Happy New Year everyone

jiejian : its a nice journal. love to read it! thanks!

need to test for the reaction using white vinegar (cuka). if it foams or fizzles, it can't be used. it will significantly alter the gh and kh of your tank parameters. from my experience, it'll be hard to get the ph lowered.

Rocks to Avoid include:
•Limestone
•Marble
•Geodes
•Dolomite
•Shells or crushed coral

Safer Rocks Include:
•Granite
•Quartz
•Slate
•Lava Rock
•Onyx
•Sandstone (should always test before using)

**quoted from**
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/termsand...outdoorrock.htm

This post has been edited by jctasoga: Feb 8 2013, 09:51 PM

the snail trap using boiled cucumber

something freaked her up lo... mine also same thing... but they're hunted by bigger fish la... haha

same country no problems with customs. only if u visit reef n took back corals will have problems. question is : will the shrimps/fishes survive the postage? have to double bag or triple bag it n hope for the best.

for packing, its gonna be check in luggage for sure. u cannot pump the bag full with air, otherwise it will burst inside your luggage.

so i would recommend to put some water inside and then seal it with a lot of room for air expansion. also, double bag it to ensure leak free.

another alternative is to put the bag inside a tupperware and then tape the lid. with the outer rigid packing, then u'll have less chance of your things puncturing or crushing ur packed shrimps..

and dun worry, the shrimps wun freeze in the air cargo. probably will be quite cold though...

just done a batch of 4dkh water... good thing i have a tester to check.. haha.. quite easy to do with a kh tester / RO water and sodium carbonate....

i think he will need to top cover for the lights. but u can remove the panels which will give more air circulations

nice to hear that everyone is coming back. i have slow growing plants like echinodorus amazonicus and some java fern; it'll be another 2-3 weeks before its ready to be sent to new owners. i have rotala nanjenshan is faster growing but i don't think u'll like it.

if anyone wanna book the above 3 plants, please pm me. will discuss in pm better. i only ask for poslaju coverage

sang gemok : go low tech.. hehe...

wow... nice red moss u have there... haha

i'm really out of budget this few mths due to car accident... hands very very itchy for the pro z...

hello fellow planters, got a questions i hope to get answered/diagnosed as follows:

this plant is especially delicate in my tank. its been there since day 1 when i started the tank. what usually happens is that after i have cut off the top stems, the bottom half will start to rot away and also filled with green spot algae. the leaf will start to rot from the sides and then holes will start to appear then the leafs become yellow and break into pieces.

now, as i know, gsa is due to the light timing too long, but mine is only like 6 hrs.
- lights 6hrs, 50w x 2 units LED floodlight type
- co2 is consistently high (drop checker green but towards yellow already).
- estimative index (EI) dosing.
- water change : 1-2 times in 2 weeks.
- fishes are those peaceful type : angelfish / pleco / mollies / nerite snails

anything i done wrong ah or i'm missing some vitamins? thanks for your advises.

please see pic of my hydrocotyle (to be honest i forgotten the exact name)


This post has been edited by jctasoga: Feb 15 2013, 09:16 PM

bro sisaiko :

my tank size: 4ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft std tank. abt 200l water

diana walstad method + 9l amazonia. total abt 4" high.

i did try to put some normal fertilizer (those used for normal land plants) into capsules then push it into soil. but only 1 week ago... so not sure if it works?.

temp : 27c with chiller. ambient abt 29-30c

ya... mine is true.. 26 to 27c lo... maybe coz its shaded in the living room without any air movement inside the room.

the chiller is under rated a bit la... haha.. cl-450 one. suppose to use for 2ft.. hehehe...

sisaiko: thanks for your inputs. will keep monitoring situation.

kytz : over size your filters maybe to 10-15x the water circulation per hour. ie 12 liters tank, get 120lph or 200lph filter. it will help for time being. long term, get a bigger aquarium. btw, the poop on the bottom tank, nothing u can do except to remove it manually. if u leave it there long enough, it will make the water more cloudy.

jiejian : good MTS.. haha.. do they leave the tank? if hang around water line is ok la... if they venture out of tank then quite messy...

looks like ramshorn snails... u can try ottos. but i think it must be hard to find coz i don't see them in my lfs also...

lazy ones are the smart ones... haha... starve them a bit together with the shrimps. i'm sure they will start to love algaes... hehe

luqee : u changed them!! maybe coz u starved them so they found the carnivore food also tasty... so the evolution begins...

or maybe the carnivore pellets are actually higher content of vege inside.. so ottos eating vege is still ok la...

Belco : there are 2 routes to go by. if just starting, u can do it with a good substrate and lighting. these will get you by with beginner's low light plants ie moss / ferns. if you want nice looking plants/effect, then u need to go more advanced level ie co2 gas tank / bubble counter / the whole lot...

the 2nd route is to do it right with all the gizmos and cost a bit more. so it really depends on your budget. also, 30cm x 30cm tank is quite small. smaller tanks is a bit tougher for beginner and requires more maintenance in terms of water change etc.