My Notho rachovii tank

[timebomb]

Hi, fellas,

Thought I show you all how my cube tank, the one I called "Back to Basics tank" is doing. I bought all the test kits but I have to confess I didn't use a single one of them. I still think testing the water is such a chore.



My moss wall is doing great too. It's my first attempt with a Taiwan Moss wall.



Loh K L

[PeterGwee]

A nice setup....might want to give the individual plant groups room to grow in though rather than packed them in so tightly.

Thought I show you all how my cube tank, the one I called "Back to Basics tank" is doing. I bought all the test kits but I have to confess I didn't use a single one of them. I still think testing the water is such a chore.

You don't need to test much when using the estimative index method by Tom Barr except for occasional pH/KH combos when starting up and whenever you have plant growth or algae issues. Dosing the nutrients at max uptake rate (the notion by estimative index method) prevents deficiency caused by lack of it and having enough light now puts all the emphasis on the CO2. If something goes wrong in your tank when you are doing the method, there is no other culprit other than the CO2 unless you slack on the water changes/maintenance (did not change water when you uproot or shift plants around) and add sources of ammonia or urea (jobe sticks or too many critters.). Its really an easy method and a no brainer in my experience. All you get is a tank full of weeds..

Regards
Peter Gwee :wink:

[jerseyjay]

Great tank Loh.

You called your tank Back-to-Basics and keep it that way. Your flora growth is excellent and your moss wall is simply amazing. Estimated Index is preached by many and although some swear by it, other are against it. You did an excellent job without it and keep it that way. The only thing that could be improved is aquascape IMO.

Let's see more shots of entire tank. Do you keep other fish or just Nothos ?

[Piscesgirl]

Very impressive - especially the moss wall!

[shortman]

Here are the 3 images taken from the same tank a few hour ago.








How I wish I own the tank and moss wall. :wink:

[FC]

This is one of the best I ever seen on this 2ft cube tank. Keep it up!

[timebomb]

Thanks for the compliments, folks.

Here's another picture of the moss wall. I think the Notho rachovii stands out very well against a green background, don't you think?



Loh K L

[aphy]

Wow! Loh your tank looks magnificent with those northos and the moss wall. Took all my moss away cos, collecting too much s**t.

[PeterGwee]

Mr Loh, may I ask what is the temperature of the water in this tank? Any forms of cooling?

Regards
Peter Gwee :wink:

[timebomb]

Mr Loh, may I ask what is the temperature of the water in this tank? Any forms of cooling?

Hey, Peter,

Please don't be so formal. Just call me Loh or KL, ok?

I use one cooling fan which runs non-stop. The temp is around 28 C most of the time but on cold days, it sometimes go to 26 C.

Loh K L

[PeterGwee]

Oh..sure sure. Thanks for the info Loh. I got some moss (most likely christmas moss) just a couple of days ago which isn't doing that well in my 28-29 degree tank water. All the parameters were well taken care of except the temperature issue which I can't do anything unless I run my air-con 24/7 which is going to cost a bomb. I'll monitor its condition over a period of 2-3 weeks to see if things improve though or else its definitely not going to do well in high temps as expected.

Regards
Peter Gwee :wink:

[timebomb]

Oh..sure sure. Thanks for the info Loh. I got some moss (most likely christmas moss) just a couple of days ago which isn't doing that well in my 28-29 degree tank water.

Peter,

I'm going to tell you something which I think is very funny. I used to giggle over this

For some strange reason, the hobbyists who are very technical with their tanks (in other words, those who understand water chemistry perfectly and are constantly monitoring their water parameters) can't grow moss It's true.

I don't know why but you're not the first *technical* guy I know whose moss isn't doing well. Freddy and Edward Yow, 2 of my close friends are very good with many aquatic plants but they can't seem to grow moss. I kind of believe it's because you guys fiddle with the Kh and Gh. I don't do anything to change the water in my tanks. It's water straight from the tap. There must be some parameter the moss needs which you changed. I don't know what it is but it would be interesting to find out.

Loh K L

[PeterGwee]

Hahahaaa...seems to be true huh. Well, I monitor it and hopefully the moss is just acclimatising to a change of conditions in my tank as compared to that of the LFS. But then again some folks which are technical do grow moss well in air-condition offices. My bet is on the temperature side though..not so much of CO2 and nutrients as moss ain't that critical about that. I'll see if what moss turns into 2-3 weeks later then....

Regards
Peter Gwee :wink:

[PeterGwee]

As already mentioned by Budak, cooler is better, but it will grow at warmer temps. Both moss and liverworts do better at cooler temps. 20-21C is ideal for many mosses/liverworts.
Like I can keep my place that cool most of the year! Ha!
Mosses will take everything from the water column and use only CO2, never HCO3.

There are a couple of larger mosses here and a liverwort that looks very much like lobed moss here. I've used it for several months now.
The microphylls are roughly 1 cm long on the large moss and look very pretty in the river. The liverwort is foind in the darker areas with Cypress roots. I've also found the liverwort down at 10 meters depth which is about my free dive limit. It has very fine thalli, looks like algae or moss at first.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Here is a quote from the aquatic plant biologist who is great with plants...The key from what he said points to temperature and CO2. Some things folks might want to look into perharps....

Regards
Peter Gwee :wink: