# 120G Mexico River Biotope



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

last i was moving some stuff around in the 120G Mexico river biotope riparium.

here's a shot down into display from the top.










this one has a lot of _Cyperus_ in the background and semi-woody plants such as _Ludwigia peruensis_ in the midground. the _Ludwigia_ have flowered with many nice blooms. so have the _Wedelia trilobata_ (the pointy lobe-leafed plant on the left side).










i added a new plant, a _Xanthosoma_ 'Lime Zinger'. this plant will look really good for a while, but it might eventually grow too large for this enclosure. it has such pretty green satiny leaves.










i pulled the next plant out to make room for the _Xanthosoma_ taro. this is a _Cyperus_ 'Baby Tut' planted in a Small Hanging Planter.










look at the roots on that thing! you really can't go wrong with _Cyperus_--they are such vigorous growers. i wish, however, that i could find more shorter-statured selections. this one grows like mad with only moderate light and basic care, but it gets too tall--almost 30 inches in height.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

here is what the whole display looks like.










this isn't the greatest picture i know, and it's from a couple of months ago. the plants have since grown in quite a bit. i hope to take some time and get a good picture soon.


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## Veneer (Jun 12, 2005)

I find your riparium approach very refreshing. Did you have a specific locality in mind as you were working on this tank?


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## fishlover (Jan 2, 2007)

Very nice and cool.
Now for questions:
-What fauna do you have in there? I'd love to see some livebearers in there, wild swordtails would look great, also some small central american cichlids like Firemouths.
-Are all your plants from Mexico?
-Don't the overhanging planters appear? How do you conceal them and if you don't, how does it look aesthetically speaking?
Anyways, the tank looks amazing!!! nice, new, easier than the palu from what I understand, and the water must always be nitrate-free. Seems like a perfect setup!!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

fishlover said:


> Very nice and cool.
> Now for questions:
> -What fauna do you have in there? I'd love to see some livebearers in there, wild swordtails would look great, also some small central american cichlids like Firemouths.


there are fish in there. i stocked it with poecilids and goodeids that i collected in the Rio Purificacion in Mexico. they were still rather small when i shot this picture and the tank is so deep front to back (24") that very often many of the fish are way in the background.

here is the stocklist:


_Poeciliopsis turneri_
_Poecilia chica_
_Xenotaenia resolanae_



> -Are all your plants from Mexico?


i did my best to use plants that were representative of things that i saw down in Mexico (e.g., _Wedelia trilobata_, _Bacopa monnieri_). in some cases i used plants that were different species, but in the same genera as things that i observed along the river there (e.g., _Ludwigia peruensis_). there are a couple of plants that i included simply because they looked nice in combination with the other species (e.g., _Eleocharis montevidensis_)


> -Don't the overhanging planters appear? How do you conceal them and if you don't, how does it look aesthetically speaking?


there are several tricks that one can use to hide the the Hanging Planters and Trellis Rafts from view. in general, they become obscured by leaves, stems and roots as the plants grow. if you look hard you usually can see some of the hanging planters, but you almost have to have your head inside of the tank.

i have a blog post (still in draft form) that describes some of this.

http://hydrophytesblog.com/?p=275

please stop by and leave a question or comment if you have a moment.


> Anyways, the tank looks amazing!!! nice, new, easier than the palu from what I understand, and the water must always be nitrate-free. Seems like a perfect setup!!


thanks!  i think that this method/concept really is easier to set up and keep than most paludarium designs. one of the most compelling aspects of it is that it provides a pretty simple way to keep _many_ kinds of plants that haven't really been used in aquarium displays before.

hydrophyte


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## fishlover (Jan 2, 2007)

Cool, You have some really nice wild fish in there (I'm a fan of wild livebearers) and it's great that you actually went to the place you are recreating, I'm sure it makes it more realistic. So, no submerged vegetation in that biotope? 
I visited your blog, it's really cool as well.
I'm already awaiting your next creation LOL. Since you have a central and south american biotope, how about an African river tank or an indonesian tank?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks very much. i have a Web journal too for one of my trips down there.

A la Pesca










i have a start on another project that will have a loose Southeast Asia theme, although it will also use some plants and fish from Sri Lanka. i am planting it with emersed crypts and i started a journal over in the Aquascaping forum.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/61708-55g-crypt-riparium.html


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## fade2black (Apr 19, 2009)

Very cool. You just added one more thing to my list of "I need to set one of those up".


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

fade2black said:


> Very cool. You just added one more thing to my list of "I need to set one of those up".


thanks very much. let me know if you are looking for any setup details. i hope to add some updates soon.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I was over servicing this tank the other day and I got a few shots. Here is a view down inside made with five photos stitched together.










I haven't been able to tend this tank more than once a week for a while, so the underwater portion is rather dingy. However, the emergent plant growth is looking good. Note the big _Xanthosoma_ taro at right.


