Wax Moulding

Wax moulding has several processes to be done to be successful ,firstly  the hand is dipped in  warm wax to get the shape of the product which is the hand ,even  other parts could be moulded according to the individuals preferance .Once the shape is perfected the moulding  was cut open from the hand meticulously .
The moulder has prepared the liquid waxes in the containers constantly kept warm ,at this juncture he poured the wax into the mould shaping the hand and letting it to cool and once cooled the outer moulding is cut open which lets us see the hand in detail like the lines and curves of the hand.

 






Once he get a good shape he  dips it in the colored wax of our preferance and in this hand it is a mixture of red orange and yellow line with the name carved on the stand ,the shape of the stand could also be chosen to our preferance.

It is a long tedious process which takes about an hour before the whole hand is completed and said to be tough as he knocked it several times to show the toughness of the hand.

Every year  Singapore has a aquarium show and contests for different categories such as the planted tank ,coral tanks and other fishes as well but the planted tank is my favourite as you can see the different patterns and methods  that these tanks can be arranged .It is not difficult to arrange or set up a tank though initially you would be at lost but these materials can be bought at many local fish shops in Singapore and they have a wide variety of plants tanks driftwoods ,sands and other equipments  to set up a planted tank.
Though I got my knowledge from a few other websites here and slowly progressed to set up my own ,here is a good website and some information I got from the web .
http://www.aquatic-plants.org/articles/ah/ah1.html

Things needed to start a planted tank.

• Lights
  From 2 Watts per US Gallon for low-light plants to 3 or more for light demanding plants. Your choices are metal halide (MH), normal fluorescent tubes (FL) or PL lights (PL, looks like FLs but u-shaped).
  MH can penetrate deeper into the water and are usually recommended for tanks taller then 2ft, and will last longer. However, MH are expensive and extremely hot.
  FLs and PLs are cooler and cheaper. They are sufficient for tanks shorter then 2ft in height. FLs last about 6 months, PLs a year… after which their light intensity drops drastically. They need to be replaced at this point. PLs are a little bit hotter then FLs but easily manageble. PLs are also more compact… you can put more PLs over a tank then FLs.
• CO2
  CO2 is required for tanks with high-light. For low light tanks, CO2 is not a must, but plants will grow better with it. Your choices are:
  • Do-It-Yourself CO2
    A simple and cheap concotion you can whip up with common ingredients available at the supermarket or grocer. Look in AQ’s Aquatic FAQ, the recipe is there. The effective period is about 2 to 4 weeks. Not easily controlled. Not recommended for tanks 3ft long and bigger.
  • Pressurise Cylinder
    A cylinder of CO2, with regulator, guages and a needle valve. Range in sizes from 2 litres to 5 litres. Depending on usage and size can last for months or years. Can be topped up at several LFS’s at S$15 to S$25. A basic set will cost about S$150. You can also get a solenoid which you can connect to a timer to electrically turn on and off the valve together with the lights. A solenoid can put you back an additional S$100 or more.
  • Commercial Chemical
    Commercially available and more complex version of the DIY CO2. More consistent then DIY, but still not controllable. Neither cheap nor convinient.
  You also need a way to dispense CO2 into the tank. Commonly used ones are CO2 diffusers/atomisers and reactors. Diffusers/atomisers work much like an airstone, but produce much much finer bubbles. Reactors are enclosed structures connected to the outlet of the filter. CO2 is injected into this structure and dissolved by the turbulent water movement before it exits via an outlet.
• Substrate
  • Base fertiliser
    The lowest layer of the substrate. Provides nutrients for rooting plants for 1 to 2 years depending on plant choice and planting density. A thicker layer is required for large plants that feed from the substrate heavily and less for small plants. Normally, ppl start with 1 inch at the front of the tank sloping to 2 to 4 inches at the back of the tank. Small tanks are too short for tall large plants, so do not require thick base fertilisers. Not completely necessary but very highly recommended for tanks with rooted plants. For tanks that have little plants that root into the substrate, it is not recommended as the substrate will decomposed in the long term without plant roots to provide oxygen.
  • Gravel
    The topmost layer. If you are using base fertiliser, this layer should be about 1 to 1.5 inches thick. Purpose is to prevent the base fertiliser from fouling the water. Without base fertiliser, the gravel should follow the thickness recommendations listed for base fertilisers if there are rooting plants. If not, then it’s up to you.
• Cooling Systems
  Due to large amount of lighting, planted tanks in tropical countries tend to get too warm (30 degrees celcius or higher). To reduce heating, don’t put your lights too close to the water surface. Use light holders to lift FL and PL lights it 3 to 4 inches above the water surface. MH lights are much hotter and should be much higher.
  Tank hoods have reduced ventilation so tend to cause more heat. If possible, keep tank hoods open or get open topped hoods. Heat can also be reduced by coolings fans and chillers.
  • Cooling Fans
    These are the small fans used to cool computer casings. They range in size from 8cmx8cm, 9cmx9cm to 12cmx12cm. The 8cm and 9cm fans are significantly cheaper. You have a choice of DIY or package sets. Package sets come complete with clamps and are plug and play. DIY ones, as the name implies, require some work. You also can choose between DC or AC fans. DC ones are safer electrically, but a bit harder to DIY. The AQ Aquatic FAQ has a link to a DIY Fan article. Cheaper to setup and run (i.e. electicity usage), but a little troublesome and a little un-sightly. Can maintain temperatures down to 26 to 28 degrees celcius which is sufficient for planted tanks.
  • Chillers
    Expensive to buy and run, but convenient and consistant. Noisy (thinking of an older refrigerator) and cannot be hidden in the cabinet as the heat it produces requires a well ventilated area. Some models can drop and maintain temperatures at 4 degrees celcius. Required if you need water temps below 26 degrees.
    Update; in the last few years newer chillers have been entering the market. Now there are more efficient chillers, some specifically designed for tropical climates. The noise level has also dropped, with some barely audible even while chilling.
• Filter Planted tanks require mechanical filteration and some biological filtration. Never any chemical filtration. Planted tanks should also have gentle but complete water circulation. Choose a filter that filters the water at a rate of 2 to 3 times the water volume of the tank. Small internal filters are sufficient for tanks 2ft or smaller. Externals can be used for 2ft and larger tanks.

