60 Gallon cube

[plantbrain]

 

This tank has gone through a few different changes, but has settled in. I'd originally wanted some finer foreground leaf shapes, but the plecos would have none of that, this plant does not uproot and and allows a nice understory place for the plecos to grub around and the RCS to pick and clean anything missed by the plecos. I have 15 caves made into this piece of wood for the plecos(Leopard frog). the brass tetras are about 2 years old, this is as big as they get, very pretty and excellent schooling, lively fish. Maybe 100 RCS in here. Simple display, but low light + easy care, makes it a nice tank.

 

Good current, flourite sand, wet/dry filter, 1.7 w/gal and about 30 micromols along the bottom.

 

Recently send a basket ball sized piece of bolbitus off for sale, and about 50 dwarf hygros. 30 RCS are culled about once every month or two from the filter.

 

Now if I can get some Leopard frog fry or have some tetras' spawn, I'm in good shape.

 

 

 

And the leopard frogs:

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

[nuno francisco]

amazing!

good work, we can see passion and dedication on this aquarium.

keep going

 

nuno francisco

[Kebras]

Hi ..

Impressive tank ... what kind of wood is that ? Is that one single piece or a composition ?

 

Congrats beautifull job .

 

Regards

Rui Santos

Editado Março 17, 2010 por Kebras

[PedroDionisio]

Your tank breathes health

 

love the centerpiece with those moss details

and those leopard frogs are really nice :D

 

Can you take a front pic without the bubbles ?

 

 

Please keep posting

[gervas]

As always words cannot describe it. As Borat would say "Me Likes. Its nice wawawuya!"

 

I love the tree stump! Was it processed to look like that, or is it a natural ocurrence?

 

I also find the carpet quite striking. What hygro is it, im not sure im familiar with that species, or variety, and is that moss patches on the tree stump or some superior plant?

Editado Março 17, 2010 por gervas

[sandra sophia]

beautifull, beautifull, beautifull :D

[plantbrain]

It's just a piece of bald cypress, common in Florida, swamp pine tree.

Very soft, nice grain, one large piece.

 

I tried to pick the Fissidens moss off, it keeps coming back, but people pay a lot of $ for the extras

A toothbrush seems to work best keeping the wood free of moss. Still have work to go.

 

I rarely take equipment out simply for a photo or shut CO2 off etc.

This is what the tank looks like when people walk by.

 

Breeding fish, nice plant growth and production, this aquarium pays for itself.

Uses little light, easy to care for, suits the goal and the habitat for the livestock.

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

[sagaspar]

Great Job

Can you put the entire setup?

 

Regards

[Ricardo Diogo]

Tom Barr comments here?

 

Who's next? Amano?

[plantbrain]

Tom Barr comments here? banana rock

 

Who's next? Amano?

 

I'm a cheap date

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

[João Paulo Viegas]

I'm a cheap date

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

 

LoL

 

You could come to my place and assemble one of this for me and I'll offer you dinner. banana rock

 

 

Now seriusily:

 

Another good aquarium.

It’s nice to see that simple things are also very beautiful.

 

Great job. Love the leopard

[Quo]

very original, really liked this one. Why you would want to remove the moss? it gives the tank a special touch.

 

On the foreground, what plant is that? You call it Dwarf Hygro which as far as I can tell the scientific name of the Dwarf Hygro is Hygrophila polysperma, but it looks more like Hygrophila guanensis Furthermore, I like your philosophy as you try to adapt the tank to the inhabitants. That is not the norm around here. As, in fact, some smaller plant in the foreground would give the tank the idea it is larger. You could use some sort of moss for that. But the hygros can also give another impression, that it is a forest of some kind, that also works fine when using one's imagination, with the little creatures moving around there.

 

liked this tank a lot, and i'm one of those who prefer to use stones instead of wood, but that piece of wood it's like it combines wood and stone shapes and as a lot of landscape value.

Editado Março 19, 2010 por Quo

[plantbrain]

LoL

 

You could come to my place and assemble one of this for me and I'll offer you dinner.

 

Actually we make salty codfish and I grill sardines as good at the ones we had in Portugal.

CA, USA has some good cod and excellent fresh sardines. So I got some good cooking ideas from there.

 

 

Another good aquarium.

It’s nice to see that simple things are also very beautiful.

 

Great job. Love the leopard

 

It takes some time to get every aspect going right, but I'd still rather have some different foreground plant.

Never happy.

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

very original, really liked this one. Why you would want to remove the moss? it gives the tank a special touch.

 

On the foreground, what plant is that? You call it Dwarf Hygro which as far as I can tell the scientific name of the Dwarf Hygro is Hygrophila polysperma, but it looks more like Hygrophila guanensis Furthermore, I like your philosophy as you try to adapt the tank to the inhabitants. That is not the norm around here. As, in fact, some smaller plant in the foreground would give the tank the idea it is larger. You could use some sort of moss for that. But the hygros can also give another impression, that it is a forest of some kind, that also works fine when using one's imagination, with the little creatures moving around there.

