Journey of a Dream Tank - Page 2

SnakeIce · 08-07-2006, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wesleydnunder

I think your dream tank is cathartic for you.
Mark

I had to look that word up. I suppose in the hind view it could seem cathartic, but the process isn't anything akin to how a laxitive might work. I have cirtainly wished that there were a flush button somewhere on some of that history. In reality the process is much like the rotala I posted a picture of in my previous post. It has exsisted for some time in poor conditions, algae covers all the old growth and it is stunted and ugly because of that. Once the step is made to face up to what is needed to be healthy new growth can occur, but that doesn't make the old parts go away. Indeed without the old new cannot arise. In time the new growth may be enough to replace the old, but until then it is a moment by moment, cell division by cell division process that has to move forward to bring about that renewal. Each day I have to make the choices to allow that process to continue or ignore reality and let things stagnate.

wesleydnunder · 08-07-2006, 02:00 PM

I meant it in terms of purging your old life. Maybe not appropriate. Sorry.

Mark

SnakeIce · 08-07-2006, 02:54 PM

I can accept you ment well, and can see where you are comeing from on this. I often come across instances where I have a different connotation attached to a word than someone else does. When it comes to things that are beyond basic meanings of the words, every one of us speaks a different language. The idea of home cannot mean the exact same thing to you as it does to me but hopefully we can find something common to enable comunication.

I replied to your statement in an attempt to keep that deeper comunication open. The side you see of the idea is no less true than the one I do.

wesleydnunder · 08-07-2006, 03:34 PM

You're right. I did put that in a personal context. I didn't have the abusive, tumbleweed life you described. I was my own worst enemy. I started doing drugs when I was 11 and didn't quit until I was 27. After rehab, I didn't know what to do without the drugs so I fell back into my old hobby, keeping fish, just to do something non-drug related. For me, the aquaria helped me purge many of my old behavior pattterns. But I'm hijacking here. This is your dream. I'm happy you're sharing it with us. Thanks SnakeIce.

Mark

SnakeIce · 08-23-2006, 03:21 PM

I'm just back from a lovely time in Provo UT. Other than dropping the C. balansae I got there into the tank last night I haven't had anything added, or removed, in the ten days since I was last here. It has survived on the extra ferts I gave it and the 3 variatus and 1 otto algae crew that have been in the tank for 2 weeks now.

Most journals tend to show only the clean-glass highlights of the project over time. Reality is vacations happen and things don't always look photo ready. I can't wait to get those new plants in and clean the glass off.

I will have a nice photo once the new crypts straighten out. They were all curled over in the bag and only partially unfurled overnight. The bundles they were in didn't land vertical so they are all bent over now that I have them planted. So when they stop hideing I'll post a nice picture of the tank.

Naps · 08-26-2006, 10:25 AM

looking good!!

SnakeIce · 08-28-2006, 09:52 PM

Now I just need a camera that can do it justice... I was in a hurry for the first picture I posted and chose some new settings on the camera that didn't turn out so well. this one is better

Plants
Hygrophila
Crypt. balansae
Crypt. beckettii
Crypt. wentii
Crypt. willisii?
Rotala rotundifolia
java moss
java fern
Anubius barteri var. nana

Fish
Angelfish, seen in avitar
6 variatus platys
6 cardinal tetras
5 harliquin rasboras
2 ottos

ADA drift wood imported by ADG, Soilmaster Select 'charcoal', fluval 304, and penguin? 550 powerhead.

I will do up a planting scheme as it is now and post that so I have a reference as to how things started in case I have to move this tank.

SnakeIce · 10-07-2006, 10:27 AM

I've moved the bolbitus from the 20 long to this tank, traded the cardinal tetras for columbian blue tetras and got rid of the variatus. I have a trio of flag fish I might add, haven't decided on that though.

reiverix · 10-08-2006, 07:33 AM

Bolbitis is a great plant. It's one of the few plants that I wish would grow a bit faster than it does.

Tank looks really good. I like that angel fish a lot.

