# Planted Tanks > Aquascaping >  Dymax IQ 3 planted Aquarium

## jowenteo

hi brothers out there .... i just started my plant tank a week ago. 
i still have a lot of queries that puzzled me everynight  :Opps: 
need some guidance from you guys ....
1. why my hc not bubbling . is it my led not as good as a pl light ?
2. my co2 drop checker indicator is blue in color . 

my tank setup:
1. iq3 with filter wood, carbon and biohome. 200l/hr return pump. 
2. fan to cool the water at constant 28 and 27 at night .
3. 6 x 3w white led and 2 x 3w blue led and 2 strips blue snake led strips for night light.
4. auto top-up ro/di water 
5. diy algae scrubber with led light to shine 24hrs to remove excess no3 and po4.
6. dose excel and aquashade 
7. co2 at 1bubble per around 3 sec.

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## jowenteo

this is another diy 2ft 3w led light i done for my friend who is in marine reef.

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## eviltrain

bro jowenteo, i really admire your DIY skill  :Well done:

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## jowenteo

ermm.... thanks ... is just a hobby and did it on my spare time... 

but u can solve my question ? quite puzzled y my hc and other plants no pearl.... :Sad: 
isit led spectrum not same as pl light ?

thinking should i just change it to normal 5w clip on pl light ....cos my tank small cannot get 9w also ... :Embarassed:

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## eviltrain

sorry, i don't see any HC in your tank. and remember to take out your short form before moderator see

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## blue33

i already monitoring.  :Grin:  jowenteo please refrain from using SMS lingo. Thanks

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## jowenteo

sorry im new here .... what is sms lingo ? 
but i really dunno wat is the long name of hc ... 
i planted my hc 2 days ago so n*e*v*er* take photo ...

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## ongtw

wow are those high output leds? can you advise on where to get these and how much do they cost?

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## jowenteo

ya .. those are high output led from sim lim tower ..malaysia made cost 7 each and korea or japan made is 15- 20 each .... difference is cheap led will turn yellowish and the led is glass protected whereas expensive led is pure white even in the long run and silicon protected .

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## blue33

read here

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...rules_language

please edit your thread. House rules.

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## Simon

jowenteo, please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_language

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## eviltrain

> sorry im new here .... what is sms lingo ? 
> but i really dunno wat is the long name of hc ... 
> i planted my hc 2 days ago so n*e*v*er* take photo ...


the words like juz =just, nv = never.  :Grin: 
maybe it needs some time for your HC to get use inside your tank. 
It seems like hi-tec nano tank is in trend now. 
how about adding a TEM at the back of the Dymax?  :Grin: 
poison poison, makes me wants to do a hi-tec nano tank too.

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## felix_fx2

Looks pretty good for DIY.

jowen bro, in short popper English. Easier for non locals to read for information.
You'll not wish that someone post in FULL spanish with little english too.

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## madnugget

nice diy bro.. is those high powered LED? dont it requires heatsink to dissipate the heat away?

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## Navanod

Impressive...so much work went into such a tiny tank!
I'm running 2 IQ3 side by side (to not waste any light that spills over) and I thought I'm crazy to be pumping CO2 and monitoring the pH...I guess I'm still sane!

Very interested in those HO LED as well. I am using all LEDs now but its the NA version and Dymax robots...

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## Blaze88

One of the reason there might not be pearling is because your water flow in the tank is too fast, preventing the formation of bubbles. try stopping your filter for awhile to see if there is any pearling.

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## jowenteo

could it because of my led ... should i change to pl light ?

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## jowenteo

but if i stop the filter there will not be any oxygen generated ....

sorry moderator ... im trying my best to type properly ...

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## Navanod

You say the temperature is 27-28 at night.
What about during the day, with the lights on?

Pearling occurs when the plants produce so much oxygen that the water becomes saturated with it. Since no more oxygen can dissolve into the water, they start to form bubbles (pearling).

The amount of dissolved oxygen in water is determined by temperature. The higher the temperature, the less oxygen can dissolve and the faster the oxygen escapes into the air.

Although technically, at higher temperatures, since the amount of dissolved oxygen required to saturate the water is less and you should be seeing pearling more easily, I believe that at a high enough temperatures, the oxygen escapes into the air faster than your plants can produce them.

Try lowering the temperature (ice packs?) for a few hours and see if you get any pearling?

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## jowenteo

can i pump air using air stone into the overflow area so that there is sufficient oxygen in the water. currently the overflow is not strong to create waterfall effect for oxygen to dissolve as my filter wool is quite full (near to the teeth area)inside the overflow.

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## jowenteo

and also my nano checker is still blue color as i do not dare to put the co2 1bps because of this oxygen issue.

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## jowenteo



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## jowenteo

i had reduce the return pump flowrate as advised by blaze bro. will monitor whether it pearl tomorrow. :Sad: 

another question is does planted tank need blue light ? if not i will change the 2x blue 3w to white led ...

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## Wahlin

> and also my nano checker is still blue color as i do not dare to put the co2 1bps because of this oxygen issue.


Blue = Not enough
Green = OK
Yellow = Too much

You need to pump up your CO2 to between Green and Yellow. Or re-investigate the way you disffuse the CO2.

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## jiajuen900

besides temperature, dis you use 4dkh water in your drop checker? 

Another question, what is the size of a !Q 3? How much does it cost and what does one set include. Thanks

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## jowenteo

> besides temperature, dis you use 4dkh water in your drop checker? 
> 
> Another question, what is the size of a !Q 3? How much does it cost and what does one set include. Thanks


im using na co2 checker. it came with the blue solution. i did follow the instruction to fill the blue solution to half of the glass ball and put inside the tank. 

im not sure about the dimension. i think dymax website have the dimension . the volume of water is around 5 litre. it include a clipon 28 dim-able white led which i never use . behind the backflow is a 200l/hr return pump .

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## jowenteo

finally i see pearling on the foregroud plants. i diy a ugly pipe leaf and reduce the flow rate and it pearl.. thanks bro out there for the guidance ...

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## jowenteo

i really hate plant in gex soil.... the grain size is so big and i got difficullt dipping the roots in . anyone facing the same issue ? 

thinking of setting up another 2 by 1 inch tank... can advise me what should i purchase in setting the soil.? ada soil, powder , bacter 100 which one come first ... was so confused.

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## blue33

This is terrestrial plant, not aquatic plant.

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## blue33

Old batch Gex soil is good not the new one, soil size is big and too round. Personally prefer ADA Amazonia 1, initial stage got to change more frequent water as they are very rich in nutrients if you did not plant massive.

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## jowenteo

i google on terrestrial plant and it say cannot last long in submerse water ... why c328 want to sell... misled me ...  :Sad:

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## jowenteo

should i take out this terrestrial plant and plant in my mum's flower pot ? :Smile:

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## blue33

C328 did not misled you, before you buy anything you got to do your homework first. Those plant, hobbyist use for Vivarium, just that you bought it wrong in the first place as they look attractive to you, arent they?  :Grin:

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## jowenteo

great ... then i can take out and can buy one more tall plant . additional space .  :Smile:

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