Kotobuki Aquarium Fan

Introducing my NEW aquarium Fan..

Pros

Silent

12v

Powerful

Cons

more expensive than normal aquarium fan

I used this fan for my main tank, manage to control temperature to around 26-27 Degrees Celsius... not bad for a simple fan...

For very very hot days it still manage to cooldown my tank to around 28 degrees.



Note:
Don't buy DYMAX fan, they sucks... i have one which broke down within 10 days

Blueish Yamato

I notice my yamato shrimp turned BLUE?? it looks like low grade blue pearl...LOL

Its a Blue Yamato..LOL

My SImple DW Scape Updates 25/3/2012

Some updates of my tank, the microswords are SLOOOw but the frogbits and polysperma grow fast..

I notice the mysterious Polysperma will look less red/pink if i use HIGH LIGHT... hmm.. only the actual Polysperma Rosa is still red/pink

Added some unknown red rotala... ditched my upturned bottle...LOL

Next week is trimming session..rotalas grow tall

I added some neons from my main tank, so the tank will look less bare...:) neons are quite nice when match with the scape

Easy to Care Plants

I get this question quite often, what are the easy to care plants...especially for low tech tanks

For beginner, i would always recommend at least 1- 2 watts of lights per gallon (wpg). Try not to keep RED plants in low tech tanks,LOL however, some brownish red plants are generally OK

Fertilizer regime is pretty standard for low tech plants...follow the instructions...LOL don't put too much of fert as you may cause algae and waste you precious Money



Anubias
Never plant their rhizome( large root/main root) in sand/soil. prone to Green Spot Algae due to their SLOW growth. but they are one of the most popular plant

Anubias barteri
Anubias barteri 'marble'
Anubias nana
Golden nana
Narrow leaf nana
Petite nana aka Mini nana

Fern
Ferns are easy to care plants, general notes: NEVER bury its roots in substrate

Java fern
Windelov fern/ Malaysia fern
Philippine Java Fern
African Water Fern - Bolbitis heudelotii

Liverworts/crystalworts
They are easy to grow, with ample lights, they will survive very well, best if tie on DW or rocks

Riccia
Pelia aka German Seaweed aka Subwassertang
Mini Pelia

Moss
Generally all types of Moss are easy, tie them strand by strand to maximize grow and to eliminate areas which might not receive lights. Note to trim them often or the inner part may become brown and die off
Java moss
Spikey moss
Singapore moss
Christmas moss
Weeping moss

Root Plants
Prefer to plant then with soil aquarium soil or at least a sand based substrate
Moneywort
Pennywort
Crypt Wendtii
Crypt Balansae
Pygmy Crypt
Downoi ( needs high GH)
Microswords- brazilian
Pygmy chain sword;- E-tennelus
Vallisneria series


Stem Plant
The list here are fairly easy stem plants, my favourite are Hygrophila Polysperma and hornworts

Hygrophila polysperma
Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'
Rotala
Hornwort
Pond Weed

Below is the common website i use to search for plants requirement before i buy them off shelf
http://theplantedtankblog.blogspot.sg/2014/10/plant-list-from-aquatic-plant-central.html
http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/aquatic-plant-list-a-z
http://www.aquahobby.com/e_aquarium_plants.php

Disclaimer:- I am not related to any sales related websites/ taking commission from them.

My DSLR camera??? LOL where i find the Money oh??

After sharing this blog in AQ, some friends asked me what camera i am using and some even thought i was using a DSLR or mirrorless camera ( i take that as a compliment for my skills.. wahaha... pls don't throw rocks at me...esp those who uses DSLR)

For those who know me... i am a poor guy staying in wululand, so i have to use my cheapo camera....TA DAH!!! the infamous PANASONIC DMC- L585

In fact, this camera was a free gift by Panasonic Malaysia 2 years back when i bought their Plasma TV... hehe.. not too bad for a cheapo camera to produce the pictures i shown in the blog eh.... hehe

