Steven Chong
Member
你好！ (Ni Hao! Hello!)
Hi guys-- friends of old and aquarium enthusiasts I've yet to meet. My name is Steven Chong, and I'd like to share with you all my newest layout I've been working on since I got to China in September.
First, I'll say that the fish market here in Guangzhou is incredible-- Hua Diwan Bird / Fish / Plant market. I thought the Hong Kong market was crazy when I visited there last year, but the GZ market is almost as big-- it's incredible. Well, actually, if you're looking for rare species and quality products, HK is probably better, but the prices here are unreal. And did I mention the market is gigantic?
^aquarium plants anyone?
It just keeps going and going-- there must be a square kilometer of almost nothing but aquarium stores and stands. Salt water fish, corals, plants, rays, flowerhorns, arowanas, and tons and tons of goldfish and koi-- doesn't end! Of course, I'm sure many of the practices here would shock many western fish keepers-- I'll never see the sense in displaying a full-sized Koi in a bag waiting for someone to buy it, but there you go... I guess all I can say is that the Chinese invented the whole fishkeeping hobby, and I'm not about to tell them how to do it...
But all of you came into this thread to see an aquarium journal, so here it is.
It's a pretty modest set up, just a 45cm desk tank. However, I am just shocked at the prices of fairly high quality products!
^Frame-less Glass Aquarium, 130 kuai ($16 USD)
^Collection of rocks I've only ever seen sold before in China/HK-- 60 kuai ($10 USD)
I also got myself a REALLY nice set of Seiryu stones (I'm talking primo stuff-- way better than anything I've seen sold in Japan or the US; if you want nice Seiryu, you got to go to the source and not let it pass through ADA's hands), and I paid 40 kuai (7 dollars) for the whole set. Maybe show you guys photos of those stones later.
I stocked the tank with plants for a dry set up about 2.5 weeks-- I'm actually not actually sure if it was all that worth it. My crypts and starogyne definitely took well to their spots, and put in good roots during that time (I got ZERO melting on filling the tank), but my HC didn't really attach itself (so I had to replant a lot of it), and I'm guessing the Singapore moss really doesn't have rhyzoids because it almost didn't attach at all. My mini pelia DID though, and that was a big save.
I think I spent around 150 rmb on all my plants for this set up (~$20). A 3"x3" square of HC costs 10RMB, or $1.50 USD.
BTW that LED light for 45cm tank-- 170 RMB (~$22)
I think I spent 300 RMB for the whole CO2 system ($45), and 150 RMB ($20) on the canister filter. The glass pipes were $1 each.
And here she is, 2.5 weeks after the tank was filled.
Plants
-Hemianthus Callitrichoides
-Mini Pellia
-Starogyne repens
-Starogyne sp. Bihir (love this plant so much-- and so cheap here)
-Crypt Sp.
-Rotala sp. (probably "Vietnam")
-Pomatageton gayi (This plant is so great-- really needs more love in more layouts)
I also have been using this weird foreground plant. It looks a lot like Hemianthus micranthemoides, but it is absolutely a creeper-- it actually digs downwards. It grows faster than my HC, and while it had almost perfectly spherical leaves at first, now they're becoming sharper. I can take some pictures, but if someone could give me a scientific name it would be great; a friend in Hawaii told me it's "the newest thing in foreground plants" but didn't give me a name.
Fauna:
-15 Ember tetras
-2 Otocinclus
-7 Corydorus pigmeas
-20+ Red Cherry Shrimp
The fish are doing fantastic by the way. For all the horrendous handling things you see at the fish mart, the fish get to your house super healthy-- that's for sure. Sometimes the condition in and around the store look terrible, but the fish inside the tanks are healthier than I ever see in the US. It's very strange.
Specs:
Since all the equipment is from a bunch of Chinese makers, I'm not sure how useful it would be to talk about... The tank is 45 x 30 x 30. I'm using aquasoil, pressurized CO2, an LED light, and a canister filter. So far, the tank looks fantastic. I'm getting some algae, but its pretty minor. Water is CLEAR. Doing water changes 2-3 times a week though. I am also dosing ADA Step 2, and man-- I felt that stuff was EXPENSIVE (150 RMB). It really screws with your head when a bottle of Step 2 costs as much as an attractive LED Light stand, and more than a nice frameless aquarium!
