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Parablennius

Parablennius

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5 Mar 2016
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Hi there
New member to this forum. Have kept " wet pets" for around 50 yrs. Native and tropical, salt and fresh.
Currently run amphibian friendly garden ( 30yrs ) with all three native newt species and common frogs.
Looking to go low tech now with non demanding plants, not too hot on plants but thinking large stands of Vallis, Swords, Ludwigia, Indian fern, etc advice here gratefully received. Sandstone and wood with fine gravel/sand, shoal of tetras and possibly shoal of Pentazona barbs, along with Otos, kuhlis small corys etc.
Tank will be 36x18x18 with my own home built, dimming Led system featuring blues, reds and 6,500 K whites with gentle ramping up/down and dawn/dusk moonlight. I came to this after considering my next marine tank and was drawn to Macro algaes so I thought low tech tropical fresh would be more relaxing?? We shall see.
Cheers
 
Welcome to UKaps. try the tutorial section...it'll help you get started.
Parablennius said:
Have kept " wet pets" for around 50 yrs
Click to expand...
Ode to a Goldfish
O wet pet.

Ogden Nash
 
Afternoon All
Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm well inspired by what I've seen and read here ( thanks for the pointers ) and am clinging to the KISS principle as though my life depends on it. That said I'm learning more as I go. My idea is Cat-litter, ( I bought some basic clay and am testing it now re. chemistry ) under fine 1-2mm gravel with added root-tabs ( home-made as is my way ) and a sand fore-front. The lighting will be via 8x 10watt 6,500K whites, ( boy, are they bright @ 100% ) 2x 660 Nm Reds and 4x 455 Nm blues. All can be separately dimmed down to Zero%. Blues, even @ 10% look OK for moonlight /dawn/dusk but I may leave them on the full photoperiod to pick out colour. The reds will be on with the whites. Harking back to the Gro-lux days here! I'm hoping to run them at reduced PWM to enable passive cooling rather than a fan. The whole fixture is a heatsink. More later as and when. Please do insert advice as you see fit.
Cheers
 
Welcome :)

if you have any pond/garden photos it would be great to see them posted in Ponds

Tanks sounds an excellent project!


Parablennius said:
My idea is Cat-litter, ( I bought some basic clay and am testing it now re. chemistry ) under fine 1-2mm gravel with added root-tabs ( home-made as is my way ) and a sand fore-front.
Click to expand...
Why cat litter?
if this is meant to act as a nutrient rich layer, look at substrates such as Tropica Growth Substrate or soil
It's worth reading some of the cat litter journals (if you've not already done so)
 
alto said:
if you have any pond/garden photos it would be great to see them posted in Ponds
Click to expand...
Yes, give me a bit of time and I'll root some out, they may be scans of pic, taken before the digital age, very arty-farty of course. Have also reared T.alpestris and T.vittatus.from eggs. I'm usually very much more saline based, living, and having worked on the sea. My interest in coastal marine life came from studying the by-catch from shrimp trawling and keeping them in chilled aquaria.
More anon.
cheers
 
alto said:
Welcome :)

if you have any pond/garden photos it would be great to see them posted in Ponds

Tanks sounds an excellent project!



Why cat litter?
if this is meant to act as a nutrient rich layer, look at substrates such as Tropica Growth Substrate or soil
It's worth reading some of the cat litter journals (if you've not already done so)
Click to expand...
Well, to be honest this aspect is new to me. I did a double-take first time I saw it. 'Tis my understanding that it stores and releases nutrients in a chelating process. As ever, I'm happy to be corrected. Never too old to stop learning !! That said, it is cheap. I may or may not use. Could I not just use 1-2 mm gravel with root-tabs?? Learning all the time. It strikes me, though, that what is now termed "low-tech" is what I was doing in my own uneducated way back in the schooldays?? No filter or air pump. 60watt incandescent bulb, Low stocking, live plants.?
More anon.
Cheers
 
Ummm I think my use of quotes got mixed up, Senior moment. ( your turn will come ) Sorry.
Cheers
 
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