SnakeIce · 11-03-2006, 08:26 PM

I am moveing in two weeks.

I may or may not find time to take another picture of the tank so these shots may be the last of this arrangement.

I will be takeing the angelfish and the flag fish seen in this next photo. I am going to take more plants than fish.

Naps · 11-05-2006, 07:49 PM

Really great thread, thanks for sharring all this with us!!

SnakeIce · 11-09-2006, 07:21 PM

I had to take all of the drift wood out last night to catch the fish I'm not takeing with me and I only put the peices that have plants on them back in.

SnakeIce · 01-12-2007, 10:21 AM

After finding an apartment I began setting the tank up again. Gravel, driftwood and rocks went in without much trouble. Then I went to a local store and bought some plants to replenish my supply since I had not brought all the plants I had befor the move: Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia, bacopa caroliniana, and hygrophila ?corymbosa.

I got the tank all planted and went to fill it up and couldn't find the adapter that attaches the python to the faucet. I splashed some more water on the plants and went out to try to find one to buy. Four hours later I purchased one at Ace Hardware. I had returned to the tank to splash water on the plants a number of times during this search, but they were looking rather worse for the wear.

In the next few days I skimmed many leaves out of the water and cut some of the worse stuff off the java fern. I currently have thread and black beard algae on most of the old leaves, but the new growth is clean so I am just keeping at what I'm doing for now.

This is an unusual shot. This is what I see from my seat at the kitchen table and is the reflection off the inside of the front glass of the inside of the tank.

This last shot is for giggles since the peice of wood looks like something unintended. I did move to the high desert, but I wasn't trying to bring that look to the tank. Even with the moss on it you can still see how it sort of looks like a cow skull.

sarcare · 01-12-2007, 10:29 AM

I'm glad to see that lovely angel made the trip with no harm--the tank is looking good. I never did get to check out that store in Orem when I was there, but it looks like you found some plants!

SnakeIce · 01-19-2007, 12:47 PM

I made a few changes, and it is probably still a work in progress, besides of course the progress of plant growth.

reiverix · 01-19-2007, 02:23 PM

Great work. I love the rock arrangement. Subtle but really nice.

SnakeIce · 01-25-2007, 07:37 PM

Whoo hoo, I'm stoked. I just traded a trade I got for hitchhikers that came with some Rotala rotundifolia. I just got about 1.5 square inches of HC and some glosso. The main photo doesn't change much since it is a little pale and doesn't register on my camera very well yet but I just had to take a whole tank photo.

Oh yeah and a photo of the HC. That is a regular sized plant weight and strands of java moss for comparison.

wesleydnunder · 01-26-2007, 04:26 AM

That's looking really good, SnakeIce. One day I want to try some HC in my discus tank.

Mark

Trixie · 01-31-2007, 08:22 PM

What a lovely tank! And that is also one very happy looking angel. Thanks for the story and the pictures, I love seeing how and why these beautiful tanks evolve. Keep us posted on the progress!

S.

SnakeIce · 02-01-2007, 02:25 PM

Well as easy as that HC went in the first time, it seemed like it came up just as easily. So I gathered it from all over the tank and replanted it individual piece by piece. My hand still hurts from clamping the tongs down, but I hope it stays down a little better this time.

I visited a fish store up in South Salt Lake last week and met one of the guys there. He trimmed some H. micranthemoides from the show tank at the store for me and gave me some chain sword out of his tank. The placement of the HM gives the tank much more depth in person, but still doesn't make the photo come out much better for that.

08-07-2006, 02:00 PM	#22 (permalink)
wesleydnunder Resident Cannibal Join Date: May 2006 Location: La Marque, Tx. Posts: 2,310	I meant it in terms of purging your old life. Maybe not appropriate. Sorry. Mark __________________ If it can't be fixxed with a hammer, then you've got an electrical problem.

