# Planted Tanks > Aquascaping >  "The Raintree Canopy"-20.59L

## jackychun

I always wanted to create a tree canopy underwater.

Only imagine a cold-dry driftwood that transformed to a lovely tree with wide lush green branches, fish, and shrimps enjoying themselves under the canopy would make me feel so relaxed and inspired.

So here it goes. 



_The Bonsai driftwood piece was bought during my trip to Vietnam_


It started when I happened to get a bonsai driftwoods from an LFS in Vietnam during the visit there. That piece of bonsai driftwoods with great canopy really made me dream about how to make it relive in the underwater world. I kept the woods for quite sometimes by putting it on my working table, where I can daydream about what I could do with it. J At that time, I already had three planted tank in my home and space was really limited to put just one more. The chance of having a bigger tank (i.e.3ft or 4ft) was slim due to the space limitations at home and also a no-no approval from boss. Alright, happy wife, happy life! Nevertheless, I still looked forward to a space around the home to just get a nano tank, with the minimal budget of course. Hehehe



_A blank glass canvas that I can daydream every time_ 
_Tank size 36cmLx22cmWx26cmH_


And the right time came. I saw a very good deal from an AQ fellow hobbyist selling 36cm crystal tank and Twinstar LED Light 360E. I quickly got the tank first and did a research for a few days before getting the light. The reason was this light was quite strong and would cause a headache due to algae issue later on. However, you never try, you never know. I would like to go ahead and got it for my own experience. It was a really good deal anyway. J

Tank, checked.

Light, checked. 



_Testing Eheim 2211 in progress_


Filter. I got an Eheim Classic 150 (2211) as a spare filter in my storage. So, it was just nice to have it for this new nano tank since the flow rate of 300l/hrs was quite good for this 20L tank.



_CO2 set was top-up at NA Thomson and now ready for the new tank_


CO2 set. I also had a set of CO2 cylinder and solenoid valve spared. Just need to go for top up, get a CO2 diffuser and done.

Things all came at the right time, again. When I got most of the equipment that I need and looked for the place for the tank, I got another deal for a 45cm ADA Style cabinet from a carouseller. The seller was so nice that even delivered the cabinet to my block. The hinges were a bit rusty but it was functioning totally fine. 


_Before condition of the cabinet._




_After some cleaning and touch-up_




_It fits perfectly in my small corner of the room
Cabinet size: 45cmLx25cmWx80cmH_


And the journey begins.  :Smile:

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## j.c.koh

3rd tank!?
Waaa I really envy you.

My 2nd tank is still pending I think no hope liao. 
You gonna teach me your negotiation skills someday lol

Keep us posted, I'm very interested in your scape concept.  :Jump for joy:

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## Nigel95

Nice cabinet!

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## jackychun

> 3rd tank!?
> Waaa I really envy you.
> 
> My 2nd tank is still pending I think no hope liao. 
> You gonna teach me your negotiation skills someday lol
> 
> Keep us posted, I'm very interested in your scape concept.


Haha... Thanks bro. This is the 4th one  :Grin:  Nano tank should be a good start to negotiate!  :Wink:

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## jackychun

> Nice cabinet!


Thanks Nigel95!  :Smile:

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## jackychun

I would like to continue the journal  :Grin: 

A dream was about to come true. I can arrange the bonsai driftwood in the tank and daydream for so long.  :Smile: 


_The bonsai driftwood was just nice fit in this nano tank_


_Fissidens Splachnobryoide_ (mini fissidens moss) was chosen as the "raintree's leaves". The reason was mini fissdens would grow slowly and spread over the surface rather than grow too bushy like other mosses. It stays short and hence, less maintenance in the future._



Fissidens Splachnobryoide was chosen to bring life to this driftwood


_However, I have never tried to grow it before and therefore, not so sure about how it would turn out. Some say this moss is quite difficult to grow since it needs a cooling environment with good lighting. Whereas, others have also been successful growing it under a non-chilled environment in a low-tech tank. In my case, it would be mixed of those two: high-tech tank with no chiller and lean fertilizer dosing._



