My Planted and Killies Tank

[shortman]

Hi guys/gals

Here is a picture of my 2 x 1..5 feet plant tank which gonna house all my killies species.

Normal substract no ADA soil and no water change for 3 months. Just get too lazy. :-)

It has 2 x eheim filter running in it and I always collect Aus fry about 1cm size in the filter.

[ruyle]

Nice, Kho--both the tank and the avatar Do you use CO2 to
help along this verdant jungle? And what does SG consider a "normal
substrate?" Plants sure look healthy for an unaugmented substrate. On
APD Tom Barr states that column ferts have primacy over substrates
when it comes to growing most plants, OWTTE. And to get back to killies,
what do you feed your AUS?

Bill

[strung_0ut]

Those swords are gorgeous Kho. What types are those? Such awesomeness.

Dennis

[FC]

The plants look healthy. Go lazy for another few months to see how it goes, without water change. What Ca and Mg source you use?

[shortman]

Hi all,

the avatar Cool Do you use CO2 to help along this verdant jungle?

Yes I does CO2 and I pump a lot and the PH is at 5.8.

And what does SG consider a "normal substrate?"

This part I have no ideal and most of us like Kwek Leong, Ronnie and FC use the Lapis sand as substrate.

And to get back to killies, what do you feed your AUS?

Feed them with Red Blood worm and brine shrimp twice a day.

What types are those?

Here are the Echinodorus plant I have in the tank
- x bleheri
- 'oriental'
- 'Rubin Narrow Leaf'
- 'Red Rubin'
- 'A flame'
- 'Ozelot'

Others
- Ludwigia repens
- Rotala rotundifolia
- Sagittaria subulata
- Blyxa aubertii
- Barclaya longifolia 'Red Form'
- Eustralis stellata 'Narrow Leaf'
- Chladophora aegagropila 'Marimo ball'

Suspect my Sagittaria subulata is actually Sagittaria platyphylla cause one of them leave reach 30cm long. Others remain 10cm. :-(

Go lazy for another few months to see how it goes, without water change. What Ca and Mg source you use?

Yes, I am getting lazy longest month that without water change is 6 months. Once a month I drop one tablet of E15 which is Mg and K, And I stop using E30 too much Fe. I often forget to add the E15 so I just skip that month. The Ca came from the filter which I have a small bag of coral chips to keep the KH at certain level such that PH swing is reduce.

[whuntley]

Kho,

If your Lapis is the same stuff we have here, mined by RMC Lonestar near Monterey CA, It can provide a lot of Ca (and Mg?) when you drive the pH low.

It is an attractive mix of colors with a tan average, but lots of flecks of brown, black and white that make it very pretty. The white chips are actually pieces of sea shell or fossil limestone/dolomite. Passivated by long exposure to river fresh water, they can still slowly dissolve at pH much below 7, raising both GH and KH over time.

I love the stuff, but would measure GH and KH every few months if you are not doing water changes regularly.

Gravel is expensive to ship, so you may be getting a totally different gravel under the same Lapis name. IDK.

Wright

[hwchoy]

Wright, sounds like exactly the same stuff we get as lonestar packed in 22kg bags. Actually meant for sandblasting!

[RonWill]

If your Lapis is the same stuff we have here, mined by RMC Lonestar near Monterey CA, It can provide a lot of Ca (and Mg?) when you drive the pH low

Gravel is expensive to ship, so you may be getting a totally different gravel under the same Lapis name

Wright, I think this is what we're referring to. It's very clean and can be used straight out of the bag.

So is it the same stuff?

[Piscesgirl]

Beautiful tank! You keep the ph at 5.8 and the killies are fine with that? Do you know what the kh is?

[whuntley]

Ronnie,

That's the stuff. I'm amazed that it is shipped to SG. It must cost you a fortune.

Last time I bought any, it was called "Coarse Aquarium Gravel" and the mesh was a range -- 8-12, I think. Retail at the building materials center, it was $8 for 100 lbs (44kg). [It was many times that at the LFS, of course.]

If you doubt the shell statement, just pour on a little pool acid and watch the white chips foam.

Wright

[stormhawk]

Nope, it isn't too expensive to buy Wright. At least they don't cost a fortune like ADA Aquasoil.

[FC]

At the cheapest place I ever purchased was S$18 (US$ 11) per 22Kg. We were always told that they were quartz sand, harvested for normally for sand blasting used.

