# Tom's Bucket O' Mud (semi self-sustaining aquarium)



## BigTom

Hi all,

At the risk of spamming this on every fish forum going I thought I'd a post a bit about my largely self sufficient aquarium, as this seems to get discussed on here a fair amount.

As a bit of background, I set this up because I'm frequently away from home for 5-6 weeks at a time, and wanted an aquarium I could just leave on it's own for this length of time. As such it is entirely pragmatic and practical in it's design, and is not intended as a closed system, biotope 'simulation' or whatever.

Neither is this particualary new or innovative, pretty much all the ideas were stolen from somewhere or other. However, it does all work, so might be of interest to anyone considering a similar setup.

*Specs:*
3'x1'x3' 10mm glass aquarium, open topped
300W heater
70W metal halide light 2 feet above water surface (8 hours/day)
Small, heavily throttled powerhead providing very slow water movement to help prevent surface biofilm 
*
Hardscape:*
John Innes compost (unmineralised) cut 50/50 with sand, with pure sand cap
Some rocks, and locally collected heather twigs

*Emergent plants:* 
Echindorus, water pickerel
*Riparian plants ('foliage' houseplants from DIY shops): *
Prayer plant, parlour palm, peace lillies, unidentified lillies. Planted in shower caddies using hydroton as a substrate.
*Submerged plants:* 
Swords, crypts, mosses, hydrocotyle, _Micranthemum micranthemoides_, water lillies, other low-medium light plants, various floating plants.
*
Fauna:*
6 _Parosphromenus sp. 'sentang'_, 7 _Bororas maculata_, 4 otos, cherry shrimp, assorted snails, ostracods and other inverts.
*
Maintenance and feeding:*
I normally just top off the water lost to evaporation with dechlorinated tap water and add beech/oak/ketapang leaves for the inverts to feed on. Roughly every couple of months I'll do a small water change, and sometimes supplement the food with the odd algae wafer.
*
Set up:*
Once everything was planted I waited about a month for the plants to adapt (the riparian plants required a few weeks to grow new root systems) and for the initial ammonia spike to pass then added about 50 shrimp, the otos and a few other inverts - lots had arrived already on the aquatic plants. Once the shrimp population was looking good (about 3 months in) I added the rasboras, then the gouramis after another month or so when I was sure the food chain was stable.

Tank is now 10 months old and doesn't require any more maintenance than topping up the water and replacing the beech, oak and ketapang leaves as they are broken down. I do do a small water change every couple of months and supplement the feeding a bit when I happen to be home, but I don't feel it's essential. 

The gouramis and rasboras seem to find plenty to eat in the tank (ostracods and baby shrimp are the main food items I think), and the otos always have bellies that I would describe as moderately rounded.

*Video:*

*http://vimeo.com/30028289*

*Photos:*





























_Parosphromenus 'sintangensis' _(male) :









_Parosphromenus 'sintangensis'_ (female):









_Bororas maculatus_ (male):









_Otocinclus affinis_:









_Neocaridina heteropoda_ var. "red" (female):


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## frrok

Wow. That's a an awesome natural tank. Your photos are excellent. Thanks for this.


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## Patriot

what camera and settings did you use for those shots.


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## driftwoodhunter

WOW. 
Gorgeous! I wouldn't want to leave the house for 4 -5 weeks, lol. You're photography is stunning, is that what you do for a living? I assume the b&w pic on the wall is yours, too?
~ Cindy ~


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## BigTom

Hi, thanks for the comments. 

Macro shots were using Nikon D200, Sigma 150mm macro lens and flash mounted above tank, wider shots mainly with Sigma 10-20. Video using Panasonic GH2 (new toy!).

Photography is just a hobby really, but if you're interested then I have some shots over at http://hairytoes.deviantart.com/gallery/ (SFW).


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## Patriot

BigTom said:


> Hi, thanks for the comments.
> 
> Macro shots were using Nikon D200, Sigma 150mm macro lens and flash mounted above tank, wider shots mainly with Sigma 10-20. Video using Panasonic GH2 (new toy!).
> 
> Photography is just a hobby really, but if you're interested then I have some shots over at http://hairytoes.deviantart.com/gallery/ (SFW).


I can never get shots like that with my D3100....looks like i need some maco lens. I love the tank too


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## driftwoodhunter

Whatever you do for a living, drop it and make millions on your photography. Are you doing HDR photography? If so, it is so subtle it's perfect. If not, I want to take interent lessons! 
Very, very stunning work.

OK - I'm only on page one, but WOO made me sick to my stomach - lol


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## wkndracer

very nice!


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## waya81

Beautiful tank, I love the placement and dimensions. And your photography is amazing!


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## BigTom

driftwoodhunter said:


> Whatever you do for a living, drop it and make millions on your photography. Are you doing HDR photography? If so, it is so subtle it's perfect. If not, I want to take interent lessons!
> Very, very stunning work.
> 
> OK - I'm only on page one, but WOO made me sick to my stomach - lol


Hah, not sure my PhD supervisor would be happy to hear you say that! :icon_bigg

I do not use HDR (99% of the time I do not like the effect it gives, although some people are able to utilise it wll). Instead I hand blend different adjustments, usually from a single original file.


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## driftwoodhunter

I know I keep staying off topic from your post, but your landscape photography sings to me. It is a blend of the mystical, the dreamworld, and the archaic memory. I find it very powerful.

I agree with you on HDR - if it is subtle, it is a great tool to open and balance exposures. 
So now I have to ask, what photo editing program do you use??? lol Unless it's a secret...

I promise to stay on topic from now on!
~ Cindy ~


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## BigTom

Heh, no problem. I use Photoshop for all my processing (sometimes a little in Lightroom too). The basis of all my editing is using duplicate layers with different blending modes (overlay, multiply, soft light etc).


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## hydrophyte

Wow that is very nice. A short and broad tank like that is especially nice for a riparium-type planting because it creates such a pleasing pond effect and because it leaves extra water surface area open so the underwater portion won't be so shaded by the riparium plants.

Nice fish too! I really want to do a setup with _Parosphromenus_.


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## BigTom

Cheers hydrophyte - your posts about ripariums were hugely helpful setting this up.


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## hydrophyte

Well your setup sure turned out nice.

I want to try to build a tank with a shape like that. Since it relatively more shallow it would come together pretty easily I think and there'd also be much less risk of seam failure.


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## BigTom

Yeah I'm pretty happy with the tank itself... I think if I were to do it again I'd make it just slightly taller, maybe 15" instead of 12" for a bit more flexibility with scaping and plant choice.

PS - miss your posting on UKAPS!


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## shinycard255

BigTom said:


> Hi, thanks for the comments.
> 
> Macro shots were using Nikon D200, Sigma 150mm macro lens and flash mounted above tank, wider shots mainly with Sigma 10-20. Video using Panasonic GH2 (new toy!).
> 
> Photography is just a hobby really, but if you're interested then I have some shots over at http://hairytoes.deviantart.com/gallery/ (SFW).


For having photography as your hobby, you have some REALLY nice work (this coming from an advertising photographer). Keep up the good work man. I love the macro shots of your tank by the way


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## nonconductive

nice indeed


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## lauraleellbp

That's really beautiful- nice work!


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## zachary908

Simply amazing, that's all I can say...

Your photography is great as well!


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## madness

Wow.

Great tank and even better photography.

This is one of those 'fish tanks' that doesn't even really count as a fish tank. Sort of like having a garden or something in the room. Definitely a cool add to any room.


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## aretreesfree

So did you build this tank yourself or have it made? Wonderful garden you have here. Bravo!


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## BigTom

Cheers. Tank was custom made by a local fish shop... quality is so-so but it wasn't too expensive and has been sturdy so far (touch wood!).

The stand is just old wooden palets with a blanket thrown over.


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## EntoCraig

Awesome. Im thinking about working on a similar setup (not technique) in my basement, that will be filtered and heated. I like the short tank with the emmersed growth.


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## BigTom

As winter draws ever nearer (in Scotland anyway!), I thought I should take a few shot sof the rather nice light that diffuses into the tank in the mornings...


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## Seedreemer

Absolutely gorgeous! It makes me want to swim around in it. And the sunlight is beautiful too. I used to have a tank in a window that got a couple hours of afternoon sun and it was so beautiful shining across the plants and fish.


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## PaulG

Can you provide more info on the planters for the emersed/riparium plants?

I would ask on UKAPS, but the thread is so long!


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## BigTom

Hi Paul, they are just interlock shower caddies in various sizes, available from amazon - http://www.amazon.co.uk/BlissHome-Interdesign-Suction-Organiser-Clear/dp/B001KK6J1I/ref=pd_sim_kh8


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## PaulG

Oh I see! That's great. Been looking for something like that for ages. Thankyou.


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## Udenlo

This is awesome! Great job.


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## EntoCraig

What body / lens are you shooting with?


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## BigTom

These were with a Panasonic GF1 and 20mm 1.7 (I've recently moved over to micro four thirds from my Nikon gear).


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## jlennon

Wow. I think I may have been inspired.


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## SeaSlug182

lol what is that song playing in your video? it's awesome


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## BigTom

Hah, that was just a copyright free silent movie-esque track I found on a website somewhere.


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## polukoff

I'd love to see more pictures of this tank it looks great!


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## BigTom

Danger!

The triffid is now sending out flower stalks, it's going to take over the room...










Anyone want to place a bet on how long it gets? Currently about 4 feet -


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## BradH

Love this tank! Great video!


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## alex009

How dare you call this a bucket of mud? I was expecting to see some ghetto plastic bin type thing… Lol

Anyways, this is beautiful and the photographs are fantastic! Just the kind of tank I'd love to have someday.


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## PinoyBoy

I feel so guilty I didn't read all of your first post.
Your pictures speaks to me, then again, I can barely ID any plant on sight.

How much does your water evaporate?


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## BigTom

Cheers, glad you guys are enjoying the thread!

PinoyBoy, evaporation varies quite a lot depending on room temperature and how much breeze comes through the window, but between 10-25 litres a week.


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## BigTom

Well, the tank is now roughly a year old, still happily more or less self sustaining and has turned into an absolute jungle. I'm quite happy to leave it do it's thing really, so everything is pretty messy, but some pics -





























In the process of setting up a seperate spawning tank for the Paros, so hopefully there'll be some news there in the coming weeks.


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## BigTom

A few thoughts a year in... For starters the transition between underwater and immersed growth is a bit weak, they do still look like plants in pots stuck to the side... I'm planning a major rescape sometime in the next month in order to build a proper island for the plants to grow on, and to remove a rock that I think is adding to the water hardness.

