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aquarium-age gaf
- Thread starter Natetan
- Start date
ok, that is fucking awesome.
does anyone have a decent guide for doing that particular method of bonsai aquarium?
i found this: http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100611060133AA3ZP32
but i'm not sure if it uses the same underwater plant
While you can submerge a bonsai tree specifically or grow a small mangrove, that tank is simply a tree branch with some tied moss (Maybe Christmas moss by the looks of it) on it.Scrow said:
There is some dwarf hairgrass towards the back and I don't know the name of the plant in the front.
Christmas moss is a guess. There's 3 others it could be. Hard to tell unless it is close up.Scrow said:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myplants/Ferns_Mosses/0/9
Looking at the front plant more it is probably Utricularia Graminifolia (UG)
balladofwindfishes
Member
it doesn't look like Java moss.
That grows in long tangled strings.
I'd bet it's Christmas moss. That's a pretty common moss and it looks somewhat like that.
That grows in long tangled strings.
I'd bet it's Christmas moss. That's a pretty common moss and it looks somewhat like that.
345triangle
Member
i hoped this thread was going to be about the most awesome aquariums you guys have visited T_T i'll post mine anyway
1. monterey bay
2. osaka kaiyukan
3. london
1. monterey bay
2. osaka kaiyukan
3. london
Lasthope106
Member
I did the aquarium thing when I was in high school, and had to learn the hard way about many things. Lots of fish died, and I gave up. Seeing this thread makes want to give it another try.
I just noticed my own Java moss is spreading out and isn't as much a tangled mess.
I'm very happy since it looked sorta ugly tied up in a messy ball.
Fish:
Guppies, Endlers, Platys
Shrimp:
Red Cherry Shrimp (Brown, Red, Fire red, Yellow, Blue, and Green colors)
Amano Shrimp
Ghost Shrimp
Plants:
Any moss
Java fern
Rotala _______ (I like narrow leaf green)
Most low light plants
You just need to change the water 30% or so every week with filtered or treated water and keep an eye on your pH level in the tank. That's mainly it.
You can start looking at other factors like Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates.
Then even later your General Hardness and something else...
Also I'm totally going to sound like a shill here, but buy a rich substrate like Aquasoil NEW Amazonia. Just have some of that in your tank, or on top of some other cheaper substrate like Eco-Complete. You general want about 2" of bottom so that some stem plants have a good root system and there are more nutrients overall.
Note that you will have to wait and cycle the soil to let the nitrifying bacteria grow.
I'm very happy since it looked sorta ugly tied up in a messy ball.
Low maintenance, very hardy animals and plants:Lasthope106 said:
Fish:
Guppies, Endlers, Platys
Shrimp:
Red Cherry Shrimp (Brown, Red, Fire red, Yellow, Blue, and Green colors)
Amano Shrimp
Ghost Shrimp
Plants:
Any moss
Java fern
Rotala _______ (I like narrow leaf green)
Most low light plants
You just need to change the water 30% or so every week with filtered or treated water and keep an eye on your pH level in the tank. That's mainly it.
You can start looking at other factors like Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates.
Then even later your General Hardness and something else...
Also I'm totally going to sound like a shill here, but buy a rich substrate like Aquasoil NEW Amazonia. Just have some of that in your tank, or on top of some other cheaper substrate like Eco-Complete. You general want about 2" of bottom so that some stem plants have a good root system and there are more nutrients overall.
Note that you will have to wait and cycle the soil to let the nitrifying bacteria grow.
DonMigs85
Member
The important part when setting up a new aquarium is to give it several weeks (or even months) to let beneficial bacteria grow and start the nitrogen cycle. Then just start with a couple inexpensive fish for a couple weeks to "feed" the system with their waste.
You can also try this stuff to accelerate the process:
http://www.microbelift.com/products/home-aquarium/bacterial-products/special-blend/
You can also try this stuff to accelerate the process:
http://www.microbelift.com/products/home-aquarium/bacterial-products/special-blend/
I'm thinking about setting up my first tank for a while now. I will probably see some tank this week end. 
I will probably start with a small one (30/50L (9/13 gallons?)), heavily planted. I don't really know what kind of fish I will put in. The volume being very small, the only logical choice would be a betta splendens alone but I need to see my water parameters after the cycle to decide.
I will probably start with a small one (30/50L (9/13 gallons?)), heavily planted. I don't really know what kind of fish I will put in. The volume being very small, the only logical choice would be a betta splendens alone but I need to see my water parameters after the cycle to decide.
