Hello everyone! I want to start a new aquascape in my 20 liters tank! I will take all the time which is necessary to create it. As a substrat, I will certainly use ADA or Tropica substrat. I have approximatively 1W/liter for the light, which seems quite correct. I will try with no CO2 system at first. I would like to use plants which are not hard to maintain... I have been doing a lot of mistakes with my two previous tank, so I want to have a real and concrete project before to try anything. I found this piece of driftwood that I will use, it fits rightly with the tank dimensions. Waiting for your precious advices! Glom
I have been doing a tank in carton to find the right place for the hardscape. Will take a picture as soon as possible!
Hello everyone! I'm still thinking about this tank. But I have a bad new: my light has broken. The problem is: I don't have money for good aquascape's stuff (studies are expensive...), I don't have place to find good aquascape's stuff, etc... So I must say I am a little bit desesperate. I have to find solutions and obviously to see my expections downwards. I still want to do a tank, maybe it will not be an aquascape tank but it will not be a plastic's plants tank either! So, I'm thinking about a tank with the piece of dw I have talked about later. It will be a tank really easy to maintain. Here are the ideas, don't hesitate to tell me your opinion/advice or whatever! I would like to use ADA or Tropicana soil. For the plants, I want to do a moss carpet. Does anyone here has already made a moss carpet? I was thinking about making one in letting moss under a small grid. I would have like to add other easy plants to maintain without CO2. What is your opinion about something like Lilaoepsis, Hydrocotyle, Staurogyne repens or Marsilea? If you have any ideas, juste tell me! (the tank is 30 cm high)! And if it is working good, why not thinking about adding some shrimps? Thank you for your support! Glomeridae
Glomeridae I recommend you consider a very low tech tank until you have enough money to do the things you would like to do. Keith
It was kind of the idea, I will have a filter and ADA soil because I already have this stuff plus my light (2neons of the three are still working). It is why I consider to do a moss carpet, do you think it can be a good idea? But I am looking for other easy plants to maintain. I have my big and old Anubia, so I will keep it!
Hi Glom, what about IKEA LED or halogen table lamps? And look for www.freecycle.org and ask for aquaristic stuff - maybe some is pleased to give you, what he does no more need. Good luck ad kind regards Ev
Hi Glom ill try and answer some of your questions for a moss carpet i recommend a moss the grows up like grass i.e flame or erect other mosses like java grow really fast and not up so can sometime look like a mess, its also harder to clean. the downside to moss carpets are they are slow to grow and take a lot of moss to complete a full carpet, to start it will look boring but after time it will look amazing. i would recommend starting with two or three portions and use your trimming for the next section. https://glassboxgardens.com/collections/aquarium-moss/products/vesicularia-reticulata-erect-moss-tissue-culture-in-vitro i would also recommend wire mesh for a moss carpet as it will keep floating to the top https://glassboxgardens.com/collections/aquarium-moss/products/moss-mesh-50mm-x-50mm also high tech tanks cost more on a monthly basis, co2, fertilzser etc, weekly water changes, plants need trimming regular. low tech is a lot less work the only downsides are slower plant growth and species restrictions.
Hi Jason and thanks a lot for your precious answer! For the moss, Vesicularia seems quite interesting, I was also thinking about Fissidens fontanus or Taxiphyllum, it also stitchs up on any kind of support. Do you think that any of them can grox on a ADA soil? Yes, I will use kind of wire mesh but I guess I have to avoid those which are in metal if I want to add schrimp later? Hi @moss-maniac and thanks for your informations! I've looked on Ikea website for the lamp and indeed, it seems like it could be one solution. Just one question, do you think that the light can match correctly for the plant's growth? Thank you all for your support!
Glom you will be fine with ADA soil its the perfect proven soil to use. Wire mesh mush be made of stainless steel as in the link, this is fine for any aquaria. Most plants will grow with almost any light but the speed of growth etc will be different high light will require co2/high tech setup and will help the plants grow faster. Also some plants require higher lighting to bring out the nice colours and prevent them from growing leggy / deformed. Roy uses halogen flood lights and his tanks look great . Most sellers provide the plants requirements here is one for the erect moss
Glomeridae There is a very old trade saying "The right tools for the right job" the same goes for aquariums if you have the right equipment and knowledge you will have a beautiful tank. Keith
Yes Glom, I think, for a small tank and plants that are satisfied with low light it's enough. F. e. the IKEA lamp JANSJĂ– is used often for small tanks and Wabi Kusas - some people use two of them for one 80 cm tank. http://www.flowgrow.de/beleuchtung/lichtreflexe-sprich-kringeleffekt-mit-led-s-t17984.html#p155931 I am afraid, that very good flowgrow thread about it will be hard to translate with google translator? Kind regards Ev