I am also taking the risk of gradually lowering the water hardness through water changes. This might upset the plants a bit and reduce the stability of the water parameters, but I do feel the need to bring the conditions closer in line to what the fish in the tank prefer. I think as long as I do things gradually (as with everything in this tank!) then it should be OK.

The alternative would be to move the Paros and Boraras across to the new nano cubes, but there's no way I could keep them in a self-sustaining fashion by doing that. I really hope to be able to get the Paros breeding one way or another, as otherwise all I'm doing is contributing to the consumption of an endangered species.

I think the other important thing to highlight is how slow the development of this tank has been... it's taken a year to get to the point that a high tech solution would reach in a matter of weeks (plant growth wise). However, the upside of this is that things in the tank really are starting to look properly wild... I've got mosses that I never even knew were in the tank creeping across wood and stone, and the mulm has just reached the point where my hydrocotyles are throwing out roots for the first time, instead of just spreading with runners. The whole ecosystem is still not in balance after a year - the last 2 weeks have seen an explosion in the Hyella azteca population that I thought had died out completely when I added them way back in the summer.

It's not a style of tank for the impatient, and even I sometimes struggle to resist the urge to mess around with it or (hardest of all), not chuck an extra hundred fish in!


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## WallaceGrover

This is the coolest tank I have ever seen, just letting everything go wild and watching the interactions. By the way, if I wasn't told I would think it was an amano tank...


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## BigTom

Hah cheers Wallace. The composition is nowhere near well thought out enough to be anywhere close to an Amano style tank. The little photos hide a multitude of flaws as well


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## driftwoodhunter

It's beautiful.
I love the idea of what you're aming for - the notion that you have mosses and such appearing out of nowhere makes the whole thing worthwhile.


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## xenxes

Amazing tank, amazing pics, amazing videos! It's anything but a bucket of mud!


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## gabysapha

Incredible! I can't wait for more updates and especially pictures!


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## LB79

Hey, how about finding a zoo and asking if you could do a few of these for them?

Very natural looking. I love it! Have you noticed any increase in the numbers of fish? I would think that in such a tank they would readily breed.


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## BigTom

Cheers for the feedback guys.

LB79, no successful breeding as yet, something appears to be pushing the water hardness up (I suspect the soil may actually contain lime) and all three species require soft water to breed in. I'm contemplating a rescape at some point, in which case I'll probably change the soil. Also in the process of setting up a dedicated spawning tank for the Paros.


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## xenxes

Any updates? Please?


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## BigTom

Hah, patience! It's all still looking more or less identical to the last update. Growth is slooooooooooooooow.


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## chiefroastbeef

Tom, 

That is absolutely amazing, what a beautiful job you've done with the tank and photos. I love the dense natural look, and you designed that perfectly. The plants shooting out of the tank is something I've always wanted to do, you've done this all too well!


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## leeteekyung

"Maintenance and feeding:
I normally just top off the water lost to evaporation with dechlorinated tap water and add beech/oak /ketapang leaves for the inverts to feed on"
great tank tom, im sure it brings your room alive. anyway, how do u know about ketapang leaves? i think ketapang is indonesian, does it also called ketapang there? thanks for sharing your tank tom.


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## xenxes

Ketapang / Indian Almond Leaves lower pH levels and create a black water environment. It also has mild anti-fungal effects. I think it was largely used by betta breeders in Thailand, but aquarists now use it all over the world. I throw a piece in all my tanks. 

Tom: what do the fish eat? Dead plants and inverts? I'm only familiar with the otocinclus that feed on algae.


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## BigTom

Aye, the ketapang is widely available as in import in the UK, used a lot.

xenxes, the otos obviously eat algae and whatever invisible stuff grows on the dead leaves I put in. Everything else feeds on various inverts (baby shrimp, Hyallela, copepods, ostracods, etc).


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## chiefroastbeef

Tom,

Would you mind elaborating on how you managed to grow your emersed plants? I would love to have lilies that grow out of the water like that. Is there substrate right below the lilies?

Thanks!


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## BigTom

They are just planted in shower caddies stuck to the side of the tank and filled with hydroton clay balls. However, I'm planning a major rescape in which I'm planning on creating a proper island for all the emergent plants. 

Most of the plants seem to take a few weeks to adapt to hydroculture, during which time the old root stock dies off and they then grow a whole new root system suitable for emersion in water.


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## xenxes

BigTom said:


> They are just planted in shower caddies stuck to the side of the tank and filled with hydroton clay balls. However, I'm planning a major rescape in which I'm planning on creating a proper island for all the emergent plants.
> 
> Most of the plants seem to take a few weeks to adapt to hydroculture, during which time the old root stock dies off and they then grow a whole new root system suitable for emersion in water.


Island would be very cool, will you be keeping it where the current emergent plants are in the back corner?


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## chiefroastbeef

Thank you Tom. Can't wait to see your rescape, wish you the best!


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## PaulG

Any idea what soil you're going to use Tom?


I'm using John Innes 3 but next time I think I'd prefer something that will lower the Ph.


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## vincenz

One of the best tanks I've seen here! So effortless and natural it'd make mother nature jealous. :icon_smil


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## Wy Renegade

Following this one as well.


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## BigTom

Cheers all.

Paul, as coincidence would have it I'm also using JI number 3, which is making my water way harder than I was expecting (didn't realise it had lime in it when I bought it). One of the major reasons I'm planning on a rescape is so I can replace it with an acidifying soil mix.


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## A Hill

Tom, your tank is beautiful, but you already know this! Thank you for sharing it with us.

-Andrew


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## Wy Renegade

Beautiful tank, thanks much for sharing. Any chance of a scientific or common name on the water lilies you are using? Would like to find something small.


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## BigTom

Hi Renegade... not sure which lillies you're refering to? There are peace lillies (_Spathiphyllum sp_.) in the riparian planters, and _Nymphaea_ bulbs dotted about, plus amazon frogbit and _Hydrocotyle leucocephela_ floating about which could be mistaken for lillies I guess.


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## Chlorophile

Beautiful tank - I really wan't a tank with those kind of dimensions!

Although I must say, your tank is much "dirtier" in the video - although that is probably better in the long run as far as self-sustaining.


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## BigTom

Yeah when you get in close it's pretty grubby, but that's really the point (it's not called a bucket of mud for nothing!). Have never cleaned out any of the mulm, dead plants, leaf skeletons etc.


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## vincenz

What's the name of that riparian plant that's shooting up to the ceiling? That's not the peace lily is it? The peace lilies I've seen are the ones with the white flowers and their leaves look nothing like that. Unless I'm mixing up your description?


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## BigTom

The peace lillies are the little ones ot the side. The monster plant in the middle is an amazon sword, which was 10" tall when I planted it and is now well over 4 feet, with a 6 foot flower stalk.


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## PaulG

Any idea what species?

I'm going to have to remove two plants in mine as they've grown right into the lighthood and it can't go any higher.

I was considering sword species to replace them but perhaps not!


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## BigTom

I'm not 100% sure as I received a different species to the one I ordered, but I tihnk it's just a boring old _radicans_.


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## larcat

This may be the coolest tank on the forum.

Awesome, and beautiful.


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## inka4041

I'm in love with this tank. The idea of so few tiny fish in such a massive setup is awesome. They must feel like royalty, having that thing to carouse around in.


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## hydrophyte

BigTom said:


>


This is really stunning Tom. You are right it take several months to properly develop, but you have demonstrated so well that a low tech setup can get plant growth just as vibrant as a high tech planted tank with extra CO2.

Is that wavy-leaved plant in the background a _Calathea_ or _Maranta_ prayer plant? And does it have good root development in the water? I would be interested to know the species/variety name for that one. It looks like it is happy in there.


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## BigTom

Cheers hydrophyte. Yeah, its _Calathea rufibarba_ I think, or something similar (was just labelled 'Foliage Plant' when I bought it, very helpful!). 

It took a few weeks to get used to being in water, and all the old roots rotted away quite quickly. New roots were well developed by a month or so I think, and there's now a big 12" tangle of them growing out of the planters.

The leaves were somewhat larger when I bought it, and have gradually died off to be replaced by these slightly smaller and less purple ones. It's now a very happy and robust plant though and growing densely.


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## hydrophyte

That is good to know. I should try to track that one down. It looks lovely in your setup.

I observe the same response with _Spathiphyllum_ and _Anthurium_. When I put those plants into the riparium planters their existing roots die off and the plants look sad for a few weeks, then they grow new roots and recover. I have noticed that the new water-adapted roots tend to be thicker.


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## PaulG

Calathea? Well I never, I'll have to try that.


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## BigTom

I need a bigger Bucket.

Went for a walk in the hills today, and towards the end spotted an awesome old stump that had been torn out of the ground by a bigger tree going over in the Christmas gales.










After about ten minutes of poking, yanking and pocket knifing I finally got the bugger loose and sent the girlfriend into the swamp to retrieve it. All we had to do then was carry it two and half miles back to the van.

It looks much better in the flesh than it does in the photos, but the damn thing covers a 5' x 5' footprint, and my tank is only 3' x 3'. I anticipate spending much of next week figuring out how to overcome this!

Big wood hunter (ahem):


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## xenxes

Lol I wish I lived where you live. What kind of fauna is in that puddle of water?

You sent the girlfriend into the swamp to retrieve the big wooden stump (*cough cough*)? Time for a new bucket?


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## driftwoodhunter

* : )* you look just like a big game hunter, getting the trophy pic taken. They even hold the antlers that way... lol


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## driftwoodhunter

You sent the girlfriend into the swamp to retrieve the big wooden stump (*cough cough*)? 

I wondered about that, too. ; )


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## morselchip

Nice rack on that.... Um....... Stump. Lol!


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## BigTom

Hehe. I justified getting my girlfriend to do the fetching on the basis that 1). she weighs considerably less than me and was therefore less likely to disappear forever in an enormous gurgling bog-belch, and 2). she had waterproof socks on


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## driftwoodhunter

LOL - I love it! If I had a band, I'd have to name it Gurgling Bog Belch. : )


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## doncityz

This is nice!

Can you take a photo of where the powerhead and filtration is?


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## BigTom

Hi Don. There is no filter (the plants cover all of that), and I'm afraid I can't really get at the powerhead to show you, it's buried at the back under all the riparian plants (it's just a small koralia which has been heavily muffled to produce a very slow flow).


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## Beer

I really love this tank. I love that it is pretty much self sustaining and and allows for frequent trips.
I just have one question about it tho. Do you get a musty/swampy smell in the room from the tank? With the low flow and pretty much non existent water changes, I'd imagine that it might start smelling like an actual pond.