Not to mention that bottle of Step 2 costs as much as my new VIV scissors:
lol
Hi guys-- friends of old and aquarium enthusiasts I've yet to meet. My name is Steven Chong, and I'd like to share with you all my newest layout I've been working on since I got to China in September.
First, I'll say that the fish market here in Guangzhou is incredible-- Hua Diwan Bird / Fish / Plant market. I thought the Hong Kong market was crazy when I visited there last year, but the GZ market is almost as big-- it's incredible. Well, actually, if you're looking for rare species and quality products, HK is probably better, but the prices here are unreal. And did I mention the market is gigantic?
^aquarium plants anyone?
It just keeps going and going-- there must be a square kilometer of almost nothing but aquarium stores and stands. Salt water fish, corals, plants, rays, flowerhorns, arowanas, and tons and tons of goldfish and koi-- doesn't end! Of course, I'm sure many of the practices here would shock many western fish keepers-- I'll never see the sense in displaying a full-sized Koi in a bag waiting for someone to buy it, but there you go... I guess all I can say is that the Chinese invented the whole fishkeeping hobby, and I'm not about to tell them how to do it...
But all of you came into this thread to see an aquarium journal, so here it is.
It's a pretty modest set up, just a 45cm desk tank. However, I am just shocked at the prices of fairly high quality products!
^Frame-less Glass Aquarium, 130 kuai ($16 USD)
^Collection of rocks I've only ever seen sold before in China/HK-- 60 kuai ($10 USD)
I also got myself a REALLY nice set of Seiryu stones (I'm talking primo stuff-- way better than anything I've seen sold in Japan or the US; if you want nice Seiryu, you got to go to the source and not let it pass through ADA's hands), and I paid 40 kuai (7 dollars) for the whole set. Maybe show you guys photos of those stones later.
I stocked the tank with plants for a dry set up about 2.5 weeks-- I'm actually not actually sure if it was all that worth it. My crypts and starogyne definitely took well to their spots, and put in good roots during that time (I got ZERO melting on filling the tank), but my HC didn't really attach itself (so I had to replant a lot of it), and I'm guessing the Singapore moss really doesn't have rhyzoids because it almost didn't attach at all. My mini pelia DID though, and that was a big save.
I think I spent around 150 rmb on all my plants for this set up (~$20). A 3"x3" square of HC costs 10RMB, or $1.50 USD.
BTW that LED light for 45cm tank-- 170 RMB (~$22)
I think I spent 300 RMB for the whole CO2 system ($45), and 150 RMB ($20) on the canister filter. The glass pipes were $1 each.
And here she is, 2.5 weeks after the tank was filled.
Plants
-Hemianthus Callitrichoides
-Mini Pellia
-Starogyne repens
-Starogyne sp. Bihir (love this plant so much-- and so cheap here)
-Crypt Sp.
-Rotala sp. (probably "Vietnam")
-Pomatageton gayi (This plant is so great-- really needs more love in more layouts)
I also have been using this weird foreground plant. It looks a lot like Hemianthus micranthemoides, but it is absolutely a creeper-- it actually digs downwards. It grows faster than my HC, and while it had almost perfectly spherical leaves at first, now they're becoming sharper. I can take some pictures, but if someone could give me a scientific name it would be great; a friend in Hawaii told me it's "the newest thing in foreground plants" but didn't give me a name.
Fauna:
-15 Ember tetras
-2 Otocinclus
-7 Corydorus pigmeas
-20+ Red Cherry Shrimp
The fish are doing fantastic by the way. For all the horrendous handling things you see at the fish mart, the fish get to your house super healthy-- that's for sure. Sometimes the condition in and around the store look terrible, but the fish inside the tanks are healthier than I ever see in the US. It's very strange.
Specs:
Since all the equipment is from a bunch of Chinese makers, I'm not sure how useful it would be to talk about... The tank is 45 x 30 x 30. I'm using aquasoil, pressurized CO2, an LED light, and a canister filter. So far, the tank looks fantastic. I'm getting some algae, but its pretty minor. Water is CLEAR. Doing water changes 2-3 times a week though. I am also dosing ADA Step 2, and man-- I felt that stuff was EXPENSIVE (150 RMB). It really screws with your head when a bottle of Step 2 costs as much as an attractive LED Light stand, and more than a nice frameless aquarium!
Not to mention that bottle of Step 2 costs as much as my new VIV scissors:
lol
