# Tidy Jungle



## Courtneybst (17 Sep 2016)

Hey guys, this is the start of my continous journal of my new aquarium. I'm upgrading from a Fluval Roma 200 which is 44 UK gallon/52 US gallon tank to a Juwel Rio 300 which is 76 UK gallon/92 US gallon.

* Latest Tank Shot * 





Like my other tank this will be a planted tank. I was previously planning to be quite strict with my plant selection but I've had a change of heart. I'm now planning to buy lots of different plants, see what I like and what I can grow and go from there.

I have a whole tank full of cryptocorynes, amazon swords, wood and some substrate which will be moving into the new tank. So far I've only bought some new rocks.





For anyone that's wondering this is Dragon Stone (Ohko Stone) which is a stunning clay based rock with lots of little holes. It doesn't affect your water chemistry but you should take time to clean out the holes and excess clay on the surface. You'll be surprised how much of it is actually clay and not solid rock. Online this rock is usually around £3-4 per kg but I picked up loads of it for £25 at Woodcote Garden Nurseries in Wallington (UK) - good little shop.





I will be posting updates of the development of the tank, so please tell me what your thoughts are and let's have some fun! 

N.B. This journal will be picture heavy! 

*Setup Overview

Tank: Juwel Rio 300 SBX Model 

Filter: Juwel Bioflow + Eheim 2217

Lights: Juwel Hi-lite T5 Day (4x54w) 9000K

Substrate: Cal Aqua Black Earth Premium + Cal Aqua Green Base XR + A little red clay 

Ferts: EI Dosing 
Macro: Standard NPK (70ml 3 times a week)
Micro: Chelated Trace - Fe 8.2%, Mn 1.82%, Zn 1.16%, B 1.05%, Cu 0.23%, Mo 0.15% (70ml 3 times a week)


CO2: EasyCarbo 10ml per day*


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## Greenfinger2 (17 Sep 2016)

Hi Courtneybst, Love dragon stone looking forward to seeing your new scape come to life


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## Alex J (17 Sep 2016)

My favourite stone at one of my lfs it's £1.99 a kilo, bargain. will be looking out for up dates of your new tank


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## Courtneybst (18 Sep 2016)

What are people's thoughts on using a frosted window film on the background? I've seen it used before online and it looks really nice. 

Anyone ever tried it?


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## Greenfinger2 (18 Sep 2016)

Hi C, I have used it great stuff easy to put on and take off  At the moment I use black art card to give another look.


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## Courtneybst (30 Sep 2016)

FINALLY got my new tank guys. 

I'll be setting up over the next few days, pictures incoming! 

View attachment 91549


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## Manisha (30 Sep 2016)

Hi, I just wondered if you used the stock t8 lights with your Roma or did you upgrade? I'm sure it will be nice having the flexibility with using t5s with your new tank


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## Courtneybst (30 Sep 2016)

Manisha said:


> Hi, I just wondered if you used the stock t8 lights with your Roma or did you upgrade? I'm sure it will be nice having the flexibility with using t5s with your new tank



Hey Manisha, I did use the stock T8 lights with the Roma. They're not the best but adequate for low light plants.

Im really looking forward to having T5s. So much more choice!


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## Courtneybst (2 Oct 2016)

For my substrate, I thought I'd try something different from ADA and went for the Cal Aqua Black Earth and Green Base XR. 

My delivery was split into two so they've teased me with one bag of Black Earth and the Green Base. A little annoying to say the least. Here's the photos of the front and back of the bags. I noticed in general you never see pictures of the back of products which often have the most useful information to the user. The info on the back is different to what you see online.


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## Courtneybst (4 Oct 2016)

So I started building the cabinet yesterday which was a bit of a pain but I got there in the end. 







I applied some frosted window film to the back. I might need to get an led strip to light up the back to get the effect I want. So far it's holding with no bubbles. 




I then got the help of a friend to lift the tank into the stand, it weighs 68kg by itself  bruh...





I also thought if I'm gonna do this, I might as well go all out. So I kitted out the cabinet with equipment and my old tank stuff. Organisation level 100!


