# 11.4g Riparium



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow that looks great! Nice job planting that stuff.

How does the aluminum plant look? If you see very much wilting from it you can make a temporary cover for the tank with saran wrap while those cuttings grow new roots. Aluminum plant roots pretty fast.


----------



## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Looks really, really nice!! I think that if you can find a nice background plant to hide some of the planters, it will be a wonderful looking set up. Always nice to see a fellow ripariumist!

I would suggest some root tabs and some Hygrophila Kompact? It would get nice and full without getting ridiculously tall and would not require constant pruning, unlike it's brothers and sisters in the Hygro "family" of plants. If you are looking for some contrast, a few stems of an Alternanthera species would also look great, and would grow emmersed from the aquarium helping things blend in well.

Really, though you have a ton of potential options though, as you probably well know. For root tabs, I have to recommend Devin's line of GroSoil.


----------



## GreenBliss (Mar 7, 2012)

That is so pretty and so is your Betta. 

What is the pipe holding your lights?


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

I'd love to get that tank. Shipping is killer on it though and there's no place around me that sells stuff like that.


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nubster said:


> I'd love to get that tank. Shipping is killer on it though and there's no place around me that sells stuff like that.


Where did you shop for it? I got that same tank from MarineDepot.com and the shipping wasn't too bad.


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Same place. Tank was $63 and shipping $29. I mean I guess that's not terrible for shipping, but not what I'd like to pay. Especially since I only paid $5 shipping for my 12" Mr. Aqua cube...lol


----------



## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

AWESOME TANK!!!

Can't wait to see it grow in!!! I have never thought of doing a smaller riparium like this. I really like what I see! After I rescape the Living Room I might have a empty corner to put something just like this!!!

Subscribed!
Drew


----------



## umdterps96 (Oct 21, 2010)

I have the same tank I'm probably going to convert to a riparium. Luckily I picked it up for about $65 shipped around Christmas time


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Disregard my last post...duh...I was looking at the 17.4g tank. Yeah, I'm an idiot. The tank that the OP has is MUCH better priced...lol

Sorry to derail. Looking forward to this because I'd love to do something similar.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

hydrophyte said:


> Wow that looks great! Nice job planting that stuff.
> 
> How does the aluminum plant look? If you see very much wilting from it you can make a temporary cover for the tank with saran wrap while those cuttings grow new roots. Aluminum plant roots pretty fast.


Thanks, and thanks for everything else too! That was a ton of plants.

The aluminum is a little wilted but not too bad. I'll try the saran wrap though, I hadn't thought of that. 



crazydaz said:


> Looks really, really nice!! I think that if you can find a nice background plant to hide some of the planters, it will be a wonderful looking set up. Always nice to see a fellow ripariumist!
> 
> I would suggest some root tabs and some Hygrophila Kompact? It would get nice and full without getting ridiculously tall and would not require constant pruning, unlike it's brothers and sisters in the Hygro "family" of plants. If you are looking for some contrast, a few stems of an Alternanthera species would also look great, and would grow emmersed from the aquarium helping things blend in well.
> 
> Really, though you have a ton of potential options though, as you probably well know. For root tabs, I have to recommend Devin's line of GroSoil.


Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have some hygro kompact, but it always gets little pinholes and loses its lower leaves. I don't know if it's some kind of deficiency or not enough light or what. I'll try it again though and see if the combination of root tabs and the dry fertilizers I just got helps. Devin sent me some of his root tabs for the potted plants, but for in the tank I have some osmocote and root medic ones I want to use up before I get any more.



GreenBliss said:


> That is so pretty and so is your Betta.
> 
> What is the pipe holding your lights?


Thank you. The pipe is electrical conduit. I got two straight pieces and four 90 degree bends with connectors to make the shape. I've seen people make the same kind of thing with one piece and a pipe bender, but I took the easy way out. Haha.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

Oh wow, a bunch of people posted while I was writing the last post. That's what I get for watching tv and posting at the same time.

Anyway, thanks everyone.