DonMigs85
Member
Maybe a Gourami pair and a couple of Corydoras or Kuhli loaches. I love these little guys.Mekere said:I'm thinking about setting up my first tank for a while now. I will probably see some tank this week end.
I will probably start with a small one (30/50L (9/13 gallons?)), heavily planted. I don't really know what kind of fish I will put in. The volume being very small, the only logical choice would be a betta splendens alone but I need to see my water parameters after the cycle to decide.
50L is too small for a couple of Gourami, even the dwarf kind (Colisa lalia), I want my tank to be heavily planted, that would make a living volume of 40L and they would need twice that.
A couple corydoras is not enough. It's a fish who likes to be in group, 6 is a minimum. And 50L is too small for that many fish :/
Kuhli loaches. I like this fish too. But the same, it's a shy fish who'd prefer living in group (3/6 fishes) and need a lot of space on the floor and places to hide. My 50L would only have 60cm of length it's not enough for them :/
But really, that would be my choice of fish if I were to buy a 100L tank (26 gallon?) I love south Asian fishes, hence my idea of a Betta splendens. I really don't want my fishes to be in a tank too small or inadequate for them.
...
Maybe I can try and find some room for a 100L...
A couple corydoras is not enough. It's a fish who likes to be in group, 6 is a minimum. And 50L is too small for that many fish :/
Kuhli loaches. I like this fish too
. But the same, it's a shy fish who'd prefer living in group (3/6 fishes) and need a lot of space on the floor and places to hide. My 50L would only have 60cm of length it's not enough for them :/But really, that would be my choice of fish if I were to buy a 100L tank (26 gallon?) I love south Asian fishes, hence my idea of a Betta splendens. I really don't want my fishes to be in a tank too small or inadequate for them.
...
Maybe I can try and find some room for a 100L...
Yeah, they are really shy fishes My mother had one in her 120L and to see it you would have to surprise it in the midlde of the night, we thought it was dead for monthes before someone was able to spot it.
Her having only one, was just one of her many mistakes,it was living along with a pleco (died of dwarfism), one angelfish (yes one.. in 120L, it went crazy of course), neons (just 4 instead of 10/15) and all kind of different fishes that did not match each other, no need to say, I have forbidden her to set up a new tank, she believes the sellers too much >_>
My mother had one in her 120L and to see it you would have to surprise it in the midlde of the night, we thought it was dead for monthes before someone was able to spot it.Her having only one, was just one of her many mistakes,it was living along with a pleco (died of dwarfism), one angelfish (yes one.. in 120L, it went crazy of course), neons (just 4 instead of 10/15) and all kind of different fishes that did not match each other, no need to say, I have forbidden her to set up a new tank, she believes the sellers too much >_>
BannedEpisode
Member
Loaches like to chill out.
I had two clowns for about 3 years and all they would do is eat, get fat and "lay" on the piece of driftwood.
I had two clowns for about 3 years and all they would do is eat, get fat and "lay" on the piece of driftwood.
There is an interview of the guy who made the floating island, with more pictures here:
http://www.aquascapingworld.com/forum/aquascape-month/3305-aquascape-month-august-2010-beyond-nature.html
http://www.aquascapingworld.com/forum/aquascape-month/3305-aquascape-month-august-2010-beyond-nature.html
i love those cherry shrimp pictures. they're so cute.
i think my guppies ate all of mine tho
My angels are getting big! i like them though, we have two night black and two platinum white ones. it's a nice contrast. I also got a nice bamboo tube for my glass shrimp to climb into.
One problem though is the water got hot and the plants died. We resolved it by leaving the air conditioner on in that small room until the ambient outdoor temperature comes down.
i think my guppies ate all of mine tho
My angels are getting big! i like them though, we have two night black and two platinum white ones. it's a nice contrast. I also got a nice bamboo tube for my glass shrimp to climb into.
One problem though is the water got hot and the plants died. We resolved it by leaving the air conditioner on in that small room until the ambient outdoor temperature comes down.
Leunam said:
I'm sorry, most of my references are in french, but I suppose there are a lot of forums about aquarium in english too. Just make sure to read about the water cycle and also that they do care about the fish, if you see people saying that a goldfish can live perfectly in a 5 gallon tank, go somewhere else. If I stumble onto a good one, I'll tell you.
But overall, really take your time! If you want to do things well (for you and the fishes) there is a lot to learn and most of the time you can't trust sellers :/
I'm currently doing construction on my house, so none of my tanks are running at the moment. Once I have everything done I'm going with something right around 200 gallons.
I previously had 3 tanks set up. One was a 14 gallon Biocube for my son that had 2 Gold-Striped Maroon clowns. I had an anemone in there with a couple zoanthids. Nice and simple. I didn't have to touch the thing. Barely did water changes. I literally just did it's own thing.
