# Gourami Gloaming #4



## Lindy (1 Mar 2014)

Custom 80x60x40h cm and DIY stand.
Picked tank up today and can see me spending a few hours scraping off silicone. ..








I have some redmoor root to put in. The white paper is the tank footprint.










Thanks for looking...

How it looks sept 2015




Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Iain Sutherland (1 Mar 2014)

That woods going to look great, I'm in for the ride.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## MARKCOUSINS (1 Mar 2014)

That's a top piece of wood


----------



## Lindy (1 Mar 2014)

Its actually 3 pieces.  I sweated blood staring at pictures of redmoor for hrs before picking these 3. I had a strong image in my head how I wanted it to look and was lucky the wood went together perfectly. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## MARKCOUSINS (1 Mar 2014)

You have done a very good job because you can not tell it is made up of different bits and it looks very natural,will look great with moss and plants in and around it.Have fun


----------



## Alastair (2 Mar 2014)

Finally lindy. Its going to be a belter this one. Was actually going to say cracker but I don't like saying that phrase when tanks are involved. 

Looks great now its centred etc and goes beautifully with the cabinet. Need to get the bits sent off to you now so it can get going or youll go crazy staring at it empty

Looking forward to it.


----------



## Lindy (2 Mar 2014)

Thanks Alistair, will send you the list 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## kirk (2 Mar 2014)

Hi lindy, glad to see the cabinet painted and ready, you've done a nice job there.   looking forward to seeing it all develop.


----------



## Lindy (2 Mar 2014)

Well this is on hold for a few weeks after I complained to the tank company about the messy silicone and unlevel tape so they have offered to remake and deliver a 2nd tank. I've accepted the offer as frustrating as it will be to wait 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Ian Holdich (2 Mar 2014)

Looking forward to this one!


----------



## aliclarke86 (2 Mar 2014)

Ah bummer but at least they offered you a replacement!! Looking forward to this lindy, I have enjoyed all your tanks so far 

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (2 Mar 2014)

Thanks everyone. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## faizal (2 Mar 2014)

That's a sweet looking driftwood Lindy. The tank's depth looks the part as well. Looking forward to seeing this planted.


----------



## Deano3 (2 Mar 2014)

As said great wood looks great and will fit perfectly looks like was made for the tank lol, also great job on cabinet , subscribed and looking forward to seeing what you have in store for this one 


Thanks Dean


----------



## Phil Edwards (2 Mar 2014)

Lindy,

That's going to look great!  I'm jealous of the Redmoor wood you folks get over there.  It's really nice and has an old school European feel like what I used to see in aquarium books.  Looking forward to seeing this tank grow and evolve.


----------



## James O (2 Mar 2014)

Wow!  Very nearly 200l in a nice compact shape.  The depth will make this something special I'm sure


Sad about the silicone and wonky tape (putting it right is nice but getting it right first time is just good business sense and I can't understand sending out anything less than your best)


----------



## Edvet (2 Mar 2014)

Phil Edwards said:


> I'm jealous of the Redmoor wood you folks get over there


 Said the man who can take a jeep out and collect manzanita...........


----------



## Lindy (2 Mar 2014)

Yes, thats definitely me, European old school 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (2 Mar 2014)

James I think the boss might have been away 'on site' all week.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## James O (2 Mar 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> James I think the boss might have been away 'on site' all week.



And while the cats away etc etc

Would you mind sharing who the tank manufacturer was?  I'm looking for a big'un and I'll go thermonuclear if they send me a 200cm dud


----------



## Lindy (18 Mar 2014)

Second tank has arrived and while better than the 1st there are still niggles. You can see the sliders for the glass top above the rim of the tank. The right hand pane of glass sits out by at least a couple of mm. On the right hand corner there is a chip off the corner. Maybe this is what you can expect for £167. It doesn't leak though and is guaranteed for 3 years.











Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Phil Edwards (18 Mar 2014)

That's some really nice wood.  Try turning it in different directions and moving it left or right if possible to see how you like it when the main stump isn't directly in the middle of the tank.  Otherwise, great find!  It fits the dimensions of the tank nicely.


----------



## Lindy (18 Mar 2014)

I did have a fiddle with the wood today and i prefered it as it is. When its planted you won't see the stump anymore.


----------



## aliclarke86 (18 Mar 2014)

Lindy, is this one going to be for fish?

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


----------



## James O (18 Mar 2014)

It's certainly better than their first effort.  Are you going to keep it? My 200x45x40 was quoted at £280 so I think you should expect quality for the price you paid for your tank.

The shape is very pleasing thought.  It'll look brilliant with substrate, water, plants and fish.  I'd recommend littlies though.  They make the tank bigger and really add dynamic movement to the tank


----------



## Lindy (18 Mar 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> Lindy, is this one going to be for fish?


Eventually, yes, I plan to have chocolate gourami and liquorice gourami. We are hoping to get moved this year so I think I will wait until that has happened.


----------



## Lindy (18 Mar 2014)

James O said:


> littlies


???????????????


----------



## Lindy (18 Mar 2014)

James O said:


> Are you going to keep it? M


Yes, i'll keep it. Next time I'll go with another company but this is a tight budget project!


----------



## James O (18 Mar 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> ???????????????


Littlies = small, tiddlers etc


----------



## Lindy (18 Mar 2014)

James O said:


> Littlies = small, tiddlers etc


Ah! Well chocolate and liquorice gouramis are pretty small. Its more about creating an excellent environment for the fish I've chosen while making it attractive for me too. I'm not really into scaping and then adding fish purely to accent my scape.


----------



## Four50 (18 Mar 2014)

Going to have to follow this one, and would love to keep the fish you have planned ... One day! Please keep us updated with progress and details


----------



## tim (18 Mar 2014)

Subscribed to this  you have a very good eye for hardscape lindy the wood is lovely, look forward to seeing this planted.


----------



## Lindy (18 Mar 2014)

Oh wow tim, thanks! I've had a picture in my head of how this should look since I joined ukaps...

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (20 Mar 2014)

Set up the tetratec 1200 today and prepared myself for the leaks lots of people have complained about in reviews. Well there were absolutely none. Filter was doddle to prime and start and its really quiet.




Attached some java fern today (mini, narrow and needle)but still have more mini java fern to pillage from the wee shrimp tank. Another member is kindly sending me some bolbitis h. to put on the stump amongst the java.







Hopefully next week I'll be receiving a delivery from Alastair which will include lighting, substrate, heater and other stuff to complete the set up. Will list everything fully once arrived. Excited!  

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Alastair (20 Mar 2014)

Nothing wrong with the ex1200s imo theyre brilliant


----------



## Lindy (20 Mar 2014)

I have to say I'm really pleased with it. I took out the ceramic noodles and put in chopped up plastic pot scrubbers as suggested by Clive. It is sitting on yoga mat to reduce any vibration noise.


----------



## EnderUK (20 Mar 2014)

Yeah those complaints were for the first shipments in like 2008. Don't even think you need the Yoda mat tbh.

Sent from my Radar C110e using Tapatalk


----------



## James O (20 Mar 2014)

EnderUK said:


> Don't even think you need the Yoda mat tbh



But the force is with _any _filter that sits on a Yoda mat.  It elevates midi-chlorians don't you know


----------



## EnderUK (20 Mar 2014)

Big thumbs cappy windows smart phone don't go together haha.

Sent from my Radar C110e using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (20 Mar 2014)

EnderUK said:


> Yoda mat tbh.





James O said:


> midi-chlorians don't you know


At last, someone on ukaps talking a language my husband will relate to lol..


----------



## Alastair (20 Mar 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> I have to say I'm really pleased with it. I took out the ceramic noodles and put in chopped up plastic pot scrubbers as suggested by Clive. It is sitting on yoga mat to reduce any vibration noise.



You can also remove one of the 2 black foams in the middle tray to make flow better


----------



## Lindy (20 Mar 2014)

Alastair said:


> You can also remove one of the 2 black foams in the middle tray to make flow better


Will do


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside (21 Mar 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


>



Why do you never put doors on your cabinet? 

Haha.

Looking well Lindy, wood is superb. Fits the tank perfectly! You going to ram it with crypts and stuff?


----------



## Lindy (21 Mar 2014)

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> You going to ram it with crypts and stuff?



At the moment the plant list is Crypt green 
                                                 Crypt brown
                                                 Crypt beckettii petchii
                                                 Echinodorus Ozelot
                                                 Ehinodorus Reni
                                                 Bolbitis h
                                                 Java narrow, needle and mini
                                                 Hygrophila Pinnatifida
                                                 Red tiger lotus
                                                 Sagittaria Platyphylla
                                                 Lilaeopisis Brailiensis
                                                 Alastairs wee carpet plant[DOUBLEPOST=1395407603][/DOUBLEPOST]





Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> Why do you never put doors on your cabinet?


----------



## Lindy (17 Apr 2014)

This has been delayed a little bit but finally got substrate and rocks in yesterday and planted today.



Tropica substrate and a mix of oak and beech leaves.




