Reply With QuoteReserved for future use
My real intention for doing this tank is to experiment with LED lighting as an economical way to run beautiful high tech tank. I stress on economical because >90% of LED lighting products out there are not truly performing to potential based on the semiconductor LEDs they use, i.e, they are not much more efficient than T5 or PL-Ls. So this rescape is really to test what my DIY light is capable of. Some of you may be familiar with my previous setup which was japan hairgrass/staurogyne repens [1] [2].
This time I will try Fissidens & HC conservatively, while having Eleocharis parvula (dwarf hairgrass) and rotala in case the first two don't succeed.
Setup
Tank: 30cm cube low-iron glass
Substrate: ADA Amazonia II Powder (1 year old)
CO2: Pressurised
Lighting: DIY LED 18W (6x CREE XM-L2 Cool White ~2470 lumens)
Water: Singapore tap, Seachem Prime
Fertilisation Regime
K: 30ppm/wk (from K2SO4 crystals)
N: 25ppm/wk (from Ca(NO3)2 crystals)
P: 1ppm/wk (from KHPO4 crystals)
Fe: ~1ppm/wk (from 1mL Seachem Iron)
Traces: 5ml/wk Seachem Comprehensive
Carbon: 3ml/day Seachem Excel
50-70% water change weekly
Flora
Rotala Rotundifolia
Eleocharis parvula (dwarf hairgrass)
Hemianthus callitrichoides (HC)
Fissidens fontanus
Fauna
Neocaridina denticulata (RCS)
18W PL-L vs 18W DIY LED
PL-L
LED
These photos were taken less than 10min apart. The tank is dirty because it was in DSM state for about 3 months. Initially this period was for the benefit of the fissidens to get attached to the 3 pieces of driftwood. The hairgrass present here are japan hairgrass from my previous setup [1] [2]. Approximately 70% of the hairgrass died during the DSM period and these here are the survivors. The only reason why I left this as DSM for so long is because I didn't have time to build the new LED system...but alas, finally I did.
Day 1
In the evening I went out and bought some Eleocharis parvula (regular hairgrass) and some stem plants as I needed something fast-growing for the early stage of the setup to prevent bad algae. This plant looked thick and bushy with large elliptical leaves. I just wanted something other than rotala and cabomba which I both found to be terrible under 18W fluorescents (thin leggy growth). The guy at the LFS told me these stems were not rotala but myaca. Turns out it can't possibly be myaca. I planted it anyway. It looked nice.
Note the HC scraps I stuffed into holes of the driftwood. Do you think they will survive?
Day 4
Taken after the photoperiod, hence the leaf closures of the stem plants. Surprise, surprise, it was rotala after all. New growth had long thin leaves and red colouration very typical of submerged rotala. Probably rotundifolia, but if any expert knows otherwise, please inform me. My plants have 3 leaves per node, which is quite unusual for regular rotala I see at LFS's which have 2 leaves per node.
Also, all of them appear to be bent along the substrate. I later learnt that this is a known behaviour of rotala under strong light! Thats extremely welcome news for me, since this is a totally new effect for me despite light being the same old 18 watts.
If you guessed that the HC would die, you're wrong! The HC scraps have tripled in growth in just 3 days.
Last edited by 32103940; 21st Nov 2014 at 19:44.
Reserved for future use
Reserved for future use.
Reserved for future use..
1000mA for 3W.
1000mA for 3W? 10A ? It is very big
Looks like I can't edit the original post to put updates in.
Day 8
HG starting to get very busy. Stem plants quite obviously rotala now with longer narrower leaves. HC continuing to grow. Fissidens smothered with green algae.
Day 8
Day 13
Day 16
Day 21
On day 22 I sold much of the hairgrass here to make way for the HC, which has surprised me over the last few weeks. Note the good growth around the drift wood, and also if you look closely, hidden under the hairgrass on the lower left. The next time I update, this tank would look pretty different foreground wise.
K: 30ppm/wk (from K2SO4 crystals)
N: 25ppm/wk (from Ca(NO3)2 crystals)
P: 1ppm/wk (from KHPO4 crystals)
Can I ask you where you get these from?
Crazy growth haha
within 2 weeks? that is mad.
ecocity hydroponics. they can deliver to your house. some Lfs may stock their productsOriginally Posted by Maxim5
wah ... time to go do my DIY LED.
Day 23
Sold some hairgrass, redistributed the HC from the driftwood to the front/middle scape
Day 37
Hairgrass is out of control!!! Also added 4 otos a few days earlier.
Day 45
very nice... lush and thick growth...
What's the temperature?
Restarting this hobby.
very beautiful plants is developing very quickly
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks