Learning towards a new hobby - Small Slow Steady and Low

[nicholasliao]

Do update pics of the stones bro. I'm interested in getting them as well. Does any of our local lfs carry them?

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[Naraki]

Do update pics of the stones bro. I'm interested in getting them as well. Does any of our local lfs carry them?

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 4

I remember I had seen a huge box of them at polyart. But then the following week I went back. All gone. Not sure if they are the real deals but they looked 80% same as kurokinryu.

Seiryu on the other hand is easy to identify, calcite veins, crevices, and a tinge of blue hue upon looking at it.

Will post the pictures once it reaches my hand. Also going down c328 tomorrow

[bogeh711]

@sootz - my width ain't wide too, just 3cm more. I'm thinking since its a nano... Everything gotta be small. Gonna grab a couple of Gex Glassterior 600 slim too... Also at 60x20 base... Hahaha

@Naraki - went Clementi today... Saw both shops like never label the rocks, can't identify which is which and ends up biught some white unbranded sand... Maybe will go Seaview on weekend look see look see.

Personal update:
Grabs today - white sand, nettings, oyama and boyu mini cr, some unbranded mid size cr for sloping as well and a 10cm block of driftwood...
Went to Daiso bought - melamine sponge, bamboo charcoal cylindrical tubes, black trash netting (to pack cr)... And 1 blue ice refrigerant bottle for testing temp control... Hehehe.
Both shop at clementi doesn't sell tank mat, when i asked them, they both show me styrofoam... Zzz

Hahahaaz, tank still dry... Can't start yet as taking Class 2A lessons...

[sootz]

Green Chapter at Macpherson sells rocks for scaping. Not my kind of stuff though. Can check it out if interested.

Things I remember:
- prices like $12/kg, $9.50/kg etc.
- brown river rocks?
- honeycombed rocks? something like that
- and 2 or 3 other kinds. can't remember already. I only been there once.

[Naraki]

Alright. The stones are here.
I just realised i ordered small sized while not medium sized. -.-



My guess is the two on left is seiryu and the right one is kurokinyru. Ben gave the kurokinyru FOC.




Calcite Veins



Kurokinyru laid on top of seiryu(Notice the nice aging effect from algae growth.



Kurokinyru with Anubias


The ones in the tank is medium sized

I went to c328 and polyart. Polyart got 4 big piece of stone. Colour tone like kurokinyru. I didn't ask much.

[Naraki]

Rescape and add plants and the stones

[wongce]

Naraki, you keep on showing off in bogeh's thread? LOL... open up a new thread "lah" don't show off here...lol

if not, i will start to show off here also...LOL

[bogeh711]

Lol! Its cool, there's a couple guys want to catch a glimpse of the rocks too. He post here i no need to search other thread as well. Hahaha
Thanks Naraki anyway, at least i know what the rocks are, if you purchase the wrong size and it doesn't suits your setup... I'm more than willing to take off your "burden" at a fraction. Hahaaz

[nicholasliao]

Thanks for posting the rocks!

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[Naraki]

Naraki, you keep on showing off in bogeh's thread? LOL... open up a new thread "lah" don't show off here...lol

if not, i will start to show off here also...LOL

Peeps here just wanted to see the stones.

Lol! Its cool, there's a couple guys want to catch a glimpse of the rocks too. He post here i no need to search other thread as well. Hahaha
Thanks Naraki anyway, at least i know what the rocks are, if you purchase the wrong size and it doesn't suits your setup... I'm more than willing to take off your "burden" at a fraction. Hahaaz

Neh. Haha. After arranging here and there. It makes a tri-entrance cave. Gonna stay with me

Thanks for posting the rocks!

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No problem.

[bogeh711]

Finally it's weekend! Apologies for no photos yet. Testing share flickr account with 1 photo below.

Started to work on the tank.
Filled tank with water and left overnight for leak test on newspaper on thursday night... All seems good.
Gave it a wash and started prepping some stuffs.
Reuse the water from the leak test, PH test is 7.5 from tap. Approximately 20 litre with antichlorine.

Spread 1/3 bottle of Mosura old sea mud on tank base, added 2 bags of CR in nettings. Filled up with roughly 1.8kg of Gex shrimp soil. Added a couple of charcoal tubes for shelter on right, boiled and laid 1 small piece of DW on the left, a few pebbles on the centre and planted tiny amounts of the Riccia and Eleocharis on the background.
Filled water until it reaches soil surface only.



Do i need to fill it fully with water first or can i leave like this and hope the plants can grow roots?

[bogeh711]

Sorry for the lousy photo, taken with only iPad at kitchen.
If you guys can't see, its actually a small valley-like scape in the middle similar like letter M...

