I’ve had it going for about 8 months now. Originally it was going to be only CRS, but unfortunately my KH was repeatedly on the rise. After testing my rocks, my water, etc I came to the conclusion that it’s due to the pea gravel I used in filter bags to prop up the rocks.

So though the CRS population has dwindled, there is still life. I got some RCS instead, which seem to be doing well, as well as 3 Amanos and 12 Pygmy Cory catfish.

Just wanted to share my aquascape :) I am happy to answer questions - I did a good amount of research but keep in mind this is my first tank.

Edit: please ignore the ugly fresh trim on the Rotala, and the horrible background!

  • cybervseas@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    5 days ago

    I love the lawn! This looks like it must have been hundreds of dollars, maybe $1000? to put together.

    Where did you source your plants and hardscape components from?

    • smartalec13@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      5 days ago

      Thank you!

      Your guess is a bit lower but close. All together it’s roughly $1600, including all the extra stuff like tools, towels, etc. Probably could have saved on some portions but I wanted to go all out and make it look pretty.

      My plants and hardscape all came from a LFS (shoutout to Rivershore Aquariums in southern MPLS area MN) except for the Monte Carlo carpet, which were tissue culture cups from BucePlant.

      I had a wider variety of plants at first but some did not survive my tanks conditions, especially in the first month or two where I was still figuring things out.