# Planted Tanks > Aquascaping >  Je®vis 4FT PLANTED TANK

## Jervis

Hi guys

Finally... it's time to reveal my new tank that has kept me occupied for the past 2 weeks. This is by far my most ambitious planted tank project (in terms of size). Will share more along the way... right now, let me present you a pix of my tank on Day 2.



A step-by-step posting coming up shortly  :Smile: 

Feel free to post your comments.

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## TTS

Will follow this closely... always admired your tank design and had learned alot from it  :Jump for joy: 

Is that green box at the right side an internal filter?

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## pleco4me

Very nice Jervis  :Smile: 

Look forward to more pics  :Wink:

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## Jervis

Let's start with the glass tank shall we?  :Wink: 

It's a 4' x 2' x 2' standard glass tank using 12mm Grade 1 float glass with black silicone (for marine). White laminate cabinet with hood... the tank is 2 years old, used to be a full fledge marine reef tank primarily keeping SPS.

As for the substrate, decided to go with Dennerle for this project. LINK HERE



The site shows new packaging... so don't get confused  :Grin: 

Oh yeah... wanna take this opportunity to thank Aquamarin (J. Katong) for delivering the heavy items to my office  :Well done:

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## Jervis

As usual... step-by-step pix of the laying of substrate system.



After laying the Duponit-Mix, I sprinkle a thin layer of Substrate Starter Bacteria over to quickly turn the substrate into a biological powerhouse  :Grin: 



You can have fun with this calculator. LINK HERE

I didn't really follow Dennerle's recommended formula... did some modifications  :Smile:

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## Jervis

Once the foundation is laid, I dump in 40kg Dennerle Crystal Quartz Gravel as the main substrate. Underneath the black gravel, I laid a thin layer (9L) of ADA Malayan Aquasoil to help lower pH in the long term.



The hardscape is rather simple. 2 pieces of Old Black Wood - L and 1 piece of Old Black Wood - M

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## Jervis

For this tank, I am using 100&#37; DI water. The only disadvantage of using DI water is the <1 dkH... which I need to buffer to around 2dkH using kH powder to stabilize pH.

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## Jervis

Let's take a look at the lighting. Decided to go with an ATI Sunpower T5 fixture. LINK HERE

Manage to buy the fixture without the marine-bluish light tubes. And fitted it with 4 Osram tubes.



Really like the feature of having a speed-adjustable cooling fan. The design is compact with silver-coated individual reflectors... finishing is superb as expected from a German-made product.

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## Jervis

> Will follow this closely... always admired your tank design and had learned alot from it 
> 
> Is that green box at the right side an internal filter?


Yes, it's a very classic piece of equipment... will feature it later  :Smile: 




> Very nice Jervis 
> 
> Look forward to more pics


Thanks! More to come...

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## EvolutionZ

WOW... the plant mess really wow me man.. another great work jervis.  :Well done:

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## joe faria

Another great tank :Well done: .

What fish are you thinking on this one?

Regards,

Joe Faria

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## Jervis

> WOW... the plant mess really wow me man.. another great work jervis.


Yeah wanna try something different this time round... perhaps another jungle to help prevent algae  :Grin: 




> Another great tank.
> 
> What fish are you thinking on this one?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Joe Faria


I have not finalized yet... probably transfer some fauna from my other tanks. But I'd love to see a school of Bosemani rainbow  :Smile:

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## Salphur

Great looking tank with superb photography skills to boot. Looking forward to your updates as always.

Cheers!

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## emmanuelwoon

You are the reason why I am here in this forum, Jervis. =)

Great photography skills !!

keep updating and don't keep us waiting . 

Cheers.

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## fireblade

Finally the wait is over!!
no need to sleep liao... will follow this thread closely!! :>

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## dagger13

i can't wait how this tank is going to evovle in time.

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## blue33

Looks abit dark behind? Btw looking forward your setup.  :Smile:

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## cheetf

Deponit is an excellent choice. Just a word of caution, if you finally intend to have yamatos inside the tank, be careful if you do any minor rescape. My shrimps used to curl up and some would die when the base ferts are stirred up.

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## Verminator

Phwoar. I shall be keeping tabs on this thread.

Keep the updates free-flowing, or as free-flowing as your free time permits  :Grin:

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## Mr Q

can we have an excursion to your place?  :Grin:

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## CWelch

Hello Jervis, I have been looking at your tanks and they are all amazing. You are truly talented and I am in awe of your aquascaping ability. Random question, where do you get such beautiful driftwood? All of your tanks have stunning pieces of wood...

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## fireblade

hi CWelch

I kay poh a bit...
if you click on the wood links , you will know where he got it!  :Grin:  



> Once the foundation is laid, I dump in 40kg Dennerle Crystal Quartz Gravel as the main substrate. Underneath the black gravel, I laid a thin layer (9L) of ADA Malayan Aquasoil to help lower pH in the long term.
> 
> 
> 
> The hardscape is rather simple. 2 pieces of Old Black Wood - L and 1 piece of Old Black Wood - M

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## CWelch

Thanks, lol, guess I shoulda looked more closely before asking  :Opps: , but I appreciate it.

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## dagger13

jervis did you get your wood from mizuworld?

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## CWelch

Dagger13, yes it is, there are links to the pieces of wood in the posts before yours. Read the previous 3 posts.  :Grin:

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## lolo

bro Jervis,

mind to share the breakdown list of the costs for this tank?

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## Burnz

Hi Jervis, the wood arrangement is great, but i think the plants selected are too big for the wood to stand out nicely. It would be a shame if the plants eventually overwhelms the hardscape since your tanks have the tendency for accelerated growth. cheers  :Smile:

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## Jervis

Time for an update  :Grin: 

Here's a simplified diagram of my tank setup. Apologize for the crappy visual... I only have Microsoft Office inside my home computer  :Opps: 



Comments are welcomed and appreciated  :Smile:

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## Burnz

This is an eye opener o.O
Would be you kind to accompany some pics that correlate to the diagram?
Cheers  :Smile:

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## Jervis

> Great looking tank with superb photography skills to boot. Looking forward to your updates as always.





> You are the reason why I am here in this forum, Jervis. =) Great photography skills !! keep updating and don't keep us waiting.





> Finally the wait is over!!
> no need to sleep liao... will follow this thread closely!! :>


Thanks guys! Will try to update more often. This tank is more difficult to shoot as the 12mm standard float glass is really crappy... but I'll try my best  :Smile: 




> i can't wait how this tank is going to evovle in time.


The tank is currently going through its first evolution  :Grin: 




> Looks abit dark behind? Btw looking forward your setup.


Yupe. That's because I moved the light fixture too much towards the front. I manage to find a better position now.

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## planted86

deep sand bed in sump tank for planted tank??

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## Jervis

> Phwoar. I shall be keeping tabs on this thread. Keep the updates free-flowing, or as free-flowing as your free time permits


A tad busy nowadays... not as "free-flowing" as before  :Confused: 




> Deponit is an excellent choice. Just a word of caution, if you finally intend to have yamatos inside the tank, be careful if you do any minor rescape. My shrimps used to curl up and some would die when the base ferts are stirred up.


Thanks for the reminder. Will take extra precaution when that moment arises. I usually mess the substrate during water change... with a siphoning hose in action to suck up the mess right away.




> can we have an excursion to your place?


Unfortunately my tank is in an office environment... not too convenient  :Sad:

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## Jervis

> deep sand bed in sump tank for planted tank??


It's actually a legacy from my previous marine setup... I suppose having a natural denitrator will not do much harm to the system since I plan to keep large fishes. What do you think?

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## Shadow

Wow... bro, I'm envy with all of your equipment  :Grin:

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## Jervis

> Wow... bro, I'm envy with all of your equipment


Those are all old equipments bro... the few new equipments I bought specifically for this tank are:
1) Dennerle C.O. 400 Filter
2) ATI Sunpower T5 Fixture
3) 12" Clip-on Fan
4) Media and sponges

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## Jervis

> bro Jervis, mind to share the breakdown list of the costs for this tank?


We don't talk money here... we talk passion  :Laughing:  Refer to the diagram above for the list of equipments... it shouldn't be difficult to find out the price online  :Smile: 




> Hi Jervis, the wood arrangement is great, but i think the plants selected are too big for the wood to stand out nicely. It would be a shame if the plants eventually overwhelms the hardscape since your tanks have the tendency for accelerated growth. cheers


Actually I intentionally hoping that one day the plants will cover most of the branches. Just something that I have yet to try... for experience sake.

