vlangel
Premium Member
A little inspiration.
Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank, January 16, 2016
I had loved that pic. It felt like I was snorkling along the shore with the fake mangrove roots in the foreground.
Weeds
- Thread starter Michael Hoaster
- Start date
I had loved that pic. It felt like I was snorkling along the shore with the fake mangrove roots in the foreground.
Thanks Dawn! I miss having it so much. Going through old photos really stirs me up.
Setting up a large aquarium using natural methods and little technology was a proof of concept and an amazing experience. I learned so much. Nature wants to help us. If we just let it, we can sit back and enjoy the show.
Now I'm in the process of refining the system that will support a new ecosystem. Taking what I've learned, and applying it to the new setup is exciting, but arduous. Getting it right is important. I've just got to keep my nose to the grindstone a little longer…
Setting up a large aquarium using natural methods and little technology was a proof of concept and an amazing experience. I learned so much. Nature wants to help us. If we just let it, we can sit back and enjoy the show.
Now I'm in the process of refining the system that will support a new ecosystem. Taking what I've learned, and applying it to the new setup is exciting, but arduous. Getting it right is important. I've just got to keep my nose to the grindstone a little longer…
Chasmodes
Well-known member
I love that pic too, and your concept. Keep up the good work and you'll be rewarded again!
Question, does the adhesive backing stick to the eggcrate effectively? I assume that the foam will fill up the egg crate squares and stick to the adhesive side of the backing. Hopefully, when the foam expands, it will expand outwardly toward the viewing side and not pull the adhesive backing away from the egg crate. Are you going to brace the other side of the plastic sheets to prevent inward expansion of the foam? I'm just tossing up questions before you apply the foam, in case you think a need to address them.
I guess worse case scenario, the adhesive sheets prevent most expansion and a little might happen, and maybe that won't be material enough to cause a difference in floatation?
Again, not criticism...rather, food for thought as you move forward. I bring up the expansion issue due to some issues that I had with my rock wall that I had to deal with.
Question, does the adhesive backing stick to the eggcrate effectively? I assume that the foam will fill up the egg crate squares and stick to the adhesive side of the backing. Hopefully, when the foam expands, it will expand outwardly toward the viewing side and not pull the adhesive backing away from the egg crate. Are you going to brace the other side of the plastic sheets to prevent inward expansion of the foam? I'm just tossing up questions before you apply the foam, in case you think a need to address them.
I guess worse case scenario, the adhesive sheets prevent most expansion and a little might happen, and maybe that won't be material enough to cause a difference in floatation?
Again, not criticism...rather, food for thought as you move forward. I bring up the expansion issue due to some issues that I had with my rock wall that I had to deal with.
Thanks Kevin! I appreciate that you get it! Sometimes reading a thread, it's hard to keep up with all the details.
Yes, I think the laminating sheets will be adequate. They're pretty sticky. We'll see how it goes!
Yes, I think the laminating sheets will be adequate. They're pretty sticky. We'll see how it goes!
It's foamin' time! We've got snow coming in tonight, so I got after it this morning.
Egg crate structure with foil plugging the holes for pump outputs.
I got this far with one can. I finished it off with a second.
Nasty, messy stuff. I'm glad I wore latex gloves. I forgot how out of control this stuff is. It's the least controllable medium I've ever worked with. Luckily, I have my secret weapon - a power sander. This will give me ability to 'sculpt' it into the shape I desire. Control!
Egg crate structure with foil plugging the holes for pump outputs.
I got this far with one can. I finished it off with a second.
Nasty, messy stuff. I'm glad I wore latex gloves. I forgot how out of control this stuff is. It's the least controllable medium I've ever worked with. Luckily, I have my secret weapon - a power sander. This will give me ability to 'sculpt' it into the shape I desire. Control!
vlangel
Premium Member
Good for you. I always drag my feet on something that I am not sure how its gonna go. What I can see of it looks pretty good and I am sure after your handy dandy sander it will be great.It's foamin' time! We've got snow coming in tonight, so I got after it this morning.
Egg crate structure with foil plugging the holes for pump outputs.
I got this far with one can. I finished it off with a second.
Nasty, messy stuff. I'm glad I wore latex gloves. I forgot how out of control this stuff is. It's the least controllable medium I've ever worked with. Luckily, I have my secret weapon - a power sander. This will give me ability to 'sculpt' it into the shape I desire. Control!
Thanks Dawn! I know what you mean. Doing this more complex fake wall concept is a new frontier. It's a little scary! I'm just going to stumble along and do it. I assume I'll figure it out. Getting the structure revised really helped me get more excited. Once I had that, I felt like I could make it work. I've got much more to do, to get it done, but I plod on.
I miss my tank. It feels like a part of me is missing. The longer I go, the worse it gets. Getting it back motivates me to keep moving.
How nice of you to say it looks pretty good! It's hideous. But if all goes to plan, I will sculpt it into something not hideous.
I miss my tank. It feels like a part of me is missing. The longer I go, the worse it gets. Getting it back motivates me to keep moving.
