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Archer

Member
Joined
9 Nov 2016
Messages
108
Location
Hong Kong
Hello guys! So I want to share my journey to the hobby about my first planted tank. At the moment, I am waiting for the delivery of my aquarium items. How I came about the things I purchase boils to the issue of space. I live in Hong Kong and as you know, flats and rooms here are practically smaller compared to other places. So the biggest option for a tank that I was able to order is around 10gal.

Below is my setup:

Kotobuki Glass Aquarium 61X20X30cm
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Aquaworks tru-led 4 waterproof white led light
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NAG Aqua music hang on style clear glass thermometer(for 6mm thickness tank)
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Eden 511-100W

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Ada value set pack- Include: ADA PENAC P, ADA PENAC W, ADA BACTER100, ADA TOURMALINE BC and ADA CLEAR SUPER
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Ada aqua soil amazonia powder type 9L
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Api 5 in 1 test strips

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Seachem prime 500ml

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Open ball shaped glass filter pipe set (12mm I think) generic china made

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Basically the items are expected to arrive around two weeks due to pre order of the tank. And I just found out that my ada powder soil is out of stock so I need to source out to other supplier.

I am in no hurry as this gives me ample time to further research in what I really wanted to achieve in my tank.

Questions like what kind of scape I'll do, what plants are good for beginners, do I start dry, what stones etc.

At the moment, my biggest issue is I want something like iwagumi style simple with some rocks and maybe a drift food with some carpeting. And maybe just tetras for the fauna.

I hope you guys can give me some suggestions and if you can provide some pictures I'll really appreciate it.
 
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Thank you @kadoxo for the feedback. I thought linking them with my google photos will be ok.
 

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I am currently looking for inspiration on the aquascape I am planning to do. I hope you can share on the comments pictures of your favorites. Basically what I am looking for is low maintenance, simple layout, and would go with the items I have previously mentioned. CO2 is on the planning still as I want first to establish my tank.
 
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Since you are still planning on co2 , u can spend more time on hardscape, get the feel first,try different layout(remember to take picture) before rush to plEanting etc. I would recommend dry start method with hc as u r not require co2 during dry start. hc have the tiniest leaves and can give good sense of scale for your small tank. Hc a bit difficult for newbie, better study more on the plant before start planting. Another choice is hairgrass which is easier but I would recommend sp mini for shorter appearance. Since your are Chinese i would recommend these 微信 subscription account.
cffc5a73fe5c794e791100d45f8c935f.jpg


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If u plan on iwagumi always buy a bit MORE STONE with DIFFERENT SIZE than required. Will give you more flexibility in trying different layout. When choosing stone pick stone with more nook and cranny. 微信里有很多石景样本。

By the way, I'm from Malaysia

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Loving that cat emblem on each of your photos!

Looking forward to updates..
 
@ahjoe0digi thank you for the feedback.Yes, I do plan to go the Co2 route as I want to go full blast with this hobby. But that needs to wait as I want to make sure I am satisfied with my scape first. I have seen lot of good pictures online but is clueless on what specific plants they use. Please bare with me as I am new to plants and gets lost with shortname. HC is the one with cuba right? Btw, I am a Filipino:) living here in HK, thanks anyways for the subscription suggestions!
 
@ahjoe0digi at this stage I am really not sure what stones to use. I am limited to what's available on the pet store I will be checking. Kindly suggest what type of stone to use.
 
@rebel thank you. I am excited for the delivery of the tank as it's an odd size tank. My major reason for choosing such is the width as I can only accomodate <22cm.
 
Well, it's up to you, just choose stones with own character, with nook and cranny. Stone with smooth surface will give dull impression . Example
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Pebbles or something alike are not suitable.

As what you can see in pictures, choose rocks of different size

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@ahjoe0digi thank you for the samples. I believe I was able to personally see the 2nd and 3rd rocks but not sure of the first. Correct me if I am wrong but the 3rd is commonly called dragon stone? The 2nd, I have no idea what's it called. Well these rocks don't come in cheap as they are by the pound. As a newbie, I was surprise to learn rocks can be this expensive.


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I will try to look in the net and in the community for a sample inspiration and hopefully you guys can help me disect each part so I can make my first planted tank right.


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Yup, rock can be expensive unless you know where to pick from the wild.
I spend around 400hkd for rocks in Malaysia for my 90*25*25 tank. However, I will keep these stones even if they were not used in my scape. I can always use them in future. Sooner or later I will have a collection of stones and driftwood.
Since you are new and may not want to spend too much on stone, you may try different layout on sandbox before make any purchase.

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Yup, rock can be expensive unless you know where to pick from the wild.
I spend around 400hkd for rocks in Malaysia for my 90*25*25 tank. However, I will keep these stones even if they were not used in my scape. I can always use them in future. Sooner or later I will have a collection of stones and driftwood.
Since you are new and may not want to spend too much on stone, you may try different layout on sandbox before make any purchase.

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Thank you for sharing your estimated cost about rocks. I guess I can alot the same budget as yours for as long I am happy with it. Picking in the wild may not be an option here. I am still pinning sample tanks in youtube and pinterest and will let you know about my top inspiration. I am having difficulty at the moment to visualize how the tank is in actual as its quite long and shallow. I am trying to get the feel of scaling and realism on the videos and images I learn both here and other websites.




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I believe I found my top inspiration for my project. There are tons of superb scape are out there and so love to see them in person given the opportunity.

The below inspiration were chosen due to the following reasons:
1. Doable
2. Budget

(Below images were grabbed from pinterest with their respective owner)

bd4e8e2cf0dfe56ff4eb3ac69f708f23.jpg

-Stephanus Mardianto

2542fec81bff27d573ab513e3d41e0d6.jpg

-pic.pimw.tw

437dd658cde14dd7e635c8293996d2dc.jpg

-Shiva

I believe with my current experience level I can try do the basic of the scape mentioned. I also chose them because they use two substrate, drift wood and not much plants.

Please help me disect the items of the last picture as that will be my base scape that I want to follow. Kindly suggest alternative rocks/plants to use.



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Which side you want? Left side or right side? It seems that the 3rd picture is a shallow long tank with ratio 4:1 while your tank is 2:1.
I may try to sketch a plan for you according to the picture.

3871a06fc3a7b5e0e34c16f188f741dc.jpg


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Thanks for the feedback. I never really know about the ratio thingy, but I think I got what you mean there. Thanks for that new info. If my tank is 2:1, will it not be possible to scale the the original one to fit in?

If not, then your suggested picture will be okay. Maybe make the main rock protrude more and make the secondary substrate a little wider. And modify the plant structure, maybe rearrange or choose the one that is smaller. Thank you so much for the help if you can sketch one out for me. I definitely would like the original picture, but given the ratio you mentioned, I am cool with your feedback!
 
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