Nubster, I think I paid around $60 for the tank locally, so marine depots price with shipping isn't bad at all. Check out this one too: http://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=52&products_id=233 If I had seen this before I got mine, I probably would have gotten it instead.


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Yeah, those CADLight tanks look nice. I just ordered the Mr. Aqua though. I'm happy with my 12" cube so I'm sure this one will do well too. This will be dedicated to my Blue Diamond shrimp.


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice job also with that light bar! I'm sure the plants will enjoy the light from those CFL lamps, but the whole deal will look more sleek if you do upgrade to a strip light later on. It would probably look nice with a couple of PAR38 LEDs, too. 

Those _Ruellia_ 'Katie' will spread out some more with this nice foutnain-shaped foliage...










The _Phalaris_ 'Strawberries & Cream ribbon grass will fill in more, too. This plant grows really fast when it's happy.


----------



## CryptKeeper54 (Apr 14, 2012)

Great setup. I'm diggin the size and scape of this riparium you got going. I got to try something like this soon.


----------



## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

very nice!


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

How are those plants doing after one day? Have they started to perk up?


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

CryptKeeper54 said:


> Great setup. I'm diggin the size and scape of this riparium you got going. I got to try something like this soon.


Thanks, and you definitely should. You've got quite the collection of tanks too. You could do a tiny one in that schuber wright tank you have!



h4n said:


> very nice!


Thanks Han!



hydrophyte said:


> How are those plants doing after one day? Have they started to perk up?


I can't wait until mine fills in like yours. The foliage on the Ruellia is very pretty, I love the deep green. And yes, the plants are definitely looking better. The milkweed is turning towards the light instead of drooping like it was in the initial photo. I ended up misting the aluminum plant and draping Saran Wrap over it which really seemed to help. I'll take another picture in a day or two to show the difference.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

Nothing but good news today. Plants are doing great, there are even some buds on the milkweed. The aluminum plant is doing well, roots are already about 1/2" long and it's much less wilted. I had the saran wrap over it for a few days, but took it off yesterday. A few of the leaves are still a little droopy without it, but not bad. Haven't messed with the underwater part yet so I didn't bother with a fts, but here is a shot from the top:









And the buds:









There's another one where you could actually see the orange flowers already, but it was too close to the light to get a picture. I need to raise them up a bit since the plants are already as tall as them.


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Those plants have perked up really nice.


----------



## FisheriesOmen (Jan 14, 2012)

Makes me excited to get my plants!


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

What a difference a few days can make. The riparium plants have really taken off since I posted last.










I'm really amazed, especially when compared with how it looked only ten days ago. Here's a fts showing some of the changes I made this weekend:










I switched out the sponge filter for a canister because the bubbling noise drives me crazy. I just have the stock eheim pipes on there now, but the plants hide them pretty well. I might ask for a set of Do! Aqua poppy pipes for my birthday though. I added a bit of a slope to the sand so it's not quite as deep in the front. Moved the rocks forward a bit and took out the wood. Added some ludwigia in the back which will hopefully get nice and full after a few trimmings and then get some emergent growth. I almost used hygro kompact like crazydaz suggested, but after seeing all the pinholes in the lower leaves I stuck it in a hob on another tank instead. Maybe I'll have better luck with it in there. Last thing (I think) was to change out the brooder lamps for a Ray 2. I stole it from my 18" cube which is currently just being used as a grow out tank and stuck a brooder on there instead.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

Sorry guys, I don't know why the fts is sideways. Or at least it is for me. It's the correct orientation in my photobucket. I'm also seeing an old version of my signature instead of my current one. Is TPT having issues? Or my browser? I tried a hard refresh and nothing...


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

Another week or so gone, and a ton more growth.





The ludwigia in the tank had almost reached the water level, but I trimmed it this morning and replanted the tops to make it fill in some more around the big rock.

I think I'm going to trim the milkweed back pretty short since right now it's just two individual stems. They've also lost a lot of their lower leaves. Is this from lack of light? Should I upgrade to a T5HO or two? I thought the Ray 2 would be plenty, but maybe not. The Ruellia looks healthy enough, but hasn't done a lot. Maybe lighting related as well?