Actually in reality, I took more than 50 shots and chose the nicest ones from the bunch, a lot of the pictures are out of focus or over/under exposed..sometimes i see myself in the reflection of the glass tank, most of the time I was laughed by my dearest wife as i keep on taking pictures of the tank.. sigh what to do?? have to take some record of the plants growth and share here..hehe

So to share my trick for taking pictures of aquarium:-

1) Trial and error:- take tonnes of pictures
2) Hold your breath during snapping of pictures (Less shaky)
3) Switch "On" only the tank lights and close doors,windows and make the room as dark as possible to minimize reflection from the tank
4) Try to use those continuous shot function of the camera
5) Get a better camera if none of above works...LOL

Upgraded to 4 x T5HO all Aquazonic 12000k tubes

I upgraded to the light system to 4 x T5HO from Aquazonic 12000k tubes, special thanks to Shun Kun  for the contribution...

I find the lights working great although one of the tube flickers a bit..generally OK..
The important thing i manage to discover that a myth among aquascapers seems true... 6500K lights are indeed better for Pearling and maybe photosynthesis for aquatic plants.

My new toy...from Shun Kun

Hehe, i just leave the Riccia on DW for some sun bathing..LOL

Above are the effect of the lights on 4 x t5ho (all 12000k lights) for 1 hour, can you see how miserable is the pearling? 

With a break of 3 hours in between, i changed my ONE 6500k tube into the light fixture. my experiment restarted... waited for 1 hour to see the effects of the new lights

Above is the effect of 4x T5HO ( 3x12000k and 1x6500k) for one hour

Can you see the difference of the numbers of o2 pearls? imagine if i have 4x 6500k tube.. the result may be better? hehe that is for my next experiment... Seaview here i come.... lol

 Above is a video of the actual pearling of riccia which i took using my cheapo camera.. special poison for those low tech guys who are reading this now. The quality was compressed by Blogspot, sorry for the blurly video

Riccia on SS Mesh

I bought some riccia from OTF to test out whether my CO2 is working... as i never see any pearling from my plants before

I notice i have to switch off my filter to see them pearl, I think its due to the powerful filter outflow which blows away all the tiny oxygen bubbles

Riccia on SS mesh.. pardon my lousy tying skills

Atman DF700

Forgot to Introduce My New Toy... Atman DF700 bought from NA at 75 bucks... a bit overpowering  but i rather to be overpowered than underpowered 

Na selling a reasonable price and giving 2 years warranty... WOW, where can you get sucha great deal for a china made filter? 

I did asked around for alternative filter for eheim, as eheim seems to priced me out...LOL..atman comes into the picture as most LFS does not give any warranty for china made products, i wonder how come NA gives a 2 years warranty on this product...hmm.. grab then think lah..

This filter works great!! easy primming, fast disconnect for easy cleaning... with full media... worth every penny... most importantly, it is silent... my aquarium fan is more noisy than it...:) happy buyer

I tested the flow rate with full media, its actually 500ltrs/hr instead of the written 820ltrs/hr... it seem i put too much media and sponge in it...LOL

So do take note all the flowrate written on any filter are all based on empty filter... so if you load the filter full like me, the flowrate suffers...

That is why a lot of people tend to oversize their filter, for me is around 8-10 times of the capacity of the aquarium...hehe more is better as filter will be less efficient due to wear and tear as as years goes by...

My SImple DW Scape Part 5

Finally I added the Rotala Indica into my scape.. i also shifted the Polysperma Rosa..they seems to be fast grower.. but they keep on floating..I used weights to hold them down in the soil

Close up of the scape... see 2 platys?? hehe its FOC from Mr F

Finally, my scape is done... but i am still waiting for the Brazillian Microsword to spread..they seems stunned

Final Information

Tank Size:

2 feet(L) x 1 feet(W) x 1.5 feet (h)

Substrate:

ADA Amazonia New

ADA Power Sand

Plants:-

Brazillian Microswords

Polysperma Rosa

Ploysperma (unknown)

Rotala Indica

Flame Moss

Weeping Moss

Deco

Driftwood

Equipment

Atman DF700

Aquazonic 4 x 24 watts 8 hours per days

Co2 with Solenoid 2-3 Bps

Fauna

2 Platy 

14 Malayan Shrimp

3 Yamato Shrimps

Part 6 of the tank

http://theplantedtankblog.blogspot.sg/2012/11/iaplc-rank-1379.html

My Simple DW Scape Part 4

Added some Flame Moss & Weeping moss on the DW, to stimulate a moss arch and some grassy feel at the background. I installed my DF700 filter, this filter is damn good!! very powerful

I also added some Polysperma Rosa..thanks to my AQ Bro Mr Bluebubbles aka Uncle Tan for searching high and low for this plant.

