64 Litre "Forest Edge" Tank!

[cw1985]

So are they dwarf hairgrass? Or just hair grass? the different between them is only plant height? Other than that they appearance any difference? Thanks for ur fast respond. I am considering whether worth to pluck out all the initial hg

[Urban Aquaria]

So are they dwarf hairgrass? Or just hair grass? the different between them is only plant height? Other than that they appearance any difference? Thanks for ur fast respond. I am considering whether worth to pluck out all the initial hg

There are many different variants of hairgrass and they have different growth patterns (ie. straight or curved) and different growth height, so its just a matter of picking the right ones which fit your aquascape.

If you want those for the background, then choose the taller growing ones... if you want those for foreground carpet, then better to choose the shorter growing ones (it will save alot of hassle during plant maintenance).

[cw1985]

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Are they hair grass? It seem so much diff.... lol....

[cw1985]

And May I know where u brought ur eleocharis sp mini? I went to quite few LFS but none have it.

[Urban Aquaria]

IMG-20150617-WA0000.jpg
Are they hair grass? It seem so much diff.... lol....

Yeah, yours is probably a different species of hairgrass... only way to know is to let it grow out and see.

And May I know where u brought ur eleocharis sp mini? I went to quite few LFS but none have it.

I bought mine from Fishy Business, but you can also get them from other places like C328 or Aquatic Avenue.

[Dscheng]

Fishy business has no stock for eleocharis sp mini, if i am not wrong. But do call them before making a trip down.
UA, when you rescape your tank, do you use back the soil? I am wondering how long ADA soil can really last?

[Urban Aquaria]

UA, when you rescape your tank, do you use back the soil? I am wondering how long ADA soil can really last?

Yes, i do recycle the ADA aquasoil whenever i decommission a tank. I basically transfer all the soil into a sieve basket with fine netting, rinse it for a while to wash away the dust/mud and dirt particles, then re-use the remaining soil in the new setup. Usually i can recycle around 80% of the original volume of soil (the rest would have broken down into mud or dust after being used for a while), so just need to top up abit of soil to compensate.

The old recycled soil will be relatively lower in nutrient content though, so additional fertilizers or root sticks/tabs would need to be added to rejuvenate it. So far the oldest batch of aquasoil i have still in use is around 5+ years old and it has been transferred across 3 tanks, so its definitely a re-usable substrate.

[cw1985]

Hi UA. Check with you wat type of fertiliser u dose to your planted tank? And how frequent and amount you dose? Do we really have to dose?

[Dscheng]

UA intro me tropica fert. Very good, my moss grew so fast. Daily 1ml. But higher price tag.

[Urban Aquaria]

Hi UA. Check with you wat type of fertiliser u dose to your planted tank? And how frequent and amount you dose? Do we really have to dose?

For this tank setup, i use Tropica Premium fertilizer, at 1-2ml dosage everyday (amount depending on observed plant condition and density).

Its best to dose fertilizers regularly to supplement the plant nutrient requirements, especially if Co2 injection is being used (due to the faster growth rate in such environments), otherwise the plants will tend to exhibit nutrient deficiencies and become stunted.

[cw1985]

Wat about seachem product?

[Urban Aquaria]

Wat about seachem product?

Can use the those fertilizers too. Seachem Flourish and Seachem Potassium (K) could be a suitable combo for K + micro/trace nutrients supply... if your tank has a moderate bio-load, the nitrogen (N) and phosphates (P) could be generated from fish food and waste.

If your tank bio-load is low or the plant density is high, and you find that the plants need more of the other nutrients, then just add those accordingly.

[cw1985]

Can use the those fertilizers too. Seachem Flourish and Seachem Potassium (K) could be a suitable combo for K + micro/trace nutrients supply... if your tank has a moderate bio-load, the nitrogen (N) and phosphates (P) could be generated from fish food and waste.

If your tank bio-load is low or the plant density is high, and you find that the plants need more of the other nutrients, then just add those accordingly.

Thank you for your assistance. I will go get those fertilizers soon.

[cw1985]

UA, check with you. Does your sp mini hair grass grow vertical instead of spreading at the initial stage? mine is growing upward..... lol.... double the height compare to the initial stage I planted them. Was thinking should I trim them to near substrate surface as some mentioned it help for spreading....

[Urban Aquaria]

UA, check with you. Does your sp mini hair grass grow vertical instead of spreading at the initial stage? mine is growing upward..... lol.... double the height compare to the initial stage I planted them. Was thinking should I trim them to near substrate surface as some mentioned it help for spreading....

