Alvin Koh's Journal: 90x45x45cm Planted

[Alvin Koh]

Hee hee. If your tank is small like 2 feet, You can try to rise the front so that the water won't be stagnant at the front portion when the slope is at the lowest point. Nice progress.

eviltrain, thanks for the simple solution. The more I stared at the puddle where the indentation is, the more I realised it was unnecessary (to have the mild sloping indentation).
I've leveled the front a bit more, lowered the water and added some UG that grew quite slowly, from my nano tank to the front.

To increase the level of humidity and to reduce the temperature, I aerated a plastic cup full of water within the covered tank. This allows a slow exchange of external air and also keeps the plants on the higher terrain moister - water beads on the glass are more obvious now, compared to just fogging on the glass previously. I reckon the slight air movement also helps in circulation within the tank - and may have benefits similar to a higher flowrate in a water-filled tank.

[vinz]

Lookin' good!

[eviltrain]

To increase the level of humidity and to reduce the temperature, I aerated a plastic cup full of water within the covered tank. This allows a slow exchange of external air and also keeps the plants on the higher terrain moister - water beads on the glass are more obvious now, compared to just fogging on the glass previously. I reckon the slight air movement also helps in circulation within the tank - and may have benefits similar to a higher flowrate in a water-filled tank.

this is a neat idea! i shall try this for my next DSM. i think you can add a daiso ice pack in to keep the temperature low.

[Alvin Koh]

Week 3 (31 January 2011)

Dry Start Method (DSM)

I have made a few tweaks to the DSM configuration and routine. I increased the lighting to 4x39w and introduced a humidifier (water + airstone). The humidifier helped tremendously in keeping the upper soil hydrated.

What I noticed however, is an increase of Cyanobacteria or Blue-Green algae. I had this issue previously with my emersed UG culture and it's most likely due to soil that's too wet, especially at the foreground. I dug a 'well' at the foreground corner and inserted a short tube. I have been removing excess water from the well with a large pipette.

I have also stopped supplement of diluted liquid fertilizer and hope that the spread of Cyanobacteria will stop. Also applied some Seachem Excel at 50% dilution to visible patches of algae and rinsed after. The increased lighting could also be responsible for the algae and I may cut back if I do not see any improvement.


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Plant Additions

My plant selection is progressing rather unhurriedly while waiting for the UG foreground to fill up. This is also due to lack of actual experience with the almost myriad varieties of plants that I have not used before. I spend much of my leisure time reading up on the various species I come across in fish shops and trying to envision how they will fit in my scape. Occasionally, I do find something I like.

My updated list of plants in the tank is as follows:

1) Utricularia graminifolia
2) Downoi - Pogostemon helferi
3) Staurogyne repens
4) Anubias barteri v. 'nana golden'
5) Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
6) HC - Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
7) Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'

Lilaeopsis brasiliensis and HC were already in my collection but just added today after I confirmed they could fit the scape setting. They are planted in the background so as to provide a different texture to the UG.

My scape is shaping up to be a south eastern tropical rock/hill scape instead of the more popular and striking japanese-styled Iwagumi which tends to give a sense of surrealism and fantasy.

It's more familiar to me I guess, bringing back memories of hiking Mount Ophir and visiting the mountainous regions of western Kalimantan.

Thanks for reading!

[eviltrain]

All the best for your DSM. You actully don't need to spray fertilzers on them as there's some sort of fertilers in ada soil.

[Alvin Koh]

All the best for your DSM. You actully don't need to spray fertilzers on them as there's some sort of fertilers in ada soil.

Alan, you are probably 100% right, I am being totally 'kiasu' - since I'm misting with the same bottle, I thought what the heck, addition of some fertilizer couldn't hurt. I should have known from my emersed culture that leaving the plants alone works best. Hehehe.

Secretly, I even pump gaseous CO2 into the covered tank after glancing some articles that agricultural greenhouses do that and get up to 50% increase in crop growth, but stopped after realising, the BEST care I can give the plants - is being patient and leaving them alone. The stress of trying not to do anything is far greater than keeping oneself busy by tweaking the scape (itchy fingers)!

[eviltrain]

You don't have to do anything else. Just let them grow with the help of your lights. Soil already has fertilizers. You don't need a gap for air exchange as you using air pump and a cup of water. just relax one corner for 1 month for them to fill in. then you fill the water and blast your CO2.

[jeffteo]

Alvin, where you MIA to already. Very curious how your scape is looking now...

[Alvin Koh]

Alvin, where you MIA to already. Very curious how your scape is looking now...

Jeff, hehe, I took some photos several days back and may take a few more this weekend.

[jeffteo]

Camping here for your photo update.

[Alvin Koh]

Week 4 & 5 (19 February 2011)

The tank is approximately one month old now and here are some minor updates. I decided the Utricularia Graminifolia (UG) was not spreading fast enough for me, thus I ordered another batch of UG from C328 LFS. The quality & quantity this time was great. I planted them about a week ago in most of the empty spots I could find. I reckon I need another 4 weeks before I can see a foreground carpet with good coverage.