A tub of mini fissidens in loose form was prepared for this mission


_DSM (dry-start-method) was used to start growing mini fissidens on the bonsai driftwood. I just tried to turf loose-form mini fissidens into branches of the driftwood. Then, water was kept on spraying on it time to time during the setting up. Few centimeters of water was left in the bare tank and wrapped over by Clingwrap. To keep it moist, water was sprayed over the wood 1 to 2 times a day then wrapped it back again. The tank was left outdoor (not direct sunlight) for natural lighting for about a week._


Spraying water on driftwoods to make it wet





Mini fissidens moss was placed on the bonsai branches





Tanks was then covered and leave outdoor to received nature lighting for about a week


_After a week, it seems like the moss had been adapted to the new environment and can see some new tiny leaves grown out from the original one. It was then brought indoor for flooding, it is the transition period for the moss to grow submerged and in the meanwhile, I was gathering the rest of necessary equipment. There was no CO2 injection at that time. This is kind of low-tech tank with low lighting to minimize algae._


The tank was brought indoor and was ready to be flooded





The tank after being flooded




The "Tree" looks quite interesting at this angle.


_The bonsai driftwoods leached out lots of tannins even I already boiled it before it was used. It is a good time to soak it a little bit more._



Tannin was leached out make it looked like a bio-top setup


_Next step will be aquascaping!  :Smile:

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## Thieverycorp

Hey bro! Nice to see your blog again . Good that the tank & light works great for you! How did you secure the fissidens to the branches? Tying them?


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## wongce

Very creative....

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## TTerry

:Well done:

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## jackychun

> Hey bro! Nice to see your blog again . Good that the tank & light works great for you! How did you secure the fissidens to the branches? Tying them?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hey bro! Ya, tank and light are very good! I like Twinstar already! 

For the fissidens, I just try to place them between bonsai branches. So it can be stuck there without any glue or tying thread. After a week of dry start, most of them secure themselves there. 


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## jackychun

Thanks bro wongce and TTerry. 

@wongce: Your blog is very informative and it is a great reference resource. 


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## jackychun

It might be the time to put up the summary for the tank specifications:

*Tank Size:*
_36cm x 22cm x 26cm (High Clarity / Low Iron Glass)_

*Gross Tank Volume:*
_20.59L_




*Substrate:*
_ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia (<3L)_

*Filter System:*
_Eheim Classic 150 (2211)_ 
_+ 13mm GUSH inflow/out flow Lily Pipe_

*Filter Media:*
_Bio Media Filter_

*Temperature:*
_28-29°C (Day) / 27-28°C (Night)_

*Lighting:*
_Twinstars 360E, Temp: 7050K, 17W, 1100 Lumen,_ 
_Full spectrum LEDs for optimum color reproduction_

*Light Duration:*
_6 hours (0800hrs- 1100hrs, 1800hrs-2100hrs)_

*Pressurized Co2:*
_OceanFree Co2 System + CO2 diffussers_

*Co2 Duration:*
_6 hours (0700hrs- 1000hrs, 1700hrs-2200hrs)_

*Carbon Supplement:*
_Seachem Excel: 0.5ml daily_

*Fertilizer:*
_Seachem Florish: 1.0ml weekly_


_Seachem Iron: 1.0ml every other day_


_Seachem Potassium: 2.0ml every 2 days_

*Other additives:*
_Seachem Prime_




*Fan/Chiller:*
_None_

*Water Change Regimen:*
_50% weekly_

*Water Parameters (Cycled):*





_Tested using API Test Kits_


_pH = 7.0_


_Ammonia = 0 ppm_


_Nitrite = 0 ppm_


_Nitrate = 5-10 ppm_





*Flora:*
_Rotala Rotundifolia_


_Anubias nana 'petite'_


_Fissidens Splachnobryoide_




*Fauna:* 
_Neocaridina Davidi_ 


_Caridina multidentata_


_Otocinclus affinis_





Step-by-Step setting up the tank was summarized as below: ^^

Leveling of the cabinet and tank were checked before water flooding. 




The tank was cleaned properly before placing in the position.


