[winstonamc]

*so my grand 90g protean tank just came in and I am diving into the build I've been planning for some time now. hopefully it will be a fusion of a couple distinct techniques on here.

So it's 2x2x3' and willl house 4 A. pepperi. I'm hoping to pull of a deteriorating soft stone waterfall on the right side, *overlooking a large water feature and have exposed *roots and limbs on the left side and in the center.

My computer just *died so I'll rrelegated to my wife's ipad, so I appologize if some of the pictures are upsidedown for the time being, untilI I get in front of a rea computer.

I'd love to get some feedback as i'm on spring break for the week and in a position to put some serious hours into it. Any thoughts on the rock work?my hot knife broke 20 minutes into it so *im using kitchen cutlery...

 

[winstonamc]

ps, the last shot is after some highlights, that will be jutting 1/4" below the water line

 

[winstonamc]

Here's the wood I'm working with, and my assistant trying to make off wt the rope. The fake wood piece may not end up making it in there though

 

[winstonamc]

Quick update, got most of the pieces of the Rockwell cut up and a good portion painted. Also put a bunch of the wood up. It's hard to tell but the woods also on the left side pane. Again, sorry for the angle of these. Any thoughts or layout recommendations before I do anything else irrevocable?
Here's a front shot and a shot from the right side

 

[winstonamc]

Update. Bit of a slow day, had to take the kitten to get spayed and last can of great stuff was a dud. You can't really see from the pic, but it's shaping up to having some nice vertical depth. Definitely tried to make up for the water feature wt frog friendly vertical space

A bit hard to tell what's going on wt the cell pic

 

[winstonamc]

Today's update so far. Just starting to silicone the gs and waiting for some of it to
Cure.
No thoughts from anyone? Should I pull the back wall al the way down to the substrate line or does it look cool with some of the exposed glass on the back?

 

[winstonamc]

Thanks field, I ended up leaving it partly open in the back simply because any input from my wife on the viv world is judiciously taken

Just did the first round of planting, still have one order coming in from hydrophyte anyone from Bonnie next week to finish up the flora, at least until I can afford some nice orchids"

The water level isn't up yet as I had a small leak thats p,urged and curing right now. But, here is yet another crappy picture

 

[winstonamc]

Hey max, thanks for the reply. I was a little leery about the polyStyrene, but it does have three coats of drylok on it, so here's yo hoping it's okay.

Also, the design, though not clear from the pic is set up for Tito be viewed at an angle, so once I get my computer back , hopefully I can get a better pic representing how it actually looks

 

[winstonamc]

Slightly better pic, still working out the plumbing

 

[winstonamc]

Video:

viv.mp4 video by Winstonamc - Photobucket

 

[winstonamc]

little update with better pics.
Got a plant order in (one more on the way) and set up my mistking kit.

water feature with lilaeopsis mauritiana, various anubias and a few bits of stuff

rock wall with anubias hastifolia, anubias bartleri, rhaphidophora hayi, java fern, and bits of moss

full tank shot

floor shot

the shinglers et al

top of the viv (supposed to be something like the top of an eroding river bank)

More pics to come once I get the rest of the plants and things start to grow in

 

[winstonamc]

@Steven, that plant in the back is actually a combo of philodendron wend imbe and a pair of really cool red mini philos I got at recycled eden
also moved some of the anubias to the bank like you suggested
Plus, more aquatic/marginals coming!

 

[winstonamc]

and, if you're interested in those little mini red philodendrons, ask him if he has both varieties, turns out he has 2 and the really small one throws some really cool bronze leaves while the other one has a nice contrast; I love how they all look wt the wend imbe since they all have the same leave shape and swollen petiole of the wend imbe

 

[winstonamc]

thanks for the compliment, yea I spent about 2 years planning this one tank and after reading some of eds posts about maximizing gallonage I came up wt this. The space below the false bottom is also effectively a refugia for aquatic inhabitants (got some low-grade blue rili shrimp coming in this week) which is sort of applying a similar idea

 

[winstonamc]

Hey, yea the anubias are african. The plants aren't Peruvian, just the frogs going in there I got the hastifolia at aquariumplants.com. They have the biggest variety of Anubias I've seen on one site and I think they just got a big order of anubias in.
Hastifolia gets pretty big eventually but like you said, these guys don't grow quickly.

 

[winstonamc]

shrimp are in now. Funny thing is they seem to really like the sub-substrate refugium so there's never more than a handful out in the open

 

[winstonamc]

yea, guess I just have to wait and hope the shrimp multiply

Got an awesome plant order in from Hydrophyte and will post pics once things get settled.

Just now added the one adult of the four and five minutes later he was already at the top of the tank.

Super happy at the prospect that they'll enjoy the whole space.

 

[winstonamc]

So the fish are all in. Probably won't be adding much more.
I ended up with
3 Corydorus habrosus
1 hara jerdoni
1 otocinclus
4 Rasbora dorsiocellata
and a pair of dario dario

It's 24"24"6" so roughly 15g with a lot in the way of hides
Everyone seems to be happy

But, an important question for the plant experts in the hobby regarding begonia pavonina:

I managed to bring my Begonia pavonina back to life with a nub of a rhizome and one rooted leaf cutting which now has a beautiful iridescent emerald leaf.
The rhizome I put up top on some LFS next to a begonia bowerae that is coming back to life from the initial shock. But, I'm worried due to the mixed suggestions I've heard w/r/t light that the rhizome up there might not make it in the long run (though it seems to be doing fine and I've noticed that fresh begonia leaves are far far better at adapting to new conditions than regular plants)

So, anyone who has experience i would really appreciate some advice on placement for my leaf cutting. I really want to put it in the very bottom back area among the roots where it is shadier. That place gets the least mist from the system and if anywhere gets dry in the viv it's back there. Should I risk it, should i put it somewhere else?

Thanks in advance

 

[winstonamc]

thanks for the compliments!

Yea, I thought it was hilarious watching the hasbrosus following the oto around. I need to get a few more of them and another oto, but the ratio of paludarium $ to my wife's extra spendings is a wee bit skewed at the moment
I know the darios might take a few but hopefully the lilaeopsis will take off and create a little aquatic field for shrimplets to hide in

 

[winstonamc]

fish are doing alright, mostly hiding under the false bottom, but starting to get more used to things. I think I actually need to get a few more of the schoolers to get them more comfortable and am beginning to be in dire need of an assassin snail to take care of all these damned snails

Here are some update pics, again, not the best at taking pics wt the camera I have

wt flash:

w/o flash:

FTS from a distance:

water area (new plants still growing in):

eroding rock face:

bottom of the tank / along the stream:

up top 1:

up top 2:

side-shot:

And the king of the land:

While one of them has claimed a home in a heart fern up top, they're still pretty shy for the most part and hide in the philodendrons mostly. I think I need a low-light plant or two in the back area near the coco-hut, so they can all feel a little safer cause if they are out in the open it's cause they've staked out a vertical niche somewhere rather than traipsing about on the bottom