# "Rain Forest" - a 140L Lowtech journal



## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

After much contemplation I've decided to go the natural way, it just makes more sense. 
My plans have changed several times, I wanted a medium sized open aquarium with many catfish- mostly synodontises -my favorite fish. Unfortunately the aquarium I found wouldn't fit the bill so I decided on the "rain forest" theme. Long twisted wood covered with moss fern and crypts, dark gravel and colorful schools of fish or apistos.
I've spent some time collecting the equipment and stuff needed. I collected roots of dead trees and rocks from a desert stream. Tried out a few substrates in small aquariums, spent some time shop hunting for the right gravel and it is now time to do it.
I have no camera so the pictures are taken out of a video I took of the setup. The substrate made by a friend has two layers, first is peat and organic matter second is red soil/ clay. The depth is between one and a half to two inches on top of which is an inch of gravel (1-2mm black quartz). 








The wood is anchored to the bottom so that it doesn't float, I didn't have a big enough pot to boil it in but it will settle with time.








The plants where planted without too much thought, I just stuck in what I could get my hands on. As time goes I will gradually replace what ever plants I have with more desirable ones. 








There are more images in this link:
http://www.freshreef.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8647&PN=1
Ignore the text (it says pretty much the same as said above), the pictures are chronologically ordered&#8230;

Technical details:
The aquarium is 80*40*45cm (~140 lt.) it has 2*18w lights and I'm going to add about 40-50w later on, (I'm aiming at 0.5 watts per liter), there is also sun light from a nearby window which I can control with the blinds&#8230;

Thanks for looking, C&C's are always welcome

Danny


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

Nice wood. Interesting substrate. Let me guess, you're in Germany?


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## spcyamada (May 13, 2005)

*Interesting wood!*

That piece of wood is interesting indeed. I can see that tank as a rainforest canopy once things grow in. Low/Moderate light tank?


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

The wood is actually pieces of dead roots, took me some time to find ones I liked. I'm from Israel but my inspiration came from a trip few years ago to Olympic NP in Washington State. I wanted a few suspended branches to fill in the space but it didn't leave much room for future fish so I left one main branch which in future I'll partially cover with ferns and/or anubias. This piece was supposed to be suspended at mid water but it started floating as I filled the tank, it is now fairly close to the top but I'm sure with time it will get back in place...

Danny


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

I'm encountering what seems to be a bacterial bloom, as I understand this can be normal in a new tank. The general advice I got was to just wait till it decays by itself. I'm trying to get hold of used media from an established tank I can put in a filter in the aquarium to speed up the process. Will update as things evolve, enjoy the pictures 

A general look









The film at the top









Around plant leaves









The mollies feasting









I opened the window to get enough light for the pictures, the direct sun light makes it look a little worse then it really is&#8230;

Danny


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## Rek (Jul 19, 2005)

very nice wood composition


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## fredyk (Jun 21, 2004)

Love your wood. You could grow somethinkg like HC emersed on it.

get some daphnia for bacterial bloom
I don't know if you can find that in mail order?

On a side note: the Pacific Northwest around British Columbia in Canada has a temperate rain forest that has very lush due to very much rainfall. may have to log in to view this article about it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/06/AR2006020601834.html

Pardon my English, but it's my native language, and i'm particular about punctuation, but not particular about composing my sentences. 

I call this, "by the shores of the temperate rain forest" tongue firmly held in cheek.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/gallery/misc.php?do=printimage&i=2795
sorry to hijack your thread
Mark


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## betta almighty (Jun 21, 2005)

spcyamada said:


> That piece of wood is interesting indeed. I can see that tank as a rainforest canopy once things grow in. Low/Moderate light tank?


got to agree. Love the wood too.


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

fredyk said:


> Love your wood. You could grow somethinkg like HC emersed on it.
> 
> get some daphnia for bacterial bloom
> I don't know if you can find that in mail order?
> ...


Thanks for the compliments, you have a very nice aquarium yourself. what is the red plant in the center?
I was in BC five years ago but didn't really get to the coast (went up the rockies  ), it looks fascinating and if it's anything like Olympic NP then it's a real treasure worth while seeing


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

UPDATE

The bacteria has cleared a few days ago but a day later the water took on a greenish/darker tint. Since the water was brownish to start with (all those tannins...) Its hard to tell that its turning green but after reading in several places that an algae bloom can follow a bacterial one I've decided to cover the tank and darken it for a few days. will update later this week on the way things turn out...

Danny


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## skylsdale (Jun 2, 2004)

Personally, I would pull the white pebbles out. They seem a bit out of place. I think more muted and 'natural' colors would more replicate the Olympic rainforest (mosses, plants, wood, etc.).


