alexyay

L210? L015

What kind of moss are you using for the middle driftwood?

Awesome, thanks! Boiled it about six times now, so I can hopefully put it in the tank today

I really like that slightly fragrant piece so can someone tell me if it's safe or not?

31L has a few more plants, is starting to look a bit busier. I have some albino X-ray tetras in there (temporarily) to keep the biological filter running. I think I'm going to have to get some christmas moss for the back wall, the riccia isn't really doing the job (either that or it's growing slower than I want) And some tetra pics - Couple of driftwood questions- Am I right to assume that if a piece still has a *slight* amount of wood-y smell it's probably not safe to use? Piece in question (I would like to use it if it is safe) I have another piece that I like - I've scraped off any bark, but it still has the occasional soft bit that I can't get to - is that safe? It's a hard wood otherwise (the two pieces to the right). Any thoughts on whether the one to the above left and below are safe? They're both hard, been boiled, but I'm just paranoid about the wood types - (I have a couple of other pieces that I'm boiling too but I'm pretty sure they're both safe)

Really? Thank you :happy2: I've decided for the 31L I'm going for a more jungle look (sorry for switching back and forth between styles all the time) - I'd like darker leaved plants but I assume that usually means they're low-light plants. I'd like to make full use of the HO lighting, but if anyone has any suggestions that'd be great. Driftwood - do places even sell "twig" like driftwood, if not where do you recommend finding some? Can Anubias and Java Fern thrive under high light? As for inspiration, I like these three tanks - [ur=http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7114/7663731222_099888629a_m.jpg]1, 2, 3 Would christmass moss take over riccia moss? My riccia moss is yellowing a bit... as is my dwarf hairgrass (both are OK in my 70L), I'm dosing Flourish + Flourish excel (ODing a bit on the excel for the DHG) based on the instructions and I also have a root tab in there (one of the round JBL tabs? I was recommended that one would be a good amount), should I dose extra Flourish until I have fish to help with ferts? Also, any tips on speeding up the growth for these? Unfortunately my lighting is a bit off because the timer broke (but it's generally around 6-8 hours a day). Thank you for all your help so far by the way

Perhaps because dwarf puffers are scaleless, I should fine some "twig" like driftwood? And grow plants off that - which'll offer them a lot of space to hide and will make it look "bushy"? I just have no idea where to find the driftwood... (I'm in Auckland this weekend if anyone knows of anywhere to get some)

Thank you 3 dwarf puffer fish for the 31L, and moving the fish from the first tank to the third tank + some more tetras and plecos (maybe). Yeah, I think I'll go for rocks in the 31L, I'll have to go get some more this weekend, as long as they're not too sharp for the DPFs that is. I'd like to keep that small bit of driftwood but if it doesn't work I guess it'll have to go

Just thought I'd post my tanks here, partially logging for myself and also for some advice. My first ever tank was a 70L, which I unintentionally cycled (I had it running for months before I added any fish), but it was pretty crap. I knew nothing about hardscaping so, well, it was pretty plain. Currently dosing with flourish excel and flourish. 20W bulb. Home to - 6 black neon tetras - 3 bristlenoses - 1 siamese fighter This was when I first set it up (none of those plants survived, I had no idea what I was doing) This is it now - it's super messy, some of the plants I'm just holding until I get a different setup, most of them I'm just too attached to (?) to let go lol. Since that photo I've added riccia moss to the driftwood, but I can't photograph it because I've got two bits of java fern in the way, which I'm holding for a week for Dad. I got a bunch of free plants from when I got the 31L, including the polysperma (both types), sword (which I've split into two since that photo) and the anubias (which I can't seem to get to take off?) The dwarf babytears are a mess too. If anyone's got any suggestions, feel free to post them. Also, if anyone in Tauranga wants some free ambulia stems (they're pretty ragged, the lighting's not high enough), feel free to PM me. I'd recommend washing them first though, as it's home to a bunch of ramshorn snails too. Tank 2 - 31L Not really sure where I'm going here, if anyone's got any suggestions PLEASE post them! I'm considering replacing the driftwood for a rock, but still not sure if that'll do the job. Dosing with flourish excel and flourish, 2x 39W T5-HO bulbs. To be a home to 3 dwarf puffers (Ammonia at 0, nitrites at about 1-2, nitrates at about 10) When I first set it up - (Please excuse the shoddy picture) I want to look into different plants, I'm going back to HFF this weekend to see what they have. I guess I wanted to create some depth, but I'm not really sure how to do that in such a small tank. I'm using moss rocks and I worry that because DPFs are messy eaters they'll get food building up in the holes? I'm a fan of dutch-style tanks, but I don't have the money to get into them. I plan on mossing up that back wall, and having a bushy look around the back, with hairgrass at the front leading up to it? I would do a simple style one but I want lots of hiding places for the DPFs. Tank 3 - 90L hardscape (inspired a lot by SamH's coldwater tank, I promise I didn't mean to get the same gravel! But used the stone and water world for the moss rocks, thanks!) The hardscape is leading towards simple, but I want to have some bushy plants in there too for fish to hide in. Once it's set up (might be quite some time away) I plan on moving the 70L fish into it, and eventually upgrading the 70L. Then perhaps adding some more plecos and tetras. Do you guys reckon I should remove that rock towards the left or leave it? Tank to the left, obviously I need some more gravel too -

Portobello mushroom thickburger. Yum.