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## Courtneybst (4 Oct 2016)

I also started scaping yesterday. I would have preferred to have taken my time but as getting the tank was delayed I'm running out of time and need to get it up and running asap. As a result, it's not the best scape I've done but hey. I'll be getting some more small dragon stones and breaking them into small pieces to compliment the large pieces.

I first started with a very thin base of Cal Aqua Green Base XR. It says to use a 1cm layer but I also have another substrate, dosing and root tabs so I think I'll be fine.







I then added the other substrate which is Cal Aqua Black Earth. Not often seen in the UK, I had to order from Germany. The substrate looks very nice, small black/brown hard balls - similar to Fluval Stratum but smaller and more firm. It does soften when it gets wet. I haven't flooded the tank yet but I tried some of the substrate in a glass jar and I poured the water in from a height and the water stayed really clear. All you see is tiny water bubbles as the substrate saturates.







Finally, I used 2mm Black Correx to support the substrate and stop it sliding. I just cut the sizes I needed and wedged them in. The front is about 2 inches deep and the back is about 4 inches. It feels a lot deeper than it measures out.







The plants come today so I'll be busy putting them in tonight


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## Manisha (4 Oct 2016)

How exciting for you! I'm sure its fine, but the magnetic strip to hold your tools looks well but I'd wonder if it would affect your external filter if too close?


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## Courtneybst (4 Oct 2016)

Manisha said:


> How exciting for you! I'm sure its fine, but the magnetic strip to hold your tools looks well but I'd wonder if it would affect your external filter if too close?



Im not sure? How do they affect the filters?


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## dw1305 (4 Oct 2016)

Hi all, 





Courtneybst said:


> How do they affect the filters?


The filter impeller is driven by a magnetic drive. There isn't a direct coupling between the motor and the impeller, the filter motor spins a rotor magnet, which then in turn turns the impeller (which has a magnetic body). It gets rid of the need for drive seals etc.

If you place a strong magnet to one side of the impeller, it won't spin centrally in it's housing.

If you can't hear any noise when the filter is running I would imagine it is OK.

cheers Darrel


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## Courtneybst (5 Oct 2016)

Finally planted and filled the tank. I'm not even going to tell you what I had to do to fill it, let's just enjoy the fact that it's filled haha. Started off my mission with a bit of Run DMC... 

Ordered my plants from Aqua Essentials. Once again the plants came in perfect condition. They are truly the Apple of Aquarium Plants! (At least in the UK).












This Cal Aqua Black Earth must be magic because the water is crystal clear, as if nothing ever happened. That's good for me as I like to move things about. You get no dust clouding at all. Also for the first time I had no floaters, not even one  The video shows you just how clear it is.










I'm also giving away my Cryptocorynes (Green and a few Pink), 1 large Amazon Sword and some Anubias Nana mini from my old tank. Very healthy with ridiculous roots. If you are in the London area, you can have the amount shown in the picture below for just 50p, which is a bargain! There's loads more of it too. I thought I'd use it all in the new tank but only ended up using a few plantlets. Once they're gone, they're gone!


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## Courtneybst (5 Oct 2016)

Ignore the Jonas Brothers in the background  It was on a stream. Not knocking them though


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## Courtneybst (5 Oct 2016)

Day 2 and the water has gone cloudy overnight. Is this a bacterial bloom?


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## Courtneybst (7 Oct 2016)

My scaping tool finally arrived. Albeit after I had already setup the tank but I'm sure it will come in handy at some point.


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## Courtneybst (7 Oct 2016)

Can anyone help me ID this plant? I picked it up at my LFS because it looked cool with the green and purple. However, I've never seen it before and I'm wondering if it's actually a terrestrial plant because it has microhairs on the stem and it's quite rigid. When I bought it, it was submersed.

Any ideas?


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## Courtneybst (7 Oct 2016)

Courtneybst said:


> Can anyone help me ID this plant? I picked it up at my LFS because it looked cool with the green and purple. However, I've never seen it before and I'm wondering if it's actually a terrestrial plant because it has microhairs on the stem and it's quite rigid. When I bought it, it was submersed.
> 
> Any ideas?



Just found out it's Hemigraphis Exotica, which is a terrestrial plant for sure. If you see it, don't buy it (unless you need a house plant).


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## Manisha (9 Oct 2016)

Looking great planted up so for - your scape tool is great ( I found for if you change things later on!)


