elwaine
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 174
czcz's new Paludarium project http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f98/trying-to-build-something-a-babbling-post-and-catching-up-109172.html really lit my fire, so I ordered a standard ADA 18 gallon (24" x 12" x 14") glass tank and I'm off on a project that hopefully will capture nature the way czcz has.
I'm not doing a paludarium, just a standard aquarium, 'cause 1) I'm chicken; and 2) because I'm chicken. I want to build a natural aquarium, sort of like a Takashi Amano creation - but with at least one difference. Amano's beautiful water gardens are perfect. Nature is not. If I find one flaw in the Master's designs it is that there are no flaws in the Master's designs. (Note: those who can, do. Those who can't, criticize those who can.)
In nature one is always confronted with dualities. Life co-exists with death. (I'm not implying that I want a tank in which 1/2 the fish and plants are dead, but one in which a little algae and a few dead leaves would enhance, rather than detract from, the over all picture.) In nature, biotypes tend to be repetitive in a given ecosystem rather than being chock full of variety a la Noah's ark.
Anyway... I'll stop rambling and get down to my questions:
Front (with reflections removed in Photoshop)
Angled view:
Top view. Questions: 1. Can epiphytes (ferns, anubias) grow successfully on wood that sticks up out of the substrate by only half an inch? 2. Should I keep or get rid of the small slope in the back right? If I keep it, what should I plant there given that the rest of the background will be tall hairgrass (Eleocharis vivipara)?
Thanks for your help.
I'm not doing a paludarium, just a standard aquarium, 'cause 1) I'm chicken; and 2) because I'm chicken. I want to build a natural aquarium, sort of like a Takashi Amano creation - but with at least one difference. Amano's beautiful water gardens are perfect. Nature is not. If I find one flaw in the Master's designs it is that there are no flaws in the Master's designs. (Note: those who can, do. Those who can't, criticize those who can.)
In nature one is always confronted with dualities. Life co-exists with death. (I'm not implying that I want a tank in which 1/2 the fish and plants are dead, but one in which a little algae and a few dead leaves would enhance, rather than detract from, the over all picture.) In nature, biotypes tend to be repetitive in a given ecosystem rather than being chock full of variety a la Noah's ark.
Anyway... I'll stop rambling and get down to my questions:
Front (with reflections removed in Photoshop)
Angled view:
Top view. Questions: 1. Can epiphytes (ferns, anubias) grow successfully on wood that sticks up out of the substrate by only half an inch? 2. Should I keep or get rid of the small slope in the back right? If I keep it, what should I plant there given that the rest of the background will be tall hairgrass (Eleocharis vivipara)?
Thanks for your help.