Patrick_G Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 The mud balls are Fluval Stratum, the fiber is coconut. For plants I bought some tissue cultures and robbed some trimmings from my tanks. They’re sealed up to keep the humidity high as they grow out. I’ll probably move them to a different container when they’re looking good. Maybe with a little waterfall and a mister. The shallow bowl in the last pic might be perfect. 4 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 You are extremely creative. That is beautiful 😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted August 19, 2021 Author Share Posted August 19, 2021 On 8/19/2021 at 4:07 PM, Guppysnail said: You are extremely creative. That is beautiful 😍 Thanks @Guppysnail! That’s so nice. ☺️ We’ll see if they grow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 I like all of them! Wow! You are doing them nicely! 😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted August 24, 2021 Author Share Posted August 24, 2021 It’s growing nicely. The Saracinia plant is a recent acquisition. It’s living in the Wabi Kusa grow out container for now but will be part of the final display. It needs poor quality soil so I’ll have to figure that out. They need a dormant period so it might also have to go outside for a few months or maybe I can convince it to keep growing for a few years inside. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted August 29, 2021 Author Share Posted August 29, 2021 Wisteria added to see if it can transition back to emersed growth. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 (edited) Emersed growth is so fast. It’s been a month and it’s starting to get a bit overgrown. I added a Bolbitis Hetroclitia that didn’t like being submerged. It seems to love growing in the air. I think it shouldn’t be sold as an aquatic plant. I’ve learned that Ludwigia Repens and Rotala Macranda look too similar, in the future I’ll try and use plants with different leaf shapes. Edited September 20, 2021 by Patrick_G 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 6, 2021 Author Share Posted October 6, 2021 (edited) I decided to start a carpet in the little tank with the Wabi Kusa in it. I’m trying out the lazy dry start method. It involves sprinkling tissue culture clippings onto the surface of some aquasoil. After that you cover the tank to keep in the moisture and wait for the plants to take root, that’s about all there is to it. I had a really nice cup of ADA Monte Carlo that more than covered the little patch of soil in this tank. Edited October 6, 2021 by Patrick_G 5 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carefulest Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 I actually have a very similar kind of setup going right now. Glossostigma is taking over but a few other petco tissue cultures are doing well. Your plant choice is really interesting, I especially like the little Pogostemons in there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 (edited) On 10/6/2021 at 8:36 PM, carefulest said: I actually have a very similar kind of setup going right now. Glossostigma is taking over but a few other petco tissue cultures are doing well. Your plant choice is really interesting, I especially like the little Pogostemons in there. Thanks, I’ll admit to choosing plants based on what was on sale at the LFS and whatever trimmings I had from other tanks. It’s pretty much an experiment, but if it goes well I’ll possibly set up a more composed tank. It would be fun to enter the AGA Wabi Kusa contest next year. Have you added water to your setup? I’m thinking of filling this one about 1/2-3/4 so most of the emersed growth isn’t under water. Edited October 7, 2021 by Patrick_G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carefulest Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 I've pretty much had the water level all the way up to the soil level since it started. I was worried about the tissue culture plants transitioning/drying out. For the first few weeks I had everything under a cover (one of those plastic gardening dishes) but now I just leave it open. It's been off for about two weeks now and I'm just starting to notice emersed form growth: prior to this things mostly grew in submerged form despite having the leaves and stems above the water. I think entering the AGA contest would be a good idea. I feel like there's a lot of territory here that's not been fully explored. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 On 10/7/2021 at 11:09 AM, carefulest said: think entering the AGA contest would be a good idea. I feel like there's a lot of territory here that's not been fully explored. I agree, it’s wide open for some new and creative interpretations of the style. It’ll be fun seeing this years entries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 The Monte Carlo carpet is about a month old now. I think it’s firmly rooted in the aquasoil, but it grows so slow! 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 Inspirational. Might be something the wife and I can do together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted November 3, 2021 Author Share Posted November 3, 2021 On 11/2/2021 at 3:35 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said: Inspirational. Might be something the wife and I can do together. Absolutely, for my wife and I it’s a great bridge between my planted tanks and her houseplant hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 4, 2022 Author Share Posted January 4, 2022 I’m a little disappointed at this point. Some of the plants have died off and gravity has affected some others. The Monte Carlo carpet is doing well but most of the plants on the Wabi Kusa are looking ratty. One nice thing is the Rotala Macranda have bloomed. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PedroPete Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 I loved catching up on this DIY journey! What do you think your next step is? Trim heavily? Replant with fresh trimmings or new tissue culture? PS the photo in your sig is SICK! I think I like the variety of plant textures and then the BRIGHT colored fish the most! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 On 1/4/2022 at 8:22 PM, PedroPete said: I loved catching up on this DIY journey! What do you think your next step is? Trim heavily? Replant with fresh trimmings or new tissue culture? I like the Monte Carlo so I’m thinking of taking out the Wabi Kusa balls and just making it a little aquarium with the carpet plus some hardscape and Epiphytes. I might also just fill it up with water and see how the emersed plants do with submerged growth. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PedroPete Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Cool! What's the water volume of the vessel? Two good options...and both would look good with shrimp 🙂 ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 On 1/4/2022 at 9:01 PM, PedroPete said: Cool! What's the water volume of the vessel? Two good options...and both would look good with shrimp 🙂 ... It’s a 3 gallon Aqueon cube from the 1/2 off sale at petco. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 It looks a bit better with some more water Basic but very pretty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 I decided to fill it all the way up. The blooming Rotala are looking a bit ratty. I think they might not make it through the conversion to submerged growth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 This journal inspired me to make one for my wife. Thanks for the inspiration @Patrick_G!Still needs some work but it’s been fun to share with her. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 On 1/15/2022 at 7:14 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said: This journal inspired me to make one for my wife. Thanks for the inspiration @Patrick_G! It looks great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 I’ve learned a lot of dos and don’ts from this first go round. Recently saw a video where a guy was hooking them to the sides of his tank to do emergent growth and add another aspect to his show tank! Might have to try that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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