08-07-2006, 03:34 PM	#24 (permalink)
wesleydnunder Resident Cannibal Join Date: May 2006 Location: La Marque, Tx. Posts: 2,310	You're right. I did put that in a personal context. I didn't have the abusive, tumbleweed life you described. I was my own worst enemy. I started doing drugs when I was 11 and didn't quit until I was 27. After rehab, I didn't know what to do without the drugs so I fell back into my old hobby, keeping fish, just to do something non-drug related. For me, the aquaria helped me purge many of my old behavior pattterns. But I'm hijacking here. This is your dream. I'm happy you're sharing it with us. Thanks SnakeIce. Mark __________________ If it can't be fixxed with a hammer, then you've got an electrical problem.

08-23-2006, 03:21 PM	#25 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	I'm just back from a lovely time in Provo UT. Other than dropping the C. balansae I got there into the tank last night I haven't had anything added, or removed, in the ten days since I was last here. It has survived on the extra ferts I gave it and the 3 variatus and 1 otto algae crew that have been in the tank for 2 weeks now. Most journals tend to show only the clean-glass highlights of the project over time. Reality is vacations happen and things don't always look photo ready. I can't wait to get those new plants in and clean the glass off. I will have a nice photo once the new crypts straighten out. They were all curled over in the bag and only partially unfurled overnight. The bundles they were in didn't land vertical so they are all bent over now that I have them planted. So when they stop hideing I'll post a nice picture of the tank. Last edited by SnakeIce : 08-23-2006 at 09:41 PM.

08-28-2006, 09:52 PM	#27 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	Now I just need a camera that can do it justice... I was in a hurry for the first picture I posted and chose some new settings on the camera that didn't turn out so well. this one is better Plants Hygrophila Crypt. balansae Crypt. beckettii Crypt. wentii Crypt. willisii? Rotala rotundifolia java moss java fern Anubius barteri var. nana Fish Angelfish, seen in avitar 6 variatus platys 6 cardinal tetras 5 harliquin rasboras 2 ottos ADA drift wood imported by ADG, Soilmaster Select 'charcoal', fluval 304, and penguin? 550 powerhead. I will do up a planting scheme as it is now and post that so I have a reference as to how things started in case I have to move this tank. Last edited by SnakeIce : 08-28-2006 at 10:15 PM. Reason: improved photo posted instead of other one

10-07-2006, 10:27 AM	#28 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	Update photo I've moved the bolbitus from the 20 long to this tank, traded the cardinal tetras for columbian blue tetras and got rid of the variatus. I have a trio of flag fish I might add, haven't decided on that though. __________________ Hello, my name is Frederick and I'm an aquaholic Why inch per gallon is false

08-07-2006, 02:54 PM	#23 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	I can accept you ment well, and can see where you are comeing from on this. I often come across instances where I have a different connotation attached to a word than someone else does. When it comes to things that are beyond basic meanings of the words, every one of us speaks a different language. The idea of home cannot mean the exact same thing to you as it does to me but hopefully we can find something common to enable comunication. I replied to your statement in an attempt to keep that deeper comunication open. The side you see of the idea is no less true than the one I do.

08-26-2006, 10:25 AM	#26 (permalink)
Naps Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 338	looking good!!

10-08-2006, 07:33 AM	#29 (permalink)
reiverix Ach Join Date: May 2006 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 1,764	Bolbitis is a great plant. It's one of the few plants that I wish would grow a bit faster than it does. Tank looks really good. I like that angel fish a lot. __________________ John R Puffer Forum

11-03-2006, 08:26 PM	#30 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	I am moveing in two weeks. I may or may not find time to take another picture of the tank so these shots may be the last of this arrangement. I will be takeing the angelfish and the flag fish seen in this next photo. I am going to take more plants than fish. __________________ Hello, my name is Frederick and I'm an aquaholic Why inch per gallon is false

11-05-2006, 07:49 PM	#31 (permalink)
Naps Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 338	Really great thread, thanks for sharring all this with us!! __________________ 20gT 2 Bolivian rams 3 zebra danios 1 bristle nose pleco 90g Koi Angel Rummynose tetras Cardinal tetras Clown loaches Giant Otos Green lemon spotted pleco L-200

