Crypt 1:
It is believed to be Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia.
Crypt 2:
It is believed to be a variety of Cryptocoryne wendtii.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Cryptocoryne From Aqua Fair 2010
Bought some unidentified Cryptocoryne from Aqua Fair as follows.
Crypt 1:
It is believed to be Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia.
Crypt 2:
It is believed to be a variety of Cryptocoryne wendtii.
Crypt 1:
It is believed to be Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia.
Crypt 2:
It is believed to be a variety of Cryptocoryne wendtii.
Plants I Have Tried
Just to keep track of aquatic plants I have tried planting regardless I have successful or failed.
1. Egeria densa - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
2. Hornwort - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
3. Salvinia - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
4. Water lettuce - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
5. Rotala Green - rot at the bottom part in the indoor tank but growing well outdoor and partially immersed.
6. Cryptocoryne Wendtii - Growing but very slow.
7. Subwassertang - growing like weeds indoor.
8. Christmas moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
9. Taiwan moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
10. Spiky moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
11. Java moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin. Still have a bit of escapees in the tank.
12. Weeping moss - growing very slow and eventually hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
13. Java ferns - growing well in one tank but dying in another tank.
14. Narrow leaf ferns - growing well but in miniature form. However they slowly turn bald. Temperature may be too high.
15. Java fern windelov - growing well in one tank but dying in another tank.
16. Potamogeton gayi - growing like weeds.
17. Water wisteria (2 species) - growing well outdoor.
18. Marsilea (two species) - growing well but the short foreground one is slow. The tall one grows like weed.
19. Hairgrass - still testing. Successfully planted immersed.
20. Sagittaria subulata - growing like weeds and flowering.
21. Anubias Nana Petite - Alive but stunted.
22. Anubias Nana - eaten by Kribensis. Trying again in a different tank.
23. Philippines fern - growing well but covered by subwassertang and went missing.
24. Riccia fluitans - growing like weeds but end up in the bin.
25. Bolbitis - stunted. Water temperature is too high.
26. Duckweed - truly weeds. So, end up in the bin.
27. Cryptocoryne balansae - growing reasonably well.
28. Crytocoryne spiralis - growing slowly.
29. Cabomba - disintegrated and died.
30. Bacopa - alive but covered by BBA easily.
31. Hydrocotyle sp - growing slowly.
32. Limnophila aromatica - died in NPT.
33. Blyxa Japonica - eaten and destroyed by Kribensis. Otherwise growing well in NPT.
34. Echinodorus tenellus - growing well.
35. Eleocharis vivipara - growing well but have to trim too regularly. So, end up in the bin.
36. Hygrophila polysperma - overtook by BBA in NPT. So end up in the bin.
37. Corkscrew Vallisneria - growing well.
38. Vallisneria Nana - died.
39. Vallisneria americana - growing well.
40. Cyperus Helferi - growing well initially but slowly losing the leaves after 1 year.
1. Egeria densa - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
2. Hornwort - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
3. Salvinia - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
4. Water lettuce - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
5. Rotala Green - rot at the bottom part in the indoor tank but growing well outdoor and partially immersed.
6. Cryptocoryne Wendtii - Growing but very slow.
7. Subwassertang - growing like weeds indoor.
8. Christmas moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
9. Taiwan moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
10. Spiky moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
11. Java moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin. Still have a bit of escapees in the tank.
12. Weeping moss - growing very slow and eventually hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
13. Java ferns - growing well in one tank but dying in another tank.
14. Narrow leaf ferns - growing well but in miniature form. However they slowly turn bald. Temperature may be too high.
15. Java fern windelov - growing well in one tank but dying in another tank.
16. Potamogeton gayi - growing like weeds.
17. Water wisteria (2 species) - growing well outdoor.
