oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 ok so to take my mind of the plebs at work i would like your ideas on how i can get these tanks looking awesome 4ft 200L tank - cant be planted cause the sevs dont like plants - i tried java fern and something else that Surphew gave me which was meant to be sour but the fish decided to nibble them anyways. im sort of leaning towards some brownish rocks from the beach for this tank as i have chocolate colored east coast sand as the substrate 3ft 128L tank - could be planted but i know nothing about plants and where to start so i need some hand holding the java fern and the other as above are in this tank - and as you can see it looks a bit silly all ideas are welcomed and appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N1CK Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 for the 3footer, slope the sand up to a back corner then stick some stem pants (red for contrast) of some description there then something like dwarf sag in front of it then get a nice piece of DW that you like and place in opposite the plants then stick the bubbler behind it for a nice effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 3ft 128L tank - could be planted but i know nothing about plants and where to start so i need some hand holding NOTHING at all? It's cool, at least you know where to get help. As I always say, find a picture of a tank you like and we can go from there and tell you how to make a tank like that. I prefer tearing down tanks and starting from scratch, this leaves a nice blank "canvas" to work on. It'd be good if you could move the fish elsewhere for a while if you'd like a heavily planted tank but there's no reason why you can't add a few more plants here and there without removing anything. The extra aeration certainly won't help the plants but it's not going to do too much damage if you only have a few plants. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 NOTHING at all? i see you guys talking about fertballs and stuff and i think - what are they on about i know nothing about plants - havent really been able to get into them since every time i have tried my sevs either rip them out of the substrate or eat the things - now i have 2 big tanks and the sevs are seperated i can look at a planted tank some more now. so would you remove the airstone completely or turn it down so there is only a little bit of air coming out... there are so many planted tanks that i have seen on the web but not sure what suit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 well mr. skippy, if you come vist me at work one day i can teach you about plants and fert balls and other cheap tricks lol :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 Fertballs, pssh. I'm yet to see the results. I've used a couple under my stems and there's been no change in growth. Now lighting, that's where it's all at for me. I'm assuming nothing can be done plant-wise on the 120cm tank, right? So I'll focus on the 3 footer. I'll need some specs though. Lights? Fauna (animals)? How many of them? Can they be moved? Flora (plants)? Filter? What look are you going for? Have a browse through these and see if you like any of them, even just some of the features they have that you want would be good. http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ry=0&vol=1 HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 well mr. skippy, if you come vist me at work one day i can teach you about plants and fert balls and other cheap tricks lol :lol: do you work at animates or wet pets ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 do you work at animates or wet pets ? Is the sky blue or green (respectively)? :lol: 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 Animates (no explosions yet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 correct about the 120cm - i need to redesign it - just not with live plants - i checked out mystics tanks recently and loved the look of her tanks....funny that i came home with 2 chocolate cichlids when i was just going for a looksee the light is a ff15 450mm tube - i assume t5 ? the fish 1x bristlenose, 6x golden barbs, 3x angels, 3x golden tiger barbs,3x tiger barbs, 6x swordtails (soon to be about 80 more swords + 2x bristlenose + 1x GAE if i shutdown my baby tank) plants - small java fern and 2 of those big leafed things (surphew did tell me what they were but i have a really crap memory) filter - fluval 204 the look - i love the look of this but how much work are they http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/images/uploads/09.10.amano.jpg you know that giving me options just makes it harder !!! Fertballs, pssh. I'm yet to see the results. I've used a couple under my stems and there's been no change in growth. Now lighting, that's where it's all at for me. I'm assuming nothing can be done plant-wise on the 120cm tank, right? So I'll focus on the 3 footer. I'll need some specs though. Lights? Fauna (animals)? How many of them? Can they be moved? Flora (plants)? Filter? What look are you going for? Have a browse through these and see if you like any of them, even just some of the features they have that you want would be good. http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ry=0&vol=1 HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 i like the grassy look like these - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=1&id=98 or this - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... l=1&id=181 or this - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=1&id=46 or this - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... l=1&id=188 or this - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=1&id=28 so many choices darn it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 i went to wetpets at labour weekend i should have stopped in at animates - did a drive by from otaki with my 4yo daughter as co pilot Animates (no explosions yet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 (soon to be about 80 more swords + 2x bristlenose + 1x GAE if i shutdown my baby tank) Is this a breeding/rearing tank or do you plan on selling these fish? What a coincidence, I'm about to shutdown my 27L nano Hairgrass (the plant that dominates that tank you like) and have a heap of it I need to get rid of. It's not too hard to grow either, been doing fine under a 23w light, 27cm deep tank and in normal sand. So you like the "filled in" or "lawn" effect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N1CK Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 what about something with the scape situated more on one side? http://fishandpics.com/images/planted/scape080809.jpg would be simpler to do and means not as much work trimming keeping it looking nice ect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 Is this a breeding/rearing tank or do you plan on selling these fish? What a coincidence, I'm about to shutdown my 27L nano Hairgrass (the plant that dominates that tank you like) and have a heap of it I need to get rid of. It's not too hard to grow either, been doing fine under a 23w light, 27cm deep tank and in normal sand. So you like the "filled in" or "lawn" effect? kind of both - my swordtails had babies and had to put them somewhere the other fish wouldnt eat them - i tried a breeding net but the babies were being sucked through it by my biggest sev, greedy bugger he is... i think i will probably keep the babies and maybe move the baby tank to my daughters room when shes a bit older yep lawn type look is awesome.... the 3ft tank is 40cm high - so not overly big would the light i have cover it - its very bright - the white sand shows up really nice so if i could get the lawn type look that would be sweet - i also like the looked of your algae covered rocks i guess i should advise i have a pet hate of algae on glass etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 what about something with the scape situated more on one side? http://fishandpics.com/images/planted/scape080809.jpg would be simpler to do and means not as much work trimming keeping it looking nice ect yep i like those as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 i like the look of a feature in the center of the tank as well - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... l=1&id=182 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 What have I done?! That's only ONE page of ONE year of the competition! And you like almost ALL of them! 8) The lawn effect for me wasn't hard at all. Given almost 6 months, little care and only separating the grass out, it's turned out pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 haha onto 2008 now http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=1&id=10 http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... l=1&id=185 i think your right - i like the lawn look the most - or like a short back and sides with nice big rocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 beachy type ones look cool too - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... l=1&id=147 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 ok i think this might be the one http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=1&id=99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 viewtopic.php?f=2&t=40382&start=0 My thread on my Hairgrass Project. Will try and get a pic of the tank as it is now, perhaps tomorrow if I find time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 Yur always welcome for a visit Skippy, no worries at all. Thanx for the comments. Once the tanks are dun properly, you should come back and have a look. The Bubbas are all in the 1000L Tank now. :-) Hope the Chocolates are doing you well. :-) hey - the chocs are doing really well - well as far as i can tell :bounce: im no fish expert but they look happy...now i just need my 4ft tank to look as awesome as yours and that will be one less thing to worry bout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 Dude, you can do it, my tanks are *stoopid* lol! :oops: nah i like yours - no where near as spastic as mine - you did look at the pics at the start of this thread didnt you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=40382&start=0 My thread on my Hairgrass Project. Will try and get a pic of the tank as it is now, perhaps tomorrow if I find time. yeah i like that - how often do you have to mow the lawn ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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