[Emersed Setup] DAY 1

I have been wanting to do this for a long time but procrastinated badly. Emersed setups are very cool because the plants that you are familiar with look very different above water. These types of setups have many advantages.

1. They are fun
2. Plants look very different and some even flower
3. Plants that may be difficult to grow under water tend to be easier
4. Some plants grow faster and can be easily propogated
5. You may keep a variety of different plants in case you need to rescape your aquarium in future. This frees up your current aquascape allowing you to choose which plants you wish to use and prevents it from being too cluttered.
6. Did i mention it was fun?

Anyway here is the list i purchased from Bunnings for this setup

1. Green house with included pots
2. Peat moss
3. Osmocote Seed raising Cutting mix
4. $6 desk lamp
5. 6500k 25watt globe
6. ADA substrate (Already have this)
7. Some labels
8. Light timer
9. Osmocote granules

Next I filled the pots in this order

1. First the Peat moss down the bottom to retain moisture

2. Next i added a couple of Osmocote granules above the peat moss. 

3. Next i filled the pots with Osmocote Seed raising Cutting mix

4. Lastly i topped of the cutting mix with some ADA amazonia 

Here are some close ups of some of the plants I will be keeping an eye on:

picture1 - Hemianthus Callitrichoides

picture2 - Pogostemon Helferi 

picture3 - Bucephalandra

I have had trouble keeping Pogostemons in the past. My fish always seem to tear it apart and the 2-3 week settling in period does not help at all. I have decided to grow this particular plant emersed away from the hungry fish before placing it in my aquarium.

Finally a photo showing the overall setup. Thanks for looking and watch for updates!

[EHEIM OPAL] Blyxa and Peacock moss Garden

Wow it has already been a year since my last post!

I have decided to remove a number of plants from the scape as everything seemed so cluttered. This has been replaced with more Blyxa Japonica. The Red Macranda mini has been moved to the right side. (It still is not receiving enough light to grow very well). The anubis nana petite is temporarily sitting in the foreground until it roots properly on stone. I have recently divided this plant and will be moving it to a corner in the near future.

Over the years I have come up with a low maintenance setup that I am happy to share with fellow hobbyists.

Most of the fish in the aquarium are clean up crew, but i have had other fish in there.
For the glass i got plecs, for the substrate i got cories and loaches and for the leaves i got Siamese Algae Eaters.
Plecs and SAE are great to have in any setup. The SAE will keep away any brush like algae with plecs are amazing for large
flat leaves and other large surfaces. I autodose my feed once a day. The cardinals eat most of it and the shrimp and cories finish the rest off.

Here is a brief rundown of the equipment:
- Size: 3 foot Eheim Opal (I like this aquarium as there is almost nil evaporation through the breathable hood)
- lighting: - 2x T5HO (I find any less than two and some of my plants do not survive)
- Substrate: - ADA Aquasoil Amazonia II
- Fertilisation: - Recently changed from PMDD to Seachem Comprehensive in an Eheim autodoser (EHEIM autodoser is great - simple to use and easy to clean. I refill it every 1-2 months)
- Life: 50-100 Red cherries, 10 cardinal tetras, 2 plecs, 3 cories, 2 loaches, 5 mini cories, 2 SAEs
- CO2: 4kg Keg King cylinder with Tunze regulator and solenoid. The Keg King cylinders only cost $30 to refill @ any Keg Kind outlet and will last a year or more depending on your CO2 output.
- Powerhead: I use an Vortech powerhead. Although these are not necessary, i do find they help distribute ferts and CO2 through the aquarium. I run the CO2 diffuser underneath the powerhead
and drop the ferts above it. I really love the Vortech as it has an variable adjustable flow setting. I think a powerhead is probably the last thing anyone should invest in.
- Plants: I have compiled a list below. Trying very hard to move away from stems but I keep a few of my favourite ones.
- Filter: EHEIM professional - Used to run a bag of purigen in this but it causes my filter flow rate to slow down significantly. I do not do this anymore.

Here is the plant list:
When choosing plants, I basically chose the ones that seemed to like my ecosystem the most.
Also i like plants with small leaves. They seem to make the whole scape look bigger.
My number favourite would be the Pogo Helferi. Unfortunately it does not like me hence i do not keep it anymore.

1. Red Macranda Mini - my favourite red plant
2. Trident Java Fern
3. Mini Java Fern
4. Blyxa Japonica
5. Tricolor lotus - This plant is amusing. It dies off once a year and returns the next year
6. Anubis nana petite
7. Hygrophila pinnatifada - I love the leaves of this plant. My friend has trouble growing this and i do not know why.
8. Polygonum Sao Paulo
9. Windelov Java Fern - Great fern! Fills in so nicely and it has bright green leaves that contrast well with peacock moss
10. Eriocaulon shiga - Another one of my favourite plants. Stays small and symmetrical. Looks beautiful.
11. Bolbitis fern
12. Needle leaf java fern
13. USS fissidens
14. HC - A great carpeting plant. Needs a lot of CO2

That is all i have time for now. Ill update again later.

