Here's a summary of changes that occurred since the last update.
- Siamese algae eaters introduced
- Minor rearrangement on equipment
- New light fixture
- Added more Amano Shrimps
- Introduced Siamese Algae Eaters
- Brazilian Pennywort is replaced by Pearl Weed
- Althernanthera reinikki mini needed major trim
Once the diatoms die down, green algae started taking over the tank. I ignored it for a while as they slowly cover the rock surfaces. Then they started getting very thick and hairy along the rocks and glass walls become unsightly as they started covering them too, so I added 3 new SAE's and they clean them all up in a day.
Inlet/Outlet pipes relocated to improve water flow
I rearranged the equipment in the tank to optimize space. If you compare the picture below from my previous posts, you will notice the differences.
So the following were the changes:
- Filter inlet/outlet pipes were move to the back. I was able to do this now because I replaced the inlet strainer with a smaller one. This allow me to push the pipes back without hitting the rocks and soil mound.
- Surface skimmer is moved to the other side. The small current it produce help the flow around the tank.
- CO2 drop checker is moved into the spot where inlet/outlet pipes were previously located
I replaced the light set with a new fixture. It features 4x24W 6500K T5HO bulbs with blue LED's for "moon light" option. Every pair of bulb has its own ballast and power plug so I can control each pair's lighting schedule, The LED moon light option is also powered by a separate DC adapter so can also have its own lighting schedule.
This is the lighting (and CO2) schedule now:
1st Pair: 1PM to 10PM
2nd Pair: 3PM to 11PM
LED: 10PM to 7AM
CO2: 11AM to 9PM
The light starts and ends at lower intensity but peaks in the middle of the day until evening. Moonlight then starts at night until the next morning.
I also replaced 2 of the bulbs with 7500K 24W to provide a wider range of spectrum. The performance is great. Light intensity is very obvious and I can see the althernanthera reinikki mini with stronger red coloration.
The plants reacted positively with the new light as well. Over the last couple of days since I installed it, they "pearl" like I never seen before. It's like there's a stream of air stone injecting gas all over the tank. Below is the video of pearling in action.
From here on, I will be dosing fertilizers at maximum rate in order to keep up with light and CO2 supply.
More Amano Shrimps.
To strengthen the numbers of my clean up crew, I added 9 new Yamato shrimps, also known as Amano shrimp. They are great scavengers and very good competition against otocinclus with regards to eating algae. They are also hardy. The downside is that they may occasionally jump out of the tank if they are not happy or threatened and that happened to me before!
Hemianthus micranthemoides (Pearl Weed) replaced Brazilian Pennywort
As much as i love brazilian pennywort, it has to go. The leaves are just too big to fit into the aquascape. Too bad they are perfect place for shrimps to hang out. It is replaced by pearl weed, which has very small leaves and compliments well with monte carlo.
4 weeks in and Althernanthera reinikki mini met my expectation.
It is very beautiful. None of them that I planted actually died, The leaves are big, smooth, and wide. The stems are stiff and roots are not messed up. It is a strong contrast in my experience with AR roseafolia. Unfortunately, with the build up of green algae, it covered some of this plants leaves. So I decided it's the perfect time to trim them. After a few weeks, I expect the growth to be more compact and smaller leaves.
Casualties...
Borneo sucker didn't last long. It died a couple of days after It was introduced in the tank. It is known to be very sensitive and prefer a river stream type of water, meaning high current. My tank has very gentle water movement so it's not the best environment for it. I guess I won't ever get this fish again. Too bad they are really gorgeous.
A total of 4 ember tetras died as well since a few days after they were introduced. I'll take it as that they just didn't acclimate well in the tank. Water parameters are fine and the rest are swimming and eating fine. In any case, I will continue to monitor water condition to ensure they are in a habitat ideal for them.
Two of the amano shrimps also died just a few days after they were introduced. These shrimps are typically caught in the wild and due to the amount of stress they go through upon reaching our tanks, it's not surprising that some of them die. In general, they are hardy shrimps and can live for a very long time once they acclimate in the tank.
No comments:
Post a Comment