Nov 4, 2026, 7:02 AMHaving looked up the plants properly now (was just in a hurry to get them in yesterday) it may be that a few of them won't thrive in this kind of set up.
We'll see! And if not, I will get hold of varieties that will.
- Nov 4, 2026, 7:02 AM
Replies
- Nov 4, 2026, 9:32 PM
Took another picture because it's pretty.
- Nov 5, 2026, 11:14 AM
Oh noes it's getting direct sunlight! Might not be too bad as it's only in the mornings and only winter sun - summer sun is too high in the sky to reach so far into the room. Let's hope all my plants don't lean to the left (like I do) 😅
Also, rainbows!
More wood and moss coming today - along with a small water pump and a heater, to use if necessary (classic freshwater tanks are all about water filtration, movement and tropical temps, but it may be secondary with the Walstad method - we'll see)
- Nov 5, 2026, 12:02 PM
At some point I'll clean the glass too and fill it up a bit more properly - but as more stuff is going to go in this week and next, I need some water clearance for my forearm 😅 💪
- Nov 5, 2026, 8:25 PM
Pretty pretty wood
- Nov 5, 2026, 9:38 PM
I also received some moss balls today, I cut one up and pushed it into a few of the cracks and crags in the two pieces of wood... Yeah!
And some limnophila sessifloria is coming some time next week, which should grow fast and fill in the back.
I can't say I'm not pretty pleased with myself right now!
Will the plants hold up? No idea. There's the odd yellowing leaf in there already. But right now it looks nice :)
- Nov 7, 2026, 5:46 PM
Turns out my phone camera does pretty well at high magnifications!
My tank has life! Very small life.
The wriggler by the water surface in the video I'm hoping is a detritus worm instead of a mosquito larva, I'll keep an eye on it...
- Nov 7, 2026, 5:48 PM
Apparently I can only do one video per post - so here is a small white creature of some kind making its way down the side of some driftwood:
- Nov 7, 2026, 5:52 PM
Finally, some little whitish somethings in the water - I think this is swimming rather than Brownian motion, though I cannot be completely sure...
Still quite impressed that I can use my phone to help me see my new pet microfauna 🥰
Nov 4, 2026, 9:35 PM@sarajw wow! That’s impressive. So pretty 🤩 The lighting makes it feel so calming.
- Nov 4, 2026, 10:01 PM
@britt thank you! But also it's definitely in need of more vegetation - I'm trying to calm myself and not buy more immediately!
Still got another piece of wood and some moss to arrive this week, must at least wait until I've added those before I go ordering more 😅🌿
Ste Grainerstegrainer@mastodon.socialNov 4, 2026, 10:28 PM@sarajw That looks awesome!
Will Browar 👨🏻💻wbrowar@hachyderm.ioNov 4, 2026, 11:08 PM@sarajw it’s fun seeing this thing come together!
- Nov 5, 2026, 5:57 AM
@wbrowar then I'll keep posting as stuff changes 🎉
Kevin Papstkevinpapst@phpc.socialNov 5, 2026, 11:21 AM@sarajw Following your progress here, looks nice! Please share further updates, curious how the plants look in 2+ weeks.
- Nov 5, 2026, 11:25 AM
@kevinpapst yes I'm curious too, we'll see how well they survive!
I have some limnophila sessifloria stems coming in the post hopefully next week which should add a little more lushness.
- Kevin Papstkevinpapst@phpc.socialNov 5, 2026, 11:29 AM
@sarajw They look really healthy for tap water and considering that they were shipped via post. Didn't think that was really possible. They were planted into the soil with the sand holding them in place?
- Nov 5, 2026, 11:55 AM
@kevinpapst I pushed them down with some tweezers, most of them probably haven't reached the soil, but hoping they'll send their roots down there.
There were only real roots on the clover-alike "Cuba" in the front - I gather that might not be the ideal variety for this tank but we'll see how it goes. The mid-fore-ground long leafed red thing had a few baby roots - the rest all came as a bunch of stems.
They're not in super deep. But without much water movement, they've not come back up. Yet.
small cypresssmall_cypress@indieweb.socialNov 5, 2026, 11:24 AM@sarajw it's gorgeous!! I keep a UV sterilizer for occasional green water from direct sunlight. Can't wait for it to fill in!
- Nov 5, 2026, 11:26 AM
@small_cypress in some ways I want a little bit of a bloom to happen so I know something is going on in there, hahah. Make something for the eventual shrimp and snails to eat...
Jenny Fxurbanfoxe@mastodon.ieNov 5, 2026, 12:14 PM@sarajw this is cool!
- Nov 5, 2026, 12:47 PM
@urbanfoxe Thank you! I love it already, it's like a new baby, so much potential hahah
AnnekeAnneke@front-end.socialNov 5, 2026, 12:15 PM@sarajw Are you going to add fish?
- Nov 5, 2026, 12:28 PM
@Anneke snails and little shrimp first. If I get fish then only very small ones, Endler's livebearers, clown killifish or least killifish
- Nov 5, 2026, 1:16 PM
@Anneke maybe a Betta. We'll see - that's a few months away anyway :)
Danrtfm@social.lolNov 5, 2026, 9:59 PM@sarajw This looks gorgeous already! And don’t worry about the yellow leaves, it’ll be older leaves dying off, common enough after transplanting. They’ll grow new, bright green leaves soon enough. :)
- Nov 5, 2026, 10:04 PM
@rtfm yes, I've heard of like, a transitional melt. Fingers crossed!
I only learned in the last week or so that some of these plants grow both in and out of water, and they look really different in both forms - and that one form can turn into the other but its leaves will die off and regrow to fit where it is now.
Nature is cool.
- Danrtfm@social.lolNov 5, 2026, 10:32 PM
@sarajw Yes! Nature is awesome. They can grow different roots depending on whether they’re in soil, water, or something else. Versatile and resilient things, plants.
We should be very grateful they grow as slowly as they do.
- Nov 5, 2026, 10:33 PM
@rtfm I dunno, some days I wonder if our grapevine isn't actually a triffid. Thankfully it's still dying back every autumn/winter 😮💨
Alexandra :neobread_mug:alexandra@social.lolNov 5, 2026, 10:53 PM@sarajw Oh, now we’re talking. Looking really good.
VerdeVivoVerdeVivo@mastodon.socialNov 6, 2026, 6:40 AMCutting up moss balls to tuck into the wood cracks sounds like a really creative way to set things up.
- Nov 6, 2026, 7:18 AM
@VerdeVivo thank you! I hope it'll settle in well there :)
- VerdeVivoVerdeVivo@mastodon.socialNov 6, 2026, 9:29 AM
@sarajw Sending green vibes your way 💚🌱