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## macclellan (Feb 28, 2007)

Very nice! Inspiring even, and I don't say that often or lightly.

One gripe though: I think a better translation of "Gone Fishing" is "A Pescar." Many uses of the gerund in English like this are the infinitive in Spanish.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks very much.

well, when i lived in Costa Rica my campesino friends, who might not have spoken perfect Castillian, but had their own legitimate version of Spanish, said "a la pesca". this phrase sounded just like "gone fishin'" to me.

i have never really improved my ****** Spanish very much in all the time that i have lived down there.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I can never resist taking a few shots when I get a new _Zephyranthes macrosiphon_ bloom.










I have a couple of these in this 120. They do really well in riaprium conditions and are prolific bloomers--one of my favorite plants.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Awesome! I have a ten gallon rimless. what plants will stay small enough for a ten gallon with a current 40watt PC light?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

MARIMOBALL said:


> Awesome! I have a ten gallon rimless. what plants will stay small enough for a ten gallon with a current 40watt PC light?


Do you mean for a riparium? I think that it would be difficult to plant one of these in a 10 gallon. It is difficult to hide the hanging and floating planter hardware in such a small space. Many of the best plants are also too big and coarse for a small tank. The smallest size tank that I have used with success is a 20 Tall.

Here is a shot of a scape that I recently put together in a 20 Tall.










I bet you could find a cool way to grow plants emersed in your 10 gallon. There are many possibilities. Growing emersed crypts for flowering is becoming so popular, but most people use little flower pots and no attempt at an actual composition. You could plant a few tall crypts in one corner, with a slope down to a little pool of water, or something like that. You might even have enough space for one or two very small fish or a few shrimp.


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## nemenem (Feb 8, 2007)

Hydrophyte, your Ripariums are always stunning, almost to the point I want to ditch the whole submersed thing!

If you want me to stitch those photos together on the previous page so they match up perfectly let me know. I will use a program to do it.


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## Darksome (Feb 15, 2009)

Wow, impressive set up...it's really neat that you are exposing ripariums there's barely anything out there about them.

BTW, both you and macclellan have it right...it could be said both ways. In fact there are many variations or _ir de pesca_. I know because _spanish_ is my first language.


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## Navarro (Feb 12, 2004)

I really enjoy your article as well as your project thee are 3 more states that you can find much more species of everything and the conditions are more pristine.
The states of Tabasco, Morelos and Chiapas are places you may want to concider for the future and if you need a interpreter le t me know!
Cheers,
Luis


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

nemenem said:


> Hydrophyte, your Ripariums are always stunning, almost to the point I want to ditch the whole submersed thing!
> 
> If you want me to stitch those photos together on the previous page so they match up perfectly let me know. I will use a program to do it.


thank you. that would be interesting to stitch together tank pictures with that kind of software--ibet it would give a very different look. i did that one real quick for something of an artistic effect--or an experiment anyway. i understood that for pictures like that to merge correctly you have to use a special kind of tripod that pans the camera right around the focal point. is that right? i don't know that those pictures i took could really be put together in a seamless way because i just handheld the camera(?).



Darksome said:


> Wow, impressive set up...it's really neat that you are exposing ripariums there's barely anything out there about them.
> 
> BTW, both you and macclellan have it right...it could be said both ways. In fact there are many variations or _ir de pesca_. I know because _spanish_ is my first language.


thank you. i have a lot of fun planting these ripariums. there are a lot of plant species that grow well in these that haven't really been kept in aquariums before. yep, just like English and most other languages there are often many ways to say the same thing.



Navarro said:


> I really enjoy your article as well as your project thee are 3 more states that you can find much more species of everything and the conditions are more pristine.
> The states of Tabasco, Morelos and Chiapas are places you may want to concider for the future and if you need a interpreter le t me know!
> Cheers,
> Luis


thanks very much. actually that area of Jalisco is quite pristine. there isn't much nature left in the area around Guadalajara, but that place is toward the coast and there are very nice forests and rivers and so on. here is a nice view of a stream where i have done some collecting.


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## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

Nice! 

-Orlando


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I observed a lot of great fish down there too. Here is an _Allodonticthys zonistius_ that I caught in that same spot shown above.










I also did my best to note observations on aquatic plants growing in and near the river. Here is _Heteranthera reniformis_


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I discovered yet another new bloom while over servicing this tank today, _Zephyranthes candida_.










This plant is a good grower and it seems happy under T5's, but the other rain lily that I have _Z. macrosiphon_, is a more prolific bloomer. This is only the third flower that I have seen form this species in my tanks. I gave all of my rain lily bulbs a dormancy of several months this winter by removing them from displays and storing on the cool basement floor. This treatment helps to encourage blooming. I hope to see more from this one.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Beautiful tanks. You've really done an amazing job with them. And the flowering is a great payoff


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks very much. you have some really great stuff in your recent posts.

those rain lilies are the easiest of the showy-flowered things that i have, though i am always pleased whenever i see something with new flowers.


