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So here’s an interesting update. When we first started the tank we did add three nerite snails. Two died soon after but one hung on for ages. After a while I stopped seeing him and assumed he had either died somewhere or just never came out from behind the hardscape. I forgot about him. So...

Are those dead Moss Balls near the front?

Pros - the other tank is stable and you don't know what caused the issue in this one so hard to guarentee it's ongoing conditions, cons they could be suseptible to illness after the stress and catching them up/moving is more stress, and catching them back out of a 200l may be fun. Up to you...

Neocaridina shrimp and snails are OK at 22C but many tropical fish won't be. Forgetting to plug the heater back in makes them very lethargic and "bottom dwelly".

Thanks Tam. Can rule out the cat/small person chances. Male bristlenose was one of the last to pass, after testing. Our water here, in Prestwick on west coast of Scotland, is noted as being soft on Scottish Water website so that may be something. Unbelievably, as I sit in front of the...

No nerites. I had ramshorns but their shells were falling apart (I’m guessing ph drop due to CO2 but that’s another issue) so I moved them to my low tech shrimp tank. I have one large rabbit snail left in there and he’s been there since day dot. I don’t see many baby snails anymore as my...

It's a very unusual thing to happen in an established planted tank that's getting regular maintainance. In old tank syndrome you build up nitrate/ammonia and a lack of kh becomes an issue, ph drops - then if you do a sudden water change shoot up the ph and turn ammonia from ammonium (less...

@bazz You mentioned that Calcium Nitrate is unsuitable for use in an AIO solution like I'm trying to create, could you elaborate on why this is so please? I thought it should be acceptable since it's included in the calculator? If Calcium Nitrate is not suitable to be used, should I use Urea...

I've added it in, but my tap water contains quite negligible amounts of anything significant except perhaps moderate amounts of calcium. It's mostly treated rainwater from reservoirs, but also contains 10% treated sewage waste water (sounds disgusting I know) bug it's supposed to be as pure as...

What are those super dark small crypts on the left at the front? They're really nice, beautiful tank!

What snail species do you have in the tank? Nerites lay eggs in the same way as your photos, tiny white dots in random locations. Nerite eggs look slightly different however and are more difficult to clean off, But still possible that they're some sort of snail egg i guess? When you clean them...

That's my experience so far too, I haven't had some big drastic crypt melt like I was expecting, just a leaf here and there! I dont want to speak too soon though.. Maybe I just had an unrealistic expectation when it came to crypts melting? But saying that, I guess every tank is different and...

My experiences are pretty much with all my crypts that when planted they lose a few leaves in the first weeks. Other leaves just stay as they were and new leaves emerge pretty much always with new colours and shapes. Picture of some melt of one of my c. Nevellii leaves; I usually cut them off

I don’t think so. I’ve only ever had snail eggs laid in clutches before and these are everywhere like a well scattered dust. I’m guessing it’s a fungus or mold but not sure. My tank is 7 months old and heavily planted.

Snail eggs?

Tank has fish in it. It’s co2 injected. I dose trace and macro on alternate days. Macro is Solufeed 2:1:4. Dose less than EI but more than lean. 50% water change a week but sometimes do a midweek 30% if I have time. Very soft water where I am so I add some salty shrimp mineral and some potassium...

Anyone know what this is and what to do about it? Seems to have appeared in the last few days. It was all over plant leaves and hardscape. It brushes off with a toothbrush. I’ve siphoned a lot off and done two water changes on consecutive days but still quite a lot of it.

Thanks for all the comments so far. I've attached a couple of pics but the tank has been messed around a bit over the last couple of days as I made sure there was nothing left dead inside. Would the high ammonia cause the pH to drop so low? It is the NT Labs text kit which I use. When...

Q

Thanks everyone for the replies, when my crypts are showing good signs of growth and getting a little more bushy and taller, this would surely mean that these yellow spots are just deficiences no? I would say maybe shoving a little root tab underneath would help, but thats already done! So maybe...

My new plants only low-tech tank is just coming up to two weeks since the set up. I have done one 30% water change so far. The tank has no filter, light or livestock. I noticed within a few days after setting up the aquascape that there was a very light green tinge to the water which is of...

Yes just to see them and say hello in the morning whilst I have my coffee. 🤣

Hi all, That is certainly plausible. I'm guessing that is the real difference, the only rooted plants I have tend to be Cryptocoryne spp. which are "perennials". If I had stems, that I continually trimmed and uprooted, there would be much more in the way of detached roots etc,. It would be...

If the tanks are stable shutting them down for one day won't do any harm. But there is no need for the likes of us to do the same. I think it's just convenient from a business point of view.

