Lyarlla Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 So, in the effort to motivate myself to write my law thesis, I have promised myself that if I'm really good and get it done I will buy myself a 70 litre aquarium with built in light and filter (and sponsored by K-Rudd, hahaha). Then I plan to add a heater, thermometer, some sort of substrate, plants, broken but not sharp edged terracotta pots and hidey holes etc, possibly a bubble wall and/or sponge filter. Eventually after cycling I plan to have this tank house 5 of my red female fry from my NYE spawn. I am considering adding more fish later on depending on how it goes... I dont actually own a tank that big yet (fry tubs dont count!) so I'm wondering if anyone had any thoughts or suggestion as to what works, what doesnt, what else I should get, substrate (currently thinking 50/50 river sand and gravel), plant types (definately want a banana lily now lol), what sort of additional things to use (other than the light and built in filter) and add??? I'm thinking low maintenance :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbzy81 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Yay! Go the banana lily. If I can't kill it, nobody can, coz I kill everything! I can't believe they let me have kids but I can't grow a plant to save my life! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyarlla Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Hahaha, yes, you are the one responsible for me now insisting on having a banana lily :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 What is your law thesis about? I did mine on a comparative analysis of the common law of evidence and the uniform evidence legislation. That was in 1996 though, when evidence law reform was still topical . Anyway! Back to the tank. I agree with coarse river sand + small gravel, and banana lillies - but lillies plural, that is, at least 5 of them irregularly spaced around a feature piece of driftwood. You could tear up some IAL and let it sit on the substrate like leaf litter, and it will make the water lovely and dark ( I love a blackwater tank). I'd add maybe 6 glowlight tetras, they really pop in blackwater. Let the lily pads cover the surface. Underneath will be like mysterious dark woods, with mysterious red fish appearing out of the gloom and weaving between the lily pad stems. I would have minimal surface disruption, so no bubble wall. A sponge filter is still a good idea though and won't impact on the visual too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbzy81 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Wow Lisa, you have a such a great ability to visualise things. Very creative. & smart too! (re: law thesis) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 it sounds much more impressive than it was! :bighug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canfeleq Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I can kill banana lily's The only suggestion that I can think of is maybe add a thin layer of red clay (laterite) between the gravel and river sand. This would provide a continuous amount of iron for the plants. Good luck with both the tank and your studies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyarlla Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Ta for that, I am making a list as I learn more about bigger somewhat planted tanks All my adult betta are currently in smaller 8-12L ones with elodea (we have an endless supply from our pond) so this bigger stuff is all new to me My thesis question is "Whether the WTO has adequately recognised and resolved the conflict between trade and environmental concerns through its standards on products, and alternately, whether such a task would be better addressed by other stakeholders. It considers how the WTO has promoted has promoted the environment through the use of product standards in the SPS and TBT Agreements and assesses arguments as to whether or not this has been done in a way which resolves the tension between trade and the environment." LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Very creative. & smart too! LOL!! I read the exclamation mark as an 'L'!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Better a smart tool than a smart @r$e. (I cheated the swear filter, but surely nobody can be offended by @r$e . Guess that DOES make me a smart @r$e.... kids, don't try this at home). Interesting thesis Lyar - this wasn't even a topic on the horizon when I was studying (although I personally was a greenie WAY before it got fashionable). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbzy81 Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Oh Mike, you make me laugh. :bighug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenserpentine Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 Personally, before I would be deciding on the plants I would like, I generally think about what mood and theme I would like for my tanks to appear like. So for example, simple, to me would mean, clean cut, (pruned plants) spacious, so with this type of thing, the plants I would go for would leave minimal mess (ie: not duckweed, anything with really soft foliage that would leave a lot of leaf litter etc) a main feature such as a piece of pretty driftwood slightly off centre. anyhow, so with simple set ups the main feature is the fish themselves. Generally, with the substrate with most planted tanks I think eco soil is the bomb Foresty: Soft foliage leaves, as lilli said things that cover the top of the water, lots of various types of plants in random places, driftwood etc, maybe even some nice dark substrate to set off the colours of the fish and plants. (this style I currently adore), various mosses. With this layout I would suggest a decent plant light to help them flourish quite well Its all really up to how you envision your tank Make sure with planted tanks to get some decent plant food as well as plant trace elements. I'm currently using Flourish excel and the standard flourish, it smells a little bad when you open the lid of the bottle but it works so damn well Anyhow, hope this helps :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyarlla Posted May 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 Thank you everyone for you thoughts (and for making me laugh!) I suppose my first concern is making sure its leafy and foresty so that my girls have a lot of hiding places to escape from each other when they have a mood swing, lol. I would like it to be nice and bright, although Lilli managed to paint a really lovely picture in my head with her description and those tank photos from the ausaqua comp really made me drool! Am also considering lace fern too - it seems lovely and bright green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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