Dimensions 183 × 46 × 46 cm
Title Foothills
Volume 378L
Lighting 4 39W PC for 8 hours a day and 2 hour noon burst with 3 150W HID
Filtration 2 Eheim Pro III for biological filter and circulation. The outlets were placed diagonally opposite on both ends of the tank to create complete 360 degree flow.
Plants Hemianthus callitrichoides
Eleocharis sp. 'japan'
Cryptocoryne wendtii sp. 'green gecko'
Animals Thayeria obliqua (Penguin Tetra)
Materials ADA Power Sand Special
ADA Aquasoil Amazonia II
Wisconsin Red Granite boulders
Additional Information I got this concept from a picture of the mountain ranges in Madagascar with panoramic grasslands dotted with patches of shrubs and elephant grass. The volcanic mountains had a reddish color that created a lot of drama and contrast with the bright green grasslands. I used Eleochris to create grasslands and HC along the rocks to create the effect of distant trees and shrubs along the foothill. The crypts were planted along the foreground to create the effect of nearby patches of plants. Most of the rocks were places vertically with the scale reducing from right to left to create the effect of towering mountains gradually coming towards an end where the plains begin. I tried several species of schooling fish and finally decided on penguin tetras that I felt gave the right scale of flocks of birds flying over the grasslands.
CO2 was dosed during photoperiod and maintained around 25ppm. I used my own formula of liquid fertilizers and maintained around 15ppm of NO3, 20ppm of K, 2ppm of P and .5ppm of Fe on a weekly basis. 30% of weekly water change was pretty much the maintenance I needed.