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## doncityz

BigTom said:


> Hi Don. There is no filter (the plants cover all of that), and I'm afraid I can't really get at the powerhead to show you, it's buried at the back under all the riparian plants (it's just a small koralia which has been heavily muffled to produce a very slow flow).


No filter ... very cool..... i'm liking this idea a lot. :hihi:


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## BigTom

Yikes!

The Bucket of Mud living up to it's name -










Total chaos (it got worse) -


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## crazydaz

Nightmare. 

I'm sure the new set up will look spectacular, Tom. But it looked so good, though!

Post pics when you are done!


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## BigTom

Bucket Mk II - same everything, more stump 

Only going to give a sneak preview now, as have to plant and run. Will give everything six weeks to adapt to the new substrate/water parameters then tidy it up when I'm back.


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## morselchip

Looks great already!


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## Psionic

Is it 6 weeks yet?

Let me edit that: Why isn't it 6 weeks yet, dammit!


-Val


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## BigTom

Beer said:


> I really love this tank. I love that it is pretty much self sustaining and and allows for frequent trips.
> I just have one question about it tho. Do you get a musty/swampy smell in the room from the tank? With the low flow and pretty much non existent water changes, I'd imagine that it might start smelling like an actual pond.


Sorry, forgot to reply to this. There was a slight earthy smell for a bit when it was newly set up, but that faded after a while. Since then I haven't noticed any odours at all really. Even when I was tearing it down just now and had mud everywhere, there wasnt any swamp gas smell or anything, just smelled like earth.


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## vincenz

What a teardown! Did all the fishes make it? 

I didn't know there was no filtration at all. How's the survival rate of fish without one?


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## xenxes

Love the smell of dirt. Always thought the tank was in a living area, not a bedroom. It looks much smaller when you step in the frame lol  Except that plant + roots, geez. Good thing you have hard wood floors. How long did all that take you?


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## daphilster08

This thing is awesome! Love all the concepts you put into this beauty! My roommate/best friend is from Scotland by the way!


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## Bunfoo

Did you build that tank? It's lovely. I think it looks great as is. I hope you can get them to breed!


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## Bettacrazy

I can't believe I am just now seeing this! this is awesome! loved the old scape and can't wait to see the new one. what do you use for filtration if any?


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## ua hua

Very nice tank. I really want to see how you fit that stump in there.


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## BigTom

vincenz said:


> What a teardown! Did all the fishes make it?
> 
> I didn't know there was no filtration at all. How's the survival rate of fish without one?


Yup, all fish made the transition fine. Was finally able to do a recount on the secretive _Parosphromenus_ - turns out I've lost a couple over the last year, but I'm not really surprised given that the water params were totally unsuitable (hadn't realised the soil I used contained lime). Other than that all the fish survive fine without a filter. That amount of emergent plants will easily keep up with the waste from a few small fish. 



xenxes said:


> Love the smell of dirt. Always thought the tank was in a living area, not a bedroom. It looks much smaller when you step in the frame lol  Except that plant + roots, geez. Good thing you have hard wood floors. How long did all that take you?


Heh, yeah. I am 6'3'' and pretty chunky for reference. Took a whole weekend to tear down, put back up and tidy up.



daphilster08 said:


> This thing is awesome! Love all the concepts you put into this beauty! My roommate/best friend is from Scotland by the way!


Cheers!



Bunfoo said:


> Did you build that tank? It's lovely. I think it looks great as is. I hope you can get them to breed!


Was custom built by a LFS, cost £150 in 10mm glass, quality is OK if not amazing.



Bettacrazy said:


> I can't believe I am just now seeing this! this is awesome! loved the old scape and can't wait to see the new one. what do you use for filtration if any?


No filtration (plants do that), just a small koralia (heavily muffled) to provide a small amount of flow.



ua hua said:


> Very nice tank. I really want to see how you fit that stump in there.


Have some pics before planting, will stick one up if I get time.


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## vincenz

£150?! How in the world? A tank of the same size would cost at least $450 here, twice as much. You're lucky. :flick:


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## Bahugo

Any updates?


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## BigTom

Bahugo said:


> Any updates?


Just got back from another field trip, will get an update up in the next few days.


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## exv152

I was looking forward to this "update in a couple of days".


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## xenxes

Lol yeah, what happened? 

Updating your tank > real life.


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## rainbuilder

Wow. This tank is amazing, I love how it is self sustaining. Great photography too!


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## BigTom

Haha, yeah sorry guys. This weekend, promise!


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## ony

You tease!


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## BigTom

Don't quite have time for a full update, but here's a shot of how it looks from the front now -










I've also shuffled the livestock around a bit, so inhabitants are now 5 _Yunnanilus sp. 'rosy'_, _8 Danio erythromicron_ and 3 _Dario hysginon_ (and the otos are still in there from before).


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## inka4041

And this remains one of the nicest setups I've ever seen.


----------



## leemonk

Hi Tom,

An incredible looking tank there, just to echo some of the other comments in the thread.

I live here in the UK too, though I'm in liquid rock country.... London.

Mind if I ask what soil you used? As I am likely to pick up the same on this side of the pond.

Regards

Lee


----------



## BigTom

Hi Lee.

I've actually switched to keeping hard water species in this tank now because despite soft tap water the soil I use considerably raises both pH and hardness. Almost all the commercial composts available contain considerable amounts of limestone, phosphate and sulphate which really push things up. 

If this isn't an issue for you then I can recommend Westland's Aquatic Compost, which is what I'm using now. It is sterilised and designed to minimise ammonia leaching. John Innes (mixes 1-3 and cutting compost) should also be fine (JI 3 was what I was using at the start), but expect high ammonia levels for the first few weeks.

If you want to try and keep the water a bit softer, then I'd recommend mixing your own - roughly equal amounts of sphagnum peat moss (ebay), lime-free sand/grit (any garden centre) and fertiliser free topsoil or loam - this last one is difficult to find, personally I'd take a trip to Epping forest and collect some of last winter's beech loam. 

You could also try something called 'Original Aqua Soil', if you search ebay for 'aqua soil' you should find it, comes in big blue bags.

I know someone trialling it who say it hasn't affected their water stats much at all, but no idea yet on how effective it is at growing plants!


----------



## ony

Hope I'm not de-railing the thread but I'm using original aqua soil under JBL manado. Didn't notice any ammonia (possibly due to massive over-filtering and low stocking) or any significant change in water stats. Also in London. 

I'm not dosing anything and plants aren't showing problems. I did however have the worlds largest diatom bloom for about 2 months.


----------



## BigTom

ony said:


> Hope I'm not de-railing the thread but I'm using original aqua soil under JBL manado. Didn't notice any ammonia (possibly due to massive over-filtering and low stocking) or any significant change in water stats. Also in London.
> 
> I'm not dosing anything and plants aren't showing problems. I did however have the worlds largest diatom bloom for about 2 months.


That's good to know. Looks like it might be the best low-hassle option for soil based tanks.


----------



## PaulG

leemonk said:


> Hi Tom,
> 
> An incredible looking tank there, just to echo some of the other comments in the thread.
> 
> I live here in the UK too, though I'm in liquid rock country.... London.
> 
> Mind if I ask what soil you used? As I am likely to pick up the same on this side of the pond.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Lee


I'm also in London and using John Innes 3. My Ph has actually dropped.

Ammonia took around 5 weeks to reach safe levels.


----------



## leemonk

I've just been down a few garden centres and had a look at the JI3 and it's not a bad price.

If the Ammonia levels are high, did you just do water changes to lower it?

I have quite a large tank and was wondering if I was able to do large water changes and simple refill from the garden hose pipe brought inside? Obviously the water would be A) cold and B) have chlorine etc in it, though I'd have no fish at this stage?

Would the temperature or chlorine be a problem.


BIGTOM: 

Out of curiosity, where did you get the idea/inspiration from for your tank?

Regards

Lee


----------



## PaulG

I just left the water to cycle for the whole time. Letting the ammonia leach will encourage the development of ammonia consuming bacteria and then nitrite consuming bacteria. It will pre cycle your tank and adding chlorine will destroy this bacteria.

I was too lazy to mineralise the top soil or whatever it is to remove excess ammonia. Just threw it in and waited. Once the ammonia levels were lower I started to add plants and they began soaking up the excess nitrates.

You don't have to do it this way but this was how I did it.


----------



## PaulG

And the best thing about JI3 is the price! I must have used about £1.50 worth, the same amount in ADA would be around £30.


----------



## leemonk

What did you fill the tank with then? Treated water or just the hose?

The bacteria you refered too... they're not present to start with?? I'm trying to remember my cycle proceedure.

I am working on the basis that they are the ones that form in the filter media once the Ammonia/Nitrate/Nitrite cycle starts?

Which would make sense on not refilling with untreated tap water each time.


----------



## BigTom

PaulG said:


> I'm also in London and using John Innes 3. My Ph has actually dropped.


I bet your hardness is up though.



leemonk said:


> Out of curiosity, where did you get the idea/inspiration from for your tank?
> 
> Regards
> 
> Lee


It was mainly out of necessity - I go away a lot for 5-6 weeks at a time, so I need a tank that looks after its self. So I had the idea in the back of my head for about a year before going ahead with it. This blog entry was a big help in convincing me it wasn't daft - http://www.tuncalik.com/2009/09/biotope-in-my-study/

This is a useful breakdown of what goes into the various John Innes recipes -
http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/soil/john_innes/john_innes.php


----------



## Soujirou

I must say, this tank reinvigorated my interest in planted tanks. I hope some day I'll be able to set up a similar tank, but I doubt I'd ever get it to be self-sustaining.


----------



## leemonk

How often do you have to change the water? I notice the bucket of mud  is by a window.....

Also... do you have a heater in there?

This type of tank fascinates me as I am not 'big' on maintenance.

Sadly though, I have a rather deep tank (500mm) so I think this is probably out of the question.... also, I have very little day light where the tank is situated.

Though, I could test on a smaller spare tank.... though the list of things that I am going to do with this nano tank grows by the day 

Regards

Lee


----------



## hidefguy

Just finished reading this whole thread and all I can say is WOW WOW WEE WAH! awesome tank! very inspirational. thanks.


----------



## BigTom

leemonk said:


> How often do you have to change the water? I notice the bucket of mud  is by a window.....
> 
> Also... do you have a heater in there?
> 
> This type of tank fascinates me as I am not 'big' on maintenance.
> 
> Sadly though, I have a rather deep tank (500mm) so I think this is probably out of the question.... also, I have very little day light where the tank is situated.
> 
> Though, I could test on a smaller spare tank.... though the list of things that I am going to do with this nano tank grows by the day
> 
> Regards
> 
> Lee


I change about 25% of the water every couple of months, and top up about 10% a week which is lost to evaporation.