Plastic mesh was placed at the bottom so that the rocks would not damage the tank since the force would spread around. Pagoda rocks were chosen in this setup since I would want to make the scape having some warm feeling. This rocks can be found quite easily at any LFS in Singapore. As can be seen, an island was created at the corner of the tank.







Lava stones were placed at the bottom of the "island" to create the height for a better sense of depth and also to create a good environment for beneficial bacteria in the future. 



ADA Aquasoil (normal type) was put on the island after that. 



Lastly, Sudo Bottom Sand was placed in the tank. I chose Sudo Bottom Tank since it had warm colour and matched the idea of the layout (i.e. warm tone). It looked quite nice at the time of setup. 





Water was introduced into the tank followed traditional method. :P



Rotala Rotundifolia was planted on the island. That was a very beautiful stem plants that grow very fast which would help to minimize algae outbreak at the beginning period. It was planted quite densely at the background.





I attached Anubias nana 'petite' to small lava stones using superglue and placed it under the canopy of the tree. It would be good growing under the shady area there. 







Finally, the "tree" was placed in the tank. It fitted nicely in the tank. I feel it was a bit crowded with all equipment and stuff in the tank though. I would find the way to minimize all that clutter in the future once tank becomes more stable. 





And that was the final product by end of the setup day! Tada!  :Very Happy: 


I will update more on the coming days. Thanks for reading. ^_^

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## TTerry

Wohoo! nice nice

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## torque6

> 3rd tank!?
> Waaa I really envy you.
> 
> My 2nd tank is still pending I think no hope liao. 
> You gonna teach me your negotiation skills someday lol
> Keep us posted, I'm very interested in your scape concept.


Once you are the CFO, you no need to neg. You just do things.

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## torque6

*Light Duration:*
_6 hours (0800hrs- 1100hrs, 1800hrs-2100hrs)_

*Pressurized Co2:*
_OceanFree Co2 System + CO2 diffussers_

*Co2 Duration:*
_6 hours (0700hrs- 1000hrs, 1700hrs-2200hrs)



_


The CO2 duration seem to exceed the light duration? Lights off at 21:00 hrs, CO2 still on until 22:00?

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## jackychun

> *Light Duration:*
> _6 hours (0800hrs- 1100hrs, 1800hrs-2100hrs)_
> 
> *Pressurized Co2:*
> _OceanFree Co2 System + CO2 diffussers_
> 
> *Co2 Duration:*
> _6 hours (0700hrs- 1000hrs, 1700hrs-2200hrs)
> 
> ...


Wow. Sharp eyes, torque6! It should be until 20:00hrs. CO2 off 1 hours before light off. 


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## jackychun

> Wohoo! nice nice


Thanks bro TTerry! 


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## j.c.koh

That is some next level scaping skill, very impressive.

It makes me rethink the usage of a bonsai wood.

The placement of the tree is very unique, the color choice of the lava rocks and sand are spot on. 

It somehow gave me an illusion that your tank is much bigger than the actual size, like you're using a giant surface skimmer in a 15 gallon or something. 

Thanks for sharing but I'm greedy so please share more! lol



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## kalkwasser

nice tank!

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## jackychun

> That is some next level scaping skill, very impressive.
> 
> It makes me rethink the usage of a bonsai wood.
> 
> The placement of the tree is very unique, the color choice of the lava rocks and sand are spot on. 
> 
> It somehow gave me an illusion that your tank is much bigger than the actual size, like you're using a giant surface skimmer in a 15 gallon or something. 
> 
> Thanks for sharing but I'm greedy so please share more! lol
> ...


Thanks a lot for your compliments bro JC!  I will share more about this scape tonight.  


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## jackychun

> nice tank!


Thanks Kalkwasser. 


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## jackychun

As expected, under the high-intensity lighting, algae and fungus developed very fast during the first week. Fungus also covered all over the driftwoods. I was not so worried about fungus because it will naturally disappear when tank matures and also easy to clean by algae eaters like Otocinclus/Shrimps or Horned Nerite Snails in later stage.




Blue Green Algae was also seen on every branch and covered the mini fissidens. It might due to the water circulation since the canopy is quite big and block the flow direction. 




