# All The Gear, "No Idear"



## livewire (13 May 2013)

Hello everyone,

This is the start of my journal, I am gathering everything together in order to set my new tank up so want to document everything down so that I can get advice from people along the way. This way I should have everything ready to set the tank up without to many problems (fingers crossed)

*Tank;* 90x45x45 Optiwhite Bracless Tank, (Aquariums ltd UK) sat on a Solid Oak Cabinet
*Lighting;* 2 x TMC 1500 Ultima LED Tiles (with resistors removed to stop high pitch noise when using dimmer) running off of 2 x TMC 2 channel power controllers (Storm function included)
*Filtration/Flow;* 2 x Tetra Tech EX1200, Acrylic Inflo and Outflow pipes, Hydor 900lph Power Head
*Heater;* Hydor inline 300W
*Co2;* 5 KG FE, Up inline diffuser
*Substrate; *ADA AquaSoil 18liters 
*Hard Scape; *Landscape Rock and Redmoor Wood
*Plants;* Yet to decide
*Ferts;* Tropica Specialized Fertilizer, Flourish Excel - Both dosed using a Marine Magic Aquarium Pump

I am hoping to seek advice from you all on hardscape placement, plant arrangements and anything else that will help me along the way, I will add plenty of pictures of dry hardscape set ups so I can get some advice on what to change ect.

Plant wise I would like a lot of plants in the tank so need to decide what style of arrangement I will have, leaning towards a dutch style but am worried that if I use a lot of stem plants the filters will be bending the stems over at the back of the tank.

*First things first, here is the rock I have to use; (on my work bench)*






*Redmoor wood;*





*Oak Cabinet; (in the shop)*





*Lights; (one is running on the tank in my avatar at the moment)*





*Dosing pump;*





*Acrylic pipes; (spray bar pipes need trimming)*





*Co2 Gear; (running on existing tank, cables ect will be tidied up when in new cabinet)*

*

*

I will get some pictures of dry hardscape set ups shortly.

Cheers
Dan


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## Jack12 (14 May 2013)

great set up and good luck limewire! which dosing pump (two?) is that and where can I buy it in uk? thanks!


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## livewire (14 May 2013)

Jack12 said:


> great set up and good luck limewire! which dosing pump (two?) is that and where can I buy it in uk? thanks!


 
If you search on ebay for aquarium dosing pumps you will find them, they come from China but they have good reviews so I am giving it a go.


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## aliclarke86 (14 May 2013)

Where did you find the acrylic pipes? Are they custom?


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## livewire (14 May 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> Where did you find the acrylic pipes? Are they custom?


 
Also from Ebay and again from China lol

They seem decent quality, funny story behind them as I made the seller an offer and he came back with a counter offer for less that what I had offered  so I snapped them up for a decent price.
I need to trim the spray bar bits down so the spray bar sits higher in the water, the way they are now would mean they would be to far under the surface.


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## aliclarke86 (14 May 2013)

I have real trouble finding anything like this on eBay ....... Strange


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## livewire (14 May 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> I have real trouble finding anything like this on eBay ....... Strange


 
Here you go mate;

DIY Aquarium Acrylics Filter Pipe outflow/inflow connect 12/16mm or 16/22mm pipe | eBay

I asked for the pick up pipes to be made 40cm long which the seller did for no extra charge, even after he made the mistake with the cost.


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## Lloyd (14 May 2013)

you got all the kit for an awesome scape. no pressure 

my one concern is your Co2 cylinder. those trigger handles are not designed to be kept closed. sooner or later it will fail. Best to swop it out for a tap/wheel valve.


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## ian_m (14 May 2013)

Lloyd said:


> My one concern is your Co2 cylinder. those trigger handles are not designed to be kept closed. sooner or later it will fail. Best to swop it out for a tap/wheel valve.


Sorry what a load of bolls. No need to change the valve. No issue keeping handle closed, what ever method. I used cable ties easier to remove.

