kamotE trails

I did research on the best way I can start my tank and stumbled upon this method. It entails growing the plant emersed and getting it stable before flooding the tank. After the hardscape, I proceeded with preparing the HC(baby tears) for planting. Since it came planted in soil, I needed to wash and cut it to small portions before planting. I distributed the plants on the substrate evenly so it would cover the substrate faster. I had little time so I would postpone the planting of the hair grass for another day. I used a spray bottle to keep the tank moist and kept the water level barely below the lowest substrate level. After planting, I covered the tank with cling wrap to keep the temperature and humidity relatively high. I run the lights for 8 hours a day and spray/mist once a day. I also open the top once a day for a short while to exchange gasses. The hair grass will be used for accenting the rocks. I plan to run this for at least 3 weeks before flooding the tank. ...

The tank and the stand/cabinet would be the foundation of your setup. The tank I chose is a 15 gallon rimless tank with super clear/low iron glass. It has a curved corner that looks really good for that smooth transition. The tank came with a built in rubber matting at the bottom(not the traditional styro). The dimensions is 50cm x 30cm x 33cm. 33cm depth would give the aquascape more depth perception compared to narrow tanks. I haggled for it and got it for Php 1,300. Looking back, I should have gotten the 60cm x 30cm x 36cm tank I saw in a nearby pet store. The cabinet is the other important part of the setup. Some use a steel frame for their aquarium stands. I prefer to use a wooden cabinet to house the equipments and supplies. My goal is to keep the equipment visibility very minimal. I would keep the filter, co2 tanks, electrical and reactors hidden inside the cabinet while exposing only the water lines in the tank. This would keep the hi tech stuff away from a natural scene...

Now that the tank is in place, the hardscaping can now begin. Here is the list of materials I will be using: bonsai driftwood sculpture rocks (lava and some basalt like stones I picked up along the road) 8 liters aqua soil I put the driftwood in first and position it using the golden ratio. I then poured the soil around the driftwood. The usual setup is a higher level at the back and lower level at the front to give depth. Lastly, I put in the rocks and contoured the landscape to imitate a gradual hilly slope. For the flora(plants), there will be 3 types I'm going to use. hemianthus callitrichoides(aka. dwarf baby tears) - this will be for carpet as it grows and spreads along the substrate. It has small leaves that makes it a good foreground plant. I got it for Php 150 from an online seller for a 2"x4" plastic container. I still  have some leftovers and plan on propagating them. eleocharis parvula (dwarf hair grass) - this will be for accenting some p...

The first in my aquascaping timeline would be to get equipments and supplies to start my tank. I intend to do this on the most efficient use of budget without sacrificing quality. To start off, I bought some tweety wood and lava rocks from Cartimar(the Mecca of Aquarists in the Philippines).  This would be the foundation of my aquascape. Materials: select driftwood pieces (preferably small and with lots of crooked branches) 1kg lava rock glue gun cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) Tools: drill pliers hack saw The base of the sculpture would rest on lava rocks. I arranged the rocks to provide a stable platform while still looking natural. This would be glued into place with hot glue. The next step is to select the base of the tree. This would be the roots, trunk and branches. I picked the most suitable base from the store and picked small pieces of driftwood that can be used as branches and roots. The base is attached to the rocks using hot glue while t...

It's a deviation from the theme of this blog but I'll use this avenue to talk about my aquascaping journey. You can read about the formal definition of aquascaping from google so I'll skip that part. What brought me back to the aquarium hobby is the fact that my son wants to have an aquarium. I took this chance to start with aquascaping. I've had several aquarium during my younger days. I started with a traditional fish only freshwater aquarium then in college I got into saltwater reef aquarium. Through the hobby, I learned the science behind aquariums through research and mostly trial and error. My focus this time is a nature inspired aquarium. I saw lots of planted aquariums that mimic natural scenery and that gave me the inspiration to create one for my own. I specifically liked the bonsai tree in an underwater scene with school of small fishes swimming around it. This will be my goal. To set up a nano tank with a bonsai tree landscape. It would recreate a g...