_Blue Green Algae_


Even with some matured bio-media was seeded together with new bio-media in the filter, the tank has not been cycled right away yet. Hence, I could not put any algae eater crew there. Some actions to be taken to minimize the bloom of algae at that time. To reduce the lighting intensity, Salvinia minima was put in the tank. It also helped to absorb excess nutrients there as well, so less chance for algae to compete with other plants. Even some trimmed stems plants were also put in the tank for the same purpose. 




_Salvinia minima was put in the tank to somehow reduce light intensity_





_Salvinia minima as floating plants_





_Some trimmed stem plants were put in the tank. :P_


After about 2 weeks, tank was fully cycled! Yay!  :Smile:  Water change for about 70% to lower down excessive nitrate (NO3) level before putting in algae crew. 


_Ammonia and Nitrite level was 0ppm 2 weeks after set up_


Since the tank has lots of fungus and algae (i.e. blue-green algae, brown diatoms, thread algae..etc.), so different kind of algae eater was put in to clean up this mess. Two _Otocinclus affinis_ and five Amano shrimps were there at first. They worked really well and algae reduced dramatically after a week. However, since this bonsai has lots of branches that twisted densely, 2 dozens of fire red shrimps were put in the tank so that the smallest area could be taken care of this algae eater crew. As expected, those small creatures really had done a really good works! Algae is out at bay!  :Smile:  And the tree was really relieved! 




_Those fire red shrimps really made the difference_





_Algae eater medals to be given to them_


And to record their hard work, nothing is better than a video at week 3. Hope you enjoy it! Cheers and have a good night!  :Smile: 

https://youtu.be/opyG9RqN5hU

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## torque6

> Blue Green Algae was also seen on every branch and covered the mini fissidens. It might due to the water circulation since the canopy is quite big and block the flow direction. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _Blue Green Algae_
> 
> 
> Even with some matured bio-media was seeded together with new bio-media in the filter, the tank has not been cycled right away yet. Hence, I could not put any algae eater crew there. Some actions to be taken to minimize the bloom of algae at that time. To reduce the lighting intensity, Salvinia minima was put in the tank. It also helped to absorb excess nutrients there as well, so less chance for algae to compete with other plants. Even some trimmed stems plants were also put in the tank for the same purpose.


Those BGA looks bad and it's only the 4-5 week. Wanted to post this when you got the Twinstar but wasn't keen on being a wet blanket. Personally, I am not in favor of their lights as Twinstar as a company tends to misled buyers with their crisp and algae free tanks. *They designed their lights to be used with their Twinstar Inhibitors, not without.*

Not sure if you came across this. Someone tested the lights on a 2 ft led light on 2 identical 30x30x30 cube. This is what happened.



Left tank with the inhibitor turned off, right tank with inhibitor turned on.

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## jackychun

> Those BGA looks bad and it's only the 4-5 week. Wanted to post this when you got the Twinstar but wasn't keen on being a wet blanket. Personally, I am not in favor of their lights as Twinstar as a company tends to misled buyers with their crisp and algae free tanks. *They designed their lights to be used with their Twinstar Inhibitors, not without.*
> 
> Not sure if you came across this. Someone tested the lights on a 2 ft led light on 2 identical 30x30x30 cube. This is what happened.
> 
> 
> 
> Left tank with the inhibitor turned off, right tank with inhibitor turned on.


Wow. Can see the difference between the 2 setup there! I have seen some videos showing the effective of Twinstar Inhibitors with identical tanks. And I also prepared for this to come before getting the Twinstar light. 

For the light, I think it is not bad. Plants really develop very well with this tank (even the BGA also pearling LOL ) and colour of the leaves/shrimps looks great as well. I really like the colour rendering of this Twinstar light 

For now, those algae is under control and not be seen in the tank. Hence, IMO with this strong light, we need to find the balance points for it by increasing CO2 injection, reduce lighting period and adjust fertilizer dosing. Plus good algae eater crew, it will be OK. 

I will keep updating on the progress and also the results in the coming time. 