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## Jervis

I worked out this tank's power consumption using the latest PUB tariff and I am pleased by the result... $28 per month for a 500L tank... not bad at all  :Grin:

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## planted86

> It's actually a legacy from my previous marine setup... I suppose having a natural denitrator will not do much harm to the system since I plan to keep large fishes. What do you think?


not sure about DBS in planted tank.. actually your heavily planted, fast growing tank alone is a very big denitrator already...

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## Jervis

Just an update for tonight... finally decided to remove the Dennerle C.O.400 filter from the main tank and added a Jaqno CO2 reactor into my sump instead. The main tank is now totally free from equipments  :Smile: 

Did a pH probe calibration using pH10 and pH7 solutions.



Off by pH 0.08 since my last calibration (6 months ago).

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## Jervis

Gotten a bit more confident these few days... introduced these 2 plants yesterday  :Smile: 



Definitely more daring than before  :Grin:

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## Verminator

But if your daring antics pay off, you'll be rewarded with stunningly grown plants that are truely the 'hard of hards' to grow.

I can't even make Cabomba grow without legs, or Java fern and Anubias species to grow without dieing at a faster rate. Your an inspiration to the keeping of plants.

You got any secret tips  :Grin:  hehe

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## genes

Looking good. I see you are trying out the dennerle system now.  :Well done:

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## Jervis

> But if your daring antics pay off, you'll be rewarded with stunningly grown plants that are truely the 'hard of hards' to grow.
> 
> I can't even make Cabomba grow without legs, or Java fern and Anubias species to grow without dieing at a faster rate. Your an inspiration to the keeping of plants.
> 
> You got any secret tips  hehe


Yes that's a big IF  :Grin:  All the plants are still relatively new especially the 2 in the previous pix... they were planted 2 days ago. Let's allow them to grow for a few more weeks before we even talk about inspiration and secret tips  :Huh?:

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## Jervis

> Looking good. I see you are trying out the dennerle system now.


Yupe... a full system following the recommended dosage closely... hopefully I will be rewarded with green/red healthy plants for this  :Smile:

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## Zenislev

Wow wow wow...i wonder how much this tank setup cost you....i guess i really cant afford that level of high tech. Haha

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## Jervis

> Wow wow wow...i wonder how much this tank setup cost you....i guess i really cant afford that level of high tech. Haha


Emm... to me this is more like a recycled tank... all those equipments including the pump are from my 'marine dayz'... it's cheaper to use them back than to sell them at a 60% depreciation  :Confused: 

But again high tech doesn't necessarily equates to great success... I wish things are that straight-forward  :Laughing:

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## Jervis

Here's my final flora plan... finally completed yesterday.



Will try to post a pix next Monday  :Smile:

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## blue33

Even final flora plan also strictly Dennerle!  :Opps:

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## route

i get a headache just looking at that  :Laughing: 
thats alot of plants! can't wait to see the tank when its done!  :Smile:

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## EvolutionZ

No wonder jervis told me its Dutch style.. look at that plant mass!  :Shocked:

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## Jervis

> Even final flora plan also strictly Dennerle!


Yupe... I copied their illustration style  :Grin: 




> i get a headache just looking at that 
> thats alot of plants! can't wait to see the tank when its done!


Posting right away!




> No wonder jervis told me its Dutch style.. look at that plant mass!


Probably too messy and disorganized to qualify as Dutch... just call it European style for the time being  :Laughing:

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## Jervis

Here's a full tank shot (at an angle)... tank is 3 weeks old  :Smile: 



Still a bit difficult to see the overall concept... let's give the scape a few more weeks  :Smile: 



The left side of the tank is taking shape as the stems are growing faster than the rest.

The Madagascar Lace is not doing too well unfortunately  :Sad:

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## Jervis

Green stem plant shot on the 8 Aug 08



The same 'not-so-green' plant shot today (4 days later).



1 of the 8 giant Amano shrimps keeping the brushes clean  :Grin:

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## Jervis

Finally got the courage to introduce 10 Altum angels... they are really small and cute  :Grin: 



Good news is they acclimatize quite well and feed immediately  :Smile:  Hope they can survive this period.

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## ccs

> For this tank, I am using 100&#37; DI water. The only disadvantage of using DI water is the <1 dkH... which I need to buffer to around 2dkH using kH powder to stabilize pH.


Wow where did you get so much DI water from??

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## Captain Telecredible

Bro Jevis,
Your Fauans and Floras and always been very nice, so you need not worry about them surviving, they will sure feel at home when in your tank  :Very Happy: 
Cheers

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## Jervis

> Wow where did you get so much DI water from??


Using a DI water filter (those sold at LFS, especially those specialized in marine). DI is different from Distilled water.




> Bro Jevis,
> Your Fauans and Floras and always been very nice, so you need not worry about them surviving, they will sure feel at home when in your tank 
> Cheers


Thanks for the nice words... but these wild Altums are known to be very unpredictable... I do worry for them  :Sad:

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## ccs

Yes. I meant Deionised water

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## carlfsk

Hey Jervis, that's indeed you yesterday at C328? You saw me or do you remember me at all.

I find this person buying altum angel very familiar...so  :Grin: 




> Finally got the courage to introduce 10 Altum angels... they are really small and cute 
> 
> 
> 
> Good news is they acclimatize quite well and feed immediately  Hope they can survive this period.

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## Jervis

> Hey Jervis, that's indeed you yesterday at C328? You saw me or do you remember me at all.
> 
> I find this person buying altum angel very familiar...so


Were you the one observing the Altums? Or that bag of Plecos?  :Laughing:

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## Jervis

They are looking healthy... roaming around... not as shy as expected  :Smug: 



So far tested them with frozen blood worms, ADA AP3 and Ocean Nutrition Brine Shrimp Flakes. Take all!

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## carlfsk

> Were you the one observing the Altums? Or that bag of Plecos?


I am looking at both...but end up didn't bag any fish. Instead got a small wavemaker instead.

The altum really looks good. I am tempted. However, I have lost a batch before, so hehe. 

All the best man.  :Smile:

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## Jervis

> However, I have lost a batch before, so hehe. 
> 
> All the best man.


How many days your last batch manage to stay in your tank? Did they eat well?

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## EvolutionZ

wow nice altum jervis.. tempting! but too bad, 2ft is too small for them. :Crying:

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## andrewtyr

2ft is too small for altums?

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## carlfsk

> How many days your last batch manage to stay in your tank? Did they eat well?


Mine was quite a few years back already. Lost them to clamp fins...deadly man. 

Stress might be one of the reasons. BTW, did you use UV for your tank?

I am thinking about ozonizer killing parasite / bacterias in the water column. But have not tried one yet. I am very curious if we run an ozonizer, will we still be able to sustain the desirable CO2 level in the water.

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## EvolutionZ

yup. 2ft way too small for them..
was told that altum need at least tank height of 2ft..
so 322 or 422 tank would be good..

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## illumnae

aren't you getting a 322 soon Evo?  :Smile:  you can QT the altums a month or 2 in your 2ft before transferring them to your 322

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## Jervis

> Mine was quite a few years back already. Lost them to clamp fins...deadly man. 
> 
> Stress might be one of the reasons. BTW, did you use UV for your tank?
> 
> I am thinking about ozonizer killing parasite / bacterias in the water column. But have not tried one yet. I am very curious if we run an ozonizer, will we still be able to sustain the desirable CO2 level in the water.


No I am not running UV for the time being... should I? I'm not too sure what UV can do to CO2 level in the water.

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## fireblade

wah the altum tail gone liao...
hopefully they can survive well!
all the best!

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## mok

> 


Was the tail fin gone when you bought it?

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## sfk7

With the introduction of altums into your tank, i guess rainbows for your 4ft tank is out?

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## EvolutionZ

> aren't you getting a 322 soon Evo?  you can QT the altums a month or 2 in your 2ft before transferring them to your 322


i'll have to work very hard for good results for my exam.. :Opps:  :Knockout:

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## Captain Telecredible

> i'll have to work very hard for good results for my exam..


Yeah ! Same for here, must work very hard before getting what I want. Btw Bro Jervis those angels are really beautiful in your tank !  :Smile:

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## Jervis

> wah the altum tail gone liao...
> hopefully they can survive well! all the best!





> Was the tail fin gone when you bought it?


The tail already like that when I bought it... guess I am too noob to take extra note of that  :Sad:  I really hope it can recover.




> With the introduction of altums into your tank, i guess rainbows for your 4ft tank is out?


Yeah... gotto change my original plan slightly. Will see how things goes  :Smile: 




> Btw Bro Jervis those angels are really beautiful in your tank !


Thanks! The thing about beauty is... it seldom lasts  :Crying:  :Crying:  :Crying:

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## Jervis

Here's something sad to report... because of my carelessness and stupidity... 2 Altums ended up on my filter floss  :Crying:  I didn't modify my overflow comb... apparently the gaps are wide enough  :Surprised:

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## Jervis

Just to add... I've immediately added an extra layer of eggcrate right after the overflow comb to fix the problem.