Japan's Prime Beer; as the label says. I got this one from a local convenience store. I wanted to try Japanese beer and found this one on the shelf.  I don't know what the "First Press" on the label means. Is it really a the first runnings of the mash or just a marketing ploy? It also boasts of 100% malt which is a thing for premium beers in Japan. The label on the side shows the local distributor of the beer. I'm also surprised to see that it was not produced in Japan. Japan's prime beer is made in China. This beer has 5% ABV which is a typical value  for beers. It has a golden colour and clear. There is no IBU value but the bitterness is on the level of San Miguel Light Beer. The 100% malt label lives up to its name. It's very malty flavour makes this beer very enjoyable. The malty taste has a bit of sweetness in the end without being very heavy on the palate.  One can is not enough. 2 to 3 cans of this will definitely...

Last year, I bought a set of Pedro's beer . Pedro is a locally brewed beer produced in my current home town, San Pedro, Laguna. It's a micro brewery that offers a nice set of beer variants. It's a bit difficult to get a hold of these unless you go to a specialty bar which offers local craft beers. Luckily, they have started to offer it in Family Mart, a local convenience store. A bottle costs 150php but at that time they were having a buy 3 get 1 promo so I took the opportunity to sample their beer variants. I got the two Endless Summer Wheat Ales, Procrastination Pale Ale and the Elementary English Ale. They have another flavour, the Wondering Wonderer India Pale Ale which I have yet to try. The Endless Summer Wheat Ale is wheat beer. It has 5% ABV and 13 IBU. Like every other wheat beers, it is citrusy and refreshing. Perfect when lounging in the summer afternoon or even watching a movie. You cannot go wrong with this variant. The Procrastination Pale Ale is mo...

This is another local craft beer from the Philippines from Crazy Carabao Brewery. The Kalinga Kolsch is an adaptation of the Kolsch beer which is like Pale Ale with a kind of fruity flavor. For the beer specs: Alcohol is at 4.5% like most beer. IBU at 14 which doesn't translate to how bitter this beer is. EBC is at 5 which is like Pale Ale. The taste of this beer is bitter. More bitter than the local San Miguel Pale Pilsen. The 14 IBU means that the bitters are low on this beer but the perceived bitterness can be attributed to the malt content of the Kolsch. There are fruity tastes which differentiates it from Pale Pilsen. This is enjoyable on a cold weather while winding down.

As I went through the beer isle, I spotted this Andy Player Whisky and Cola bottle.  I kinda heard the Andy Player name here and there and thought it to be a local whisky.  Now they're selling it mixed with cola. If you like hard drinks with cola as a chaser, this concoction will make you think twice. It has 5% alcohol content in a 330ml bottle based on the label.  Almost the same as other beers but not the same enjoyment. Taste-wise, I found the distinct whiskey taste diluted with a ton of cola. The cola sucks. It's like drinking cola that's sitting 4 hours on a glass when almost all the fizz has disappeared and all that's left is the sugary caramel taste. I can comment on the whiskey flavour since it's so washed out by the cola. I haven't tried their whisky as is either. I would not buy another one of this same with the Smirnoff Mule I tried before. It just doesn't give justice to alcohol. No to the premixed hard drinks. Well, to be fair, th...

Brewery: Crazy Carabao Origin: Laguna, Philippines ABV: 6.5% IBU: 65 EBC: 15 This is my first time tasting an IPA beer. IPA stands for India Pale Ale which was the beer made by British to in their efforts to colonize India. IPA beers are usually bitter and strong due to the abundance of hops in their brewing process.  The beer uses the usual dark amber bottle. Labels are very well done. Their graphics are well thought of and very Filipino.  Let's talk about how it tastes. First sip will greet you with a big citrus aroma and a bitter punch. The bitterness is good and strong. The flavour is very citrusy and tropical. Very nice to pair with meat or any salty pulutan(finger food).  The alcohol content is at 6.5% which is higher than local beers. I had a buzz after a bottle. IBU is 65 which tells how bitter a beer is. For reference wheat beers are around 15 and pale ales are usually around 30.  EBC is the beer color. Exit Wound sits at arou...

