# new tank planning - extreme low tech chinese bamboo style



## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

It's still in the early stages of planning but i am going for:

- amano style setup - super clean (glass intake/output etc)
- house of the flying dagger bamboo forest theme (see below)
- extreme low tech/maintainence(diana walstad method), no co2, no nutrient dosing, no trimming, and monthly water change

Theme:

video: http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/houseofflyingdaggers



















here's a concept drawing i did a while back:









Item List:
- ADA 60P Cube Garden (18 gallon)
- ADA decorative sand
- ADA glass intake/outflow
- Regular natural gravel 
- Hydor Inline heater

- lucky bamboo - dracaena sanderiana are true "plastic" plants
- moss

- army of cherry red shrimps 
- school of 25 glofish (red zebra danio) OR golden white cloud OR harq rasboras. (yes it's overstocked, but should be fine with the type of fish and what i have in mind)

*Pending items (all suggestions welcome!)*

- need an extremely hardy carpet to match the bamboo, mini(singapore) moss seem to fit the bill but need to find out how hardy they are - can they live healthy in a low light no co2 no nutrient dosing tank

- find a way to place the lighting as it needs to be considerably above the tank due to bamboos leaves sticking out. Might end up hanging it from ceiling (any other method)

- decide on the fish - something extremely hardy. a)Glofish - full red give the pure green tank a nice punch of color. b)golden white cloud - fits the chinese theme perfectly. c)Rasboras - very tranquil

- method to secure the bamboos to the aquarium without using a very thick layer of gravel. hmm...

what you guys think? will it work?


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## Rod Hay (May 6, 2006)

WOW, I Love That Movie!

What about these:
http://www.aquariumplants.com/Professional_Plant_Anchors_on_sale_reg_2_29_p/pr1325.html

I tried the glowlite danio in my 75g aquarium twice; unfortunately they kept finding that one inch wide opening across the back. They looked great in the tank but are a little too expensive to replace for a third time! (Also knowing they're just going to keep leaping I'm not going to do that.) They are/were also extremely zippy. I think 18g would not give them nearly enough room to run! Perhaps a more mellow bunch?

Just my thoughts!


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

That's quite a challenge.

Part of the magic of a bamboo forest is an ocean of green leaves, from which poles emerge when you focus on a foreground spot. The background elements merge into a thicket of green bamboo leaves which seems to go on forever.

Some pics of this
http://www.designchronicle.com/memento/images/mushishi/mushishi14pro1.jpg
http://www.designchronicle.com/memento/images/mushishi/mushishi14pro5.jpg
http://www.designchronicle.com/memento/images/mushishi/mushishi14pro6.jpg

Then there is the mist and lighting effects which add some blur to the background. Perhaps one of those ultrasonic mist generators would do some of that.


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## KeIgO86 (Jun 23, 2005)

My concern is that if I am not wrong, the lucky bamboo plants will grow roots at submerged nodes. Then you will have lots of roots to trim regularly or else you'll have lots of roots in the water coloumn. (yuck!) 

I would consider using those prepared dried dead bamboos instead. This way, there'll be 1 less thing to worry about and do maintainence on and yet still achieve the same effect.


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

Oliver Knott did something simimlar with dried bamboo:

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2005.cgi?&Scale=514&op=showcase&category=0&vol=0&id=58


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

Lucky bamboo is a dracaena, not a true bamboo. It will grow roots all over the place and needs to have the leaves emersed otherwise it will rot after a while.

The example is interesting. It lacks the depth that makes the bamboo forest so enchanting. Perhaps there is a way to get the enchanting depth effect.


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## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

I think this is a bad idea. Here's why.

1. It will be overstocked, rather severely

2. You are going to have a hell of a time keeping that moss clean. Especially with all those fish. 

3. You are spending all this money on Lilly pipes, an ADA Cube Garden, A nice Hydor inline heater, and presumably a canister filter. But you only want 1 WPG, no CO2, no ferts? Can I ask why?

4. I'm not trying to be mean, but I think this tank, if completed, will look tacky and mismatched. The glofish and the little house will complete the look. But, there is no accounting for taste, and this is your aquarium. Even though it looks good on paper, I think it will look strange in practice.


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

> Lucky bamboo is a dracaena, not a true bamboo. It will grow roots all over the place and needs to have the leaves emersed otherwise it will rot after a while.
> 
> The example is interesting. It lacks the depth that makes the bamboo forest so enchanting. Perhaps there is a way to get the enchanting depth effect.


Yes the leaves will be above water (see concept drawing). I havent thought about the root issue, if i plant by bury the root inside the soil/substrate would it still grow above the substrate and make a mess?