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## blue33

> Just to add... I've immediately added an extra layer of eggcrate right after the overflow comb to fix the problem.


Green Coarse sponge might be better!  :Smile:

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## Jervis

> Green Coarse sponge might be better!


Can't use sponge as they might trap floating leaves... stopping them from passing through the overflow comb.

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## Jervis

Just an update on my tank system.

Here's the sump tank  :Grin: 



My cooling fan controlled by Aquatronica. Hopefully will be able to maintain my tank water not exceeding 28ºC  :Huh?: 



This is a feature to make water change easier. Just release the valve and the tank water will drain off to the water outlet inside the pantry  :Grin: 



All in all... a messy old tank  :Evil:

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## Shadow

its a planted sump tank  :Laughing:

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## route

first time seeing such a nice sump tank  :Smile:

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## StanChung

> Here's something sad to report... because of my carelessness and stupidity... 2 Altums ended up on my filter floss  I didn't modify my overflow comb... apparently the gaps are wide enough


Hi Jervis, those were probably too weak to swim away, I feel a bit of pain too. I myself have some success at the one month mark at the moment.

BTW, it's very difficult to QT altums in a planted tank because of the medications. A few folks at Finarama have stated that a round of antibiotics would help and not many antibiotics would go well with a planted tank.

I used a dose of 1ppt salt to curb fin burn in my bare QT tank. Did a few rounds of Tetracyline for 9 days.

The weak ones have dropped off and there's two struggling with fin burn but the fellas looks ok for the past week.

Try not to feed moderately during this period. Too much eating stresses the liver and kidneys and also produces ammonia thru the gills. Ammonia is bacteria food and most likely attack the gill soft tissue.

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## Jervis

Thanks Stan for sharing your Altum experience... they are definitely one of the hardest fish I have ever attempted... even most marine fish seem easy in comparison. I guess the Altums will not stand a fair chance inside my planted tank... a matter of time I guess  :Crying:

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## blue33

> Thanks Stan for sharing your Altum experience... they are definitely one of the hardest fish I have ever attempted... even most marine fish seem easy in comparison. I guess the Altums will not stand a fair chance inside my planted tank... a matter of time I guess


Maybe you can try to raise them in your 2ft tank till they grow bigger, later then introduce to your big tank, that would be easier for you to manage them in terms of any outbreak.

My 2 cents!  :Smile:

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## StanChung

Hi Jervis, You're welcome. This is my only 'successful so far' with wild altums. 3 previous tries were failures in planted tank.

My QT tank is run with drip at ~100L daily turnover, with a large overhead box filter+powerhead. Antibiotics that can be tolerated by beneficial bacteria include tetracycline based ones.

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## Jervis

Anyway... just an update. Went back to office to do some work today (yes, I work on Sundays too)  :Grin: 

My remaining Altums socializing quite well with the rest of the tankmates  :Smile:

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## Jervis

The Rotala wallichii is growing quite nicely  :Smile:  Can someone help ID the pinkish tip stem on the left?  :Smile: 



The UG is not growing too well... probably acclimatizing to the submerse environment  :Sad: 

That's all for tonight.

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## cheetf

> Anyway... just an update. Went back to office to do some work today (yes, I work on Sundays too)


Hahaha yeah right... work :Razz:

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## fireblade

this i interesting..  :Very Happy: 

your tank look interesting...
lookslike got many different kind of fishes..  :Very Happy: 
how come keep altum cannot keep rainbow?

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## Jervis

> this i interesting.. 
> 
> your tank look interesting...
> lookslike got many different kind of fishes.. 
> how come keep altum cannot keep rainbow?


Yeah... my tank is looking like 'rojak' now  :Laughing:  I think it's the bioload that one has to tackle when keeping too many specimens of Altum and Rainbow.

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## fireblade

think with your high tech system and the pasion you have, there won't be any problem ..  :Smile: 

but a tank full of big rainbows will look very pretty... my, I missed rainbows!! maybe I should try breeding them soon!!

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## illumnae

I love the rojak look of the fauna in your tank Jervis. The Dicrossus filamentosus are showing wonderful colour, and the altums will make a striking statement when they grow to their full majesty!

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## EvolutionZ

oh gosh.. the altum temptation in me is growing stronger and stronger..

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## fireblade

better don't think about it!! haha... :Exasperated:  :Exasperated: 



> oh gosh.. the altum temptation in me is growing stronger and stronger..

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## Jervis

> better don't think about it!! haha...


I am just being a tad luckier than the rest... I heard some hobbyists got very disappointing deaths  :Crying:  Come to think of it... Altums are really the ultimate 'money-burning-machine'  :Opps:

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## Jervis

> think with your high tech system and the pasion you have, there won't be any problem .. 
> 
> but a tank full of big rainbows will look very pretty... my, I missed rainbows!! maybe I should try breeding them soon!!


I have not been allocating sufficient resources on bacteria media... bought 5kg of Biohome today to replace the generic white ceramic rings periodically. Hopefully this upgrading will help sustain my remaining Altums  :Huh?:

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## fireblade

I bet you are...
heard my friend bought 10, 20 pieces of them and then after 2 weeks, 1 by 1 gone case with burn fin...
hear already also heart pain, for the fish and the wallet...
think the only one laughing will be will be LFS owner.. 




> I am just being a tad luckier than the rest... I heard some hobbyists got very disappointing deaths  Come to think of it... Altums are really the ultimate 'money-burning-machine'

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## Jervis

They have been eating very well... gotten a bit fat actually  :Laughing:

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## Jervis

Introduced 2 small L134 today... so cute  :Shocked:  :Shocked:  :Shocked:

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## emmanuelwoon

> Introduced 2 small L134 today... so cute


How do you know if is L123 or L456 ? they have a number rather than a name ? interesting . 

btw, are they suppose to clear algae or something like that ? 

looks really tempting.  :Grin:

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## fireblade

many plecos are identified by numbers.. :>
cute fish there!! looks like zebra pleco......

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## StanChung

It's called leopard frog pleco-L134. Bloody cute. I have two. :Grin: 
Mine are about 12cm and really fat females. sigh.

Males have odontodes?/hairs sticking out on the sides of the body somewhere below the dorsal fin- when mature.
read text here-http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=213

These guys belong to _Peckoltia_ genus and are more of a meat eater.

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## illumnae

i think the food of choice for most pleco keepers that keep omnivorous/carnivorous plecos is hikari carnivore tablets...i'm sure your cute new acquisitions will love them!

every time i see that picture of yours i'm so tempted to go get a couple  :Sad:

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## Toshika

HI Jervis..do your pleco eat the plants?

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## zahidah

Really nice setup! Looking forward to it!! Seems that your work here is pretty popular!  :Grin:  Will keep tabs for your posts!

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## Joseph*

> The Rotala wallichii is growing quite nicely  Can someone help ID the pinkish tip stem on the left?



not sure if this is red cabomba. it looks like it from my book though. i'm a new guy in this field.

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## Jervis

> not sure if this is red cabomba. it looks like it from my book though. i'm a new guy in this field.


Well done with the ID! Closely resembles Red Cabomba... however they also look like Myrioplyllum mattogrossense 'Red'. The plant is much taller now... taller than the max. 40cm for Red Cabomba.

Will try to take a pix soon  :Smile:

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## Mizu World

> Well done with the ID! Closely resembles Red Cabomba... however they also look like Myrioplyllum mattogrossense 'Red'. The plant is much taller now... taller than the max. 40cm for Red Cabomba.
> 
> Will try to take a pix soon


If it's the group of reddish/orange plants in the center of the picture, it should be Myriophyllum tuberculatum.

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## Jervis

Sad morning... 1 more Altum MIA  :Sad:  Left with 3  :Embarassed:

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## blue33

> Sad morning... 1 more Altum MIA  Left with 3


10 left with 3 only? That's really high mortality!  :Confused:  Sad to hear that.  :Surprised:

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## StanChung

Hmmm, there you go. That's altums for you. Sad to hear that. They're not like other fish that can just adapt immediately. They need to get used to the local bacteria. They're pretty easy to keep once they are used to the local water. Mine grew up eating just bloodworms. For two years, that's all they ate. I however saw my friends train them to eat flakes and pellets. However if you ever give them bloodworms, that's it.
Mine's about 11" tall now, only 4/9 left. Used to have groups of people coming over just to see them.  :Grin:

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## andrewtyr

11' tall?! my god  :Shocked:

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## Jervis

> 10 left with 3 only? That's really high mortality!  Sad to hear that.