Or get a FE with holes to enable the handle to be held down with the pin.


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## livewire (14 May 2013)

Lloyd said:


> you got all the kit for an awesome scape. no pressure
> 
> my one concern is your Co2 cylinder. those trigger handles are not designed to be kept closed. sooner or later it will fail. Best to swop it out for a tap/wheel valve.


 
I agree that the wheel valve would be a better option but fitting it would mean the cylinder would need to be emptied so not to keen to waste around 4KG of Co2  maybe an option when the tank needs to be re filled.

When it all moves over to the new tank I will remove the tape and replace with cable ties to make it look neater. It may even have the holes you mention! I never checked before adding the tape.


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## Lloyd (14 May 2013)

ian_m the squeeze handle is ONLY in place for easy operation while extinguishing a fire. they are designed to operate for a MAX 4-6 minutes burst, thereafter the cylinder will be depleted and the extinguisher would have done its job. IT IS NOT made to stay open for pro longed periods of time. Why on earth do you think they made wheel valves, for looks? Wheels valves are used when we want to regulate the output pressure. This is exactly what we want to achieve in our aquariums. the design is far more robust and reliable than the squeeze valve.
.


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## ian_m (14 May 2013)

Lloyd said:


> IT IS NOT made to stay open for pro longed periods of time.


I am sorry, but my FE valves are meant to be locked open all the time. See the picture. These are for use in fixed installations ie electrical cabinets. I can get wheel valved FE's, again for use in fixed installations, but are generally special order and will have issues getting filled as can't just swap and empty FE for full FE. I have seen no lack of robustness and lack of reliability using locked down handles, much like everyone else on this forum. So not an issue.


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## RossMartin (30 Jul 2013)

Hi,

How did you remove the resistors?? Did you replace them with anything else?

Thanks

Ross


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## Dan walton (1 Aug 2013)

I personally use a 5 kg gas cylinder which I get from my local air products supplier however I would use a FE if I ran out and would have no concerns with the valve failing I've  come across many fire extinguishers installed in boat engine rooms wagon engine bays etc all with locked open valves and pipe work designed to burst in the event of fire to release the co2 non to my knowledge have ever failed prematurely not only that but the wheel valve doesn't regulate pressure it merely opens and closes the cylinder pressure in most instances is regulated by a regulator in my case regulated pressure is fed to a fine needle valve before being piped to my diffuser I dare say that I'm am stating the obvious to most member here I just found Lloyds comments a little off putting looks like you have some great gear look forward to seeing the scape enjoy


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## livewire (3 Aug 2013)

RossMartin said:


> Hi,
> 
> How did you remove the resistors?? Did you replace them with anything else?
> 
> ...


 

I contacted TMC who said I could post the tiles to them and they would remove the resistors free of charge. I did just that and they just sent 2 brand new tiles back to me, made me very happy because I am a little OCD and now my tiles have consecutive serial numbers..

A little update on the tank, I have waited 12 weeks for it to be built and it was supposed to be delivered on Friday, I paid the extra for Aquariums.ltd.uk to deliver the tank themselves but they decided to send it via TNT, the missus waited in all day Friday and no delivery!! I called Aquariums.ltd.uk and was told that they would chase TNT up and call me back, didn't get a call back so called them today and was told that TNT has contacted them and said the packaging has been damaged so they are delivering it back to Aquariums.ltd.uk!! TNT didn't bother making me aware. 

I would assume the tank has been smashed or cracked, if it has I would expect Aquariums.ltd.uk to get me a replacement sent out sharpish but I wont hold my breath. Waiting so long for a tank to turn up kinda spoils the excitement.


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## justissaayman (4 Aug 2013)

Lloyd said:


> ian_m the squeeze handle is ONLY in place for easy operation while extinguishing a fire. they are designed to operate for a MAX 4-6 minutes burst, thereafter the cylinder will be depleted and the extinguisher would have done its job. IT IS NOT made to stay open for pro longed periods of time. Why on earth do you think they made wheel valves, for looks? Wheels valves are used when we want to regulate the output pressure. This is exactly what we want to achieve in our aquariums. the design is far more robust and reliable than the squeeze valve.
> .