I had another 29 gallon Biocube that I modded all to hell. Had a metal halide hanging above it, protein skimmer, fans to circulate the water better, extra moonlights, etc. That was my favorite tank I've set up. Small, concise, and just plain looked great. The amount of coral I had would occupy a small corner of a large tank, but this thing looked decked out. Anyways, now I'm getting carried away typing when most of you just care about pictures, so here it is.
That last picture was taken about a month later. I added a sun coral in the middle, moved some things around, and other things grew.
What I'd like to convey is that anyone who thinks that saltwater tanks is too difficult or daunting needs to look into a Biocube, Nanocube, Aquapod, etc. For the most part they are all inclusive and make caring for something like this quite simple. Of course, I took it a little further than some people, but this is actually only the tip of the iceberg (as you can see in DJ_Lae's awesome setup)
I previously had 3 tanks set up. One was a 14 gallon Biocube for my son that had 2 Gold-Striped Maroon clowns. I had an anemone in there with a couple zoanthids. Nice and simple. I didn't have to touch the thing. Barely did water changes. I literally just did it's own thing.
I had another 29 gallon Biocube that I modded all to hell. Had a metal halide hanging above it, protein skimmer, fans to circulate the water better, extra moonlights, etc. That was my favorite tank I've set up. Small, concise, and just plain looked great. The amount of coral I had would occupy a small corner of a large tank, but this thing looked decked out. Anyways, now I'm getting carried away typing when most of you just care about pictures, so here it is.
That last picture was taken about a month later. I added a sun coral in the middle, moved some things around, and other things grew.
What I'd like to convey is that anyone who thinks that saltwater tanks is too difficult or daunting needs to look into a Biocube, Nanocube, Aquapod, etc. For the most part they are all inclusive and make caring for something like this quite simple. Of course, I took it a little further than some people, but this is actually only the tip of the iceberg (as you can see in DJ_Lae's awesome setup)
I keep 12 adult cherries with my guppies and they are no problem. I have the giant 2+ inch guppy females too.Natetan said:i love those cherry shrimp pictures. they're so cute.
i think my guppies ate all of mine tho
My angels are getting big! i like them though, we have two night black and two platinum white ones. it's a nice contrast. I also got a nice bamboo tube for my glass shrimp to climb into.
One problem though is the water got hot and the plants died. We resolved it by leaving the air conditioner on in that small room until the ambient outdoor temperature comes down.
Only thing I'm worried about are the young shrimp for sure which is why I have some in their own separate tank right now. Three are berried (have eggs) right now so I hope they drop soon. (Like my photo)
Well I didn't know anything and I have just been reading around on forums.Leunam said:
The Planted Tank
Aquatic Plant Central
Yes!Zyzyxxz said:
J-Roderton
Member
eastmen said:
20g fresh tanks are pretty cheap to come by. It depends on how many fish you want to have, assuming you have found out how many you can house with a 20g. Filters aren't that expensive and if you plan on having fresh water fish, you can have a pretty nice variety as far as community fish go. I suggest getting a few easy to care for fish so you can find out if you can handle them. Most are cheap and don't require much care. Just make sure you monitor your water levels and such.
Right now I have a 35g with 1 Rafeal catfish, 4 zebra danios, 3 tetras (sorry forgot their real names), 2 albino catfish (again, I forgot the real names of the species), and an algae eater.
Depends if you want plants or not.eastmen said:
Then you have soil/gravel/sand choices
Lighting choices
Livestock choices
A cheap 20 Gal for plants would be:
20G tank from Petco $35
9L of Aquasoil NEW AMAZONIA $40
Light fixture: $40-$120. Depends what you want. Regular spiral CFLs, T5 lighting, T5HO, LED, etc. etc. Spiral CFLs have worked great for me and are very cheap.
Assorted plants (I would look on a forum near you for trimmings, or on craigslist). Buying outright is costly and trimmed plants grow fantastic, and you can probably get them for cheap or free.
Filter: Tetra Whisper 30G for $30. Cheap, quiet, work great. More expensive filters and media can cost over $200.
Fish - Depends. Show guppies, endlers, platys are cheap and easy to care for.
Shrimp - Depends. Pick a type of Cherry shrimp or some Amano Shrimp.
Food - Flakes / pellets
Aquarium Test Kit $25
My personal 10G setup cost me about $90, but I got some free items and great deals.
Here is a horribly taken quick photo. It's less than a month old right now and has a lot of growing in and moving around to be done.