  As the name "Cerveza Negra" implies, it is a dark beer. This beer has a very strong roasted malt flavour. There's also a bit of caramelly after taste. If you want a full flavoured beer, this one is for you. Bitterness is less compared to the Pale Pilsen. It seems that the main attraction of this beer is the dark malt flavour. The beer comes in a dark bottle with premium paper labels. Black and gold is the theme for this beer. I think this beer goes great with some meaty snacks and a great movie.

This is the best local all-malt beer that I've tasted so far. San Miguel has a long line-up of beer ranging from its original Pale-Pilsen to its flavoured watered down beers. The San Miguel Premium beer is a bit pricey compared to the usual beers. It comes in a green bottle unlike the brown SMB pale pilsen. The bitterness is medium with a great malt aftertaste. The malt has almost dark chocolate flavour to it. I really enjoy drinking this beer.

I was looking for a dry lube that stays on longer.  I liked White Lightning's Clean Ride lube but wanted more durability from it.  I also tried White Lightning's Epic Ride for my daily commuter which worked well but still accumulated gunk at the end of the week. I found this Finish Line Ceramic Wax Chain Lube. It's from the same company as White Lightning.  It says its supposed to coat the chain with ceramic.  Less grease since it's wax and more protection. Maximum performance would be after 2 applications since the ceramic needs time to build up in the chain. Maximum Cleanliness It's a bit pricey compared to White Lightning and comes at a smaller bottle. Bottle cap needs a push and a twist to open. I tried it on my mountain bike and the lube was very light. After a slightly damp ride, I left the bike to sit for 2 weeks without cleaning.  I found some parts of the chain with rust. Performance was okay after the ride. Very clean chain. On m...

I got the Token Jockey Wheels to replace the stock wheels of my Shimano Zee rear mech. The stock wheels are already dried and stuck up which made pedalling harder. This gave me an excuse to have the jockey wheels upgraded to a sealed bearing alloy type although I have easily cleaned and greased the stock wheels. The wheels came with an adapter that I don't know what it's for. Installation is simple. The only problem is that you need to tune your rear mech again since the jockey wheels are a bit bigger than the stock wheels. You need to adjust your B-tension screw to accomodate the larger jockey wheels. What I noticed from this upgrade is that there is a metal noise when turning the pedals. This is attributed to the allow wheels coming in contact with the steel chain. Shimano stock jockey wheels are made of plastic so they do not produce that noise. You just need to get used to it. Overall, the deraileur feels smoother compared to the gunked out pulleys from before ...

If you're a big fan of pizza and also want to eat KFC's fried chicken, you must have heard of KFC's latest abomination, the Four Cheese Chizza. It's a flat fried chicken topped with cheese and sliced into four like a pizza.  It comes in a small pizza box which sells the pizza idea well. When it comes to taste, it's not pizza. It's cheesy chicken in a pizza box. It may go well as "ulam" for your rice. For a pizza lover like me, this is highly disappointing. It's a sad fake pizza.

After my Schwalbe Citizen stock rear tire wore out, I decided to get a new pair of tires.  I have heard many good things about Schwalbe Kojak in the local forums so I decided that this would by my next commuter tires. I got a pair of 20" Kojaks for 1800 pesos from a local bike store in Pasay City.  Both the tires were installed and the still good Schwalbe Citizen tire was set aside for the rainy days. The Kojaks were slick tires. They don't have any treads or knobs. I was worried that it would lose traction on wet roads but they held up pretty well.  I tried these tires from light rains to heavy downpour and the grip on the slightly suffered. I just have to be extra careful on those man hole covers and metal gratings. Schwalbe rates this tire with a Race Guard 4 level of protection.  So far, I have less punctures with these tires compared to the Schwalbe Citizen. I got these tires because of the advertised lesser rolling resistance.  They definite...

Specs: Weight: 135 grams Material: Aluminum Diameter: 25.4mm Sweep: 5 degrees Length: 580mm Color: silver Pros: If you want to go lightweight without breaking the bank on carbon bars, this is the handlebar for you. It's made of aluminum but still super lightweight compared to other aluminum bars out there. Cons: Scratches and streaks are easy to spot on the silver/raw aluminum color. You just need to keep it clean from grease smudges and its good.