Get a net... Corner them... Hunt them down...

Once I bought 3 rummy nose tetra, I put it in my aquarium and the next day only 1 was left... Not even corpses left, and I'm sure they did not jump out. Another time, I went back for holiday. Came back to see my albino cory missing, only had it for 2 weeks prior. Only see the scales stuck to the filter. And another time, saw the ghost with their super long pincer grab one of my neon tetras and started eating its tail.

The horror...

All these happened when I put in 2 dozen ghost shrimps thinking they will help me control my algae problem which they didn't...

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Added on February 13, 2011, 6:23 pmIs the inlet clogged up??? Got put any sponge or netting at the inlet??? You keep shrimps???

Using glass co2 diffuser??? You put it too near the inlet???

What about your double taps, got open full or you keep it half closed???

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 13 2011, 06:23 PM

I clean more often cause I hear of cases where dirty filter causes algae, and to me, cleaning a filter is way way more easier then dealing with algae. I'd clean my filter anytime , then to ever deal with algae problems ever again...

Try putting the glass diffuser over at the other end of the inlet for a few days see if there is any improvement.

Or better yet is to just post pictures of your tank and let us see see how close the diffuser is to the inlet...

Can you provide the tank specs???

What I feel is that your layout too symmetry already, IMO it'll look much better if you can move the driftwood and the water sprite bush a bit to the right so it'll divide the tank into 2/3 and 1/3 left and right. I feel that it'll look more natural like that.

And why is there an air stone on the left when you already have a inline diffuser at the end of the outlet???

And I'm really interested to see how your straugyne (dunno spelling correct or not ) foreground will look like...

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 15 2011, 10:44 PM

Love your driftwood...

The plant gives strong smell when you trim it??? Or don't trim also got smell???

Its so hot these few weeks that my DIY fan can't keep my tank temperature down...

All my female RCS that had saddles are now saddleless and all the berried ones are now berriless...

Anyone experiencing this???

Aquascaping school in Japan...

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 20 2011, 01:58 PM

IME, the brighter the light, the more yellowish the plants becomes...


First pic, 36watts
Second pic, 54watts
Third pic, 91watts
All the time having the same plants...

Or it could be fertilizer problem

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 21 2011, 01:16 AM

Err... I think you should make sure the T5 tubes that came with the light fixture is in the right spectrum for planted tank, 6000K and above


This post has been edited by radver: Feb 21 2011, 01:20 AM

Welcome to the club, I'm still trying to get rid of it...

But my tank is shrimp tank... SAE won't chew them up too after their finished with the algae???

I think you need to stick a whole tank to make it work...

I'm not sifu... And I've yet to try out iwagumi for myself. So I'll only answer the basic questions regarding planted tank. Others please correct me if i'm wrong.

To start this hobby, its generally accepted that a 2 ft glass tank will be the best way to start in terms of weekly maintenance and cost, ignore this if you want to invest a lot on this hobby.
Substrate, the most popular choice would be ADA Amazonia soils, and lighting for planted tanks should be in the spectrum of 6000Kelvin and above and the number of wattage will depend on the plants and the desired scape you want to acheive.
IME Co2 is a must, both for algae control and plant health.
You will need Algae cleaning crew, which consists of Siamese Algae Eater(fish) and Yamato shrimps, which ever you desire.

It would be better if you can memtion which state you are from so that the sifus here can direct you to where to get the best deals.

Here is another forum that you might be interested in:
http://www.my-mac.net/forum/index.php

So now, one by one

-2ft better, easier to find the equipments also, best to find braceless ones(no glass panel connecting the front glass to the back one over at the top opening), it'll make life easier
-HOB, I never use before, get one that don't do too much slashing and get a filter rate 8-10x the total volume of the tank
-Get the 55w PLL lights, Aquazonic or dymax
-Standard CPU cooling fan, but you'll need a converter to convert AC to DC, how to do the wiring.
http://www.my-mac.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6093
-You can try DIY first, cause cheapest Co2 tank will cost RM200. For instruction on DIY,
http://www.my-mac.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=11047
-Soil, just get ADA Amazonia, normal one. The more complicated mixture like powersand and stuff you'll learn later, cost more also
-JBL, ADA, Seachem and Borneowild has know to be good, don't try taiwan of other brand ones. Give you free algae only. You'll need Iron and Potassium fertilizer
-I think you get Glossostigma first, cause hairgrass grow too slowly IMO
-Java moss will stick, Spiky moss won't, I'm trying flame moss now
-Algae eating crew like I said before, for asthetic purpose, choose the ones you like and tell us. We'll tell you suitable or not.

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Added on February 24, 2011, 10:10 pmOne more thing, Iwagumi might look simple but its actually very challenging from what I've seen

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 24 2011, 10:10 PM

A must read, since your starting Iwagumi http://www.aquajournal.net/na/iwagumi/index.html

2ft is a good standard tank, easier to find lighting for this tank, and its very good that you got a braceless one.
IMO, its always better to over filter then to underfilter.
Since you've got a filter, you'll need to know what Nitrogen cycle is. Read here:
http://theaquariumwiki.com/The_Nitrogen_Cycle

So far so good, but still please mention which state or town you live in so that we can recommend you good fishshops a.k.a LFS. For better deals and equipment brands

Co2 tank is the generally used one, because it gives a stable supply and you can monitor and control the output. Cheaper in the long term also.
For the lighting, IMO 55w should be able to keep the Glosso down. But there is always a choice of T5 or PLL lightings, depending on the availablity of replacement bulbs and which one the LFS are selling.
What you need to know is that you need strong lighting for the scape that you are pursuing, any less and the plants will grow too tall to be called an iwagumi scape. Lighting spectrum should be 6500Kelvin and above, not all light bulbs are suitable. Please only use light bulbs in which you know the lighting spectrum.
Get enough to make a slope, example is 1 inch in front and 3 inch at the back. 1 bag 9L ADA Amazonia should be enough, we don't want to buy excess and break your budget.

