Welcome to version 11...

- First edition of Planted Tank initiated by nezumitaro
- All this is taken from the previous thread, thanks for those who did it.

Planted Aquarium V1 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/429955
Planted Aquarium V2 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1008287
Planted Aquarium V3 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1241871
Planted Aquarium V4 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1376905
Planted Aquarium V5 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1488629 - by freestyler87
Planted Aquarium V6 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1688071 - by michanz
Planted Aquarium V7 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2007035 - by ciohbu
Planted Aquarium V8 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2255889 - by ciohbu
Planted Aquarium V9 - http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2255889 - by weijie

Creating a Nature Aquarium (do note that there are many substrate brands in the market, you do not need to follow EXACTLY the steps given below)
1. Bottom layer
-> lava rocks / ADA 5elements (Bacter100, clear super, tourmaline BC, Penac W, Penac P)
user posted image

2. Substrate layer: Soil (eg: ADA aquasoil normal type, ADA aquasoil powder type, JBL base fert, etc)
user posted image

3. Layout: Rocks, Driftwoods
user posted image

4. Plants
user posted image

5. Livestock: Fishes/shrimps/snails (add after major water change 50-70% 1week after initial setup)
user posted image


"Dry Start Method" or "Emersed Growth Method"
Different people may have different opinions on this, but in my opinion this is the easiest way to create a scape especially "Iwagumi" style aquascapes where the plants we use are just foreground plants. One of the biggest challenges when we create aquascapes with just one variety of foreground plants is the plant mass is less when the initial planting is done. Now when we use substrate like ADA Amazonia II which is rich in nutrients the plant volume is not enough to absorb all the excess nutrients that algae takes over and it becomes extremely difficult to maintain such tanks until the plants have established and grown fully. Now for people who don't want to go through this trouble of the initial phase but yet end up with a Iwagumi scape like the one below, this method is the perfect solution.
user posted image
During this phase you really don't need to do much maintenance on the tank. You don't need to have very high lights on the tank as well as there is no water column to penetrate. No CO2 injection required. All you need to do is keep your lights on for 8-10 Hrs a day, open the wrap once a week for 5 min so that fresh air gets in and seal it back up. The results after two and half months is below.
user posted image
Once the plants have filled in like shown above, it's time to fill the tank with water. Once the water is filled, CO2 injection is required and needs to be kept very high for 2 weeks close to 5 bubbles per second (bps). Afterward, bring it down to 3bps. Setup lights as per the plants requirements. (Cuba is not a very light demanding plant). Setup filter that you have decided on using. If you are using nutrient rich substrate like ADA Amazonia II, follow the below light and water change routine.

Week 1: 3 Hrs of Light , 50 % Water change once in 3 Days
Week 2: 5 Hrs of Light , 30 % Water change once in 3 Days
Week 3: 7 Hrs of Light , 30% Water change once a week
Week 4: 9 Hrs of Light , 30% Water change once a week

Your tank is completely cycled after this stage and if you follow the above routine you will have minimal algae issues except for some diatom algae during the first 2 weeks on the glass which is easily wiped off during your water changes.

NOTE: A correct combination of amount of Light , CO2 and nutrients is required to keep a planted tank free of algae bloom. In most cases it is excessive light that causes the problem. Keep your lighting moderate and you will have minimal algae issues.
user posted image

This post has been edited by wKkaY: Mar 28 2013, 12:22 AM

1st.. Hehe.. Congrate

congrats for new V


WTA how to remove green dust algae ?

on glass?? via scrapper

Bro,
please copy my information on V10 first page and share them here.
It is much easier for beginners to learn basic knowledge about keeping planted tank

Roger That

Roger That

Congrats...

Anybody here that adds Marimo Ball to their scape?

Hi you can use MgSO4 to increase gH alone. Baking soda to increase kH only. or you can use CaCO3 to increase kH and gH.

Congratz on V11, house warming post of my 1ft update

small pieces of stone, 80% full of the A4 paper box

buce buce

nicely done sir!!

mini and nice

where's the like button? haha... i was seriously looking for it..

like??FB have lah

thx bro

the buce really colouring up, especially the melawi apple leave
now the apple leave looks nicer than the purple mini already.. save some money 1st, mayb buy a stalk of brownie from u after CNY
hehehe...

