wow. i donno that snail is MTS. emm need to find some of them when go to my granpa house next time

no doubt, adding fan will lower your water temp...
but the temp also depending on a lots of factors

your aquarium location
your room ambience & temperature
your light wattage, the stronger the hotter
your light distance from the water surface
night or day
rainy or hot season

plus sometimes adding so many fans, also the temp will not seems much to help and end up your need to do the water topup every day

plus like derik, we are aware he has very good temperature
using industrial fan will bring some Celsius that you desire...

plants have optimum growth rate n pattern around 24-26 degree...

btw derik why dont you share your tank layout, so that can inspire others what they can achieve if the reach temp like yours

bro if you hv time just drop by,we can lepak2 and share knowledge which is free

may i know the characteristics of moss XI & a picture of it?

acid = sour = lemon huhu
perhaps closer pic might be helpful...or just plant it and see the result
but bacopa will produce nice purple flowers and good smell when immerse, have it at my lawn

This post has been edited by sisaiko: Feb 16 2013, 10:07 PM

no prob bro, hope the best for u as well

u can check in MAC forum, or ask Stan straight away over there

havent decide if i wanna put it into my tank.. googled and find some pretty negative comments..
btw guys, can help identify the snails in this video? is this ramshorn snail?? looking for alternative algae control other than yamato shrimp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQPep8MF-2s

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...

i have ottos in my tank, but i think ottos have too much personality.. lol.. some are hardworking like hell and some are just so damn lazy.. only know how to compete for food with my shrimp.

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

Hi guys, I was thinking of starting a small planted aquarium, perhaps 30 x 30 in width and length.

Went ahead and read up the aquascapeworld's blog and I noticed that planted aquarium is no simple task.

a lot of equipment is required, from the filtration system (filter + inflow, outflow fill glass), then the CO2 tank system (many many items required, from cylinder to regulator and so on), not to mention on the lighting.

All those mentioned are just pre-prep equipment, not to move on to soils and more.

Guys, do I really need all those for 30 x 30 tank?

is it normal for ottos to start eating carnivore fish pellets?
they already started eating them months ago and i havent been feeding them algae tablets nowadays,
since they didnt touch any of those stuffs already.
weird thing is , they still are plump, reddish belly and happy swimming around,
no sign of starvation and death.

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.

yup, but it depends on what are you trying to achieve. Diana Walstad stuff? Nature aquarium for iaplc competition?
basic needs for planted aquaium should be
1-lights-for photosynthesis-many options,ie- T5,T8,T5HO,PPL, metal halide, nowadays LED
2-filtration- go for HOB/CANISTER( dont forget your filter media, i feels that for planted tank mechanical filtration ,ie sponge or white cotton is something that you can do with or without, if you are up to it start with pure bio ring. later you can upgrade to all other fancy stuff such as bio rio, matrix,eheim substrate, etc.
3-cooling-in malaysia its HOT, at least get a fan if your room is not air conditioned 24/7 to keep the water temp below 30c(minimum for planted aquarium)
4-substrate- depending on what you want and your budget really.. personally i'll advice ADA aquasoil, despite its problem, initial cloudiness, high acidity at starting periods, etc.. its the one that had stand the trial of time.. hehehe.. of course there are other brands jbl,gex,borneo wild,etc.. not to forget the potting soil top with play sand thingy... and holland sand with nutrient stick...
5-CO2-well, its pretty straight forward from here, choice will be to have or not to have as it does the same job.(however if you just want a fern,anubias,moss tank its another story...) other options is just how fancy you wants your co2 system to be. i am experimenting with diy yeast bottle and this is the result

of course there are other ways of replacing co2 ie excel, BW growth,etc.. liquid carbon product.. but if you wants a bubbling tank of plants.. only co2 injection can give you that.
just my humble opinion on the matter hope it helps you bro.
just read more forum/ blogs other matter's such as liquid fertilizers regime, lighting periods, conditioning your tap water is important too hope you take up the challenge and start a planted tank.

well said jiejian

my 30x30cm tank have amazonia aqua soil, co2, filter, fan, lamp, termometer coz i need to check the temp (have bad experience with high temp). oh CA too. for several days at the begining.

but my plant is not fancy. just using what i can find at the garden/pool/tempayan.

bucep lah...kah3..ordinary plant jer...nk replant balik...huhu...

well said jiejan. Just one question, is that a diy CO2 atomizer? mind to share your built?

wont say atomizer la.. just a diy diffuser. if you wanna know i'll try to take a fw pics.. hehe..