibervault.com/Tank_010106.jpg

 

[travis simonson]

Oh, and do you like habaneros in your hash browns? Because that's what you're going to get

 

[crazycat]

i'll be right over! where is denver anyway? is it uptown? (just kidding--after all, we new yorkers really don't recognize that there is a world outside of manhattan )

do you have a day job? or do you just get to work on your tanks all day? how can i be you? (aside the obvious sex change requirements...) or at least how can i have your tanks?

as usual i'm envious beyond words! and the downoi is beautiful!

 

[travis simonson]

I just checked my list. I think some is on its way to you

 

[crazycat]

you rock!

 

[Zagz]

As usual Travis, all I can do is & . Absolutely stunning! My husband keeps asking me how you do that! LOL. I hope you don't mind I show everyone the pics of your tanks, they are always awestruck!