Stream(ish) project

[hx]

Thx, Val.

The next babystep will be trying to accomplish a mossy shoreline kinda look with Riccia.

[hx]

With my skills it's hard to get a decent shot of the Sewellias.
Here's the best I can do for now:


The trio


A closeup


elongatas?

[ctabone]

Unreal fish tank. Absolutely beautiful.

[hx]

Thanks.

I'm seeing some potential greenery above the waterline:

[chefkeith]

Very nice.

[hx]

Thx.
I need to rethink the lighting. Immersed growth is lousy.

[BotiaMaximus]

Been watching along on this project for quite a while. Really like everything you have going on with the set-up. Beautiful Tank - Very Inspiring!!

Maybe some high intensity LEDs recessed into the rock overhangs to get more light down into the water??

[hx]

Thank you so much for the thumbs-up. And very happy to hear anyone being inspired.

Thanks also for the idea about the leds. I've been trying to keep up with the developement of the high intensities, but trusting some well-informed sources they are not that good just yet. They are good enough to make a big difference visually, but I'm being told they don't make it for the plants. But I know it will more likely be months than years for the led-technology to break through.
Do you have better knowledge than that? Any specific recommendations on the sort of leds to look for?

What I'm furiously trying to figure out at the moment is how to integrate some suitable compact fluorescent or T5 tubes and reflectors into the fake roots/branches I produce.
Leds of course would be a lot easier to fit there, but at the moment we are talking hundreds of them to live up to the potential of cf:s.

Thanks again for the idea.
I will keep you posted...

[hx]

Crappy advance.
The tank with dimmed dawn/dusk halogens:


Happy to say that my photoblog is up and running with the pickslinks again.

[hx]

Got some new inhabitants, 10 Homaloptera orthogoniatas


Absolutely adorable. They very much like the swiftest currents in the tank.

Underwater growth is getting better after I added a couple of home-made spotlights with CF lights. Only some 80 watts, but makes the
Hemianthus micranthemoides grow pretty good:

Java moss is doing good as well.

[NancyD]

I forgot how wonderful your tank is. The new homaloptera are stunning!

[buddy09]

Beautiful tank, I love the dimensions. You can't get a long low tank like that here unless it's custom, perfect for catfish or loaches hx!! Great job all round on the plastic cliffwork too, looks real!!! Hope my next setup looks half as good!!

[hx]

Thanks, Nancy. I'm very excited about the Homalops.

Thanks, buddy09. Yes, the dimensions of this tank are perfect for the sort of one-way flow and streamloving fishies. I got it originally from a shopkeeper that had made it for his own usage at the shop. It was a steal.
Thanks for the kind words on the scaping, too.

[hx]

Getting some promising plantgrowth under the surface these days:

[wasserscheu]

... They are good enough to make a big difference visually, but I'm being told they don't make it for the plants. ...

Very impressive work on your tanks

Regarding the LED tech., this chart shows the plant-growth-relevant efficiency of variuos lamps. It's measured in 2 approaches. The summary states, that you need approx. 30 LEDs (Cree XR-E Cool White) come near a 36Watt lamp. But in general, the light of those LED measured in that project, in regards to plant growth isn't all that bad already.

http://www.hereinspaziert.de/Sehlicht_2 ... bnisse.htm

In this chart the above author shows the growth-relevant output per Watt for LEDs

http://www.hereinspaziert.de/Sehlicht_2 ... -LED_b.gif

I use some energy saving spots with integrated reflector where I need more light and have little space. They work fine.