Tmc nutrasoil added in middle




Capped with unipac senegal sand and ada sado-akadama rocks.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (17 Apr 2014)

Drained half the tank and then planted. It is so much easier to do this tank as filling and emptying is done by hose. No back breaking buckets.








Right side




Left side




My favorite rock...




I think liquorice gourami may enjoy the cave under the wood.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk[DOUBLEPOST=1397744696][/DOUBLEPOST]A big thankyou to Alastair for helping with advice on substrate and also the heater and Tmc nutrasoil at a very reasonable price . Alastair also offered me a tmc 1500 nd tile but I felt that would be massive overkill on this low tech so decided on Tmc aquabars with dimmers. I was worried 2 aquabars might not offer enough coverage but they are fabulous.


----------



## James D (17 Apr 2014)

Brilliant Lindy, any fish will love it in there!


----------



## Lindy (17 Apr 2014)

James D said:


> Brilliant Lindy, any fish will love it in there!


Thanks James


----------



## James O (17 Apr 2014)

Really like the shape of this tank Lindy!

The layout is great too and viewable from all sides  I like giving my fish places to hide (shadows/caves etc) - it makes them more assured so you actually see more of them


----------



## Tim Harrison (17 Apr 2014)

That looks really great...almost as though it's from Fanghorn, almost like it's an Ent and could start walking at any moment. If your scape mysteriously changes in the night...well you know why


----------



## Lindy (17 Apr 2014)

Thanks Troi, as long as it doesn't start talking....although entish is quite nice.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lee Sweeting (17 Apr 2014)

Looks great Lindy. Looking forward to seeing it grow in. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (18 Apr 2014)

Thanks Lee, I keep a look out for updates on your blackwater scape...

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (22 Apr 2014)

Having a slight problem with flow in this tank. I want a gentle flow rould the whole tank but currently I have a torrent across the back and down the left hand side to the front of the tank. I want to gentle the current without losing flow. At the mo the outlet is just the tetratec end pipe



that you can attach a spraybar. Normally I would use the spraybar but have been advised the fish I am planning won't like it. As it is my red rooted floater is being battered.
Thinking of getting the lily pipe which is more ball shaped? Or maybe a spraybar with massive holes? Help!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Alastair (22 Apr 2014)

Hi lindy. Try the spray bar with bigger holes but dont go to big initially. Take the next size up drill piece, do all the holes then try it. If still too much then go a size up again. 
You still want to be able to have a slight current across the bottom to remove detritus.

Or try john at www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk  he sells the gush poppy lily pipes that will really soften the flow nicely


----------



## Lindy (22 Apr 2014)

Thanks Alastair, I'll do the spraybar. It isn't so pretty but the flow should be more even then.


----------



## Alastair (22 Apr 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> Thanks Alastair, I'll do the spraybar. It isn't so pretty but the flow should be more even then.


If you givr me the exact measurements of the elbow in that picture in terms of outside diamater I can do you a spray if you like


----------



## Lindy (22 Apr 2014)

The tetratec came with a spraybar that is annoyingly only 60cm but I can use it for now. The spraybar slots into the elbow and is 13mm with 10mm inner. I have drilled the holes to 3mm but the red rooted floater is now piled in one corner and plants doing a jig so will try 4mm holes. This is after I doubled the amount of floss in the filter too.


----------



## Lindy (22 Apr 2014)

4mm holes have done the trick. Looks much more serene. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (22 Apr 2014)

I could make one from acrylic tube that was slightly bigger and just use some hose to attach it to the elbow....

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (26 Apr 2014)

Today I put in a couple of peat balls, from an ebay seller, and ordered a strip of tmc aquablue leds. Going to stagger the lighting coming on and off and have the moonlighting on before and after daylight period. This should soften lights on/off transition. Fish are ordered from Colin at the fish hut. He is only a 45 min drive away.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (29 Apr 2014)

The tmc moonlight arrived and I've fitted it into an mms rail so it stays where I put it but is easy to move if I want to.






The water has taken on a real tea stain colour. Want to take out the lilaeopsis b and sagittaria p and put in a mini crypt.
















Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## andyh (29 Apr 2014)

Hi Lindy, just read your journal from start to finish. Great read and lovely looking tank. Can't wait to see some livestock especially the chocs as I am a big fan of them!
Keep up the good work
Andyh


----------



## Lindy (30 Apr 2014)

Thanks andyh, hoping I can keep the fish happy. Can't wait to get the fish in! 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Alastair (30 Apr 2014)

Onto a winner here lindy. Very nice


----------



## Lindy (30 Apr 2014)

Thanks Alastair, a lot is down to your tanks and your help  
 A bit annoyed that I have really dark stained water but both ph testers are saying ph is still at 6.4?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Edvet (30 Apr 2014)

You use RO or tap water?


----------



## Lindy (30 Apr 2014)

Tap. Comes out tds 45, gh3, kh 0-1, ph7

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (30 Apr 2014)

In tank tds at 68.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lee Sweeting (30 Apr 2014)

It's looking great Lindy, very nice indeed. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Iain Sutherland (30 Apr 2014)

looks great lindy, personally i love tea coloured water at the moment, feels natural.  
Wish i had tap water like yours, Ro is a pain.


----------



## Lindy (30 Apr 2014)

Thanks Iain, I quite like it but it has rendered the moonlight led useless as it can't penetrate the dark water!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## ourmanflint (30 Apr 2014)

Funny you should mention moonlights, as my blue leds tend to neutralise the tea stained look


----------



## Lindy (3 May 2014)

After struggling to get my ph below 6 to give the liquorice gourami optimum conditions I've decided to only get the chocolate gourami as Alistair has proven they will breed successfully in higher ph/tds. I had boiled up 10 catappa leaves for a couple of hours and added the water from this to the tank. Got a negligible drop of ph but the tank water was so dark I couldn't see in! I would just feel bad about ordering such an 'at risk' fish knowing they probably wouldn't breed.
On the up side, this means I can keep my remaining crs/cbs in the big tank as I can let the tds come up a bit. I didn't really want to sell them....
It is taking a hell of a lot of water changes to get the water back to the nice tea colour though. I've changed 30l yesterday and today and it still looks like coffee [DOUBLEPOST=1399137023][/DOUBLEPOST]Fish won't be arriving until next month anyway.


----------



## aliclarke86 (3 May 2014)

That's a real shame lindy, would have loved to see another successful park breeding project on here. Glad you get to keep your baby's though. And chocos are bloody beautiful fish so you won't go without the eye candy. What have you tried to lower the pH?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (3 May 2014)

Catappa, oak and beech leaves. Alder cones. Peat balls. Then boiled up 10 catappa leaves for 2 hrs. It looked like strong coffee. Added it to tank bit by bit and ended up pouring the lot in! Maybe one day I'll do a liquorice breeding tank but this one is for the choccos. Of course if I happen to be in p@h and I see liquorice gourami I would buy them to give them a better chance.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Alastair (3 May 2014)

They'll still happily live in your current parameters lindy. 
How you should see it is where would they do best in? Someone's tank who knows nothing of them and tries to feed dried food etc and them slowly dwindle or be in a tank that has a nice ph a nice temp, plenty of tannins and acidic water with a lovely environment......


----------



## Lindy (4 May 2014)

I know what you're saying Alastair but I don't want the fish shipped into the country on my account. If I see some being sold already in the uk I might get some.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## tam (4 May 2014)

My understanding is that the low TDS makes the ph unstable. My tank is softwater, I use RO and a couple of catappa leaves and my TDS is about 175. But my PH is high (it swings between 7.6 and 8.2 depending on lights off/on). If I take a cup of tank water and add it to a bucket of RO (ph 6.5 ish) the bucket swings to match the tank. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable would know how much effect the ph has when everything else is spot on.

Ps Lovely tank


----------



## Lindy (4 May 2014)

Thanks tam. I have shrimp tanks with tds 130 - 160 and have never had swings in ph. The big tank was 68 and ph remained stubbornly at 6.4! And I had tested throughout the day for around 4 days. Using bee shrimp mineral to bring up to 130 so I can add my shrimp.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (7 May 2014)

Today I decided that I wanted to replace the sand with tmc nutrasoil to help lower my ph. Just as well I haven't got the fish yet or I doubt I would consider doing this. Was bad enough having to catch 50 shrimp! The nutrasoil soil should arrive tomorrow and i will syphon the sand out and replace it. All the plants are in a bucket and every leaf and alder cone had to be fished out too. What a fecking pain. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lee Sweeting (7 May 2014)

Sounds like a mission Lindy. Good luck 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (8 May 2014)

Thanks Lee, hopefully not mission impossible! (Just annoying, messy and time consuming)

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (8 May 2014)

Well it was just as messy as I thought it would be but substrate is now brown Nutrasoil. Left out the rocks and have changed the planting so it is only crypts and a couple of lotus plants. If the lotus get too rampant with leaves on the surface I'll take them out but the lily pads look nice.