There is a 300w heater buried under the hardscape, tank runs at 23-24 degrees.

As for light, the tank is no longer in the window since the rescape, but has always been lit using a 70w metal halide suspended 2 feet above the water level (3 feet of substrate).

I don't see any reason at all that you couldn't do something similar in a 500mm deep tank.


----------



## dannylill1981

love the tank tom, awesomeness, i hope to be able to pull a tank like this off when ive had a bit of luck with my current low tech planted tank, still early days yet.....anyway i digress. nice tank.


----------



## BigTom

Well just back from another 5 week field trip, tank and inhabitants are doing well - shrimp and Hyallela have been breeding happily, and I've just spotted a couple of _Danio erythromicron_ fry, so I guess that huge lump of spruce can't be doing too much harm.

Having said that, I might be tearing the whole thing down again - I still need to catch the last _Parosphromenus_ so I can get them breeding in another tank, and it's gone into total hiding mode after previous failed attempts at capture.

Also, am getting a bit of an itch to use this recently collected heather...


----------



## tomfromstlouis

Say it ain't so Tom!

When one achieves such a beautiful combination, especially one with perfect balance and minimal effort, one does NOT tear it down for any reason short of moving. One buys another tank for whatever purpose you come up with. 

Do not destroy it!


----------



## BigTom

tomfromstlouis said:


> When one achieves such a beautiful combination, especially one with perfect balance and minimal effort, one does NOT tear it down for any reason short of moving. One buys another tank for whatever purpose you come up with.


Haha. The down side to this would be that my girlfriend would literally hang me out to dry by the testicles.


----------



## stephenpence

Notice that nobody has spoken up like that's the obviously wrong alternative haha... I guess that sums it up.. we all believe that your tank is worth a little testicle-hanging! 

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## BigTom

stephenpence said:


> we all believe that your tank is worth a little testicle-hanging!


You're welcome to volunteer your testicles :icon_mrgr


----------



## BigTom

Took a few more shots tonight, still considering a rescape but don't think it looks too shabby now I've unclogged all the floating plants and the bottom is getting some light -


----------



## In.a.Box

This is y I love short long width tanks. Hehe


----------



## BuyAllTheBettas!

alex009 said:


> How dare you call this a bucket of mud? I was expecting to see some ghetto plastic bin type thing… Lol


My thoughts exactly. Your little slice of idyllic paradise oughtn't be called a bucket o'mud, even in jest. :icon_wink


----------



## BigTom

Well, I've got a whole bunch of new plants and hardscape cluttering up my room, but still in two minds about whether I'm going to redo it :lol: 

Got some lovely new fish yesterday (_Sawbwa resplendens_) which have really brought the tank alive. I should point out at this point that as there's someone home almost all the time now the fish are getting a lot more supplemental feeding, so I'm not convinced the tank is really self sustaining any more. Certainly still low input though.

My macro kit is at work at the moment so just a couple of quick snaps. I'll try and bring the macro rig home this week and get some of the danios and loaches as well.


----------



## BigTom

All change! After a rather intense afternoon and evening yesterday of unplanting, fish catching, water emptying, substrate separating, hardscaping, hours of replanting and finally refilling and restocking, I now have a... er, bucket of cloudy soup :lol: 

Here's a little teaser whilst we wait for everything to clear -


----------



## ony

I think stephenpence's testicles would have been a small price to pay for keeping the old setup 

New scapeis very dramatic, it will be interesting to see it mature.


----------



## novv

it looks amazing! and time for an update?


----------



## BigTom

Will update as soon as the damn water has cleared - even with daily 90% water changes it's taking forever.


----------



## bitFUUL

BigTom said:


> daily 90% water changes it's taking forever.


Ouch!


----------



## MrAlmostWrong

Don't think I should've read this thread on my payday. Think I have to do some negotiating with the fiancée tonight. Very impressive, Tom. How long had you been running aquariums before this? I feel like this is more advanced level stuff and I'm still in beginner mode.


----------



## exv152

BigTom said:


> Will update as soon as the damn water has cleared - even with daily 90% water changes it's taking forever.


I'm gonna guess you had tons of sediment in the substrate which is probably why it's been so cloudy. To be sure you should probably do some ammonia and nitrite testing to ensure all is well. Love the fish btw.


----------



## driftwoodhunter

It's not named "Bucket O' Mud" for nothing! lol


----------



## BigTom

Sloooowly getting there - stopped water changes and just waiting for the last bits to settle out. Problem with a tank that's 3 feet deep is even a little bit of murkiness renders the back invisible. Off on holiday on Saturday, so probably no updates until next weekend I'm afraid.




MrAlmostWrong said:


> Don't think I should've read this thread on my payday. Think I have to do some negotiating with the fiancée tonight. Very impressive, Tom. How long had you been running aquariums before this? I feel like this is more advanced level stuff and I'm still in beginner mode.


This is only my second tank really. I had a 90l which I ran for about a year before having to give it away when I moved.


----------



## LAKE

Have you considered using a couple 10 or 15 minute cycles each day with a small UV filter? I think a cycle an hour after lights on and a cycle an hour before lights off could make a noticable difference. Even if only for use after swamping the tank?


----------



## novv

hi Tom, which lens you use with the GH2?


----------



## crcarlsontech

Wonderful set up -- trying to find an aquarium with those dimensions, where did you purchase from?


----------



## tdw1989

thats a very nice set up you have there


----------



## BigTom

Getting there... looking forward to external filter and inline heater arriving next week.










novv - I use variously the Panasonic 20mm, Panasonic 14-45 kit lens and Olympus 9-18.

crcarl, this was custom made to my dimensions at a LFS. You'll be lucky to find something similar premad,e although turtle tanks and coral tanks are worth looking out for.


----------



## bitFUUL

Sweet Photo! 
And I'm still scratching my head about this tank being in the "low tech" forums, lol.


----------



## BigTom

Heh... well, so far it's running without ferts, co2 or even a filter, and is using an old shop spotlight for illumination, so I'd say it's pretty low tech


----------



## bitFUUL

BigTom said:


> Heh... well, so far it's running without ferts, co2 or even a filter, and is using an old shop spotlight for illumination, so I'd say it's pretty low tech


Ouch, you're right. Damn you low tech! :icon_mrgr


----------



## BigTom

Righto, quick video here. Tank is still refusing to clear fully, but figured I should document the start of the rescape anyway - hopefully when I'm next home at the end of September everything will be crystal clear!

All the carpeting plants are beginning their slow spread, which is very pleasing.

*http://vimeo.com/47250435*


----------



## poppyseed

oh my god.. it's beauteous.


----------



## dannylc

Fancy seeing you here Tom lol Well jealous of the tank mate wanted to try and do similar with the 4x4x2 the mrs said no to lol


----------



## rhyelee

such a lovely setup! I hope I get the means to try something like this out one day.... Your lovely photos are more than enough to make me want to try!!!! 
TT w TT


----------



## xenxes

Definitely more fish viewing space compared to the old layout, great job!


----------



## jemminnifener

How have I never clicked into this thread of all the days I've spent lurking around on this forum? Definitely not a bucket of mud. Each iteration of this tank has been gorgeous and something I would be so proud of I would never tear down. You have great VISION.


----------



## WallaceGrover

I can't get over how amazing this tank is! It proves the power of plants as filters...


----------



## zzrguy

sweet tank how many gal


----------



## BigTom

Cheers all. Lookign forward to getting some good photos when I'm back in a few weeks.



WallaceGrover said:


> I can't get over how amazing this tank is! It proves the power of plants as filters...


Yeah emergent plants do a great job as water cleansers. I should point out that I've added an external filter now though, following increasing the fish stock and reducing the number of emergents.



zzrguy said:


> sweet tank how many gal


240 litres, 64 US gallons - but probably 15 gallons of that is taken up with substrate.


----------



## tomfromstlouis

I think one of the things that sets this tank apart from so many others is the obvious depth of view. We get accustomed to the flatter views of taller tanks and miss out on the more natural world that the fish can explore in that third dimension.

The camera captures this beautifully. My question is this: how do you prefer to view it in person? At the height it sits in the room, I'd guess you look _down_ into it as often as from the side. If you want to sit and look at it for 10 or 15 minutes, where do you position yourself and what view do you prefer?


----------



## BigTom

tomfromstlouis said:


> I think one of the things that sets this tank apart from so many others is the obvious depth of view. We get accustomed to the flatter views of taller tanks and miss out on the more natural world that the fish can explore in that third dimension.
> 
> The camera captures this beautifully. My question is this: how do you prefer to view it in person? At the height it sits in the room, I'd guess you look _down_ into it as often as from the side. If you want to sit and look at it for 10 or 15 minutes, where do you position yourself and what view do you prefer?


The tank is in the bedroom, with the view from the bed being towards the front right corner, at head height, which is perfect. The view form my desk is from the other front corner, slightly above. And when walking into the room you see it completely from above. 

For proper tank chillout time I sit right in front of it on a pillow, back against the bed with a glass of wine


----------



## BBradbury

*Semi Self-sustaining Aquariums*

Hello...

Am very interested in the subject of semi self-sustaning aquariums. Just need to emerse the roots of certain land plants in the tank and add a little aeration around the roots and the plants remove the bulk of the nitrogens produced by the fish and maintain stable water properties.

I'm not totally without responsiblity though. I do have to feed the fish a couple of times a week and maintain the standard filtration equipment, because you need a backup system to work at night when the plants rest. I also have to replace the water lost to evaporation, a few gallons per week for 5 larger tanks.

Attached are some pics of my tank room.

B


----------



## BigTom

Nice setup B. Are those hostas?


----------



## BBradbury

*Self-sustaining Tanks*



BigTom said:


> Nice setup B. Are those hostas?


Hello Tom...

Not Hosta. But, Hosta might be an option. They do prefer low light, but not sure they would tolerate their roots emersed in water all the time. Anyway, I have three plants: Chinese Evergreen "Aglaonema modestum", a variety of Philodendron, I can't recall the scientific name and Pothos "Queen Marble".

Tanks are as close to "pain free" as I can get them. Nitrogens, especially ammonia and nitrites are picked up by the plant roots almost before the good bacteria can do their job. The roots also use the bulk of the nitrates. A good thing, since there is no bacteria that can use the nitrates.

Last time I tested the water, the ammonia and nitrites were at "0" and nitrates were 10 ppm. I never got that nitrate reading when I was changing half the tank water in the tanks every week.

B


----------



## crcarlsontech

An inspiration, and a gentleman!


----------



## Meganne

each rendition is wonderful in it's own right! but the last has taken on a whole new flavor! I even see current!


