Step 1: Ideas
I borrowed the layout material and went to the mountain without any idea of the work . With Mr. Kawashima, a CAJ member.
Return the stone material used last year to the mountain. Then, look for new materials.
The scene I met there. "Oh! This feels good ~~"
Geometric patterns in the natural landscape that occasionally appear. A unique model in which a large stone is cracked and divided.
I got the idea. Take home (borrow!) Stones of the same quality, large and small, lying around. Sketch at once.
It creates a solid shadow with a shape that has geometric features. Diorama perspective waterscape (predicted that this line will still occupy the top position)
Step 2: Materials
Does stone bonding work?
It's a stone I've never used, so I've tested it in various ways. Make many combinations while matching the colors when wet
Is it a safe material for the test body, such as changes in water quality when placed in water ?
Conductivity, pH, hardness, etc.
Don't forget to stock aquatic plants.
The image of the work has been solidified, and the material is ready. It's a stone material I've never used before, so whether it works or not ...
Step 3: Hardscape
As usual, self-made water supply covers on both sides of the aquarium
Water supply pipes, heaters, CO2 agitators, etc. are stored in this space. From here when pouring water.
Sprinkle bottom floor additives almost every year
Installed a self-made acrylic stand to raise the height
Fixed with lava stone
The process here is as usual.
We will build a new stone material .
After arranging the stones, look at the situation from a distance and fine-tune the position of the stones many times .
If you make the wrong stone arrangement, you can't go back.
Repeat the fine adjustments over the course of many days. The work of piling up stones ... When you're concentrating on something, time goes by in a blink of an eye.
Be careful not to overdo it. If you take patience, it will hurt your back. Little by little every day. I can see the whole picture.
It is not visible from the front, but the stones are glued to each other on the back. If it collapses, there is a danger of the glass aquarium collapsing
Looking down from the side of the aquarium, it looks like this.
The stones are glued together with a hardener . Fill the gaps between the stones with cotton so that they will not spill when the soil is thrown in .
Put in the soil ~
We have secured a large space so that we can plant plenty of stalked grass . I put in the soil because I had a rough skeleton .
The soil used this time is also ADA's Aqua Soil-Amazonia Ver.2 .
From the side
We have a large space for planting stalked grass .
From the other side
Harvesting aquatic plant material from a mist-controlled stock aquarium
Step 4: Planting
Grab the new large pearl glass with your hand. The paint of the aquatic plants that grew thick
Morimori on the pallet. I will plant it.
Just tear it off and leave it.
Place undergrowth in the stalked grass planting space. First , solidify the ground with grassroots undergrowth .
The green ground is created first, and after water injection, the stalked grass is planted .
Planting completed.
With a glass lid
Enter mist type management.
In January, the room temperature is low, but the heat of the light makes the inside of the aquarium warm, and the mist-type aquarium is steamed with mist, which is an environment of a tropical rain forest .
About one month has passed since the start of mist management . It is growing steadily.
Anubias Nana Petit , Microsolium Trident in the foreground
I put Borbitis etc. Echinodorus tenels on the edge of the stone
I will plant it using tweezers.
Divide into small pieces to make it easier to plant.
About 2 months have passed.
It has flourished.
From the side, it looks like this.
The green plain is complete. It's about time to inject water .
It is a space to put a water supply pipe in both sides of the aquarium.
Seen from the side, it looks like this.
Put a hose in this space so that water can be put in and out . (There is no need to worry about breaking the layout due to water flow during water supply)
We also planted hair grass .
You're growing up.(There is a habit of diving down steadily ...)
There will be shadows on the bottom of the aquarium. Only there, the grass does not grow well, so we are adding lighting .
I started to inject water. Since the room temperature is still low, a heater is installed in the space on the far right of the aquarium .
Now that the water is full, we will plant stalked grass With tweezers
The aquatic plants on the front of the aquarium are not growing well, so it seems that additional lights are still needed.
The planting of pedunculated grass is almost completed. The rest is trimming, waiting for it to grow. CO2 is also added
About 20 days have passed. The undergrowth on the front was also successfully deployed, so I removed the additional lights.
It's about time for moss to come out. I would like to ask Yamatonuma shrimp to do my best.
About 50 to 80 animals.
We will start the process of creating a trickle using white sand to enhance the contrast of the screen .
It's finally the finishing stage. A stone material is hooked on the edge of the aquarium to emphasize the stone arrangement like a concentrated line .
I don't think it would be nice to do something like this (laughs) , but the shadow balance didn't go well. It was difficult to stack stones any more, and he helped with his playfulness.
Make finer trickle Use a test tube to remove white sand .
The white sand material used is ADA 's La Plata Sand
To make a trickle, screw cotton between the grass
Sprinkle white sand on it . It's not particularly official. I've come up with this method for a few years now.
The reason for using cotton is that the position can be confirmed and that white sand (which can be moved as appropriate) is entwined with the fibers and a white line can be expressed firmly .
Fill the part where you want to remove the white sand with cotton. Pebbles are applied to the boundary between white sand and stones .
By sandwiching pebbles, you can move from stone to white sand with a natural feeling and a supple line of sight.
The pebble material used is
ADA's aqua gravel is useful.
This time it will be completed! After pouring water , the water has become stable , so I would like to add fish .
Fish is Fire Tetra
I put about 100 of them.
It is expected that the stones used will be a little warmer in the water, and that red aquatic plants such as Orange Milliophyllum and Ludwigia sp Super Red will grow and come to the fore as an impression .
Step 5: Final
I chose a red fire tetra that fits in with the color environment .
Angle from above The stalked grass also grew steadily.
During this period, no additional fertilizer such as liquid fertilizer was added. I've come this far with all the nutrients contained in the soil .
Since the metal halide lamp is a green ball, the red color is not so noticeable, but in reality, the red stalked grass is impressive.
I think that the result is the same as the impression of the first sketch, but when I think about it now, I regret that I should have provided more space for white sand on the bottom to emphasize the contrast.
In fact, the impression you get when you take a picture is very different from what you see with your eyes.
I should have had the courage to pull out the grass and set up a white sand space. However, the work was finished as planned
I was able to exhibit safely this year as well !
Approximately 7 months to complete
Author Katsuki Tanaka blog / seikasuisoubu
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