Advice/Suggestions on my rescaping project

Boredomb

Oh if it took a day to clear up that would drive me nuts!

Byron

Cloudiness in the tap water can occur due to sediment in the water. Here in Vancouver our water comes from three lakes up in the mountains. During very heavy rains, sediment gets into the water. This has not been bad for the past few years, but I remember periods during the winter (heaviest rains) when the tank was so cloudy you could not see the back wall after a water change of 50%, and it took 3-4 days to fully clear. Not much you can do about this; fortunately, it is not harmful to the fish. I haven't seen this for several years now.

aemaki09

We get all our towns water out of resevoirs, so this could definitely be possible!

Anyways..

Got some rocks in today. Made a little cave in the right 1/3 of the tank. Should be getting a huge package of crypts and some stems tomorrow, and am splitting a plant package with someone on here with some stems in it to add some more flavor.

Still havent been able to change the substrate. Really hoping I can get to it this weekend, but things in my life are so busy that it's hard to make time to drive 20 minutes each way to the store and back.


I apologize in advance for all the water stains! Havent been able to get to the store for windex either!

the cave


and this is how I placed it in my tank. I'm not sure if I like it there, any suggestions?



Ghost shrimp photobombing!

Byron

Be very careful spraying Windex anywhere near an aquarium. The very fine mist spreads out a lot into the air, and might easily get in the water.

I find plain water on a towel will clean the outside of the glass fine. Us a damp paper towel to wet it all, then dry with a clean cloth towel. I have a hand towel that is solely for aquarium glass cleaning. Useful for the cover glass too, which should be cleaned at each weekly water change to keep it clear for the light to penetrate.

Byron.

aemaki09

Oh I usually spray it into a paper towel and then wipe it onto the glass. No worries!

With the top glass I use just a wet paper towel as well. I try to be as careful as possible. I just feel like I'm getting smudges all over the place when I do it with only water
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aemaki09

Just got all the crypts in the tank. Still have a bunch of stems to try and find a place for....they are sitting in a breeder net till I get home tomorrow to try and figure it all out.

Honestly, I'm not sure that I should have planted the crypts today or if I should have just waited until sunday when I changed substrate...
Oh well, too late now!

Thoughts? Should I change anything when I change substrate??
The tall plants in the back are vallisneria gigantea (tape) and crypt balansae thinking about moving the val to the left and moving the amazon swords into the middle of the back...

fish monger

Your idea sounds good. The swords make a good focal point plant. You might put them a little off center so things don't look too geometrical. Plants of the same species grouped together tend to look better and it is a much more natural approach.

BradSD

Go to Tractor Supply and get a 50lbs bag of Black Diamond blasting sand for 8 bucks and change the substrate. You will thank me for this later.

aemaki09

Haha I was already planning to change the substrate, couldn't decide on pool filter or blasting sand though. I'll go with the blasting now
Thanks
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jentralala

Be careful with that blasting sand though, it's incredibly sharp for substrate fish.