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Thread: Operation Maximus

  1. #41
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    Re: Operation Maximus

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    pictures speak a thousand words bro.. show some tank shots!

  2. #42
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Sorry to keep you all waiting,

    Just came back very tired. Been doing fire fighting here. I have just change one T5 24wx2, if use 24wx4 the top surface may be insufficient.

    Current remedy taken since morning.

    1. CO2 - Currently the tank is reinforced with DIY CO2 No.2 which has a stronger output than No.1, CO2 tank is still in the midst of topping up.
    2. Excel - Finally got myself a 500ml bottle of it. Just dosed 2 caps.
    3. Lights - Changed the PL 26w to T5 48w. Still have the LEDS light. PL26w will be reposition for use later on. Current tank wpg should be around 3 or so.
    4. Other dosage including Seachem Nitrogen, Trace, Potassium, Alife Iron.

    I am still trying to plant hc as my last attempt few years back wasn't that successful. At current, about 50% of them are dying. No visible algae since the tank been running since last week. So far no casulty on end of fish. The 2 long fin flying danios, 4x badis badis are doing fine these few days. I just introduce another two female bettas to patrol as I just spotted some snails.
    ================================================
    5:49pm
    Just removed about 10 snails using pincer but noticed that the snail have already gave birth as I caught one baby. Nevermind, later I have another 7 badis badis, 1 Male betta and Gourami(s) to tackle the snails. Should not have snail outbreak. water at 26.2C at the moment, but my temperature usually show higher so should be around 25.7C or so. Water PH is hovering 7 now.
    Last edited by Blue Whale; 1st Jan 2010 at 19:39.

  3. #43
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    If you have anything to contribute upon reading, please go head. This is a also a learning thread for future people.

  4. #44
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Did you plant the HC directly together with the mesh?

    If it rots, it will spread like wildfire. Better to plant them in separate clumps so that it gets 'aeration' and will not rot together.

    HC needs more TLC to convert. After that, you have to make sure the fishes/shrimps don't eat it faster than it can grow. I've heard of almost everything for HC. All the contradictory ones etc. I think you have to be very patient with spares in the balcony in case it all turns to mush.

    CO2 has to be high during the converting stage. It loves SF Excel. It loves low temperature ~25C. One person has reported it doing well at 28-30C-I think his thermometer is broken though.

    Good luck-
    You can if you dare to fail - Stan Chung

  5. #45
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    I think it comes with a sponge/thin filter sponge more than a mesh.

    Current observation is almost all dead, left about 30% still alive. I more worried if it is a soil problem, because that means re-planting. Fish don't eat it. temperature and light should be optimal at the moment since I don't fill the entire tank up with water. Precisely, that is why I went to get Excel, the rest of the plant (except the java ones) are showing signs of recovery. Stan, I think I will try the emerged method in future. =P I am wondering if submerge also got problem how to plant emerged next time? It's like senting the zeros to die at the hands of US aircraft carriers -.-" sigh..."wait for the tank, wait for the tank, still topping...don't plant so early" (going through my head)
    Last edited by Blue Whale; 27th Dec 2009 at 08:36.

  6. #46
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Operation Maximus has just turn to Saving Private Ryan.

    Can't save all, managed to save some.

    Last edited by Blue Whale; 13th Jan 2010 at 20:41.

  7. #47
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Quote Originally Posted by StanChung View Post
    Did you plant the HC directly together with the mesh?

    If it rots, it will spread like wildfire. Better to plant them in separate clumps so that it gets 'aeration' and will not rot together.

    HC needs more TLC to convert. After that, you have to make sure the fishes/shrimps don't eat it faster than it can grow. I've heard of almost everything for HC. All the contradictory ones etc. I think you have to be very patient with spares in the balcony in case it all turns to mush.

    CO2 has to be high during the converting stage. It loves SF Excel. It loves low temperature ~25C. One person has reported it doing well at 28-30C-I think his thermometer is broken though.

    Good luck-
    my 1st batch of HC in my new setup melted and rot like those in the picture, however there are some survivors among them. should i remove them?

    I succeed in planting HC around 28-30C =) but colourwise cannot compare with colourful's type

  8. #48
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Quote Originally Posted by madnugget View Post
    my 1st batch of HC in my new setup melted and rot like those in the picture, however there are some survivors among them. should i remove them?

    I succeed in planting HC around 28-30C =) but colourwise cannot compare with colourful's type
    You can type the full name of HC and search the forum. Tom Barr / Shadow did suggested the emerged method. Just need a small bowl with little bits of nutrients. CO2 is provided by our atomsphere. This method is to grow outside then plant inside.

    As Stan have pointed out, the rotting effect spreads, so it make sense to save as much as possible. It's your decision, if you want to do it, better do it fast. Another thing is that you will noticed that I have two different type of pincers there to assist me. Fingers are not good at doing roots seperation. Use newspaper like in the pict. to help you to avoid messy water dirty the work area.