WAZZAP!!

i dont have browine lah

me too was searching for it. LOL

ai ya , facebook only have lah

we can always make it : "LIKE" +1 haha

okok, u r right

confuse maa taiko.. bro when are you going to show us ur 4 tanks? must be nice super nice with your collection..

today all my red cherry shrimps died because of my surface skimmer broke edy last saturday
just got back from work, then see the surface very bad and thick with protein oil and all shrimps died.

i think they must be suffocate for oxygen, since all snail also going up near surface.

Derick bro.

I don't understand what you mean.
You got 80% full of marimo balls?

my humble attempt at a planted tank

so pity u and also the cherry shrimp (RIP)

no lah , i have some small stone for sell,

no bad setup... keep it up.... u can do it much better

checking in

sorry for your loss. maybe you can check the root cause of too much protein oil? overfeeding? thick oil isn't likely to form within 3-4 days...

luqee : frequent members lounge or normal lounge?

maybe it was because of overdosing co2?

Maybe also, ph too low, overdosing co2.
Is ok, can buy somemore cherry from me. Hahahhaha Rm 30 for 40 pcs. Few batch only , limited offer

like button pressed..

nice work bro. keep it up.

Bro derick,

Sorry but our thread does not allow promoting products.
You could put it in 'Garage Sales' or even in your signature like what are you doing now.

Anybody interested will PM you
No offense ya bro, and happy planting...

not sure if overfeeding cos i feed small amount only and all fishes can finished it in less than 10sec. yeah, i think might be overdose co2, cos cos2 cant get out from surface and o2 cant get in.
my surface didnt have much agitation, only from fan.
last night install new surface skimmer and all oil gone edy. tonite will do some water change cos i forgot to do wc yesterday after trimmed the riccia.

normal only i guess this time...
now not enough time to manage my tanks haha due to work.
maybe after i start continuing my studies, then maybe i can start back la.. haha
my fishes and plants thinks im a bad owner

Thanks bro, noted

MgSO4 need to mixed with CaSO4 right? the test kit can't detect any Gh, so it must be very low or at 0 dGh

if i use coral stone, just put in the canister?

hi new here currently have aquarium at my house any plant that will clean the water or shit?

i dont get wat u mean. plant to clear the water or shit?i thing the green canister can ( ehiem )

about coral stone, it is used to increase the pH. it will incease the gH and kH but im not sure about the calculation.

Baking soda, NaHCO3 is used to increase the kH only
MgSO4, CaSO4 is used to increase the gH only
CaCO3 is used to increase the kH and gH together.


Hope that helps sir.

This post has been edited by kiminha: Jan 8 2013, 11:40 PM

haha sory bro, i mean is natural filteration aquarium

i dont think have loh

bro, or any plant that recommended to put in aquarium?

That's many plants can put in, depends on ur tank setup. Budget, many many more. Maybe upload ur tank here, we See how it looks like

woke bro, have pic i uploaded here

Where??old thread?

you can search for diana walstad approach. high plant mass + floating plants.

thanks!

do you sell CaSO4?

i'll pm u.

thx bro

Welcome bro.

Hi fellow bros,

I bought some star moss and after 1 month its turning brown.

Some people in other forums says that star moss is not a real aquatic plant and it cant survive under water.

Is that true?

Now I've taken out my star moss and leave it on the table

This post has been edited by qz4eva: Jan 10 2013, 12:46 AM

i also experience before, normally u can get the start moss near waterfall area.
i hear some bro is success have their live star moss in tank. maybe can ask for their help ..


calling calling those who have star moss come report here

qz: its hard to tell from your description. usually turning brown means your tank is not meeting the parameters required by the star moss.

moss usually are low light requirement. Most of the time, the concern is the temperature. you can't let it go higher than 28c.

totally agree with u bro ,


i have a tank last time which is all most , my temp is always 25-26 c . 3ft tank , low light , just 2 PLL , it grow very nice

i must admit, i dun have star moss. even my java moss also KO already. they barely survive in my tank.... sorry applebee... T_T

how can ur java moss also KO?
java moss is the moss most easily to have in ur tank , it will grow crazy

tats why i find it weird. but the echinodorus and subwasstertang and rotala najenshan is superb though...

one more thing.. my angelfish really pulls out the riccia and the java moss out... so fishes also reason it cant grow well in my tank.

so i only go for the hard stem plants now.