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## Courtneybst (10 Oct 2016)

Day 5 Update:

Everything is still taking root so no explosive growth.

Monte Carlo is growing in slowly. Some of it on the right side is melting but only a very small amount. 

Staurogyne and Alternanthera Reineckii Mini are loving it, growing well. I'm glad that the AR stayed red!

Ludwigia Palustris is doing good, side roots coming off.

Limnophila Hippuridoides is just beginning to grow with a few leaves falling off. The rotala rotundafolia is putting out one set of new leaves but they seem to still be in emersed form. Does it not even realise it's underwater?  haha 

Hydrocotyle Tripartita facing upwards and starting to root. Some pinholes in some of the leaves.

I also added my 4 amano shrimp from the old tank. They're enjoying the peace whilst it lasts.


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## Courtneybst (10 Oct 2016)

I was thinking of setting up a pressurised CO2 system on my tank to help the plant growth. However, since using Black Earth substrate and a piece of driftwood my ph has dropped from its normal 7.4 to around 6.4. 

I heard that using CO2 drops the ph by about one unit which would make it around 5.4. I know these fish come from soft water in the wild but is this going to be too low? Just wondering.


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## kadoxu (10 Oct 2016)

Courtneybst said:


> I was thinking of setting up a pressurised CO2 system on my tank to help the plant growth. However, since using Black Earth substrate and a piece of driftwood my ph has dropped from its normal 7.4 to around 6.4.
> 
> I heard that using CO2 drops the ph by about one unit which would make it around 5.4. I know these fish come from soft water in the wild but is this going to be too low? Just wondering.



PH drop from CO2 injection depends on 2 things actually. KH and the ammount of CO2 you add to the water.

CO2 is acidic, so the more you add, the more the PH will drop. How much it drops depends on your KH (buffering capacity), meaning, the higher your KH, more CO2 needs to be added for a PH drop.

Check the chart posted by @zozo in this thread
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/drop-checker-color-relation-to-kh-question.42795/

If you check the KH column with you KH level, the greyed cells in that column represent the recommended amount of CO2 in the water (should be around 30ppm in a high tech tank). You can then check the PH you should expect with these levels.


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## Jack Reilly (10 Oct 2016)

Interested in how this black earth works out long term. What I've read so far has been positive but there's not as much information as there is on Ada soils obviously. I prefer the cal aqua lily pipes to my do aqua pipes (which broke easily).


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## Courtneybst (10 Oct 2016)

Jack Reilly said:


> Interested in how this black earth works out long term. What I've read so far has been positive but there's not as much information as there is on Ada soils obviously. I prefer the cal aqua lily pipes to my do aqua pipes (which broke easily).



As am I Jack. It hasn't been around for very long and so there's not much info on it. It's also not readily available here in the UK so I hope my journal gives people a good insight into its capabilities over the coming months/years.

I could only find good reviews on it so far. As it stands I'm quite pleased with it but it's early days still.


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## Courtneybst (11 Oct 2016)

Just got my dosing pump for when I go on holiday. Gotta keep them plants happy


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## Courtneybst (13 Oct 2016)

I just bought a dosing pump for when I go on holiday. What do people do to keep their planted tanks in line when they're away? I haven't seen anyone really using a doser. 

I'm curious.


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## Courtneybst (13 Oct 2016)

I did a mini trim today, and couldn't help but notice the colour of the Alternanthera Reineckii Mini  It looks amazing at the moment. Team Low Tech!


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## Courtneybst (19 Oct 2016)

I've added some of the squad now. I've got the following:

1 Pterophyllum Scalare
2 Glossolepis Incisus
1 Melanotaenia Lacustris
16 Hemigrammus Erythrozonus
4 Caridina Multidentata
1 Supposedly M. Splendida but looks like either Trifasciata or Aru II - Still too young for me to tell.

Looking to add some Bosemani in the next few days. I'm also on the hunt for a Trifasciata as my LFS is now out of stock for a while.


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## Courtneybst (24 Oct 2016)

This is the tank currently. I'm away for 4 days so I'm hoping I'll come back to some nice growth. Some of the plants are showing some signs of either stunting or deficiency but I reckon it's CO2 since I reduced my Easy Carbo dosage slightly. Hopefully it picks up. 