Mr. Fish likes his tank. He had a huge bubble nest in there the other day underneath one of the aluminum plant leaves. He killed all his snails though. Luckily it looks like they weren't really needed since I switched to RO. No diatoms so far. Keeping my fingers crossed.


----------



## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

loving this tank!


----------



## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Yes, ^+1. This tank has become very nice in a hurry! Don't worry much about the Ruellia; it's a slow grower for me too, but it's a nice plant. Keep the milkweed trimmed as it will shade itself out and the lower leaves can fall off. 

Brilliant job! It's very peaceful, almost reminds me of a creek side scene. Thanks for sharing this!


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

lamiskool said:


> loving this tank!


Thanks! I do too. I'm really happy with how it's going so far.



crazydaz said:


> Yes, ^+1. This tank has become very nice in a hurry! Don't worry much about the Ruellia; it's a slow grower for me too, but it's a nice plant. Keep the milkweed trimmed as it will shade itself out and the lower leaves can fall off.
> 
> Brilliant job! It's very peaceful, almost reminds me of a creek side scene. Thanks for sharing this!


Thank you! Thanks for the tip on the milkweed, I'll give it a trim tomorrow.


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That's looking great! Nice work growing those plants. 

You can cut that Mexican milkweed back a lot. If you leave just a few leaf nodes above the roots it will sprout again and grow back more bushy. The cuttings are easy to root if you just suspend the cut end in water.

It looks like the _Phalaris_ ribbon grass is also starting out good. As that plant starts to grow new leaves you can start cutting out some of the messy foliage that it has now. The new leaves will have a more organized and tidy appearance.


----------



## jczz1232 (May 8, 2008)

Looking great! I would like to do something like this but I can't my fish are too jumpy. One time, one even jump out the tank during feeding time but he lived.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

Thanks Devin! I cut the milkweed back this morning. There were four stems, two really tall ones that I cut down pretty low and two shorter ones that I left alone for now. What's the best way to trim the ribbon grass? Do I trim it back and let it regrow or just trim individual leaves?



jczz1232 said:


> Looking great! I would like to do something like this but I can my fish are too jumpy. One time, one even jump out the tank during feeding time but he lived.


Mine is really jumpy too, but the lowered waterline has kept him in. That or he just likes the tank. He jumped out once at feeding time in a different tank and my husband has refused to feed him since. He thought for sure he killed my fish.


----------



## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

This looks great! Nice work! I sure it's only gonna get better!


----------



## nightshadebel (May 3, 2012)

it's a beautiful tank!


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

I got some driftwood from plantbrain for this tank and was messing around with the pieces today (I got one of his boxes o' wood rather than a single piece). I came up with something pretty cool I think, but now I don't know to use it in my riparium or in my shiny new 60-f.


----------



## Pablom (Apr 11, 2013)

Very nice tank!


----------



## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Gorgeous! 

You should take about a billion different photos of the wood at different angles and in different positions. I'm betting the forum will be able to help you figure things out. And we'll all get some eye candy of that great tank while helping.



rocksmom said:


> I got some driftwood from plantbrain for this tank and was messing around with the pieces today (I got one of his boxes o' wood rather than a single piece). I came up with something pretty cool I think, but now I don't know to use it in my riparium or in my shiny new 60-f.


----------



## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

o..O


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

somewhatshocked said:


> Gorgeous!
> 
> You should take about a billion different photos of the wood at different angles and in different positions. I'm betting the forum will be able to help you figure things out. And we'll all get some eye candy of that great tank while helping.


Thanks! I'll get a few more this afternoon. That 60-f is driving me crazy, so many ways to go including a pico reef which is initially why I bought it.



Pablom said:


> Very nice tank!