False alarm... that guy was hiding... so it's 4 out of 10. Got a feeling these 4 are pretty stable now... been more than 3 weeks  :Smile:

----------


## StanChung

Good to hear that.

Andrew, 11" is not the maximum size. 14" is not unheard of.

----------


## Joseph*

> Good to hear that.
> 
> Andrew, 11&quot; is not the maximum size. 14&quot; is not unheard of.


 11 inches??? tall???  :Shocked:

----------


## bryan

I'm kind of concerned about the Boesmani/Altum combo. The boesmani becomes quite a handful to manage eventually. They are either eating, pooping or sparring all the time. I'd remove either one when they start growing.

----------


## StanChung

> 11 inches??? tall???


Up to 14" tall and please have a tall tank for them. 2-2.5ft ht. You don't want them to drag their whiskers around.  :Blah:

----------


## StanChung

> 11 inches??? tall???


Up to 14" tall and please have a tall tank for them. 2-2.5ft ht. You don't want them to drag their 'whiskers' around.  :Blah:

----------


## Jervis

Just an update... some plants' growth is not as robust as I'd prefer actually  :Sad:  Will rectify the problem next week... well that's part of the fun, isn't it?  :Grin:

----------


## illumnae

lovely scape as usual jervis  :Smile:  the stems look like they still need to grow in a little before your first trim to create more sideshoots.

----------


## aquaSynthesis

Side tracked a bit....

A100 to A350?  :Wink:  

cool bro! Upz for alpha user...

----------


## Jervis

> lovely scape as usual jervis  the stems look like they still need to grow in a little before your first trim to create more sideshoots.


I trimmed them today to colonize more of the tank... I am addicted to red stems  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

> Side tracked a bit....
> 
> A100 to A350?  
> 
> cool bro! Upz for alpha user...


Haha... you checked me out  :Embarassed: 

Yeah it's a well justified upgrade as I use a DSLR almost on a daily basis. I love this new camera  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

Time for some serious updating  :Smile: 

What's new:

1. Added a 4ft (2 x 54W) Illumax for better coverage. I can finally achieve even illumination throughout the entire tank now.

2. Added/replaced some new plants in the foreground. I am running out of tanks to adopt those Swords  :Laughing: 

3. Trimmed and replanted some stem plants.

Alright... less talk more pix  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

Here's a better angle to view my foreground... a combination of Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba' (HC), Pogostemon helferi (Downoi) and highlights of Rotala sp. 'Pearl' as midground.



I really like this combination. Here's a closer shot.

----------


## Jervis

Really putting my new Sony Alpha 350's Live View to the test... extreme angle shot like this is so easy to capture... I don't even have to bend my back  :Grin: 



It's a great feature  :Well done:

----------


## Jervis

Feeding time  :Grin: 



What ya lookin' at?

----------


## EvolutionZ

wow.. beautiful pleco! and of course the photo was good too...

----------


## blue33

If you can tie some moss on the wood will definitely look much better, you can tie between the joint part, not the whole piece, especially the ugly part.  :Smile:

----------


## route

beautiful tank  :Smile:  very well taken photos
love the red stem plants too!

----------


## Verminator

That will be one amazing forground once grown in. Downoi and HC - fantastic!

----------


## fireblade

really like the Downoi and HC combination!!
too bad got no luck with these 2 plants..
find that the red plants on the left is a bit disturbing.. maybe they are too tall?

----------


## chaq

Hi, Very nice tank and photos, which do you feel is better substrate system, dennerle or ada?

----------


## blur2x

> Those are all old equipments bro... the few new equipments I bought specifically for this tank are:
> 1) Dennerle C.O. 400 Filter
> 2) ATI Sunpower T5 Fixture
> 3) 12" Clip-on Fan
> 4) Media and sponges


May I know where/how did you get the Dennerle C.O 400 filter? Thanks.

----------


## Jervis

> wow.. beautiful pleco! and of course the photo was good too...


Thanks! Too bad these 2 don't mingle  :Sad:  Each take a corner of the tank  :Confused: 




> If you can tie some moss on the wood will definitely look much better, you can tie between the joint part, not the whole piece, especially the ugly part.


Will consider that  :Smile: 




> beautiful tank  very well taken photos
> love the red stem plants too!


Thanks! Now I gotto find ways to maintain their redness  :Huh?: 




> That will be one amazing forground once grown in. Downoi and HC - fantastic!


The HC pearl really nicely... glad I'd gotten the submerse form from Mizu  :Smug: 




> really like the Downoi and HC combination!!
> too bad got no luck with these 2 plants..
> find that the red plants on the left is a bit disturbing.. maybe they are too tall?


I think once the plants on the right side grow taller... the balance will improve. I intend to let all stems reach to the water surface... most probably  :Smile: 




> Hi, Very nice tank and photos, which do you feel is better substrate system, dennerle or ada?


That's a difficult question really... it's like choosing between BMW and Mercedes Benz  :Laughing: 




> May I know where/how did you get the Dennerle C.O 400 filter? Thanks.


I got it from Polyart (a few shops away from C32 :Cool: ... very old stock as Dennerle has already stopped production on this model  :Embarassed:  I just bought it out of curiousity  :Grin:

----------


## Verminator

:Surprised:  Mizu have submersed HC - i shall concider Mizu for when i get my plants for my 2ft. Most forms of HC i find here in UK seem to be emmersed and just melt on me. Even those direct from Tropica in Denmark  :Sad:

----------


## blue33

To get redness of the plant is pretty easy, *starve* your plant with phosphate and nitrate, before competition shoots, those people will starve their plant to get the extreme redness.  :Laughing:  Normally they dont do that to their plant before competition shoots.  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

> Mizu have submersed HC - i shall concider Mizu for when i get my plants for my 2ft. Most forms of HC i find here in UK seem to be emmersed and just melt on me. Even those direct from Tropica in Denmark


I believe so as they look really healthy after planting... I will take a pix tomorrow and you can decide from there  :Smile:

----------


## Jervis

> To get redness of the plant is pretty easy, *starve* your plant with phosphate and nitrate, before competition shoots, those people will starve their plant to get the extreme redness.  Normally they dont do that to their plant before competition shoots.


Yeah that's what I've been told... but I wonder how the "starving" will affect the other plants  :Huh?:  Maybe I can rely on some marine equipments... Fluidized Reactor running PO4 remover and Nitrate Reduction Reactor  :Grin:

----------


## blue33

> Yeah that's what I've been told... but I wonder how the "starving" will affect the other plants  Maybe I can rely on some marine equipments... Fluidized Reactor running PO4 remover and Nitrate Reduction Reactor


For short period starving is ok, i try that before.  :Grin:  Another method is maintain temperature at 25 degree cold water with very strong light and UV light on.

----------


## blue33

> I believe so as they look really healthy after planting... I will take a pix tomorrow and you can decide from there


I though MIZU ship locally only?  :Huh?:

----------


## Verminator

They do your correct. Theres a european version called Aquaspot - which i place my orders on.

Although for things other than plants Ben Tan from Mizu is capeable of customising an invoice for me to get some things which arent on aquaspot, at a slightly higher than normal shipping charge though. For some things it may prove helpful. 

Others i get more locally.  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

This week's update... the HC and Downoi are doing very well... I was half-expecting the Downoi to melt  :Confused:

----------


## Jervis

Progress shots  :Smile: 

3rd September 08



7th September 08 (4 days later)

----------


## Stone

:Shocked: Simply amazing!

----------


## StanChung

Methinks, you have too many types of plants... :Grin: 
I really like the foreground, the red plants are ok but the vivipara and vallis looks rather out of place. Some moss on the straighter parts of the wood would look good IMO.

----------


## Jervis

> Simply amazing!


It's not really that amazing compared to some other tanks... but I'll that as a compliment  :Smile: 




> Methinks, you have too many types of plants...
> I really like the foreground, the red plants are ok but the vivipara and vallis looks rather out of place. Some moss on the straighter parts of the wood would look good IMO.


Yest Stan. I think you are right... but again I don't really have high hopes on this tank as it's not created to look messy (not competition/concept driven)... I just wanna take the opportunity to experience as many species of plants as possible... sorta like all-in-one  :Grin:  Having said that... tanks will evolve over time and I'll see what I can come up with the next time I perform a major rescaping  :Smile:  Will stay away from Moss for the time being as I have 2 tanks full of them now  :Laughing:

----------


## blue33

> Methinks, you have too many types of plants...


I'm not alone!  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing: ...

----------


## blue33

I find too many red plant would kill the scene itself, too distracting  :Grin: 

My 2 cents!

----------


## Jervis

> I'm not alone! ...





> I find too many red plant would kill the scene itself, too distracting 
> 
> My 2 cents!