I'll wait it out and if it doesn't improve I'll be looking to setup a pressurised CO2 system.







Another squad photo





I also added one female Lacustris, two female and one male Bosemani.


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## Courtneybst (27 Oct 2016)

Back from my 4 day trip and I found just what I expected...algae.

It was nothing to cry over, just a little brown and gsa on the glass and that's it. I gave the Ludwigia Palustris a trim since it's growing out of my ears now!

I've redirected the flow of the internal filter to face the Limnophila and Rotala as they were not growing much. We'll see what happens there. The Monte Carlo is spreading slowly but surely 

I noticed some 'dissolving' on some of the staurogyne and Alternanthera. Not sure what it is but I've redirected the external filter flow over that area to ensure it gets what it needs.









As for the Nymphoides Hydrophyla Taiwan...I wish I knew about this plant sooner. It's really fast growing and vivid green. I'm looking forward to it reaching the surface!





Tank Currently:


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## Courtneybst (27 Oct 2016)

A comparison of the tank between now and 3 weeks ago. Bearing in mind this is a low tech tank.


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## tim (27 Oct 2016)

Nice growth for 3 weeks low tech mate


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## Courtneybst (28 Oct 2016)

tim said:


> Nice growth for 3 weeks low tech mate



Cheers Tim

I didn't think it had grown much until I compared it to the first photo. I guess that's the downside of seeing the tank every day lol


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## Courtneybst (30 Oct 2016)

* UPDATE *

I have decided to only use the dosing pump when I'm away. It seems a shame considering how much it cost but I'm not confident in having to dose both macro and micro on the same day. Some of it gets wasted when I do water changes too.

I'm not saying that the dosing pump is 100% to blame but since using it some plants are showing signs of not getting enough nutrients. I usually dose my ferts and easycarbo directly in front of the filter flows when done by hand. 

I think it's good to have but I'm simply not away enough to make using it daily worth it. I'd rather do it myself whilst I'm here.

On another note, I went out and got a whole range of frozen foods for the fish. I want the rainbows to reach their maximum size and colour so I'm now feeding a selection of foods twice a day instead of once. They seem to prefer these to flakes.


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## Courtneybst (1 Nov 2016)

Low Tech Monte Carlo carpet is spreading well. I know I'm gonna have to be EXTRA patient.

Amano shrimp are going to town on the algae. I can't believe my amano shrimp are nearly 7 years old! I want to add more but at the same time I don't because I want to see how long these soldiers can last. They've been in 5 different tanks, inside and outside the aquarium  and they are still fighting fit.

I may get some otocinclus to help with the brown algae. Always liked them cheeky monkeys.

Happy Fish Keeping


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## kadoxu (2 Nov 2016)

7 year old Amanos?! Wow! 

It's pretty rare (to me) to ear about Amanos with much more than a couple of years. I didn't get Amanos, because I was told ate the time that they would only last around 1 year! But I've recently read that they can actually live for more than 10 years.


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## Courtneybst (2 Nov 2016)

kadoxu said:


> 7 year old Amanos?! Wow!
> 
> It's pretty rare (to me) to ear about Amanos with much more than a couple of years. I didn't get Amanos, because I was told ate the time that they would only last around 1 year! But I've recently read that they can actually live for more than 10 years.



Yeah I know, they told me only a few years but I promise you it's been the same shrimps since the beginning. They are resilient as hell!


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## Courtneybst (3 Nov 2016)

Water change update. Tank is going well so far


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## Courtneybst (11 Nov 2016)

*Water Change Update:*

Thought I'd use my DSLR instead of my phone today to get some nice shots. 

The rainbows aren't in full colouration at the moment but the colours are definitely developing well in the short time that they've been in the tank. They love swimming in the water flow during water changes.



The plants all got a good clipping, and scraped away any algae on the glass. I'm thinking that the Limnophilia is actually fully grown as its not getting any taller but the tops are slightly purple. Rotala Rotundifolia is growing taller but incredibly slow. I'm wondering if it's just not suited for this setup? 

*Can anybody suggest a good, dense background plant that will reach 50cm + (Not Vallisneria - I can't use this as I'm dosing Easy Carbo).*














New Shots:


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## Courtneybst (22 Nov 2016)

Despite what I said, I bought some vallisneria. I'm going to try and acclimatise it to liquid carbon. I'm hoping it will do better than the rotala.




I also picked up some dwarf hairgrass and 6 otocinclus. 










The lawn is still looking vibrant.




Full tank shot before water change tomorrow. (It's got a lot of brown algae at the moment).


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## Doubu (22 Nov 2016)

Wow, that carpet is looking great considering you're only using liquid carbon! 


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## Courtneybst (22 Nov 2016)

Doubu said:


> Wow, that carpet is looking great considering you're only using liquid carbon!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Thanks Doubu. I'm really pleased with it too, it's only been 2 months.


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## Courtneybst (22 Nov 2016)

Day 1 vs Week 4 vs Week 8

If I can do it low tech, so can you!


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## Courtneybst (4 Dec 2016)

If you compare the top photo to the bottom one, I've scaled back a lot of the plants.

Rotala rotundifolia got completely removed as it wasn't growing properly at all. I moved the big beautiful chunk of Ludwigia Palustris to the back of the tank so you can actually see the Limnophila Hippuridoides. I also replanted some of the vallisneria plantlets.

I'm looking for some small-medium plants to fill out the mid ground. I was considering cryptocorynes again but they can get so out of hand.

Also thinking about dosing calcium.

Fish are doing well and colouring up nicely. The shrimps have gone back into hiding.


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## Courtneybst (30 Dec 2016)

Been busy for a while. 

Here's a quick update of the tank and the fish. 

Anyone know how to get rid of black beard algae from a carpet?


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## Aqua360 (30 Dec 2016)

Courtneybst said:


> Been busy for a while.
> 
> Here's a quick update of the tank and the fish.
> 
> ...




I've seen people dose maracyn for it, which is an antibiotic I believe; but this may just be a bandaid rather than a good term solution, perhaps not enough flow reaching the carpet?


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## Courtneybst (30 Dec 2016)

Aqua360 said:


> I've seen people dose maracyn for it, which is an antibiotic I believe; but this may just be a bandaid rather than a good term solution, perhaps not enough flow reaching the carpet?


I am with you on the flow thing.  Might invest in a pump 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk


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## Doubu (30 Dec 2016)

I would trim the affected parts of the carpet with the BBA. I also notice quite a bit of green dust algae in your tank - and what I am about to suggest will be controversial, but I recommend you adding some ramshorn snails to your tank. They absolutely love GDA and will help keep the tank clean. No matter what other people say, I love these guys =). You can even crush them and use them as fish food if you have too many - they are just the best.


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## Courtneybst (30 Dec 2016)

Doubu said:


> I would trim the affected parts of the carpet with the BBA. I also notice quite a bit of green dust algae in your tank - and what I am about to suggest will be controversial, but I recommend you adding some ramshorn snails to your tank. They absolutely love GDA and will help keep the tank clean. No matter what other people say, I love these guys =). You can even crush them and use them as fish food if you have too many - they are just the best.


Do you mean the tiny ones which multiply by the millions? I just managed to get rid of them from my old tank. 

Any other ways to clear it? 

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## Doubu (30 Dec 2016)

Hmm... they aren't exactly tiny - they are about 1cm in length (some get really large) and look like the snail to the right of the shrimp (found another photo and added too). I have them in all my tanks, ALL of them. It helps amateurs like myself keep the tank clean while we try to learn/find the right balance.

Any algae is a symptom of imbalance. It will never go away completely but it can be minimized. You need to find the right balance for your tank mass, light and co2. First thing I would do is turn off the filter, scrub/wipe the heck out of the glass with a paper towel or a normal towel and then do a 50% WC. The key is when cleaning or trimming is to do WC right after to get rid of as many spores as you can (and to get rid of any dead leaves and whatnot). You can imagine that if you constantly change the water you will not only deplete it of nutrients (that plants need) but also of any existing algae spores.


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## Courtneybst (2 Jan 2017)

What are your opinions of gravel vacuuming planted tanks? 

I don't currently but I want to get some corys and they need quite clean substrate. The substrate is very loose. 

Some say just invest in Malaysian Trumpet Snails, but I'm not sure I want them messing up the layout. 

