Now that I have the lamp I mentioned in my post below, I want to try a few things before gutting the 10g. First, I want to extend my observations of cichlids by creating discreet safety spaces—caves. Second, I want to thin the existing environment so I can get my head around the space I have to work with.

Since this whole interior is going away—and I can creatively destroy it as I please—I simply bought small 39-cent terra-cotta pots, cracked them with hammer and screwdriver, filed down their sharp edges and corners, and tucked them in the pebble substrate. I removed one of the three pieces of driftwood to open up the space. One or two of the plants attached to that driftwood I pruned and attached to small rocks, tucking them around the caves to make them seem more natural—if terra cotta caves can be considered natural.

The top photo is the tank yesterday. The bottom photo is today. Not much difference, but you'll note more open space in the front of the tank and a mild quality of receding in the center, drawing the eye to the caves nestled in vegetation.





Soon, I'll be selecting rocks and plants for the new interior. First up—substrate selection. After that, a CO2 plan.

Today, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the new LFS in town. An anonymous commenter alerted me to a photo essay by Erik Leung of the new store, Aqua Forest Aquarium, owned and operated by George and Steven Lo.

The moment I hit the door, I knew I was in love. As you can see from Erik's photos, this place is about class, like a Park Avenue hair salon...but with fish. The Los' clear affection for the photography and tank design of Takashi Amano and their licensed status as ADA (Aqua Design Amano) purveyors infuses the entire store with a sense of meticulousness and precision that perfectly captures why I'm into aquarianism to begin with.

The Los were out when I arrived, but two lovely people helped me out (I forgot to ask their names...next time!). Because I was so smitten by the terrific plant selection and gorgeous, clean tanks, I scarcely paid attention to the available fish. I knew that if I went here, I was going to be inspired. Being inspired usually means spending money.

Anyone who's followed the Weberian Apparatus knows that I have two tanks, a 10g (my first) and a 6g (my Amano-style pride and joy).

Now three years old, the 10g suffers solely from a lack of the right equipment to make it something special. It's got two dinky incandescent bulbs that are just bright enough to keep Java fern and Anubias happy. The bulbs are in an esthetically displeasing condensation hood that blocks all views into the tank from above. Half a dozen of the original Neon Tetras, plus some Rummy-Nose Tetras, and a pair of Checkerboard cichlids inhabit it. No CO2, no fertilizer or additional nutrients, just a basic planted tank. The only thing I've done special with this tank is experiment with and perfect specific pH levels for the convenience and comfort of the cichlids.

Thanks to Aqua Forest Aquarium, the admitted ho-humness of the 10g is about to change. I plopped down a chunk of bills for a lovely Archaea T5/Arctic Light-I, a high-output fluorescent lamp with two bulbs that together yield 48 watts, or nearly 5 watts per gallon. This is the strongest lighting I've ever worked with, and I'm drooling with the possibilities that implies. With the installation of a CO2 tank and a chemistry regimen, I'll actually be able to do what has always eluded me: support beds of Riccia and low-growing hair grass. I can now comb my Amano books and say, "Yup, I've got the wattage to reproduce or modify that design for my tastes."


What's next? I'm not sure. I'm trying to decide whether I want to create a temporary tank for the fishies while I gut and redo the 10g from scratch, or simply toy with improvements to the existing tank. The existing 10g is very well established, meaning that the filtration, bacterial management, and water column are perfectly "old." The current plant design is horrible, an artifact of the low-light reality that tank has lived in for three years.

I've thought about retiring the 10g and graduating to a larger tank, but I'm obstinate about the amazing things you can do with small spaces. I learned that with the 6g. The 10g is nearly twice the size—I have absolutely no excuse for not doing something cool with what I've got.

Stay posted. I've now got RSS on Weberian Apparatus. Hope you'll have fun as I put together all the parts and pieces and transform what was old into something new.