Luqee, middle braces does get in the way when you are pruning or maintaining the tank. otherwise, should be safe to keep using. i guess there would be ways to cut it off, but at the same time, u will need to put 2 braces are the sides to keep the whole tank together.

please do measure the glass thickness. the sifus or uncle google will give you a good idea if the glass can withstand the water volume.

calvin is right. 4mm too thin. if u look at the glass frm the side, u could probably see the glass 'bulging' or have a 'pregnant' state. it shows its about to burst!! take no chances pls...

---

Added on April 11, 2012, 9:32 pmbtw, anyone know where to get seachem products? looking for the potassium and root ferts... or any recommendations? hehe..

---

Added on April 11, 2012, 9:33 pmsellers can PM me too...

This post has been edited by jctasoga: Apr 11 2012, 09:33 PM

problem is tat i'm from bp in johor... very rarely go up to kl area... hehe

I think they got ada bottles but might be more expensive. Currently using the totto fertilizers. Need potassium n later upgrade the lights.. Now using cheapo 36w 6500k philips lights just maintaining some newbie plants

---

Added on April 12, 2012, 9:15 amI think they got ada bottles but might be more expensive. Currently using the totto fertilizers. Need potassium n later upgrade the lights.. Now using cheapo 36w 6500k philips lights just maintaining some newbie plants


This post has been edited by jctasoga: Apr 12 2012, 09:15 AM

hi all, can i know if you guys are using tank water or 4dkh water for your drop checker?

my drop checker initially went from dark green (when i first put it in), to blue in about 1 hour (high ph) then back to green again... i installed it at night though...

any problems with it?

weijie, email to me the pics. jcta s o g a@ ho t ma il.com

kimimaro's issue should be the oil film at water surface. i got co2 bubble trapped just below surface (albeit smaller bubbles than wat kimi's look like). after installed a surface skimmer, oil film no more. its might be due to the floating fish food we put in. i

sang gemok, yes bp bro... anything u looking from here?

This post has been edited by jctasoga: Apr 21 2012, 10:26 PM

kimi : i got both aeration and the skimmer... hehe...

go for sisaiko's comment, add in an air stone and see how it goes... my only concern is that if it is indeed oil film (which you can see at angle from the top or sides of the tank), then aeration only serves to push the oil to the sides... skimmer in this case will be better.

have you found the root cause yet?

---

Added on April 22, 2012, 7:15 am


yeah, got tonnes of things to bring back from kl... muahaha... but i think i'm ok at this stage... thnx for the kind thought.

cheers.

This post has been edited by jctasoga: Apr 22 2012, 07:15 AM

cannot use hand put inside aquarium? not to that extend la... maybe you can wash ur hands with soap first or use those long rubber gloves when doing tank maintenance...

i think it depends on your canister's waterflow. my canister arrangement is reverse of yours. pls seek other sifu's assistance too. normally the bio ring is at the lowest in the canister where the water has been filter from large particles.

as i know: water inlet > hard sponge > soft filter (like white cotton) > bio ring > water outlet.

hard sponge (i assume is like those red floor mat we have at home) is to trap large particles ie fish food / fish bones / prawn shells etc that pass through your water inlet.

soft filter is to trap finer compared to the hard sponge

bio ring : house for the beneficial bacterias...

---

Added on April 22, 2012, 8:02 pm start fishing for snails...

FYI, i saw some snail traps... they look very much like the cockroach trap (only the cockroach trap has larger inlet and the door got bigger gaps compared to those snail traps). maybe can diy make the gaps smaller and you are good to go!

google around and there are plenty to use as baits... from soft/molten cucumber to ... watever snail likes to eat... hehe..

btw, wat type of snail is it? i'm guessing the type thats transparent and got like 2 antenna in the front right? those usually comes with the plants i bought from LFS.... troublesome little things..

This post has been edited by jctasoga: Apr 22 2012, 08:02 PM

good morning scapers: which stage are you now?

http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/3...atic-aquascaper

i always do things small scale first then increase to medium and large scale. it will be good to start with a 2ft tank. the size is just nice and you don't have to overly worried about the water parameters (more tolerance). just need to DIY a few things to get it cheaper... ie the lights, if u get 2 x 18w flouroscent type, already 1.8wpg (assume its 20gallons)

co2 also can DIY, 1 x 1.5ltr bottle but need to change it each week.

plants wise, u can start off with those low to medium requirement.

above achieved, then you can move onto other higher specs....

kinda like getting you to hook on over time. personally, i took 6 months to get enough courage to do 4ft when i believe i have passed the newbie stage.

with the wealth of information here and vast experience of sifus combined, your learning experience will be very rich. Of course, there are bound to be mistakes along the way. Its how you pick yourself up and keep walking.

