Canada Day Weekend Build! : Clay Background Method

[Grimm]

Haha no big deal. It also has another problem. Its isnt dense enough, and has to many minute cracks in the surface to act as a "stream"

Ive tried patching the inside and bottom of the wood with silicone, however it continues to drip into my substrate. I think the piece of mopani I bought tonight will look quite good as a replacement. It has a lot of crevices I can use to mount some smaller aquatic plants into, aswell as broms in the upper sections that will not be wet. I saw some Anubias Nana Petite at my local aquarium shop and love the way it looks...Too bad it is 17$ each for a tiny plant. I'll be looking around for local enthusiasts that have some for sale. Im pretty optomistic though.

And once again, a positive about using clay....Modifications are easy

[beckdg]

$17 sounds steep. then again a 3-5 leafed plant goes for ~$5 in the right circles. more leafs = more money and more plants one could make. for $17 i'd be looking for at least 12-15 leafs and good health... at least.

[Grimm]

They are definately healthy plants...But right now I have a "wanted" thread posted on a local aquarium forums so hopefully someone pipes up and sells me some. If not I'll bite the bullet and buy 2 of them with the most leafs I can find.

[Grimm]

K time for an update...All I have to say is..."insert extremely long and loud scream here". This tank is pissing me off now!

Let’s at least try to start with a few positives.

-I have found someone locally that is shipping my some nana petite, a bunch of round leaf pellia, and some Singapore moss, all for 20$
- I am awaiting an order from UnderstoryEnterprises for 10 broms, a bunch of ff tupperware, and some leaf litter. It will be here Friday (knock on wood for me!)

That’s it for the positives, now to the annoying stuff and my problems.

-The Grapevine driftwood is being completely taken over by mold. The mold is even penetrating the ½” of clay covering it in sections.... Grapewood+humidity=bad! I already knew that I was replacing it with something else, but deep down I was hoping the mold would go away after a few weeks.

-The replacing Mopani wood water feature may have to become scrap. I spent so much time filling all the holes with silicone, then I also covered the entire surface in the remaining Titebond glue I had from my previous build. It was looking amazing, like a piece of preserved petrified wood. But as soon as it gets wet, the glue turns white and becomes an eyesore. I’ll post a pic of what I mean later. It’s horrible! Now that I think of it, hopefully the moss with hide the majority of it, so it may not be so bad.

-Somehow the second water tube I have in the back, above my pump, managed to turn and face the clay background. It continued to pump, splashing water all over the clay. It then collapsed in a small section and my water is completely brown and muddy with flakes everywhere. AHHHHH! And it also ruined my section of java moss that was beginning to show some great growth by covering it in clay and substrate. I also believe that the proximity of the clay to the water feature may be a problem. The water climbs its way up the rocks and into the clay reducing its strength. I’ll have to figure out a way to increase the gap between the two soon!

Ok rant over. Sorry I don’t have any positive progress at the moment. Hopefully once I fix the problems, and get my plants, I can show you guys something worthwhile.

[Calebrez]

Hey grimm I had the same problem and desided to scrap the waterfall idea it was making the clay to soft. It has stood up to my mistking very well I.ended up just putting a filter pump to circulate the water. But I am now waiting on plants lol seems to be a common occurance lol

[Grimm]

I’m still determined to have 2 water features in my viv, even if it makes me go mad. I fixed the collapse, and took out all the water logged clay. Then I removed the mouldy grapevine wood and clay, and then I completely rinsed out my water 5 times to remove as much of the particulates as possible.

Even though I plan of having the water features still, I am ensuring that the water will have to fall away from the clay. I pulled the far right hose further out from the background so about 1" is extending outwards (I'll hide the tube with silicone covered in peat moss). My second tube will also be done in the same fashion. Except the Mopani wood will not be touching the background. The water will have to fall out the tube away from the background, and then land in my wood stream.

I am adamant about keeping my water features because I have already envisioned the finished project, and it looks fantastic. Since I won’t be using a misting system on this tank, yet I still want heavy moss growth, a water feature is the only way to ensure it happens.

[Greg H.]

I feel for you - nothing so frustrating as having a plan and having it melt on you right in front of your eyes.

[Grimm]

Well like every other part of my life these days, I get let down again. Brom order, that was supposed to arrive here today, didnt. And now 80$ of plants will most likely go to waste sitting in a hot office somewhere until monday. What a piss off.

[claymore]

Sorry man that Sucks! If it makes you feel any better, I've had my order completely forgotten in the past!

I'm sure the Broms will be ok, They are from the tropics!

Stay positive man!

[froggsong]

Aw man! That totally sucks! Hopefully they'll arrive ok.