----------



## chrislewistx

What a wonderful thread. Congratulations, all three renditions have been excellent. Also, you pick the most interesting fish species. What made you decide on the _Parosphromenus sp. 'sentang', _and then the_ Sawbwa resplendens?

_Also, you mentioned a PhD supervisor so I take it you are in school. I would be interested to know what you are studying, if it isn't too intrusive to ask. I think your low tech approach should be inspiring to all. Examples such as this show that perhaps some of us try too hard with our aquariums. That is perhaps we try to do too much_, _and should let them take their own course.


----------



## BigTom

Just back from my final field trip... frankly amazed by how good the tank is looking after 6 weeks of only fish feeding and water top ups by flatmates. Everything is growing in nicely and there's nothing unsightly except a smidge of green spot algae to clear up, which I was worried about as I lowered the light 6 inches before going away.

However, the experimental pond plants have all died off, sadly. So, needs a bit of a rescape to reintroduce some height to the back corners, but otherwise pretty happy so far. Will post more pics once my LEDs arrive and I've sorted a more elegant lighting rig next week.


----------



## BigTom

chrislewistx said:


> What a wonderful thread. Congratulations, all three renditions have been excellent. Also, you pick the most interesting fish species. What made you decide on the _Parosphromenus sp. 'sentang', _and then the_ Sawbwa resplendens?
> 
> _Also, you mentioned a PhD supervisor so I take it you are in school. I would be interested to know what you are studying, if it isn't too intrusive to ask. I think your low tech approach should be inspiring to all. Examples such as this show that perhaps some of us try too hard with our aquariums. That is perhaps we try to do too much_, _and should let them take their own course.


Thanks very much.

The Paros were something I've always wanted, just amazing little fish, but can be a bit tricky. The current fauna, including the Sawbwa are due to wantign to change the stocking to fish more suited to the particular water parameters in this tank - also I was after something a little more active than the Paros, as this is the 'display' tank.

I'm in the final 6 months of a PhD studying the ecology of an endemic giant subspecies of field mouse on a remote Scottish archipelago. Couldn't make it up!


----------



## QQQUUUUAADDD

Nice tank!


----------



## etane

I've been wanting to build a self-sustaining biotope/aquarium but haven't seen a good one to use as an example until I found this thread. The Walstad type tanks I've seen do look more like a bucket o'mud than your tanks does. AND, I am glad I found it after it's already 12 pages old/long, or I'd be constantly waiting for updates. I aspire to build a miniature version for my cubicle. A breath of fresh air from all the ADA Iwagumi designs I've seen on this site. Definitely a "Thanks!" for sharing. BTW, love your fish choices too.


----------



## BigTom

etane said:


> I've been wanting to build a self-sustaining biotope/aquarium but haven't seen a good one to use as an example until I found this thread. The Walstad type tanks I've seen do look more like a bucket o'mud than your tanks does. AND, I am glad I found it after it's already 12 pages old/long, or I'd be constantly waiting for updates. I aspire to build a miniature version for my cubicle. A breath of fresh air from all the ADA Iwagumi designs I've seen on this site. Definitely a "Thanks!" for sharing. BTW, love your fish choices too.


Ah great, glad to be of use. 

Amazingly I've managed to get my arse in gear enough for a bit of a video update. Very happy with how things are progressing. Plants and livestock doing well, except for the Mexican gammarus which are being hunted with much enthusiasm by the Peacock gudgeons I added recently.

As you can see, the Hydrocotyle tripartita has gone berserk. Love it.

http://vimeo.com/54645045

Please click through to Vimeo for the HD version, much sharper.


----------



## thefisherman

big tom i love your setup, great tank and growth. what kind of lighting are you using?


- thefisherman


----------



## BigTom

thefisherman said:


> big tom i love your setup, great tank and growth. what kind of lighting are you using?
> 
> 
> - thefisherman


Cheers buddy. I'm really impressed with the rate of growth in this latest incarnation. The lighting is a 70w metal halide shop spotlight (cost £20 on ebay), hanging 2 feet above the water.


----------



## driftwoodhunter

Your tanks are always so inspirational to me - they embody to me the most soothing of natural tanks. They really are a slice of pure nature, I don't see that hand of man in your tanks at all - and that's how I like them.


----------



## BigTom

driftwoodhunter said:


> Your tanks are always so inspirational to me - they embody to me the most soothing of natural tanks. They really are a slice of pure nature, I don't see that hand of man in your tanks at all - and that's how I like them.


Thanks. I find the trick is laziness - things look much more natural if allowed to do their own thing. I reckon I probably spend about 10 minutes a month tops on pruning, etc.


----------



## driftwoodhunter

If the trick is laziness, I'm onto a great start - lol

All my tanks are low tech/low light & no added Co2 - I'm not interested in fast, pushed growth or frequent trims. Right now my main tank (the other two are temps until I get larger tanks running) is full of plant eaters, so I'm limited to certain less-tasty plants, no stems survive. Perhaps in future tanks though...even so, there is so much to learn from your tanks, the plant placements and the balance between plants and livestock.


----------



## astrosag

Tom, that is a most impressive tank. That tank and how you've utilized it is simply awesome. 

I am a fan of relatively self sustaining tanks - I don't use CO2 or regularly fert. I just want a seeing-hole into a fish's natural environment (or as close as I can get it to be). 

I could see my 20g reaching that level of hands-off if my GF didn't insist on having so many fish. Although the plants will do fine, I can't sustain a predation cycle with the amount of fish I have. Feedings are absolutely necessary. 

Clearly, your plant-to-fauna mass ratio is highly in favor of the flora.

Very inspiring, thanks for sharing!

I am highly inclined to try something like this with my next tank.


----------



## riverdragon

I love this tank! It's like all the best parts of a pond, plus the best parts of an aquarium. I've been thinking about tanks that are wide and shallow-ish rather than narrow and tall for a while now, and I think it was seeing this tank back in January that made me start thinking about it. I really like how it looks both from above and from the sides, bravo! I think if I saw your tank in person, I'd just sit and watch it for hours!


----------



## BigTom

Got a couple of shots of the rosy loaches (_Yunnanilus sp._ 'Rosy') chilling out while I had the camera pointed at the tank - just messing around with a new cheapish flash setup really, but I don't think I've posted many shots of them before, and they really are lovely little fish:




















And an oto hiding in a dell amongst the _Lilleaopsis_ -


----------



## james1542

BigTom, I like your style of tank, similar to the philosophy I prefer . Excellent picture taking too! Those rosy loaches rock!


----------



## Jnad

*Tank*

Hello!

What a great tank, really inspiring.

If you should do this setup all over again would you prefer a higher tank, maybe 14 or 16 inches high? Is there any other changes you would do regarding the setup? I ask beacuse i am thinking of doing a tank just like yours Wonderful

Jnad


----------



## BigTom

Jnad said:


> Hello!
> 
> What a great tank, really inspiring.
> 
> If you should do this setup all over again would you prefer a higher tank, maybe 14 or 16 inches high? Is there any other changes you would do regarding the setup? I ask beacuse i am thinking of doing a tank just like yours Wonderful
> 
> Jnad


Hi Jnad. Yes, I think if starting over I would go with a slightly higher tank (40cm) to give more options for scaping. And maybe change the dimensions to be slightly rectangular instead of completely square, although that would depend on the space it was going into.

Mainly I'd get a bigger apartment so I could have it in the middle of a room viewable from all sides!


----------



## Jnad

Tanks for reply.

In my apartment i have a corner to place the tank, the free wall space in this corner is 130cm x 90cm. But i think maybe a tank that uses all of this wall space will look very large in my living room. I must give it a real thougt to get the right tank size that also look good in my living rom, the tank must not just look BIG

By the way, the wall that measures 130cm have a window, so the tank will have possibility to Get sunlight if preferd.

Jnad



BigTom said:


> Hi Jnad. Yes, I think if starting over I would go with a slightly higher tank (40cm) to give more options for scaping. And maybe change the dimensions to be slightly rectangular instead of completely square, although that would depend on the space it was going into.
> 
> Mainly I'd get a bigger apartment so I could have it in the middle of a room viewable from all sides!


----------



## jeffs99dime

Your tank and your skills are completely amazing! roud:


----------



## riverdragon

Whoa! Those rosy loaches are _awesome!_ Guess I have something new to research.  I love your photos, too.


----------



## DesertDenial

Your tank is just so beautiful on so many levels it's just....WOW am in awe.
Well done!


----------



## amajoh

This tank is amazing. Gorgeous pictures. As a newbie, this is so inspirational.


----------



## Aside

This is really stunning. Both the tank and the photographs.


----------



## acitydweller

The photos and scape speak for themselves. breath taking...


----------



## rozdaboff

Very nice and natural - the same type of look I love.

The Rosy loaches look very nice. That is one of the nicest pics I have seen of them. They will be inhabitants of my tank here shortly, in addition to some other Myanmar species.

I had never heard of the Sawbwa resplendens until recently. Very beautiful fish. A biotope of them, Danio erythromicron and Yunnanilus brevis would be very cool - but all prefer a slightly more basic water than I have in my tank. So I am opting for D. margaritatus, Microdevario nana (or D. tinwini - not sure) and the rosy loaches.


----------



## Jnad

Hello!

I am making some plans starting a tank with your tank dimmensions, only a little bit higher (40cm high).

I find it somewhat difficult to decide for lightning for this tank size, do you still running the 70w HQI or have you changed your light setup?

Any suggestions for what i should use? Something hanging from the seiling i think would look Nice. The tank is going to be placed by a window so i can let it have some sunlight if i want.

Jnad


----------



## BulletToothBoris

Cool tank.


----------



## BigTom

Jnad said:


> Hello!
> 
> I am making some plans starting a tank with your tank dimmensions, only a little bit higher (40cm high).
> 
> I find it somewhat difficult to decide for lightning for this tank size, do you still running the 70w HQI or have you changed your light setup?
> 
> Any suggestions for what i should use? Something hanging from the seiling i think would look Nice. The tank is going to be placed by a window so i can let it have some sunlight if i want.
> 
> Jnad


Yup still using the 70w, seems to do the trick. Obviously it depends if you are going to add co2 or not, but I know people with similar size tanks running T5 strips, 150w halides and 36w Kessil LEDs. Most people make a DIY frame out of curtain rail or similar to hang their lighting from.


----------



## BigTom

Blatantly stealing an idea from someone else, I've recently added a little Ikea clip on LED light for evening viewing. Much better for the fish, and makes the tank look wonderfully mysterious.



















As usual, the plants are completely out of control. I'm letting them fight it out


----------



## driftwoodhunter

Ooh, I love the effect the clip on adds - could you show us a pic of the light itself (to get an idea of it's size) and how far away from the tank it is? I sit clipped to the glass of the tank?

