New planted tank

Christor wrote:

Just checking, but anyone ever use cat litter? seems to be getting very popular indeed! I am seriously contemplating it for price and if it doesnt work then it wont cost an arm and a leg to try, but from topics in UKaps it seems to be the business, tescos lightweight dust free is basically clay, same principles and properties as akadema basically, but a fraction of the price

I used it in this tank:
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/fforu...-discus-planted-tank

It's good and cheap for growing plants but I would not use it again for the following reasons:
- it's very light so cannot be used with bigger fish or bottom fish and don't hold plants well
- I think it's too small for bigger tanks
- the color is too light for me
- need to wash filter often as it gets clogged fast
- once disturbed you'll get a cloud of dust

Nosireland, did you use cat litter in that winning photo with the lovely carpet? Did you cap it with some gravel? And what kind of lighting, CO2, ferts were you using??

Sorry for all the questions, but its a really nice tank

George

grgeorge wrote:

Nosireland, did you use cat litter in that winning photo with the lovely carpet? Did you cap it with some gravel? And what kind of lighting, CO2, ferts were you using??

Sorry for all the questions, but its a really nice tank

George

Hi George,
I've used Akadama and the rest you'll find here:
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/fforu...-planted-tank#111851

Cheers for that Nos, I dont mind the colour and to be honest it wont be moved that much, however the dust and bottom dwellers could be an issue, however kuhli loaches will be my only bottom dweller so hoping the little guys wont cause too much trouble

roughly how deep did you use? as I see you use ferts etc

Christor wrote:

Cheers for that Nos, I dont mind the colour and to be honest it wont be moved that much, however the dust and bottom dwellers could be an issue, however kuhli loaches will be my only bottom dweller so hoping the little guys wont cause too much trouble

roughly how deep did you use? as I see you use ferts etc

Just noticed that the link with cat litter was missing.
The depth of it is 7-12cm.

Wow thats pretty deep! though are you using just it as a substrate? also what brand did you use? it seems the one to use is the featherlight no dust from tescos, its the pink bag, sorry should have made that clearer, anyone Ive talked to say it doesnt cloud up for them, though it is non clumping and like little bits of gravel really though obviously just pure baked clay. Im trying it anyway so can give my opinion of it

Christor wrote:

Wow thats pretty deep! though are you using just it as a substrate? also what brand did you use? it seems the one to use is the featherlight no dust from tescos, its the pink bag, sorry should have made that clearer, anyone Ive talked to say it doesnt cloud up for them, though it is non clumping and like little bits of gravel really though obviously just pure baked clay. Im trying it anyway so can give my opinion of it

Yes it is deep, I have JBL aquabasis plus under it.
I've used Tesco pink bags, it is scented so I've soaked it for couple weeks. It is tough but it clouds up when disturbed.

Did you find any anaerobic patches in your subvstrate from it or did it regulate the water pretty well? Ahh thats the one im using, well its 10litres and pink and cream, I suppose the clouding can be expected, either way worth a go for its price, akadama was just going to be awkward to obtain and an awful lot more expensive, no bonsai retailers here in the north heh

It might be me but mine had zero scent, is it meant to be flowery or something?

Christor wrote:

Did you find any anaerobic patches in your subvstrate from it or did it regulate the water pretty well? Ahh thats the one im using, well its 10litres and pink and cream, I suppose the clouding can be expected, either way worth a go for its price, akadama was just going to be awkward to obtain and an awful lot more expensive, no bonsai retailers here in the north heh

It might be me but mine had zero scent, is it meant to be flowery or something?

Have not seen any anaerobic patches with cat litter so far.
Maybe Tesco stopped putting scent into it, 2 years have passed since I bought mine. Don't remember the scent but you can smell it straight away even without opening the bag.

They must have alright then, seem from the topic on Ukaps that it staretd a long time ago and more people reporting it having no smell, if it works it should be great, I really like the colour personally so here is hoping.

Nos you seem to be into the aquascaping scene, hav you any more setups? or have you tried any "low tech" setups?

Don't have any low tech planted setups, as the plants that I tend to use do better with more light and CO2.

Here are all the setups that I have/had:

Very nice setup there Nos indeed, all look great! I do like looking at that style of scaping where people imitate scenes as such but I personally prefer the more rugged jungle look of aquariums, im hoping to try and do my own version of a mangrove sort of setup, with roots im going to have my wood positioned at the top of the tank forming down like roots with shorter grasses and anubias coming from below

This is my hardscape ready (for now at least) so opinions etc much welcomed, pictures arent great but I used a camera this time, albeit not a very good one

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/20/dscf2288i.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/502/dscf2286q.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/dscf2287u.jpg/


Wanting these 2 pieces to act like tree roots coming into the water then build up some swords, java ferns, anubias, Sagittaria dwarf and other grasses into the design

p.s sorry dont know whats with the pictures but if your on chrome just right click and go to link

Hi Christopher,

hardscaping looks good like the wood work in the tank, will look amazing with the plants growing on it.
What substrate did you go with in the end?

Cheers,

Bill.

The planting in will be the difference, its tricky trying to imagine what looks good with plants than just sitting there in the tank

as for substrate still going john innes no3 and cat litter, really like its look and texture, whether it works for me is the next question, any progress with your own tank?

Thanks Draco!

the piece on the right side looks great set down, looks like a proper root, however it looks a bit daft as its randomly cut short and sits too far out from the tank, shame the tanks not very deep

other piece looks better laid flat, but takes up too much floor space so had to compromise while still keeping the look of roots

Bit of an update here, totally cleaned out and rescaped just cycling her now, and well what do yous think? needs to grow in a lot but I am happy with it for now, heres the plants I went for

Eleocharis Parvula
Echindorus Bleheri
Anubias barteri car nana
hygrophilia polysperma "Rosanervig"
Hygrophilia corymbosa "augustifolia"
Alternathera reineckii "pink" roseafolia

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

lookin very well indeed that hairgrass will be great when it takes off

wat u stockin

sean

Need to update photos as looking at this it has come on a lot! personally didnt see it until looking over these

as for stocking, there are maybe 20 cherry shrimp+, 5 khulis loaches, 4 mosquito rasbora, 2 pairs of golden australe and 1 scarlet badis all living happily

I know it is an old topic but....Any update on this set up. How did it work out for you?