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## torque6

> Wow. Can see the difference between the 2 setup there! I have seen some videos showing the effective of Twinstar Inhibitors with identical tanks. And I also prepared for this to come before getting the Twinstar light. 
> 
> For the light, I think it is not bad. Plants really develop very well with this tank (even the BGA also pearling LOL ) and colour of the leaves/shrimps looks great as well. I really like the colour rendering of this Twinstar light 
> 
> For now, those algae is under control and not be seen in the tank. Hence, IMO with this strong light, we need to find the balance points for it by increasing CO2 injection, reduce lighting period and adjust fertilizer dosing. Plus good algae eater crew, it will be OK. 
> 
> I will keep updating on the progress and also the results in the coming time. 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Twinstar LED color rendition is good, but like I said, it's very high PAR for both a 1 or 2 feet tank with depth of 20-30 cm. Covering the tank with Salvinia Minima as floating plants is also counter productive seeing that the purpose of buying the light was to use as a high light..... :Think: 

These will be my goto RGB led lights in future.  :Well done:

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## hann

Nice work on your tank. How did you counter the BGA? Mine was not that bad but I cannot stand any sight of it in my tank as they can be quite irritating. I still find some small patches here and there especially on the soil after sucking it out as much as possible during water change.

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## jackychun

> Twinstar LED color rendition is good, but like I said, it's very high PAR for both a 1 or 2 feet tank with depth of 20-30 cm. Covering the tank with Salvinia Minima as floating plants is also counter productive seeing that the purpose of buying the light was to use as a high light.....
> 
> These will be my goto RGB led lights in future.


The new Up Aqua Z Series looks very tempting!  :Grin:  I would love to try it in my future tank, too!  :Smile: 
BTW, as mentioned earlier, trying this Twinstar light is partially for experiment purpose since I would like to see the effect of it on the plants. Only hands-on the product can bring us some real experience.  :Grin: 
Honestly, I have not done much research on the PAR of lighting. It is more on the observation the plants and fauna in the tank and tweaking it accordingly to match the needs.  :Smile:  

To control algae, floating plant is one of the very good weapon that has many benefits whereas, excessive nutrient and lighting (i.e. main cause for algae bloom) would be partially taken care of. It would be preferable to use biological algae control methods (i.e. fast growing plants/floating plants/algae eaters...etc.) rather then using chemical methods. 
In my view, I also consider using floating plants as part of the aquascape, to create a balance and a good eco-system for the planted tank. 
Other than its beauty, it create the zen feeling and fish/shrimps love hanging around it, especially shrimps. 

In order to have a final beautiful photo of the aquascape, I think most of us have been through interesting time of "trial and error" to find the best solutions for our tank.  :Very Happy:

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## jackychun

> Nice work on your tank. How did you counter the BGA? Mine was not that bad but I cannot stand any sight of it in my tank as they can be quite irritating. I still find some small patches here and there especially on the soil after sucking it out as much as possible during water change.


For BGA control, I follow the steps:-
- Remove the algae manually, as much as you can.
- Increasing CO2 injection rate slowly and keep it steady at some level (depends on the size of your tank), my small tank I keep it around 1bps and keep it there. 
- Reduce the lighting time (6hrs/day: 3hrs AM, 3hrsPM).
- Reduce light intensity: if you have dimmer it is good to use. I don't have dimmer, so I put in floating plants. 
- Algae eater: I got Otocinclus, Amano shrimps and red cherry shrimps in the tank. They clear lots of them.  :Grin: 
- Finally, and I think quite important is the flow circulation. Good flow circulation will not let the waste stagnant on any spot and hence reduce the chance for algae to grown.

Hope you can get rid of BGA in your tank, soon.  :Smile:

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## torque6

> For BGA control, I follow the steps:-
> - Remove the algae manually, as much as you can.
> - Increasing CO2 injection rate slowly and keep it steady at some level (depends on the size of your tank), my small tank I keep it around 1bps and keep it there. 
> - Reduce the lighting time (6hrs/day: 3hrs AM, 3hrsPM).
> - Reduce light intensity: if you have dimmer it is good to use. I don't have dimmer, so I put in floating plants. 
> - Algae eater: I got Otocinclus, Amano shrimps and red cherry shrimps in the tank. They clear lots of them. 
> - Finally, and I think quite important is the flow circulation. Good flow circulation will not let the waste stagnant on any spot and hence reduce the chance for algae to grown.
> 
> Hope you can get rid of BGA in your tank, soon.


