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Woodland Troll - Take Four

Tank looking good bud. Carpet is really coming along and a great colour.

Funny you say about your promise cause my bps has stayed the same but the mist seems to be reduced out of my Flux Bazooka diffuser, even after cleaning it out. Strange. Hope you get to the bottom of it bud
Thanks, I think it's the bubble counter. Working fine, switched gas off during water change, stopped working, released pressure atomiser side of the bubble counter, started working again. They just don't make things to last these days :rolleyes:
 
Tim,
If you can hide an ugly contraption like this behind your tank, it’s worth implementing.Mine is in a closet taped on the wall so no one will ever see it ...
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Nothing new, 2 Industrial co2 check valves one before and one after the bubble counter. And the fact that this bubble counter can be reversed to observe small bubbles vs large bubbles by flipping it upside down makes a huge difference in reading co2 especially in tanks with higher bps.

I’m sure it’s not a problem for most folks running a couple bps but mine is over 5-6 bps with my open sump so I flipped it upside down and now it’s one huge bubble per second...much easier to read and filling it up with water doesn’t involve twisting tubing off of it anymore with a possibility to crack the ends. Just unplug the cap and you’re done in 5 seconds.

Just thought I’d throw this out there since I’ve had my fair share of co2 frustrations and found this the most reliable along with a reactor.

Check valves and counter were purchased from GLA ...
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The above pic is to show flow options.
Here’s the ER version with the fill-up port:
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Thanks @Tom Michael, I've abandoned that idea for the moment since things still stopped working. I might give it a go another time when I get my CO2 sorted tho' ;)
And thanks very much for the info @Andrew T, good to know. I might go down that route :)
 
The scape could really do with a cleanup crew. It hasn't helped that I've had CO2 issues. I've got filamentous algae growing in random places. Brown diatomaceous algae on some plants, slimy blobs on the wood, and the crypts are loosing some leaves to melt but growing new ones. The moss is also growing but looking a bit worse for wear.

I'm still doing daily water changes, 100% and 50% on alternate days which I think is helping...

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We were running out of cat food so made an essential trip to Pets @ Home.
They still have livestock, including Amano shrimp :D
But none for sale :(
So close but yet so far :meh:
Well at least the cat won't starve, we might though :rolleyes:
 
I've been struggling with diatoms in the last month and it's pretty annoying. I started dosing 3ml easycarbo daily for the last week and i would say the diatoms have reduced by 25%, so i assume it's slowly helping.
 
Tim, very sorry to see you’re having issues.
Hopefully you can get the co2 figured out and algae issues sorted. It would be a shame to take this down.
Can you not have amanos shipped during these times to your house?
An army of them could do some significant damage...
 
Tim, very sorry to see you’re having issues.
Thanks Andrew, It's not a problem really, it'll all come good eventually :)
Hopefully you can get the co2 figured out and algae issues sorted. It would be a shame to take this down.
I've decided it's the atomizer after all, and have ordered a new one, so the CO2 issues should be sorted soon.
Can you not have amanos shipped during these times to your house?
I've looked in to it and had some great suggestions, but I think I'll just wait for a window in this madness and source them locally ;)
 
Tim,
Regarding the co2 check valve recommendation I made earlier..the hose has to be a specific OD to stay in place in those quick lock fittings; not a good thing since people use different OD size co2 hoses.

So tonight I had some issues with one when moving things around. The hose pulled out just a bit and I could hear slight hissing noise (co2 flow is high in my system ).

So back to the drawing board (google lol).
Ordered an SMC 210 stainless steel Check valve 1/8” Male to female flow.
This installs straight into my Ideal 1/8” needle valve eliminating any need for in-line plastic check valves prone to cracking/leaking, etc.

Add a swagelok fitting 1/8” NPT to 3/16” hose barb, hook up the hose and you’re in business.

Ofcourse you don’t “need” stainless steel but it’s nice.
Different valves come with different seals (Buna, Viton) with minimal price increase but check flow arrows cuz some valves flow from male to female
While others the other way.

There’s options for 1/4” needle valves and other configurations but here are the pics for the 2 parts and 2D drawing of the valve.

This paired with a quality bubble counter should last a lifetime....well what’s left of it:)
Sorry for the long post just thought I’d share a cleaner/better setup .
All this should cost roughly $40 USD. If found on eBay even cheaper.
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When all connected, should look similar to this except barb fitting(which I prefer) instead of nut ferrules fittings or quick connects(same problems with hose diameter; been there done that).
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Uhh, that was a lot of words.
Take care!:)
 
This scape is no more, it's been torn down...

After a few weeks diatomaceous algae set in for the duration of the lockdown; well so it seemed. I then got repeated attacks of BG algae.
The surface layer of the wood started to disintegrate and release organics and grew a lovely fur coat with large gelatinous blobs. I'm convinced the fungus was releasing phytotoxin.
Eventually I gave up firefighting, despite daily 100% water changes and regular filter cleans the situation didn't get any better.

The scape has kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! This is an ex-scape!...

 
This scape is no more, it's been torn down...

After a few weeks diatomaceous algae set in for the duration of the lockdown; well so it seemed. I then got repeated attacks of BG algae.
The surface layer of the wood started to disintegrate and release organics and grew a lovely fur coat with large gelatinous blobs. I'm convinced the fungus was releasing phytotoxin.
Eventually I gave up firefighting, despite daily 100% water changes and regular filter cleans the situation didn't get any better.

The scape has kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! This is an ex-scape!...



LOL Tim, I was waiting for the 21-gun salute at the end after the bugle player.
 
Commiserations

It really was a lovely hardscape and initial planting - and that Wood looked so innocent on the outside
 
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