----------



## Lindy (9 May 2014)

Brown nutrasoil









Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (9 May 2014)

It is a little bit darker than the photo suggests.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (28 May 2014)

3 weeks on and doesn’t look much different other than the water is crystal clear albeit tea coloured. Moved the crypts from the back as most of the leaves end up there and were covering the plants. Only inhabitants are 2 ottos but hope to have chocolate gourami soon.







Ihave to cover the lights with a towel or the phone takes even worse pics 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Edvet (28 May 2014)

Looks good Lindy, could use some more plants/cover i feel.


----------



## Lindy (28 May 2014)

Thanks Edvet, the crypts melted a fair bit so are just coming back. The surface is half covered in floaters and the lotus are sending more leaves to the surface for cover. The tank isn't as highly lit as it appears in the pics and is fairly tea stained too. There is also plenty of room behind the mas of java fern for fish to swim behind ad hide if necessary.


----------



## Lindy (28 May 2014)

How it actually looks..




Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Alastair (28 May 2014)

That last shot looks very tranquil and the choccos will love it

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Lindy (28 May 2014)

Thanks Alastair, I really hope so. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (29 May 2014)

Collecting some parosphromenus sumatranus from colin dunlop tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing his fish house 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## BigTom (29 May 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> Collecting some parosphromenus sumatranus from colin dunlop tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing his fish house
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk



Nice, glad they finally came in. Hopefully there's some other fish to have a look at and it's not all frogs still!


----------



## Lee Sweeting (30 May 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> Collecting some parosphromenus sumatranus from colin dunlop tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing his fish house
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk



Brilliant Lindy! Looking forward to some pics 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## DTL (30 May 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> Collecting some parosphromenus sumatranus from colin dunlop tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing his fish house
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


Didn't know he had any new stock in!!
Must drop him an email.


----------



## darthpaul (30 May 2014)

Lovely tank Lindy, will look amazing when grown in.


----------



## Lindy (30 May 2014)

Spent an hour looking at beautiful frogs and fish  and came away with 4 paros and some heather (thanks Colin) and also a new appreciation for bettas and channas.
The Paros were drip acclimatised and then released. They immediately disappeared into the leaf litter  I may never see them again.[DOUBLEPOST=1401454387][/DOUBLEPOST]





darthpaul said:


> Lovely tank Lindy, will look amazing when grown in.


Thanks Darthpaul


----------



## Lindy (30 May 2014)

Managed to get couple of pics..










Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lee Sweeting (30 May 2014)

Looking great Lindy! I hardly seen mine for the first month or so. They often come out now, especially at feeding time.  I think that's part of the beauty though. When your sitting watching the tank, you'll catch a glimpse of them when they think you aren't looking  enjoy!! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## tim (30 May 2014)

Beautiful, love these fish, really good to see so many caring fish keepers caring for them on this forum (read slightly jealous ) good stuff lindy.


----------



## Lindy (30 May 2014)

Thanks tim, loving them so much I'm looking to sell my shrimp colony so I can set up another tank for them.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (30 May 2014)

Yes Lee, they have a lovely way of moving and have explored all over, even up in the floating plants. I'm addicted. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Alastair (31 May 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> Yes Lee, they have a lovely way of moving
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk



Graceful. That's how I'd describe it. It's like they glide through the water too. 

I must say it's really nice to see people taking on the paros and even getting rid of shrimp to make home for them. They really do deserve to be given the best possible. It's such a shame that their habitat like others is getting destroyed leading to extinction. 

I think that's half the reason I can't stop getting them. 
They're the 3 females then lindy??


----------



## Lindy (31 May 2014)

Colin thought there were at least 2 females in there but he couldn't be sure and they all looked the same to me. He identified at least one male so heres hoping it's 3 female to one male. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## aliclarke86 (1 Jun 2014)

Wow I've never soon these guys in the flesh but if they are making you give up on shrimp they really must be something special!! Tank looks wonderful too Lindy 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (1 Jun 2014)

Thanks Ali, I think I am ready for a change.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (7 Jun 2014)

Well I'm glad I took Alastairs advice and just got 4 paros because despite having loads of space they argue alot! Definitely have 2 males as they flared at each other and one backed down. The males seem to have chosen tank sides with the 'winner' holding the left hand side. The left hand male spends alot of time chasing the female that stays in his side while the other male tries to chase the female that likes the right hand side but she won't run and gives him a hiding every time. Wondering if any of this is normal? All feeding well though and the females come right to the front of the tank often while the males are a bit more jumpy. After the flaring I'm pretty sure they are bintan and not sumatranus. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lee Sweeting (7 Jun 2014)

Oh dear! I've heard Alastair and Iain before, saying that their Paros nip and chase. I only ever see mine flaring up at each other, there's never any nipping. I wonder if this is a species thing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Edvet (7 Jun 2014)

Mine aren't chasing a lot at all, one seems to be a male and he kind of goes halfhartedly towards the other ones, but they all hang out in the same corner more or less.


----------



## Iain Sutherland (7 Jun 2014)

Maybe more would be better, 
I have no idea but sounds like they have territory? I'd put another 20 in that size tank...

I have 6 in a 60 and they have the odd little chase but nothing I'd consider anything different from most other fish I've kept.
Snakeskin barbs on the other hand can be like tigers when the ladies shake their booty! 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (7 Jun 2014)

I'm hoping they breed so hope territory is a good thing. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Alastair (8 Jun 2014)

Yeah this is normal lindy. Especially with having such a vast space in the tank. The two males are fighting out for who's the alpha male. 
As Iain mentioned if you got a few more it would lessen this but they don't do any permanent damage to on another even though it looks aggressive 

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Lindy (8 Jun 2014)

Thanks Alastair, none of them have any marks on and one male seems to be boss with the other not challenging him at all.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## BigTom (8 Jun 2014)

Yeah sounds pretty normal to me Lindy. Mature males are very combative but never seem to inflict any damage.


----------



## Lindy (9 Jun 2014)

Some liquorice shots...













By the time the phone had focused the fish had shot off most of the time so lots of blurry stripe shots. 


Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (12 Jun 2014)

Video of liquorice gourami feeding and flaring. Some is in focus I promise so please persevere! Lovely flare 4 mins in.



I'm thinking these are either P. Bintan or P. Gunwani. P. Gunwani seems less likely according to the parosphromenus project site but they look most like mine...


----------



## Tim Harrison (12 Jun 2014)

Hi Lindy the Vid is private...


----------



## Lindy (12 Jun 2014)

oops...[DOUBLEPOST=1402581548][/DOUBLEPOST]Should be sorted now.


----------



## Edvet (12 Jun 2014)

Looks good!
Maybe i should get some more light over the tank


----------



## Lindy (12 Jun 2014)

It looked brighter as I'd done a W C but hadn't added any blackwater concentrate and my phone lightens things a bit too but the fish don't seem to care what colour the water is.[DOUBLEPOST=1402583842][/DOUBLEPOST]


----------



## Lindy (16 Jun 2014)

Something in my tank seems to be buffering the ph up to 5.5 . Several times I have managed to get the ph down, as low as 4.6, but within a day or two it is back to 5.5. I've also been adding concentrate made from boiling catappa leaves and alder cones. When I put it in the water has a lovely tea colour but within a couple of days the water is much clearer. This is very frustrating to say the least! There is no carbon in the filter.


----------



## DTL (16 Jun 2014)

Are you using Ro/Di or tap water?


----------



## ourmanflint (16 Jun 2014)

I would look to the substrate Lindy. Is the TMC nutrasoil buffering up to the 6.5 mark. I know people generally use it to drop the pH to that level, but maybe it also increases pH to that as well?

Rod


----------



## dw1305 (16 Jun 2014)

Hi all,





ourmanflint said:


> Is the TMC nutrasoil buffering up to the 6.5 mark. I know people generally use it to drop the pH to that level, but maybe it also increases pH to that as well?


 It certainly could, "cation exchange" is exactly that exchange, and an alkaline metal ion like potassium (K+), would less tightly bound to the clay and potentially be exchanged for a proton (H+), if there was a high concentration of H+ ions in the tank water. 





ldcgroomer said:


> Something in my tank seems to be buffering the ph up to 5.5


 I'd be happy with pH5.5, I think even most black-water fish will spawn at pH5.5.





ldcgroomer said:


> 've also been adding concentrate made from boiling catappa leaves and alder cones.


 Have you tried just adding the leaves and cones to the tanks? Have a look a these 2 threads on Apistogramma forums <http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/threads/thank-you-ted-judy.17292/> & <http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/threads/keeping-low-ph.12720/>.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Lindy (16 Jun 2014)

Thank you everyone for your replies



dw1305 said:


> It certainly could,


I do remember you warning me of this re using peat balls. I could kick myself!




dw1305 said:


> Have you tried just adding the leaves and cones to the tanks?


There is a huge amount of leaf litter at the back of the tank and loads of cones. I found they altered little.




dw1305 said:


> I think even most black-water fish will spawn at pH5.5.


I was just worried about egg survival.




ourmanflint said:


> I would look to the substrate Lindy.


I think this is probably the case as Darrel had warned me it might cancel out the effects of peat but I hadn't imagined it would buffer up the way 

I had also been adding small quantities of Phosphoric Acid. If I keep adding it will the tmc nutrasoil eventually exhaust its self and stop buffering?



