The Pre-Project Project

I've been waiting to softscape the aquarium before doing an update but sourcing the plants has been a pain.  Here's what the aquarium looks like at the moment in its incomplete state.  Sorry about the bad quality of the pic.  I'm not much of a photographer.  When it's all setup I'll ask my wife to get out her big lens Canon picture maker thingee.

I've been using fertiliser weekly as well as the Tropica Plant Growth substrate and daily liquid CO2 on top.  Both the fertiliser and CO2 are from Easy-Life.  I have no idea what the par rating on the pair of Fluval Aquasky LED's are but they seem to be doing the trick.  I got a timer for both lamps and they now switch on and off at the same time every day which should help the plants get into a groove..  I've chosen plants for this softscape to look other worldly and lush as a rainforest.  I decided not to carpet as I'd lose the stream feeling.

To the left and right at the back there is limnophila sessiliflora.  It's been in the tank since the 26th Jan and is taking off well.  It's grown over 2 inches already and has side shooted with alarming speed.  A couple of more weeks and I'll clip the stems and thicken up the bunch.  This is not a native species in Papua New Guinea (PNG)but is similar to some described plants.

Between them is a single bunch of ceratopteris thalictroides.  It's also been in since the 26th and has also settled in.  Not as fast growing as the limnophila but it's gained an inch.  It's described as ranging across SE Asia including PNG.  More will be added when it arrives including as a floating plant.

Next is a hedge of fontinalis antipyretica.  It adds a contrasting shade to the other greens.  It adds depth by defining the mid ground being in front of the driftwood to the left and behind the driftwood and the large rock to the right.  At both ends it curves in towards the front corners of the tank.  As a moss it's usually tied to a stone or wood but I'm using it as weighted bunches directly in the gravel.  It's slow growing but has turned greener since I put it in on the 31st Jan.  It's described as ranging across SE Asia including PNG.

You'll have to wait to see what will fill the gap between the limophila and fontinalis when it arrives.  It's no great rare plant so don't build your hopes up of seeing a unicorn.  It should be here on Tuesday next week.

The hardscape has been tweaked on the left side by moving the larger pebbles forward.  The driftwood has been moved so that inquisitive fish can pass under it.  My DIY caves have been placed in the tank.  See if you can find them.   There are 3 in total.  Now that there's water in the tank you can see the green tint to the large rock better.

I've not started cycling yet.  I seem to have picked up either planaria (proper planaria, not the detritus worms I called planaria before) or small leeches with the plants as well as the usual passenger snails.  I'm waiting for the final plants to arrive.  When they're put in the tank and have settled in I'm going to dose the aquarium with clout.  Then I'll begin cycling seeding from filter material from the tank upstairs.  I have Kleen Off ammonia.  I forgot to not sniff it and it's the real thing.

The tank is looking good.

I have Kleen Off ammonia.  I forgot to not sniff it and it's the real thing.

I bet that hurt! Or is it just me that gets a stabbing pain in my nose if I sniff ammonia 

My DIY caves have been placed in the tank.  See if you can find them.   There are 3 in total.

OK, I give up. Is one of them the white thing behind the pebbles on the right?

Lots of updates!

My wife stripped down her shrimp tank around the same time I started this project and I'm now cycling her tank for her.  When the cycle is complete Darkness and the amano shrimp from my daughters room will move in.  The aim for the tank in my daughters room is to leave the white clouds in there for now and eventually use it as a quarantine tank.

I've started collecting the bits for the celestial pearl danio volcano tank and should have everything together by the last week of Feb.  A totally different feel to the PNG aquarium.  Hardscape pics when it's there.

We've decided to wait two or three years before moving.  So I ordered a new aquarium.  Rather than the 60 inch by 24 inch by 24 inch with sump I ordered the same but minus a foot in length.  My wife said we could always get another bigger tank when we've moved on top of this one.  I do love her so.  Aquarium should be here in around 6-8 weeks.  So when the other aquaria are cycled.

On this project I have all the plants in now and pic included.  The last plant was Hygrophila Polysperma sp 'Rosanervig'.  Hygrophila Polysperma also grows naturally in PNG.   It's been in the tank since Tuesday so too early to tell if it's really taken yet.  I'll have to wait to see as there were a lot of holes in the leaves when the arrived.  Rosanervig can literally be translated as pink veins.  It will test the iron levels and light levels to see if I can get the colour in the top foliage.

As you can tell from the photo the limnophila sessiflora has taken a lot of casualties.  It was weakened after the sunlight exposure and then an onslaught of snails followed.  I've been warring on the snails and hopefully I've saved the remaining few stems.  Fortunately the fontalis and ceratopteris seem to be unphased by the proceedings.

This should hopefully be the second to last post covering this project. 

This photo is my wife's new layout with Darkness in it.  The fishless cycle took twelve days following the technique on this website.  There're also five amano shrimp in there although you can't see them.

The snail war has been won and I've also treated against planaria in the PNG tank.  I used Clout for the planaria which turned all of the water in the aquarium the blue colour you get when your nitrites are at zero.  Not a treatment I think I'd use with fish in the tank.  I'm looking for a good general quarantine treatment.  So far eSha 2000 seems to be the one to go for.

Ammonia and nitrites were zero in my tank this morning.  Dosed full amount of ammonia.  Fingers crossed for tomorrow...

It's the hokey pokey for Darkness...   My new fish arrived!  Love a fish day.    Received six lovely peacock gobies and about a dozen forktail blue eyes.  At just over a cm the forktails are barely more than fry so I put them in Darkness' new home to grow out.  Darkness has gone back upstairs for the interim.

The fishless cycling of the aquarium took twelve days.  I think the cycling of the nano tank and this one were aided by mature bacteria on the plants added.

With the fishies this project is finished.  Included are some photos of the new additions.  The peacock gobies aren't at their best colour but that's to be expected with the stress of a move.  For the forktails you can see some blue eyes but their bodies meld in with the background.

Let me know if you want to see any particular photos of aspects of the nano tank or the PNG tank and I'll add them here.  Also please let me know if you're interested in following the setup for the volcano aquarium.  It's a just for fun setup and not following biotopes etc.  If enough people want to see it I'll set up a new thread.

Oops, missed adding the pics.  Thanks fcmf.