 

First Blog

First blog

Finally after reading other blogs decided to take the plunge and create one at last .After much thought on why do I have to do it my memories only bring back to the days when my father was alive as being much more closer to him his demise is a great loss to me and whenever I here the song My Fathers Eyes and the lyrics will only bring much regret on not talking and being open to him when he was alive so hopefully this blog will one day would be an eye opener to my children and  wont be left out on not knowing much about me so I wish to start my stories off one at a time hoping to complete my views tribulations and downfalls .
Whenever I read the forums or news about Singapore being overcrowded my thoughts are for the poor immigrants as we forget that we are all immigrants at one time or another as history says it that the original population of this country is only about twenty fishermans in the early   years,then the British came and made it into a trading port and slowly we are populated with chinese ,indians malays and people from other nations who fled their own countries to seek better oppurtunities here .Its just history repeating itself right now so why the grunt.
Infrastructures is the key to the present dire state that we are in .Whenever I am queuing for the mrt to work in the morning I have to squeeze my self into  the carriage like sardines and the prices of houses have increased double in 5 years which makes us worried if our children could afford their own houses when they grow up and a lot of Singaporeans are sidelined  for their prefered jobs to the foreigners for a low wage so why wont anybody be angry if we are treated as second class citizen in our own country when the foreigners have the sweet treats all the time .Our cars are the most expensive in the world whereby a piece of paper called COE  costs about $80 000 dollars today and the rich could afford to buy 2,3,4 cars while the ones who really need it to convey old parents or children  have to find other ways or suffer in silence.
Some have found other ways to counter this problem and shifted to Johor which is the nearest country to us where houses can be bought at a quarter or less of the price here but the travelling time increases by about 2 hours  at the causeway which is a sacrifice we have to take but worthwhile for some .There are about 5000 families living and commuting daily to this new haven where land is vast and 3 times the size of Singapore and the population about 1/6  of the crowded Singapore .Many crimes have been reported in Spore papers in Johor but having gone there many times it is just as save only if we dont splurge around our wealth .I suppose Singapore is just losing a lot when Singaporeans  spent most of their wealth here with our good exchange rate .Who would not if most of the things are 2.5 times cheaper .