Was hoping the depth can be achived by the curved road in the middle (using ada decorative sand with large pebbles by the side). Yeah the enchanting effect is a bit harder without some artifical mist etc, i guess i will just have to use a custom background that has the bamboo forest theme already. Maybe from one of those japanese cartoons linked above.



mrbelvedere138 said:


> I think this is a bad idea. Here's why.
> 1. It will be overstocked, rather severely


I have decided not to use glofish, they were suppose to represent kungfu fighting since they move so fast. But instead will use 15 gold white cloud 10 harq rasboras. It will be overstocked but not severely by any means. Those are small fish that will not cause issues when slightly overstocked. We are not talking about goldfish/plecos here.



> 2. You are going to have a hell of a time keeping that moss clean. Especially with all those fish.


this will be done by an army of cherry red shrimps



> 3. You are spending all this money on Lilly pipes, an ADA Cube Garden, A nice Hydor inline heater, and presumably a canister filter. But you only want 1 WPG, no CO2, no ferts? Can I ask why?


True, 1wpg is too low. Since the only 2 plants i have are moss + lucky bamboo, i thought 1wpg was enough but it's not (for the moss). Have decided to use coralife aqualight 64W strip hang 2 feet from tank. So it's about 3wpg, but take into consideration the 2 feet distance, it will be more like ~2wpg. Which should be sufficient for moss. lucky bamboo doesnt care one way or another.



> 4. I'm not trying to be mean, but I think this tank, if completed, will look tacky and mismatched. The glofish and the little house will complete the look. But, there is no accounting for taste, and this is your aquarium. Even though it looks good on paper, I think it will look strange in practice.


[/quote]

No problem, i appreciate your honest opinions, wouldnt post this i would get offended My vision is have a very clean look with bamboo's leaves just above rimless tank, smooth green carpet of moss, and a white sand road in the middle. The house is just a little bonus (it's not one of those colored resin monster, but made from natural bamboo that i saw used in many aquascape in china to very good results). Glofish was a nice punch of red that highlights an othewise pure green tank, but decided to go for something more natural with goldwhitecloud + rasboras.

anyway still trying to find an ada style stand, seems they dont make too many stands that size


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## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

Fair enough. 

I can see this working now, just one problem remains.

I still do not think the moss will stay clean. Growing moss as a carpet can be difficult in and of itself. 

Have you kept shrimp before? They don't eat very much. A gravel vacuum will be your friend in keeping your moss free of debris. 

Best of luck!

And of course, try for CO2. This will make things easier for the moss. Even if it's DIY.


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

yeah but that's what i want to avoid by having a low tech low maintainence. Hmm i guess there really is no easy carpet plants huh.


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## KeIgO86 (Jun 23, 2005)

The spread out claudophora Oliver Knott used seems to be a low tech carpet which grows extremely slowly and requires minimum maintainance.


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

I have no problem keeping lileopsis(sp?) on low light. I have 100W CF on 55T and the grass is under 20-24" water. The tank is 24" high. I have no tall plants shading the grass, however.

For Bamboo type plants, I recommend checking out some pond plants. There are numerous reed plants available. You might have have immense emersed grwoth using some of those plants though.


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

JERP said:


> I have no problem keeping lileopsis(sp?) on low light. I have 100W CF on 55T and the grass is under 20-24" water. The tank is 24" high. I have no tall plants shading the grass, however.


hey jerp lilaeopsis mauritiana? do you inject co2 or macro/micro nutrients?


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

All my nutrients come from fish food. I do water changes about once a month. I have 2x55W 5000K lights with CO2. My tank is a 50T (36x15x24").

I've been experimenting with CO2. I usually use it, but I turned it off to see what would happen to my tank. In my tank, I had a healthy carpet of lilaeopsis (the common variety) on the left side of my tank, and dwarf hairgrass on the right. Without CO2, my hairgrass died off and my lilaeopsis overran it completely. 

The only places the lilaeopsis does not in my tank is in the shade. The lilaeopsis doesn't even try to grow in the shade. In fact, the lilaeopsis sent several runners across a shaded area at the front of my tank (form a large rock) to a lighted area on the other side. I can see the runners in the gravel along the glass. There are no leaves growing in the shade, but the lilaeopsis firmly established itself in the hairgrass. 

I'm turning my CO2 back on tomorrow before my hairgrass completely dies and to see if the hairgrass comes back fighting.

I also noticed that, in my tank, lilaeopsis does better with 5000K lights and my hairgrass does better with 6700K.

Based on my experience. Lilaeopsis does not require high light or CO2, but does require direct light.

Update: just looked at my tank. The hairgrass is gone, and the Lilaeopsis is still spreading, but the growth is not as thick as it was with CO2.


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