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

Thanks all for your comments. I was going to reply, you provoked a few thoughts but a lot has happened and now I'm just hopping to get the tank to work and I'll rethink the design later on. anyway here it goes:

UPDATE: Catastrophe and Rebirth

Well, leaving my aquarium in darkness I decided the aquarium's flora should get some help. I head to travel last Tuesday and decided to stop on the way at a nursery that has two huge hothouses full of water plants  . Bought some anubias, java moss, Indian fern and a few others. When I got home I opened the tank and the water was green  (this is after 6 days of complete darkness). Even worth there was this horrible, swage like, smell. I started draining the water and everything was covered with black.  The rocks and wood where black the filter looked like it was submerged in charcoal. I took out the plants and tried to clean the leaves but they fell apart.
At first I was disheartened later on I was even more depressed and then when I tried to clean the wood I was devastated. The black stuff wouldn't come off, I had to throw away two of the pieces but the other two I cleaned up with hydrogen peroxide.
Anyway, back to stage one I cleaned it all up then re-set the aquarium on Friday with new plants and added used media from a working tank in a small internal filter.
The aquarium looks good so far, the water is clear with no coloring. Will post pictures soon…

Danny


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

This is how it looks now


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## BrianK (Feb 11, 2006)

That looks great! I really like the driftwood, especially with the moss. Glad everything is going well after having to redo it.


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## Leopardess (Mar 14, 2004)

I also must suggest switching the white rocks for something less harsh. They really stand out and do not match the dark look of both the gravel and wood.

It is nice wood, indeed. 

What about leaving the right front open? Also, is there any way you could shift the wood a bit? Right now, there are two main knobs of it right at the midway part of the tank (and are directly above/below one another), which is splitting the tank in half and making the eye stick in the halfway section.

Interested to see how it goes.


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## BrianK (Feb 11, 2006)

Leopardess said:


> What about leaving the right front open? Also, is there any way you could shift the wood a bit? Right now, there are two main knobs of it right at the midway part of the tank (and are directly above/below one another), which is splitting the tank in half and making the eye stick in the halfway section.


I think when the moss fills in, it will take care of that problem. Then again, maybe not.


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

I agree the pieces of wood are a little out of place, the lower one was very close to the gravel (leaving only a narrow "cave" for future catfish ) but when I filled up the tank it became evident that I haven’t anchored it tight enough. I hope that in some time it will sink back in place…
The right side will be open once the rotala goes out (not suitable for my tank I'm giving it to a friend). The only thing left there will be the moss covered rock which I'll see later on if I want to leave it there or not. 
About the color of the stones, I tend to agree but I have no suitable substitutes. Will see what I can find… 

Danny


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

PICTURE UPDATE

This is what the tank looks like now, 6 days after redo. Added a few plants and first residents have arrived, they look very happy with there new home...










Danny


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## Phillip.M (Feb 11, 2006)

I suggest a black background to cover all the equipment and plants grow better.


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## Blazerfrs (Feb 3, 2006)

Looking good!

I second the black background- I think it'd look nice. But how does it make the plants grow better?


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## freshreef (May 14, 2004)

looking great. what is the cylinder on the far right?


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## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

Very nice looking tank, I'm envious!


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

Thanks for the replies and suggestions, I've tried a few backgrounds but couldn't make up my mind. A black one seems to be too dark but that might change when the plants grow in. The cylinder on the right is a small filter I used to help start the tank, I'm leaving it in to keep the water moving but I lowered it further so as not to agitate the water's surface too much (don't want to lose what little co2 I have...) 

Danny


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

UPDATE: 2 WEEKS










Two weeks (and then some&#8230 have past and things are going well. The growth is now visible, there are new leaves on most anubia plants the java moss is growing well and the plants in the back are starting to show. The back side has cabomba on the left which I hope will form a nice dense bush that will fill up that corner behind the tree and the anubias and fern. The reddish kind was first to grow but now the green one is taking over; they get lots of light from the window behind. I hardly use the lights in the tank anymore. The lighting is mostly from the window with a screen I keep over the tank so as not to get too much sunlight. The right side has rotala and sunset hygro, they came from a high-tech tank and they had a reddish color so it's easy to see how they are growing since all the new leaves are bright green. I guess I'll have to cut them so that they grow into a bush and not just stems, I want them to fill up that side and cover the filter then I'll remove the vals because I don't really like them. 
The stem plants (some kind of short valisneria?) in the front on the right side where added last week. I got them from a friend and added them without looking too carefully, it is now very obvious they have fuzz algae on them. If the bristlenose don't clean it I might just pull them out. They are growing well and have new shoots coming out but I don't really like the looks of it. I hope to replace them with something more suitable for that part, any suggestions for a low non-grass plant? 
I'm not going to touch the plants this week but I think that when the tanks a month old I'll start working on its looks.

Danny


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## TRDMCV20L (Feb 3, 2006)

Wow looks good. Where did all the fish go though?


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

Thanks, the fish are still there. I took the picture with a slow shutter speed so they are blurred (but you can see at least one right in the front next to the anubia)
Anyway, here's a picture of the new tenant:


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## DLevy (Dec 20, 2005)

Never had time to update but now that the El-Natural forum is here you can see updates at:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/24369-wet-thumb-forum-my-new-rain.html

Danny


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