So Bob the Shrimp kept glaring at me. He and his constituents weren't happy with the current tank setup.
It was serviceable to be sure. But the filter too up way too much space, the terrain was incredibly flat and uninteresting, there was a lack of top cover, and a general lack of open swimming area. Bob knew I could do better.
First thing was first: I was tired of looking through to my wall, so it got a coat of black paint on the back of the tank. After that, we needed some variety in the terrain level.
That's more like it. I used some seiryu stones to form a pair of retaining walls. On the small ledge on the left I would plant the Windelov that I had, and the driftwood would be grounded on the right hill, with another stone topper to keep it in place. The substrate is some off brand kiln fired clay I got at a going out of business sale at a fish store in Burien that I can't remember the name of now. (As an aside, is there anywhere to get Safe T Sorb in the greater Seattle area?). There is an egg crate base underneath and a few root tabs scattered around.
The next step was fixing up my driftwood. The anubias I had on there was way overgrown, and I wanted to carpet it with the moss I had used to make a tiny tree.
Before:
After splitting up the Anubias into two plants:
And the moss added:
With that done, it was time to get it situated. I also moved the Windelov over before I did that, so I would have a better idea of how the two would frame each other. Turned out pretty well.
Now it was time to just move over the Micro chain sword and get them planted, along with the tiny Crypt Wendetti on top of the large hill. I'm hoping being closer to the light will help it take off with some good coloration.
All that was left was to fill it.
And it's still a bit cloudy, but it's clearing up well enough. Swapping to a small cannister filter helps the looks immensely. The Windelov does a nice job of hiding the sponge pre-filter, and I love that it came with mostly clear tubing. The black background adds an extra bit of camouflage to the whole thing as well. Finding a better solution for the heater is the next step, but that will have to wait until the next pay check.
Tomorrow will be a trip up to the Co-op to grab a handful of MTS to keep that massive hill in check. I had 4 in the old tank, but despite trying my best to dig through the old substrate to find them, I could only locate one. I've got a snail trap set, but I'm doubting I'll see them. Other than that, it's just keeping an eye on water params and trying to figure out how the hell 10 Amanos are staying completely out of sight. I know they are good at hiding, but this is a bit ridiculous.
It was serviceable to be sure. But the filter too up way too much space, the terrain was incredibly flat and uninteresting, there was a lack of top cover, and a general lack of open swimming area. Bob knew I could do better.
First thing was first: I was tired of looking through to my wall, so it got a coat of black paint on the back of the tank. After that, we needed some variety in the terrain level.
That's more like it. I used some seiryu stones to form a pair of retaining walls. On the small ledge on the left I would plant the Windelov that I had, and the driftwood would be grounded on the right hill, with another stone topper to keep it in place. The substrate is some off brand kiln fired clay I got at a going out of business sale at a fish store in Burien that I can't remember the name of now. (As an aside, is there anywhere to get Safe T Sorb in the greater Seattle area?). There is an egg crate base underneath and a few root tabs scattered around.
The next step was fixing up my driftwood. The anubias I had on there was way overgrown, and I wanted to carpet it with the moss I had used to make a tiny tree.
Before:
After splitting up the Anubias into two plants:
And the moss added:
With that done, it was time to get it situated. I also moved the Windelov over before I did that, so I would have a better idea of how the two would frame each other. Turned out pretty well.
Now it was time to just move over the Micro chain sword and get them planted, along with the tiny Crypt Wendetti on top of the large hill. I'm hoping being closer to the light will help it take off with some good coloration.
All that was left was to fill it.
And it's still a bit cloudy, but it's clearing up well enough. Swapping to a small cannister filter helps the looks immensely. The Windelov does a nice job of hiding the sponge pre-filter, and I love that it came with mostly clear tubing. The black background adds an extra bit of camouflage to the whole thing as well. Finding a better solution for the heater is the next step, but that will have to wait until the next pay check.
Tomorrow will be a trip up to the Co-op to grab a handful of MTS to keep that massive hill in check. I had 4 in the old tank, but despite trying my best to dig through the old substrate to find them, I could only locate one. I've got a snail trap set, but I'm doubting I'll see them. Other than that, it's just keeping an eye on water params and trying to figure out how the hell 10 Amanos are staying completely out of sight. I know they are good at hiding, but this is a bit ridiculous.