DTL said:


> Are you using Ro/Di or tap water?


I've used tap in the past but recently been using rain water.


----------



## Lindy (23 Jun 2014)

Nothing much has changed other than the addition of more heather. Crypts are looking healthy at last. 
There seem to be no chocolate gourami available anywhere due to the rainy season so looks like I won't be able to get any until end of the summer 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (23 Jun 2014)

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## aliclarke86 (23 Jun 2014)

Bummer about the chocos but at least you will have a nice mature (and bloody great looking) tank for them when you finally get some 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (23 Jun 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> Bummer about the chocos but at least you will have a nice mature (and bloody great looking) tank for them when you finally get some



Ah, thanks!


----------



## Lindy (24 Jun 2014)

Was cleaning out the canister filter last night. Removed all the baskets then tipped the water down the toilet. When I glanced into the canister i felt terrible. There was a shrimp and if there was one there was probably more that I'd tipped down the toilet. There haven't been shrimp in the tank since i replaced the substrate and with a ph of as low as 4.7 and a tds of 60 I wasn't expecting anything in the filter!



So it is now in the tank rather than the filter and seems pretty happy.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (30 Jun 2014)

Found some bba on some java fern leaves at the top of the central stump so cut them out and have reduced intensity of the light a bit. That area gets no protection by floating plants due to high flow. Hoping that sorts it.


----------



## Edvet (30 Jun 2014)

Get some lilly leaves to float in the middle?


----------



## Lindy (30 Jun 2014)

The lily leaves tend to end up around the front and sides along with the floaters. Also the stump almost reaches the surface and with java fern covering it there isn't really any room for anything on top.


----------



## Lindy (14 Aug 2014)

I have just spent 2hrs removing all the frogbit. I now hate that tiny little plant! Some hitchhiked in on some plants presumably and I thought ahhh what harm can it do. It sticks to everything when you do maintenance, it goes under the surface when you scoop out the other floaters so you just end up with frogbit. Did I mention the sticking? Ffs!
I'm expecting to see some tomorrow, mocking me with its tiny single root....


----------



## Fern (14 Aug 2014)

Frogbit, never takes well to my tanks for some reason, lost count how many batches I have purchased, given up now


----------



## Lindy (14 Aug 2014)

It's not the amazon frogbit but the stuff you get on ponds here


----------



## Lindy (14 Aug 2014)

Annoying stuff...[DOUBLEPOST=1408036697][/DOUBLEPOST]oh, have also added Aponogeton Capuronii. It has lovely crimped leaves.


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2014)

Duckweed Lindy  looking good. 
That leaf is enormous!


----------



## Lindy (14 Aug 2014)

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> Duckweed Lindy



Ahhh, duckweed....I hate it...




Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> That leaf is enormous!



The tiger lotus leaves do get big 

Only have one more tank to deduckweed


----------



## Fern (14 Aug 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> It's not the amazon frogbit but the stuff you get on ponds here


Ah I see, well I tried that as well and you can guess what happened to that too!


----------



## Lindy (6 Sep 2014)

Quick update. Needed to buy lighting for another tank and was looking at aquabars again when I noticed you could get them in the 'colour plus' with red and blue leds. I have put one on the big tank so there is a white led bar at the back and a colour plus at the front. I think I like the difference but not sure.

White bars





Colour plus and white




Also bought a Crinum calamistratum from aqua essentials and got this whopping specimen! 




And to finish, cluttered view of other side 

Anyone have preferences on the lighting colour?


----------



## Lindy (6 Sep 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> Quick update. Needed to buy lighting for another tank and was looking at aquabars again when I noticed you could get them in the 'colour plus' with red and blue leds. I have put one on the big tank so there is a white led bar at the back and a colour plus at the front. I think I like the difference but not sure.
> 
> White bars
> 
> ...


----------



## Lindy (6 Sep 2014)

How'd that happen?


----------



## Tim Harrison (6 Sep 2014)

Looks good with the colour plus, seems a bit more vivid in the red part of the spectrum.


----------



## Lindy (6 Sep 2014)

I think so too, troi. The wood looks better. The white light makes everything look a little flat.


----------



## Lindy (6 Sep 2014)

Just watched the liquorice gourami flaring under the new light and wow, the blue is really popping!


----------



## Lindy (16 Sep 2014)

Went to colins fish hut for a culture of gammarus shrimp and came away with 6 sphaerichthys acrostoma.


----------



## Edvet (17 Sep 2014)

Hehe! Nice


----------



## aliclarke86 (17 Sep 2014)

Turning into a real chocolate box now! 

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (17 Sep 2014)

Will get some of my trademark bad phone pics when they are a bit more settled.  Feeding well though and the liquorice gourami have just ignored the new tank mates.


----------



## Tim Harrison (18 Sep 2014)

Hi Lindy nice to see your tank coming on. Slightly off current topic, but where did you get your TMC Colour plus Aquabars from? They look the business, and I've Google them without much success.


----------



## Lindy (18 Sep 2014)

Troi said:


> where did you get your TMC Colour plus Aquabars from?



Homeleigh garden centre.
 Just search for tmc aquabar. It looks like they just have white until you click on the drop down bar and get options.



aliclarke86 said:


> Turning into a real chocolate box now!


Ha, making no claims, that is Alistairs domain!


----------



## Tim Harrison (18 Sep 2014)

Thanks Lindy...


----------



## Lindy (26 Sep 2014)

Well the acrostoma are the shyest fish and while they do come forward at feeding time, if there is a phone taking pics forget it. These are the best for now.







It was suggested that the cause of the dark spots appearing on the liquorice gourami was too much organic material/waste in the tank so took out around 40l of water while syphoning the crap from the back of the tank. Have decided to use rooibos teabags to stain the water as I just can't put in enough leaves to have any impact.


----------



## Lindy (26 Sep 2014)

There is one adult male with a jet black stripe along his body and red around his face but the stripe disappears almost completely if he is worried in any way. There are some identifiable as females and the others seem to be too young to show anything yet.


----------



## Lindy (14 Oct 2014)

There have been a few changes. As the nutrasoil was buffering my ph up constantly I decided to stop trying to force this to be a blackwater.  I took out all the gourami.  The paros will have their own tank in the fish room that will be perfect blackwater conditions.  The Acrostoma have gone back to Colin at the fish hut. The female betta splendens are now in this tank. I turned up the lights and added pressurised co2.  Drop checker is a lovely lime green for duration of lights and at lights off an airstone comes on for a few hrs to gas off co2. 



Rather annoyingly, the ph is now going down to 5 with the addition of co2 so the paros would probably love it. I have seen them doing some courtship in the holding tank so hopefully they will breed once in their proper tank  .


----------



## Lindy (14 Oct 2014)

Oh and I nearly lost 3 female betta splendens to the little eheim skimmer! I'd put the skimmer on that morn on the 95l tank the girls were in and then gone back to move them over to the big tank that afternoon.  Wondering where 3 bettas could have gone I thought 'surely not' and opened up the skimmer. Some fins were damaged so the spent the night in shallow water to get a rest and were back to perky the next day. Doing well in the big tank now whew! I'll need to change the name of this journal now...


----------



## Lindy (23 Nov 2014)

This is more of a betta end as I'm  moving on all the betta splendens  girls after i lost 5 in this tank. 
The tank has had a persistent  film on the surface and stag horn algae and i think it is due to the leaf litter  i put under the substrate  when starting the tank up. Either my substrate isn't  deep enough or lots of the rotting leaf litter has been brought to the surface by moving plants. The result is an overload  of organic matter. I put some purigen  in the filter and it has cleared the film but there is still a bit of an odour.
Anyhoo,  planning to gut the tank and rearrange  so that wood is not  blocking flow. Will replace the tmc nutrasoil  with something that won't  buffer the ph up so i can have my gourami set up as originally  planned. Just not sure what to use? 
The substrate must not raise hardness or alter ph so I'm  open to suggestions. 
I'm  thinking some sort of sand?  As i would like to grow crypts and the like i will have to provide nutrition  under the substrate so may use tropica stuff under the sand. Never used an inert substrate before so a bit clueless.


----------



## X3NiTH (23 Nov 2014)

Fluval Stratum is pretty neutral,  I haven't seen it do anything to my GH, KH or pH, nice dark colour also, there's two grades, Plant and Shrimp, the Shrimp grade has smaller granules. I'm using both together in my main Planted tank with no nutritious bottom (fert caps and EI) and C.Parva and C.Willisi grow well in it (just put some C.Undalata in yesterday so hopefully that does well also). I'm re-using some Shrimp grade to cap some Tropica substrate in my newly scaped shrimp tank. It's a nicer combination to plant in than Stratum on its own which can be a bit light if it's not deep enough.


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (24 Nov 2014)

In my observations stratum does change parameters of water, at least first 6 months (lower kh and ph a little bit).


----------



## Lindy (24 Nov 2014)

I'd be looking to maintain a ph of 5. That is my problem  with the nutrasoil. It buffers it up but then Darrel did warn me it may happen.