When we insect bombed the house (fleas, ugh), we stuck a rubbish bag over the tank (might be a bit small for a 4ft) and taped it over. Fish were OK - did a water change after and all went fine. I'd recommend it as a last resort, the house smelled after quite a bit & have to be careful with kitchen stuff.

Are you planning on upgrading? That BGK is going to get big.

Well, here's a pic of what one did to a tetra - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/phillipnbecky/chunk.jpg - I wouldn't risk that with a discus, set up a little 5-10gal and have a DPF species tank

Dwarf puffers have only been known to be ok with Otos, there are the occasional exception but only with large tanks and fast fish. Discus would be too slow for them - dpfs will pick on anything so I wouldn't recommend it.

Yep, pretty much. I'd like to get higher lighting but with the blue planet fitting I don't have much in the way of options :c I'd love to get a 100L in place of it but I'm not really sure how to go about moving fish/keeping them elsewhere while setup & cycling. Nitella looks right, thanks! Not sure what my plan of action is then (whether I remove it or leave it) Also, any preferences on mosses? Riccia, christmas, java?

Ah, ignore that. I think I was thinking of larger swords but I'm mostly just trying to make those back corners look a bit more foresty and full - I'm not really sure how to achieve that - even when the plants populate the area it still looks kinda empty? This is what I'm going for in the corners http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads ... capes.281/ (sorry I couldn't cope the photo on my phone - it's the first image)

Would there be any broader leafed plants that might work? And yeah, it's 3ft - I'm planning on doing a series of two/three small tanks, and it was cheaper to get a long HO lamp rather than multiple small HO lights (or at least that was recommended to me) Yeah, I like that kind of scape but I need plants/cover for the fish. The rock is to kind of establish the background from the foreground and holds up the hills in the back, but if it doesn't look right I'll remove it. I'll look into removing the rear rock. Thank you - I'm totally new to aquascaping so I'm not too sure what I'm doing sometimes. (I really want to keep that driftwood piece, though)

What would be best suited to these tanks? 1. 70L Blue planet tall, 20W bulb, community with 3x bristlenoses, 6x black neon tetras and a male siamese fighter, using flourish excel and Flourish, I'd like some plants nearer to the back corners that fill up a fair amount of space (so a bit "wider" than the current plants) - currently I have 1. Polysperma 2. Ambulia 3. Dwarf Babytears 4. Dwarf Hairgrass (temporary until I get my 31L set up?) 5. ? (leaves are longer, thinner and there's a lot less of them than number 1, so I don't think it's polysperma?) 6. ? (the stems on this plant keep on rotting away? The rest of it is healthy but the stems die, help!) 7. Sword (?) 8. Rosanervig 9. Anubias (?) + duckweed (please excuse any plant matter on the top, I need to clean it out) I was thinking the rosanervig would be temporary until I set up the 31L, but I'm not too sure how it'll fit in 2. 31L, T5-high output (2x 39W bulbs), to be a dwarf puffer tank. (Driftwood yet to be put in) (that glass is a lot dirtier than I thought, sorry!) 1. Would you recommend microswords or dwarf hairgrass? I'm looking for a lot of space for them to hide in, but I'd rather a more grassy look than the dbts. Or perhaps one type down the front and another on the "hills"? 2. Would it be possible for me to "moss" up the rock on the back? It's vertical and relatively smooth, but would the moss take hold? And what moss type would you recommend? 3. I'm planning on moving the sword (?) from the 70L to that tank, or would perhaps a crypt look better? 4. Again, I'd like something to really fill up that corner, something reasonably large with large leaves like what I want for the 70L - I'm just not really sure what to look for? I'd rather a more "clumped" forresty look than the stem plants are giving me in the 70L (other than the ambulia which I'm not planning on putting in the 31L because I hate the stuff). (Oh dear, sorry for that wall of text) Also, a quick little "what am I?" - I found this growing, it's really thin (so you can't see it in the above picture) -

When there seems to be duckweed all over the house. (Ambulia too - not sure what to do with all the extra cuttings)

(noob question) - is it legal to take plants from McLaren's falls? Or would you need private property on it or something? I mean, I wouldn't say no to free plants (in small amounts, of course)

Ah, thank you. I somehow thought they liked current, not sure where I got that info from.

I assume borneos and dwarf puffers wouldn't mix?

Left Mum to feed the fish for a week, with as detailed instructions as I could. They weren't detailed enough - came home to fungus growing all over my tank floor (due to decomposing wafers, I assume) and a rather bloated betta

+another 1. I guess as someone who currently has one tank, I can afford the space of a slightly bigger tank (70L), but my fighter is the happiest I've seen him. Of course, in pet stores they're constantly being moved and have no privacy, but the ones in the smaller tanks never seem to be swimming much. I've noticed the ones in the community tanks tend to swim around more, interacting with their environment. I guess all are different - but I couldn't imagine putting my little guy in a smaller tank. I think they're gorgeous, but I'm not a fan of more "aggressive" fish at all, so that's not a factor for me - if they can live in a community tank for me, it's better (means I can keep my bottom feeders, mid feeders and betta, I think it's a nice layout). Again though, I think it really depends on what purpose you're keeping them for.

Just slightly lower than the filter. That's what I had thought too - there's quite a few plants in there and they're thriving. The bristlenoses are pretty small - one's about two inches and the other two are 1.5"