I find it quite refreshing actually... but then again the tank will evolve overtime. Thanks for making me 2 cents richer  :Grin:

----------


## bubberls

Foreground and mid looks really good! Great growth too. but the downoi might get covered in a couple of weeks...

 :Well done:

----------


## uklau

:Shocked:  :Shocked:  :Shocked: . Just love your work  :Smile:

----------


## StanChung

> I'm not alone! ...


I'll let you two enjoy your collectoritis. I remember those days... :Laughing: 

Actually I have 5 tanks now to accommodate and multiple flowerpots of emersed plants.  :Blah:   :Exasperated:   :Evil:

----------


## jacian

I find that for that number of different plants in a tank, the dutch style suits better.  :Razz:

----------


## blue33

> I'll let you two enjoy your collectoritis. I remember those days...
> 
> Actually I have 5 tanks now to accommodate and multiple flowerpots of emersed plants.


So you are the leader of "collectoritis".

----------


## StanChung

I have played with more than 200 plants and killed 80&#37; of it.  :Grin:  I now concentrate on plants that have aquascaping potential. I don't bother with expensive plants. The last 'vomit blood' erois are really vomit blood. I do a lot of barter trade stuff anyway nowadays. No need to buy much.

----------


## Jervis

> I find that for that number of different plants in a tank, the dutch style suits better.


Actually I was inspired by some tanks I saw on the internet (and books) that do not look like Amano's. That's why the approach and concept are so different this time round. So I guess the reference to "dutch style" is not inappropriate here  :Smile: 

As always, I do take all comments seriously... that's what posting in forum is for anyway  :Grin:  Will do some improvements to the layout... probably this weekend.

----------


## jacian

The ASW Issue 2 has a coverage on the Netherland Aquascaping competition, there are some nice Dutch setup there.  :Smile:

----------


## Jervis

> The ASW Issue 2 has a coverage on the Netherland Aquascaping competition, there are some nice Dutch setup there.


Thanks bro! Those are truly amazing Dutch-style tanks... don't think I have the trimming skills yet to pull through... so right now mine will be categorize as "rojak" tank  :Laughing:

----------


## luncheonMeat

Nice tank bro Jervis, can i just ask how you plant the HC? Did you plant it with the pot? If i plant it without the pot, it would float wouldn't it? I am planning to plant that in my new tank at the foreground too. Please advise.

----------


## Jervis

> Nice tank bro Jervis, can i just ask how you plant the HC? Did you plant it with the pot? If i plant it without the pot, it would float wouldn't it? I am planning to plant that in my new tank at the foreground too. Please advise.


No I don't plant with the pot... the crystal quartz sand is heavier than soil... I guess that helps in holding the HC in place. Also, I plant them in thicker bunches so that they can have better grip compared to individual plantlet.

Here's the latest tank shot of my foreground... added some small pieces of stone to break the "green"... can spot my Yamato shrimp?  :Grin:

----------


## luncheonMeat

Spotted your yamato! barely see it, just the eye only. 

I am not sure of the crystal quartz sand you are talking about. is there somewhere i can find out more? by the way, i posted my brand new tank day 1 picture...  :Grin: , please give some advice ok. The front is so bare i don know what to do with it!

Cheers!

----------


## Jervis

> I am not sure of the crystal quartz sand you are talking about. is there somewhere i can find out more?


http://www.dennerle.info/EN/HG09UG03.htm

----------


## Jervis

I have something exciting to reveal tonight... but before that... there's something sad to share  :Sad: 

All my Altum angels are gone (bought 10 small specimens)... the strong 4 manage to survive for 3 weeks... I guess that's not too bad a record for first timer... but that's not good enough  :Huh?: 

Will not try Altums anymore in the future unless I am ready to have a dedicated tank just for acclimatizing them... a lot more to learn on therapy, medication and nutrition.

10 is all it takes I guess  :Exasperated:

----------


## StanChung

Sorry to hear that. It's not easy to keep alive.

----------


## blue33

> Sorry to hear that. It's not easy to keep alive.


Even when they grow to adult size?

----------


## blue33

> I have something exciting to reveal tonight...


Exciting to reveal???...   

Btw, sad to hear the gone of your Altum...

----------


## fireblade

wah must login tonight liao!!!
what time is the update?!?!!

sorry to hear your loss... poor little fellas...

----------


## illumnae

it's going to be a very colourful update  :Smile:

----------


## blue33

Maybe he quit this hobby and go back Marine?

----------


## jacian

Sorry to hear about your loss. So you must have gotten something to replace the altum?  :Smile:

----------


## Jervis

> Maybe he quit this hobby and go back Marine?


You got "wind"  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  Not quitting but starting a new marine tank  :Smug:

----------


## Jervis

Thanks all for the kind words... it's really sad to see them "give up" one by one  :Sad: 

Anyway here's the colourful update  :Smug: 

Introduced 2 days ago... looking healthy.

----------


## cheetf

Only one slight problem with that, there goes your algae clearing crew. About to give up on my discus.

----------


## Verminator

Jervis - are you like me. You try in vain to get fish to get along which have got no chance from the beggining  :Razz: 

examples from me being my Jack Dempseys with my Japonica shrimp. Another being clown loach in a planted tank. Dwarf chain loach and my Dempseys. 

Yours being Discus and algae crew  :Grin:  Good luck with that mate...

----------


## Jervis

> Only one slight problem with that, there goes your algae clearing crew. About to give up on my discus.





> Jervis - are you like me. You try in vain to get fish to get along which have got no chance from the beggining 
> 
> examples from me being my Jack Dempseys with my Japonica shrimp. Another being clown loach in a planted tank. Dwarf chain loach and my Dempseys. 
> 
> Yours being Discus and algae crew  Good luck with that mate...


You guys referring to Yamato? I only have 3 to 4 Yamatos in there... my cleaning crew is primarily made up of SAEs and Otos. Somehow I got a feeling these few Yamatos will be able to survive as they are really huge  :Laughing:  With the amount of plants I have... they will find shelter  :Smile:

----------


## Jervis

Here's a shot using my iPhone 3G... without post-production  :Laughing:

----------


## Verminator

Stunning colours. Take it you have 3  :Grin: 

Can't help but notice how well your HC is doing! Almost a complete lawn coming on, even neatly tucking under the downoi! Wow  :Smile:

----------


## blue33

Oh Gosh!!!  Your cleaning crew will be  The blue discus looks abit skinny to me.

----------


## Jervis

> Oh Gosh!!!  Your cleaning crew will be  The blue discus looks abit skinny to me.


Very cute  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:

----------


## blue33

> Very cute


Btw nice shot from your 3G iPhone.  for you  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

> Btw nice shot from your 3G iPhone.  for you


Nah... it's a pathetic 2 Megapixel  :Sad:

----------


## jasonchua1982

The Discus are nice ! I like the blue leopard snakeskin :Smile: 

Btw, is there a full tank shot ?

Think it will be stunning with the Discus in ur planted tank  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

> Btw, is there a full tank shot ?
> 
> Think it will be stunning with the Discus in ur planted tank


Will try to take tomorrow... especially for you  :Smile:

----------


## Flowerhfanatic

> All my Altum angels are gone (bought 10 small specimens)... the strong 4 manage to survive for 3 weeks... I guess that's not too bad a record for first timer... but that's not good enough 
> 
> 10 is all it takes I guess


 
i suffered the same fate with 18 pcs bro after introducing an infected batch :Sad: .. like what u said be positive and life goes on...

----------


## jasonchua1982

Thanks Jervis....I feel so honoured  :Wink:

----------


## luncheonMeat

i had a few altum in my other tank before, however this tank only has some rocks and hardly any plants in it. the altums survived till i threw in 100+ Neon tetras. Now only 1 surviving altum but all my tetras are doing very well. all survived and none has died after about 2 months. im suprised myself. the questions is why did my altums die? :Shocked:

----------


## Jervis

> the questions is why did my altums die?


That's a million dollar question bro  :Grin:

----------


## illumnae

> i had a few altum in my other tank before, however this tank only has some rocks and hardly any plants in it. the altums survived till i threw in 100+ Neon tetras. Now only 1 surviving altum but all my tetras are doing very well. all survived and none has died after about 2 months. im suprised myself. the questions is why did my altums die?


my first instinct would be ammonia poisoning. throwing 100+ Neon tetras into a tank at one go means that the biofilter isn't equipped to handle the extra waste. added to that is the fact that the tank is barely planted, so you have no buffer to play around with = sudden spike in ammonia = dead altums. the neons probably survived as they are much MUCH hardier than altums.

my second guess would be that the neons introduced some domestic strain of disease that they have built up an immunity to, but the altums being wild have never been exposed to previously.

my third guess, which isn't likely, is coincidence. altums are reputed to die off after awhile for no known rhyme or reason sometimes. maybe they just happened to coincide with the introduction of the neons. i doubt it though.

my bet is with ammonia poisoning

----------


## blue33

I know there's one fish farm dealing with KOI's and Arowana in Neo Tiew Cres, they have a big pond with few thousands of Altums(could be more than that i guess) link with the rest of the pond to monitor the water condition of the rest of the pond.  :Opps:

----------


## illumnae

i honestly find that very hard to believe. 