There is still something missing in the middle of the tank..just below the arch...hmmm.. more plant hunting...

I ordered some Rotala Indica from Pasir Ris Farm OTF... hope to get it soon...hehe i wonder how the plant looks like... Special thanks to Mr John of AQ to book the rotala for me

My SImple DW Scape part 3 : Added a Ceramic Diffuser

My new Ceramic Diffuser to distribute CO2 into the tank..suppose to help plants growth.. hope for the best

My Simple DW Scape Part 2 :- CO2 tank

I bought my CO2 with solenoid from a nice AQ Bro MR F... 1-1 exchange with NA.. damn this tank is heavy..lucky guess how heavy it is??

I put it on my bathroom scale for fun

it was a whopping 7 Kgs!! i carried it from NA to my house in wululand... 

My Simple DW Scape Part 1

The New DW for my new tank..still no name for this tank yet..Soaked for few days before i really cannot tahan and start the tank almost right away...

This is the first time for me to try out ADA Amazonia New Soil.. the infamous aquascaping soil... i heard its the best of the best... no harm to give it a try

oh man the DW is BIG!! lol i almost ran out of space in this tank

Second shot with lights on to get a feel of the tank

Kopi O...LOL i think i stir up the soil too much

the next day...added some plants like hornwarts, Brazillian Micro swords.

I used my good old Eden to cycle the tank as my new Atman DF700 is still cycling in my Main Tank, i want to build up Beneficial Bacteria within the Atman filter prior putting in this tank.

Tested water parameters..PH5, Ammonia 5

Planted the Microswords and added some polysperma into the tank(left hand side). It really ugly man... the polysperma i bought is too little as 1 only manage to secure 1 pot of it. 

In case anyone who read this don't know, the upturn plastic bottle is a DIY "K1 Reactor" which suppose to hasten the Nitrogen cycle. It may look ugly but i works...

I added a sponge filter to further polish the water although the water is crystal clear..heheh extra filter won't hurt anyway

Fire Red Shrimps

Due to the unexpected poisoning by AQ members, i venture into the weird hobby of keeping shrimps...

after 2 months of keeping shrimps, the Fire Red Shrimps/ Sakura Shrimps berried and there a a lot of shrimplets (around 20-30 of them)

Berried Mama Shrimps in my satellite breeding tank

as you can see, there are 2 types of colours of eggs...Orange and Green.. both are healthy..i checked online they colours are based on the food the shrimps eat..green= vege/plants, orange= meat based food

I feed them both types of food

Shrimplet are hatched..mini transparent shrimps...the big white square thing is a ceramic ring.

external satellite box in action

Journey of Red Earth 26/09/2011

My Tank when it firstly arrive at my house

The driftwoods I looked high and low around SG, soaked for few days 

Some Spikey moss i bought from a Bro in AQ

Thought of making a jungle scape after a volcano eruption..hehe

Laid 2 types of sand, Lapis sand at the sides and Red clay sand in the middle(red earth)

bought 4 big lava stones

Agak² set up the plants locations

Plants list

1)Java Fern

2) Anubias Nana

3) Crepto Wenditi

4) Hornwarts

After filling up with water...this was after i wash the sands for 3 times

close up view

Put in the DW tied with spikey moss into the tank... looking good..hehe..the water almost cleared after 1 day 

made some significant changes to me tank, added some red plants and changed the background oyama paper from blue to black (commented by my beloved wife)

the water was milky again due to my itchy hand syndrome

Added some red ludwigia Plants in the front as focal point

Top view of my tank

Front view of the tank