How nice of you to say it looks pretty good! It's hideous. But if all goes to plan, I will sculpt it into something not hideous.
vlangel
Premium Member
I miss your tank too. I keep think of doing something along the same lines (only on a much smaller scale) when I do not have seahorses anymore.
You made me laugh heartily with your last sentence. It is no where near hideous! It is in the 'its has to look bad before it can look good' stage. All artists are well familair with that stage.
I guess hideousness is in the eye of the beholder! I'm glad you got a chuckle. Let's just call it the the 'pre-beautiful stage'.
I'm curious what you mean about doing something along the same lines. Can you elaborate?
I'm curious what you mean about doing something along the same lines. Can you elaborate?
It's foamin' time! We've got snow coming in tonight, so I got after it this morning.
Egg crate structure with foil plugging the holes for pump outputs.
I got this far with one can. I finished it off with a second.
Nasty, messy stuff. I'm glad I wore latex gloves. I forgot how out of control this stuff is. It's the least controllable medium I've ever worked with. Luckily, I have my secret weapon - a power sander. This will give me ability to 'sculpt' it into the shape I desire. Control!
Impressive eggcrate structure. Very complex looking. Nothing hideous about that. It would be intimidating to me. I would never had tried that mangrove root. Incidentally, I am jealous of your success with the Royal Gramma School. I was successful with Pajama Cardinal School of seven and ecstatic with tiny Hippo Tang School of three. Rome was not built in a day.
Thanks Patrick! The structure came out well. The real test is to get the foam shaped well and function well as a finished product. I'm still intimidated with this thing, but I am confident I'll work it out somehow.
Schools are great! Watching their natural behaviors is very entertaining! My Royal Gramma harem was a great experience that I hope to repeat. The gramma caves in my back fake wall worked out really well. The grammas, and a few barnacle blennies, occupied many caves on the vertical surface. I think it was a key benefit.
Once the new blennies and grammas get settled, I'm going try some damsel schools. If I find the right combination, I should have a fun tank of fish! I love their activity levels, their colors, their sturdiness. There are a few species that are more mellow. My tank is deep, with room for several levels of damsels to coexist, I'm hoping. So much to look forward to!
Schools are great! Watching their natural behaviors is very entertaining! My Royal Gramma harem was a great experience that I hope to repeat. The gramma caves in my back fake wall worked out really well. The grammas, and a few barnacle blennies, occupied many caves on the vertical surface. I think it was a key benefit.
Once the new blennies and grammas get settled, I'm going try some damsel schools. If I find the right combination, I should have a fun tank of fish! I love their activity levels, their colors, their sturdiness. There are a few species that are more mellow. My tank is deep, with room for several levels of damsels to coexist, I'm hoping. So much to look forward to!
Chasmodes
Well-known member
Looking good so far, Michael! I'm sure it will turn out great. Are you building any caves (or holes) for blennies and grammas in the new wall?
It's amazing how much we learn by just trying things. For example, not all blennies behave the same way with how they can tolerate each other in the same species, or multiple species. I've learned that with my tank, keeping way more blennies per volume of water together, or with other benthic species of the same ecosystem, than any book or forum post ever said I could keep. Dawn has also learned a bit of that with her tank now, and also compatibility between species. You're breaking new ground with the damsels, probably, at least from what I've seen, and paving the way for others to do similar things if it works out for you.
It's amazing how much we learn by just trying things. For example, not all blennies behave the same way with how they can tolerate each other in the same species, or multiple species. I've learned that with my tank, keeping way more blennies per volume of water together, or with other benthic species of the same ecosystem, than any book or forum post ever said I could keep. Dawn has also learned a bit of that with her tank now, and also compatibility between species. You're breaking new ground with the damsels, probably, at least from what I've seen, and paving the way for others to do similar things if it works out for you.
vlangel
Premium Member
I like that, 'pre-beautiful' it is!
I would love to do a fake wall or partial fake wall in my tank some day when I don't have ponies anymore, (not that I am wishing that day to get here anytime too soon)! I love your fake mangrove and wouldn't mind using that idea to do something along that line too but it would not be a mangrove. I have (hopefully) lots of time to plan and dream.
I would like to expand the macro algaes which I can start now and add more fish which I can also do now, (at least as funds are available). I am rescaping yet once again to make my tank suitable for a jawfish or 2 or 3. A rusty goby would be nice too.
Thanks Kevin!
I don't have any planned caves, but I'm hoping a few will reveal themselves to me, when I sand the wall down. So I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up with a few.
So true about learning by doing! Our little group has learned a good bit about fish compatibility lately. For me with the damsels, I was just looking for a sturdier blue chromis replacement. As I researched mellower damsels, I kept finding more, so I thought I might be able to get 2-3 species in schools going in my tank. I'm so looking forward to seeing if I can make it work!
I don't have any planned caves, but I'm hoping a few will reveal themselves to me, when I sand the wall down. So I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up with a few.
