I still cannot post images so you will have to google :)

Money plant is very common. Grows fast and likes to climb. It will do ok with roots fully immersed. It is also known as pothos. It will cover your fence with leaves if you give it a chance to.

Taro (yam) is a big plant. Best put the root in a pot of coarse gravel under the water. It is something the past generation will be familiar with as the root was a staple food during WW2. Some specimens can have leaves 2ft across. This is the same taro you use to cook burbur chacha

Monstera deliciosa is quite common too. The leaves are big and can provide shade for your fish. I had an awesome specimen growing into my pond before. I have not tried direct planting it in water, but I heard that it can be done. Maybe have a plant growing outside the pond out of a pot, and coax it to grow roots into the water. It is a creeper, and will readily grow up your wall. The mature plant bears edible fruit.

Remember to wash plants well with tap water and rinse off with pond water. Don't want nursery pesticides and fertilizers to get into the water.

Bro DragonFireSG, thanks for the advise :)

This morning I test the nitrate again. For the existing API test kit, it shows the usual red but I do notice that it takes longer time to turn red this time. The red is not as red as last time, I think la :) I also got a Salifert NO3 Profil Test kit from a very nice bro who would like to help me in determining the nitrate levrl more accurately ... The result is the bottom max pink colour at 100. I do not know if it is the max already and there is no other colour than the pink could be displayed. At least with this new kit, I know the red shown in the API test kit is not the 40 and 80 in the indicator chart. It is also not the dull red at the 160. So can I say the nitrate is between 100-160 ppm range?

Anyway is a good sign for me to see the API turning red takes a longer time this time. Previously, once put in the bottle #2 liquid, and just a few shakes, it tirns red red liao :( This time at least I see light orange, orange, then slowly red :)

I guess I should do more WC at the time being :)
Cheers

Forgot to attach a pic of the test... Here it goes

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...psdswd7mej.jpg

Bro, good to see that your setup is stablizing.

A comment on plants. They are very good in absorbing nitrates and indicates the quality of water. But do be careful if they are planted in your iOS. They choke up the filter and u will run into trouble in the last compartment.

I would recommend that u add water drip to ur system. Makes a huge difference. Ur fish will show u :)

If u have a overflow drainage for ur pond, it will be good to do 24/7 dripping :)

Thanks bro Zozo and Gereld_Hor for suggesting the 24/7 dripping. I will try to search on this and see how is the setup to be? I think there must be some setup before the tap water goes into the fgt to get tid of the chlorine, etc... Any bro with experience or useful link to direct me to, will be very much appreciated :)

Btw I notice that the 2 aro that I bought with torn fins and tails, did not fully recover till date. It has been months already. Is it possible for the fins and tails to heal or they will not heal at all :( all the while, I thought torn fins and tails will be healed given times... My other aros had broken their fins and tails, already heal back in a short period of time. But these 2 dont seem (or it is getting better but I just didn't notice)... Really puzzle me... Any advise from the experience bros?

If you do 24/7 water, you will need an inline carbon filter. They come in different shapes and sizes. The big units are most economical, but are a pain to hide. You should be able to get away with Activated Carbon for drip type use since the in-filter dwell time is long. For higher volume flow through, or pond filling, you will need Catalytic Carbon for the higher absorption rate.

Maybe check with WFA Filtration. They seem to have an offer on for SG50 for their 10" block filters.

http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=172

With these systems you will need to conscientiously check the output water for excess chlorine passthrough. The cartridges do not last forever. Think most are rated at 8-10k gals or thereabouts.

To add - I like to err on the side of caution. If the manufacturer claims 20,000g, I take half that for my calculations. The cartridges are cheap. Pond fish are not.

Wow! Just finished reading 32 pages of your interesting and inspiring process of pond setup. Too bad I don't have the space to construct this kind of big project. This is what I called the fun of fish keeping. You try, you learn and you improvise. Indeed a dream comes true! Good job! :D

Why not simply reduce your bioload? I think you are aware it's on the high side. :)