I use GUN FU.

R

Stan

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So many aquascapes, so little time...http://www.my-mac.net/forum/

no many many toking first...your M.Hirsuta apa macam ???...still in their pack, dare not open ...after u say i curi some. infact ..im tempted to try growing them in my garden hehehe.....for the future la...when their price sky rocket.

u try experiment oledi ..now is my turn la.
layout and trimming skill i can teach u la...hehehehe..as u say we are terbalik.
anyway now no time for cracking my head for ideas on layout ler...world cup finis liao ...banyak project coming in...

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

thanks man. try to come over by tonight or tomorrow night. busy with family stuff. Father just discharged from hospital yesterday...

got planted tank project? need some pocket money...

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www.my-mac.net brand new forum for aquascaping hobbyist.

lucky tis M.hirsuta is the submerge type ...or else abis liao.

planted tank project cannot cari makan one la.....ADA people now also looking for new job somemore u want to venture in planted tank ah?

learn tank and filteration design...aaaah..tis one big money hor

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

hahaha...got extra income is good mah. planted tank is my hobby also can help me to earn a bit sometime. if want me to work for that, mati lor...

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www.my-mac.net brand new forum for aquascaping hobbyist.

aaah ...finally... some free time to come back do some writing. been busy lately, with loads of projects. sad to say my planted tank is not doing so well due to negelect while i was away overseas, but it does gives me the chance to do some rework especially on the lightings and to try out some ferts from Vista... just manage to get a deal to supply vista product at a very low price


here are the changes that i have in mind on the lighting system. those i have are not really doing its job that i had expected from them

here i what i have at present

Philips 36W 865 x 4
philips 36W 827 x 2
Aim sunglow 30W x 2
T4 18,000k x 2
T4 10,000k x2
T4 blue light x 1

i found out this lighting system doesnt really suit the setting for red plants, the plants are growing slow and compact which is good...but theres too much white light,and the plants are not producing the deep red colouration which i wanted.
blue light is out..i was told they encourage algae...which is proven rite ...got a tank full of BB


this is what i have in mind for my new lightings

Philips 36w 827 x 4
Philips 36W 846 X 2
Aim sun glow x 2
T4 18,000k x 2
T4 10,000K x 3

for soil im using the old one , i will add in 6 boxes of Vista Literite fert
and two boxes of Jagung....Vista monster root fert.

for the filter media , i want to try out Aquaclear

for the plants...i throw all ..except the Pink Aponogeton

lets see what red do the suppliers have...maybe 100 stems of red aramani would be nice

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

A brown/yellowish lighting tube will increase the red from viewing. Blue lighting tube is to make the green plants look more green. But brown tubes will make the red plants look more red.

Watch from the Azoo planted tank setup steps. They are using White, Blue and Red or Brown tubes for planted tank.

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www.my-mac.net brand new forum for aquascaping hobbyist.

Time for testing is over. now is the time for some serious planting.
over the 3 months period i have planted nearly 2 dozen different plants, put in 6 species of fishes, tested the lightings and colour blend, tested several types of ferts and soil ,DIY and electronic co2 systems, study algae problems and algae eaters.


the results was ...a whole lot of mistakes and some new findings.

LIGHTINGS
My set up has almost 400watts of lightings. mixture of PLL,T4s and Flo tubes.
under such lightings the plants grows short and compact, more shoots and eliminate the problem BOTAK bottom for stem plants.
it also eliminate the problem of light chasers or CHUI TANG ...meaning the plants grow upwards fast, thin and sparse in trying to reach for more light above.
the only downside is my wrong selection for colour spectrum. it could be alright for green plants , but for reds its abit too high on the white.
i remove the 4 PLL 865 and replace them with PLL 840. i also remove the blue light.

CO2
i tried out the electronic co2 system for 2 months...set the output on maximum. plenty of fine bubbles just like those from a cup defuser. it when straight upwards. later i put in some gelantine mixture and the bubble hover in middle water a little longer. it seems ok...but the for whole 2 months period the plants didnt pearl ..not a single day.
Next i tried out DIY co2 using a 500LPH powerhead...wow! the whole tank looks like 7up straight out from the bottle...too much bubble and not fine enough.
then i use a 1.5inch Pvc pipe 10 inches in length, with 2 pvc end caps, bore 2 holes,1 for the inlet and 1 for outlet, stuff in some bio balls.....instant DIY defusor. it works!
next i change the design, add in plastic netting and change the bio balls to ceramic rings. No bubbles...at last!
well..it really looks ugly with a gray PVC in the tank..it certainly looks out of place. so i wrap the whole Pvc defusor with java moss...to blend with with the rest..within weeks..u could hardly notice what was an ugly 1.5in pvc pipe before.
the solution i used was 1pack of 60 sen yeast, 1kg of sugar and half teaspoon of baking powder, mix with 1.5 litre of water in a 2 liter jar.

2 days after using it , the plants began to pearl...heavy pearling especially in the evenings. my timers are set at 11am and pearling could be notice by naked eyes by 1pm.
conclusion is...the electronic Co2 system is a waste of money ...it didnt get the plants to pearl. a rm3 diy co2 sytem works better than this rm120 equipment...a white elephant really.