600mm Nature Aquarium island layout

Great. Im glad your plants have light! I will go back to my app later and compare. So your first setting is for and hour?

again that sounds like a very controlled environment in which that can be done and goes against what most are trying to do. Its like a Big Tank Siesta which also saves energy and Co2. Fluctuations are obviously okay if the lights are off I guess. Si

I'm guessing that'll probably be Sunday, when the showroom is closed.

Green Aqua have their whole premises air conditioned at a constant 22 degrees Celsius. That with the use of remineralize RO water for their tanks was the two main things I took away from my visit from them which on top of regular WC ferts light and Flow/tank turnover to help the plants...

I have a lot of time for Dave and his views hope to drive up there one day and meet him , You are right I watched that video , it was GF kind of interviewing him and he basically was saying when people get a bit of alge they reduce the light. He goes the otherway and increase the light and also...

What Marian told me was that organics buildup and he only does that if he starts getting BBA , also stems need replanting with healthy tops after a while anyway , he mostly keeps dutch style which have mostly stem plants so maybe for him it's not an issue.

Dave at AG, generally tends to use high light from the get go. He did explain why a while ago and I may have forgotten something crucial. But I think the gist is, it’s sort of a race between rapid plant growth and algae control. Basically, he concentrates on growing healthy plants rapidly to...

Hi!

Hello there!

Hi all, The green algae have the same photosystems and basic physiology as all the other plants, they are "plants". There are definitely algae that are "turned up to eleven" plants, but there are also algae that grow in oligotrophic conditions as well. You do, and I think it does. It is back...

Hi all, I don't think that wood is the sort of organic carbon source that would enhance algal growth. Heart wood is comprised of lignin, and lignin is very resistant to decay, and right on the edge of biodegradability in energy terms. You can release that energy by oxidation (wood burns), but...

Photos!

Water is crystal clear with a kh 8 atm.

Hello 👋, welcome.

A dead large snail such as a nerite could cause an ammonia spike like that.

It rained so heavily some time ago that the gutter on my shed was overflowing. Not wishing to miss an opportunity I collected some of the overflow directly. When I checked the TDS I got a reading of 2 or 3!

No real updates other than the plants have adapted to aquatic life and the tank is going through the uglies phase right now with some diatoms growing on the rockwork. I like the scape but half of me thinks about taking the stones out every time I see a nice dutch style tank! Need to cram more...

“AQUAH is a hub where business professionals and hobbyists alike can connect, allowing participants to exchange insights, experiences, and knowledge accumulated over years of dedication in the field.“ The venue is in Stoneleigh, Kenilworth CV8 2LZ in the Midlands. https://aquah.co.uk/

Very good point. Quite a large water volume too which I didn’t notice before.

Sorry for your loss. Did you disturb the substrate a lot during the maintenance?

Agree with Michael also if you have a ammonia detoxifier like prime you could use it and do daily/every 2 days water changes until filter catches up and also look for any possible cause. I have heard of old tank symdorum but I think that is related to high levels for nitrates which you tested...

Assuming this event happened in the Roma tank only and you run the 3 tanks similarly it’s probably fair to conclude that something like what @simon_the_plant_nerd describes above happened. However, in a densely planted tank (125 L) it’s rather unlikely a dead tetra or two (a large fish is a...

Here’s my auto settings for my Chihiros light. I’ve not messed with the colour channels an all. The +50 and +60 is the % light intensity.

Sorry for your loss. It sounds like something in your tank died and was decomposing causing the ammonia spike. If you didn’t remove it then after a water change the ammonia would just increase again. It’s a bit of a risk of a well planted tank. I often think when I clean my tank that if...

Thank for the information and advice. I was advised to not feed the plants for two weeks but to let them settle in. I had planned to start feeding them tomorrow so I will continue with the planned feed. Thanks again.

Hi - looking for any advice please. I currently run 3 tanks, the oldest of which is a Fluval Roma 125l established 3 and a half years ago. My usual maintenance regime is a 25% water change and filter clean every 2 - 3 weeks. Last session being Sunday. Before each session I check the water. For...

Plottwist. Yesterday evening we noticed from the couch the tank became to much of a dark spot. I always enjoyed the moonlight reflecting from the sand in the evenings. But not any more. Every sparkle of light was absorbed. So this morning i got 30kg of JBL zanzibar 'river' with a new bucket of...

Yes, that might be the case. I've had crypts melt off all their leaves from merely being moved around in the same tank (while others would be fine) and then later bounce back and be just fine. I always considered crypts the snowflakes among the aquatic plants I've kept, but that might be a...

