pictures 1

i don't often post pictures but i think its about time :)

Yeah bet most of u didnt know my hobby is underwater landscaping - aquascaping.

so it began like this, half filled with a few hardy plants that i know would most definately survive most water conditions. There are 4 Different terracings but i ran short of a little sand say around 5kgs? Darn lol but nevermind i still can create a sense of elevation by planting plants of different heights, over 66kgs or silica sand went in, a layer of nutrients where liquid fertiliser would also be poured in, insertion of the CO2 diffuser, filter installation. The back is made out of styrofoam.


So this was the aquarium in its 2nd week and as you can see its brimming with much more life and you would also notice the increased number of plants. i know its unconventional to buy fishes before you actually let the tank settle and allow the plants to root. but u know, i couldnt stand it so i got a few tiny fishes lol. And i said TINY so that they will not disrupt plant growth.
i had to reduce the temperature as most plants live in a temperature range of 25-29 degrees celcius. i did not want to buy a chiller as would cost a bomb of $350!!!! ouch. Besides the high price tag it would also generate a lot of heat in order to cool the water of the aquarium down to 25 degrees. Wouldnt like my house to become an oven would i. So instead i got fans which cooled the water from 31 degrees to 27 degrees, not bad not bad only dowside would be that the water evaporates quite fast - 7 buckets of water a week and it might be noisy but it doesnt really bother me, its tolerable. Some plants like the one you see at the bottom left hand side is growing with much zeal but under it that particular plant(the carpet moss at e bottom) is rotting lol. It needs a temperature of 26.5 degrees celcius but i only manage to get to a low of 27.... argh darn.
With some plants out growing each other i decided to rearrange the tank and get rid of some unwanted plants that would eventually die anyway because they would not be able to survive the climatic conditions that are avaliable in the aquarium.






Hatchet Fish :] strange looking fella.








So im now into the third week of setting up my aquarium and this is my final product, or at least one that im really satisfied in. The plants have yet to establish themselves but all in all the PH levels are correct, nitrate levels are correct, temperature is, phosphourous levels are correct, no algae breakouts. Looking good.... yeah i know its not as aestatically pleasing as the professionals but i say its a darn good try for a beginner lol...

Oh and theres a hidden meaning behind my arragement. Take a look at the rock covered moss on the bottom right hand corner, if you place your faith on God's Solid rock of Love you would eventually reach heaven with is represented by the highest level of terracing in the far behind left hand corner of the tank. The bogwood which spans all levels of the terracing represents our life which is winding which goes up and down, which more or less explains the good and bad times that we have. So even at our lowest and a time that we are most down (which is at the bottom of the sword plants) we must look to God for our strength :'] The pot is a symbol that God is our refuge and that we should seek comfort in knowing that he is always with us along our journey in life, thats why its placed next to the bogwood yeah. The tiles going under the bogwood show a pathway and it represents our holy walk with God which must be kept clean like the white marble shown, it also represents the reminders that God has given to us to remind us that we are still on a journey to heaven hehehe.... pretty cool eh?






Middle section of the aquarium where it is the centre of focus as the sword plants are used as specimen plants which are then contrasted by fluffy foilage behind.






Side view (left) plants include : Vallisneria americans 'mini twister' yeah that grass like plant that twists. Vallisneria americans (natans), the cousins of the plant stated above they are locate towards the left of this picture. you can also see the cabomba caroliniana in the left background, the fluffy looking ones with yellow stems.




I do hope you like all the effort i put into it and thank you that you spent time to read through, its truly my passion hehe ;]