64 Litre "Forest Edge" Tank - Week 56 Update

This tank has crossed its 1 year mark and still chugging along.

I got really lazy after the last tank update and started to neglect plant trimming, which resulted in the fast growing background stem plants constantly looking wild and unruly. It became a real chore to keep up with pruning and maintenance every week... so 2 months ago, i pulled out all the stem plants and replace them with a few bunches of Cyperus Helferi.

So far so good, this background plant's growth rate is slower and much easier to maintain. The original few bunches have since grown into a nice thicket of tall leaf blades that are starting to curve at the water surface... the tank has officially become a "grass" scape. :)

Yeah, the whole tank looks very green now... luckily there is still a resident colony of cherry shrimps to help add a little bit of red accent to the tank. :)

Phone Camera + Macro Lens - Indostomus Paradoxus

Close-up photo of an Indostomus Paradoxus, taken with the clip-on macro lens...

These tiny fishes have been living in my tank for months and i only catch a glimpse of them occasionally... really rare to be able to actually snap a good photo of one! :)

High-Clarity Low-Iron Glass Tank vs Normal Glass Tank

I've often received questions about the differences between high-clarity low-iron glass tanks and normal glass tanks, so for those who are new to the hobby... here is a visual comparison for reference.

The tank on the left is made from normal "float" glass, it has a noticeable greenish tint. The tank on the right is made from high-clarity low-iron glass and looks almost clear.

High-clarity low-iron glass tanks are sometimes also labelled as "crystal" or "optical" glass. The light transmission for this type of glass is much higher, which results in brighter light perception and more accurate color rendition when viewing the tank.

Here is a close-up look at both tanks side-by-side...

So the next time you go shopping for aquarium tanks, do keep a look out for such tanks... their price difference may not be as wide as you think, and it may be worth just going for the high-clarity ones. :)

Phone Camera + Macro Lens - Neocaridina Davidi (Sakura Grade)

The stock camera in my current phone (Samsung Note 3) is good for taking normal photos, but it's not as good at taking proper close-up macro photos. So i recently ordered a cheap clip-on macro lens from eBay to see if it can help the phone camera capture more detailed photos of inhabitants in my tanks.

Here are some close-up photos of a male Neocaridina Davidi (Sakura Grade) taken with the clip-on macro lens...

Granted that the photo quality is still not as high as if it was taken with professional DSLR cameras and more expensive specialized lenses... but considering that i'm not an expert photographer and its just a cheap macro lens clipped onto a phone camera, i think the results are quite good. :)

27 Litre "Grassy Dune" Outdoor Tank

I decided to upgrade my previous 18 Litre "Glass Planter" Outdoor Tank which has been running for the past 2+ months. Surprisingly with slow growing plants and lot of indirect sunlight throughout the day, not much algae appeared (other than some green algae on the glass which was easily cleaned off), i guess the low-bio load and minimal nutrients probably helped to ward of algae issues.

So i got a longer tank custom made to utilize the shelf space more efficiently, yet still keep to the low-profile style. The new tank dimensions are L60cm x D25cm x H18cm, quite similar to the ADA 60F tank design in terms of dimensions (though with slightly less depth).

As i wasn't planning to create an elaborate scape (and i prefer it to be easily setup and taken down if required), i chose to stick with sand substrate and use the same types of small volcanic rocks.

This time round i was inspired by the grassy sand dunes at beaches which just feature a simple combination of beach grass and rocks.

The sand was piled up higher in the middle of the tank and the rocks were scattered down the slope.

I choose to use Blyxa Japonica to recreate the beach grass look (it coincided with a plant trimming harvest from my other tanks). What i like about Blyxa Japonica is that its an adaptive plant that can grow well as a water column feeder and its easy to get an instant nice grassy hedge with just bunches of them.

The tank is filtered by an Eheim Ecco Pro 130, which is in turn connected to Acrylic Lily Pipes. I adjusted the flow rate to around 70%-80% to regulate the current, to the point that there is good overall circulation and all the plant leaves are swaying gently in the current, but not too much that they get uprooted.

I'd have to say that this tank is one of the fastest i've ever setup, from empty tank to hooking up equipment to hardscaping and planting to completion, all in it only took less than 30 minutes.

