WBAC88's 65g (possbile) Riparium Journal

[WBAC88]

I've had a 65g planted tank going for about 10 (?) months now and it's gone through several iterations. As a brief history, partly for myself and partly for anyone else who's interested:
The beginning:

The first big planting:

The first re-scape:

Now, I've just re-scaped it a second time, after letting some of the plants grow in a bit more and adding some new ones. Shifting the hardscape around and actually planting everything with some kind of plan and pattern and forethought:

This was just a yesterday, so I'm going to let everything get settled before I move onto the next phase of the plan. After reading about riparia, I was fascinated, and thought it would go well in this tank, since that major piece of driftwood breaks the surface anyway. I also have that smaller piece hanging down. I want to eventually lower the water level by a 4-5 inches and begin to place some riaparium planters in the background, probably starting new the driftwood so that everything ties together. I have a busy work schedule, so I only get small bits of time to work on it, but I am going to try to keep this thread updated so that I can see my own progress and hopefully inspire someone else. If anyone has any tips or suggestions, I would love to hear them, so chime in!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Nice tank
IMO with a rip you need a rimless tank if your going to have the plants half in and half out of the tank. The rim obstructs the view and cuts the plants in half. To keep the rim on you could lower the water level to 1/3 of the way up the tank and choose short marginal plants that won't grow out the top. You could then keep the lids on the tank to increase humidity and have emersed anubias and crypts.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[WBAC88]

From the reading that I've done on riparia, I'd say that you're right on both counts, but my goal isn't really a full transition to a riparium. I'd like to have some of those elements to help highlight the driftwood, etc, but I'd rather not do it at the expense of the aquarium that I've spent so long trying to build. I know it sounds like trying to have my cake and eat it, too, but I'm still in the research phase, so my blind enthusiasm hasn't hit the hard wall of reality yet, but when it does, I'm hoping I can find a way over it.

My idea with the rim was actually using it to help disguise the riparium planters since it is a natural division of the space. It depends a lot on the water level, so that's something I'm definitely going to have to play with. Thanks again for the input, it's always good to think about those things and I'll post more as I start actually doing stuff.

 

[WBAC88]

So it's been a long time since I've posted in this, but there have been a lot of experiments with it only being filled part way, etc, but I've come to just return it to being primarily a heavily planted tank. There are still some of the riparium plants that are growing in the background, but they're more for decoration than part of the whole thing.

Other things I've added, some jungle val that my LFS had pulled from one of their planted tanks, which is filling out the back behind the DW. Also added several more anubias to the DW and to one of the rocks. Added some red temple to the front right corner and moved some other things around. Thoughts?

 

[bazeball05]

Where did you get the drift wood?

 

[WBAC88]

Where did you get the drift wood?

I got it from thedriftwoodstore.com. Great selection and really cool pieces. Good service, too. Depends on how much you want to pay though.

 

[bazeball05]

OK thanks! Your tank looks sweet