WTB : anubias!!

oic, no wonder, u must feed them kau kau mah ,

anubias got so many type, which one u looking for?

qz4eva
star moss do look lively to be used in wabikusa setups.

i have been keeping star moss for about 2months. they grow super slow. but condition is improving day by day.
i put them in my 2ft tank, below is the spec:
Eheim 2215, CO2 tank with UP atomizer, DIY LED set, water temperature i didnt measure since i using LED (mostly around 28-29C)

Hi guys I'm newbie and mind asking some questions?

1.) What are the differences between T5,T5HO and T8?
2.) How many watts do I need if I were to form thick and dense glosso carpet in 2 feet tank?
3.) Does diy co2 provide the same co2 to the tank?
4.) Is 360lph flow rate good for 2 feet tank?

Would be happy if any sifus can help out..

1.) What are the differences between T5,T5HO and T8?
HO=high output, T5 & T8= different technology to built florescent light . from good to bad, T5HO > T5 > T8
2.) How many watts do I need if I were to form thick and dense glosso carpet in 2 feet tank?
read my blog. i got some information about light wattage over aquarium volume.
3.) Does diy co2 provide the same co2 to the tank?
DIY co2 and pressurize co2 tank provide same co2 source to aquarium. but DIY co2 very troublesome since you need to change the remedy every one or two weeks.
4.) Is 360lph flow rate good for 2 feet tank?
calculate your aquarium water volume. filter rate shall be about water volume*6. meaning the filter shall cycle your whole aquarium water 6times in 1 hour.

This post has been edited by weijie: Jan 10 2013, 11:12 AM

Oic. Thanks for answering.

Thanks for the tips bros,

I guess I did it the wrong way.

At first when i bought it, it was so beautiful and so green.
Now its like melting n getting brown.

I guess i don't have chiller that's why.
And I took out the Co2 for it.

Aih no money to buy Chiller la I see its so damm expensive.
Luckily my new 2ft tank its in my room and got air cond.

@weijie,

sorry to say this but maybe you can just reply here directly..
no need to blogwhoring

so any guys willing to share their new setups?
hehe

Guys LFS here charging me RM130 for Shiruba XB303 and RM 150 for E-jet 3368. Which one is best recommended for 2 feet(15 gallon) with factors such as quality/price, noise and flow rate(360l/h vs 700l/h) taken into account?

Bro kimi,
if you willing to copy ALL information from blog and paste it here, please do so.
There are too many things to teach if every new member ask the same question again and again. So it is easier if they can learn and understand the basic first before start shooting questions to us.

This post has been edited by weijie: Jan 10 2013, 02:11 PM

ejet is better.
for shiruba, you have to hang it at your tank
plus ejet got a bigger space for your media filter

@ weijie,
ctrl + A > ctrl + C > ctrl + V

Hi,

1.) What are the differences between T5,T5HO and T8?
Like master Weijie said, the technology behind it. lowest to highest in terms of intensity: T8, T5, T5HO

2.) How many watts do I need if I were to form thick and dense glosso carpet in 2 feet tank?
if using T8, for a 15 us gallon tank, min 23 watt to max 30 watt without using CO2.
at 31 watts and above, CO2 is a must.
The higher you wattage, the faster your plants will grow, thus more CO2 and more fertilizer.

3.) Does diy co2 provide the same co2 to the tank?
it will provide co2 and as master Weijie said its troublesome. Additional note, diy co2 will not provide consistent CO2.
CO2 inconsistency will aid in algae outbreak.

4.) Is 360lph flow rate good for 2 feet tank?
Assuming 2 feet tank with 15 us gallon volume, minimum for a planted tank times 6 = 90 us gallon per hour.
for heavily planted tank up to 10 to 12 times filtration. 150 us gallon/ hour to 180 us gallon/ hour.