    Meantime, I have to put a halt to the white cement project first, since I need the wood plank to save the hc first.

  9. #49
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Quote Originally Posted by Blue Whale View Post
    Operation Maximus has just turn to Saving Private Ryan.

    Can't save all, managed to save some.

    I strongly suggest that you dump all the HC and start with a fresh healthy batch. Your tank's TDS must be super high after loaded with organics from the rotten HC. Better do water change...

    Get HC tied to wire mesh from colourful, those suppose to be submersed form.

  10. #50
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    lol...understand. Have done the water change immediately after I fished out the hc. Advise is taken. I think I still have the white mesh somewhere, must goto storeroom to dig again. I kept a lot of DIY stuffs....hand itchy. Hee.

  11. #51
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    White Cement (WC)

    After much testing. Here is the conclusion:
    - No change in ph. Still the same blue.
    - Water did not cloud. However did noticed some white white stuffs on the glass.
    - The WC basically stay as a block, did not crack or break down.

    Here is the thing: If you have two blocks of wc, you want to bind them together, you can't use a layer of wc and bind them up, it will just break up. Hence if you need to create something, you need it to be a mould that could do it one shot.

    With an army of 5 batches of wc, I now have a lot of blocks of wc, I will start painting them and deploying them as part of the scape once they are dry. So angkowat structure may not be feasible. I will think of another scape to use up as much wc blocks as possible =) Good luck to me and so the operation continues...



    ========================================================
    Next day at 12:06am.

    So far 36 blocks of wc has been spray painted grey. 16 high blocks and 20 low blocks. Rest of the blocks are throw away as it doesn't look the right shape after removing from the moulds. All moulds has been destroyed after 5 batches of moulding. Ice cream sticks cannot last basically.

    I will need to wait for the blocks to dry first before I can paint the bottom side.

    So whats the next plan you might ask.

    1. Test fishes (all alive) will move back to 3ft.
    2. Part of the water will go into 3ft. Rest will be drained off as much as possible.
    3. Plants will relocate to 3ft.
    4. CO2 tank is back for deployment.
    5. A 3kg ADA Amazonia II Soil, Plastic Pipe and Funnel standing by for adding.
    6. Wooden structure is standing by for eration of slope.
    7. 36 blocks of wc will support the slope structure.
    8. I have not think of the structure to be deployed on the slope but along the slope will be surrounded by blocks of Java Ferns.
    9. Electrical cables will be secured in all places. Tubes readjusted. Backup oxygen supply will be in place.

    Water will go into cycling process again once the slope has been erected. Estimate the plants will go in after 1 week or less water cycling.



    Last edited by Blue Whale; 13th Jan 2010 at 20:45.

  12. #52
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Wow, I didn't realised that there is 1500 reads to this thread.

    Okay I know some of you eager to see some photos.

    From top, left right, left right order.

    1. Army of moulds and white cement.
    2. After being coated with grey paint.
    3. Tank after I first setup.
    4. Tank current after I stripped it bare again for rescaping.

    Yeap I just washed the filter, so later on might still need to wash. I expect some couldy water even though I will be using funnel and pipe to introduce the ADA soil.

  13. #53
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Hi BW,

    happy new 2010 to you!

    Hmmmm, since you had tried and tested white plaster for almost 2weeks, tested for PH and any abnormally situation. That's good for you.

    What's about try using a few white plaster moulds, add them into any small tank with well- oxygenate aged water.Then add some cheap fauna, like guppies or swordfishes to above mentioned tank. Try out for 1 week and observe if any of your fauna react strangely. If nothing of sort, congratulations to you!

    But remember your moulds need to be in aged water for at least 1-2 weeks to stabilize it before you add your fauna/ flora.

    Give you some tips, why not use black silicon to stick the moulds instead of using white plaster to stick together.

    let me know your thoughts , BW
    cheers
    eddy planer

    ________________________________________

    Wanna to read me? Try this

  14. #54
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Yo Eddy,

    Happy Happy new year to you too!

    Oh yes I have tried that. Okeis uploading another pict.

    From top, left right left right:

    1. The fauna that is tested. I sorta realised water might be too hard =P Bad BW bad BW. Quite okay lor. Removing the grass like plant as it is not aquatic. I want to do pure aquatic so have taken this one out.
    2. Using the funnel, I now introduce the soil tube by tube. Which will translate to less pollution and more even spaced out. Easier to control and less skimming needed to be done whilst settling the ADA Amazonia II soil.
    3. This is the work after being introduced it in. So the sand would be black sand 5kg, Nature mixed black sand 10 kg, ADA amazonia II roughly 3 kg. Ratio 5:10:3 or so. This area could be used for HC which will be nearer to light source. I have since placed another block of tall drift wood to prevent soil erosion from the strong flow rate.
    4. Wow, sand pearling effect! ha ha....please enjoy.