 

liked this tank a lot, and i'm one of those who prefer to use stones instead of wood, but that piece of wood it's like it combines wood and stone shapes and as a lot of landscape value.

 

Well, I think aquarist should break the rules, try to turn things the other way around.

If it looks good, it is good.

 

The plant is Starougyne species. Not sure of the species name. It's widely grown in the USA, and this species is also being grown a lot now under Starougyne Tropica # 049:

 

Since I already have a lot of this plant, I have no use for another similar tank full of it. I have downoi in yet another tank, so not many choices left here.

 

The plecos can move under and through the plants and not uproot them.

This acts like a forest canopy for them. The Cypress wood is soft and easy to drill and make caves for them.

The wood's grain also looks like the fluted volcanic cliffs in the tropical south Pacific islands, Hawaii etc.

 

Here is at 1300 meters on Kauai:

 

 

You can see the fluted cliffs on the upper right.

 

 

But yes, using wood like rock is something I prefer more.

I have plenty of wood and can drill, attach it, modify it much easier than rock.

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

Editado Março 19, 2010 por plantbrain

[gervas]

Hmm cypress wood, i been thinking...

 

How did you treat it? i mean, i may be wrong, but what we locally call cypress, an introduced species of cypress from Central America called Cupressus lusitanica. It grows in several places, and has quite a good array of forms, and in beach areas and dunes it assumes a crawling shape, having crooked and quite decorative forms. It is a coniforous plant from the same genus as the european and american cedar, its considered to be a resinous plant, as well as having a toxic compound in its floem sap. Thus the local arbust/tree we call cypress, is inadequate for aquaria.

 

I do Know that Cupressus sempervirens, the european, and most known kind of cedar/cypress in the mediterranean world, also has a toxic sap that kills most fish and invertebrate... But even the shape of the tree, and its branches doesnt lend itself to aquaria aquascaping.

 

Question is. Is the Californian cypress from the same family, or did you treat it to remove the toxins, or if it is toxin free? Im curious. As there are some Cupressus lusitanica, some dead, most living, in the back of my house, would be free stumps.

Editado Março 19, 2010 por gervas

[alcaide]

Hi, nice to see you around here!

Very nice layout, amazing.

It’s interesting to see that you use pine in a layout.

I read a lot of opinions that pine can’t be used inside an aquarium….

Best regards, Alcaide

[plantbrain]

Hi, nice to see you around here!

Very nice layout, amazing.

It’s interesting to see that you use pine in a layout.

I read a lot of opinions that pine can’t be used inside an aquarium….

Best regards, Alcaide

 

Bald Cypress is used in many aquascapes. It's a common swamp tree in South East USA.

It's a deciduous also, no many confiers are.

So it looses its leaves in the winter.

 

Some are extremely old also, up to 3000 years or so.

They are perfectly safe for the aquarium and do not turn the water dark, but then again, any wood that's been soaking and dead for a long time will be safe also.

Another common wood used from the same region is Swamp Cedar, the Tampa Bay Aquarium uses it a lot in most of their displays.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxodium_distichum

 

Most pieces are light weight and need slate or glued to the bottom of the tank.

Swamp cedar roots are often used.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_virginiana

 

I've collected nice pinwheel root systems for several years there.

 

There's also a western cedar I use for this 180 Gallon tank:

 

 

Looks better than most folk's wood:)

Fish bred and are happy.

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

Hmm cypress wood, i been thinking...

 

How did you treat it? i mean, i may be wrong, but what we locally call cypress, an introduced species of cypress from Central America called Cupressus lusitanica. It grows in several places, and has quite a good array of forms, and in beach areas and dunes it assumes a crawling shape, having crooked and quite decorative forms. It is a coniforous plant from the same genus as the european and american cedar, its considered to be a resinous plant, as well as having a toxic compound in its floem sap. Thus the local arbust/tree we call cypress, is inadequate for aquaria.

 

I do Know that Cupressus sempervirens, the european, and most known kind of cedar/cypress in the mediterranean world, also has a toxic sap that kills most fish and invertebrate... But even the shape of the tree, and its branches doesnt lend itself to aquaria aquascaping.

 

Question is. Is the Californian cypress from the same family, or did you treat it to remove the toxins, or if it is toxin free? Im curious. As there are some Cupressus lusitanica, some dead, most living, in the back of my house, would be free stumps.

 

As long as it's been dead a long time, and well soaked, none of this matters.

If you worry, then use activated carbon, it removes such chemicals.

Also, so does water changes.

 

But make sure it's been soaked and been pulled from a long dead tree!

No fresh wood ever, no matter what type of tree.

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

Update:

 

 

Switched to more Fissidens and Hair grass var "belem".

 

Regards,

Tom Barr

[AntonioPedroPinto]

Very nice

[Diogo HC Matias]

Hello Tom,

Can you explain to us, the diference between the common (japan) hairgrass and that amazing hair grass var "belem"?