 
 Please show me a FE which has a 4-6minute burst


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## ian_m (4 Aug 2013)

justissaayman said:


> Please show me a FE which has a 4-6minute burst


 45kg CO2 wheeled fire extinguisher | 45kg carbon dioxide wheeled fire extinguishers


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## justissaayman (4 Aug 2013)

lol


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## Andy Thurston (5 Aug 2013)

Thats huge but only a 75 second burst


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## livewire (8 Aug 2013)

Well still no tank, I contacted Aquariums.ltd.uk on Monday and was told that I need to call back on Tues morning as person dealing will be available then, so I did and was then told he was "out on the road" I asked what needed to be done to check the tank and was told it will be pressure tested I was promised a call back later that day with an update, surprise surprise I didn't get any call back. So I call on Wednesday and get told again the person dealing is not around and I would have to wait till the next again!!! At this point I just got angry and had to hang the phone up because I didn't want to start abusing the lady on the other end of the phone.

Passed the issue to the wife to deal (as she is a lot better dealing with issues like this) and the wife was promised a call back this morning. No need to guess what happened or didn't happen this morning, no phone call... so tomorrow she will be calling and asking for a full refund (which I am sure wont happen either) if it does I will have to look elsewhere for a new tank.

Such a shame, all the time and chasing I have had to do Aquariums.ltd.uk have not once ever said sorry, the lady I dealt with just seemed like she couldn't even say the word "sorry" if she was paid to.

All in all poor customer service from Aquariums.ltd.uk, I am sure other people have had no issues with them but unfortunately I have.


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## tim (8 Aug 2013)

That is a real shame


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## livewire (8 Aug 2013)

tim said:


> That is a real shame


 

It will be ok, just a case of finding a different tank. Still got all the gear  and no idear


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## HoskinsC (9 Aug 2013)

Have you read their Ts&Cs? looks like you are being supplied by Fish Finatics Ltd. Not sure of the connection but appears a bit strange.


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## Andy Thurston (9 Aug 2013)

They are owned by the same people fish finatics is a lfs, and aquariums.ltd.uk is a tank maker. Its still bad customer service not keeping you updated but it does sound like they are busy


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## livewire (9 Aug 2013)

Well they called today and said the tank was damaged during the attempted delivery. They have offered a refund on the delivery and are in the process of building a replacement tank for me, they say they will deliver the tank to me by Wednesday. I was shocked they called me for a change.


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## nduli (10 Aug 2013)

livewire said:


> Here you go mate;
> 
> DIY Aquarium Acrylics Filter Pipe outflow/inflow connect 12/16mm or 16/22mm pipe | eBay
> 
> I asked for the pick up pipes to be made 40cm long which the seller did for no extra charge, even after he made the mistake with the cost.



Cool, thanks for this, have been looking for acrylic pipes.....


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## Spartacus (10 Aug 2013)

Sorry to hear about your problems Dan - Hope you get your new tank asap.

That selection of Rock & Redmoor is very nice. Im jealous lol 

All the best with the project!

Will be monitoring 

Murray


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## livewire (14 Aug 2013)

Small update, Aquariums.ltd.uk have delivered the tank today. Fair play they sent one of their employees to deliver the tank which I believe was a 6hr round trip. So all in all only 12 days late and I wont grumble about it any more.. Aquariums.ltd.uk even got wind of this thread so may even post here to give their side of the story, which they are welcome to do.