    I figured since they don't stick, I will do a different rock scape with steps instead of a road; since other people have tried. Let me tried a different scape which no one have done it =) hee hee. Besides, silicon is for water prevention, it is not exactly a glue itself. Now supposed I am wrong and Eddy you are right, this new soil is lowering ph so if there is any raise in ph, then it will be contra off by the soil. Paint prevent crumpling also, I expect this setup to last for at leas 1 year, before I come up with something crazy again...heh heh. Besides, I have finished almost the entire box of wc. wahahaaha.....^o^Y Yeah.

    At this point in case you are wondering:
    - water is harden
    - water is dechlorinated.
    - no plant nutrients is added.
    - Manual DIY CO2 is still functioning.
    - Fan/T5 are still functioning.
    Last edited by Blue Whale; 13th Jan 2010 at 20:47.

  15. #55
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Re-planting have commences after 1 day for the soil particles to settle down. This round is faster. Plants have been shifted back to form the frontal and side with Java Ferns. CO2 tank have also been deployed along with my new diffuser and bubble counter at 1bps; DIY CO2 1 is still functioning. Yes, so this is the real thing. Water perimeter wise is about ph 7.0 - ph 7.2 which I am very please with it.

    Maybe will pickup some plants tomorrow ^o^Y Yeah Yeah.

    The wc will be deployed soon as steps.

    Last edited by Blue Whale; 13th Jan 2010 at 20:47.

  16. #56
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Okies, one week pass, my left hand is still recovering from that Jab on Monday. Good news is Blood Test shows my hormones in the correct region now. The bad? Well, I am still getting some aching from the left hand.

    Now is morning, bright sunny morning but not suitable to take photos. I will take the photos at night where the light are not so torturing.

    The LED Light has been shifted to the back. Boy, is it nice! Okay, the rows of LED Lights are acting more of ornament or ambience lighting now. The migration of the fish will commence once I have my hearty breakfast or in the afternoon. Maintenance has been done. So I just need to get some worms to do some active tunneling and yes they serve as food for the fish too.

    HC is surviving after one week, so are the java ferns and christmas moss. The introduction of ADA Amazonia II soil 3L was really a positive move. Water perimeter is within my ideal range now. Substrate are still dosed but at very very minimal, something like 1-2ml. Water hardness is definitely more with the ADA soil, but I still have to buffer a bit to get the range I like. For people who just use ADA soil, note that substrate are not necessary but I have a range of my own I would like to attain.
    So brace yourself for some photos tonight =) Cya!

  17. #57
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Right...since the start of the thread, its been a hard hard work setting up, experimenting, take apart, restart everything again then setup again.

    So the final one I actually managed to get the water perimeter I like and the light ambience which from those taiwan sites that I posted at several threads (remembering that this site was recommended by one of the AQ members in one of the older threads)



    It turn out to be entirely different from what I had in mind, in fact, the grey steps actually changed color under like the lights even though it was sprayed very very grey.



    So here is what happened.
    left to right; top left right, bottom left right sequence.

    1. It was like miky way in the 2ft. (LED Light)
    2. Once I turn on the T5, the color changes
    3. So, maybe this is okay, but I am really not that satisfied.
    4. Shifted the LED Lights to the back of the tank and took out the black background. Note that my LED Lights are connected to a 9V Adaptor. You can see the black sleeve there.

    Next Pict.
    5. Aww...now certainly look better right? Can see the backlight coming out.
    6. Crossed the bottom with some wires and put a wooden plank on it. Rapped the wooden plank with news paper. Now those white styrofoam are really the red worms covers which if you buy 10 pieces. You can ask the LFS if you are interested to get the foams.
    7. Yapps!! Greenish water! Oops...perhaps because my wall is green also.
    8. Moss on coconut shell, yet providing another place to take cover.

    So people, what do you think of it as a whole? Let me know your thoughts and your opinion at first look. Final look are the ones above.

  18. #58
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    Wil, if you are reading.

    24Wx2 T5
    13Wx2 PL
    LED Light x1

    Correction done by 2nd therometer. Current temperature is 25.6C =) Wonder fan. So you want to get one too?

  19. #59
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    I have re-edited the thread with more photos from photobuckets. Should be more pictorial at the moment to read this thread.

    Here is one of the latest picture:



    Wilfred have kind enough to offer me the suggestion of removing the rocks. So I have decided to adopt his suggestion and do some adjustments over the weekend.

  20. #60
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    Re: Operation Maximus

    hi,
    wonder what are the shiny round stuff you have inside?
    also I am thinking that your filter might be too tall for your tank? or you have not filled your tank yet, most internal filters need to be submerged in the water if I am not wrong..
    What is the white tube that is beside the filter? is that the CO2 tube?

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