DIY background & new setup

[reefman_MC]

There is no need to make a Co2 reactor. You can buy a Hagen Co2 fermentation canister and bubble counter from http://www.liveaquaria.com. They're pretty inexpensive and will work on a 10. The fertilizer tabs are a good idea. What wattage is the light on the 10. I grow my plants under a 14 watt NO bulb. I have plants that don't really care about light. Banana plants will live a very short amount of time in an aquarium. If you do decide to get one be sure the bananas are above the substrate. As for the wall creeper get some Java moss.

[oside]

Thanks for the advice Reefman! I'll definitely be trying the co2 soon. They didn't have any fertilizer at the LFS or petsmart. Gonna try a nursery that has pond equipment, etc next, maybe evne home depot.
I never knew that barbs love to dig in the sand.
Matt B

[Matt Rogers]

Another bottom dweller I like are corydoras - Cory Cats.
FYI.

[oside]

Me too, but I read somewhere (he he) that barbs might not be the best tankmates for them

Here's my real bottom feeder:


Here's an update pic now that it's cleared up. It's really hard to get a clear picture with proper coloring, wish I had a real camera...



Also, I started my next background - it's gonna be an Amazon Basin theme:



Matt B

[Jay]

This stuff is awesome. Great work...looks real. Like your under some undercut bank of some lake or at the bottom of a dropoff somewhere.

Cool stuff

[Matt Rogers]

Very cool!! Looks great.

[quote author=oside link=board=Freshwater;num=1095093792;start=0#13 date=09/16/04 at 16:47:47]Me too, but I read somewhere (he he) that barbs might not be the best tankmates for them [/quote]

HAHAHAHA... now that's funny.
I forgot you had barbs, but I think I remember where you heard that.

[oside]

[quote author=Jay link=board=Freshwater;num=1095093792;start=0#14 date=09/16/04 at 18:32:39]This stuff is awesome. Great work...looks real. Like your under some undercut bank of some lake or at the bottom of a dropoff somewhere.

Cool stuff[/quote]

Thanks Jay - My daughter (7) says it looks like the Grand Canyon.

I do have one note for anyone that is going to make the foam background - With my first one I used styrofoam from a craft store. It is much more porous, or at least the holes are much larger. This is the foam that we used to make X-mas ornaments out of (at least we did as kids). IMO this gave it a more rock-like appearance. The heat gun worked very well for making irregularites. With the foam I am using now, the heat gun doesn't really work at all. This is the insulation board, I just peeled off the foil backing it comes with (home depot). It is easier to work with & cuts nicely, but again, the heat gun was a great tool for the other foam. I would not recomend using closed-cell foams (the kind that is little balls stuck together).
Matt B