Other than reduce light intensity and light duration, many of above steps may not be able to fix BGA. High oxygenated (O2) levels and good flow rate were thought to be good remedies, but there are numerous reports that neither work. If you look at those IAPLC competition tanks with their WOW hardscapes, with rocks and drift wood arranged artistically and blocking circulation and flow right, then how come no BGA?

The trick is of course to use RO water (with bacteria removal filter).

If tank is infected, using antibiotics for 10 day treatment will solve the problem, but it will come back because if you use biotics, you will end up "creating" a resistance strand of the bacteria.

In this hobby, I tend to favor having BBA, Stalghorn, diatoms, green hair algae etc, but definitely not BGA, because it's toxic.

Do wash your hands after siphoning them out.

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## jackychun

> Other than reduce light intensity and light duration, non of the above can fix BGA. High oxygenated (O2) levels and good flow rate were thought to be good remedies, but there are numerous reports that neither work.
> 
> The only way to effectively clear BGA is to use RO water (with bacteria removal filter) or using antibiotics for 10 day treatment.


It might works for my tank since it is sparkling clean without BGA now. Picture speaks itself as thousand words. 




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## torque6

Just to be sure though, if you are cleaning your pipes soon, a short sniff will determine if you still have BGA in your tank.

You do know what BGA smells like right?

By the way, the Co2 placement is too high. A lower positioned co2 placement helps it to dissolve better.

Good effort on the tank so far.

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## torque6

Looks like I may be getting the Twinstar E series after all. One of the Twinstar Distributor/Sponsors in UK already highlighted that the Twinstar Dimmers were available last week. This is good news. The Color Rendition Index is definitely better than UP Aqua Z series. Having the dimmers will allow the light set to be use for all setup. Fantastic. Looks like they really listen to some of the feedback raised.

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## jackychun

> Just to be sure though, if you are cleaning your pipes soon, a short sniff will determine if you still have BGA in your tank.
> 
> You do know what BGA smells like right?
> 
> By the way, the Co2 placement is too high. A lower positioned co2 placement helps it to dissolve better.
> 
> Good effort on the tank so far.


Haha. I dont smell algae so not sure if it there or not. But I might observe to see if it is there. 

For the CO2 I feel it is OK since the tank is not that big. Direct flow from the outlet can straight away bring the bubbles around the tank before it reaching the surface. 

And it is good that Twinstars got dimmer for their product. I dont know if the dimmer for Chihiros can be used for that. May be I will try to see how. 


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## torque6

Managed to get the PAR rating for the Twinstar E series.

60cm is 86-146 PAR at the substrate in an 60P ADA tank. 90cm is 119-138 PAR at the substrate in a 90P ADA tank.

Putting it here in this thread for future reference. Thanks.

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## Goalkeeper

> For BGA control, I follow the steps:-
> - Remove the algae manually, as much as you can.
> - Increasing CO2 injection rate slowly and keep it steady at some level (depends on the size of your tank), my small tank I keep it around 1bps and keep it there. 
> - Reduce the lighting time (6hrs/day: 3hrs AM, 3hrsPM).
> - Reduce light intensity: if you have dimmer it is good to use. I don't have dimmer, so I put in floating plants. 
> - Algae eater: I got Otocinclus, Amano shrimps and red cherry shrimps in the tank. They clear lots of them. 
> - Finally, and I think quite important is the flow circulation. Good flow circulation will not let the waste stagnant on any spot and hence reduce the chance for algae to grown.
> 
> Hope you can get rid of BGA in your tank, soon.


Is the light period split into 2 intervals meant as a way to control BGA? In other words, does it mean straight 6 hour have higher chance of BGA?

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## jackychun

> Is the light period split into 2 intervals meant as a way to control BGA? In other words, does it mean straight 6 hour have higher chance of BGA?