1. it doesn't make sense to have thousands of altums to monitor water conditions when a small school would do just as good a job. 

2. adding a few thousand altums will lower water quality due to massive bioload increase. also reduce profits of the farm as that huge pond could have been used to breed/rear more koi/arowana

3. In times when the water condition is bad, a few thousand altums die, causing:
a) huge ammonia spike
b) huge replacement costs buying a few thousand new altums

4. if water conditions are bad and altums die during non-seasonal period, how to replace?

----------


## blue33

> i honestly find that very hard to believe. 
> 
> 1. it doesn't make sense to have thousands of altums to monitor water conditions when a small school would do just as good a job. 
> 
> 2. adding a few thousand altums will lower water quality due to massive bioload increase. also reduce profits of the farm as that huge pond could have been used to breed/rear more koi/arowana
> 
> 3. In times when the water condition is bad, a few thousand altums die, causing:
> a) huge ammonia spike
> b) huge replacement costs buying a few thousand new altums
> ...


I know is hard to believe, but when you see the pond with full of altums there... only WOW i can said.  :Shocked:  Maybe they breed also, who knows.  :Grin:  Oh! Btw they dont sell the Altums  :Laughing:

----------


## leechaorui

My friend introduced a tank of altums to about 100 neon tetras. After 3 weeks, the altums were fattened up because they have consumed most of the neon tetras.

As long the the neon tetras are properly quarantined before introduction and the water is stable, I think altums are in the upper hand.

----------


## luncheonMeat

> My friend introduced a tank of altums to about 100 neon tetras. After 3 weeks, the altums were fattened up because they have consumed most of the neon tetras.
> 
> As long the the neon tetras are properly quarantined before introduction and the water is stable, I think altums are in the upper hand.


 
I guessed my altums were outnumbered! haha, 100 Neon to 5 Altums. they must have felt intimidated! Well, i have 1 suvivour and its growing pretty big.

----------


## illumnae

you didn't read my post :P Nothing to do with intimidation.

all the best with the survivor, hope you can rear him to his full majesty. Perhaps you could get a few companions for him? Altums do better in groups

----------


## luncheonMeat

> you didn't read my post :P Nothing to do with intimidation.
> 
> all the best with the survivor, hope you can rear him to his full majesty. Perhaps you could get a few companions for him? Altums do better in groups


I read your post. i was just cracking a joke, maybe its not that funny.  :Sad:  Well, i might just get a few more altums in the near future. was thinking of trasfering it to my new tank, either the altums or buy some nice discus. :Grin:  not firmed yet. Need the new tank to stabilise first.. discovered mould today. :Sad:

----------


## Jervis

Wow my tank thread has become an altum discussion thread... All I can say is altums should only be kept by experienced fishkeepers who will go the extra mile to ensure their survival. And I'm not one of those... Unfortunately it took 10 lives to make me realize that.

----------


## Jervis

> Thanks Jervis....I feel so honoured


Here you go  :Smile: 

A FTS focus more on the plants  :Grin: 



A FTS focusing on the Discus  :Roll Eyes:

----------


## luncheonMeat

> Wow my tank thread has become an altum discussion thread... .


 
Sorry about the altum discussion Bro.. topic got drifted away.

Anyways, Very nice shot of the tank and the discus are simply a beauty!

Great tank there!  :Well done:

----------


## Jervis

> Sorry about the altum discussion Bro.. topic got drifted away.
> 
> Anyways, Very nice shot of the tank and the discus are simply a beauty!
> 
> Great tank there!


No problem... here's a video clip showing the discus in a feeding frenzy... I'm glad they are eating  :Laughing: 



More fish  :Roll Eyes:

----------


## Binks

Phew, went through the full 11 pages of this thread now. Tank looks great but the crowning glory is the three brilliantly coloured Discus in the fully planted tank!

Loved the Downoi HC combo too!

----------


## Verminator

Jervis, i'm mightily impressed.

From the initial scape i doubted how the plants would mature, thinking they would overlap oddly. But i was wrong.

The combination and layout of your plants is simply breathtaking!

Forgive me if i missed the update in a previous page (was offline during transition from page 6-8 i think hehe). But how was your Madagascar Lace plant doing? It was struggling since you moved it out of its previous home was the last i heard.

Once again - WOW to this tank. I love it!

----------


## Joseph*

sweeeeeet.

----------


## jasonchua1982

Wow...the FTS are breathtaking !

Discus in planted tank...think they bring the best out of each other.

Simply amazing setup,its so nice I can spend hours glued to this setup  :Grin:

----------


## Quixotic

You have a truly nice "rojak" tank.... fishes from the different continents, Australia, Asia, Africa and South America.  :Laughing:

----------


## ranmasatome

Sweet tank bro. :Smile: 

Think a little trimming is in place? and perhaps narrow down the species of plants a little to create more uniformity and prevent wondering eye syndrome.. :Smile: 

Nicely done...i love the foreground and how quickly it has developed into a nice green patch with bordering "shrubs"..kekeke  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

> Forgive me if i missed the update in a previous page (was offline during transition from page 6-8 i think hehe). But how was your Madagascar Lace plant doing? It was struggling since you moved it out of its previous home was the last i heard.


No you didn't miss much... the Madagascar Lace is doing pretty alright but they are constantly being blocked (from front view) by the Rotala wallichii which I wrongly put as midground plant  :Laughing:

----------


## Jervis

> Wow...the FTS are breathtaking !
> 
> Discus in planted tank...think they bring the best out of each other.
> 
> Simply amazing setup,its so nice I can spend hours glued to this setup


Thanks bro for the kind words... I am beginning to really enjoy keeping Discus since they are quite comfortable with my tank water temperature  :Laughing:  I enjoy feeding them as they are like "hungry ghosts"  :Shocked: 

Too bad the tank is in my office and I can't afford to spend too much time staring at it... unless I am prepared to work OT  :Confused:

----------


## Jervis

> Tank looks great but the crowning glory is the three brilliantly coloured Discus in the fully planted tank!


You think I should get more Discus?  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

> You have a truly nice "rojak" tank.... fishes from the different continents, Australia, Asia, Africa and South America.


Yeah... truly "rojak"  :Laughing:  Glad I didn't claim "biotope" at the beginning of the thread  :Opps: 




> Sweet tank bro.
> 
> Think a little trimming is in place? and perhaps narrow down the species of plants a little to create more uniformity and prevent wondering eye syndrome..
> 
> Nicely done...i love the foreground and how quickly it has developed into a nice green patch with bordering "shrubs"..kekeke


I know I got to do something about the many species of plants I have inside my tank... but I really do not know where to start. They all seem to grow nicely together and I am quite amazed by the wide variety of plants the system manage to sustain. Yeah the HC spreads a lot faster than expected... and they are still spreading  :Surprised:

----------


## luncheonMeat

Show us some updated pictures (Full Tank Shot) bro Jervis! Looking forward to that!

----------


## Jervis

> Show us some updated pictures (Full Tank Shot) bro Jervis! Looking forward to that!


Soon bro... actually my tank is overgrown again  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  This weekend I plan to perform major trimming and water change. I'll post a before and after pix... specially for you  :Smile:

----------


## luncheonMeat

So honored!  :Jump for joy:  Can't wait to see!

----------


## André Alcantara

AWESOME tank!!!

----------


## khtee

do you have more pics showing the discus? The aquarium look so peaceful  :Smile:

----------


## Jervis

> So honored!  Can't wait to see!


Sorry bro... been very busy lately... not really in the mood to take FTS  :Grin:

----------


## Jervis

> AWESOME tank!!!


Thanks!




> do you have more pics showing the discus? The aquarium look so peaceful


Will try to take pix tomorrow. Went back to office today just to clean the tank. It was hectic... did 20% water change... trimmed a huge amount of plants (enough to feed a family of 5) and cleaned the sump... definitely not as peaceful as it seems  :Laughing:

----------


## jimsuy

sir jervis, 
it is good to use a sump filter when you use a co2 injection? does the co2 dissolve? or just evaporate?

----------


## Jervis

> sir jervis, 
> it is good to use a sump filter when you use a co2 injection? does the co2 dissolve? or just evaporate?