A group of 20+ cherry shrimps (aka maintenance crew) were introduced a few hours after tank setup, the filter already contains a portion of cycled bio-media and the sand substrate is inert, so the parameters stay relatively stable for the fauna.

I'll probably add more smaller and shorter plants in between the rocks as accents, perhaps some Eleocharis sp. 'Mini' or maybe some Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo' could be nice. Will see what i can harvest from my other tanks. :)

Product Review - Acrylic Lily Pipe Set

Ask anyone who uses glass lily pipes and one of their main gripes would be how easy it is to break those delicate items... its only through enough practice (and a few broken pipes) that one will eventually master the fine art of handling glass pipes. :)

There have been alternative pipes which are made from acrylic over the years, but they have been mostly DIY or custom made projects, and the ones what were available commercially tend to end up falling abit short on design or durability (ie. odd outflow angles or made of 2 separate pieces of cast acrylic and then glued together).

Hence when i spotted a new acrylic lily pipe set available on eBay recently, i decided to take a chance and order it, and surprise... its actually made properly!

Note that as these are from eBay sellers (there is no "brand" associated with them), i can't know for sure how consistent the workmanship are. If you are keen on them, just do a search on eBay for "acrylic lily pipe" and the available listings should pop up. The listings will also include the detailed pipe measurements too.

Here is the search link for easier reference: http://www.ebay.com.sg/sch/i.html?_t...at=0&_from=R40

Each pipe is made from a single acrylic tube, and the measurements follow common lily pipe dimensions that fit braceless aquarium tanks. This is the version that fits 12/16mm hoses. It comes packaged with suction cups and plastic clips to secure the pipes to the side of the aquarium tank.

The outflow lily pipe mouth is shaped properly and tilted to the correct angle. I did notice the acrylic surface on the mouth section was slightly less clear though, which i guess is probably from the heat forming process.

The intake pipe cut slots had some leftover bits of acrylic shavings, but i was able to just trim them off with a hobby knife. The bottom of the intake pipe has a plastic stopper which can be removed to facilitate easier access for pipe cleaning brushes.

Here is the comparison of mouth shape and angle between a VIV glass lily pipe (background) vs the acrylic lily pipe (foreground):

The acrylic lily pipe mouth is  around 3cm width and 3.5cm height, so its slightly smaller in comparison to the VIV glass lily pipe:

Finally there is an acrylic lily pipe set which is made properly and works correctly, so its a good option for those wanting to use lily pipes but have butter fingers and had been afraid to use them... or for those of us who currently use glass lily pipes and would welcome a less fragile alternative. :)

Product Review - Ocean Free Surf Clear

While shopping for aquarium supplies recently, i chanced upon this new surface skimmer from Ocean Free called the Surf Clear. It seems to be a new model so i figured it'll be interesting to try it out and do a review on it.

I have used the Eheim 350 surface skimmer before, so my review will include some comparisons with that model.

The Surf Clear product box and its contents...

It operates on the popular design of a floating skimmer head and motorized pump at the bottom.

The overall build quality is quite good and all the parts fit together well. Its design does somewhat resemble the Eheim 350, and in some ways it also matches the design and color scheme of the Ocean Free Hydra internal filters too.

The inflow speed can be controlled by turning the blue skimmer container's collar left or right. The skimmer head also has grill guards which help to prevent small fishes or shrimps from being pulled into the skimmer (but tiny fry or shrimplets may still get pulled in so do check it regularly).

It comes with an innovative feature which allows users to simply lift the skimmer head and container straight out of the main casing to clean it, without removing the whole unit from the tank. The sponge filter media is housed in the blue skimmer container (not in the main unit). I like this particular feature as it helps to reduce the chances of drips and spills during regular maintenance.

The motorized pump can be easily removed for cleaning whenever necessary. The power consumption and flow rate of the Surf Clear is 3W and 200 l/ph (compared to the Eheim 350 which is 5W and 300 l/ph).

Instead of a conventional single nozzle outflow design, the Surf Clear has a grate style outflow design instead, this disperses the flow to a wider area and directs a more gentle current towards its surroundings.

Here is the Surf Clear operating in one of my tanks...

I've used it in a few tanks and it worked effectively to clear up the surface oil layers.

Overall, my experience with the Surf Clear has been positive so far. I think its worth a look at if you are also in the market for a surface skimmer too. :)