Thanks, 



How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## dw1305 (3 Jan 2017)

Hi all,





Doubu said:


> I have them in all my tanks, ALL of them. It helps amateurs like myself keep the tank clean while we try to learn/find the right balance.


I'm the same as @Doubu, I'm definitely a Red Ramshorn fan, and I also like <"leaf litter"> in the tanks.





Courtneybst said:


> What are your opinions of gravel vacuuming planted tanks?


It is going to do more harm than good.





Courtneybst said:


> I don't currently but I want to get some corys and they need quite clean substrate. The substrate is very loose.


They are better with sand, but the substrate needs to be healthy, and that isn't the same as clean.





Courtneybst said:


> Some say just invest in Malaysian Trumpet Snails, but I'm not sure I want them messing up the layout.


I like MTS too.

cheers Darrel


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## alto (3 Jan 2017)

Courtneybst said:


> Do you mean the tiny ones which multiply by the millions?


that would be Malaysian Trumpet Snails alright 
 - I'd take ramshorn snails over them any day (look for some of the more exotic colors, they are likely less aggressive colonizers)

Horned Nerite snails are cute things & seldom breed in freshwater, also unlike some Nerite sp, they seldom seem to deposit those white eggs (everywhere )

Given the rainbows & angels, I suspect any shrimp will learn to play _leastinsight_ or suffer the consequences


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## ian1965 (3 Jan 2017)

Hi Courtneybst,loving this tank i joined the forum because of this thread,so inspiring ,thanks


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## Courtneybst (3 Jan 2017)

ian1965 said:


> Hi Courtneybst,loving this tank i joined the forum because of this thread,so inspiring ,thanks


Oh wow that's so nice. Thank you  

Do you have any tanks at the moment? 

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## Courtneybst (3 Jan 2017)

alto said:


> that would be Malaysian Trumpet Snails alright
> - I'd take ramshorn snails over them any day (look for some of the more exotic colors, they are likely less aggressive colonizers)
> 
> Horned Nerite snails are cute things & seldom breed in freshwater, also unlike some Nerite sp, they seldom seem to deposit those white eggs (everywhere )
> ...


I bought a nerite a few months ago and it laid white eggs everywhere! I've had nerites in the past and they've never done this. 

Also, I don't wanna sound stupid but these red ramshorns are different from the pest ones? 

When I search for Red Ramshorns I get this: 



But I used to have these which I also thought were ramshorns, they are a few mm big at most:



They can supposedly damage delicate plants? 


Thanks  

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## Courtneybst (3 Jan 2017)

Given the rainbows & angels, I suspect any shrimp will learn to play _leastinsight_ or suffer the consequences [/QUOTE]

Yeah, I literally never see my shrimp anymore! 

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## ian1965 (3 Jan 2017)

hi,yeah got a three foot aqua oak been in the hobby about 30 years ,just going through a bad patch need inspiration ,been planted for about 3 years co2 ei dosing, now no co2 little feed and little plants very soft water,just not sure which way to go ,dont take this the wrong way your set up was so simple but very effective ,you know when you see something you thinks thats it i like that simple ,ian


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## Courtneybst (3 Jan 2017)

Also, for anyone looking for information (as I did for months) Vallisneria can withstand liquid carbon. I didn't acclimatise it or anything. It just went straight into a double strength dosed Aquarium (I only dose 1.5x now anyway). 





How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## Doubu (3 Jan 2017)

I have both those types.. I honestly have no idea what the small ones are but they are usually in such small amounts that I don't really give it a second thought...


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## George Kulangara (3 Jan 2017)

I use liquid carbon with Valisneria and I've had no issues here. I think it might just be pot luck to be honest. I had a similar set up to your tank but as soon as I added discus to the tank, they got spooked and upturned my hemianthus carpet which took months to grow in. 

I have been using a gravel vacuum over my hemianthus carpet and it picks up all the fine detritus. I used to do this every 2-3 weeks and it helped keep the carpet clean. As long as you manage the strength of the suction by moving the vacuum up and down, you won't uproot an established carpet. Hope that helps!