----------



## Edvet (24 Nov 2014)

Just plain riversand, some RO water and some aldercones and leaves and prepare water with peatgranulate. That should do the trick.
I will take a pic of my white cube tonight. Big crypts in sand over a pondsoil layer. Very rarely a bit of EI. Plants do great.


----------



## Edvet (24 Nov 2014)

Look at my white cube journal to see the growth progress.
I started with a layer of pondsoil app 3/4 inch thick, one inch clear of the sides, covered it with app 2,5 inch riversand.
white cube 24-11-14 by Edvet, on Flickr


----------



## Lindy (26 Nov 2014)

I have bought Swelluk's silver sand for this. It looks just like pool filter sand but was cheaper with free postage as I was buying other stuff too. Will now look at the options for going undeneath that won't raise ph and hardness. Will have a look at your thread Edvet.


----------



## Lindy (26 Nov 2014)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31keHYKGbXL.jpg

would this do?


----------



## Edvet (26 Nov 2014)

I'll wait for Darrel to answer, i don't know the british products.


----------



## Lindy (26 Nov 2014)

I might pm him...


----------



## BigTom (26 Nov 2014)

That blue bag Aqua Soil is what Alastair used a while back (I forget which tank!). It had negligible effect on his water stats by all accounts. Should be fine but I'd always do a little test in a bucket or something before kitting out the tank to make sure. I've also used that soil but in conjunction with something else which did raise pH and hardness.

The alternative would be just to use a good all in one fert and dose the water column (Lush Max off ebay works out pretty much the cheapest).


----------



## Lindy (26 Nov 2014)

Thanks for the input Tom, I was hoping to avoiding dosing much as this will raise the hardness. It would certainly be a less messy alternative though and might be the best option as we are holping to move next year and if I didn't use soil etc I could remove the sand to move the tank and then just put it back in. The tank is so heavy it will have to be completely stripped to move. Hmmm, food for thought...I do have a barely touched EI kit.


----------



## Michael W (26 Nov 2014)

Could you use peat moss and find something that does not affect the water to cap it? I've used peat along side Osmocote slow release ferts which can grow plants. I'm thinking the peat will help with ph etc too. The slow release fert will unlikely affect the water too much simply because it is slow release, with water changes any excess will be removed. If you up root plants just remove or push down any ferts that float up and it should be fine.


----------



## Lindy (26 Nov 2014)

Michael W said:


> something that does not affect the water to cap it?



The silver sand is not supposed to alter the water chemistry, I think it is pretty much like pool filter sand but I ordered this as I got free postage as I'd bought other stuff.

I'm leaning towards Toms suggestion as Alistair has proved that choccos will happily breed in a tds much higher than my tap water and there is the issue of moving next year. If I cap peat or soil I'll basically have to scrap the substrate and replace when I move as it'll get all mixed together


----------



## dw1305 (26 Nov 2014)

Hi all, 
I just add a bit of acid clay and some Oak/Beech leaf mould to the silica sand. Sphagnum peat has CEC and all the exchange sites have a H+ ion, so it will tend to soften water and lower the pH.

I didn't buy the clay or leaf mould, I just went over to a local wood on the Greensand and took a small amount of leaf litter and some soil from mole hills. 

I think any substance with nutrients (even slow release ones) will add TDS, that was why I went for some clay and humus with CEC, and a very slow release of nutrients from the break down of the leaf litter.

After a while (~18 months) I find that the growth of _Cryptocoryne_ spp. tends to pick up naturally, possibly as a result of more mature "natural" processes developing in the substrate. Whether those are microbial or dependent upon REDOX reactions I don't know. I would expect like all things in ecology it is "shades of grey".

cheers Darrel


----------



## Lindy (26 Nov 2014)

Thanks for the reply Darrel


----------



## Lindy (27 Nov 2014)

50kg of silver sand arrived today. Think my backs knackered


----------



## Edvet (27 Nov 2014)

I hope your silver sand is not what i fear: very fine white sand. I am afraid that will compact to much. I would be carefull with that, perjhaps do a test tank first.


----------



## Lindy (28 Nov 2014)

I hope not Edvet. It doesn't  look white and i have seen it used in other tanks on here.


----------



## Lindy (28 Nov 2014)

I could break up some  lava rock to go under the deeper areas?  Is the lava rock for bbq's safe to use?


----------



## Lindy (28 Nov 2014)

I may raid my daughters sand box and mix the play sand. It wasn't  argos play sand. Does it matter?


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

Tank has been stripped  although is not sediment  free but filled to keep filter running and wood waterlogged.  Have taken the 3 bits of wood, that made up the last tank centre piece, and have been trying to find a position  for them that i like. I want the tank to be packed with crypts  and other plants but with a sandy,  open area. 








 Can't  decide on whether to have an open area in the middle of the tank,  with plants either side or have 2 thirds of the left hand side planted with the last third open. I mainly sit infront if the tank.


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

Same pic twice,  sorry.


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

Don't  like the first as it looks like x marks the spot in the photo!


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

Maybe the 2nd but with the border between  sand and plants on the diagonal  across the tank left to right. Hmmmm, journals  are so handy for looking at these things..


----------



## Crossocheilus (30 Nov 2014)

I prefer the 1st arrangement although I agree the 'X' looks odd, perhaps just rotate the right piece so that they cross off centre or not at all. I also think that if you raised up the wood and had the entire foreground covered in crypts it would look great.


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (30 Nov 2014)

1st looks more interesting, imo. 2nd is a bit flat. Maybe you want to somehow make it higher or hairier?


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

The 1st looks better in the flesh. I'll  play around some more once the water has heated up,  it's  freezing!


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

3




4




5


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> Maybe you want to somehow make it higher or hairier?



I can raise it all a bit with some lava rock but don't want to go so high that flow is compromised as that happened in the last tank. The fish will want a gentle flow so won't be adding power heads.


----------



## tim (30 Nov 2014)

3 looks great.


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

Thanks Tim.


----------



## Lindy (30 Nov 2014)

5s growing on me.


----------



## Lindy (4 Dec 2014)

Pond soil arrived yesterday  so tackled the rescape today in the 3hrs and 10min my daughter is in nursery.













Pleased with how it has turned out. 
I buy filter floss by the sheet so I used that to separate  the sand from the pond soil. If i want to move a plant i just scrape the sand away from the plant down to the floss and then cut the roots where they dissappear  into the floss. Thats the theory, anyway. 
 Hope i don't  want to move plants but as i didn't  know which crypt was which i may have to move large from front and small from the back once they've  grown in.
Added tropica specialised ferts and co2 is on.


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (4 Dec 2014)

Is it your first variant of hardscapes you showed earlier?


----------



## Lindy (4 Dec 2014)

Yes.


----------



## Lindy (4 Dec 2014)

Its just higher.


----------



## Lindy (10 Dec 2014)

The water has been cloudy since filling despite a couple of 50% wc so today did 90% wc. Fingers crossed  it doesn't  cloud up again. Using floss and purigen.













Only a few ramshorns in there until I'm  sure everything ok and co2 dialled  back a bit. Only got one aquabar on as tbh it look plenty. Amazing the difference  light substrate can make visually light wise.


----------



## Lindy (11 Dec 2014)

The water is hazey today again. Is this because of the soil? I thought because it was a mature filter that there would be no cycling to speak of. I'm not getting any readings for ammonia (don't tell Clive!) but I'm nervous of putting fish into a cloudy tank.


----------



## Lindy (19 Dec 2014)

My tetratec ex 1200 is dribbling


----------



## tim (19 Dec 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> My tetratec ex 1200 is dribbling


That sucks


----------



## Lindy (23 Dec 2014)

It would seem that when i tipped the filter head on its side to get out all the water some got into various nooks and crannies. Then when i put it back on this water seeped back out through drainage  lines around the clips. The seal was fine after all.  Amazing what you can find out on google.
The tetratec is still doing its job but I decided  to buy the eheim 2075 in the sale/wanted section mainly because it has wheels in the base.  This tetratec is a bugger to get from the back of a 60cm deep cabinet! Will be selling the tetratec later.
The ottos went back in this tank last night after their holiday in the fish room.
I've put the second aquabar back on at about 70% power but it is hard to know how much it is on other than how pleasing to the eye the light level is.


----------



## Andy D (23 Dec 2014)

Lindy,

Thats looks great!


----------



## Lindy (16 Jan 2015)

After almost a year of trying to get some I finally have chocolate gourami! I am in love with them already. They arrived this morn in an enormous polybox. Unfortunately the heat pack had run out of o2 and the box was really cold inside. Note to people posting fish or shrimp - if it is an air tight box poke a couple of small holes in it or the heat pack won't work! The heat pad warmed up nicely once out of the box... The fish water was 15 degrees . Acclimatised the fish over a couple of hrs and they recovered nicely.
I could watch them all day........................




Please forgive the low quality video as the light is set low at the moment.
They are feeding on bbs in the clip.


----------



## X3NiTH (16 Jan 2015)

Wow, they look real nice, love they way they feed and move about, they've got a nice home there!


