ohh... okok... probably i'll invest in a proper regulator... solenoid regulator seems to save lots of trouble switching it on and off... but budget problem... haha....

mayb 4 bottles of diy co2 supply with lesser yeast-to-sugar ratio will prolong the co2 supply... but...
parents want it to be presentable.... 4 diy co2 is not a presentable.... hahahaa....

besides, how long a diy co2 can supply without needing to refil/make again??... my aim is at least 2 months of constant supply before refilling....

the other day i was talking to CTY aquarium shop in penang... da worker said to setup a nano size tank (like mine) need at least rm500.... i guess he was right... tank alone (nice one) already cost almost 100... small external filter rm150 (or can get larger HOB around rm25)... co2 tank rm150... soil, plants, driftwood/stone, fish, etc... definitely more den rm500....

and my parents jz gave me rm100 as budget... with so many requirement and limitation some more....

solenoid also so expensive... ><

anyone got second solenoid willing to sell off cheap cheap??..

---

Added on December 26, 2008, 1:01 amrescaped my tank today... but ran into a few problems....

i'm not sure whats the water pH now but the temperature is approx 28oC... dumped in my 3 surviving rummynose tetras, 6 glowlight tetras and 2 more guppies... the problem is my guppies keep suiciding (jump out of tank)... i'm guessing water parameter doesnt suit the guppies as they remain on the top part of the tank.... now i separated the guppies in separate tank...

i'm using ADA amazonia II soil with 1 ADA bacterball.... 2 driftwoods and some plants... plants ID havent find yet.... hehe....

i tried running the underwater filter to create current in the water (wanna circulate the water around)... since the motor is in da water, it heats up the water until 28oC even at night... i'm not sure if the plants can survive or not.... but the tetras seem to be happy....

so my choice/problem are...
- run the underwater filter to create current and risk losing my plants
- switch off the UW filter and wait if algae grows or not
- how can i improve the water parameter to suit the guppies so they can live inside the tank together??...

tomolo gonna hunt for ottos... couldnt find any around yet... aih...

This post has been edited by the_catacombs: Dec 26 2008, 01:01 AM

jz came back from penang today.... i guess gonna check it out tomolo....

some pics of the tank...







i'm using this internal filter to prevent stagnant water on certain parts of the tank... the current help circulates the water around... the motor generate some heat, which causes the water temp rise to 29oC....



so, i only switch on the internal filter when off photo period... water ripple created by the filter will help introduce oxygen for my fishes.... during photo period, i switch off the internal filter to prevent much co2 escaped from the water due to water ripple.... the HOB filter is switched on 24/7...

a few signs of algae spotted... mayb due to long lighting period... gonna get algae eater soon and reduce lighting hour... diy back my co2 supply coz still surveying around for pressurized co2 tanks....

so far my tetras are doing fine but the guppy reluctant to get back into the tank... i guess its because water pH doesnt suit guppies...

next up to worry about... do i need to do fertilizer dosing??... which would u guys recommend??...

as far as i know... ammonia created by fish waste and fish food is consumed by the bacteria... this turns it into nitrite and nitrate, which is beneficial to the plants to grow well.... means to maintain the beneficial nitrate and nitrite level, i should have sufficient beneficial bacteria to do so??... do i need to add another bacterball inside the HOB filter??... i've previously buried 1 bacterball under the soil.... and, does water change reduces the amount of bacteria??... what about iron, potassium and other essential minerals??... does dosing of these compulsory??....

sifoo sifoo pls enlighten me...

---

Added on December 30, 2008, 3:48 amafter jz 4 days...



and i got my oto adi...



but this fella seems to be vr lazy... makan abit den hide somewhere tidor...

