In the one or two *cough* times I've been past Aquotix to pick up gear for my one or two *cough* tanks, I kept cruising past this fella and ultimately I just couldn't resist making him the latest member of the family
So I picked up a nice secondhand 3x2x2 and set it up. Since the original Archimedes was Greek and I couldn't put live plants in, I went with a Grecian theme for the tank - well for as long as he leaves it looking like that!
So here is the tank in place, cleaned and water tested etc. It's in the office, so Archie will keep me company while I study my geology It's been sitting there a few weeks, since I had to focus on getting my mum's community tank up and running properly - discus (enough said).
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The all important background - found a fab picture of some old Grecian ruins that looked like it would fit in with an aquarium look nicely. I've posterised it, printed and cut and pasted it onto cardboard for a mockup. If it comes up great, then I'll have it printed as a proper poster at Snap. You can posterise any image, there are plenty of freeware apps that will do it for you if your printer doesn't have a poster mode. It just needs to be a high enough quality that it prints out looking okay.
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Mockup done, trimmed and taped onto the back. Looks promising!
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Appropriated mum's cache of lovely flat white rocks - plagioclase with a little biotite here and there. geology finding practical use Mixed some white/cream gravel with a few handfuls of natural to give it some texture and a lived-in look.
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Add lots of fake plants. A few 6" combos in the front, and I found some little plants that matched the flowering plants in the background to help make a 'transition' from image to tank. Last but not least, a mat of fake grass, cut into various shapes and sections and wedged into nooks and crannies.
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A quick stop to connect the very large filter and fittings. The heater is on the side of the tank so the background isn't obscured.
Time to fill up!
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The next morning
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The tank reeked since I didn't clean the hoses while it sat there a couple of days, so hopefully tomorrow it will clear up, otherwise I'll have to clean them and go again! Put in a few floating plants to help break up the light so it's not too bright in the tank between the new light and the white gravel. Put in about 2ppm ammonia to check that the (cycled) filter is still okay after a few days sitting. With any luck it will be showing fully cycled in the new day and I'll be ready to bring Archimedes home