Updates for both tanks. Haven't attended either of them in a while. Planning a trim and tearing out the HM (The middle right bushy clump). Add a piece of wood with a different moss on it too.
Both I'm slowly figuring out what I want and like.
Couldn't get any decent photo of my main planted tank...
Downsides are you probably introduce a lot more nutrients (Good substrate and more light) and algae happens anyway. Usually it goes away and you can treat it with different methods.
Normal filter as in a standard hang on the back filter is alright (it's what I use). It's there more to suck out the waste matter so you have to clean it out so the waste doesn't decay in the filter. But if you don't clean it with tank water you'll kill the good bacteria in it.
I think. I rinse mine out with filtered water, but my fish and shrimp are extremely resilient.
Both I'm slowly figuring out what I want and like.
Couldn't get any decent photo of my main planted tank...
Oxygen, use of decayed waste (Eventually Nitrates)?, protection for babies, lots of plants can help take nutrients from algae.eastmen said:
Downsides are you probably introduce a lot more nutrients (Good substrate and more light) and algae happens anyway. Usually it goes away and you can treat it with different methods.
Normal filter as in a standard hang on the back filter is alright (it's what I use). It's there more to suck out the waste matter so you have to clean it out so the waste doesn't decay in the filter. But if you don't clean it with tank water you'll kill the good bacteria in it.
I think. I rinse mine out with filtered water, but my fish and shrimp are extremely resilient.
What kind of shrimp? The parameters for anything other than Neocardina's seems much more specific to the point where most people can't use mostly tap or filter water. So they use reverse osmosis water or buy a unit that makes it at home.AndyD said:
Cherries like the ones I have you can toss them into a plastic bag with tapwater and they will do fine even if you leave them outside.
A lot of them like lower ph and temps around 72-74F. Also the water needs to be very clean, track your water hardness, etc.
Yea, our water tends to be a little hard. And I do keep it a little cooler, 72-75.
I gave up on shrimp a while back. I tried just regular plain cheap transparent ones from the fish store before venturing to anything expensive. Ghosties. They would live for a few weeks then one day I would just find the shell of one. Then a while later, same with another and so forth. Over a few months I lost all of them. This happened with two batches of about 5-6 each.
I gave up on shrimp a while back. I tried just regular plain cheap transparent ones from the fish store before venturing to anything expensive. Ghosties. They would live for a few weeks then one day I would just find the shell of one. Then a while later, same with another and so forth. Over a few months I lost all of them. This happened with two batches of about 5-6 each.
Emerson
May contain jokes =>
Here's my tank update:
3.5gal containing one CPO:
Totally new since the last time I've posted here. Absolutely love the little girl, CPO's are great.
29gal:
1 Angelfish
2 Black Emperor Tetra
2 Guppy
2 Honey Gourami
3 Cherry Barb
1 Bristlenose Pleco
1 Ghost Shrimp
3 Nerite Snail
A couple new fish in here and some new live plants since I last posted.
20gal:
2 Halloween Crab
4 Fiddler Crab
After my male Red Claw died I gave my female to a friend and decided to start fresh with new crabs.
Halloween crabs love to climb
One of my Fiddlers chilling out by the water
3.5gal containing one CPO:
Totally new since the last time I've posted here. Absolutely love the little girl, CPO's are great.
29gal:
1 Angelfish
2 Black Emperor Tetra
2 Guppy
2 Honey Gourami
3 Cherry Barb
1 Bristlenose Pleco
1 Ghost Shrimp
3 Nerite Snail
A couple new fish in here and some new live plants since I last posted.
20gal:
2 Halloween Crab
4 Fiddler Crab
After my male Red Claw died I gave my female to a friend and decided to start fresh with new crabs.
Halloween crabs love to climb
One of my Fiddlers chilling out by the water
BigJonsson
Member
I want one
Quadrangulum
Banned
I started with a 29 gallon two weeks ago. I have six Flame Tetras so far; when I tame the ammonia, I think I'll add a Boesemani Rainbow and a few Cardinal Tetras.
I've had mixed results with my plants. I don't think the Dwarf Baby Tears will last much longer though everything else seems to be thriving. I'll be adding some Marimo Balls later this week.
I've had mixed results with my plants. I don't think the Dwarf Baby Tears will last much longer though everything else seems to be thriving. I'll be adding some Marimo Balls later this week.
Baraka in the White House
2-Terms of Kombat
Vik_Vaughn said:
I've always wanted to try a Biocube for my first saltwater setup but I've read that they can be iffy on quality when it comes to the pump and random leaks. Have you had any hiccups with the tank so far?
titiklabingapat
Member
doublepost, opps.