----------



## Lindy (16 Jan 2015)

X3NiTH said:


> , they've got a nice home there!


Thanks, be nicer once the plants fill in a bit.


----------



## alto (16 Jan 2015)

They look awesome!
I've thoroughly enjoyed your tank journal.

Any idea on locale or transhipper?

I picked some up recently when a local shop brought in an order ... I chose 8 from the bag lot, fish were rather stressed so really just tried for a random assortment (they appear rather smaller than your group). A couple are oddly colored, pale coloration extending into the fins, another is mottled - this remains even after settling into the tank & rest of group is normal coloration; they are active & eating well.

I thought to pick up a couple more when shop still had some remaining several days later, ended up collecting all that were left as they were pretty stressed; fortunately decided to place these in another tank, they are definitely not feeling well: good news is that they are eating, but then often hover with that "pinched tail" thing they do.
I know the shop tank was cold (heater had failed) so I'm hoping it's just external parasites.
If you've any thoughts on treatments, please comment.

I'll try to sort out some photos next week as they are so odd looking!
(these shipped out of Singapore)


----------



## Lindy (16 Jan 2015)

alto said:


> Any idea on locale or transhipper?



Alto I've no idea where these guys came from. I bought from Kesgrave tropicals as they were the only folk that had any coming in and would post. The only thing I can suggest is nice soft, acidic water with some blackwater extract or catappa leaves to help them recover. I'm not sure what effect of long exposure to cold water would be other than eventual death so hopefully you got them in time.


----------



## alto (16 Jan 2015)

They were getting much worse yesterday so I made a decision: did a large water change & started formalin at ~10mg/l, no signs of stress over an hour, so bumped it to 20mg/l overnight (morning here) ... 6 of the 9 are looking MUCH better.  

How do you like your tea extract, I can easily get lots of tea, blackwater extract/leafs, not so much, tap is soft, pH ~6


----------



## Lindy (16 Jan 2015)

I use the redbush 'tick tock' tea bags.


----------



## Lindy (18 Jan 2015)

This version of the tank has been running for just over 6 weeks and has seen some steady growth although i only really notice because i can compare pics on this journal.

I've taken out some of the java fern right and left side and added Limnophila sessiliflora as this has been found where choccos have been caught. It's not a strict biotope but if something is easily come by that exists in their environment then why not. 





Hard not to include one of these.




L. Sessiliflora been trimmed once and replanted.




Crypts all throwing out new leaves. Still not sure what half of them are.


----------



## kirk (18 Jan 2015)

Looking good lindy, I love the way it all twists and windes over the path, you've created a good illusion of depth.


----------



## Lindy (18 Jan 2015)

Thanks Kirk although i may have cheated a bit as it is a deeper than average tank. Usually after a week or two i'm thinking 'i wish i'd done this or that' but totally happy with this.


----------



## nduli (18 Jan 2015)

Lindy

Just read the journal, you've had an interesting journey here. Tank looks great I am in the middle of researching a rescape for my tank and you've thrown cat amongst pigeons with the root, the sand at the gourami......are the chocos shrimp safe? really like them.

Rich


----------



## Lindy (18 Jan 2015)

I think they would take shrimplets as from what I've seen they are thorough when looking for food! The person to ask is Alistair but i do remember he had shrimp in his chocolate puddle. Their mouths are really tiny....


----------



## Lindy (13 Feb 2015)

Everything was going great and then i bought 7 corydoras sterbai from p@h. A shocking 5 died over night. No idea why. Ottos and choccos were fine. Then the choccos started dropping like flies for no visible reason. I only have 2 left and they have been moved into one of the paro tanks. The remaining 2 sterbai seem fine and the ottos are business as usual. 
I had noticed the ph creeping up and have put it down to the coarse sand. Took the tough decision to remove all the coarse sand and replace with more fine sand. This is where i was very grateful i'd separated the soil from sand by filter floss sheets. I just had to syphon out the coarse stuff and the put in the fine stuff. Still took a couple of hrs...



This is how it looked with the coarse sand removed. Most plants had rooted well into the floss sheet.
Now I'll monitor the ph to see if it rises from the desired level. If it does i will have to accept that it must be the pond soil raising ph and give up on my blackwater tank.


----------



## kirk (13 Feb 2015)

Oh no!! Sorry to hear this I was just about to say how well your crypts look too.


----------



## alto (13 Feb 2015)

So sorry to read this 


Apologies in advance for the following - I'd've sent via pm but I cant seem to find that feature - I can edit it out if you'd prefer.

It could be "columnaris" - there is a form that overwhelms the gills before you see any outward signs, fish die rapidly as you witnessed.

There's not much you can do but offer supportive care, ie excellent water quality, maximized oxygen levels, very dim lighting, minimize external stressors (eg, vibration, fast/quick movements near the tank), feed sparingly with foods such as daphia & brine shrimp (rather than bloodworms or other "richer" foods) ...
after a couple weeks with no more new deaths, you might feed an antibiotic-laced food (as always this is controversial, make sure you choose an antibiotic that has actually been shown to have efficacy in living fish in aquaria, eg kanamycin, neomycin sulfate, sulfathiazole are all relatively palatable & broad spectrum enough to be supportive: note this is not about treating residual columnaris but suppressing other secondary bacterial counts) for 3-5 days, then 2 weeks off, then antiparasitic-laced food (levamisol gets my vote, metronidazole is a poor second, again this is about reducing numbers of opportunistic parasites which have increased while fish were stressed) for 5-7 days.

Again choosing to treat/not-treat is 6 of one vs half a dozen of the other ...  I generally avoid antibiotics as they also upset "beneficial" bacterial populations, levamisol is a very effective antiparasitic while also considered to have immune "boosting" effects (as a bath it's stressful - as are most medicated baths).
But there are some external parasites that still respond better to formalin than any other medication (but it needs to be fresh & stored properly & dosed appropriately & care is always needed to maximize oxygen levels & daily water changes. Note that every bath medication affects the filter bacteria to some degree).

I keep a second planted tank that I run as a quarantine type tank, it's no where near as "clean" as a bare tank, but fish are much less stressed & in fish, stress is strongly immunosuppressive.
A quarantine time of minimum 2 weeks & preferably 4 weeks is recommended.
It's also recommended to add some of your main tank fish into the Q-tank for 2 weeks before finally introducing all the "new" fish into your main tank. 
Most of the time, impulsively adding fish works out just fine.


----------



## nduli (15 Feb 2015)

Lift, so sorry to hear, does sound like the corydoras brought something in though, steady changes in ph over time are normally ok, crashes in ph not normally good. Choccos are known to survive in ph 7 aren't they just not breed or be at their best.....


----------



## Lindy (15 Feb 2015)

The tank has cleared, ph set to desired level and now I'm monitoring it for changes.


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (15 Feb 2015)

Do you know what brand the coarse sand is? It looks similar to one I know for similar problems. re water parameters.


----------



## Lindy (15 Feb 2015)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> Do you know what brand the coarse sand is?



The coarse sand was Unipac but can't remember which name of sand. 




nduli said:


> Choccos are known to survive in ph 7 aren't they just not breed or be at their best.....


I wouldn't like to test this theory and the highest ph they would have been exposed to with me was 6ish. I can only think that the way they arrived at 15 degrees probably stressed them more than they showed and me adding fish that must have been sick exposed weakened fish to disease. On a happy note the 2 surviving corys seem to be happy wee things and I would look to add to their group at some time but will quarantine any future purchases from P@H. If my ph remains stable I may get some Valliant Gourami as Colin Dunlop is expecting some on his next shipment. I would also love to put a big group of paros in as well. If the ph wants to keep rising I will give up on the black water, as not stripping out the pond soil, and get some Channa Bleheri.


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (15 Feb 2015)

ldcgroomer said:


> The coarse sand was Unipac but can't remember which name of sand.


Nope, I had problems with another brand. But visually it looks quite similar, maybe it's from similar origin. Well, enough guesses, let's see what's your ph will be.


----------



## ourmanflint (15 Feb 2015)

Chocs are fine at ph7 Lindy, i kept them in London tap water for a couple of years no problems at all. One of the biggest killers of Chocs seems to be bacteria introduced via poor quality live food.


----------



## Lindy (16 Feb 2015)

They were being fed the same food as all my other fish?  Live bbs, frozen bloodworm and micro/grindle worm. I did catch them eating some dried food I'd put in for the corys and they also ate some of the algae wafer  i put in for the ottos. I was surprised at what they would eat. The remaining 2 choccos seem to be doing fine in one of the big paro tanks and are starting to relax a bit.


----------



## alto (16 Feb 2015)

In my experience chocolate gouramis tend to come in with bacterial/parasitic infection re transit & dealer (transhipper/wholesaler/retailer) process ... if they were in your tank past a couple weeks without any symptoms of "crossed fins" (external parasites) or flared fins/then lifting of the individual scales (internal bacterial indicator) and good activity levels, it's likely they were fine.
I mostly feed frozen foods (Hikari as they irradiate & vitamin load, being careful to buy from knowledgeable shops) but find the chocolates (once settled) are quite enthusiastic about most foods.