Now for Co2 equipment, this is a co2 glass diffuser, to make the co2 into small bubbles so that it will dissolve more efficiently in the water.

Co2 reactor does the same thing, but your using HOB so can only use glass diffuser

This is a bubble counter, put in some water and you'll be able to measure how much Co2 you are pumping into the tank. By counting the number of bubbles per second(bps)


This is a check valve, you put it in between the glass diffuser and co2 tank to prevent back flow of water from the aquarium into the tank. Cause water in the Co2 tank will spoil it. Make sure you put it in the right direction.


Connection is Co2 tank -> check valve -> bubble counter -> check valve -> glass diffuser


Don't worry, asking questions is not stupid. Don't be like me when I started, don't know anything, trial and error almost 1 year all by myself before I knew what I was doing was actually called aquascaping...

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Added on February 25, 2011, 2:37 pmThe next thing you should do is get a bag of 9L ADA Amazonia soil and the rocks. Get odd numbers of rock, one big one and the rest smaller ones. Don't simply take the rocks from the roadside. Need to get the rocks from the LFS.
And please tell us which city your in so we know where to recommend you...

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 25 2011, 02:37 PM

Looking good... you using C02???

For your 1 feet tank, I think you should trim it, cause its blocking the light and it might not be so good for the carpet plant...

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Added on February 26, 2011, 12:12 am

There was a discussion before about whether its cost effective or feasible or not since its so hard to find the materials.

Conclusion, just use ADA, JBL or Seachem... Cheaper easier

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 26 2011, 12:12 AM

I'm not familiar with cheras LFS.
While your there, you might want to take a look at the fertilizers there and decide on which ones you want.
Here is a few example:
ADA - Brighty K, Green Brighty Step 1(for the first 3 months) and Green Brighty Step 2(for 3 months later)
JBL - Ferropol, and Ferropol 24
Seachem - Iron and fluorish

I'm using JBL cause its easier to find in my area and I only have experience with JBL.
For ADA and Seachem, I wrote down according to what I observed the others using.
I'm actually interested to change to ADA, but need to wait until I go KL.

Anyone can tell me how much it cost for 250ml and 500ml, Brighty K and Green Brighty Step 2???

Why you no listen to me buy soil first???

The light you bought should be >55w and I think its T5 tubes. How many watts in total??? Should be enough to keep any carpet plant down.
You not sticking to iwagumi already??? Cause iwagumi is the art of rock arrangement, not so much driftwood arrangment
Fertilizer can get cheap one first, JBL Ferropol 100ml=RM18, JBL Ferropol 24=RM15 only. And you won't need to fertilize it for the first 2 weeks after you put in the plant.
Bro, you need to cool down and slow down your momentum. Your going on a shopping spree like a aquascaping shopaholic...

Now, the driftwood you just put it in the water until tomorrow, if water change to light brown or yellow color tomorrow. Then you need to change the water everyday until there is no color change. If no color change tomorrow, then its safe to use.
Java moss, IME, dechlorinate and chlorinated water no difference. Its not a very sensitive plant, I can keep it under my bed for 3 weeks and it'll still be green.
But only put it in after the driftwood is safe, means no color change. Lets not take any chance with the possibility of tannins leaking out.
You can throw it in or tie it to the driftwood afterwards, which ever you decide.

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 26 2011, 09:25 PM

Mind sharing your experience???

Nevermind, lets make the best out of the situation... Time for some information spamming.
The lighting is a bit expensive, cause total watt is 96 watt. One set of 2ft 55w PLL will cost only RM110, 2 set with total watts of 110w is only RM220, and it'll give better spread of lights too.
Anyway, its definitely powerful enough to plant a nice green carpet of glosso.

Soil, buy only ADA Amazonia I or II. The others are too nutrient deficient. Sometime they got stock sometime don't, wait for it.

Powersand is just extra accessary to the soil IMO. Don't get also nevermind. Just get the normal ADA Amazonia soil. And since your over budget already, Fertilizers just get JBL Ferropol(blue flat bottle) and JBL Ferropol 24(small bottle, like eyemo bottle). Enough already, I've been using these since I started.
Remember, ADA Amazonia soil and JBL Fertilizers only. Remember you still need to save money for the Co2. Very important.

And the reason I told you to buy soil first is because its better to cycle the soil first, cause if you put in and plant straight, then a lot of soil will be floating around in the water and they will sediment on the leaves of the plant and cause algae problem. So better to put in and change water each day until water is clear, then only drain it to soil level and start planting. Less messy like that.

Don't worry, I still have to restrain myself everytime I go into any LFS even after 2 years. Now also I'm itching to get ADA fertilizers.

That tree, I've seen it before, forgot how they did it.
For now, I think you start by growing more Java moss so you can get a denser tree. I don't think 30g is a lot.
Just spread the moss densely on the surface of the driftwood and tie them down with strings, normal black or brown sowing string will be alright, when the Java moss grow, it'll attach itself to the driftwood.

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Added on February 27, 2011, 11:51 amI only started posting there after >6 months of reading it...

This post has been edited by radver: Feb 27 2011, 11:51 AM