Blue Aquarium

This is a new journal from Alvin Koh that first attempt at starting 3 footer planted. This is some detail from Alvin Koh..
Initial list of salvaged equipment from abandoned project:
1) Chiller: Teco TR15 – 1/5HP (replaces Hailea HC-300A due to cabinet restriction)
2) Filtration/Pump: 1260 (modified to 1262 specification) + Eheim Pro2 2028 with impeller + cover removed
3) Filtration Media: Mr Aqua Ceremic Rings (Small) + Bio Home
4) CO2: 5L CO2 Tank + Solenoid Regulator + NA CO2 Reactor
5) Fertilization/Dosing: 3-way Peristaltic Dosing Pump
6) Soil: ADA Amazonia II + Lava rock gravel
7) Decoration: About 20 pieces of Kinokinryu rocks

Rocks – The search for rocks was a long one spanning a month. I had 2 pieces of rather flat-ish Kurokinryu rocks I bought from a hobbyist which was clearly insufficient.
I made a purchase online for about 12 pieces of Kurokinryu rocks, but most pieces were flat and the largest 3 pieces were of totally different color when wet.

Flora: Utricularia graminifolia
Equipment: Aquazonic T5HO (4x39w), 8000K & 6500K Osram T5HO tubes, UP CO2 Inline Atomizer,
Decoration: New feature rock

My final hardscape ended up looking somewhat like a weathered rocky sea shoreline – nothing like what I’d envisioned when I first started. I guess that’s what makes aquascaping unpredictable. There are so many factors leading to the final scape.

My emersed culture nursery currently consists of mostly small plants:
1) UG – Utricularia graminifolia
2) HC – Hemianthus callitrichoides ‘Cuba’
3) Downoi – Pogostemon helferi
4) Staurogyne repens
5) Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
6) Riccia fluitans

There is a serious lack of color contrast. Almost every single plant is mid to light green. I may need to work harder on my plant selection.

My main difficulty I reckon is getting the UG to carpet (considering the limited amount I have). After scouring the internet for UG experiences, I realised it grows like a weed for some and yet dies off for others. The emersed UG I have is showing signs of growth and developing beautiful deep green leaves but not substantial enough – probably 20% growth at this point. The loose submersed UG I have, hardly grew and even turned pale yellow.

End of Week 1

Plant Additions – My updated list of plants in the tank is as follows:

1) Utricularia graminifolia
2) Downoi – Pogostemon helferi
3) Staurogyne repens
4) Anubias barteri v. ‘nana golden’
5) Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
6) HC – Hemianthus callitrichoides ‘Cuba’
7) Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘Tropica’

Week 6 – Photo updates of the progress. The plants in the tank seem very stable now with very unnoticeable browning/melting. I would consider the plants to be in emerged rather than emersed stage now as there is very little water especially on the slopes. I mist/water the plants up to a few times a day and suction the excess water out after each misting. I still cover the tank with the plastic sheet to maintain humidity.

The Flooding – As I have a very fine mist spray head, I filled up the tank without covering the plants with any protective layer. I drained the tank once at the halfway mark to remove excess nutrients and re-filled it again. It took about 1 hour to fill it up the entire tank – midway through I sprayed full blast at a submerged takeaway plastic to avoid any disturbance to the soil.

Week 9 – Utricularia Graminifolia
Upon filling up, the leaves of the UG begin to float/erect upwards and by the end of the week, they look just like miniature grass.

The Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘Tropica’ is growing – quite a lot larger than I expected and about 3 times the original size. Leaves are about 4cm broad and 15cm long.

I have also added 2 schools of fishes.
1) 4 Golden Pristella Tetras – Pristella maxillaris
2) 20+ Ruby Tetras – Axelrodia riesei

The Ruby Tetras is taking on some color (from pale white), but it’s hard to tell if they will take on a deeper shade of colour. Under brighter areas of light, their coloration is barely detectable. The fishes are generally eating well.

Source : aquaticquotient.com