SOIL

do not want to talk about the soil i tested so not to cause another war of words ...i could only say the first attemp was a disaster. then i switch back to plain holland sand with base fert. NOT GOOD ...especially for red plants.
the colouration is abit dull.
next i add in 5 kg of literite soil..the normal garden type where u could get for rm1.50 per 5kg...the red colouration improved ..but not red enough for my marks.addition of monster roots ferts and hexa iron tablets did help.

this time round i would be using holland sand with 10kg of sera base ferts,500g of ocean free power fert, 5 packs of vista monster root ferts ,10 pack of vista literite balls and 5 kg of litetrie soil....plus 1kg of the last remaining volcanic soil that i brought back from indonesia.


FISHES
I put in 20 3inch sliver angels...wow! they were out of there within 3 days. never tried out angels in planted tanks before..but judging from the cool photos of angels swimming in a heavly planted tank had me thinking it would be okay...wow ..how wrong was i

I then tried out 100 Rummie nose tetra.
due to my strict feed once a week regime...the hungry rummies began to feed on new Echondorus Tenellus. every new pink shoots were eaten. they only feed on the tenellus and the other plants are not touched.
i was surprise at first...coz in my mind set..rummies are a peacefull fish for planted tanks...well unless u have Tenellus.

next it was 50 cherry barbs.
hahaha...another disaster in the making...i have to replant the whole section stellata with new ones after the cheeries are thru.

Pearl gourami....Ok did not bother the plants..
Paradise fish....OK..
Emperor Tetra...they didnt live long enough to know if they are plant eaters ..hehehe

ALAGE.
i got it all ..from green to BB algae. why?...too much replanting i suppose, base ferts are escaping here and there. i know why i got BB...coz i put an effected plant to see how fast BB spreads and see which cleaners have a liking for BB.

SAE...true or false sal are good for hair algae. they are No 1 , but the danger is once u run out of hair algae , your moss or ferns would the next on their menu. they did not touch BB at all.

CAE...hard working dude...but seems to work only on algae on the glass panel and broad leaves

Ottos...i keep them anyday even if they are lazy cleaners.

Pearl gourami...their delicate eating habbits help to pick out algae on soft leaved plants. GOOD!

Tiger Barb....my number 1 green algae eater, they work fast and non stop. keep only a pair or disaster will strike when u run out of algae.

Here is the champion of champion algae eaters and they cost only at rm1 for at least a 100....Feeder Prawns. they only need 1 night to clean algae from every corner of your tank. trust me ...they are super workers.

Sadly non of those i mention above touch BB. thats why i have to re set my tank to make sure they never come back ...and BB always have ways to come back ..no matter what medication u use. its better and cheaper just to buy new plants and start all over again than try to get rid of BB with medications...coz theres no guarantee it will work.

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For replanting i have choosen 300 stems of Hygrophila Polysperma Rosaneviq, 50 stems of Eusteralis Stellata, 70 stems Amania Sengalensis, 10 bunch of Echinodorus Tenellus and 20 stems of Alternanthera Ocipus.

in the pervious test i have planted nearly 2 dozen different plants on the sole purpose of finding out how those plants perform under my lighting system.
this time round im setting the tank for aquascaping...minus the rocks , driff wood and fine sand which one usally find in a normal aquascaped tank. im doing it with plants only. certain plants are trimmed while some are allowed to grow wild.i have done such scaping with green plants ..now im doing it with reds.

i will mix rosaneviq and tenellus together as ground cover and they will be planted first, leaving a little space in the background for the Stellata and Ocipus. once they have established themselves, i will plant the stellata tight together and ocipus and these 2 are allow to grow tall without trimmings.
the aim is to get the rosaneviq to grow as short as possible ..max 3 inches. easier said then done for a tall and fast growing species , but im counting on my lighting system and constant trimming to keep them short and bushy.
once im satisfied that the rosaneviq are growing slow and short i will began to insert among them the 70 Armania stems. they will be planted in random to cover the midground space with rosaneviq growing beneat them.
a slow time consuming process....with a little pateince im sure this setup will turn out fine.


ECHINODORUS TENELLUS
one of the most impressive red fore ground plants, but also a potential cause of headache and heart break. they are algae attractors..and more then often algae had ruin these lovely plants. they need strong lighting to turn their leaves pinkish red. maintaining them is never a problem...but somehow i couldnt find a way to keep algae away from them. this round i will mix them together with the rosaneviq instead of planting them on their own. i hope the rosaneviq will provide some shade for them and keep algae away.

HYGROPILA ROSANEVIQ
this is a novice plant...a very hardy species, plant them right side up, upside down, side ways or which other way ...they will still grow. even though they are easy to grow , its are very diffcult to maintain them red. more often they will turn green with brownish shoots. a well maintained rosaneviq will appear pinkish red with white webbing...a truly stunning species under the right condition..which calls for generous application of literite , iron supplements, strong and correct spectrum of lightings. the thing is not many planters would go thru all that trouble or spend extra money on a cheap novice plant like the rosaneviq

Alternanthera Ocipus
a rare species...im planting them only for the second time. not much information from the books or from first hand knowledge about them. they have violet red leaves.

Eusteralis Stellata
one of my all time favorite. a very very diffcult plant to grow and maintain. but once u caught up with the right way..they will become much easier to grow. the secret is plant them as emgermed form and half your problems with this plant would be solved.


Armania Sengalensis
aah..need not say more about this species. its a test to get their stem thick and fat. either u get their leaves to turn orange red or blood red or deep pink or plain brown or even green really much depends on your skill with this species.

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!