I have to go back and reread this thread - those plants are amazing. You could sell your last pic to a company that makes the tank background sheets - lol


----------



## BigTom

It's just clipped onto the lighting frame but could probably be attached to the glass no problem. You get a more defined shaft of light if you have it closer, but I moved it a little further off to get a bit of spread right across the tank.

Top right of this picture -










It's just a little 3W desk spotlight.


----------



## driftwoodhunter

That's nice!


----------



## extrame

hi big tom,
i see that you have big rocks in your tank, did you just place it on top of your substrate or did you bury the half of it?

thanks,
chris


----------



## BigTom

extrame said:


> hi big tom,
> i see that you have big rocks in your tank, did you just place it on top of your substrate or did you bury the half of it?
> 
> thanks,
> chris


Hi Chris. A bit of both really... I'd guess most of the were buried about a quarter or a third into the tank, but I used some others to shore up the 'hills' which were completely buried.


----------



## BigTom

Nice little addition to the tank this week in the form of a flower stalk from each of the Aponogeton crispus 'red'. They looked pretty uninspiring at first but are developing into something rather lovely.


----------



## extrame

thanks big tom! i was wondering if the soil under big rocks would be ok and not spoil?
i guess i would bury parts of the rocks that i would be using for my tank just to be sure.

btw, very nice tank you have. hope i could achive such a wonderful tank like yours


----------



## Jnad

BigTom said:


> Yup still using the 70w, seems to do the trick. Obviously it depends if you are going to add co2 or not, but I know people with similar size tanks running T5 strips, 150w halides and 36w Kessil LEDs. Most people make a DIY frame out of curtain rail or similar to hang their lighting from.


Hello again!

About the 70W you are using over the tank, i just remembered that i have made a DIY HQI 70W light that i used over my reef tank. Maybe i just can by a different HQI bulb (6500K) and use my old DIY reef light. Here is some pictures of the light/project:
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1209-Jnad-HQI-DIY-PROJECT

Jnad


----------



## BigTom

Jnad said:


> Hello again!
> 
> About the 70W you are using over the tank, i just remembered that i have made a DIY HQI 70W light that i used over my reef tank. Maybe i just can by a different HQI bulb (6500K) and use my old DIY reef light. Here is some pictures of the light/project:
> http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1209-Jnad-HQI-DIY-PROJECT
> 
> Jnad


Yup, that should be perfect. Somewhere around 5.5-6k would be ideal I think that's a matter of personal taste.


----------



## BigTom

Hopefully a spot of pollination going on -


----------



## jbrady33

BigTom said:


> Blatantly stealing an idea from someone else, I've recently added a little Ikea clip on LED light for evening viewing. Much better for the fish, and makes the tank look wonderfully mysterious.



I love this look too, have some low power led night lights in my hood for a similar effect. The ripple effect is huge too! (long exposure pic)


----------



## BigTom

Put together a quick video yesterday showing the nightlight and the halide coming on and a few creature shots.

Recently moved the _Brachygobius_ across from their nano as I changed my mind on their ID from soft water _aggregatus_ to more brackish _doriae/sabanus_, so figured they'd enjoy the hard water. They've settled in nicely and quickly kicked usurped the 10 times larger peacock gobies from their favorite spot!

Forgive the messy emersed section and the still to be panted intake sponge, they're on the to do list.

*http://vimeo.com/60408947*


----------



## toksyn

Beautiful video! You have some excellent shots in there, and that aquarium is top notch!


----------



## Saxtonhill

wow---stunning tank! Enjoyed the video very much


----------



## Jnad

This is my favorite tank, so natural.


----------



## Big O

*gorgeous!*



Jnad said:


> This is my favorite tank, so natural.


+1
love your tank


----------



## tomfromstlouis

I also enjoyed the video Tom. Loved the dawn sequence and the closeups are very nice.


----------



## BigTom

Thanks for the comments all, glad people like the video.

I do like the way the halides slowly ramp up, I just wish they did a similar thing when turning off. Programmable LEDs would be a lot of fun.


----------



## BigTom

Well I've suspected for a while that my cherry shrimp population is pretty mongrel... have had a few really dark red, almost black looking females, and now today I spotted my first completely blue 'cherry'. Any shrimp experts fancy a guess as to what they've hybridised with?


----------



## hisxlency

One of the best vids I have seen in a long time sir, well done indeed


----------



## Zorfox

Gorgeous!

Finally, a video done properly without constant panning, zooming and auto focus off!!! You obviously have experience with video. Nice job.


----------



## vee

Love your tank! It's nice to see a tank from the beginning. I would love to try this one day. Your photos and videos are inspiring!!


----------



## etane

My heart literally aches when watching your video. :icon_frow


----------



## BigTom

One or two of you may recall that some time back in June last year I bought a Kessil a150 'Amazon Sun' from a guy in Australia. Well, thanks to the combined incompetence of both the Australian and British postal systems (ParcelFarce, I'm looking at you), it arrived yesterday! It's been around the world at least 4 times, and in the end we had to resort to having the guy's Mum bring it back to the UK in her luggage.

Anyway, I know a few people are interested in these lights so thought I'd do a quick comparison with my trusty 70w metal halide. Both lights were suspended 50cm above the water, camera was on a tripod and in manual mode, with white balance set to 4150K which best matched my perception of the room without either tank light on. I think the results give a fairly good idea of the rendition of the two units, but make sure you're viewing them in a colour managed browser (ie, not Chrome or IE) if you want an accurate view.

Impressions so far after 2 days with it.... overall I like it. It's very small and means I'll be able to retire my somewhat ugly lighting frame and get a more minimalist fitting of some sort. The colour rendition is pretty good (I tried one of those cheap ebay floodlight LEDs once and it was ghastly, this is much better and nicely contrasty without giving harsh shadows).

The one major issue I have with it is the noise of the little 40mm fan - it's louder than my quite powerful PC and you can hear it over pretty much anything else in the room. Definitely enough to be annoying in a bedroom. I've opened the can up and it looks like its a standard PC northbridge style fan, so I've ordered a supposedly quiet replacement fan and I'm hoping it'll be pretty straightforward to swap out.

So... 70w halide with (I think) a 6000k bulb in -










And the Kessil a150 (rated as 6700K) -










So, not actually much different!

Afraid I don't have a par meter to check that, but visually it looks similarly bright to my 70w halide. Photoshop reckons the cropped underwater section of the image is about 20% brighter with the Kessil, which seems believable.


----------



## hunterlook

1) Love the video, great music. 
2) I need to get a macro lense :icon_neut

Amazing tank!


----------



## Jordin

I love your tank. It is very natural and beautiful. 

You've done an amazing job!


----------



## aquanut-john

Nice comparison pics. The Kessil does seem a bit brighter (better detail in the foreground substrate) and there seem to be much less spill light. Hope you can get the fan quiet. Fan noise will rot your brain!


----------



## BigTom

aquanut-john said:


> Nice comparison pics. The Kessil does seem a bit brighter (better detail in the foreground substrate) and there seem to be much less spill light. Hope you can get the fan quiet. Fan noise will rot your brain!


Yeah the light spill is definitely less from the Kessil, with a much more defined edge. Not sure if I prefer that or not to be honest. It's a touch brighter visually, but not by much - I wouldn't imagine it'd match a 150w halide as marketed, but that's a good thing for me. I didn't want loads more light, just better aesthetics and cheaper running costs. PAR might be another matter of course.

New fan tomorrow, fingers crossed.


----------



## sarazorz

Ahhh, I loved the video! I wonder how many people have been inspired by your tank. I know I have!


----------



## chrislewistx

+1 on being inspired by your tank. It motivated me to check out other species of fish. Also, to collect hardscape from the wild when I'm out walking.


----------



## etane

Bigtom:

The site you linked on page 9 talked about adding tubiflex to the biotope. Was wondering whether you considered doing so and what made you decide one way or the other.


----------



## BigTom

etane said:


> Bigtom:
> 
> The site you linked on page 9 talked about adding tubiflex to the biotope. Was wondering whether you considered doing so and what made you decide one way or the other.


I did think about using tubifex or blackworms, but the latter are rarely available in the UK and the tank seemed nicely populated with microfauna before I tracked down any tubifex.

I'd suggest they're definitely worth trying,but haven't done so myself.


----------



## etane

BigTom said:


> I did think about using tubifex or blackworms, but the latter are rarely available in the UK and the tank seemed nicely populated with microfauna before I tracked down any tubifex.
> 
> I'd suggest they're definitely worth trying,but haven't done so myself.


Thank you for your reply. Do you know what kind of microfauna that decided to make camp in your tank?


----------



## BigTom

OK, some things I have learned about electronics (from a starting position of zilch a few days ago);

1. The fan in the Kessil is a fairly standard 40x40x20mm affair. Physically very easy to find a replacement.
2. However, it runs at 24v instead of 12v like most computer fans.
3. You can run the standard fan at half speed or a 12v fan if you wire in a LM7812 voltage regulator. This is very easy to do - ideally involves a spot of soldering or you can bodge it like me with electrical tape.
4. The half speed stock fan still pushes more air than the 12v northbridge fan I tried.
5. Doing the above will drastically reduce fan noise, and runs the unit cool enough not to cause any issue (short term at least). However, the unit does run considerably hotter so you're probably shortening the life span of the LEDs from the rated 13 years to...... who knows.
6. Running the unit without a fan at all causes it to switch off after about 10 minutes when it gets too hot. Good safety feature.
7. Accidentally crossing the red and black wires going to the fan whilst its switched on causes a burning smell and the death of a fuse on the circuit board, which renders the entire fan circuit kaput.
8. After a lot of swearing you can run a second power cable for the fan directly to that old mobile phone charger that's been sat in your drawer for about 8 years, because it just so happens to be 12v DC.

So in summary; if the terrible buzz from the Kessil fan is setting your teeth on edge, you can easily fix it by wiring in a 12v regulator as detailed here - AVForums.com - View Single Post - Behringer amps, x-over and parametric EQ units and hence running the stock fan half speed, or replacing with another fan of your choice. The downside is that the unit will be hotter, probably reducing its lifespan.

Can't help but feel Kessil should have made the case large enough to fit a 60mm fan and larger heatsink; would have made cooling much easier and quiter with only a minor increase in bulk.


----------



## BigTom

etane said:


> Thank you for your reply. Do you know what kind of microfauna that decided to make camp in your tank?


I added several different types of Daphnia; the larger free swimming ones didn't do well with water movement and were quickly picked off once fish were added, but there are a couple of small benthic types that are still about.

Also added _Hyallela azteca _which are perfect; small but very hardy and prolific.

Obviously baby shrimp also provide a good food source.