Hi Goalkeeper. My main purpose of staggered lighting hours is to observe my tank in the evening after work. That is why it is split. Nevertheless, there is some say it is also help to control algae, I think it is more applicable for low tech tank with CO2 level limit. For high tech tank with continuous CO2 injection, it is does not really matter I guess. 


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## Goalkeeper

Thanks jackychun!!

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## TTerry

Hi Jackychun, may I check was your BGA on the bonsai only? What is your current Co2 injection? I also have a patch of bga on my HC.


thanks lot

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## jackychun

> Hi Jackychun, may I check was your BGA on the bonsai only? What is your current Co2 injection? I also have a patch of bga on my HC.
> 
> 
> thanks lot


Hi TTerry,

The BGA last time was on the bonsai and also fissiden moss. I use the tooth brush to brush it away. It is kind of jelly and easy to be brush though. 

For CO2 injection rate, it is 1bps for my small tank. For your tank, I would think it should be more. 


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## TTerry

Ok thanks. Yesterday I decided to trim off the affected patch of HC cause the bga was deep in the HC too, so to be safe.... now my co2 about 2-2.5 per second. Shall monitor from here. Thanks




> Hi TTerry,
> 
> The BGA last time was on the bonsai and also fissiden moss. I use the tooth brush to brush it away. It is kind of jelly and easy to be brush though. 
> 
> For CO2 injection rate, it is 1bps for my small tank. For your tank, I would think it should be more. 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## jackychun

> Ok thanks. Yesterday I decided to trim off the affected patch of HC cause the bga was deep in the HC too, so to be safe.... now my co2 about 2-2.5 per second. Shall monitor from here. Thanks


Yup bro. Better to remove it all. CO2 should be OK in your tank. Lighting need to see how to adjust to get the balance point. ✌️


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## jackychun

Just in case you wonder how the tank looks like by now. 



Mini fissidens has grown quite well in gradual speed. It has been spreading to the wood branches nicely, too. I like the way they grow. It is not invasive like other mosses and rather stay low. So maintenance work on that is almost none. Just leave it and watch it grows!  

Rotala Rotundifolia needs a good trimming time to time. It grow very fast. I need to do trimming like every 2-3 weeks. 

Anubias nana petite is a slowest grow plant here since it stays under the shade. But it is good also as no maintenance needed. 

I try to have plant some hairgrass in the tank and my amano shrimps love to munch on that. Lol.  Hope it can grow in peace. 

Now the tank has only shrimps. It becomes shrimp tank. Some Amano shrimps and Red Cherry Shrimps. The bioload is very low, hence algae issue is also minimized. 

I might do a short video update soon. Thanks for viewing guys! 


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## Nigel95

Nice love the fissidens

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## TTerry

> Just in case you wonder how the tank looks like by now. 
> 
> 
> 
> Mini fissidens has grown quite well in gradual speed. It has been spreading to the wood branches nicely, too. I like the way they grow. It is not invasive like other mosses and rather stay low. So maintenance work on that is almost none. Just leave it and watch it grows!  
> 
> Rotala Rotundifolia needs a good trimming time to time. It grow very fast. I need to do trimming like every 2-3 weeks. 
> 
> Anubias nana petite is a slowest grow plant here since it stays under the shade. But it is good also as no maintenance needed. 
> ...


Walao.... so Chio!

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## torque6

> Walao.... so Chio!


Advise to grow them in chilled water may have helped to keep them green and lush.

[IMG][/IMG]

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## jackychun

Thanks all! 

@torque6: I might get the chiller in the future when I try on other type of shrimps. 

For fissidens, I think there is other factors rather than chilling water that makes it lush. My other tank has the same temperature without chiller but fissidens is very lush green. Might be nitrate level is higher there. 🧐


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## torque6

Temperature is the deciding factor for fissidens to grow lush and green. Chilled water around 27 degrees to 25 degrees should be fine. Your tank was originally 27, so it will still grow. 1 feet tank, 30L, save $$ and just use fan will do. The kick in and out will wear out your chiller in no time. 

Dennis Wong highlighted not to get your nitirates too low meant that you don't need to have constant high nitrate like most demanding plants for it to grow well.