I do hope you get in the Valliant Gouramis - I've long wanted them but have only ever seen _S. osphromenoides _locally.

I'm hoping your pH settles, tank is awesome!


----------



## Crossocheilus (16 Feb 2015)

A real shame about the sand and the deaths, I really hope you can persevere and get the blackwater tank you dream of. Try putting some sand in a glass of tank water for a while to see if a pH change occurs. This way you can tell if/which sand is the problem.


----------



## Lindy (16 Feb 2015)

alto said:


> I'm hoping your pH settles, tank is awesome!


Thanks!



Crossocheilus said:


> Try putting some sand in a glass of tank water for a while to see if a pH change occurs. This way you can tell if/which sand is the problem.


Yes, I'll give that a go.

Up here they add stuff to the tapwater to make it less acidic and I'm wondering if this continues long out of the tap? Although this does not seem to happen in the fish room tanks. I get the ph right in the holding tank and then wc all the tanks from that.


----------



## dw1305 (16 Feb 2015)

Hi all,





ldcgroomer said:


> Up here they add stuff to the tapwater to make it less acidic and I'm wondering if this continues long out of the tap?


No, it won't raise the pH for long, the reason is to do with buffering.

The water companies use NaOH to raise pH (bases are "H+ ion acceptors", and pH is the ratio of H+:OH-). Because sodium hydroxide is a <"strong base">, all the O-H ions are in solution, and there isn't any reserve of <"alkaline buffering">. Because of this, pH can swing from alkaline to acid really rapidly.

This is different from the alkalinity added by a weak base like bi-carbonate (HCO3-) where the equilibrium with H2CO3 (via CO2), still stabilises pH as acids accumulate (acids are "H+ ion donors").

cheers Darrel


----------



## Lindy (16 Feb 2015)

dw1305 said:


> No, it won't raise the pH for long, the reason is to do with buffering.



Thanks Darrel, good to know.


----------



## Lindy (16 Feb 2015)

Tested the sand on its own in a jug with water the same temp as tank water. Within less than an hr it has gone from ph6.4 to 6.9. It is Unipac silver sand. Could washing before use make any difference as I didn't wash it?  I needed it dry so I could pour it around the plants rooted into the floss.


----------



## dw1305 (16 Feb 2015)

Hi all,





ldcgroomer said:


> Tested the sand on its own in a jug with water the same temp as tank water. Within less than an hr it has gone from ph6.4 to 6.9. It is Unipac silver sand.


Leave it and see what happens, if it is carbonates in the sand the pH should carry on rising to pH7.8. 

Because it is a quick change it maybe that the water wasn't fully oxygenated, so it could be an increase in dissolved oxygen causing the pH rise.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Lindy (18 Feb 2015)

Ph seems stable but will keep watching...
Felt there was too much open water so raided some of my other tanks for more wood.


----------



## Lindy (18 Feb 2015)

One problem that keeps bugging me is trying to figure out how to keep flow, have some surface movement AND have floating plants? I have a full length spraybar about 2" from the water surface. I've tried having it at the surface but that is floater carnage. I could point it down more but won't get any surface movement. Is surface movement really important in low tech? Have been thinking of taking the spraybar off and just having water come straight out of the outlet pipe. ????


----------



## James O (18 Feb 2015)

Aww man that looks great.  Just like some of the 'topes shown in those nice long vids I've seen (and can't remember the name of)

I'd be chuffed to live in there if I were a fishy 

I've used both spraybar and just the shepherds crook(?) in low tech tanks.  Couldn't really tell the difference so went with the crook because I wanted floating plants


----------



## Lindy (18 Feb 2015)

Wow James O, thank you very much! I'm trying to get this right before fish go back in. I've been thinking about getting some channa bleheri for this tank but I think I'd rather see gourami gliding and bettas sneeaking.


----------



## tam (18 Feb 2015)

I think density makes a difference with floating plants. Once they've built up enough to form a big mat then the ones directly under the spray bar suffer but the rest do fine. Does cut down on surface movement though.


----------



## dw1305 (18 Feb 2015)

Hi all, 





tam said:


> Once they've built up enough to form a big mat then the ones directly under the spray bar suffer but the rest do fine.


 I've found this works quite well, but you tend to end up with just _Pistia_ if you start with a mix. I can keep tanks with _Limnobium, Pistia_ and _Salvinia, _with a bit of judicious thinning_, _but _Phyllanthus_ always ended up out-competed and "sunk". 





ldcgroomer said:


> Is surface movement really important in low tech? Have been thinking of taking the spraybar off and just having water come straight out of the outlet pipe. ????


 I think your fine with the spray bar below the surface, you are still getting the water turned over, and it is the movement of water that aids the gas exchange.

You could always run an Eheim venturi on the outlet if you were worried about oxygenation. I've had tanks with spray-bars, shepherd's crook and venturi and I'm not sure any of them make any real difference.

cheers Darrel


----------



## nduli (18 Feb 2015)

lindy, do love this tank, its got depth and complexity to it. think the tank dimensions help but the woof placement is really good.


----------



## James O (18 Feb 2015)

nduli said:


> ........but the woof placement is really good.



I do so love a well placed woof


----------



## Lindy (18 Feb 2015)

Tweaked my wood  





Added some beech twigs in the hope of keeping the floaters still. It is the red rooted floater i have.


----------



## Lindy (18 Feb 2015)

nduli said:


> lindy, do love this tank, its got depth and complexity to it. think the tank dimensions help but the woof placement is really good


Thanks for your kind coments Nduli, I love your woof too


----------



## Lindy (18 Feb 2015)

tried to upload better pic but they're all terrible. Tank is still cloudy too from my fiddling.


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (19 Feb 2015)

It's quite different now with small branches on top.
BTW, someone on ukaps said that he was using floating ring from air pump tube to keep floating plants on place.


----------



## nduli (19 Feb 2015)

James O said:


> I do so love a well placed woof





ldcgroomer said:


> Thanks for your kind coments Nduli, I love your woof too



bloody ipad predictive txt kills me .........


----------



## Lindy (19 Feb 2015)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> It's quite different now with small branches on top.



Good or bad?  




nduli said:


> bloody ipad predictive txt kills me ......



LOL..


----------



## Edvet (19 Feb 2015)




----------



## Lindy (20 Feb 2015)

some photos with the better camera but was getting heckled at the time :-/


----------



## Lindy (21 Feb 2015)

I think I'm going to take the teratec ex1200 off this tank and replace with the eheim ecco 200. The teratec is too powerful and I've reduced the flow by a fair amount but that cannot be good for the motor long term. Either that or i get one of the smaller thermofilters. 
Added some Anubias and put in some of my liquorice gourami.


----------



## nduli (22 Feb 2015)

Lindy, is the ph holding out? What's it levelled at? I'd argue that the tetratec should be fine long term, so long as you constrain the outflow not the inflow. If you want to maintain turnover but reduce the turbulence then consider a lilly pipe or if really concerned a poppy pipe.


----------



## nduli (22 Feb 2015)

ourmanflint said:


> Chocs are fine at ph7 Lindy, i kept them in London tap water for a couple of years no problems at all. One of the biggest killers of Chocs seems to be bacteria introduced via poor quality live food.



Did you manage to get them to breed at ph7?


----------



## Lindy (22 Feb 2015)

Nduli ph holding at 5.1.  I am going to order eheims plastic lily pipe thing that attaches to the end of a standard outlet to see if that changes anything. The outlet at the moment is a large spraybar with the holes drilled bigger so the water doesn't 'jet' out the hole but the shear volume means the plants are doing a vigorous 'jig' in full flow and I'm sure this contributes to surface scum.


----------



## nduli (22 Feb 2015)

What type of surface scum?


ldcgroomer said:


> Nduli ph holding at 5.1.  I am going to order eheims plastic lily pipe thing that attaches to the end of a standard outlet to see if that changes anything. The outlet at the moment is a large spraybar with the holes drilled bigger so the water doesn't 'jet' out the hole but the shear volume means the plants are doing a vigorous 'jig' in full flow and I'm sure this contributes to surface scum.



Lindy, how are you getting the ph so low, had a quick look through last 5 pages of the journal and I think it's pond soil but can you confirm? Saw some choccos at the weekend and they looked fantastic....so tempted.


----------



## Lindy (22 Feb 2015)

I'm filtering through peat. I've also got chemicals i use called 'ph down' used in hydroponics.  The liquorice gourami did fine with this. 
This will be last post as gourami gloaming as have decided to get channa andrao. The paros will have to come back into the fish room.


----------



## Lindy (31 Mar 2015)

Never went down the channa path.
Inhabitants are a couple of choccos, some paros,  ottos and betta simplex. 



Using an eheim plastic lily outlet which allows me to have lots of undisturbed floaters.
Took wire mounts off the lights and have them resting on the glass as i got fed up with the glare from the light when sitting next to the tank.


----------



## Lindy (31 Mar 2015)




----------



## Lindy (31 Mar 2015)

Had been trying to find a decent pic on my phone but they all look dreadful on here.


