First attempt. Please advise

[grantlow]

First, the scaping!
uploadfromtaptalk1337506721362.jpg

Then end result..
uploadfromtaptalk1337506918188.jpg

uploadfromtaptalk1337507061376.jpg
uploadfromtaptalk1337507194931.jpg

Plants:
HC
HG
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[grantlow]

Is it right that the co2 from the diffuser floats all the way up to the surface. Not sure if the. Plants absorb anything

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[wongce]

yes, just leave it like that, plants will pearl when the condition is right...

[grantlow]

yes, just leave it like that, plants will pearl when the condition is right...

you are stanley wong?i read your blog before i went to buy everything to start a planted tank!!!
what a small world, wow, nice blog ,sir


btw i asked that qns because i saw your vid of atomizer, how come your co2 bubbles 'fly' towards the plants

[Shadow]

lower your rainbar, put it under water, water surface agitation will remove CO2 from the water.

Scape wise, nice try.
Some suggestion:
- Try to make left and right not identical, now it is like a mirror.
- Not enough slope, look flat.
- Put more rock with different sizes.

[wongce]

yup, i am stanley wong... please to meet you, thanks for reading my blog... but please don't call me sir ... i just a fellow hobbyist...

The bubble 'flow' towards a direction as my filter outlet is just above the co2 diffuser... the water from filter outlet is pushing the co2 bubbles to flow to one direction. My filter is too powerful for a 2 feet tank... haha i "kiasu"

You just leave the co2 as it is; when the conditions are right, you will see plants pearls. I notice that it is easier to see pearling when i switch off the filter/oxygen air pump

Note what shadow mentioned, lower the rainbar to beneath the water line as surface agitation will cause loss of co2 within the water.

[grantlow]

how to rescape my tank at this early stage?

[grantlow]

inspired by http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=4864
seems like i wasnt even close...

my lighting regime is 4 hr rest 1 hr then another 3 hr.... hope its enough

[wongce]

Its still possible to add/shift stuff as you still cycling...reduce the water will help to ease the shifting process. Dont throw the water away,just pour it back into the tank after you scape.

Dont worry too much about imitating scape...be creative,all scapes are unique... You can always rescape whenever you like it as you hve not add any lifestock thus less complicated...haha i know someone who rescape twice in 3 months...

[grantlow]

ya since its my first time , i shall just leave it as it is, will update in a week see how my HC are doing

[Shadow]

just focus on how to grow healthy plants, move on to scaping once you get the hang of it.

[grantlow]

Why my plants turn out like this? uploadfromtaptalk1337866070377.jpg
This is my floating. Plants. Looks like it's eaten. But I didn't put any fish inside.!


uploadfromtaptalk1337866104567.jpg
And this is my HC which have white stuff coming out.
Doesn't look good at all


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[deltarun1]

HC melting is a very common thing when converting from emersed to submersed. when you bought was it emersed form?

[Shadow]

what soil are you using? fert dosing? The floating plant look like some nutrient deficiency.

Should not put corry in HC tank, it will disturb your HC.

[grantlow]

Ya I bought wrongly. I thought they eat algae. Oh so they are 'melting'
Only liquid fert which I dose once a week (this tank is only one week old)

[grantlow]

Soil is Gex. The green packet.

[wongce]

Did you accidentally crush the leaves of the frogbits? my lucky guess, did you handle your frogbits with tweezers? frogbit's leaves are quite fragile, you will hear a crunchy sound if you grip it too hard with tweezers. The damaged parts will rot/melt away...

I hope i am not spoiling your expectation,some carpeting plants are quite difficult to grow, and one of them is HC. HC requires high light, high co2... secondly, the white thing is fungus... you can either remove it manually, or introduce 1-2 hardy fish like platy to keep them in check. Note : fish may die during this process, i only introduce platy when i manage to reduce ammonia to 0.5

as what deltarun1 mentioned, some plants are grown emerge in farms, so when it convert to submerge forms, melting of HC is quite normal at this stage.

you mentioned you did not add any fish? i can see a cory in the background??? what soil are you using?? I hope you cycled it properly prior adding cory... every life is precious

my suggestion is keep the tank lighted for 6 hours straight and monitor algae growth for 2 weeks, gradually increase to 7-8 hours after 3 week...it works for me...

[deltarun1]

i think Gex soil is ok. im using the Red Packet - the one suitable for shrimp. the green one is just for plants yes?

Soil is Gex. The green packet.

[grantlow]

the floating plants i just dump inside and i didnt touch it anymore, could it be the BB, cos i added them to cycle the tank faster,

the cory i just added them last night, cos its been a week and i thought its algae eater, after research i realised i was wrong. sigh..

i plan to add flourish excel and watr plant liquid fert every week.

HC need more light meaning, 55W for 2 ft tank not enough?

[deltarun1]

the floating plants i just dump inside and i didnt touch it anymore, could it be the BB, cos i added them to cycle the tank faster,

the cory i just added them last night, cos its been a week and i thought its algae eater, after research i realised i was wrong. sigh..

i plan to add flourish excel and watr plant liquid fert every week.

HC need more light meaning, 55W for 2 ft tank not enough?

2ft tank is about 15 gallons

http://www.firsttankguide.net/calculator.php

55 w / 15 gallons is 3.5 wpg , it is enough.