It's a very good question... you got it right actually. The use of sump will cause major loss of CO2 due to water traveling through the various compartments (i.e. through filter comb to reach overflow box, down the piping, through the filter floss, down to the bioballs).

I have to pump in more CO2 than a non-sump setup of similar water volume... but fortunately, my CO2 output is pH controlled.

If I am to build a tank specifically for planted, I will go without sump for sure... but as mentioned, this used to be a marine tank.

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## jimsuy

sir jervis,
your CO2 output is ph controlled? is this mean that your co2 dissolve in the water effectively?  :Smile:

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## Jervis

> sir jervis,
> your CO2 output is ph controlled? is this mean that your co2 dissolve in the water effectively?


I don't believe the pH controller actually helps in increasing the CO2 dissolving rate. It's more dependent on the method of output (i.e. CO2 reactor, glass diffuser, etc.) and bubbles-per-second.

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## Jervis

Just a short update...

Been busy for the past 2 weeks with work and my NEW PROJECT  :Grin:  :Grin:  :Grin: 

I am still taking good care of my Discus and the plants... just wanna let the tank matures a little bit more before taking pix. More impactful that way  :Smug:

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## richardesc

Your tank is maturing well from your previous pictures. I am sure it will turn out to be very impressive in the coming weeks.

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## grey_fox

Very nice, makes me feel like coming back to the scaping scene. :P

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## leeruisheng

> 


Nice discus. What're the strains?

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## illumnae

Should be leopard, melon and red map

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## leeruisheng

Thanks. I believe the red map is the one on the right. Right? I liked the red map.
Im not sure about discus, so are these wild?

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## StanChung

No they are not wild. Not remotely.  :Grin: 

Leopard snakeskin[with rings :Shocked: -looks sick, should watch this one closely], melon and pigeon checkerboard.

Looks beautiful Jervis, well done!  :Well done:

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## oceanus

Nice discus to go alone with the planted tank.. wow..

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## Jervis

Long delayed full tank shot... how do you guys like my jungle-themed tank?  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:

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## Flowerhfanatic

great development - may i know why are there 2 drop checkers?

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## StanChung

Haha, It's growing wild! Time to trim and reduce species perhaps. I think as you go along, you will find some favourites you will keep and KIV some.

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## khtee

marvellous  :Shocked:   :Grin:   :Cool: 




> Long delayed full tank shot... how do you guys like my jungle-themed tank?

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## EvolutionZ

wow! thats a very very beautiful tank jervis!... don't ever think of decomming this tank okay...

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## uklau

:Shocked:  :Shocked:  :Shocked:  I wonder when will be my turn to manage such a beautiful tank  :Roll Eyes: .

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## troyz

Wow :Shocked: Jervis....Awesome :Smile:

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## ah^siao

what's a tunze doing in a planted tank.  :Grin:

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## fireblade

nice messy jungle!!
time to do some clean up!!  :Smile: 
plants are growing out of hand!!

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## weeyang19

nice set up there

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## argonmt

all plants are so healthy.. good job there  :Grin:

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## luncheonMeat

Awesome looking Bro! I love the messy wild jungle feeling! Great Job!

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## keithtoh

nice set up jervis. the wood seems a bit the "bored". you might wanna add some moss there. just my suggestion..  :Smile:  cheers

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## Jervis

I'm back!!! After spending all my resources and attention on my marine setup... I'm back with a vengeance  :Evil:  :Evil:  :Evil: 

Will totally revamp the tank in 2 weeks... I have 3 Discus and some Rainbow fish to give away. Prefer to deal with 1 guy who can collect all of them at one shot. PM me  :Smile:

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## sfk7

Cant wait to see your new scape!!!

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## Jervis

> Cant wait to see your new scape!!!


I will do the total opposite of ROJAK tank this time round  :Grin:  :Grin:  :Grin:

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## khtee

wow....  :Confused:  .... what will it be? Zen? All woods? All stone? can't wait to see

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## PlAnTaNoOb

> I will do the total opposite of ROJAK tank this time round


Dutch?  :Grin:

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## illumnae

bare bottom discus tank!  :Wink:

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## sfk7

Most probably biotope? haha

Since all the rage of wild discus and the green ones from biotope looks so nice!!

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## khtee

but he is giving away the 3 discus..... maybe he is going for wild discus with pleco  :Razz:

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## JadeIceGreen

Wah, I can't wait to see the new scape..

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## André Grassi

> Thanks all for the kind words... it's really sad to see them "give up" one by one 
> 
> Anyway here's the colourful update 
> 
> Introduced 2 days ago... looking healthy.


 :Shocked:  :Shocked:  :Shocked:  :Shocked:  :Shocked: 
Tank very beautiful. The health of plants and Discus are impressive. Congratulations. :Well done:

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## Flowerhfanatic

just curious what did you do to the downois as they seem to be spreading like wild fires.. cos mine is v slow.

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## Verminator

Flowerhfanatic you havnt mistaken his HC for downoi have you? Its a mixture of both, the HC is the plant spreading like crazy.

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## properfool

Hey Jervis did you ever get rid of your fish from this tank ?
I'm looking to adopt some fish for my 5 footer

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## Jervis

> just curious what did you do to the downois as they seem to be spreading like wild fires.. cos mine is v slow.


I didn't do anything... in fact I spent a lot of effort to slow down the growth rate of all plants. Harvesting can be very time consuming.

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## Jervis

> Hey Jervis did you ever get rid of your fish from this tank ?
> I'm looking to adopt some fish for my 5 footer


Yeah a bro here will collect the 3 Discus this weekend... the rest of them are too difficult to net  :Laughing:  Decided to just keep them  :Smile:

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## properfool

Oh darn.

Will happily pick them up if he changes his mind  :Jump for joy:

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## Jervis

It's time to reveal my new scape... a revamp from the previous scaping. The newest and most major introduction is the LED light fixtures.

I have "downgraded" my 6 x 54W T5 lighting to 5 x 15W LED.



The "downgrading" is in alignment with a change in plant lighting requirement. Replaced all the light hungry stem plans with low/medium lighting plants.

The overall effect is quite decent I must say considering the height of my tank (2ft) plus the supporting legs (increased distance from the LED to the water surface).



Dollars and cents:
Previous lighting 6 x 54W + 28W cooling fan = 352W/hour
Current lighting 5 x 15W (without the need for cooling fan) = 75W/hr
Savings 277W/hr running 10 hours a day = $313.00 per annum  :Well done: 

What do you guys think?

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## Jervis

Will post a FTS soon... meanwhile let's look at some familiar faces in a brand new "light"  :Grin: 

The LED does bring out the colour of the fish pretty well.



My Anubias coffeefolia been inside my sump tank (with PL light) for months... hopefully it will do better in the main tank now  :Smile: 



A hint of my new scape... Spiky moss clumsily tied to some old wood.

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## blink_willie

That's plenty of savings there.Can't wait to see your new scape.

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## EvolutionZ

though its clumsily tied.. it does bring out a natural effect.. great job jervis.

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## Jervis

> That's plenty of savings there.Can't wait to see your new scape.


The savings don't stop there... 10 years worth of tubes changing... now that exceeds $1000 easily  :Laughing:

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## mkt

hi - did you get the oceanus brand LED or something else? How long have you had this LED for your planted tank?

Did you try this LED lights on your marinetank? Is it bright enought?
Does the light suffice to bring out the colors of the corals if you did?

appreciate your feedback

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## Jervis

> hi - did you get the oceanus brand LED or something else? How long have you had this LED for your planted tank?
> 
> Did you try this LED lights on your marinetank? Is it bright enought?
> Does the light suffice to bring out the colors of the corals if you did?
> 
> appreciate your feedback


Oh no! This cannot be the LumenAqua (by Oceanus)... coz it costs only 1/10 LumenAqua's price  :Laughing:  Today is the third day... a few more weeks of testing is required.

Yes, I did put it over my marine tank for 2 mins... hate it! The whole tank looks yellow and my corals brown... they do not have the blue LEDs at the moment. Just white  :Sad:

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## EvolutionZ

his led is from NA.. mr chan DIY it with atman light casing.

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## Flowerhfanatic

hi jervis, so you bought this LED light from NA? can you pm me how much it cost? my intention is also to convert to moss tank that can survive on LED lighting... thanks!

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## Jervis

> hi jervis, so you bought this LED light from NA? can you pm me how much it cost? my intention is also to convert to moss tank that can survive on LED lighting... thanks!


I have 2 fixtures:
2 tubes fixture = $210 (can add another tube later)
3 tubes fixture = $290

Right now it's still not entire proven... give me 6 weeks  :Grin:

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## ghim

Glad to find someone using the same kind of LED lights. :Grin:  For mine, most of the plants are doing pretty well. Will be posting on my 2ft tank soon.