At first glance the tank looks good, will be setting it up at the weekend so will add pictures to show the build quality then. I know pictures are always welcome regardless of how boring they are so here we go, wrapper and all. (I will be replacing the thick polystyrene sheet with a thinner 10mm sheet)


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## Andy Thurston (14 Aug 2013)

Dont underestimate the power of ukaps. looks like they redeemed themselves at the last minute fair play, like you say. Looking forward the scape


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## livewire (16 Aug 2013)

I will be starting this build tomorrow, quite excited about it 

What are peoples thoughts on me just using the one EX1200 filter instead of 2? I know with one I wont be hitting the 10x turnover but I have seen a lot of planted tanks which are well under 10x turnover and they don't seem to suffer. If I do go for the 1 filter I would run the spray bar and intake on the right hand side with the flow running from right to left. Fauna wise this tank is only going to have a load of CRS and a shoal of Neon Green Rasboras so the bio load will be small.

Also went hunting for a 10mm sheet of polystyrene today but no luck  gonna have to use the thick piece but will get the missus to wrap in some black fabric to make it look tidy.

I have noticed a few people on here use 100% RO water in their tanks, what are the benefits of this? Ian does this and also keeps fish in his tank, I always thought fish couldn't be kept in neat RO water, will my daily fert dosing regime provide the fish with what they need to survive?


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## aliclarke86 (16 Aug 2013)

Fishkeeping - Using RO Water in Freshwater Tropical Aquaria - Tropical Articles - Articles

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4


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## livewire (16 Aug 2013)

Thanks, I am quite familiar with using RO water and remineralising it as I used to breed Apistogrammas. At this point in time I use 50/50 mix of Tap and RO water due to poor tap water quality. 

As far as I am aware a few members on UKAPS use neat RO and only add their daily fertilizers and nothing else. This is what I am after advice on


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## aliclarke86 (16 Aug 2013)

Oh I haven't come across that before I will be interested to know about that aswell

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## DrRob (16 Aug 2013)

The principle is that there's enough mineral in the EI to keep the TDS up anyway, so extra mineralisation isn't necessary.


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## livewire (16 Aug 2013)

DrRob said:


> The principle is that there's enough mineral in the EI to keep the TDS up anyway, so extra mineralisation isn't necessary.


 

This is what I thought, just wanted to be sure any fauna I add wont suffer. I would assume I would have to up my EI dosing to compensate, just dont have much of a clue on how much I should up the dosage by. Hopefully Ian will come along and offer some advice


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## DrRob (16 Aug 2013)

Somehow I'd guessed that that was the one you'd been reading.


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## Ian Holdich (17 Aug 2013)

Hi yes, I have received a pm about this, but ill also post in here. 

I use 100% ro water, well have in my last 2 scapes, with no problem. This was with quite high dosing of tropica ferts and daily monitoring of the tds levels. I know vickor and George do the same, we all have had good results using pure ro.


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## livewire (17 Aug 2013)

Thanks for the help Ian, my RO unit is running at full tilt as we speak


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## Ian Holdich (17 Aug 2013)

It might also pay you in the future to buy a pump for the ro unit. Just incase your getting loads of waste and your on a meter.


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## livewire (17 Aug 2013)

Ian Holdich said:


> It might also pay you in the future to buy a pump for the ro unit. Just incase your getting loads of waste and your on a meter.


 

Not on a meter  and after a bit of thinking I am just going to do a 50/50 split of tap and RO, saves me having to use so much extra ferts. 
I have been setting everything up today, cut holes in the cabinet sorted the polystyrene, fitted the lights, fitted 1 filter, fitted backing (aqua color) did a nice scape then plants some Blyxa Japonica in one corner, then cut up a load of HC and spread it out over the rest of the substrate. Started to fill the tank everything going along swimmingly THEN the substrate collapsed in the middle and the middle stone fell over!! BLOODY HELL

So for now I have just half filled the tank and chucked a spare heater in and will go at it again in the morning, I will either fill it right up then attempt to bank the substrate again or leave it more or less flat with a slope to the back. Then I will have some fun trying to plant HC in a tank full of water. This ADA soil in a bugger to keep in place.