So true about learning by doing! Our little group has learned a good bit about fish compatibility lately. For me with the damsels, I was just looking for a sturdier blue chromis replacement. As I researched mellower damsels, I kept finding more, so I thought I might be able to get 2-3 species in schools going in my tank. I'm so looking forward to seeing if I can make it work!
vlangel
Premium Member
Ha ha yes, I have definitely learned which blennies do not go well together. It seems as long as they are not too similar, they are ok. I wont mix more than 1 type of combtooth blenny anymore or more than one venomous blenny. The yellowhead blennies never seem to threaten the ponies so I lucked into some things even though I did not know what I was doing.
I'm still in pre-beautiful stage. As soon as the snow melts, I might try and slip out to do some sanding.
Thanks for elaborating Dawn! The smaller the tank, the easier the fake wall! I really love mine. For the wood decoration, you can use real wood. If you have a creek or river nearby you can collect whatever looks good. Throw it in a trash can of water to waterlog it. That's what I did in my fresh water planted tank. I've seen some pretty fancy wood for sale at my LFS lately too.
Adding new macro species sounds like fun. So jealous! I think jaw fish (two!) would work well with ponies. They're quite shy. I haven't tried them in my tank because I keep faster-moving fish. From past experience, I consider jawfish better in a sea horse tank, rather than a fast community tank. If you don't have one already, a top is recommended to keep them from jumping. They'll be so cool in your tank!
Thanks for elaborating Dawn! The smaller the tank, the easier the fake wall! I really love mine. For the wood decoration, you can use real wood. If you have a creek or river nearby you can collect whatever looks good. Throw it in a trash can of water to waterlog it. That's what I did in my fresh water planted tank. I've seen some pretty fancy wood for sale at my LFS lately too.
Adding new macro species sounds like fun. So jealous! I think jaw fish (two!) would work well with ponies. They're quite shy. I haven't tried them in my tank because I keep faster-moving fish. From past experience, I consider jawfish better in a sea horse tank, rather than a fast community tank. If you don't have one already, a top is recommended to keep them from jumping. They'll be so cool in your tank!
vlangel
Premium Member
I already have a screened top. I know blennies can be jumpers too so I am good that way.
I'd like to add a shaving brush and a mermaids fan. I know they go through a die off period so I maybe should not do those while keeping ponies. I might need to look into that more.
I did not know that wood could go in a marine tank. That is definitely interesting. Do you know of any threads of an aquarist doing it in a saltwater tank?
I've yet to build my new screen top - another system project to do. I built one for my QT, so I at least I have practice.
I have seen a few salt water planted tanks with wood, but not many. Google. I think wood preserves well in salt water. Tannins leeching out could color the water, but charcoal, etc. would take care of that.
What are the characteristics of a sea horse-friendly macro? I'd imagine if die off is bad, then caulerpa going sexual would be bad as well. But you have caulerpa. Has it caused you any problems? Sargassum might be a good horsey haven. They could blend in with it! But I've heard that one's hard to keep. A seagrass might work in your clean setup. Seagrasses can thrive in low nutrient conditions that macros cannot.
Good luck with whatever you decide!
I have seen a few salt water planted tanks with wood, but not many. Google. I think wood preserves well in salt water. Tannins leeching out could color the water, but charcoal, etc. would take care of that.
What are the characteristics of a sea horse-friendly macro? I'd imagine if die off is bad, then caulerpa going sexual would be bad as well. But you have caulerpa. Has it caused you any problems? Sargassum might be a good horsey haven. They could blend in with it! But I've heard that one's hard to keep. A seagrass might work in your clean setup. Seagrasses can thrive in low nutrient conditions that macros cannot.
Good luck with whatever you decide!
McPuff
New member
A jawfish would be very cool in your tank... I agree with that. I've seen a few anecdotes that show a jawfish (or group of them) doing just fine in a "community" tank with all sorts of fast fish. They will simply dart in and out of their burrow to get food. I have considered getting 1-3 for my 300DD and it was the same fear that kept me back. Still thinking about whether or not I'll add it/them.
Blennies!! I am about a week away from putting the tail spot into my display. Michael, you gave me a great idea to use some barnacles. I glued 3 of them in a cluster and he loves them! Darts in and out constantly. My hope is that I can simply take out the cluster, drop it in the display and he'll be happy as ever. :0)
Blennies!! I am about a week away from putting the tail spot into my display. Michael, you gave me a great idea to use some barnacles. I glued 3 of them in a cluster and he loves them! Darts in and out constantly. My hope is that I can simply take out the cluster, drop it in the display and he'll be happy as ever. :0)
Right on McPuff. I've seen jawfish do well in community tanks as well. In my own experience, I've watched them slowly starve to death over time. They were just too shy to compete at feeding time. They would eat, but not enough. Maybe if they are introduced as the first fish they would do better. I've found the barnacle blennies to be bolder and tougher. But I introduced them first.
Barnacle clusters are awesome. Your strategy should work perfectly!
Barnacle clusters are awesome. Your strategy should work perfectly!
