@Firefly - After watching those "GreenMachine" vids, I have an idea to do like mini-islands in each third of the aquarium (since it is so wide). Sadly, it'll be all articifial...this time around. I am getting super excited and will indeed do a journal when I have all the planning pieces together.
Yes I've seen those videos...very inspiring aren't they? I like the three islands idea. I would visualise it as being built up at each end with an island at the back in the middle. As if you were standing on the outside of a bow in a river, if you see what I mean?
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan
Yes I've seen those videos...very inspiring aren't they? I like the three islands idea. I would visualise it as being built up at each end with an island at the back in the middle. As if you were standing on the outside of a bow in a river, if you see what I mean?
That's actually EXACTLY what I was thinking, no lie... The pen will be hard at work this weekend doing all the mockups and conceptualizing on paper... Did I mention I was excited about this??? lol...
Pics 1,3 and 4 seem fiesable to me...IF I can get some artificial cover that looks realistic. I would probably lean more towards Pics 3 and 4, while adding a 3rd island. I saw some artificial grass on amazon that comes in like 3"x3" square packs. Hm, with all the surfce area I have to cover, I'll be broke before I even think of getting fish stocked :) Thank you very much for the inspirations.
Those are the 2 green machine vids I watched early this morning that inspired me to use the wider real estate to do mini-islands. Of course mine will be NOTHING like that (as I have no knowledge nor experience with live plants), however, the base ideologies will be incorporated in my little oddball tank :) I liked Mr Findley's usage of cardboard to keep the sand/gravel from getting out of his field of working. I saw some very nice techniques that I should employ.
If you're not going to do live plants then why not consider an interesting rock and branches hardscape? Stuffing in a few hardy plants - they will grow in a fill a few gaps no doubt. It's perfectly possible to do decent planted set-ups in a low-tech way.
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan
I guess I got scared away by all i've read about CO2 canisters and all the tech stuff to keep the plants alive that goes beyond my scope of knowledge. If I could add some hearty plants AND keep them alive AND keep my stock alive, that would be superb, hahah. My head is spinning with the vast array of idea I could employ in this tank. Looks like I'll be on AC all day reading up on all can find about live plants (again) and proper cycling methods....
Yeah, it can seem impenetrable when you see the high-tech set-ups. Take a look at talldutchie's biotope set-up. That's low-tech and looks very authentic.
I also have a couple of low tech planted tanks. No CO2, just a few fertilisers added every week. It takes longer for things to grow...but easier to manage.
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan
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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan 
Originally Posted by ~firefly~