 Time for a rest now.


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## livewire (19 Aug 2013)

Just a quick photo taken on my phone, still got a lot of things left to do, it's hard trying to deal with fish tanks whilst my 2 year old runs riot!!!

Still have the following to do; (I have left water level low at the moment to make moving things round easier)

Tidy up lighting cables
Fit inline diffuser once I have cleaned it
Fit clear clips and sucker cups in place of black ones
Decide weather to fit second filter or not
Move the middle rock slightly to the left
Fit automatic dosing pump
When I fist set up the scape in dry form it was a lot hillier with the middle rock set on a mound, whilst filling the tank with water the mound collapsed so I have to persevere. Also most of the HC was floating the next day so I have had to replant that. Please feel free to add your comments, good or bad  2 of the rocks came out of my other tank and have some algae on which I will have to scrub off.


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## livewire (21 Aug 2013)

Little update,

The HC seems to be melting slightly, I assume it is adjusting to the soil. I also ordered a couple of pots of 1-2 Grow Ammania Sp "Bonsai" to go behind the big rock on the right hand side, the pots turned up yesterday and here they are; 



Got them from Ebay so I sent the seller a picture and he said he will send me out 2 fresh pots. I think he way trying to get away with selling some old crusty pots by the look of it, lol

Also added approx 50 Crystal Red Shrimp and 10 Green Rasborra to the tank, the filter has been packed with mature media from the tank I shut down so no worries there. WIll get some updated tank shots up once I have planted the Ammania Sp.


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## Andy Thurston (21 Aug 2013)

Its a shame youve added live stock you cant give the hc a boat load of co2 to help it adjust. Looking good planted


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## livewire (21 Aug 2013)

Big clown said:


> Its a shame youve added live stock you cant give the hc a boat load of co2 to help it adjust. Looking good planted


 

I know, the wife was nagging me to get rid of one of my other tanks so I had to move the stock across, I will just have to be patient with the HC. It came out of the tank in my avatar so should be ok.


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## Andy Thurston (21 Aug 2013)

I hate to think what my girlfriends gonna say when i try sneak a 9foot tank in for my clown loachs. I dont think the 9 foot will be the problem but the planned rescape of the 330l corner will definately be a problem and getting rid of the 35l in the kitchen wont be enough. They just dont understand.


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## aliclarke86 (21 Aug 2013)

Man I feel bad for you guys my better half bought me a tmc signature and I said I would get rid of the 4ft, she said no. We are moving and she made sure the new place had enough room for all tanks plus a pond. Only problem I have is she is not willing to help maintain any of them apart from the 55ltr and 20ltr ha oh well  

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4


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## Tim Harrison (21 Aug 2013)

Coming on nicely...


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## livewire (24 Aug 2013)

Updated picture, been running for 6 days now so not much going on the rocks have been cleaned up by the CRS and I have added a surface skimmer which comes on at night just to clear the small bit of surface film. (drop checker has just been cleaned so not showing that green)


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## DrRob (24 Aug 2013)

It all looks very neat. My tanks tend to look far more....rustic.

Actually the word may be agricultural.


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## livewire (24 Aug 2013)

Cheers Rob, most of my previous tanks were of the rustic style so have tried something a little different this time.

TBH I am not much good at aquascaping so just try and create scapes that me and the missus like. I just don't have the eye for the placement required in order to be up their with the best. This one should look nice once the HC has fully carpeted.


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## ceg4048 (25 Aug 2013)

Surface film after 6 days is an early warning signal that there is too much light and not enough CO2. Using a skimmer only sweeps the problem under the carpet.

Cheers,


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## livewire (26 Aug 2013)

ceg4048 said:


> Surface film after 6 days is an early warning signal that there is too much light and not enough CO2. Using a skimmer only sweeps the problem under the carpet.
> 
> Cheers,


 


Thanks, the film is hardly noticeable TBH and the skimmer is only running during the night to give the surface a little polish.
I have had a couple of tanks in the past with heavy surface film but this is no way near as bad. I have been monitoring the situation over the last day or so and I reckon I could even leave the skimmer off at night but it helps provide a little aireation during lights out period.