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## Texex94 (Jul 29, 2004)

I'm really loving this concept and am getting the itch to convert one of my tanks to this type of setup.

I currently have a 28G bowfront that's a fully submersed setup. It is only moderately lighted and given the height, it's clear that the setup needs more light. I get excellent growth with the stems, but they tend to be leggy and the foreground plant doesn't really grow across the substrate, but reaches for light instead. Since I have some Vallianti gouramis in this tank, the riparium concept would be perfect! Hmmm......

Awesome tank! Thanks so much for sharing!

Texex94


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## saintly (Mar 22, 2009)

I have to say, you take some wonderful photographs.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Texex94 said:


> I'm really loving this concept and am getting the itch to convert one of my tanks to this type of setup.
> 
> I currently have a 28G bowfront that's a fully submersed setup. It is only moderately lighted and given the height, it's clear that the setup needs more light. I get excellent growth with the stems, but they tend to be leggy and the foreground plant doesn't really grow across the substrate, but reaches for light instead. Since I have some Vallianti gouramis in this tank, the riparium concept would be perfect! Hmmm......
> 
> ...


I bet you could put together something pretty cool in there. You might not necessarily need to upgrade lighting. A low light tank could have the advantage of being more low maintenance. A really great plant for a low to moderate light riparium display would be several of various peace lilies (_Spathiphyllum_ sp.). Here is a shot of one that I just put together in a 20 high. It has a coupld of peace lilies in the background and a few other easy plants.










I have a thread about that one right here...

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/62790-20-tall-riparium.html

I have extras of a lot of this stuff and could send you some plants if you like.


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## Texex94 (Jul 29, 2004)

One question, do you inject CO2 into the bottom portion of the tank for the plants? Also, is the outflow of the filter in the water, or do you allow it to flow off of the plants into the lower portion?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Texex94 said:


> One question, do you inject CO2 into the bottom portion of the tank for the plants? Also, is the outflow of the filter in the water, or do you allow it to flow off of the plants into the lower portion?


With the idea of making the setups of lower maintenance, I have not applied CO2 injection for the underwater plants in any of these riparium tanks, opting instead to use low-tech plants that can get along without it. The emersed plants of course use the carbon dioxide in the air and do not require any extra. I really want to work on making the underwater areas look nicer. I do mean to look into acquiring more low-tech plants and planting them with some more care. I might also try injecting CO2 for more demanding plants. I have always thought that _Blyxa_ would look good in that underwater foreground area.

I always install filtration so that the filter return is at or below the water line. THis is challengin because these tanks have shallow water that is some distance away from the aquarium rim. The following are the three different configurations that I have used, starting with the easiest:


submersible power filter
canister filater with intake and return pipes fitted with extensions
intake and returns plumebed through floor of tank with bulkheads


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## Texex94 (Jul 29, 2004)

AHHHH!!! I had to do it. Made the jump and got one of the kits. I love the look of these tanks and this type of tank would be perfect in my kitchen!


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## Navarro (Feb 12, 2004)

You go Bailin! What is one more tank anyway! Just buy her a nice pair of shoes first! LOL
Cheers,
Luis


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

If I had to buy a new pair of shoes footwear for her for every tank that I brought into the house we would need to remodel another closet just to hold shoes.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here is an update from last night.










I have several more pictures to add later on. I have been able to visit this tank more frequently, so it is looking better.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I did some more photo-editing and came up with this FTS.










This picture is a montage, made with a combination of two shots at two different shutter speeds. I copied and pasted the underwater area from a shot with a slower shutter. Somehow photographs of this tank always depict the foliage with more glare and the water with more shadow than in real life.

There really are fish in there--almost 30 of them. This quick shot shows all three species.










I need to work on training them to swim up near the front more. I think I might ask the people who work over in this office to drop food in once in a while so that they will learn to associate people with a reward. This tank is 24" front to back, so often you only see just a few fish because the rest are all hanging out in the dark background area.


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## trackhazard (Sep 20, 2006)

I have to say this tank is pretty spectacular. I am really liking this setup.

Is that Tek light over the top? Can you detail any other equipment you have?

-Charlie


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Thanks very much. This one is looking pretty alright right now.

That is a Tek Light fixture, the 48-inch, six-lamp model. I usually have only two or four of the lamps on at any given time, because it is very bright with all six. There isn't much other equipment at all. Here is a view under the cabinet.










That is just a cheap Filstar canister, but it as worked just fine for more than a year now. I have cut those hoses down because they were very long. The intake and return are plumbed through the floor of the tank.


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## Blue_Dolphinvn (Nov 12, 2006)

Thank to your biotope tank, I could understand more about Maxician Nature.


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