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Thought a photo of the jar shelf is due since Shar

Thought a photo of the jar shelf is due since Sharon will be collecting her aquajar (top left) tomorrow and it’s gonna go through another slight change again.

The last of the studio aquariums to be restored af

The last of the studio aquariums to be restored after my long leave last week is the big macroalgae tank. While I was gone, the flow was messed up with a fallen wavemaker and rearrangement of rocks by the rowdy crabs. This resulted in dead spots that red slime grew, and in effect killed off much of the plants. To clarify the situation, remnant plants were first removed before a scrub down of the glass and the equipment, while 2 pails of water were exchanged with intense deep sand cleaning, and the prefilter given a good wash. After trashing away the macroalgae that looked too far gone, the good bits were attached to rocks and rearranged. Big thanks to @iamwillytan for his generosity of caulerpa racemosa again to add a pretty green contrast to the reds that I was left with. It was a good 4 hrs of work into the late night but it feels so good at the end to see everything looking all perky again.

I thought they were just coming to check out the a

I thought they were just coming to check out the aquariums at home but it turned out to be much more. Thanks for loving my stuff @uchify.sg ! Article link is up in my stories. https://uchify.com/aquascaping-collection-hdb/

Another view point of the rescaped studio tank tha

Another view point of the rescaped studio tank that deserves a closer look for the textures it presents.

WFH sunset view.

WFH sunset view.

There’ll be not 1, but 2 new features on me comi

There’ll be not 1, but 2 new features on me coming out in the next few weeks. Pretty excited to see how both will turn out.

Today’s shoot was with @icollectokdk, where they turned up bright and early at my studio with lots of gear and a sizeable crew, while I went around giving last-minute touch-ups to my tanks and did some interviews in between.

At some point, I was asked to demonstrate how I’d approach my aquascapes, so I went digging out an old vase, rummaged though a pail of soaking wood, picked out a rock, pulled out some plants from my community tank, and put this together in a jiffy. It looks like it’ll be perfect to hang some ornaments come Xmas time 😀

Day 2 of the shoot will continue at my home tomorrow morning!

Always trim and replant for a bushier growth. The

Always trim and replant for a bushier growth. The more plants there are, the better the nutrients are taken up and the cleaner the tank is, making for a much more enjoyable viewing.

This is my ex-intern Eliza’s macroalgae tank whe

This is my ex-intern Eliza’s macroalgae tank when it was newly setup barely a month into her internship. I love her choice of rocks and macroalgae arrangement. It just looks good. It was interesting how she had no inhibitions about making a marine planted tank rather starting with a freshwater one even though she had not scaped any aquariums before. Either way, I’d have been happy to teach her.

She was meticulous with keeping her scape clean and tidy from day one, picking out stuff that bothered her in the minutest way, and she was always curious and asking questions, which was a good thing. It’s this tenacity that will see her progressing far in the hobby.

While her creative sensibilities certainly bolstered the scape, she’s just one of those lucky people who are with green fingers as she seemed such a natural working with the macroalgae. As @iamwillytan often says, if any tank needs to do well, probably all it needs is a blessing from Eliza.

I had guided my intern Eliza to create her mini po

I had guided my intern Eliza to create her mini pond over the last 2 days. It features an assortment of plants that includes bucephalandra, crypts and Christmas moss around a big sturdy curved piece of wood. Plants are short now but they’ll look awesome when they start growing out and creeping up the wood.

It’s the 2nd aquarium that she has made here in her 3-month internship and it’s a gorgeous one to cap her last week with us. Her first was a pico macroalgae tank in her first month, which I’ll share later.

I’m especially grateful that she has diligently taken care of my tanks during long periods that I’ve been gone for holidays, and also, recently due to my health. They couldn’t have been in better hands.

Although she’s a design intern, I suppose learning about aquascaping is a pretty nice perk being here. But it takes more than my influence, as she already has an innate love of nature and a great sense of aesthetics that shows in her material choices and layouts.

So besides being a good designer and a brilliant illustrator (check out her cool portraits and art @its_randomly_happy), she’s also now an accomplished aquascaper. It’s been a pleasure being around her bright personality, all of us at the studio will surely miss her lots.

The road to glory for this tank was over quite a f

The road to glory for this tank was over quite a few months, from a battered state after a holiday away from it, to the most gorgeous red tiger lotus bunch I’ve ever grown. Over many months, I’d stuck to regular water changes and fertilising it weekly with a dose of @colombo.bv Flora Grow Pro, meant for heavily planted tanks like this. Glad I stuck with the regime as the result speaks for itself.

The community tank was built low so that my toddle

The community tank was built low so that my toddler boy could enjoy it then. Now that he’s grown much taller, it’s sweet to see other young children instantly gravitating to it, just as little Mina did when we had friends visiting yesterday.

It’s fascinating that there are some creatures l

It’s fascinating that there are some creatures like the Haddon’s carpet anemone that would devour everything it touches while forming a symbiotic relationship with some others. Not all clownfish can host with it, Wiki lists 6 types including the clarkii clownfish of which there are 2 here (1 is hiding behind). Clownfish are immune to its stings too. It is also friendly to porcelain crabs which fan feed on the mucus that it releases. The clownfish and crab would always jostle for space on the carpet anemone, and that makes for quite an entertaining sight.

Oh yes, the carpet anemone has grown.

Oh yes, the carpet anemone has grown.

I love this time of the year when the sun directs

I love this time of the year when the sun directs its rays into the living room and casts into the community tank. The fish seem nonchalant to the added brightness, they still swim the same, keeping a watchful gaze at me to see if I’d drop some food for them. But the plants are overjoyed, breathing out endless pearls of oxygen as they bask in the pure unfiltered light.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sunset.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sunset. It’s either I’m busy out and about or the weather has just been rather erratic. It’s a nice sunset today, capping an easy-going day. Did a bit of maintenance on the balcony pond by trimming plants and topping up water, then made burgers for the family, and watched Harry Potter together. Gonna be taking it easy on Sunday as well. Let’s all get some chillin’ done.

The quietness of mornings.

The quietness of mornings.

The twin macroalgae tanks in my son’s room took

The twin macroalgae tanks in my son’s room took on different layouts with the top tank having an island mound where fish swim around, while the bottom tank has a rocky shore vibe.

Spent a good part of Sunday sorting out my son’s

Spent a good part of Sunday sorting out my son’s 2 macroalgae tanks. I did the rescaping whjle he helped by mixing saltwater and changing the filter wool. The tanks have been a mess since we went on holiday and we haven’t had time to give them a good proper makeover till now. With some new macroalgae collected last week, they’re looking pretty decent again.

Looking pretty sweet right now with the pinks and

Looking pretty sweet right now with the pinks and reds. Might add taller greens at the back but see what the tide brings in next week.

Did a massive cleanup of my son’s macroalgae tan

Did a massive cleanup of my son’s macroalgae tanks yesterday in preparation for a 2-week holiday. In fact, all my tanks were carefully cleaned from Friday night to give them the best shot of looking decent when I return. Big thanks to my aqua buddy Zubin @livingaesthetics.jx for pitching in on the studio tanks.

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