Co2 is running at just over 2bps, LED tiles are running at 85%.


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## livewire (4 Sep 2013)

Updated picture, things are growing;


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## Andy Thurston (4 Sep 2013)

Looking good. Hc spreading and looks greener


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## livewire (12 Sep 2013)

Thanks, its coming on nicely now. I have even started to notice baby CRS which is nice.


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## aliclarke86 (12 Sep 2013)

Awesome. With all that stone leaching into the water are you doing a lot of water changes?

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## livewire (12 Sep 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> Awesome. With all that stone leaching into the water are you doing a lot of water changes?
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4


 

Just sticking to my 50% weekly water changes, the TDS never goes over 200ppm. The CRS breeding is a sign of the water not being hardened much if at all by the rock.


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## Kogre (16 Sep 2013)

Looking great man. Good effort!


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## livewire (18 Sep 2013)

Kogre said:


> Looking great man. Good effort!


 

Thank you, I had a nightmare trying to source more green Rasboras and spotted some Gold Neon Tetras which I fell in love with so I bought 20 removed the rasboras and added the Gold Neons. They are a bit timid and constantly hiding but when they are out they look stunning. 

I will do my best to get some photos of them.


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## livewire (6 Oct 2013)

Updated photo, the HC is not spreading that fast in the corners which I put down to low flow in those areas. As usual with all my tanks I just leave them be and all I do is change 50% of the water weekly and dose my ferts every day. I need to clean all the glass inside and out, the pipes need a clean and I need to fit my inline diffuzer but I am a lazy bugger and cant be bothered ATM.

I turned the CO2 up to 2bps and the lighs up to 90%.

ps; there are 20+ gold tetras in there but they like to hide when I am close to the tank.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (6 Oct 2013)

livewire said:


> Updated photo, the HC is not spreading that fast in the corners which I put down to low flow in those areas. As usual with all my tanks I just leave them be and all I do is change 50% of the water weekly and dose my ferts every day. I need to clean all the glass inside and out, the pipes need a clean and I need to fit my inline diffuzer but I am a lazy bugger and cant be bothered ATM.
> 
> I turned the CO2 up to 2bps and the lighs up to 90%.
> 
> ps; there are 20+ gold tetras in there but they like to hide when I am close to the tank.



Looking nice and green in there


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## livewire (6 Oct 2013)

Cheers, I took that photo and uploaded it and thought it looked a bit too green, I checked my phone which I took the photo from and the camera lens was very dirty so I gave it a wipe and took a new photo. That is what happens when I let my 2 year old daughter get her grubby hands on my phone lol.

Quite a difference


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## Alastair (6 Oct 2013)

Beautiful tim. Very lush mate


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## LondonDragon (6 Oct 2013)

Excellent plant health  if only you had some bigger rocks!!  congrats


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## LondonDragon (31 Jan 2014)

What happened to this one? any updates?


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## zanguli-ya-zamba (5 Feb 2014)

Hi,
we need an update mate 
what is going on ?
hope every thing is ok 

cheers


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## livewire (15 Mar 2015)

Well, over a year later and I am back. Had other commitments in my life and lost interest in my tanks for a little while so they have just been ticking over for the last year or so. This scape ended up like this a while back;





I had to tear it down because the build up of mulum under the HC became to much. After lifting it I had to gravel vac every day for a week to clean the Aquasoil. I ended up adding a second EX1200 and have kept away from carpet plants since. I still have the same fish, they don't jump out and never seem to die! which I guess is a good thing.


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## Greenfinger2 (15 Mar 2015)

Hi Livewire, Stunning


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## karla (15 Mar 2015)

Impressive, very nice, great to see how it developed from those early pictures.


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