11-09-2006, 07:21 PM	#32 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	I had to take all of the drift wood out last night to catch the fish I'm not takeing with me and I only put the peices that have plants on them back in. __________________ Hello, my name is Frederick and I'm an aquaholic Why inch per gallon is false

01-12-2007, 10:21 AM	#33 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	After finding an apartment I began setting the tank up again. Gravel, driftwood and rocks went in without much trouble. Then I went to a local store and bought some plants to replenish my supply since I had not brought all the plants I had befor the move: Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia, bacopa caroliniana, and hygrophila ?corymbosa. I got the tank all planted and went to fill it up and couldn't find the adapter that attaches the python to the faucet. I splashed some more water on the plants and went out to try to find one to buy. Four hours later I purchased one at Ace Hardware. I had returned to the tank to splash water on the plants a number of times during this search, but they were looking rather worse for the wear. In the next few days I skimmed many leaves out of the water and cut some of the worse stuff off the java fern. I currently have thread and black beard algae on most of the old leaves, but the new growth is clean so I am just keeping at what I'm doing for now. This is an unusual shot. This is what I see from my seat at the kitchen table and is the reflection off the inside of the front glass of the inside of the tank. This last shot is for giggles since the peice of wood looks like something unintended. I did move to the high desert, but I wasn't trying to bring that look to the tank. Even with the moss on it you can still see how it sort of looks like a cow skull. __________________ Hello, my name is Frederick and I'm an aquaholic Why inch per gallon is false

01-12-2007, 10:29 AM	#34 (permalink)
sarcare Lost and Confused Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 1,908	I'm glad to see that lovely angel made the trip with no harm--the tank is looking good. I never did get to check out that store in Orem when I was there, but it looks like you found some plants! __________________ Reality--go 'way!

01-19-2007, 12:47 PM	#35 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	I made a few changes, and it is probably still a work in progress, besides of course the progress of plant growth. __________________ Hello, my name is Frederick and I'm an aquaholic Why inch per gallon is false

01-19-2007, 02:23 PM	#36 (permalink)
reiverix Ach Join Date: May 2006 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 1,764	Great work. I love the rock arrangement. Subtle but really nice. __________________ John R Puffer Forum

01-25-2007, 07:37 PM	#37 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	Whoo hoo, I'm stoked. I just traded a trade I got for hitchhikers that came with some Rotala rotundifolia. I just got about 1.5 square inches of HC and some glosso. The main photo doesn't change much since it is a little pale and doesn't register on my camera very well yet but I just had to take a whole tank photo. Oh yeah and a photo of the HC. That is a regular sized plant weight and strands of java moss for comparison. __________________ Hello, my name is Frederick and I'm an aquaholic Why inch per gallon is false

01-26-2007, 04:26 AM	#38 (permalink)
wesleydnunder Resident Cannibal Join Date: May 2006 Location: La Marque, Tx. Posts: 2,310	That's looking really good, SnakeIce. One day I want to try some HC in my discus tank. Mark __________________ If it can't be fixxed with a hammer, then you've got an electrical problem.

01-31-2007, 08:22 PM	#39 (permalink)
Trixie Meow. Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 1,456	What a lovely tank! And that is also one very happy looking angel. Thanks for the story and the pictures, I love seeing how and why these beautiful tanks evolve. Keep us posted on the progress! S. __________________

02-01-2007, 02:25 PM	#40 (permalink)
SnakeIce Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Orem UT Posts: 899	Well as easy as that HC went in the first time, it seemed like it came up just as easily. So I gathered it from all over the tank and replanted it individual piece by piece. My hand still hurts from clamping the tongs down, but I hope it stays down a little better this time. I visited a fish store up in South Salt Lake last week and met one of the guys there. He trimmed some H. micranthemoides from the show tank at the store for me and gave me some chain sword out of his tank. The placement of the HM gives the tank much more depth in person, but still doesn't make the photo come out much better for that. __________________ Hello, my name is Frederick and I'm an aquaholic Why inch per gallon is false

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