Thanks for looking

[SHRIMP TANK] Ruby red pictures

G'day everyone,

I have just trimmed my plants again and the tank is again looking fresh. The ludwigia glandulosa has been moved to the back left side of the tank as it looked a little messy in the middle. I have also recently divided the bucephalandra and am curious as to how large it will grow. It is certainly a very slow growing plant. The HC in the front right section has recently taken off and hopefully will start to cover some of the foreground. 

Now to the shrimp. Ruby red is still going strong. Here are some pictures of the red wine and the black cherries. I have recently separated a very awesome blue cherry from the black colony. Looks very royal blue unfortunately the pictures do it no justice.

[VIDEO] SHRIMP and EHEIM OPAL UPDATE JULY 2013

A quick update on my Eheim Opal. Did a massive trim a few days ago and cut all the syngonathus plants short. I also purchased another large piece of driftwood for the right side of the aquarium. Hopefully the plants will fill in nicely. The mini java fern is growing nicely and I am planning to fill various areas of the driftwood with it. The right side of the aquarium still needs some work. 

A brief description of the plants in the tank: (spelling may be wrong just jotting it from memory)

On the driftwood

- Mini java fern

- Bucephalandra

- Native bolbitis

- Mini bolbitis

- Fissidens

On the substrate

- Syngonathus manaus and belem (front left)

- Sao Paolo (back left)

- Staurogyne (front right)

- HC (front)

- Eriocaulon shiga (front middle)

- Crinum (back left)

- Hygrophila pinnatifiada (back right)

- Ludwigia ovalis (middle)

There are other plants in there but I just cannot think of the names at the moment

Now for the shrimp. As some of you may know I am now taking a break from the shrimp hobby. My kks have all grown up from being juvies and I will post a few pictures below. The tiny rruby red shrimplet posted previously has already grown to a considerable size. (see the youtube video below)

The sunkist are looking nice - nice strong speckly orange on the adults. The red crystals are nice and solid with red legs and face. I have also fine tuned my black cherries to a solid black colour. The red rillis still need some work however.

[EHEIM OPAL] Black Beard Algae

It has been a while since my last update. I have been very busy with my personal life and unable to write up any updates at all. I have now over 10 erios in my collection and have spent some time trimming and replanting all my plants so that they can all fill 2/3 of the left side of the aquarium. The mini java fern is growing very well.

Recently i have had an outbreak of black beard algae. I made a few changes to the tank after i noticed this algae beginning to take over.

1. Excel (dino spit) dosing

2. Increased flow of my powerhead

3. Cleaned the filter as it was blocked

4. Upped my CO2

5. Bought one Siamese algae eater fish

This managed to clear ALL of the algae. I was very surprised. Now there is not one remnant remaining.

[SHRIMP TANK] Ruby red Shrimplet

So I am back from holidays and am delighted to see a ruby red juvenile juvie. This little one popped out of nowhere and I am unsure who the parents are. The black cherries and chocolate cherries are also very happy and I am proud to be a father of a new batch of shrimplets. I see a mix of colours in there. Some dark blues, some chocolates and ofcourse some solid blacks as well.

I will try to get more pictures up later when i get more time.

[Shrimp Tank] 1 day old Shrimplet video

Here is a  videos and pictures  of a 1 day old newly hatched King Kong Shrimplet. I am yet unsure how many new hatchlings there are but hopefully there are a lot more. The extreme king kong shrimplet is still alive and I will put up more pictures of it later on. Currently I am cycling another tank to transfer all the juveniles. Will keep you updated on its progress.

[SHRIMP TANK] Shrimptography

So my new camera has arrived and here are some more pictures of some shrimp I have been working on. Firstly are my crystal blacks. Trying to achieve coloured legs and face. One year later and some results are just beginning to show. Here are pictures of some shrimp from my colony.

Secondly my KK shrimplets. Very cute little critters and sensitive too! It is just a delight to see them mature.

[EHEIM OPAL] NAG POTS

So you may be asking, what is a NAG POT?

These are Aqua Plant Cultivation Glass Pots. I was lucky enough to purchase a few from Aquakitz to try out today and am quite happy with the build quality.

They are used to create another level to cultivate sensitive plant species in the aquarium. I have put mine towards the back of the aquarium.

There are several advantages:
1. Enables weak plants to recover by giving them access to more light higher up.
2. Creates more space in the aquarium
3. Looks nice / stylish in a way
4. Helps organise plants better
5. Enables experimentation using different types of soils
6. Keeps the soil in one spot

Disadvantages:
1. As it is glass it is prone to breaking just like the CO2 diffusers.
2. Algae magnets
3. Increases clutter in the aquarium

[EHEIM OPAL] Sony Nex5 Camera with 1.8/50 lens

So I had some spare time with my new camera and have taken some photos of my aquarium. The macro photos will have to wait as I am still awaiting on macro lens. This camera produces some very nice vivid pictures. Was stunned by the quality and sharpness of the pictures. 

I have some new NAG pots arriving this week and have already picked up some rare plants. I will post these up in the next update.