My-Aquatic World: 2013

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Budget aqua light - partly DIY

I believe many of the hobbyist step into the world of aquatic plant will consider few things, such as setup budget, equipment cost, fertilizer, heath of the plants and etc. As I can share about this budget aqua light, because I have 2 used T5 12000K fluorescent tubes that kept in the storeroom. Normally once a year I'll change the tubes for lighting efficiency to grow some healthy plants.

The top photo is the China made double T5 tube housing ceiling light with electronic ballast just cost around US$18, but it came with the normal fluorescent tubes. What I do is replace the used 12000K tubes and place on top the tank, it works good for aqua light. But the back portion of this ceiling light need to cover with waterproof material, such as PVC, plastic, metal of others, that is to prevent the open case cause electric shock by water.

After tested for a day, some plants show the good sign of photosynthesis happening with add on extra wattage. Perhaps you can try it too, low cost high effective light fitting.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Clean Your Equipment In 1 Minute

Algae grows on any equipment is a pain to aquascapers, most of the time we will spend a lot of time to clean the small gap or narrow corner with all kind of tools, but still some algae sticks on the surface. Here I share a fast method to clean it with the daily use material, I believe still many do not know it.

Algae grows on the surface skimmer, especially the rubber area is very hard to clean it.
Prepare a softdrink recycle bottle (or any kind of container), and get some Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) for enough to use.
You may hold it or throw the whole thing inside the Sodium Hypochlorite.
For this situation, I hold the far end and rinse the other part inside.
After that stir fast in circular to get rid of the algae, do it until no more green on the equipment.
Then wash it properly until no more soapy feel on your fingers, that will kill your fauna.
Finally, clean it in a minute only, some of the "crystal salt" still on the edge of the surface skimmer that currently I am unable to clean it with any chemical, but with a blade is the fastest way.

Well, I am using this method for years, because I'm just taught someone about how to use this chemical and cause a lot of easy job to us.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Update of the tank

Temporary took away the hairgrass and replace the front soil, shifted the plans a bit. But still have no idea what should I do for the next, the more I put my-self inside, the less time I have for others. Better make it simple and clean for time being.