Dun be scared of it, go for it!!

---

Added on April 25, 2012, 10:52 am

you are right about the 3 main important ones.

- aquarium size depends on you the bigger, the better mah...
- filter go with the sizes recommended on websites, generally 4-5x the water in your tank. its usually measured how many liters per hour. so a 240 liter tank, ideally needs 1000l/hr filter or more. higher liter per hour is good, but also more expensive. do take note that the filtration effectiveness is usually not so accurate too. the flowrate can be adjusted at the output of the filter ie faster or slower water rate.
- lighting, many types.... from the DIY to the most expesnive LED imagined... follow the general watts per gallon rule. google it.

sand will compact overtime so its advised to use gravel if possible. then enrich it with root tabs or vitamins. learn about the Macro and trace elements. you will have a better idea. ADA soil seems to be very good for long term use, but if on a tight budget, go for the aquarium gravels. min 2" thick substrate for planted tanks so that your plants can get enough root space.

plant / fishes, up to your liking, but keep in mind about the light requirements for the plants. some need high light, some low light...






This post has been edited by jctasoga: Apr 25 2012, 10:52 AM

Guys, if I'm going to mid valley area or subang area, any aquarium shops to recommend?

Would like to see different plants and driftwood available. I know ss19 got one Natural aquatics. Any others?

awesome mates! would like to see more plants n stuff...

so many to choose i wonder where to go... haha..

btw, 88 petsmart got a trade link already. check it out.
##http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2321313##

myth busted!!

happy user of taiyocf1000 filter here. no sweat on leakage. very good design. currently using for my 4ft tank. a little under power...

its good because you can adjust the flow speed both input and output. its actually to use to shut off the valve when you are servicing/cleaning ur canister but i used it to control the water output flow when i was with my 2ft tank.

now with low budget, so still scouting around for a good 1200 to 1500 liter/hr model.

protein skimmer is not necessary for planted tanks (freshwater). its only used in salt water tanks / reef tanks.

soil doesn't need to be that much. it all depends on your budget. economical ones are using potting soil + peat moss (diana walstad method). more high tech ones are using specialized soil like ADA / red sea / etc which are for aquatic planting use. the difference of course is the ease of use and if the nutrients and trace can be stored. read more on google about the methods i mentioned above. its really interesting to read all about the substrate part of the planted tank.

it also depends on your tank size as well.

pls check for ammonia reading. i got keep some cheap ghost shrimp ( i think so la..) those rm1 per cup.. a few of them show the same sign. then their body start to be white colour in small portions (usually is full transparent) then slowly it will make the whole body opac white then mati... pls check water parameters. ur neon tetra should show some signs as well (mine last time got reddish around the gills and its like popping out). sadly they also died next day...

above is based on my experience only. pls also take in other considerations from the power of internet and the gurus here. Cheers.

---

Added on April 28, 2012, 9:51 pm

Yes, potting soil = normal soil we use to plant flowers. you may start with potting soil but bear in mind the major disadvantage is that potting soil contains lots of nutrient and ammonia (which is beneficial when dry but a super hazard when its being used as aquatic soil). if you see the diana's method, she prefers to soak and dry them to get rid of the excess nutrients/floating dirt before being used in the aquarium. i used this method before and trust me, you really want to follow the instruction of washing it thoroughly. please do search more info on the preparation method. my past experience of doing it is that it works to keep the roots inside but it also clouds the water if you or ur fishes decided to move the plants around. quite a mess to clean up.

cheap things got cheap way of doing it....

there are also other substrates like the gravel that you can use and added with some trace or root tabs. also same effect but very much cleaner way of maintenance. using the gravel, you may move the plants around more freely...



This post has been edited by jctasoga: Apr 28 2012, 09:51 PM

today i did a marathon east aqua studio at mid valley from 11am until 1pm. then went to 88 pets mart at sunwaymas for about 2 hours. then finally to NA at ss19. ended up with 1 potassium and 1 trace from seachem. too bad no java moss to sell at both outlets...

was really nice to see different setups. the DW at 88 petsmart were super high prices... *sweat* but their layout and store is much more neater + lots of rocks for your scaping use. lots of saltwater fish n tank setup as well.

NA got many different types of gravel and a HUGE square tank right in front of the shop.

how lucky are the planters living nearby these 2 shops!