Bonsai Tree Aquascape
Hi everyone!
I recently joined the Hakkai/Petzone team and just made my first aquascape featuring this bonsai tree.
Here's what you'll need!
Hardscape/equipment/substrate:
- Bonsai tree-$50
- ADA power sand-$19.99
- UNS controsoil-$11.99
- Jing Cai curved glass tank (2.2 gallons)- $24.99
- Filter-Camry waterfall hang on filter-$21.99
- Light- ONF flat nano-$104.00
*Any filter, light, tank, and most aquatic soils will work!
Plants:
- Anubias nana petite-$8.99
- Dwarf hair grass-$9.99
- Pearlweed-$9.99
Extras and tools:
- Bacter 100-$21.99
- Clear Super-$21.99
- Tourmaline BC-$21.99
- Aquascaping tweezers-$10.99-32.99
- Flourish glue-$6.99
- Aquascaping scissors-$17.99-49.99
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Tank preparation---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I started off by preparing my tank by sprinkling some bacter 100, clear super, and tourmaline BC.
*These three additives will help my tank cycle faster, improve the longevity of my tank, and promote a healthy microbiome. They aren't 100% necessary but are highly recommended!
I then added a layer of power sand which is a porous substrate that will also promote microbial growth and slowly release precious nutrients to your plants. On top of that, I poured about an inch of controsoil. My tank was a little shallow for the bonzai tree so I kept the soil flat, but if you have a deeper tank I think it would be fun to play around with slopes!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Plants---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moving onto the plants! I started with the anubias by cutting off any dead or decaying leaves. Then, I was able to pull off propogations with tweezers and trimmed the remaining leaves into 3-6 leaf segments. I glued each segment to the bonzai tree while trying to maintain the beautiful layers it naturally had. I tried tucking each segment into the tree before gluing to make sure I liked the layout :) I wasn't sure if it was easier to put to glue on the plant first or onto the tree first, so if you try this out let me know!
I then "planted" the tree into the substrate. I had to push the tree down quite a bit to keep it secure and scooped a bit of controsoil on top of the roots to hold it down
Since I wanted the bonsai tree to be the main focus, I went for a more simple carpeting plant-dwarf hair grass. I divide the tissue culture into small bundles and tried to plant each bundle in a checkerboard pattern using tweezers. It ended up more like two spaced out lines, but I'm sure they'll still carpet!
I then planted the pearlweed along the back of the tank, again spacing them out.
*It was a lot easier to plant after getting the soil a bit damp.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------Finishing up---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once I was happy with my plants, I started to fill up my tank! I used a small rectangular bucket and poured gently. I used my hand to slow the flow, but I've also seen people pour onto plastic bags!
Turns out I didn't plant my plants deep enough and in combination with the loose soil, all my plants floated up ;0 When you do this yourself, plant them as deep as possible! What helped me was squeezing my tweezers many times while slowly taking them out.
The finishing touch to the tank was a filter and light. What do you think!