----------



## James D (1 Apr 2015)

Nice one Lindy, looking good, have you got any more pics of the different fish in there?


----------



## Greenfinger2 (1 Apr 2015)

Hi Idcgroomer, Superb Looking Scape nice fish too


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (1 Apr 2015)

Like your new video of betta simplex. Really handsome males.


----------



## Lindy (1 Apr 2015)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> Like your new video of betta simplex. Really handsome males



Thankyou. I might post the other one I have too as it is much better as filmed in a better lit tank and close up.


----------



## Lindy (11 Jun 2015)

Was on top of a ladder getting ready to paint the ceiling when i looked down on the tank from a great height and thought how nice it looked. Warning!!! Crap phone pics to follow

This room is a dumping ground at tge mo...

























Fish hiding at the back as I'd turned the lights up to take pics.




Something has gone wrong with the tank as the crypts and echinodorus haven't really grown. I have a persistent film on the surface and an air stone hasn't helped. I have bba on the wood. 

I want to rescape the tank but will wait until we have sold house and have moved as the fish are happy and doing well. 
I thought there might be too much light and had lots of floaters but made no difference to film so reduced floaters and dimmed lights to 50% or thereabouts but still got a film and plants not really growing (apart from java fern and anubias. 
When i rescape will use less wood and more rock and have less wood high up towards the light as this is where i get bba...


----------



## Greenfinger2 (11 Jun 2015)

Hi Idc groomer, Nice top shot of the Scape,

Hope all go's well with the move, Looking forward to seeing your next scape


----------



## Ryan Thang To (14 Jun 2015)

Nice top view of the tank. Amazing

Cheers
Ryan


----------



## Lindy (18 Jun 2015)

A wee video of some of the young adult paros at feeding time. This tank is about to get emptied for moving so if anyone is wanting sexed pairs of paros now is the time to say as I will be catching and keeping in a holding tank while tank is moved and re set up. These are all home bred young adults not fully grown. There are alot in this tank so I don't mind selling some


----------



## Greenfinger2 (19 Jun 2015)

Hi Idc, Great video


----------



## Lindy (19 Jun 2015)

Thanks greenfinger 2. My phone was struggling to focus, probably because the surface plants are over grown and it is very dark in there.


----------



## Edvet (19 Jun 2015)




----------



## Lindy (30 Jun 2015)

please watch with sound off or you get radio and 4yr old child.


----------



## kirk (30 Jun 2015)

Great!! Camera turns towards two rocks as Maroon 5 say, suck on these lmao!

Joking aside silly me.


You have done a splendid job with the scape, looks very tranquil.


----------



## Tim Harrison (30 Jun 2015)

I deliberately turned the sound up full to see what I was missing... Never mind the tank and inhabitants look stunning...


----------



## Felix Wagner (30 Jun 2015)

Really beautiful  ♡

Liebe Grüße Felix


----------



## Lindy (30 Jun 2015)

kirk said:


> Great!! Camera turns towards two rocks as Maroon 5 say, suck on these lmao!





Troi said:


> I deliberately turned the sound up full to see what I was missing... Never mind the tank and inhabitants look stunning...


AHHH you feckers!


----------



## Lindy (30 Jun 2015)

The fish only went back in yesterday and it is still a little cloudy but they have settled in quickly again. 



Felix Wagner said:


> Really beautiful


Thankyou Felix.


----------



## Lindy (8 Jul 2015)

This has to be my favourite version of gourami gloaming so far. Started dosing ei and have better flow in the tank and my surface film is almost completely gone. Fish are happy ￼ 





Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## tim (9 Jul 2015)

Looks superb Lindy, very tranquil scape.


----------



## Lindy (9 Jul 2015)

Thanks Tim. There is a couch next to it now so i can sit and watch in comfort. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Greenfinger2 (10 Jul 2015)

Simply wonderful


----------



## Lindy (21 Jul 2015)

Paros...

Female




Male




They are not fully grown yet, the parents being a bit longer and much deeper bodied. Keep trying to get shots of the young males flaring but as soon as they see a camera it is over...

The betta Simplex have carried on breeding in this tank but thanks to the best efforts of all the gourami there are no surviving fry. I have even seen the chocolate gourami barge in between the simplex while they were in their breeding embrace. I wondered what the hell they were doing until the simplex broke apart and eggs went flying . .....feeding frenzy! Those choccos are smart cookies. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (22 Jul 2015)

If you are going to watch do so in hd720p


----------



## Lindy (23 Jul 2015)

Clumps of my java fern are getting brown/grey spots which eventually join up until the whole leaf is a browny grey and mushy and the whole lot melts away. I have taken off the lily pipe to increase flow and think i may have to add co2 as well as BBA has been spreading on the wood too  and i don't want to reduce light any further.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## JohnC (24 Jul 2015)

i've just read through this whole journal. what an excellent journey you have had. trials and joys. all a great learning experience. 

i'd love to live a touch closer to colin dunlop to allow me access to his fish lists regularly. i've eyed up his betta lists many a times. i'm down in largs for the viking festival at the end of aug early sep(my partner is performing there) i may do a quick visit then.


----------



## Lindy (26 Jul 2015)

Unfortunately I've had to change this again as flow was terrible with so much wood in the tank so have taken some out, cut a chunk off a piece I kept in and bought some more plants. Want to have more plants and rely less on hardscape for structure. Have taken advantage of Thegreenmachine having 20% off on their new website and ordered 3 bags of ada africana and 1 ada amazonia. I'll add one bag of africana to this now as substate is a bit thin on the ground and keep the other 2 for after I've moved and use them to cap old substrate. I'd add them all now but africana is messy to rescape with. The Amazonia will go to a future shrimp tank. CO2 is now on. I've scrubbed all the wood as is was covered in bba and hopefully the changes will keep it at bay. An air stone will come on every night too.
Not bad though, 4 bags of ada substrate for £90  A nice side effect of adding africana is the buffering down to ph5.5....


----------



## Lindy (10 Aug 2015)

The Ada Africana arrived today (2weeks to deliver  ) 





Wood has been trimmed to take off any big bulky parts that block flow. 




Next rocks in and then fill a couple of inches for planting crypts.




All planted up










My plastic lily 




I'd forgotten how much I like ada Africana. It is heavier than amazonia and plants up really well. The crystal clear water from getgo is nice too 



Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## James O (10 Aug 2015)

Looks niiiiice! I must have missed it, but where did you get your plastic lily from?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (10 Aug 2015)

James O said:


> where did you get your plastic lily from?


Ebay, hongkong seller. I like the inlet as it has an end cap I can take out and put a shrimp guard over so I doesn't get blocked.

Just realised I'll not need these as changing to jbl 1501e with bigger pipes  so will put these on the 'for sale' page.


----------



## Lindy (14 Aug 2015)

My jbl 1501e arrived today and it was interesting to read in the booklet that while the pump head is rated at 1400lph the expected flow is between 800-900lph when filtering through media and pipes. I'm so glad I went with the 1501 as with a lily outlet the flow seems perfect. I may have to tweek it a bit when the fish go back in but so far the leaves of most of my plants are gently waving. All did not go well though. Connected up the atomiser I got recently only to find there is a leak through a seam on the top so water is getting out. And I'd cut the pipe so couldn't take the atomiser off so it is gently dripping away . Will have to order more 16/22 tubing....don't think I'll bother with another atomiser though as everything seems to be against me having co2 and going proper low tech.


----------



## James O (14 Aug 2015)

Going Low Tech - "Join the slow side"


----------



## Lindy (14 Aug 2015)

It was more to combat bba but heyho, as Edvet said, as long as the fish are happy haha

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (11 Sep 2015)

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (23 Sep 2015)

Paros dancing...watch at 1080..


----------



## Lindy (23 Sep 2015)

One male has a nest in a hole in a branch. As I watched 2 different females went in and had a look.
You can just see the tip of his nose





Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (27 Sep 2015)

I added 40 chili rasbora on friday only to think today 'where are they?' As I could only see 10ish. Initially I blamed my male betta simplex as he is the only one with a big enough gob to eat them.... Anyway decided to have a look in the external filter and there they were. Unfortunately a couple were dead and another few were inside the very coarse filter foam at the top. Needless to say, I now have foam over the filter intake.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Lindy (27 Sep 2015)

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## James O (28 Sep 2015)

Nothing like some tidily little fish to add scale to the tank.  Have they made any difference to the Paros/Gourami?


----------



## Lindy (28 Sep 2015)

James O said:


> Nothing like some tidily little fish to add scale to the tank. Have they made any difference to the Paros/Gourami?


No, it is business as usual for everyone.


----------



## Lindy (28 Sep 2015)

I hadn't noticed how much the crypts have grown in the 7weeks since planting until I looked back at augusts photo.


----------



## nduli (21 Dec 2015)

lindy, updates needed  hope you are well. re-reading this thread has convinced me to try chocos given I have been allowed to keep my sig 600 for the dining room. journal on my new sig 900 sump low tech to go on over xmas if I get chance.


----------