Thank you 



OVT said:


> o..O


Is that a good face or a bad face? I don't come into your threads making funny faces at you :icon_bigg


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That stump would look really cool with a few small _Tillandsia_ on it.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

Here are a couple more pics of the 60-f with the wood in it:





And one of what it would look like in the riparium (excuse the giant mass of floating plants):



I think it would look really nice in the 11.4. I actually used a cardboard replica of the tank when I was piecing the wood together so it fits really well in there. The plan was to move the riparium plants more in the corner around the wood which would open the tank up a bit for some submerged plants like my rotala mini butterfly which currently doesn't have a home. When I finished it though and tried it in the 60-f it reminded me of a (much less epic) version of akpoly's Sleepy Hollow tank, which is one of my favorites.

If I use this wood in the 11.4 I have a few options for the 60-f. 

Use the riparium set I just ordered from Devin in it instead of the tank I ordered it for (a 30cm cube) and make a mini version of all the cool bog/pond tanks. 
Pico reef. Mostly a zoa garden with some sexy shrimp and maybe a pygmy angel. Just not sure about filtration because I don't want to drill it.
A mini moss scape and move my CRS into it eventually.

Decisions, decisions. And not to be offensive or anything, but this post just screams #whitepeopleproblems


----------



## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Why not turn the wood 180 degrees, then lower it 90 degrees. 

A part will still stick out of the water in a neat way, but you'll get that really unique part in the water. 

Keep us posted. Oh.. Nice wood;D lol.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

Not sure I'm getting the 180 degrees part. That would mean the backside would be facing the front and up near the glass? Unless I'm misunderstanding you.


----------



## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Yep. So the leg that is touching the substrate and extending would be (theoretically) through the glass on the left, as you rotated it 180 degrees. 

You'll obviously have to lift it for the rotation, then drop it straight down for the 90 degree drop. 


That way, the part that would be on the substrate is in the air, the neat part is touching the substrate.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

The backside is very flat though, and there are actually a couple cable ties holding it together. It might work just lying down, like 90* clockwise. I actually have to run out now, but I'll mess around with it some more tonight. Thanks for the suggestion!


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

I ended up using the wood *almost* as pictured. I tried laying it down in the 60-f and it looked nice, but I'm putting that tank on hold for awhile and wanted to get the riparium going. 

I can't seem to get a good FTS though. The underwater part looks really dark and the reflection on the glass is so bad that you can see me better than the tank. I tried in the dark with just the tank light on and during the day as well. Any tips?

I've still got some more planting to do in the tank. For now there are some vals, marsilea minuta, and some really pathetic looking rotala mini butterfly.

My husband got me a used T5HO from someone on his reef board last week, and so far the riparium plants seem to like it. It's a lot brighter than the Ray2 I had on there, probably since it was only a 16" fixture and this one is 24". It came with one white and one pink bulb. I wasn't sure I'd like the pink bulb, but the mix looks nice.

I'll add some pics as soon as I can get some decent ones.


----------



## Erica (Dec 16, 2010)

Any updates? I've been using this thread as inspiration for my riparium and would love to see how it's coming along. I'm also having the same reflection issues with mine so was wondering if you've found a fix for it.


----------



## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

rocksmom said:


> I can't seem to get a good FTS though. The underwater part looks really dark and the reflection on the glass is so bad that you can see me better than the tank. I tried in the dark with just the tank light on and during the day as well. Any tips?
> 
> 
> I'll add some pics as soon as I can get some decent ones.


I have this same problem with photos of my riparium tank. I find its easier to do at night when things are dark. Although even that kinda sucks sometimes. I've got light colored tile in that room so often I end up with a great picture of the floor! ;p 

So any recent pictures of this tank?


----------



## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Erica said:


> Any updates? I've been using this thread as inspiration for my riparium and would love to see how it's coming along. I'm also having the same reflection issues with mine so was wondering if you've found a fix for it.


Do you a have tank journal? I always like checking out other ripariums!


----------



## Erica (Dec 16, 2010)

No, I dont have a tank journal. It's my 6.6 bookshelf tank that I turned into a riparium, but I havent taken any photos of it yet.


----------



## rocksmom (Mar 6, 2012)

Sorry guys, but no. No update. I never was able to get a good picture either. Right now I just have a bunch of stems in there as kind of a holding tank.


----------