Then there was also the usual assortment of microfauna that arrive on their own; snails, cyclops, copepods, ostracods, freshwater limpets, nematodes, various other small worms, leeches, planaria, hydra (I got rid of the latter 2).


----------



## etane

BigTom said:


> I added several different types of Daphnia; the larger free swimming ones didn't do well with water movement and were quickly picked off once fish were added, but there are a couple of small benthic types that are still about.
> 
> Also added _Hyallela azteca _which are perfect; small but very hardy and prolific.
> 
> Obviously baby shrimp also provide a good food source.
> 
> Then there was also the usual assortment of microfauna that arrive on their own; snails, cyclops, copepods, ostracods, freshwater limpets, nematodes, various other small worms, leeches, planaria, hydra (I got rid of the latter 2).


Thank you for the suggestion of hyallela azteca. They certainly are easier to look at than bloodworms and tubiflex. :hihi:


----------



## xenxes

Love the changes.

I've heard of the very brown / black cherries to appear blue depending on water conditions.


----------



## BigTom

I recently moved a trio of Sawbwa out of the main tnak and into a 25l with a mesh bottom and dropped the temperature right down to 18 degrees to see if I could get them to spawn. Spotted a few eggs scattered around...

Freshly laid -










And a wee video of the first free swimming fry that I saw today (tiny!) -

*http://vimeo.com/64554820*


----------



## BigTom

And one of the many freshwater limpets in my tanks -

*http://vimeo.com/64557139*


----------



## BigTom

Few more shots while I'm at it -


----------



## toksyn

Very impressive photos, especially that egg. Awesome videos, too!

Congratulations on the spawn!

One of my favorite threads, for sure. Love that aquarium. Wish there was a higher res. version of that last shot - wallpaper material .


----------



## BigTom

Thanks toksyn. Afraid I don't bother saving the full size versions of my aquarium shots otherwise I'd do a high res version for you. And it's the wrong way around!


----------



## BigTom

Well, so far so good... moved the parents out after the last update as they'd stopped spawning for the time being. Counted 5 or 6 fry after that, of which at least 4 are still alive (hard to spot!). One isn't looking terribly well but the other 3 are getting fat on tank microfauna. Still too small for microworms.

*http://vimeo.com/65005548*

If these guys make it to a size where they'll take microworms then I'll move them to a breeding net and get the adults spawning again.
20 degrees, pH 8.4, 170ppm for the record.

(video's going to take an hour before its available)


----------



## BigTom

Video now working


----------



## Clemsons2k

Holy crap thats some serious zoom. Hope the babies do well


----------



## Saxtonhill

Very interesting video of the fry hunting for food. Those fry are so translucent...at one point you can see the food going into the stomach.


----------



## BigTom

Saxtonhill said:


> Very interesting video of the fry hunting for food. Those fry are so translucent...at one point you can see the food going into the stomach.


Yeah there's not much too them... pair of eyes, digestive tract, tiny heart and a swim bladder.


----------



## waterfaller1

Last night I stumbled on this thread, and found my way to your videos, and ultimately found your video of indostomus paradoxus. They are one of my favorite species I have kept over the years. I want to tell you how enjoyable that was for me. 
This tank is awesome as well.


----------



## BigTom

Tada! All the same plants before, just thinned a bit and completely rearranged as I couldn't see more than about 6 inches into the tank before. Oh, and had to remove the Aponogetons.

Also did away with the old lighting frame and made maximum use of the Kessil's small size.

Can actually see some fish now, and my nice old bits of heather.

Before (except even more overgrown) -










Making a mess -










Now -










Closeups once the water has cleared.


----------



## waterfaller1

Where's the like button? roud:


----------



## BigTom

waterfaller1 said:


> Where's the like button? roud:


Thanks Carole 

Took a very quick video yesterday after switching to the lovely glass spraybar that a friend on UKAPS sent me. Getting much nicer flow (albeit still relatively low compared to you high tech people) right across the width and depth of the tank now.

*http://vimeo.com/68570945*

Some of the plants are still looking a touch bruised and bewildered, but considering it's only been set up a few days I'm quite pleased. Carpet is going to take some filling in, but the substrate is actually getting some light now so the Lilleaopsis won't have to grow in the dark anymore!


----------



## fishboy199413

More closeups please, especially of the inhabitants. Anyways the tank is a real inspiration.


----------



## BigTom

So, I tried a trio of rosy loaches (_Petruichthys _sp. 'rosy', previously _Yunnanilus_ sp. 'rosy') in a breeding tank this week. Spotted the first fry two days ago, so have removed the parents and waiting to see how many I get.

Fry are very small (just over 4mm total length aged at 2 days old) but better developed than the _Sawbwa_ fry I had in the tank previously with caudal fins already visible -










Got a nice shot of one of the _C. simoni simoni _while I was at it. They're very pretty up close when fully grown -


----------



## fishboy199413

What did the breeding tank consist of? Also how did you breed them? Nice pics by the way.


----------



## BigTom

fishboy199413 said:


> What did the breeding tank consist of? Also how did you breed them? Nice pics by the way.


25 litre cube containing aged water from the main tank (pH 7.45, 215 ppm, 22.5 degrees celsius), chock full of plants and moss with a few leaves and little mulm. There are a few shrimp and snails in there as well.

Fine mesh an inch from the bottom to protect scattered eggs. Followed my usual approach of just chucking the fish in, feeding plenty of live foods and waiting til I spot fry.

Only expecting a handful of fry to appear really, I'm not really set up for growing on large numbers of anything.


----------



## Meganne

wonderful rescape


----------



## fishboy199413

Very, very cool.


----------



## BigTom

Rosy loach fry at 12 days old, coming along nicely -


----------



## waterfaller1

OMG so cute! Congrats!:biggrin:


----------



## ichise

Just read the entire thread ... all I can say is awesome tank ~roud:


----------



## BigTom

waterfaller1 said:


> OMG so cute! Congrats!:biggrin:


They are a bit :icon_mrgr



ichise said:


> Just read the entire thread ... all I can say is awesome tank ~roud:


Thanks! I've been thinking I should probably ask a mod to move this to journals and rename it as it isn't self sustaining anymore, but I guess the original info may still be of interest to some.


----------



## BigTom

Had a bit of a tweak and added a focal point to the background. Rather pleased with things at the moment.

Some mildly ridiculous wide angle shots...


----------



## Saxtonhill

Lovely tank! Just in awe!


----------



## mjbn

BigTom said:


> Had a bit of a tweak and added a focal point to the background. Rather pleased with things at the moment.
> 
> Some mildly ridiculous wide angle shots...


The DEPTH:eek5::eek5::eek5::eek5::eek5::eek5::eek5:


----------



## Ickey09

Love your tank..... I've got a 40b rimless that I'm thinking of planting. Its bee sitting for a year now. Might do a native setup with it if my nano works out. Can we get pictures of your filtration with the next update?


----------



## BigTom

mjbn said:


> The DEPTH:eek5::eek5::eek5::eek5::eek5::eek5::eek5:


Hehehe, I know. It was so overgrown before that I could only see a few inches into the tank. Since rearranging all the plants I've now got a 3' deep vista.



Ickey09 said:


> Love your tank..... I've got a 40b rimless that I'm thinking of planting. Its bee sitting for a year now. Might do a native setup with it if my nano works out. Can we get pictures of your filtration with the next update?


The filtration is just a Eheim 2324 attached to a 600mm glass spraybar. I also sometimes run an inline Eheim 2113 with a 1 micron filter 'sock', because I have perpetual issues with cloudy water as a result of forgetting to wash the large bag of grit I mixed into the soil last time.


----------



## waterfaller1

Are you sure you didn't go into the woods and just snap off a few shots? That is amazing! 
The freshwater version of this...:smile:
http://oregonreef.com/sub_gallery.htm


----------



## BigTom

waterfaller1 said:


> Are you sure you didn't go into the woods and just snap off a few shots? That is amazing!
> The freshwater version of this...:smile:
> http://oregonreef.com/sub_gallery.htm


Heh, not quite on that sort of scale. Maybe the next tank 

I'm only working with 10" of water here remember.


----------



## waterfaller1

Ok..well a mini version. I have always loved Steve Weasts' tank. Sadly it crashed due to a tragic mistake.
But seriously when I saw your new pics, it was the first thing I thought of. Like being in the real thing.


----------



## OVT

Just WOW. I keep coming back to this tank, humbled.

via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


----------



## wintermute

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I've never seen such a big, beautiful, long-lasting "self-sustaining" tank before. I've always thought that they were gimmicks, not sustainable, and doomed to failure.

You are an inspiration!


----------



## BigTom

wintermute said:


> Wow. Wow. Wow.
> 
> I've never seen such a big, beautiful, long-lasting "self-sustaining" tank before. I've always thought that they were gimmicks, not sustainable, and doomed to failure.
> 
> You are an inspiration!


Hi Winter. Just for clarity, the tank is no longer self sustaining since I stopped having to leave it unattended and got a load more fish. It did however run in a self sustaining manner for over a year without any issues.


----------



## BigTom

Rosy loach fry aren't giving me many photo opportunities, but they're growing really quickly. 3 weeks old and rapidly catching up with the 3 month old Sawbwa fry -










And what I think are a few D. erythromicron fry that I pulled out of the filter. About a week old -


----------



## nightshadebel

Simply amazing as always.


----------



## BigTom

Aha, I see this got moved to journals. Probably appropriate, thanks.


----------



## BigTom

Got a much better picture of the rosy fry this morning -










I'll stop spamming fry shots for a bit now, promise!


----------



## Gecko

We all must learn more and more things about natural self sustained tanks... I know its so slow growing, needs more patient but eventually your gain will be priceless. Thank you...


----------



## BigTom

Yawn...


----------



## ua hua

I absolutely love this tank. So natural looking and simple yet beautiful.


----------



## BigTom

Have finally gotten around to working on the riparian section a bit... added some extra stonework about level with the surface and have thrown a bunch of plants at it to see what sticks. Will give them a month or so to get settled then tweak.


----------



## coolnick

Could you take a front and side tank shot and do a plant diagram? I really like how this tank has evolved.


----------



## LooksLater

Just read this thread for the first time, and all I can say is...

This is the loveliest bucket o' mud I have ever seen. 

I am amazed by everything about this- set up, scape, philosophy. So inspiring.
Cheers!

Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## BigTom

Things are all growing in quite nicely -

http://vimeo.com/72537889
(click the HD button!)

My big old male Sawbwa are starting to look a bit old and senile now though, think they must be coming to end of their lifespan. Will try and get another batch of fry before they all kick the bucket, but I've got 6 juvies waiting to replace them.