Good that you have added fast growing stem plants to your tanks to help manage algae. Hope your tank will continue to inspire new hobbyist with their iwagumi / stem plant hybrid tanks.

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## jackychun

Thanks torque6. 

Yup, the fast growing plants do help the tank maintain the balance and might be one of the reason keep the tank almost algae free till now. 


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## jackychun

Hi All,

Here is a short video update on the tank at its 4th month. 

https://youtu.be/MmlbTk0Agk8

Hope you guys enjoy it.  TGIF. 


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## Starbuce

Great video, beautifully grown fissidens. May I know what are those tiny white colored bug like crawlers? I also have them in my tanks.


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## Starbuce

> Hi All,
> 
> Here is a short video update on the tank at its 4th month. 
> 
> https://youtu.be/MmlbTk0Agk8
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it.  TGIF. 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Great video, thanks for sharing....May I know what are those tiny white colored bug like crawlers ? Thanks.


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## Starbuce

Great video, thanks for sharing...may I know what are those tiny white colored crawlers? Thanks.


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## torque6

> Great video, thanks for sharing...may I know what are those tiny white colored crawlers? Thanks.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


*Aquarium Copepods.*

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## jackychun

> Great video, thanks for sharing...may I know what are those tiny white colored crawlers? Thanks.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


That is seed shrimp. 


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## Starbuce

> That is seed shrimp. 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I just read that fishes eat them, that's probably why I don't see them in my tank.


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## Starbuce

> *Aquarium Copepods.*


Are seed shrimps a type of aquarium copepods?


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## jackychun

Hi Starbuce,

Yes, that kind of seedshrimps should be a good food for fishes. This tank I leave only shrimps alone, so they are also free to grow there. :P

I am not so sure about the aquarium copepods though, it looks quite similar to each other. Haha.  :Grin:

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## Goalkeeper

Hi jackychun, your scape has grown nice and lush...very beautiful. Just curios if you still following the water change and fertilising regime mentioned in the beginning of your post? If so any casualty in the fire reds?

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## jackychun

> Hi jackychun, your scape has grown nice and lush...very beautiful. Just curios if you still following the water change and fertilising regime mentioned in the beginning of your post? If so any casualty in the fire reds?


Hi Goalkeeper,

Thank you. And thanks for the moss. That was from you. 

I still keeping the water change like 30-50% per week. Sometimes once in every 2 weeks when I am busy. For fertilizer, I still dose like 0.5ml of Iron and Potassium daily. Sometimes Seachem Flourish like every 3 days. Fire red shrimp so far is still fine. Some of them were goners but many new one was born. 

It is kind of low maintenance tank so far since the moss and Anubias are very slowly grown. 


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## Goalkeeper

Thanks....I didn't know the moss was from me....looks great in a master's hands!!

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## jackychun

> Thanks....I didn't know the moss was from me....looks great in a master's hands!!


Thanks for your compliment! It is great that you have been providing to hobbyists many quality planted tank plants and equipment! 


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## limpts

> Twinstar LED color rendition is good, but like I said, it's very high PAR for both a 1 or 2 feet tank with depth of 20-30 cm. Covering the tank with Salvinia Minima as floating plants is also counter productive seeing that the purpose of buying the light was to use as a high light.....
> 
> These will be my goto RGB led lights in future.



Hi torque6,

Any idea where to get this for 60cm? And there are 6 different models for it?
RGB will be 植物灯, model will be PRO-LED-Z-P-20? 

Thanks!

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## torque6

> Hi torque6,
> 
> Any idea where to get this for 60cm? And there are 6 different models for it?
> RGB will be 植物灯, model will be PRO-LED-Z-P-20? 
> 
> Thanks!


This new model is sold out in Taiwan some months back, after I inquired from the distributors. They actually asked me to check with either Ryan/Lawrence from EOA, but seems EOA prefers Twinstar and find them more popular among hobbyist. Even Seaview no longer carries this brand of LED, I bought the last set (as a backup) last year.

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## jackychun

The tree canopy is getting thick 


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## hann

Very nice and neat, bro.

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