Just want to let you know (I did come back David)

[Henlek]

Didn't hear from David for some time now...

Late last year I promised David;



Restarted and David advised some tips privately...



Half way;



Full bloom (except hairgrass refused to grow);



Tired of constantly having to trim alot constantly, so I am redoing. And I thought that David (and some others who encouraged, Eric, UA etc) should at least see the last picture after all the advises for me, somewhat I was successful at growing plants with little to no algae.

And I want to keep my end of promise "I'll be back David, wait for me". Messy and no big deal, but the last pic is for you.

Hacked down and pulled off most of the greens, restarting.

Thank you David, and to all who contributed.

[melthazor]

Lovely tank...what is the centre piece plant? Narrow leaf java? I seem to have problems finding nice ones locally.

"I'll be back David, wait for me"...sounds like a movie title for a love story...like "P.S I Love You!" ...For a while I thought you named your tank David . Then I realised David is an actual person...lol

[Henlek]

Thank you bro, this tank almost completely taken down now. Tired of the messy look.

Yes the centre plant is narrow leaf java fern, you can find good ones in pasir ris farm, the curly short hair uncle. I always trim mine and give him back, possibly a lot is from my harvest!! However, farm plants got more snails and algae impossible to see, so please wash and soak in H peroxide thoroughly if you buy from farm. Good thing is you go with 20 bucks, you return home with a garden. Cheers.

[blue33]

Nice tank

[melthazor]

Thank you bro, this tank almost completely taken down now. Tired of the messy look.

Yes the centre plant is narrow leaf java fern, you can find good ones in pasir ris farm, the curly short hair uncle. I always trim mine and give him back, possibly a lot is from my harvest!! However, farm plants got more snails and algae impossible to see, so please wash and soak in H peroxide thoroughly if you buy from farm. Good thing is you go with 20 bucks, you return home with a garden. Cheers.

Ah pek plants? The one on the same lot with the marine fishes?

My goodness you call that messy???

[Henlek]

Nice tank

Thank you sir. Glad you like it. My family didn't like it, so sad.

Ah pek plants? The one on the same lot with the marine fishes?

My goodness you call that messy???

Yes Mel, beside the marine place. Good selection, many to choose. That marine place actually got sell freshwater accessories, must ask them, they don't display. I bought my Maxspec Razor lights much cheaper from them.

Really messy, my fault, reluctant to trim because the shrimps like to hang around the bushes. EI really show its worth, the plants grow like fire.

[wongce]

Your tank messy? walau... wait till you see my scape.... i am champion in " messy tank category" ...don't "mess" with me...LOL ( joking)

Nice tank by the way... can share info on the setup?

[Henlek]

Haaaaaaaa!!! Thank you!! I'm not alone.

Sure I keep my specs in MS Word, here's copy and paste for your inspection:

Tank: 75cm x 45cm x 45cm
Water Volume: 30G/ 115L
Substrate: AS New Amazonia (Normal)

Filter: Eheim Pro3 2075/ Eheim Skim350
Sterilizer: Eheim reeflex UV500 9w
Chiller: Hailea HS-28A

Lighting:
Maxspect Razor 160W 8000k (46%)
Duration: 7-8 hours

Co2 Delivery:
UP A-165 Regulator/ Bazooka Atomizer
Duration: 9 hours

Fertilizing: 75% EI
Seachem Nitrogen
Lushgro KH2PO4 dry
Seachem Potassium
Seachem Flourish
Seachem Iron

WC: 40% weekly

Water Parameters:
Temp = 25°C
pH = 5.6 – 6.0
Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 30 - 40 ppm
PO4 = 2 - 4 ppm
KH = 3 - 4°
GH = 6°

Flora:
Spiky Moss
Mini Fissidens
Microsorum Pteropus (Narrow Leaf)
Staurogyne Repens
Cryptocoryne Parva
Anubias Barteri Nana

Fauna:
Otocinclus (3)
Assassin Snail (2)
Yamato Shrimp (4)
Sakura/Fire Shrimp (20+)
Crystal Red Shrimp (1)

[diazman]

Wah, impressive mass! The moss! How long did it take to reach that mass my good bro

P.S: That is no way messy, compared to my setup atleast

[Henlek]

Thank you thank you. Makes me feel lots of warmth as my family thinks the tank is out of focus. Real life looks overgrown, serious.

That moss growth, 2 months or less, really. And trimming in between, uncontrollable! Possibly effects of EI and me basting lots of CO2 plus decent lights.

[wongce]

? its so nice...where is the out of focus? hmm... well this hobby is hard to understand in the first place... lol its not easy for commoners to understand ....haha.. bro does the bazooka requires high psi to work? whats the PSI of your regulator for it to work?

[thebaldingaquarist]

Looks good bro. very nicely done.

Does not look overgrown at all. Looks natural to me. SWEE.

I love the ferns.

[Henlek]

? its so nice...where is the out of focus? hmm... well this hobby is hard to understand in the first place... lol its not easy for commoners to understand ....haha.. bro does the bazooka requires high psi to work? whats the PSI of your regulator for it to work?

Haahaaaa!!! Spot on! Commoners!! And against all odds, 1 person liked it, my MOTHERINLAW!! Okay, the scape has to go.

Firstly, the bazooka beats any glass diffusers hands down. But it was a nightmare using normal regulators (2-3 bar) that does not have adjustable working pressure. It was impossible to attain a constant bps, one day it was 1bps, next day it was countless bps, following day anyone's guess. Every morning I had to tune and tune. Working pressure was the issue, it had to be above 3 bar, best 4 bar. Couldn't take it anyone, S'pore unavailble, so bought from ebay the UP A-165 with adjustable working presseure, about SGD130. Never touched the needle valve again...

Here is mine:

[Henlek]

Looks good bro. very nicely done.

Does not look overgrown at all. Looks natural to me. SWEE.

I love the ferns.

Thank you bro! I love the ferns too, easy to manage. This fern is always said to be slow growing everywhere I read, then my ferns are mutants. Super fast explosive in my tank, so much so I kept giving back to the seller. I think you are Eric right?

[thebaldingaquarist]

Thank you bro! I love the ferns too, easy to manage. This fern is always said to be slow growing everywhere I read, then my ferns are mutants. Super fast explosive in my tank, so much so I kept giving back to the seller. I think you are Eric right?

Haha, how did you know! Yes. Me Eric.

With a chiller the ferns are fantastic. Cheers

[Henlek]

Yeah, I knew it, not too difficult to guess. How can Erctheanda the plant & algae whisperer with big fingers disappear so suddenly? no way. Cheers!

[blue33]

Nitrate are like Steroid to the plant, with chiller and good co2 they grow explosive stage. Once they grow to the max, another issues come. You just need to find the right balance in every stage it grow.

[lzw814]

Hi bro, did you find out what is the reason hairgrass did not grow?

[Henlek]

Nitrate are like Steroid to the plant, with chiller and good co2 they grow explosive stage. Once they grow to the max, another issues come. You just need to find the right balance in every stage it grow.

Ah, nitrates... Thanks for the tip. I dose just 8.5ml Seachem N every other day, and no fish or food to add more. Still I get about 40ppm every time I bothered to test. No issue though. Once the tank reached its max, I just hacked off most of the greens, cheating on the balance, and it is blooming fast again.

Hi bro, did you find out what is the reason hairgrass did not grow?

I don't know bro. Previously I bought the Tropica brand, oh that one grew like weeds, same soil and regime. Maybe this failed one I got from farm which was growing on peat cannot accept my setup, sooo slow I gave up. Buy Tropical, better chance!