Hope that helps.

to both masters.. make peace/love not war...

Kimi & Weijie, please calm down brothers.

We are all working for the benefit of the community. Weijie's blog serves as a info bank based on his experience and certainly makes things easier for new people to get their answer. It also helps in cutting down repeated Q&A. Some frequent forumers have time to answer to newbies but others might not be so lucky.

Ultimately, i don't think its wrong or inappropriate to make reference to the blog. But to actively promoting it is another issue which should be avoided.

Like Kiminha said, make peace n love. I'm not siding whichever side but just pointing out my opinion. Cheers all!

For wmengc, it would be better to get the bigger LPH. IMHO, Ejet is bigger capacity than Shiruba and usually these canisters have those valve to dial down if the flow is too fast. The only issue is that these canisters are the size (where to store it etc). so, i would recommend getting the Ejet compared to Shiruba.

Luqee : u first. I haven't rescaped yet.

too bad jctasoga for the KO moss. I am having problem with my moss too... but it is hair algae problem. Last time i try bleaching treatment, end up all flame moss KO . Now just leave the spiky and singaporean moss fighting themselves against algae. WC and increase CO2 doesn't seem useful.

Anybody can advise, if I take out all algae affected moss to another tank and treat with Seachem Flourish Excel. once cure only remove back to my tank. Is it good move? I dun want to add Excel direct into my tank to prevent my RCS from going to heaven.

How long and what dosage to do Excel treatment to effectively get rid of hair algae.

applebee: I got it with your moss when u sent me. but it gradually gone. I didn't dose excel or limit the light. jsut normal fert range. maybe need to add some guppies or bigger prawns? hehe

how many RCS do u have sir?

not many around 20 adults + unknown shrimplet hiding.

SAE will do the job.
in my previous experience, i dip my moss ball (with BBA) into Excel solution which thought to remove it. but both K.O.

will SAE attack shrimp or shrimplet? how to differentiate SAE and flying fox. heard some LFS mix them together.

sorry, can i ask if the excel is doing spot treatment only? maybe can trial by using a syringe on a small batch first? at least the rest of tank is ok?

Thanks to all sifus for the answers.. very informative of you guys..


P/S: sorry if I did cause some flame over here.. Peace~

if you can remove the RCS it would have been better to cure the algae using blackout treatment plus excel dosing. usually the blackout procedure is for 3 days. its for a tank infested with serious algae outbreak. however for minor hair algae, pick it up manually and just spot dose it with excel. the amount you can use the instruction from the excel bottle itself. but i cant guarantee the CRS survival. after you have remove the hair algae, try reduce your light intensity.

actually wei jie also no chiller ,his tank temp ia quite high also,

u can add one fan , but abit noisy ,

my 3ft tank with fan temp is 25-26c

did some digging in the net for u guys hehee..
1st have to difference the moss between tortula ruralis vs plagiomnium trichomanes
if its tortula ruralis seems like no one manage to grow them submerged yet. but if its plagiomnium trichamanes seems like it is possible. food for thought :
http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/showthread...nes-Tricho-Moss

anyone has bought Akadama recently? if yes mind sharing the goin rate?

what is that?

akadama soil they use it for bonsai one... but if u use as undergravel filter can soften the water..
tot maintain one tank.. cannot arr.. my shrimp population explode d.. tat one feet tank cannot tahan edi.
planing a undergravel filter 1ft.

oic, i though can replace the ADA soil

Can! its like ada soil but no nutrient abit like jbl soil... ive read i cant remember which forum d.. the guy uses it instead of aquasoil.. he manage to grow a very nice carpet of marselia. and also stem plants. but he put base fert sticks la..

where to buy it ?expensive?water clear?

i am also doing research hehe.. my guess is those plant shop got gua.. as for price.. im not sure leh.. also trying to find out...erm.. as for clear or not ar.. for akadama i think need to wash like holland sand.. to flush away those ''dust''. the in the guy's tank i mentioned above quite clear. Deric79k, u remember the ''Flo'' from aquascaping world? his shrimp rack got use this akadama.

ok , i will go find and see, thanks for info