Bushes (Plants on rocks)

I purchased a batch of Weeping Moss (Vesicularia ferriei 'Weeping') online and received it within a few days. After trying out several plants on rocks, I am more inclined to use mostly Weeping moss for the 'bushes'.

I am still growing other plants on rocks such as US Fissidens (Fissidens fontanus), Riccia Fluitans and Singapore Moss in case they come in handy later. Lacking experience in attaching plants to rocks, I chose the easiest method - netting secured with cable ties.

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Dry Start Method (DSM) Issues

Almost 100% of the Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae) is gone. The soil surface is kept rather dry most of the time. Seachem Excel also worked really well to keep the BGA at bay - I use it both as a diluted mist spray for wide coverage as well as spot application at more serious spots and the BGA turns white/translucent usually by the next day.

Some other issues include white flies, mold and occasional melting of leave tips where it gets too dry/hot. I am testing spot Excel application on the white moldy spots. As for the white flies, I introduced 4 ladybugs to the tank, but they don't seem to be hungry.

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Flood & Drain

Just last week, when the BGA was more rampant and killing some of the foreground plants due to slime; algae at the edges of the tank and higher recurrence of BGA, I decided to flood the tank to get rid of the excess nutrients leeching from the soil. I filled the tank with several inches of water, which also made it easier to locate where the slimy BGA is (as the slime coating floats a little) - allowing easy removal using long pincers.

After draining the water, the tank maintains it's algae-free state much longer and it helps me to hydrate the upper levels of soil as well.

I first did a flood & drain on a small scale in my emersed HC tank to remove trimmings after pruning tips to encourage horizontal growth and noticed that the setup seemed to do better (less algae/mold issues) after each flooding.

[limz_777]

interesting use of ladybugs to curb white flies , does the emmerse ug grow any bladders ?

[Alvin Koh]

I thought of using the ladybugs because they are known insect eaters and occasionally appear in my home as I have terrestrial plants - however, they don't seem to like the high humidity and are always looking for escape routes.

I just took a look at the emersed UG, most of the new leaves do not display bladders, unlike the submersed UG which have a lot more bladders. New leaves sometimes grow from the existing leaves in emersed state so I do not throw the larger leaves away even though they've detached from the cluster.

[zonkkie]

wow.... DSM sure has it challenges as well. I'm interested to see how your tank goes. Especially during flooding!

[Alvin Koh]

Week 6 (6 March 2011)

Photo updates of the progress. The plants in the tank seem very stable now with very unnoticeable browning/melting. I would consider the plants to be in emerged rather than emersed stage now as there is very little water especially on the slopes. I mist/water the plants up to a few times a day and suction the excess water out after each misting. I still cover the tank with the plastic sheet to maintain humidity.

The insects in my tank were incorrectly identified as white flies - they are Springtails (Collembola) and since they do not affect the plants, I leave them alone.

I also noticed unwanted Utricularia Gibba in my tank and removed them over the course of a few days manually with tweezers. I found about 20 strands intertwined with my U. Graminifolia. It's been about a week since I saw any recurrence but I am still keeping my guard up as they will be much more difficult to remove after filling up the tank.


Utricularia graminifolia
Observed growth rate - medium
The 2nd picture shows a UG plantlet on the third day - after a tiny white strand first appeared against the glass three days ago.






Hemianthus callitrichoides 'cuba'
Observed growth rate - Fast!






Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'
Observed growth rate: Moderately fast




Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (If identified correctly)
Observed growth rate: Slow




Singapore Moss - Vesicularia dubyana (if identified correctly)Observed growth rate: medium




Anubias barteri var. nana 'Golden'
Observed growth rate: Medium



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Side & front view

[PROX]

i think you need to keep the humidity higher by misting more.. Can see some of your plants dried up a little.

[Alvin Koh]

i think you need to keep the humidity higher by misting more.. Can see some of your plants dried up a little.

PROX, are you referring to the mosses & Lilaeopsis brasiliensis by any chance?

The moss didn't actually raise any concerns until you pointed it out because the moss is still growing at it's normal pace despite the lighter colours of the tips.
I do tend to spray the moss rocks more often as they are above the soil. If it stops growing, I will probably keep them in my nano tank instead or cover them with cling wrap. Thanks for pointing this out!

As for the Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, they did dry out a bit during initial planted several weeks back and the old leaves became yellowish at the top edges (I trimmed them so some leaves are cut short and yellowed) but I left them alone. The new leaves that have emerged however remain green but the growth is slower as they get the least light.

[equidorz]

Impressive growth on the HC and UG! Looking forward to see them when they mature. Will surely turn to be a nice nice carpet! Nice. following this thread like how most singaporeans are following Ai. LOL. Good job and thumbs up!

Cheers
wee

[PROX]

Alvin - yup. Higher humidity will help your plant to grow better.

[limz_777]

Nice to see the scape taking shape, love the crypts