SamH

Thanks Kasey, I tried to fit as many in as possible, still got a bit of Ambulia to squeeze in but it needs to grow first. @ blueether, I did fill it to the top after I took the photos :facepalm: I really hope P44 sees this though :lol:

But there's no fish in there?! :nilly: Yeah that Hygro is going to be ruthlessly hacked if it starts to block out my HM and R. rotundifolia

Today I installed the last piece of hardscape and started planting the tank. Spent around 6 hours on it including filling time so not bad at all. Here's some pics. A few of my choice pieces of driftwood from a NZ beach. Not all pieces are 100% waterlogged yet. The wood in place. A few of my plant palettes. Top left 'Sunset' Hygro, top right HM, bottom left Hygrophila difformis and bottom right R. rotundifolia. Very, VERY slowly filling up the tank, took well over an hour. This tank looks like it would make a decent riparium :lol: FTS of full tank. Right. Left. It's looking really ratty and underplanted at the moment but with those fast growers (I'll regret those) in there, it should fill out quickly. Constructive criticism welcome

You'll have a lot less hassle with moss than you will with Riccia but it's completely up to you. Riccia is of course harder to come by and maintain but there's no point keeping a plant you're not happy with. The lights should be okay, how old are the bulbs though? You can buy brand new T8 6500K/Cool daylight tubes for less than $10 each at Bunnings or Mitre10. But remember the more light you have, the more CO2 and ferts you'll have to balance it with. Personally I'd stick to just the two tubes, it'll give you the result you're after. Is this a new tank from scratch or just upgrading a running tank?

Low tech aquascaping comes with it's limits, the main limits are the types of plants you can grow and how fast and/or well you can grow them. As for the plants you have mentioned, I'd use xmas moss instead of Riccia as it's a lot easier to work with and is meant to be attached to a surface unlike the floating Riccia. Not sure on the foreground, how little light are we talking here?

I'm yet to see a fish that will justify getting another tank. But with all the imports, maybe I will soon! I'd love to put one in my community but the last guy was too agro and anything that's not PK will likely get nipped :nilly:

I think I might fill it about 5cm from the top for good measure :sml1:

Maybe I'll fill it up sooner then, just had my last day of school for this term so I'll see how work and school work go. The more bored I am, the more likely it is I'll fill it :lol:

Nice PK! I'm not keeping anything at the moment sadly.

To build suspense of course! I'm just letting the Glosso get a foothold first and I have a few stems growing in my other tank, should be filled by next week.

My thoughts exactly! Perfect summary Sophia I think I'm driving everyone nuts telling them how badly I want to plant and fill this tank :nilly: I think all the money I've put into it makes me a little more cautious, I want to get it right. And thanks Joe! 8)

All I had to do was melt a couple of extra holes with a soldering iron and attach it to the inside of the cabinet using wood screws. It holds the cylinder well and I'm pleased with how it looks. Glass check valve to stop water flowing back into the regulator. Had to heat up the polyurethane tubing with a lighter to get the check valve on, it's really solid so boiling water didn't work. Glass bubble counter in action. Glass and ceramic CO2 diffuser. Some of the Glosso at the end of the "path".

Most lanscaping places like Stone and Water World will have large schist.

Okay I had another crack at the fire extinguisher holder, melted a couple of holes with the soldering iron after the drill failed and it WORKED! 8) Will post photos once I screw it in place and set up the rest of the CO2 gear.

Trying to keep it as clean as possible :lol:

Mum reminded me of an old fire extinguisher we have in the garage, the holder for it is a little too big and doesn't support the bottom of the bottle well enough but gives me a good idea of what I need to make. An adjustable strap and a large, sturdy base are essential.

I've had similar experiences with import males lately, it's frustrating.

That could be your problem. Only clean it with hot water or cleaners that 100% evaporate. 35L is fairly small, it could be stress from a small tank. Do you have a test kit?

All of the other dry starts I've seen had vertical growth and had to top their glosso. I guess my brand new lights running a 12/12 cycle are keeping it low. I'm keen for it to all fill in! Should look awesome when the whole foreground is covered. Question for DIYers: My sodastream cyclinder has a rounded bottom so won't stand on it's own. How would YOU attach it to the inside of the cupboard? Remember, it needs to be removed once every 1-2 months. Thanks!

Really?? I might have to get a bag!

An Otocinclus affinis

Really? The only colours I can't stand are unnatural ones like pink, blue, green, etc. I'd love to do all my tanks in flourite but it's around $70 a bag now :nilly:

Here's a few photos of the progress. Glosso 5 days after being planted. Glosso exactly a week (almost down to the minute) after being planted. To my surprise, the glosso is spreading horizontally not growing vertically like I expected. If it keeps growing like this then I won't have to top it and will fill the tank in around a week. Very pleased with the growth so far!

Must be difficult for the paramedics to keep going to accidents like that, idiots that do stupid things and end up hurting themselves and others over and over again. But perhaps he wasn't drunk, being distracted is just as dangerous.

I've had trouble finding plants commercially, usually people on the forums or TradeMe have the best selection.