Dragon Forest II (Arowana Planted) Setup

[vinz]

I think you can find the Opaque white backing paper in DIY shops. What kind of Arowana is going to this tank?

Red this time.

[bryan]

Just a suggestion. Your scape looks ideal for Discus, with the open sand area for feeding.

[MCE]

Vinz, you can use the LED tube without ballast.. They have inbuilt the led driver within the tube that is same size of conventional flora tube. The pic I took was 5 ft.


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[vinz]

Bryan, I'm set on the arowana... been waiting years for this tank.

MCE, I was comtemplating LEDs vs T5. After reading and speaking to some people, decided on T5. Seems the LEDs penetration not great, so if enough to penetrate to bottom of 2ft tall tank, the top super bright.

Anyway, decide to cover the back glass then no worries about the wires showing. Just need to decide black, white or... I left it uncovered to have the flexibility to change it any time, but looks like its not a practical idea.

[dhmy2kgto]

Are you planning to tan your red arowana?

[vinz]

I need to read up more on this tanning thing first.

[dhmy2kgto]

I think the challenge will be to balance your photosynthesis period with the tanning period. Not sure whether the tanning lights will affect the plants. Otherwise you can perhaps invest in a good quality crossback instead? Just a suggestion=)

[Xanavi]

I think a gold will be nicer... especially those with dark core scales. The red will only look nice if it is a good red with well developed coloration... which you have to prepared to pay more for it.

[limz_777]

Crossback in a planted tank has a tendency not to develop the sixth row under the intense lighting

[vinz]

A quick update. One of the L183 Starlight Bristlenose grazing.

[Kiang]

Very cute. What size is this 183?

[vinz]

Still cute. About 1.5 inches. Nose to tail.

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[jiajuen900]

Very cute Nice background music

[vinz]

Went for a 2 weeks vacation, and came back to cloudy tank...fortunately it isn't green water.

Sagittaria subulata is a verifiable weed...it went from this


To this in just 10 days...


On a happier note, the Staurogyne repens did quite well too. Current state...

Both the crypts and S. repens are slow at spreading, so there is a clear border between them. Hopefully S. repens will spread enough to cover the gap in a few weeks.

The big clump of S. subulata is right smack in the middle of the back wall, making a unsightly bump in the triangular layout. The 3 Red Tiger Lotus (RTL) are also not growing as tall as I had hope to peekover the java fern, so decided to do some arrangement. Final result:

Still quite cloudy, but getting better. Moved the RTLs towards the lower end of the scape and let them peek out. Moved the S. subulata to the far left and the Hygrophila corymbosa "angustifolia" behind the Java fern. Had ordered H. corymbosa for the broad leaves to contrast the narrow leaves of the Java fern narrow, but received "angustifolia" instead. Looks different enough in person, but not in the photo.

Big gap on the left was suppose to be Bolbitis, but the plant came from a chilled tank and all the existing leaves died off within days. Happily, a few new fronds started sprouting after that and these few days the rhizomes suddenly showed a sudden burst of new fronds. Maybe because I took the them out a few days ago to trim off the leftover stalks of the earlier trimming of dead leaves. Finally seeing some success in growing this plant which has always failed in my hands. Temps range form mid-27 to high 28 celcius.



Trying out a new (to me) plant, Ranunculus papulentus:


Livestock wise, all fishes still alive, but all the snails have died. Not sure why. The SAEs are doing a rad job clearing algae. All BBA that was sprouting on the wood was decimated within 2 days.

[diazman]

The tank's looking great! cant wait for the dragon

P.S: Boss, if you planning to trim your S. subulata, let me know, i would like adopt some

[vinz]

LOL. I just threw out double the amount you see there. No worries, they'll be overgrown again in a few more weeks. Will let you know.

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[matashi]

Hi vinz, can I ask if staurogyne repens is suitable for low tech? No co2 no ferts.
It's looking so nice in your tank that I'm tempted to plant in my shrimp tank

[vinz]

Hi Matashi,

I do not have a definitive answer for you. I have tried S. repens in a low tech tank before, but I didn't really give it everything I could for a low tech tank. It didn't die, but grew slowly and the stem was quite brittle (when I try to pull off lower yellow leaves, sometimes the stem will just snap). The older leaves yellowed and fell off, which is usually an indication of low nitrates. eventually I threw them away as they were really poor shape and ugly.

The tank had no CO2 but got Flourish Excel regularly at half recommended dose, had low light (2 x 3ft FL over a regular 3ft tank) but was outdoors under a translucent awning. Fertilised with ADA Green Brighty Special Shade and pond soil for substrate (topped with gravel). I did not put the pond soil all the way to the front glass as I had intended to leave a strip of unplanted gravel in front. The S. Repens were planted near the front, so I don't really know how much soil it managed to reach with its roots, though normally plants would seek out the fertile substrate. Furthermore, there was competition from Red Tiger Lotus and a lot of cryptocoryne, which are both heavy nitrate and soil feeders.

If you ask me, I would try S. repens in a low tech tank if I get the chance. I have been surprised before by how well some supposedly difficult and demanding plants can grow reasonably well in moderate light, no CO2 tanks (e.g. Blyxa japonica). I have not verified it, but I find that adding Flourish Equilibrium (maintain about 6dGH or lower for your tank, or raise by 1dGH if tap water is already 6dGH or higher) for Mg, Ca and K for any planted tank helps. Flourish Excel or similar product helps too.

Edit:
I'm not a shrimp keeper, so you should check on this, but my guess is that shrimps would benefit from Ca in the water.
Also, if you don't fertilise then few, if any, plants would grow "nice". As for Excel, I don't know if you know anything about it, but I recall reading shrimp keeers having issues with it, so start at half recommended dose and never pour directly on top of shrimps (probably best to dilute with water you use to top up the tank).

[diazman]

LOL. I just threw out double the amount you see there. No worries, they'll be overgrown again in a few more weeks. Will let you know.

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Ah, a shame i missed the trim session

[vinz]

Diazman, how much do you need?