[shortman]

You keep the ph at 5.8 and the killies are fine with that? Do you know what the kh is?

Yes all my killies are keep in this community tank and all of different type just to prevent them from crossing. :-)

I have no ideal of the kh in term of ppm or degree. I just wonder how the chart done by Roger Miller can help me to determine the KH level.

If your Lapis is the same stuff we have here, mined by RMC Lonestar near Monterey CA, It can provide a lot of Ca (and Mg?) when you drive the pH low.

I believe it is marketed under the same brand but the source of the sand could be from asia country like Thailand or Indonesia.

[whuntley]

At the cheapest place I ever purchased was S$18 (US$ 11) per 22Kg. We were always told that they were quartz sand, harvested for normally for sand blasting used.

Somebody was perhaps told wrong. Quartz sand is white, or at most a light gray color. Because of the silicosis hazard, it is rarely used for sandblasting any more. Other, safer. sands like garnet are more often used, I think.

Ron's picture shows the rounded grains of a well washed river sand (not liked for sand blasting), with a lot of non-quartz colors (reds and browns). It is mined near the coast near Moss Landing, and the trade name "Lapis Lustre" is applied only to that location's gravel/sand. It is produced mainly as a decorative material. [I used to know the boss, there.]

Note that the white chips are less rounded than others, because they are recent additions as the river got near the beach and broken sea shells got mixed in.

I guess ocean shipping isn't as expensive as our trucking, Could even be sent as ballast!

Our other CA source of gravel is from Silicas Resources, Inc. SRI mines Sierra granite sand that is mostly quartz and a lot less attractive than the RMC Lonestar stuff (pure speckled gray). For those who want stable water chemistry, it is a lot more insoluble than Lapis Lustre.

Wright

[hwchoy]

I believe it is marketed under the same brand but the source of the sand could be from asia country like Thailand or Indonesia.

they wouldn't have stated Monterey Sands if it were from Thailand/Indonesia, that would be misrepresentation. I mean it is not a premium brand so why bother. The packaging and size (22kg) looks like industrial grade stuff usurped by the enterprising LFS owner

[shortman]

No mention of it original source and manufacture from. Quite unusual for a product from state. Just the "Monterey Sands" it can also be from russia.

It is all up to marketing.

In USA there is a town name Singapore.

But anyway the Lapis Sand work greate for me for many years and I don't throw it away just simply wash it with bleach/Salt follow by Sun it and then recycle it.

[FC]

I guess ocean shipping isn't as expensive as our trucking, Could even be sent as ballast!

I suppose so because Singapore is one of the major shipping hub, second busiest container port in the world.

[timebomb]

I suppose so because Singapore is one of the major shipping hub, second busiest container port in the world.

We're a busy port but that isn't the reason for the low prices. The reason is competition. When the Lonestar gravel first appeared on the local aquaria scene, it costs about Sing $45 for a 22 kg bag. If memory serves, Crowntol at Robert's Lane was the first fish shop to bring in this gravel. A KARE CO2 diffuser retails for Sing $51 then. I was quite surprised to find they're selling similar CO2 diffusers for only Sing $6 now.

I won't reveal names but a couple of years ago, a fish shop owner wanted to bring in a whole container of the gravel. He needed space to store it so he approached a fish farm owner. The fish farm owner who's a good friend of mine was afraid that the gravel wouldn't sell so he wasn't keen on the idea. If they had brought in that container, they would have made a small fortune. No one expected then that the local aquaria scene for planted tanks would take off in such a big way.

Loh K L

[timebomb]

No mention of it original source and manufacture from. Quite unusual for a product from state. Just the "Monterey Sands" it can also be from russia.

A friend who's been to Monterey in the United States told me the gravel on the beaches there is exactly the same as the Lonestar gravel. Perhaps, those who live in the US can confirm if this is true.

Loh K L

[whuntley]

I'm quite sure it is the same stuff. "Lapis Lustre" is a trade name used only for the gravel from Moss Landing, just N. of Monterey. It is identical to beach sand from Santa Cruz to Monterey, but graded and washed.

I have a hundred pounds or so of a much coarser version of the same sort of stuff, that Howard Wu collected from a beach about 100 miles south of there. Over the years, I have bought many bags of the RMC Lonestar stuff, too.

The tumbling action of the river and surf means it is beautifully rounded particles that don't abrade the tender barbells of small catfish or chew away roots when we plant or move plants. Nice product.

Wright