18. Marsilea (two species) - growing well but the short foreground one is slow. The tall one grows like weed.
19. Hairgrass - still testing. Successfully planted immersed.
20. Sagittaria subulata - growing like weeds and flowering.
21. Anubias Nana Petite - Alive but stunted.
22. Anubias Nana - eaten by Kribensis. Trying again in a different tank.
23. Philippines fern - growing well but covered by subwassertang and went missing.
24. Riccia fluitans - growing like weeds but end up in the bin.
25. Bolbitis - stunted. Water temperature is too high.
26. Duckweed - truly weeds. So, end up in the bin.
27. Cryptocoryne balansae - growing reasonably well.
28. Crytocoryne spiralis - growing slowly.
29. Cabomba - disintegrated and died.
30. Bacopa - alive but covered by BBA easily.
31. Hydrocotyle sp - growing slowly.
32. Limnophila aromatica - died in NPT.
33. Blyxa Japonica - eaten and destroyed by Kribensis. Otherwise growing well in NPT.
34. Echinodorus tenellus - growing well.
35. Eleocharis vivipara - growing well but have to trim too regularly. So, end up in the bin.
36. Hygrophila polysperma - overtook by BBA in NPT. So end up in the bin.
37. Corkscrew Vallisneria - growing well.
38. Vallisneria Nana - died.
39. Vallisneria americana - growing well.
40. Cyperus Helferi - growing well initially but slowly losing the leaves after 1 year.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Excellent DIY Aquarium Stuff
Throughout the years, I have come across some amazing DIY aquarium stuff in forums. However, some of the threads in the forum was removed after several years. Sometimes the link to a website was no longer valid. So, there's no way I can locate them back. In order not to loss them, I have decided to collect some of the interesting DIY aquarium stuff that I have encountered recently in my own blog.
DIY Acrylic Tube:
The first one is a DIY acrylic tube by Paul aka Jedishrimp from APC (Aquatic Plant Central) forum. With the right tool, it seems like a pretty simple DIY project. Here's some sample acrylic tubes he has made:
The most crucial part of this project is bending the tube. If not done carefully, the tube may break or simply looks ugly. You need some patience to heat up the acrylic and turn it around. Then bend it a little bit. Keep repeating the heating and bending process until it has turned into the shape you want. Have a look at the Paul's excellent video on the technique of bending the tube by clicking the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSj2c0lR-wc
DIY Aquarium Background:
In APC forum, I have also encountered another great DIY project by an Italian named Stefano aka Dabolox. Basically, the DIY aquarium background make use of some of the readily available material from your own backyard such as soil, dry branches and dry dead leaves. It looks very beautiful and natural too especially if you're keen in setting up a black water tank that imitates the nature.
The following are some of the items used by Stefano:
He also created a hidden compartment for filter and heater as follows:
From the ingredients above, he created the following aquarium background. The roots he used are grapevine roots. You may try other alternative roots as long as it's non-toxic to the fishes and plants.
After he moved the aquarium background into the tank, here's how it looks like at various stages:
To read about Stefano's original article with more detailed information, you can check out the following link:
http://www.acquarionline.it/acquari/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=1
DIY Acrylic Tube:
The first one is a DIY acrylic tube by Paul aka Jedishrimp from APC (Aquatic Plant Central) forum. With the right tool, it seems like a pretty simple DIY project. Here's some sample acrylic tubes he has made:
The most crucial part of this project is bending the tube. If not done carefully, the tube may break or simply looks ugly. You need some patience to heat up the acrylic and turn it around. Then bend it a little bit. Keep repeating the heating and bending process until it has turned into the shape you want. Have a look at the Paul's excellent video on the technique of bending the tube by clicking the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSj2c0lR-wc
DIY Aquarium Background:
In APC forum, I have also encountered another great DIY project by an Italian named Stefano aka Dabolox. Basically, the DIY aquarium background make use of some of the readily available material from your own backyard such as soil, dry branches and dry dead leaves. It looks very beautiful and natural too especially if you're keen in setting up a black water tank that imitates the nature.