I find that in areas which are under direct lighting, they will grow shorter and flatter... whereas in areas that are shaded (ie. under other taller plants), they grow more vertical and abit taller.

It could be the sp. mini's response to lighting conditions, i guess their growth shape and height depends on the amount of light they get.

You can trim the taller ones, it'll help even out their growth height.

[cw1985]

UA, 2 question to ask u. Is there any diff by using a powerhead to pump out the CO2 compare to using a diffuser? I saw some ppl using a powerhead instead of a diffuser to diffuse the CO2 into tiny bubbles. They claimed that it is more efficient as the tiny bubbles can flow to the whole tank instead of just flowing upward when using the normal diffuser.

I assume the result still the same since the amt of co2 in water injected into water depend on bps. Im I rite?

2nd qus:

My hair grass is not bubbling but they are growing taller although spreading is very slow. my co2 checker shown green color which mean sufficient CO2 in water. I using 2 T5 light. Do I have to achieve bubbling state or just continue my current set up?

Thank you.

[Urban Aquaria]

UA, 2 question to ask u. Is there any diff by using a powerhead to pump out the CO2 compare to using a diffuser? I saw some ppl using a powerhead instead of a diffuser to diffuse the CO2 into tiny bubbles. They claimed that it is more efficient as the tiny bubbles can flow to the whole tank instead of just flowing upward when using the normal diffuser.

I assume the result still the same since the amt of co2 in water injected into water depend on bps. Im I rite?

Well, using a powerhead is basically a method to use the spinning impeller to chop up the Co2 into smaller bubbles and at the same time push the bubbles around the tank. You could also get the same effect by using an in-tank diffuser and simply directing the filter outflow towards the diffuser so that it pushes the generated Co2 bubbles downwards towards the plants. Both method can work well, just have to adjust the flow to achieve optimal circulation.

The only thing with a powerhead method is that you have an additional piece of electrical equipment in the tank, which is obtrusive and adds to the visual clutter, especially for planted aquascapes that are trying to achieve a clean minimalistic style (as little visible equipment in the tank as possible). Note that there are also inline diffusers which are installed outside the tank, those are connected along the outflow pipe of a canister filter, so it reduces the number os items inside the tank.

The actual deficiency of both methods would depend on the size of the Co2 bubbles generated and how well they are circulated (not just based on BPS injection rate), if the bubbles are few and large, they have less total surface area for diffusion into the water column and will tend to float up to the surface quickly and pop, which wastes the gas. If the bubbles are many and tiny, then they have more total surface area for diffusion into the water and don't float up so easily so they can remain suspended in the water column and get circulated around by the flow flow.

What most people want is lots of tiny micro Co2 bubbles being produced, usually from an atomizer diffuser system (the bubbles produced are almost like mist), so that the micro bubbles can circulate down to the plants and linger around and under the leaves to provide pure Co2 directly to the plants.

Note that with these methods of diffusion, all those floating Co2 bubbles tends to create a soda/misty effect in the tank when the Co2 is in operation. Some people may not mind it, but some people also don't like it as it obscures the view of the plants and livestock.

Personally , i prefer less visible equipment in the tank and i like my tank water to be clear during the light photo-period, so i use an inline Co2 reactor system hidden in the tank cabinet instead. Inline Co2 reactors chop and mix the Co2 gas to achieve 100% diffusion rate inside the reactor system, so that only Co2 enriched water gets pushes out into the tank (no visible Co2 bubbles floating around). In this way the water is packed with Co2, yet the water remains clear. The only bubbles that appear in the tank are oxygen bubbles rising up from the plants in the form of "pearling". So that could be another alternative method you can look at.

2nd qus:

My hair grass is not bubbling but they are growing taller although spreading is very slow. my co2 checker shown green color which mean sufficient CO2 in water. I using 2 T5 light. Do I have to achieve bubbling state or just continue my current set up?

From my experience, even in the most optimal growth environments, hairgrass generally doesn't "pearl" as much as other leafy plants (especially when compared to faster growing stem plants)... i have dense carpets of hairgrass which don't pearl much, yet they are healthy and grow as fast as the other plants, so its not totally necessary to see them pearling like crazy to get them growing well.

[Dscheng]

My hair grass will only have pearling effect after I trim it.

[Urban Aquaria]

My hair grass will only have pearling effect after I trim it.

Those are the trapped gases being released from cut plant tissue... its more like "air leaking".

[Ryan Peh]

Hello UA, I can't believe I only saw this entire post now... But better late than never HAHA.
The tropica premium fertiliser that you used, where did you buy it from and how much did it cost you?

Also, between monte carlos and eleocharis mini, which is the lower requirement carpet plant?