Have you observe the light penetration and shadows? Most aquascapers are concern with flora which needs high lights. Would really like to see the impact on tanks with more than 1.5ft depth.

Tried the oceanus LED light(not the LumenAqua36), 1 tube of 2 ft LED cannot make it. Not even brighter than my 5w PL light.

For those who wants to get LED lights. Please make sure that the LED works on 230V, directly plug-in to the your power supply. Dont get those that are using 12V AC/DC adaptor. And the number of LED light bulbs Do make the difference.

Been surfing the web for other types of LED lights configuration. Saw 1 with 225 LEDs and arranged on 1ft x 1ft light set. Hopefully someone will bring this in.

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## newtank

> The Rotala wallichii is growing quite nicely  Can someone help ID the pinkish tip stem on the left? 
> 
> 
> 
> The UG is not growing too well... probably acclimatizing to the submerse environment 
> 
> That's all for tonight.


Jervis,

would you let me know what is the plant at the bottom left hand corner, the ones with the broad leaves. Is this an Echinodorous? I have been looking for such short plants with broad leaves for my mid ground.


thanks

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## Jervis

> would you let me know what is the plant at the bottom left hand corner, the ones with the broad leaves. Is this an Echinodorous? I have been looking for such short plants with broad leaves for my mid ground.


Hygrophila corymbosa 'Compact'

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## Jervis

My latest FTS  :Smile: 





Still not entirely happy with a lot of things... will improve slowly.

What do you guys think?

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## sfk7

very ADA!! 

Changed to sandy foreground huh?... bitten by corydoras bug too jervis?  :Razz:

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## Jervis

> very ADA!! 
> 
> Changed to sandy foreground huh?... bitten by corydoras bug too jervis?


I guess I can't deny that fact... been trying very hard to be the opposite of ADA in my previous scape and ended up with "Rojak" and "jungle"  :Laughing: 

It's not really a sandy foreground. It's still Dennerle crystal quartz but the previous sand bed was too messy after all the uprooting  :Knockout:  Cory bug? Emm... so far still haven't seen any that excites me  :Grin:

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## EvolutionZ

corydoras panda... get 50 for this tank!

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## WiNd08

i like the new setup !

maybe some e. tenellus on the left foreground? :Razz: 

OH, i think you need more fish.. like congo tetras.. they look so lonely :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  hinting

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## Jervis

Time for an update.

First of all I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the bro who's suppose to adopt my 3 Discus... a sudden change of mind canceled the deal and he was very understanding and graceful.

Did a minor rescape to this tank yesterday. What I did was to push some brown sand towards the back between 2 branches. Hoping that by doing so, the path can add depth and interest to the scape.

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## WiNd08

the space is on the left, right? :Grin:

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## Jervis

The Cryptocoryne wendtii brown are growing very well on my old sand/base fert... the Spiky moss on the other hand ain't showing much progress  :Sad: 



These Crytops are 2.5ft away from the LED light source... not bad huh?  :Smile: 



My army of SAEs  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:

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## Jervis

> the space is on the left, right!


Yes... but I find the left branch (forming an arch) too high... will adjust it lower tomorrow  :Smile: 

What do you think?

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## WiNd08

> Yes... but I find the left branch (forming an arch) too high... will adjust it lower tomorrow 
> 
> What do you think?


yeah, i think the height makes the path more 'see-through' hence reducing the depth feeling.

i got some feeling by lowering the height, plus adding some nanas towards the inner part of the path can make it more... hmm i don't know what words to use.. perhaps more 'well-covered' ? :Opps:

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## Jervis

> yeah, i think the height makes the path more 'see-through' hence reducing the depth feeling.
> 
> i got some feeling by lowering the height, plus adding some nanas towards the inner part of the path can make it more... hmm i don't know what words to use.. perhaps more 'well-covered' ?


Oh I have some Nana petite inside my sump... will give it a try  :Grin:  Thanks for the idea  :Well done:

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## WiNd08

> Oh I have some Nana petite inside my sump... will give it a try  Thanks for the idea


don't blame me if it's not nice okay? :Angel:

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## Jervis

> don't blame me if it's not nice okay?


If not nice I will force you to come help me remove the Nana petite  :Laughing:

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## Jervis

Thanks to a bro... I manage to catch all my 8 SAEs within 2 days and transfered them to the sump. The entire process is easier than expected... just set the trap and lure them with food  :Grin: 



Now I'm considering trapping the Rainbows too.

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## WiNd08

woh! why did you catch them for? 

haha, if transport is provided i don't mind removing for you :Laughing:

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## Verminator

Hey Jervis, you've been awefully quiet of late. Along with a few other regulars of the last year or so. Any update on this tank, not decomissioned i hope.

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## Jervis

> Hey Jervis, you've been awefully quiet of late. Along with a few other regulars of the last year or so. Any update on this tank, not decomissioned i hope.


Been busy lately... yeah I miss the "old birds"  :Laughing: 

The tank is still running but I am totally tempted to decom... but just like marriage... it's cheaper and less painful to keep the marriage  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:

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## Verminator

Haha, well if you do decom be sure to get a couple of last snaps and share them with us. Would be a shame to see such a stunning tank decommed.

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## Jervis

> Haha, well if you do decom be sure to get a couple of last snaps and share them with us. Would be a shame to see such a stunning tank decommed.


Let's not wait till decom... will try to post some pix tonight  :Smile:

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## WiNd08

> Let's not wait till decom... will try to post some pix tonight


woohoo looking forward to it, just came back from tioman island and collected 2 types of moss and a species of snail  :Wink:

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## Verminator

Looking forward to the update  :Smile:

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## Jervis

Been neglecting this tank for a while now... but I guess this update is long overdue.

Here are some pix  :Grin: 







I am currently considering what to do with this tank!

Oh yeah just to share... I've stopped injecting CO2 for 3 months now and not a single drop of fertilizer since I stopped CO2. Keeping things simple  :Smug:

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## Captain Telecredible

> Been neglecting this tank for a while now... but I guess this update is long overdue.
> 
> Here are some pix 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Woah the layout is still pretty intact and neat. Wonder if my tank goes without Co2 what will happen :Laughing:  Hopefully you dont decommisson this tank. Cheers!

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## Jervis

> Woah the layout is still pretty intact and neat. Wonder if my tank goes without Co2 what will happen Hopefully you dont decommisson this tank. Cheers!


No your tank can't go without CO2  :Laughing:

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## Verminator

Absolutely stunning. Neglected or not, this still looks absolutely stunning. The slightly wild look is very attractive. Do yourself a favour and keep doing things the way you are with this tank. Its looking very impressive!

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## Jervis

> Absolutely stunning. Neglected or not, this still looks absolutely stunning. The slightly wild look is very attractive. Do yourself a favour and keep doing things the way you are with this tank. Its looking very impressive!


Gosh! Seriously? Perhaps NEGLECT = WILD = NATURAL = STUNNING  :Exasperated:

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## Verminator

Nature can go two ways, i think you'll agree. Either it goes wild, out of control and looks rather unsightly and messy. Or on the other hand it matures, retains its shape/structure and grows into a natural bunch instead of the uniformed/scaped look created from the aquarist. In your case, i think its definately gone the latter way. I certainly think it looks very impressive. Especially concidering your crypts havnt grown into a tangled mass of leaves everywhere. My crypts always spread and new plantlets appear dotted all over my tank, even in corners where the nearest crypt can sometimes be 1ft away. You've mistakenly stumbled across a good maturation process with this tank in the unlikely form of neglect  :Smile:  Ha.

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## Jervis

> Nature can go two ways, i think you'll agree. Either it goes wild, out of control and looks rather unsightly and messy. Or on the other hand it matures, retains its shape/structure and grows into a natural bunch instead of the uniformed/scaped look created from the aquarist. In your case, i think its definately gone the latter way. I certainly think it looks very impressive. Especially concidering your crypts havnt grown into a tangled mass of leaves everywhere. My crypts always spread and new plantlets appear dotted all over my tank, even in corners where the nearest crypt can sometimes be 1ft away. You've mistakenly stumbled across a good maturation process with this tank in the unlikely form of neglect  Ha.


I think you are a gifted man... I blame myself for not being able to see that  :Exasperated:  Now with this new injection of motivation... I think I'll prolong it's life by a couple of months and see how I can improve it further... but on the other hand, the interference may destroy everything... a delicate balance.

Thanks so much!

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## Verminator

Ha! A gifted man? Such a complement, if only i was. Well i'm glad i was able to help bring such an insight to you. I definately favour your decision to continue this tank for the time being. Who knows how it will develop now  :Smile:

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