----------



## BruceF

Such a great tank!


----------



## BigTom

Rosy loach juvenile at 53 days old; big enough to go in the main tank soon -


----------



## AnotherHobby

BigTom said:


> Things are all growing in quite nicely -
> 
> http://vimeo.com/72537889
> (click the HD button!)


Really a great tank, and that video is freaking sweet!


----------



## frrok

Amazing how clear the water is!


----------



## BigTom

frrok said:


> Amazing how clear the water is!


It's a pain in the arse to be honest, the slightest cloudiness is immediately obvious through 3 feet of water. Need to run a second filter with a 1 micron filter to keep it clear, which needs cleaning every week.

On a mor epositive note, I just had an enjoyable couple of hours finding out what was in the fry tank; total tally was 10 rosy loach, 6 Sawbwa and 5 Danio erythromicron. Added 6 loaches and 5 Sawbwa to the Bucket, the rest need some growing on before they'd be safe from the peacock gudgeons I think.


----------



## teddo10

Tom, what do you use as second filter? (the 1 micron one)
I used to have a diatom filter (from USA a vortex) but i can seem to find one in the Netherlands anymore. I need to polish my tank too.


----------



## BigTom

teddo10 said:


> Tom, what do you use as second filter? (the 1 micron one)
> I used to have a diatom filter (from USA a vortex) but i can seem to find one in the Netherlands anymore. I need to polish my tank too.


I've got a second hand Eheim 2213 with an 18" 1 micron filter 'sock' from ebay - with a slight trim they're just the right size to wrap around the internal basket. I've got 4 and just rotate them weekly, then once a month wash them in the washing machine to remove the gunk.

I don't think ebay links work on here - [Ebay Link Removed] - see! But if you search for "1 micron filter sock" they should show up, at least on ebay.co.uk. People use them for cleaning biodiesel and vegetable oil.

Cheeky seller image hotlink -


----------



## teddo10

Wel i do have on of those bags from the past and an old Eheim, lets see what we can put together, thx.


----------



## Exceliber

This is still my favorite tank. One day, I want to set one (though probably a 24x24x12 of these up in my office, but I just have to convince the mister it's a good idea. I can't believe the growth between July and August!


----------



## teddo10

I just ordered these bags, could you show a picture of how you fitted it on the eheim?


----------



## harsaphes

Really beautiful and an inspiration to all in the hobby.


----------



## Matsnork

Your tank is epic. Your documentation is epic. Thank you.


----------



## Axelrodi202

Love this tank, very inspirational. Did you ever get my pm with specific questions Tom?


----------



## BigTom

teddo10 said:


> I just ordered these bags, could you show a picture of how you fitted it on the eheim?


Sorry, I've been neglecting this thread. Hopefully you figured it out, but I just cut off the top 20% including the metal hoop, wrap them around the internal filter basket then apply plenty of brute force to reinsert the basket.

Thanks for the other comments, just time for a quick update - approaching full on jungle again, I wish everything would grow slower!










And a quick hand-held video, sorry for any sea sickness induced!

*http://vimeo.com/77880701*


----------



## Bserve

Whoa


----------



## WestHaven

Any updates? I would love to setup a tank like this one day.

Was this tank custom built?


----------



## kwheeler91

I haven't the slightest idea why I haven't seen this thread before, but this is friggin awesome! Thanks for the videos. They let me see how active the rosy loaches are. I want to do a cpd biotope with them as tankmates but was hesitant because the info about them that's out there makes it seem like they are inactive and loners, which they clearly are not. Keep up the updates man this thing is awesome. 

Can you make a quick list of the food sources you have introduced to the tank?


----------



## rozdaboff

kwheeler - I have a CPD/Rosy loach tank as well - and the loaches are anything but inactive/loners. Very active bottom to low mid fish. A ton of fun to watch. I think they will start being imported again soon, and I believe that Msjinkzd will be getting some soon.


----------



## kwheeler91

Thanks for the info. Why not try breeding them to get them circulating in the states? I would like to try it. It seems like they are a very attractive and active fish but not very popular and maybe that's due to unavailability.

Sorry for thread jacking tom


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## BigTom

So once again I;ve been neglecting this thread terribly. Sorry about that.

Not much going on really; the plants have taken over, the baby fish are all mostly grown now and everything just ticks over.

Quick video update -
*http://vimeo.com/84620540*


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## helgymatt

BigTom said:


>


 Is this a maidenhair fern? How do you have it planted?


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## BigTom

helgymatt said:


> Is this a maidenhair fern? How do you have it planted?


Yup it's a maidenhair. Just bare-rooted wedged in the hardscape at the water surface.


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## xiaxia

Still looking awesome !
Everything looks so naturally placed. Beautiful.


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## kl86

I'm amazed at these members ideas/aquascapes mindblowing.


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## ChadRamsey

Tom, I know I have told you before, but, I just love the dimensions of this tank.

And it looks absolutely magnificent! !!roud:


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## BigTom

Thanks chaps 

Got some bargain crypts arriving soon so might be making a few changes.


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## stephenpence

R&D,

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk


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## BigTom

Out with the ferns, in with a couple of hundred crypts -


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## aqua-botanicae

Awesome! Crypts look amazing once they fill in. Which species did you add? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BigTom

aqua-botanicae said:


> Awesome! Crypts look amazing once they fill in. Which species did you add?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah they're melting heavily at the mo, going to be a while before things look pretty again. But that's the joy of crypts I guess! 

Not sure which species they are to be honest, the guy selling them couldn't remember. Will try and get an ID when I have a minute.


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## AquariumBot3000

I love everything about this tank! Its amazing. Can't wait for the next update!


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## OVT

One day, when I figure out how to keep crypts alive, I will steal your idea ... again.

v3


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## aqua-botanicae

Any update? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BigTom

aqua-botanicae said:


> Any update?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Well the smaller crypts melted really heavily, so the transition between the open and planted spaces is a bit abrupt, but there's plenty of new growth starting to come through so it should start looking good again soon. Will get some photos up later this week.


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## Dylan3

Hey guys,

Never kept a planted tank before, but I have read with soil based substrates that the nutrients run out after a while, so do you guys just replace all of the substrate after a certain amount of time?


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## BigTom

Dylan3 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Never kept a planted tank before, but I have read with soil based substrates that the nutrients run out after a while, so do you guys just replace all of the substrate after a certain amount of time?


I don't bother. The soil should last for ages, after which a cheap all-in-one EI fert mix can be dosed in low amounts if the plants start to show any deficiencies. Soil has a pretty good CEC so it will re-capture excess ferts from the water column to an extent as well/


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## BigTom

Well after a month of melting hard, the crypts seem to be getting the hang of it 

Still a bit patchy in places but lots of new growth coming through.


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## AquaAurora

Where did you get your maiden hair fern? Lovely tank btw!!


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## BigTom

AquaAurora said:


> Where did you get your maiden hair fern? Lovely tank btw!!


Cheers. The fern was just from a generic garden center. It lived on a shelf in my room for years before I added it to the tank. They're pretty common in most garden centers over here in the UK.


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## aqua-botanicae

Already looking nice, Tom.


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## parrottbay

OVT said:


> One day, when I figure out how to keep crypts alive, I will steal your idea ... again.
> 
> v3


Are crypts that hard to keep alive?


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## billbug68

Just read through this entire thread and your results are stunning. Inspiring me to experiment with something new and head in a different direction.

So let me get this right... You don't dose any fertilizers... At all?


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## BigTom

billbug68 said:


> Just read through this entire thread and your results are stunning. Inspiring me to experiment with something new and head in a different direction.
> 
> So let me get this right... You don't dose any fertilizers... At all?


Thanks Bill. I do dose a very small amount if they plants start showing obvious deficiencies... But in 4 years I've gone through just 500ml of all in one liquid ferts (ei mix).


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## billbug68

Absolutely stunning, man. I was gonna say, everything shows such great color, no obvious deficiencies, no crazy algae... Again, great work.

One more question... The ferns you just removed, was all of that just narrow leaf java fern? I thought it had a great effect against the few crypts you already had in the tank. And the microsword mixed with the hairgrass! Gah, so good! I can't get over it! Haha


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## BigTom

Haha thanks again. The ferns were 90% java fern 'trident'. There's still some around the sides and back. It's a great plant, probably my favourite but it's been the dominant plant in the tank for several years so I fancied a change.


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## billbug68

Completely understandable after several years. I get sick of my tanks after 6 months...


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## aqua-botanicae

Photo updates, please!


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## Saxtonhill

Any updates?


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## BigTom

Sorry chaps, the Bucket is no more. Had a protracted house move earlier this year and gave everything away.

This was it on it's last morning -









And a few hours later -









The end 

I have a new tank up and running now in the new place (4x1x4'), kindly donated by a friend on the UKAPS forum. 










Journal over on UKAPS - http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/toms-poco-pozo.33301/


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## haytch

*where is the art ?*

Your photo's of your tanks journey made me smile  

Took me back to my art school days when we were debating "what is art "

To conclude we decided that the art was the process and that the photo's were a record of that process. So in fact neither the photo or the tank itself is the the art, but the journey itself is ART Well done . Your work is an inspiration. Thankyou for the posts.


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## AquaAurora

I'm sad to see the old aquarium gone but look forward to more updates (and more close up photos) of the new tank. Can you list riparium and aquatic plants for the new setup?


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## Raith

Hey Tom, I just found your thread. Your original pictures are no longer there.


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## etane

your tank was an inspiration


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## anfield

My favorite tank on this forum ever....


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## BigTom

Thanks very much for the kind comments guys.

As you can see I'm not monitoring this thread closely any more, but I have fixed the original photos which had gone missing in my main thread over on UKAPS if anyone wishes to see them - http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/toms-bucket-o-mud-the-end.14521/

I'm not really active on TPT these days so anyone interested in the new tank will also need to check out the UKAPS thread for that journal - http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/toms-poco-pozo.33301/

All the best, Tom


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## The Gipper

Thanks for an entertaining thread Tom, just read it front to back. One last question, in your final iteration of the tank what was the short carpet plant covering most of the perimeter surrounding the crypts


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## BigTom

The Gipper said:


> Thanks for an entertaining thread Tom, just read it front to back. One last question, in your final iteration of the tank what was the short carpet plant covering most of the perimeter surrounding the crypts


Predominantly_ Lilleaopsis brasiliensis_, but also had _Eleocharis acicularis, Glosso, Crypt parva, Micranthemum_ 'Monte Carlo' and something I can't remember the name of which was similar to _E. tennelus_ but wasn't.


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## Saxtonhill

Just saw that the fabulous tank is no more.  It was truly an inspiration. Tom, hope you start another one back up when you can!


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