Bought my new tank basic setup stuff....

[edwinloh]

Your gravel looks really thick.... i guess that is okay but how it contributes to the esthetics of the tank...i dont know...

yeah.. coz the lfs owner asked me to get more and i kind of buy-in.. I haven't really plan on the landscape that I want to do..

co2 - yes i did bought a canister but i didn't think of doing high-tech.. still a very newbie so i dun dare to start big time scaping.

i stayed at admiralty.. and no transport.. the only lfs store i can look forward is the one at vista point.

if so...i would stuff the damn thing with plants right now

u mean i should buy plants and put in now and probably buy fishes later? sorry.. i m kind of confuse coz some say let the water runs and only put in plants few weeks later.. thanks for you guys advise..

[ranmasatome]

Well.... i feel you should really decide if you want to go high tech or low tech first... just pick one method and stick with it... if you fluctuate between here and there most times you will end up getting more algae than you bargained for....
after you've made that decision... then you're able to plan your tank better..

here is a bunch of links that will explain many facets of the aquarium to you... do read up so that you can educate yourself... sometimes its not that we don't want to explain but it tends to get very wordy and explaining this much over and over again simply is quite frustrating...so thats why we put these links up as stickies so people can go read them before hand. Do feel free to ask questions later after you've read them or have trouble understanding some parts... it is a quite a lot to read i must say... but it is good for you as it teaches you how to maintain the aquarium well...Moreover, reading it will also improve your understanding of your aquarium..so you won't have to keep relying on us to help you... when you have a problem, you can almost rectify it yourself..which is very useful if things are urgent...

I think generally for now.. cut the lighting down to 24watts.. cut the co2, then stuff the thing with cheap plants and a few cheap fishes...read up... then plan..

[Quixotic]

2) To be save 4 weeks but it is depending on how you cycle the tank

u mean i should buy plants and put in now and probably buy fishes later? sorry.. i m kind of confuse coz some say let the water runs and only put in plants few weeks later.. thanks for you guys advise..

I think Shadow misread your question and thought you are referring to fish. Yes, plant first, fish to be added after cycling, preferably between a few weeks.

Do read this and the links provided to understand what the nitrogen cycle is about, http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...94&postcount=2.

Plants need ammonia/nitrite/nitrate to grow, but for fauana, ammonia/nitrite is toxic in low levels and nitrte is toxic in high levels. Therefore, you can start planting in the first instance, and add your fish later after your tank has completed cycling.

[edwinloh]

Well.... i feel you should really decide if you want to go high tech or low tech first... just pick one method and stick with it... if you fluctuate between here and there most times you will end up getting more algae than you bargained for....
after you've made that decision... then you're able to plan your tank better..

I think generally for now.. cut the lighting down to 24watts.. cut the co2, then stuff the thing with cheap plants and a few cheap fishes...read up... then plan..

I'll most likely go for low tech buildup.. i m viewing lots of other members photos to see how they do their landscape.. can get lots of aspiration from here

as for the lighting, it comes with a pair of lighting.. does this means i need to take out one of the FL? I'll cut off the co2 until i have more plants

Plants need ammonia/nitrite/nitrate to grow, but for fauana, ammonia/nitrite is toxic in low levels and nitrte is toxic in high levels. Therefore, you can start planting in the first instance, and add your fish later after your tank has completed cycling.

ok will do so.. thanks guys.. i really appreciate your advises...

[PeterGwee]

Think about how you can go about lowering the presence of NH4....How can you do it in a planted tank? Plants assimilate it rapidly if given ample CO2, light and other nutrients and export them as biomass whereas bacteria merely convert them from highly toxic NH4 into less harmful NO3 and needs time to buildup. What do you think is the best way to go about lowering the presence of NH4 now?

You can gain alot even if the light is low with CO2 supplement.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[Shadow]

you are right I missread the question, sorry about that

[PeterGwee]

Aquatic plants do not assimilate NO2 (Nitrite) as it is toxic to them as well.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[edwinloh]

thank you .. thank you.. here is my next step:

1) Wait till end of this week to get more "hardy" plants. Meantime, lights n co2 will turn off
2) I'll try to budget to buy a canister external filter.. i'll read around to see any good/value for money filters.. if u guys can recommend that will be good.. budget less than 50 bucks.
3) No fishes till 4 weeks later.. maybe I'll tempted to put in so "hardy fish"..
4) ohh.. maybe i'll get a termometer too.. hehe... tempted tempted...

i'll seek for the advise from the lfs .. hopefully can get good recommendation..

I really thankful to you guys for the advise.. I really can't wait for this weekend.. man...

