Chelated Trace Elements

Recently went to a local hardware shop (Ace hardware) for my gardening stuffs and fertilizer, but saw a quite good product for aquasacpe to use as well, the chelated trace elements. I have read a lot about this chemical name and yet saw the real actual powder. The 1kg chelated TE pack as shown in the photo, cost about RM59 (about US$18). Usually I bought the 1kg small pack of Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Phosphate, and Magnesium Sulphate from local chemical shop, but TE only sell in huge amount and we don't really that much. Even the 1kg TE mix in the water is able to use for years, so is good enough for my aquascape and gardening uses.

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.

ADA International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest (IAPLC) 2013 winners' photo

001 Truong Thinh Ngo VIETNAM

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002 深田 崇敬 JAPAN

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003 Marcelo Tonon Chiovatto BRAZIL

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004 沈 健峰 MALAYSIA

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005 松井 真太郎 JAPAN

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006 Quan Nguyen Minh VIETNAM

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007 Ana Paula Cinato BRAZIL

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008 Stjepan Erdeljic CROATIA

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009 杨 锡纬 MALAYSIA

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010 Timucin Sagel TURKEY

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011 鄒 維新 HONG KONG

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012 飯泉 卓也 JAPAN

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013 Duc Viet Bui VIETNAM

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014 Paulo Pacheco BRAZIL

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015 許 錦汶 HONG KONG

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016 タナカ カツキ JAPAN

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017 Serkan Cetinkol TURKEY

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018 陳 漢軒 TAIWAN

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019 Robertus Hartono SINGAPORE

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020 Luis Carlos Galarraga BRAZIL

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021 Nichole Wong HONG KONG

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022 Andre Longarco BRAZIL

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023 付 岩松 CHINA

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024 半田 浩規 JAPAN

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025 黃 仲鳴 MACAU

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026 岩城 浩司 JAPAN

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027 Shintaro Matsui JAPAN

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.

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.

1. Algae grows on the surface skimmer, especially the rubber area is very hard to clean it.
2. Prepare a softdrink recycle bottle (or any kind of container), and get some Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) for enough to use.
3. You may hold it or throw the whole thing inside the Sodium Hypochlorite.
4. For this situation, I hold the far end and rinse the other part inside.
5. After that stir fast in circular to get rid of the algae, do it until no more green on the equipment.
6. Then wash it properly until no more soapy feel on your fingers, that will kill your fauna.
7. 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.