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## Courtneybst (4 Jan 2017)

George Kulangara said:


> I use liquid carbon with Valisneria and I've had no issues here. I think it might just be pot luck to be honest. I had a similar set up to your tank but as soon as I added discus to the tank, they got spooked and upturned my hemianthus carpet which took months to grow in.
> 
> I have been using a gravel vacuum over my hemianthus carpet and it picks up all the fine detritus. I used to do this every 2-3 weeks and it helped keep the carpet clean. As long as you manage the strength of the suction by moving the vacuum up and down, you won't uproot an established carpet. Hope that helps!


I think I should start doing this. I just need to find a vacuum cleaner big enough for my tank. I have to use a ladder to maintain it!  

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## dw1305 (4 Jan 2017)

Hi all,





George Kulangara said:


> I have been using a gravel vacuum over my hemianthus carpet and it picks up all the fine detritus.


I don't see any problem with using the gravel vac like that.

cheers Darrel


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## Courtneybst (5 Jan 2017)

I controversially removed the Juwel Bioflow from the tank. 

Although it had 'some' filter media, it wasn't even half full and always seemed to compact. I also couldn't clean it very well as its situated right under the light unit  Amongst those issues, average flow, mulm getting into tank, taking up space, eyesore... the list goes on. 

I replaced it with two hydor koralia circulation pumps. In total this gives me 10x flow rate and the filter can handle the load for now. In future I would probably add another eheim classic as the fish get bigger.

Did some uprooting but overall I much prefer the tank without the two tonne tunic (if you know you know ) 





How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## George Kulangara (5 Jan 2017)

The carpets looking very lush! Good job!! 


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## Courtneybst (5 Jan 2017)

George Kulangara said:


> The carpets looking very lush! Good job!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Thanks George 

You can't see the algae  I need to find a way to get rid of it without ripping up the whole carpet. 

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


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## tim (6 Jan 2017)

I've had good success filling a 500ml water bottle with sports cap with tank water and maybe 5xdose of liquid carbon, during water change before refilling the tank, squeeze water and liquid carbon mix over the carpet wait 5 mins and refill tank, algae should turn pink and die off, amanno shrimp will then eat it.


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## George Kulangara (6 Jan 2017)

tim said:


> I've had good success filling a 500ml water bottle with sports cap with tank water and maybe 5xdose of liquid carbon, during water change before refilling the tank, squeeze water and liquid carbon mix over the carpet wait 5 mins and refill tank, algae should turn pink and die off, amanno shrimp will then eat it.




Hey Tim, 
I have never heard of this technique, would it work on other plants that are covered with algae aswell? 
Is there a danger of overdosing the CO2?  I've always been told by my LFS to be careful with liquid CO2 as it's easy to overdose.




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## tim (6 Jan 2017)

George Kulangara said:


> Hey Tim,
> I have never heard of this technique, would it work on other plants that are covered with algae aswell?
> Is there a danger of overdosing the CO2?  I've always been told by my LFS to be careful with liquid CO2 as it's easy to overdose.
> 
> ...


Hi George, method should work with other plants, I've not had any issues using the larger dose yet, but there is always the chance of overdosing. Though you could use a double dose instead, I assume I've been ok with the strong dose as the tank is refilled soon after dosing, diluting the strong dose, I would be very wary using this strong dose method on moss though.


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## Courtneybst (26 Jan 2017)

The only time black beard algae looks nice. Still battling it. 




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## Courtneybst (27 Jan 2017)

* NEW ADDITION * 

Today I added a young male Electric Blue Acara. Supposedly they like to dig but many report this only happens when spawning. He seems to have settled in, only the smallest of bosemani giving him a bit of grief. 





Beautiful fish though. Basically a bigger electric blue ram, in length and thickness. Also a bit more hardy. 






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## Courtneybst (21 Feb 2017)

Tank is looking good, black beard algae is still there but I feel like I'm slowly winning the war. Reduced my light period by an hour, increased the easy carbo back to 14ml and I'm doing more physical removal.

Found a new, much easier way to do water changes too, got it down to well under an hour 

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## Courtneybst (14 Mar 2017)

I'm giving away some cuttings for free because there's just so many at the moment.

* Nymphoides Taiwan * cuttings are a few inches tall but they grow like crazy! I started with one plant split into 3 plantlets and they've taken over the whole corner.





If you're close to London and you want some let me know, they're a little less common. Collection only this time  

Here's some photo updates of the crew too.









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