[Naraki]

Finally it's weekend! Apologies for no photos yet. Testing share flickr account with 1 photo below.

Started to work on the tank.
Filled tank with water and left overnight for leak test on newspaper on thursday night... All seems good.
Gave it a wash and started prepping some stuffs.
Reuse the water from the leak test, PH test is 7.5 from tap. Approximately 20 litre with antichlorine.

Spread 1/3 bottle of Mosura old sea mud on tank base, added 2 bags of CR in nettings. Filled up with roughly 1.8kg of Gex shrimp soil. Added a couple of charcoal tubes for shelter on right, boiled and laid 1 small piece of DW on the left, a few pebbles on the centre and planted tiny amounts of the Riccia and Eleocharis on the background.
Filled water until it reaches soil surface only.



Do i need to fill it fully with water first or can i leave like this and hope the plants can grow roots?

1.8kg of soil in 60cm tank will not suffice for plants to root in. You would at least need 6kg. Because I use 4 kg in my 30cm to achieve 5cm thickness of soil.

I have not tried Riccia in DSM but my hair grass turned yellow with no lid/wrap on tank.

Edit: You might want to move your tank out from kitchen. I believe when cooking some weird substances will fly into your tank. That would suck big time if it is to wipe out your fauna. Or maybe get a lid?

[bogeh711]

Oops. I'm using a 30x20 tank and have some CR at base of tank, 1.8kg substrate gives me 4-5cm height. The tank top is covered with a plastic sheet.
Not trying DSM, added water. Sigh, now wake up and found tank is disastrous... Details to follow shortly

[bogeh711]

Bros, need some help here. I see many people starts new tank with little problems... I wonder if i'm really dumb or...
Disaster reports:
1. After filling in the substrate, do i need to press them down to make it firm? I find the top very loose even after 1 night. It's not keeping the plants and wood firm in ground.

2. There's a layer of mirky water from the floor to 1st 3 cm of the water. Mid to top of water is clear... Do i need to put in filter and let the water cycle and prevent the water from being stagnent?

3. My DW has been soaked and boiled, after the night, it floats to the top! Do i need to weigh it down...? I reckon wood naturally floats... How to keep it in the bottom on the floorbed? Same goes for the charcoal tubes... Do i need to bury them in?

4. I use tweezers to push down the plants in the substrate, overnight, all the riccias floats to the top! 1/5 of eleocharis also. Left 4/5 of the eleos are on the bed... Something i do wrong?

5. Can i pour out everything and re-start anew with the same water and reuse the substrate, do i need to add the old sea mud again?

Appreciate some help.

[bogeh711]

I'm wondering if there's any whatsapp or FB group which i could join for the local shrimp hobby. Have got no friends around me with solid experience i could turn to, most of them are bare tanks for aros...

[wongce]

Hi bogeh711, i really wonder are you really bogeh(teethless)... Lol just joking, so you won't be so stressed...
1) no need to press down the soil,they will settle down. Pressing it might break the soil. Loose? Maybe your planting method is not proper.
2) you should be cycling the tank,not leave the tank stagnant and attract mosquito, check out my blog on how to cycling, aerate + switch on filter
3)use stone to weight it down for the time being,it will sink sooner or later
4)riccia can't be planted by planting into soil...lol, they are floating plants initially. You need to tie then to mesh or flat slates. See my blog again for riccia/moss tying. Trick to planting, grip using tweezer, poke into soil, shake a bit and let go+ take out tweezer at a slanted angle...shake a bit so soil will collapse to cover the plant. Replanting is normal..
5)i do not have the luxury of using expensive stuff lol. To me, it is expensive mud...

There are a lot of solid members here, but maybe they are a bit busy with their daily job + family matters... Last but not least,google is your best friend, or you can search in AQ for previously answered threads...should be helpful.
5)

[bogeh711]

Thanks wongce! Yeah a little toothless, hahaa. No worries.
1. Substrate - i just pour it in, make some slopes and thats it.

2. Will put it filter and turn it on shortly after i shift out from kitchen to living room

3. Hmmm... Let me see what stones i can find...

4. Omg, didn't know that! time to tie it down...

5. Lol, yeah, expensive mud. Sighz, i'd try reuse them

[AQMS]

The first tank is never easy but it is a learning experience,
the do's and don'ts the how and why,there is a lot more to discover,
patience is the key in this hobby.
In AQ you can find most of your questions answered..

[Naraki]

Bro. Have you sift through the soil after pouring water? Air bubbles will be trapped in the soil and if not stirred, will become toxic. Do this once in a while too after everything has settled.