Maybe I'll try to get a few rocks and try different method each just to experiment My oven hasnt been used for a while
Im wondering if using amazonia soil would offset the pH changes by the rocks.

By the way, would it be possible to plant a carpet plant without CO2? E.g. Marsilea, Micranthemum, Glosso.

hmm, probably gonna try hairgrass. now just need to find a shop that sells cheap curved tanks. pet shop at malls really overpriced.
well that was unexpected. unfortunately i dont have bleach or vinegar with me right now but i bought the rocks from aquarium shop, should be safe i guess? tomorrow i ask my gf bring some vinegar or bleach for me

you're right. flat tanks look better. especially the ADA ones but gila pricey. gonna scout around, aiming for 40cm.

thinking of doing low-tech iwagumi with hairgrass / micranthemum monte carlo. due to no CO2, i guess the dry start method should be better. do i need root tabs or fertilizer for hairgrass / micranthemum?

TBH, I'm also not sure though.

70w will be too much? 

Hi sifus i have question to ask.

Is it okay if i use diy co2 for 2ft and daily dose seachem flourish excel 0.1ml?

As before, i got alot of bba growing everywhere when im using diy co2. Hard to maintain good co2 level. 

Pls advice :-)

Hi sifus i have question to ask.

Is it okay if i use diy co2 for 2ft and daily dose seachem flourish excel 0.1ml?

As before, i got alot of bba growing everywhere when im using diy co2. Hard to maintain good co2 level. 

Pls advice :-)

Don't you need lights? I would like Marco Polo as foreground due to its ease in growing, but I've never tried to plant in a 1 feet mini.

Marco Polo is low tech.

Anyway I have some time. Thought to upload some photos.

[attachmentid=5195560]
During setup.

[attachmentid=5195567]
Five months growth. And many renos.

[attachmentid=5195581]
Yamato shrimp. Always berried. Pity they can't breed in freshwater.

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My CRS. Still waiting for the fella to berry.

[attachmentid=5195600]
Dream Blue.

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Tiger shrimp.

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Bucephalandra. Just added over a month ago. Still waiting for the leaf to turn purple.

[attachmentid=5195632]
Panda Garra.

Thanks for the tip with the monte carlo and buce.

Panda Garra it seems is safe with shrimp. So far mine has never bothered the shrimp. But it constantly chases the SAE. One SAE jumped out because kena chase like crazy. Now left one more.

I'm using chiller, so my temp is 25-26C. As for algae, there's very little algae except for those that grow on the Buce. I was warned that its so slow growing, that algae would be a risk on buce, but I wanted to try anyway.

Other than that, I have a bit of problem with green spot algae that grows on the glass - so it needs it weekly cleaning otherwise the glass will turn green and ugly. I'm still trying to deal with this. Do you have any tips on how to control green spot algae?

For ferts, I'm using the full range of ADA ferts - Brighty-K, Step-2, Brighty-Shade, Brighty-Light, Green Gain, Phyton Git, ECA and Green Bacter. There's a dosing regime that I follow which is recommended by ADA Malaysia.
Through the naked eye, the algae is hardly noticeable, but in photos, its noticeable. But for control, I use my cleaning crew - SAE, Yamatos, Ottos, and Panda Garra. But Garra is not doing his job and causing problems. To me, SAE is the star performer in my cleaning crew.

But most important for algae control is the plants must be healthy. I'm still giving the buce time to adjust and shed its old leaves. I believe that's why algae is growing on its leaves. These are the challenges I'm facing with Buce.

If the algae gets very bad, which it did for me around the 3rd month of setup, with green hair algae getting out of control and some BBA taking root. I dose Phyton Git one drop per liter, and institute lights out and aeration for 48 hours. I've had reason to do it only once and after one week, it clears the tank. This method was advised to me by ADA Malaysia - they're my main lifeline for my tank.

If the plants are healthy, the algae should be in check. But that's the age old question isn't it?

What's your setup? I'm trying to catch the Panda Garra - and I'm looking for a fish trap to trap it. If you know any fish traps, please let me know.

Thanks. Just for the sake of discussion

Yeah I agree about the chiller. Its a deal breaker for many cases. Without chiller, my temp goes up to 31-32C. And I don't like to use fan.

As for SAE - here's my experience. There are many mistaken identities where the Flying Fox is sold to unsuspecting customers as SAE. The Flying Fox looks almost identical, but that is the one that you described - eats algae when young, and when it grows up, it becomes aggressive and eats only pellet food. Whereas the original SAE eats algae all its life and is never aggressive.

I had a similar fish last time which I thought was SAE. At first it was okay, but after a few months, it started to bite my shrimps and became aggressive. I returned it to the LFS, and I got the true SAE from another trusted source. I see my SAE now is always busy nibbling on the plants and it leaves the shrimp alone - although its over 3 inches long now. I may be wrong about this conclusion - but this is only from my experience.

I have no experience with Nano. Do you need to cycle the filter and how will you be controlling the temperature and algae?

I've always toyed with the idea to setup a Nano for my study room - but these uncertainties held me back.

yeah maybe you should try a nano tank and see.

yes, i will let the tank and filter run for about 2 weeks before adding live stocks in. I will only be using a DIY fan to keep the temperature at about 28-29 degree c. algae issue I will deal with it with lighting control as well as excel treatment.

I would be using only ADA amazonia, about 2 inch thick only, no power sand, no 5 elements etc. to keep the cost low and i tend to always rescape on yearly basis, so no point for me to use all those.

2 months progress:




Unfortunately apart from the center part of the tank, the rest didn't grow much. In fact left part turned a bit brownish. Do you guys think now would be a good time to flood the tank, or should I wait longer?

lamp is on timer, so 2 months of pretty much forgetting it. 
not sure what's wrong. the middle part seems to be doing okay. since the soil is all the same, my best guess is light and water level variations. maybe i could use a mirror to maximize the lighting. 
Im using amazonia. the light is LED, set for 14 hours per day. probably gonna try mirror for the time being, see if it helps.

up aqua pro z series.

my guess is due to the rock positions, some area probably arent receiving as much light. i've placed a mirror on the left side. gonna see how it goes within the next few weeks. if still no change, then im just gonna flood after a month or two

Kinimaro....im at puchong but anywhere in kl should be fine. Im looking to start with soil but seems like sand is easier to take care and cheaper. Any suggestion between this 2 type?

i think its just better either with soil or just sand only. guess doing soil is easier since sand is hard to maintain haha...i dun want end up screwing up the whole tank for nothing....

Hi all, for those who haven't get surface skimmer, you may try getting 2 to 3 guppy fishes in order to get rid of the oil film.

ewww, guppy.. haha, too colourful for my liking.

guys, I'm thinking of switching filter, any recomendation for 60cm, 110L tank?

Hey tehoice, I'm currently using a lily pipe, is that one of the methods to diminish the thin oil film? I thought that's for producing oxygen during night time.