elwaine
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 174
Greetings,
I hadn't intended to start a journal when I decided to try my hand at a small planted aquarium, but I've enjoyed following the progress of several wonderful aquaria on this forum and I decided to share project with those of you who might enjoy seeing how this one develops. I have a very specific aqua scape in mind, which is inspired by the natural fresh water bogs that are so common here in southern Florida. They are quiet bodies of water, slowly flowing among countless tree roots and grasses, and contain lots of wild guppies, a few turtles, and an occasional alligator. Sorry, but the last two critters will not be part of my 3 gallon aquarium.
I chose a JBJ Picotope because 1) it's the right size, 2) I prefer glass to acrylic, 3) it was in my budget. However, while I like the tank itself, I have upgraded the OEM's filter and light. The filter that comes with the Picotope is probably fine for a 3 Gal. setup, but I've always had such good luck the AquaClear filters that I bought their smallest model. I also wanted more than a 9 watt lamp so I am awaiting the delivery of a 12" 18 Watt Power Compact Fixture made by Current.
So here we go...
The top two images show the front view, before and after attaching a black background (cut from a plastic sheet folder I got at Office Max for less than $2). I obtained the driftwood from a garden center. The main tree-like piece was rather large and ungainly, so I chose the small section that I wanted and cut off the rest. There are 2 pieces of lava rock beneath the tree and a small white garden stone on the far right. Eventually, HC will carpet the floor and grow up the lava rock resulting (I hope) in a natural looking elevated mound beneath the tree.
A second area of elevation (to add to the "3-D" effect) is walled off by another piece of driftwood in the back-left.
The picture at the bottom left shows a side view; and the one at the bottom right, a top view. If you look closely at the picture at the top right, you'll notice that I've used a bit of silicone adhesive to keep a structures in place. I do not intend to re-scape this project (at least for a long time to come), and the silicone will help keep everything tidy as I muck around in there... after all, if you can't muck around in your own aquarium, what's the point of having one?
My substrate (ADA Aqua soil - Amazonia) arrives tomorrow... the plants, the day after. HC (Hemianthus callitrichoides) will carpet the floor (if I get lucky); dwarf hair grass (Eleocharis acicularis) is going in the small triangular area to the right and in back of the tree; and micro swords (Lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae) will grow in the elevated plane in the back-left. Finally, needle leaf Ludwigia (Ludwigia arcuata) will occupy a small area in the baack left corner. [BTW - the wood and the rocks were boiled for 10 minutes to kill off anything that might have lived there. The wood was thend soaked for several days to allow some of the tannins to leach out.]
Hope some of you will enjoy this.
Best Regards - L
I hadn't intended to start a journal when I decided to try my hand at a small planted aquarium, but I've enjoyed following the progress of several wonderful aquaria on this forum and I decided to share project with those of you who might enjoy seeing how this one develops. I have a very specific aqua scape in mind, which is inspired by the natural fresh water bogs that are so common here in southern Florida. They are quiet bodies of water, slowly flowing among countless tree roots and grasses, and contain lots of wild guppies, a few turtles, and an occasional alligator. Sorry, but the last two critters will not be part of my 3 gallon aquarium.
I chose a JBJ Picotope because 1) it's the right size, 2) I prefer glass to acrylic, 3) it was in my budget. However, while I like the tank itself, I have upgraded the OEM's filter and light. The filter that comes with the Picotope is probably fine for a 3 Gal. setup, but I've always had such good luck the AquaClear filters that I bought their smallest model. I also wanted more than a 9 watt lamp so I am awaiting the delivery of a 12" 18 Watt Power Compact Fixture made by Current.
So here we go...
The top two images show the front view, before and after attaching a black background (cut from a plastic sheet folder I got at Office Max for less than $2). I obtained the driftwood from a garden center. The main tree-like piece was rather large and ungainly, so I chose the small section that I wanted and cut off the rest. There are 2 pieces of lava rock beneath the tree and a small white garden stone on the far right. Eventually, HC will carpet the floor and grow up the lava rock resulting (I hope) in a natural looking elevated mound beneath the tree.
A second area of elevation (to add to the "3-D" effect) is walled off by another piece of driftwood in the back-left.
The picture at the bottom left shows a side view; and the one at the bottom right, a top view. If you look closely at the picture at the top right, you'll notice that I've used a bit of silicone adhesive to keep a structures in place. I do not intend to re-scape this project (at least for a long time to come), and the silicone will help keep everything tidy as I muck around in there... after all, if you can't muck around in your own aquarium, what's the point of having one?
My substrate (ADA Aqua soil - Amazonia) arrives tomorrow... the plants, the day after. HC (Hemianthus callitrichoides) will carpet the floor (if I get lucky); dwarf hair grass (Eleocharis acicularis) is going in the small triangular area to the right and in back of the tree; and micro swords (Lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae) will grow in the elevated plane in the back-left. Finally, needle leaf Ludwigia (Ludwigia arcuata) will occupy a small area in the baack left corner. [BTW - the wood and the rocks were boiled for 10 minutes to kill off anything that might have lived there. The wood was thend soaked for several days to allow some of the tannins to leach out.]
Hope some of you will enjoy this.
Best Regards - L