The following are some of the items used by Stefano:
He also created a hidden compartment for filter and heater as follows:
From the ingredients above, he created the following aquarium background. The roots he used are grapevine roots. You may try other alternative roots as long as it's non-toxic to the fishes and plants.
After he moved the aquarium background into the tank, here's how it looks like at various stages:
To read about Stefano's original article with more detailed information, you can check out the following link:
http://www.acquarionline.it/acquari/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=1
Monday, November 08, 2010
Cleaning Impeller of Eheim Classic Filter
Cleaning of canister filter's impeller is often a pain because the instruction is not mentioned in the filter's manual. I am not referring to made in China filters only. The same issue applies to German made Eheim filters. Basically the manual is a junk to me as it normally does not contain information you need but contains all the information you already know.
Thanks to some aquarium forums that I have managed to figure out how to clean it although the information is incomplete. Therefore I have decided to write the instruction myself. In my instruction I will use Eheim Classic as an example because it's the only canister filter I have.
Before you start removing the parts, please make sure that you remember how you remove them, so that you will know how to fix them back. You may shoot some photos in the process if you have a poor memory or poor observation.
1. After removal of the filter cover, you will notice the most important section of the filter as below. First, you have to unlock the lock that protects the impeller by turning it anti-clock wise. Then pull the lock upward. Be careful not to break the impeller when pulling up the lock.
2. After the lock has been removed, You will see the impeller partially in hole of the middle section.
3. The next step is to remove the cover of the impeller as follows:
4. After removing the cover of the impeller, you will notice the impeller. Pull the impeller upwards to remove it. Be careful not to break it. There is a magnet holding the impeller in case you're wondering why it's not loose. Once you have removed the impeller, you can brush the dirt on the impeller and the filter with tooth brush. There may be some holes you cannot reach with a tooth brush. You can use a cotton bud to clean the unreachable areas. Then rinse them with running tap water.
5. Don't forget to remove the hoses of the inlet and outlet for cleaning as well. The hose may clogged leading to poor water current in the tank. Just place the hose connected to a water tap and let the strong tap water current push all the dirt out if you're too lazy to brush the entire internal part of the hose. You will need a special brush to clean the internal part of the hose. Since it will be tedious without a proper brush, I will skip the brushing.
6. Don't forget to wash the media of the filter with your existing tank's water to avoid losing beneficial bacteria. I will not cover this aspect of the cleaning process as the information is widely available on the internet.
Thanks to some aquarium forums that I have managed to figure out how to clean it although the information is incomplete. Therefore I have decided to write the instruction myself. In my instruction I will use Eheim Classic as an example because it's the only canister filter I have.
Before you start removing the parts, please make sure that you remember how you remove them, so that you will know how to fix them back. You may shoot some photos in the process if you have a poor memory or poor observation.
1. After removal of the filter cover, you will notice the most important section of the filter as below. First, you have to unlock the lock that protects the impeller by turning it anti-clock wise. Then pull the lock upward. Be careful not to break the impeller when pulling up the lock.
2. After the lock has been removed, You will see the impeller partially in hole of the middle section.
3. The next step is to remove the cover of the impeller as follows:
4. After removing the cover of the impeller, you will notice the impeller. Pull the impeller upwards to remove it. Be careful not to break it. There is a magnet holding the impeller in case you're wondering why it's not loose. Once you have removed the impeller, you can brush the dirt on the impeller and the filter with tooth brush. There may be some holes you cannot reach with a tooth brush. You can use a cotton bud to clean the unreachable areas. Then rinse them with running tap water.
5. Don't forget to remove the hoses of the inlet and outlet for cleaning as well. The hose may clogged leading to poor water current in the tank. Just place the hose connected to a water tap and let the strong tap water current push all the dirt out if you're too lazy to brush the entire internal part of the hose. You will need a special brush to clean the internal part of the hose. Since it will be tedious without a proper brush, I will skip the brushing.
6. Don't forget to wash the media of the filter with your existing tank's water to avoid losing beneficial bacteria. I will not cover this aspect of the cleaning process as the information is widely available on the internet.
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