[David Moses Heng]

thank you .. thank you.. here is my next step:

1) Wait till end of this week to get more "hardy" plants. Meantime, lights n co2 will turn off
2) I'll try to budget to buy a canister external filter.. i'll read around to see any good/value for money filters.. if u guys can recommend that will be good.. budget less than 50 bucks.
3) No fishes till 4 weeks later.. maybe I'll tempted to put in so "hardy fish"..
4) ohh.. maybe i'll get a termometer too.. hehe... tempted tempted...

i'll seek for the advise from the lfs .. hopefully can get good recommendation..

I really thankful to you guys for the advise.. I really can't wait for this weekend.. man...

Actually, i am using a EHIEM 2213 for my 2 feet and it is doing great. By the way, you have got pm.

u mean i should buy plants and put in now and probably buy fishes later? sorry.. i m kind of confuse coz some say let the water runs and only put in plants few weeks later.. thanks for you guys advise..

what i did with my 422 and 211 was that i packed it with plants right form day 1. Also, for my 211, from day1, i also throw in the fishes with no casualty.

[Merviso]

Hi, edwinloh, good effort !

Here is some of my thoughts for your reference:

Your substrate looks very thick and irregular; especially the color difference of the top and base substrate make it looks a bit unnatural.

suggestion:
a) Maybe you can find a way to push back the base substrate a bit, away from the glass, and let the top magic soil make up a thin front layer against the glass. This will remove the 2 layer look and made it feel more natural.
b) Since your substrate is so thick, try sloping the top substrate with the front soil sloping up towards the back. The back is usually thicker so that you can plant the taller background plants that usually have bigger root system.
c) Add some rocks and driftwood to keep the soil inplace and also to complement on the plant layout.

I think we can all see that you have put in very good effort and guess that's why alot of the bros here had been very helpful. We really hope to see your tank doing well. Maybe you like to share with us which part of singapore that you are staying now and get to know some bros here that maybe living around your area. I'm sure most of the bros here would be happy to even drop by your place and help you get a good start.

Btw, I'm living in bedok.

[edwinloh]

thanks man.. me? i m staying at admiralty .. Ok..I'll try to push the soil to make it thicker at the back.. i m still scouting for a nice stone .. wife prefer stone than driftwood.. hehe..

[oblivion]

haha me staying at admiralty too
you mentioned you frequent the lfs at vista point?
i went there before. its a decent place for the common fishes. relatively clean tanks and conditions for the fish
but for more planted tank equipments, ferts, consumables and plants, you should make a trip or 2 to y618 near khatib
the variety is much more and more suitable for planted tanks

[heeroyu16]

Francis at Vista point has alot of good advice,, the younger kid working there too.
They have lots of hardy plants there I too frequent there. as for stones, you may have to go to y618 or Aquastar as Vista point does not carry much.
But for more selections, either NA or Colourful opposite Thompson Medical has more choices.. though my preference is Colourful

[edwinloh]

yup.. I've been there once.. quite a nice guy .. tat is y i m planning to over this weekend to see francis again to get some hardy plants to speed up my cycling of my tank

[edwinloh]

guys, just came back from the lfs at vista point..

rear view:


front view:



filter:


I bought the jebo 835.. didn't turn on the max power output coz the current is too strong..

temperature: 27 celcius.. if i turn on the fan, it will drop to 26 celcius.



few questions to ask:

1) Is it normal for my filter to be not fully draining out water because i didn't turn on the max output of the water?
2) Is my co2 diffuser place correctly? Now i m putting it in the middle just below the rainbar ..
3) I did a "KH" test, and weird thing is supposely I drop the droplet it will turn to blue then to yellow.. but on my first drop, It immediately turn yellow.. any idea? is that bad or good?

Moving forward, I'll get a suction pump to take out more black gravel out.. I think I've put in too thick .. it is very difficult to plant the plants..

Yeah.. I am happy to get my plants now.. hopefully my plants will grow and i can start putting fishes in soon...

[Goondoo]

3) I did a "KH" test, and weird thing is supposely I drop the droplet it will turn to blue then to yellow.. but on my first drop, It immediately turn yellow.. any idea? is that bad or good?

It simply means your KH kit is faulty or your KH value is below 1.

[edwinloh]

It simply means your KH kit is faulty or your KH value is below 1.

but when i run the test against the tap water.. it will turn blue if i put lots of water in.. 5ml does not seems to be enuf.. maybe the kit is indeed spoil..

[Shadow]

1) Not sure what you mean by draining out water, but if I'm undestand it corectly, it should not draining out water unless your filter leaking.
3) I never use magix soil before, but it might have the same kH lowering property as ADA.

[plausible]

maybe you can slope your substrate more?

[edwinloh]

1) Not sure what you mean by draining out water, but if I'm undestand it corectly, it should not draining out water unless your filter leaking.
3) I never use magix soil before, but it might have the same kH lowering property as ADA.

hi shadow, no worries.. i got it solved.. i think there was some "air" in the filter.. i pumped it out and now works fine. thanks btw, is it normal to have lots of bubbles along the rainbar? it is because of the co2 right? is that okay?