This post has been edited by the_catacombs: Dec 30 2008, 03:48 AM

no wonder they turn yellowish adi... kena conned by LFS....

the stem plants grow vr vr fast.... 1 day can manage half inch... jz a few days reach to the top of the water surface adi... need frequent trimming....

external filter arr??.... expensive arr.... i trying to populate bacteria by not washing the sponge inside the HOB filter....

i heard rummynose tetra vr hard to survive... mine survived the water pail and 2 weeks before travelling back to ipoh... haha... during dat period, my rummynose looks like ikan bilis, what color also dun have.... haha.....

my oto looks vr small wor... i thought the oto still young, datz why eat a little....

so many job ahh??... dun wan first la... haha... now my plants growing well... if pertumbuhan terbantut only do la...

now my next target is pressurized co2 tank.... i jz change a new mixture for my 4 days old diy co2..... not even a week habis adi... apalah...

when my co2 mixture runs out, even i shake also last few minutes before running out again...

when u wanna let me see ur tank??..

update on my tank... bought 2 yamato and 1 SAE...



back from yumcha, saw my SAE lying dead on the table outside the tank...

any of u guys got case where fishes alwiz jump out from the tank??... my previous casualty was rummynose tetra....

i guess its because i didnt put a layer of polisterine under the aquarium... each time i accidentally bang on the table the fish sure get shocked....

malu nia if i send mine...

wah... can give me some glosso??... i planning to rescape my tank with glosso after cny... i mean the melaka tank...

but when i first introduce him into the tank, he seems to be fine... after an hour or so, he started feeding on the algae growing around the wood and plant...

after yumcha came back see him lying dead by the tank...

ohya, my rummynose change color when i switch off the lights... when the lights switched on, their nose turned red and tail has clear black n white stripe... does lighting period affect water quality??...

my oto still surviving... but alwiz hide somewhere sleeping... didnt do his job well cleaning up the tank..
now without my SAE, i'm depending on my yamato to clean the tank... but they seem to be lazy as well... mayb they dont eat dat kinda algae....
i need my SAE back...

if keep in bare tank, small fish get kinda stressed coz dont have plants or bushes to hide...

join our planted tank clan lah... cost is rather cheap, if u know how to search around and maintain it at low budget... for mine, around rm150 is sufficient for a nano size tank (16"x10"x10")...

of coz if u wanna go into moderate or expert level, need at least rm500 above for a proper external water filter, proper substrate and proper co2 supply...

my tank not really nice.... i'm jz a beginner... mayb our taikor here can show u better ones...
but normally planted tank not suitable for nano size.... parameter unstable... limited space for ur creativity.... i have no choice coz my house got no place to put bigger tank....

well, not exactly rm150 lah... its better to exclude plants and fish because those u constantly buy whenever ur hand is itchy... haha....

it depends on how committed are u in this... there are vr vr low budget ones which doesnt really grow very nice... and high budget professional level which will make u feel wanna be a fish....

like dat also can relate...

i guess its true about insufficient O2.... their color really change very fast.... about 1 minute the nose no longer red.....

nola... if u hand not ithcy no need to change often lor... jz do trimming when they overgrown.... local aquatic plants available in LFS cost about rm1-rm3... excluding moss, which is about rm6-rm8 per packet....

nicer imported plants should cost more than rm10 per pokok.... i not sure about this coz i grow cheap cheap local plants only.... look damn fugly now...

depends on how much u need....

for my budget setup, i'm using 4kg of aquasoil and 1 bacterball to promote beneficial bacteria growth....

professional level also has power sand, penac A, penac P, penac W, iron, tourmaline, clear super, etc.... i see also pengsan....

moderate level with proper complete ADA soil setup for a nano tank will cost u at least rm100 above....

woo... cps has another 4ft tank kaki adi..... haha...
mine nano tank hide aside first....

8k-10k so expensive??... what equipment u planning to use??... substrate??...

4ft tank must have a strong stand... what more, an 8ft tank... haha.... need to build concrete table for it....

ohya, update on my nano tank after abandon it for 1 week... 1 yamato found dead in the tank... mum removed him and throw inside dustbin adi...

others seems normal....

lolz... wad push aside??... still ok arr.... fish doing fine... jz dat one yamato KO.... the other one alwiz hilang at the back of the driftwood...

after cny gonna rescape my melaka nano tank.... ipoh tank jz leave it as it.... water change before i leave ipoh....

one thing i worry... my mum kinda fed the fishes too much food... their tummy are bulging...

ur filter running ah??...

or u trade in ur puffer back to the LFS lor...