Midnight Makeover

Last night I decided to give my Juwel Trigon a makeover. I was really looking forward to using the new Hortilab tissue culture plants I received from Aquarium Gardens. I knew this was not going to be an easy job but I like a challenge. I started at around 8pm and didn't get finished until 2am.

The first thing I needed to do was get my hardscape in place. I have been trying out various positions for the piece of red moor from World of Mosses along with several smaller pieces I had. Once I was happy with the wood, it was time for the plants. I was intending on using some sort of rock but Once the wood was in place, I felt it was enough and once all the plants are inlace and growing, ant rock might spoil the look I want.

This is the first time I've used any kind of tissue culture. Im relatively new to aquascaping and everyday is a school day. Tissue cultures are in effect, baby plants so they are naturally smaller than the "normal" plants you buy everywhere. Each tub, once separated from the gel and broken up carefully, offered up about 6 little separate plants.  

First plant to be used was Eleocharis sp. "mini" which I scattered along the substrate on the fringe of the red moor. when this grown in, hopefully it will create a nice carpet with the odd piece of branch coming up from beneath.

Next up was Echinodorus Tenellus which was planted alongside the Eleocharis to give a mix of textures through the carpet. The Eleocharis grows faster than the Echinodorus which is good because of the difference in the twos appearance.





At the base of the centrepiece red moor, I decided on using Echinodorus Quadricostatus. This is a bushy bright plant that stays relatively low (15cm) and should stand out against the wood. It also doesn't require high lighting so nestled into the red moor is perfect once it grows out a little.





Pogostemon Helferi is a plant that I've had very little luck with in the past. This time I placed each bunch beside a single branch of red moor right ate the very foreground of the carpet and spaced out by about 15cm apart. Each bunch looked very healthy and thick with leaves.




My final tissue culture for the evening was Cryptocoryne Pygmaea. This is my first Crypto, I decided it would look best coming up from the very back and over the chunky base of the red moor. I started in the substrate and finished by using super glue to attach a two bunches to the red moor.




This tank is now a work in progress and I will be adding some new plants all the time. This is how it looks when I woke up this morning. Only one of the Cryptocoryne had come loose from the substrate. Apart from that, everything is doing great.

My plant for this nutrients for the plants will be liquid fertiliser only. I currently have the CO2 ART EI dosing macro and micro solutions which i will start today. I will also begin to use some kind of liquid carbon once I decide of which one is best for me.

All these plants are available at www.aquariumgardens.co.uk and also by clicking on their link at the side of the page. Thanks for reading guys and look out for more updates soon.