Due to the influence of Corona, the NA party was canceled and the ranking was announced on Youtube, which was an irregular development, but it was possible to share the exciting time with the layouters around the world and have a great time. Was completed. I am grateful to all the ADA staff for making such a wonderful project during an unprecedented difficult time .
The result of my entry was 28th.
I couldn't reach my goal because my goal was to be within 10th place, but it was a decent ranking.
It may or may not go as expected. .. .. There were various works made this year ^^
In a word, it was really fun!
Then , I will write the making in order ~
Step 1: Ideas
First, roughly decide the "theme" and "composition". Draw a number of simple sketches with only simple lines and somehow choose the composition you like.
The picture is rather sloppy ^^;
As you repeat the process of drawing and selecting, you will naturally narrow down the theme. This year's theme is "Gunnyari Garden". The composition looks like this.
It's a very rough picture, but it's OK for me ^^ Because at this stage, I just want to get started to actually move my hands and make a layout . That's why I'm moving forward without making too many decisions .
Step 2: Materials
Collect the materials you want to use. I really wanted to use a round stone, but I couldn't get it. There is no choice but to take another method. .. I decided to cut the corners of the pore stone that I had and make it round.
I got the shortage at the aqua shop and online sales. Qigong stones, yellow tiger stones, flints, etc ... are sold under various names.
Since the pore stone is soft , it is easy to break or scrape. I got a machine to polish stones and sharpened the corners of Qigong stones.
When I saw me scraping stones every day, my family laughed that I was crazy, but that's true. I am grateful to my family for not stopping such eccentricities.
The work of shaving all the stones was a lot of fun, but it took about a month.
It's taking too long ^^; I'll stop shaving stones next year. With the materials ready, the stonework is about to begin.
Step 3: Hardscape
It is finally a stonework. I will build it based on the composition.
↓ This is a rough sketch of the composition.
First, place the lava stone.
Places hidden by soil or stones that cannot be seen are raised with lava stones.
Porous lava stones are also a habitat for bacteria and save soil.
Lava stones come in handy.
From here on, it's the most exciting and time-consuming task.
If you don't do it systematically, you may be too enthusiastic and damage your body. You may think of it as a sport anymore because you hold and place heavy stones .
We will work on the skeleton by incorporating it into our daily routine for about 30 to 1 hour every day
I always take a 5 minute break once every 30 minutes. Otherwise it will be inefficient.
It seems like I'm going to do it for a long time in a row, but even if I do it for a long time, I usually don't get a satisfactory result, and I usually just do my little tricks and make no progress. It also hurt my back and shoulders, so I was careful not to do it for a long time.
You can build stones by repeating trials and errors.
It's a completely lonely and fun sport.
When I actually built the skeleton, it didn't look exactly like the image in my head, but this year as well, it didn't look exactly like the image ^^;
As long as you use natural materials, you can't help but get what you want. Rather, that is also the point of fun.
While matching the current situation with the image, we will change the parts that need to be changed and put them into a convincing form. I was a little disappointed because I was not satisfied with the condition of the theme "Gunnyari Garden", but I will move on to the next process. There is also a video of the stonework process, so please take a look if you like ~
If you lay the soil, it will look like it, so the tension will rise.
It's a little hard to see because of the reflection, but the cross section looks like this.
It has a fairly steep slope.
It is dangerous to pile up stones up to this point unless they are fixed with adhesive.
If the stone collapses and breaks the glass, it will be disastrous ^^; The adhesive used is one that does not affect the living body, but since it is not for an aquarium, the product name will not be stated. ~
Step 4: Planting
Planted new large pearl glass. Enter the mist ceremony.
New large pearl glass has the strongest crawling power and rooting power.
It sprouts beautiful light green sprouts and firmly roots to dam the soil.
Place the water feather on the stone.
If you leave it as it is, it will take root. Entering the mist-type process, it becomes a leisurely work while waiting for the growth of aquatic plants.
Lighting time is 10 to 12 hours. Around this time, it was midwinter, so the temperature tends to drop. I managed to keep the temperature by lengthening the lighting time. Keeps temperature and humidity for about a month
・ Spray a dry place several times a day.
・ If you find mold on aquatic plants, remove only that part.
・ If you find blue-green algae, remove them immediately or sprinkle a very small amount of hydrogen peroxide on them.
While observing the inside of the aquarium, do the above things leisurely.
Soil is laid deep in the area where deep-rooted aquatic plants are planted
Cotton is the best way to prevent soil from leaking between lava stones. It's packed with cotton like a tsugihagi.
I'm a little wondering if there is dark cotton so that the color will be familiar. There is also a video of the process written here, so please take a look if you like ~
If you inject water, it will be difficult to make major changes. We will remove or add materials and make major layout changes before water injection. The stones are too tight, so I pulled out the lower stones and added more shadows.
↓ Before change
↓ After change
It was difficult to pull out the stone below, but the shadows radiated out.
Thanks to the radial shadows, I managed to get rid of the dissatisfaction that I couldn't express the first image.
I'm a little satisfied ^^
Once the new large pearl grass has taken root and the moss has taken root, plant other aquatic plants and inject water.
Set the external filter, CO2, heater, etc.
The external filter was kept spinning in another aquarium, so I started with bacteria inhabiting the filter media.
Since we used nutrient soil, we check the water quality and add Amano shrimp while changing the water .
I put about 130 animals. The maintenance ability of Amano shrimp is the strongest. It makes even the smallest details that are out of the reach of people shiny.
Determine the trimming schedule by calculating back from the scheduled shooting date
For aquatic plants that need trimming, determine the growth rate, calculate back from the scheduled shooting date, and decide the trimming schedule.
On the shooting day, we aim to make all the aquatic plants look the best.
For pedunculated grass that you want to add volume, set the schedule by going back two trimmings.
For example, it is predicted that it will take about 2 weeks for this Ludwigia needle leaf to sprout and grow beautifully after trimming, and the first trimming is 4 weeks before the scheduled shooting date. The second trimming is two weeks before the scheduled shooting date. Staring at the calendar and marking the day to trim. Every year, the work of deciding this schedule is the most tense. And every year, I miscalculate something. .. ^^;
Super red that stretched too much and came out of the water. ..
Step 5: Final
Take a picture and check how it looks
From time to time, I take pictures to see how they look.
It is important to take and check the racon, as it will only be judged from the frontal photo.
Seeing the aquarium directly with the naked eye (seeing the three-dimensional object as it is) Looking at the aquarium taken (converting it to a flat surface and then seeing it)
This difference makes the appearance quite different. I just take a quick shot with my smartphone and check it, but that alone makes adjustments.
for example
・ It is better to increase the shadow around the vanishing point.
・ It is better to arrange aquatic plants on the mirror surface of the aquarium wall.
・ Because the undergrowth is overgrown, it is better to cut it sharper.
Or something like that. When you look at the image, you can see things that are unexpectedly difficult to notice with the naked eye .
Spread the sand and finish it.
Spreading cosmetic sand will make you look tighter and make you feel better.
Author Eri Tokusashi blog
Leave your comments