Author: VinzPhua

How to Add Substrate to an Existing Aquarium

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Post Views: 195 I created this video to show how I added new ADA Aquasoil to the tank. This method can be used for gravel and sand as well. It is a relatively mess-free method. Hardly any of the Aquasoil dust escaped. The bottle makes it easy to target where you want to lay the […]

How Efficient is a Cerges CO2 Reactor?

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I wrote this post some months ago (Feb 2017, I think), but never published it. The measurements will probably be different now, as I’ve made many changes to the tank since then. However, the general conclusion (for my tank) should be the same: CO2 levels remain pretty stable once they reach peak levels.

Since then, I have recently found extra information that explains why my CO2 is stable and not fluctuating (as far as I can tell). I’ll mention that at the end of the post. Everything in the quote block below was my original post.

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Red Arowana
Colours are starting to really show at roughly 2 years old.
Red Arowana
Colours are starting to really show at roughly 2 years old.

Arowana Update: 2016 Aug

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Up close with the dragon (in-tank video)

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Post Views: 33 Close up video of the arowana from in-tank camera. Shot with a Mofily YoCam.

Elatine triandra and nitrates

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To get my tank to recover, I am replanting the tank in phases. Starting about 4 weeks ago with Elatine triandra which is fondly known as Ah Pek Plant (APP) in Singapore. Once planted, the Elatine immediately flourished. Elatine is a very fast-growing plant and is a nutrient hog. It grows very fast with lots of fertilisers (including CO2) and light. At the same time, once fertilisers are lacking it melts very fast.

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Arowana-proof snails… almost

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When I started this tank, I added Nerite snails as part of the algae crew. There were some concerns that they will end up as Arowana snacks as I’ve seen my previous Arowana chomping on something and saw what I thought were snail shell fragments dropping from its mouth. Still, I decided to try out the Nerites as they are somewhat larger than the pest snails in my previous tank and have much thicker shells. Unfortunately, I never got to find out as the snails died before the Arowana was introduced. Thinking that my tank conditions were not suitable for snails, I never got new snails till now.

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Bouncing Back

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It has been a while since the last update. The arowana is growing well, but the plants can do better. Frankly, the main reason for the lack of updates is the less than ideal condition of the plants and algae situation.

I’ve been getting an alga that forms a film on the leaves and hardscape, then dies and turns brown and hard. Also getting the green dust algae (GDA) on my glass. No one apparently has found a good solution for GDA besides lots of Bristlenose Plecos (BN). WIth my aggro arowana, more algae eaters is not really an option. Would really love to put in 10 more BN, or 2 platoons of Otos.

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L183 Starlight Bristlenose Pleco

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Post Views: 79 One of the L183 Starlight Bristlenose Plecos grazing in the open, before the arowana was added and it drove them to hide. The video was when they were about 1.5 inches. Now they are about 3 to 3.5 inches long and seem to venture out more often than before. Hopefully, as they get bigger they […]

Hand feeding arowana with pellets

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Post Views: 26 A short video of my Red Arowana taking a pellet from my fingers.