Lots of HELP needed!

[dawugui]

Guys, i've got a 4feet tank to re-landscaped.

The main occupants will be tetras and shrimps mostly.
What i wanted will be something like a landscape type of tank.

I Need help for the plants. Absolutely noob in identifying them.
1. I want foreground plants. But only know a few like glosso and Ah-Pek Plant. Any other foreground ones that will make a lush undergrowth?

2. WIll iron supplements and mixed liquid fertilisers be enough?

3. What other plants will be non-green in colour? I only know crypts, but that's all i know about crypts. (that is it can be non-green types, but definition all quite confused, like emersed or non emersed types)

4. What soil do you all recommend? Can I just put lapis sand below and filled the top part with another 2 inches?

5. Pricing wise. Planning to go down Teo's aquarium as soon as possible. But trying not to go down when i do not even know the names of the plants i need to get. How much a budget should i get?

6. Small small plants. Moss and riccia mostly, especially riccia. How do i tie it up nicely and yet it still have unrestricted growth? It always seem to come loose in my aquariums.

7 Lastly, clearing all my corydoras. But need help in ID them. Yet the photos i 've taken with my CASIO EXILM Z-70 seems very blurred, any way to take their pictures without getting blurred image even with macro mode?

[jacian]

Check out this website, http://www.bubblesaquarium.com/plants_front.htm
you may be able to find some plants you like.

For the substrate, will advise you to have a layer of base fert, it helps greatly.

[torque6]

You seem to be in a hurry to do this re-scape to accomodate your new shrimps and tetra. Plan what you need first, lights, plants. Using exisiting lights ? or just buying new ones. Intend to grow plants first/cycling with existing media as such.

Jacian,
Nice website, too bad its in HK.

[dawugui]

they are not exactly new. just that i need time to sort out my stuff.
what exactly is base fert? those ada kind of soil? should it go along with my lapis sand?

torque - i feel like changing my lights, just that my lights have already been custom fitted into the cover. i using those kind of fluorscent lights. I intend to shift my tank occupants to another tank for around 3 weeks. In between this 3 weeks, i tend to let my planted tank to recycle a while or creep first.

[jacian]

For base fert, I am referring to things like JBL Aquabasis Plus, JBL Florapol, Dennerle DeponitMix, ADA powersand etc

[blue33]

Having soil can be a headache when you want to do a rescape, cos the fert once come out will cause aglae grow and may cause ammonia spike and kill all your fishes etc..., you got to be very careful. Having soil would be very good if you plant alot of rooting plants, or else liquid fert is more than enough.

Lighting is the most crucial of all, without the right specs plant dont grow, and the nutrients you add will goes to algae grow only. Hope it helps. Btw soil is good, if you plan for future planting, just be careful when handling.

Cheers

[dawugui]

Will 3 weeks be long enough for the ammonia to stabilize?

[torque6]

Seems your question is incorrectly worded, what basis or effects does 3 weeks happen before or after to allow ammonia to stablise ?

Basically ammonia is toxic , but is broken down by nitrifying bacteria from nitrite -> nitrate.

[PeterGwee]

Why wait when the plants can do the job if you are setting up a planted tank? They actively take up NH4 if given the remaining nutrients and ample CO2 with respect to the amount of light. The key issue is planting in mass which means more uptake.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[dawugui]

Hmmm, thanks for the advice. should be setting one planted tank first, leave it for 3 weeks, and just put a few endlers to eat the mosquitoes..

plants wise any suggestion?

[blue33]

You can also go for the troublesome way by changing 20-30% of the water for 1-2wks(depnding how serious, normally less then 3 days you will get rid of ammonia but make sure the water replaced must anti-chlorine, if you have plants only then not neccessary to put anti-chlorine.

Cheers

[dawugui]

heh
sure~~

can anyone give me the direction to Teo's aquarium? Or is capricorn good enough also?

[torque6]

Thio or Teo, Thio= biotope at Ang mo kio 316B ST31 #01-07, can you call him at 64577740.

[wEiPInG]

Do you drive? If you do it is at the end of lim chu kang road near the police coast guards. I think is at LCK lane 8C. You can check the exact address at the LFS directory section i believe. The guys at Teo's are rather friendly. You just tell him what type of plants you are looking for and they will intro you some of the possible candidates and you decide from there. ID wise they might not have all the names but you can post on the forum and ask people

Various types of crypts depends on availability at Teo's and would be easier to go there and take your pick rather than deciding on exactly what you want firsthand.

Moss wise, if you are looking for mosses that attaches very tightly to your wood, then I would recommend christmas moss. Not all mosses attaches to what you tie them to.

Foreground plants glosso is fine and teo's usually has it, emersed form. But I have little success in keeping them which I attribute the problem to the temperature of my tank. I am doing a mini pellia floor which i think looks pretty nice with shrimps. Echinodorus tenellus is a common choice as well or you can try moss floors which i have not tried before (you can consult those who do).

Soil wise ADA aquasoil is a popular choice. I am using the aquasoil without basefert but is giving liquid fertiliser ( this was advised by the LFS), and my tanks is doing very well in the current settings.

These are just some of my opinions for your reference.

WeiPing

[kiokteck]

For foreground plant I recommend HC. They are nicer that glosso because the leave is smaller.

[dawugui]

not driving, so then to be a bit of hussle going down there.

thanks to weiping for all the helpful tips!

kioteck, where can i get HC? from the brothers around here?

[torque6]

HC can easily get from y618; require ordering/ NA/colorful or even c328, its a common foreground plant. Depends on where you stay really, call them first however before you head down as they may be out of stock.

[wEiPInG]

You can bus to Teo's too. Just like what i uaually do. Take 965 from behind CCK MRT. Go all the way to the second last stop(check with the bus uncle). Then you walk all the way in to Teo's(check a street directory). Its about a +-10 min walk.

WeiPing

[nasty12]

wei ping ~! let me know when u are going=D
we go after yr exams=D go there jalan jalan=D

[vinz]

You can bus to Teo's too. Just like what i uaually do. Take 965 from behind CCK MRT. Go all the way to the second last stop(check with the bus uncle). Then you walk all the way in to Teo's(check a street directory). Its about a +-10 min walk.

WeiPing

Check our Google Map. Bus stop marked, bus numbers and walking directions indicated.