Smaller type of surface skimmer

This blog has been stopped updating since 3 years ago, also no more any further upgrade of the tank since then. Day by days some of the plants already decease and algae growing fast on all over the glass wall, luckily the filter system is working good until now, the water in the tank still clear.

Last week suddenly in the mood of wanted to remove the ugly algae and redo a bit, it tooks me almost a day to clean, trim, and replace a new smaller type Taiwan brand surface skimmer. But after a week of using it, I can tell this small space saving product is as good as the huge surface skimmer, highly recommended to hobbiest.

I will try to update more in this blog to keep track of the so called new tank. Added in a new planet name Helanthium Bolivianum, hope fully is suits to keep in such a small tank like this.

From Aquascape Into Gardening

Some times ago, I had a passion for aquascape, and now I call myself a farmer because with the knowledge from aquascape has made me turn it to a vegetables & herbs garden at my flat balcony. The time I spend in there more than the tank at the time being, once the set up is stable, I believe I will back to the tank to do something on it. I can't stand the mess and ugly look of my tank and plants. Sometimes the gardening job is much easier than aquascape is because of no algae issue that always hassle us. What I need is to control the fertiliser and watering with auto irrigation system.

The photo above is the green bean trees as for a beginner in gardening, such as me.

Hell ya! The tank looks ugly and messy.......I will be back, baby! 

This is the basic set Raindrip Container Kit for my flat garden irrigation system where got it from ACE Hardware, sooner will upload more photos of the DIY auto system.

New plant added!

Just bought some 'Pelia' & tied on the drift woods, at the moment still looks good, but later when growing up, totally I have no idea how will it be, and because this is the first time I am keeping some 'Pelia' in the tank. I need to do more research on this plant to maintain it in top condition, and do hope that I have more time to do so.

My New Cabinet

Just visited to the carpenter workshop to have a final checked on the cabinet, overall the built quality is good and very like it. The special color that I had chosen to match my house furniture and also the little requirement from me, It has a small drawer built in the cabinet, is a must for me. And this time try to get more ready made stuffs instead of DIY like last time. If not mistaken, by this 2 days they will send to my place. It is a new challenge for me, and also the most headache is how to transfer the old stuffs from the old tank to here(new house). Well, I need to plan it out.

I will be back in aquatic plants soon!!

Well, in year of 2009 really a busy year for me, I hope in the year 2010 too. Need to keep my spirit in this hobby since I got a placement #230 in ADA IAPLC 2009, but will stop for a year join in that contest.

The old 3' tank has grew with lots of algae, lack of maintenance. Will get a whole new smaller tank to set up with the aquascape, and try to keep everything in low maintenance is the most important. I have found that the Red Cherry in the old tank really looks like chilly red & healthy, may be I didn't dose any chemicals since last year June, cause it won't wash off the colour.

My worry now is how do I move the stuffs over from the old tank at my old house, started my journey to look for a new tank and will try to upgrade with some new system instead of all in DIY. When short of time to maintain, the whole tank really looks like sh*t. I wish my-self a good luck in setting up a new small tank.

Received the letter and certificate from ADA

Just received the letter from ADA few days ago, and 2008 ADA International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest certificate that for me to keep. Well, for a new/beginner got ranking at #382 isn't a bad result and hope that can do better than this in future.

Update: 3' Aquatic Tank

The photo above is a month plus without a good care and left behind, then overwhelm with black brush algae. After replace with the 8000K flourescent light, can see some good sign on the red leaves plant. Certainly, the Micranthemum umbrosum drying without the consistent dosage of nutrient
Thereafter put in some time to do the trimming work, now the tank(aquascape) looks better and tidy.

Layout - Island Style

Well, this layout has been keeping for several months, the plants growing and algae also grow together with it. Now my tank keeping few type of shrimps, 'Red Cherry' happy with the environments and making their next generation. I planned to rescape it, and afraid of disturbing the 'Red Cherry', and temporary no ideas what should I do for next.

Some history of my 33" planted tank

These photos are my early stage 2006-2007 setup of the planted tank, without any experience in the beginning, know nothing about plants, and the worst is the aquascape skill really like a crap. Keeping a healthy planted aquarium and a good biological system isn't that easy and need to spend lots of efford & time to take care of it. Here is a place that I am sharing my experience and the stuff that I am using. May not be a good method, but it can be an idea or a study case that success to growth the plants. During setup the new aquarium, the bacteria in the filter system have not fully colonized and the water body is loaded with nutrients from withering leaves. It is best to plant densely from he start to prevent algae growth. Never start with a sparse tank as you only asking for trouble.
Of course it would be best to start with all your favorite plans provided you have the available quantity to begin with. If it is of budgetary concern, you can always start off with a combination of your intended plants along with cheaper, faster growing ones as starter plants. The strategy is to have your aquascape element arranged in accordance with your intended layout. Plant only those plants you intended for your design and leave the rest of the cheap starters plant in their plastic pots. Arrange them sparingly in the aquarium to maintain the tank's equilibrium. When the planted plants begin to acclimatize and produce vigorous growth, gradually remove the pots one at a time every 2 weeks. This way, you can maintain the balance and still have the ones you prefer. Different types of aquascape call for different strategies in cultivation of aquatic plants. For instance, if you plan to use Cryptocoryne as the focus of your layout, most of the leaves will melt away as it tries to acclimatize to its new enviroment, lending it a desloate look to the aquarium until new buds start to develop again. In this case, you will have to consider the beauty of the aquarium as well as faster growing starter stem plants that require stronger lighting. After a period of time, the stem plants growth will begin to show a decline, which is relative to the decrease in lighting intensity and other factors such as acidity and water hardness. Under such conditions, it would then be ideal and practical to introduce Cryptocoryne since they do better in mature tanks

top: the last design/layout of year 2007
bottom: new design/layout of year 2008