Another manzy scape!

[Gerryd]

Hi all,

I moved my 180 from the living room to my BR in anticipation of the new aquarium.

The fish are all safely in the 45 for a bit and will be okay for a week or so. Daily water changes, two filters, etc. They seem fine if a bit less swimming room. They all seem to realize it and get along much better. Interesting...

Anyway, I have tons of manzanita wood from Tom that I haven't even used before. I will continue to use the wood from the right side of the current setup and will replace my skull branch for now. I have another branchy piece that will go well I think.

I will keep them on opposite side again as I like that look. Not sure if the rocks will make it this time, but perhaps as I like them..

Most likely just the two main big branches and no others but I have some awesome pieces. I have lots of nice wendti and plenty of java trident as well. Tom is sending over some new stauro as mine was okay but had taken a beating and I wanted to start fresh to ensure my c02 and conditions are good. If the new stuff goes bad, then I have issues.

My 45 is stuffed with manzy and lots of java varieties. The tigers look great against this backdrop, so I think the new scape will have perhaps more wood and more plants as my current scape is somewhat bare...

The java will do well growing on wood and eventually cover whatever I want...

So, will keep you all posted, but first pics I would say in 10-14 days or so.

Just about when the new tank will arrive

The 180 is really too big for the room and I am thinking of a new custom rimless to replace it. It would be 48-72" in length but only 18" front to back and be only 20" or so high. This will provide me a bit more room and the tank will not dwarf the room. I will miss it after having had it so long but is time to replace it. I got my moneys worth

Later!

 

[Gerryd]

I 'planted' all the crypts so that the leaves will stay upright and the roots remain in the substrate.

It may take a week or so for the new wood to sink some as it will float now. Even the existing piece regained some bouyancy from the 2 day out of water experience. I have noticed this with manzy wood.

I also stuck all the java on the wood so it doesn't blow around and clog the intakes/wiers.

So, the water is cloudy from the new bacterial bed and the 100% water change. I dosed EI and used Prime. I dosed Excel as well.

This should keep the plants okay until the scape is 'done' which in my case may be never

You folks may not appreciate this new scape but this one is for me to play with different pieces and placement.

I want to go low light and non c02 with it. Cover it in java, bolbitus, and anubias just like my 45 gal. I would like to attach a lot of this to wood as the plants do better this way, and you get some nice growth patterns as it covers the wood over time.

Easy to maintain, looks nice, very little algae to speak of.

Later.

 

[jerrybforl]

Can't wait to see it Gerry! I plan on doing my 20 gal long this week. Got some swords I will try in it as well as crypts, java, and anubias. I just gotta figure out how to load pics lol.

 

[Gerryd]

Hi all,

Well, I scaped the 180 (for now) and am pretty pleased with it initially. I am waiting for some plants to come in and will post pics later. Basically I replaced the skull wood with another piece and swapped the wood on the right to the left as Tom had suggested. I removed all of the rocks except for a few to help hold wood/plants in place and to provide hiding areas for the kribs..

I have two specimen manzy pieces facing each other and both are very branchy and attractive. Tom, thanks again! The alestes stay around the branches and look awesome! The bases of the wood are filled with the java species. The crypts are in the shade of one of the bigger branches. They will do well back there. Plenty of flow around the tank and has plenty of open swimming space. Water is crystal clear!

I actually have some stem plants again(!) and will see how long they last as the tetras are BIG plant eater. I have the following:

1) Ludwigia perunesis
2) P. Stellata. I think broadleaf but is very green now and I think is emersed. We'll see.
3). Hygro wisteria. One of my all time faves and a great plant.
4). A very tall hairgrass, very pretty. Easily 24" tall.
5). Sag subulata. About 4-6" high so far.
6). Sag species. This is a taller version and is about 18" and slender.
7). Java trident, windelov, reg, narrow.
8). C. Wendti

I am waiting on some stauro from Tom.

I only have the 22 alestes (mixed sexes) and the 5 kribs (3 males, 2 fem) in there now so I could see what a 'single species' of schoolers was like. I like it a lot!!!!!

I added the bushy nose to help with the wood (and give it more room) and the 5 kribs and that is it. I am deciding if the tiger barbs will make it back in there or not. Eventually I think but will give it a couple/few days to decide. The tigers are fine where they are for that timeframe. Especially now with almost 30 less fish sharing their tank...

I want to get a few syndontis catfish to keep the 'african' theme...

Some of the older alestes are like very large congos or rainbows and I think they will get even bigger. Is why I want to keep them as a single species to give them more room. It does look pretty cool I have to admit.

I like it so far although I do miss the 'skull'...

Pics in the next few weeks as I want it to grow in before I present it...

Later.

 

[dutchy]

Hi Gerry,

Sounds good. Hope to see some pics soon. I'm surprised you can do with only one school of fish, but I'm sure it looks great.

 

[aqua-nut]

Hi all,

Pics in the next few weeks as I want it to grow in before I present it...

Later.

Umm...

No pics didn't happen!

 

[Gerryd]

Tank was given away so I no longer have it...

Hope you haven't been sitting by the PC all this time

 

[JJP2]

Gerry,

Are you currently tankless? How are the withdrawals?

John

 

[jerrybforl]

I got to see it up close and personal and it was nice. The birds nest under it was a different story lol. I since have taken the kribs, tiger barbs, and festivums. The alsetes didn't make the trip. I also have most of the plants from that tank which I used to scape my 75 last week. While he had the tank running I got to see Tom do some work on it and watch it develope in front of me. That was a pretty cool experience and I will never forget it. Thanks Gerry!