@ukapsMods since this covers a variety of topics I decided to post this thread in the general section as it's not based on one specific aspect of the hobby so to speak.
Hey UKAPS
My last post on here was in July. Back then, I was seeking advice on an algae bloom and was told on various forums that the algae in question was one which you just had to "Wait out" as there was no clear cause but after almost a year and my tank going from vibrant to pitiful I emptied the tank and removed the substrate a week ago and, quite frankly I feel out of the loop. In retrospect, the cause in my humble opinion was a combination of my (at the time) new t5's with powdered ferts being administered incorrectly, and the substrate being to high. But after 10 months of nothingness I'm itching to get back into this hobby of ours but I'm going to start from the ground up so to speak. So I have some seemingly basic questions but before I do that some stats before ukaps' infamous "ceg4048" e-bites my head off lol
Tank 180 bowfront-Juwel
Lights 2xT5
Substrate: Eco complete
Stock: N/A
At this point I'd like to stress that my water stats have varied from time to time but have remained constant throughout the years with my test kit and although api and nutrafin are not as precise as some of the testing i've on here, I do trust them. Side note: Nutrafin in my experience picks up on lower concentrations than api, but again that's just my experience... Now that that's out of the way, some advice is needed if I may be so bold...
What's the best way to thoroughly clean and get rid of any traces of that algae both in the tank/glass and the substrate? I know that that may seem like a very amateur thing to ask but I've never had to go to this drastic a measure before so I'm unsure if there is some chemical or product I should get hold of to assist the deep clean.
Secondly the T5's. I was using new bulbs for roughly 3 months before I turned them off will they still be as effective as they should be?
Thirdly, and I say this with the maximum amount of caution on here but for now, I'd like to go back to liquid ferts I understand, acknowledge, and accept without reservation that liquid ferts are more costly than dry salts and give less bang for my buck but crucially here I am eager to simply get back into the hobby and would like some advice on which "brand" I should go with for now. Preferably one which can be used to build a carpet of hc etc.
And lastly scapes... Has anyone/ as members of ukaps has anyone seen any good scapes for a juwel 180. I tried looking in the journal section but found none. Many thanks for taking the time to read this, advice here would be the best xmas present ever.
Thrills
Hey UKAPS
My last post on here was in July. Back then, I was seeking advice on an algae bloom and was told on various forums that the algae in question was one which you just had to "Wait out" as there was no clear cause but after almost a year and my tank going from vibrant to pitiful I emptied the tank and removed the substrate a week ago and, quite frankly I feel out of the loop. In retrospect, the cause in my humble opinion was a combination of my (at the time) new t5's with powdered ferts being administered incorrectly, and the substrate being to high. But after 10 months of nothingness I'm itching to get back into this hobby of ours but I'm going to start from the ground up so to speak. So I have some seemingly basic questions but before I do that some stats before ukaps' infamous "ceg4048" e-bites my head off lol
Tank 180 bowfront-Juwel
Lights 2xT5
Substrate: Eco complete
Stock: N/A
At this point I'd like to stress that my water stats have varied from time to time but have remained constant throughout the years with my test kit and although api and nutrafin are not as precise as some of the testing i've on here, I do trust them. Side note: Nutrafin in my experience picks up on lower concentrations than api, but again that's just my experience... Now that that's out of the way, some advice is needed if I may be so bold...
What's the best way to thoroughly clean and get rid of any traces of that algae both in the tank/glass and the substrate? I know that that may seem like a very amateur thing to ask but I've never had to go to this drastic a measure before so I'm unsure if there is some chemical or product I should get hold of to assist the deep clean.
Secondly the T5's. I was using new bulbs for roughly 3 months before I turned them off will they still be as effective as they should be?
Thirdly, and I say this with the maximum amount of caution on here but for now, I'd like to go back to liquid ferts I understand, acknowledge, and accept without reservation that liquid ferts are more costly than dry salts and give less bang for my buck but crucially here I am eager to simply get back into the hobby and would like some advice on which "brand" I should go with for now. Preferably one which can be used to build a carpet of hc etc.
And lastly scapes... Has anyone/ as members of ukaps has anyone seen any good scapes for a juwel 180. I tried looking in the journal section but found none. Many thanks for taking the time to read this, advice here would be the best xmas present ever.
Thrills