His general hardness is 18…

I think it's just as simple as a change in environmental conditions. Crypts exhibit an amazing degree phenotypic plasticity regarding leaf morphology in response to different environmental parameters. It's probably more energy efficient, as a longterm strategy, for them to shed old leaves and...

did you mean to type 18? Im confused, surely the ph isn't that high?? Thats gravel isn't it!! okay so maybe there isnt too much advantage for me to dilute mine if i am around 7ph. all the fun!

Because I live in Hertfordshire, my general hardness is around 18 so yes essentially I'm diluting it. I add the tap water so I don't have to add anything to my soft water. TDS of spotless water is 0 so I add tap and it's sitting at around 6degrees of hardness (in the smallest tank). I fill up a...

Maybe start with the basics of "constant voltage" design. https://www.homemade-circuits.com/how-to-calculate-and-connect-leds-in/ And understand the 2 ways to run leds.. Constant Voltage v.s. Constant Current LED Drivers - uPowerTek I picked the constant voltage method because controller s...

Thats interesting. I have one of those Spotless water places near me. Because it is essentially pure water?? do you not have to add anything to it or is that the job of the tap water? Are you basically diluting tap water if you see what i mean? What is the main reason for using Spotless Water...

This is a great YT clip but i found it way to fast. Also it looks like two tanks are being setup which was a bit confusing. Thanks for posting though! You mention ramp down. I didnt realise that, or remember setting it up but apparently i did as my light was doing so last night. Si

It's my understanding Flourite is a baked clay substrate like Safe-T-Sorb or Turface - little to no nutrient value itself, so you need to fertilize your plants like you would with gravel or sand. I have never used it myself though.

Thank you 😊

Hi all, A tea towel out of the drawer, then put it on the hook to dry, hoping that my wife doesn't notice that I've spilled water everywhere. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, It honestly looks OK. Moss carpet? It looks like Bristlenose (Ancistrus) damage to Anubias & Bucephalandra. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, That is very different from the water that most of us in the UK would get. No nitrate (NO3-) and very variable conductivity. I'm guessing that it is mainly from desalination plants? Cheers Darrel

Okay it is been a while. Got RO device, going to mix ro and tap water today hope finally it will grow. Also got chihiros wrgb2 pro.

Yes seen both in a short time frame , UKAPS had an event at Aquarium Gardens. Aquarium Gardens is very good but Green Aqua was at another level IMO the main difference was all Green Aquas tanks get remineralized RO water. When I was at Aquarium Gardens they was having the same issue that myself...

Thank you :)

Thank you. I'm just a little worried about the number of fish actually and how messy they are when eating. And I say I very likely won't add any more of them, but I still want some Corydoras concolor and Corydoras eversi if I can get my hands on them. Also one of my favourite LFS also recently...

I have had a few in my tank over the last couple of months. Most of the nymphs I’ve been able to catch and take out. Have seen a couple of adult damsels in the house but I’m hoping these have not bred and relaid eggs. I have soooo many cherry shrimp in the tank at the moment (I rescued about 100...

Really? Have you seen the @Aquarium Gardens showroom? They use tapwater and I'm super impressed with their tanks. (disclosure: I haven't visited Green Aqua)

I wouldn't have thought you need any more filtration, if it's more flow you require the use of small powerhead would suffice and they're certainly no more obtrusive than a HOB. But maybe that's not what you're after so take it with a pinch of salt.

Looks beautiful!

In response to your question about mixing water, I asked this many times a while back - on the advice of the forum I mix two of my tanks. One is as Darrel said, its spotless water (essentially RO but cheaper) with literally a splash of tap and the other tank is more like 70/30 RO/tap. I dont...

Hiya guys, Ive been away a while but im back nosing around the forum. I thought I would share some pictures of the tanks I have up and running at the moment especially as I spent last year asking endless questions on here and your knowledge has resulted in me being very happy with my tanks...

It’s probably best to use the Auto menu. This allows the schedule timer function to be used. You can then set the intensity of the light and the ramp up and ramp down times which are similar to sunrise and sunset. I use 2 light schedules per 24 hours. I’ll send my settings later. YouTube is good...

Welcome! :wave: Please do, and I look forward to seeing a few snaps.

Welcome to UKAPS

Good morning, Have you not added your water report parameters to the Core Settings along with ensuring the tag 'Planning to use RO Water' is set to 'No' under the 'Tank and Dosing tag, I know your water contains very little but it will give a more complete picture? Cheers!

All we know is Crypts are prone to melt ,especially. in early stages of the aquarium, or first planting ,probably transioning so keep trimming discarding old leafs and watch out for new green leafs, everything should improve

Those are the sorts of values a lot of people get. My "problem" is that it is all limestone where I live and dust from ploughing and quarrying ends up on all surfaces. Cheers Darrel

I've read that the blue is what causes algae I'm so confused 😂

Cheers I'll try to find the YouTube link👍

I’ve seen leaves go from healthy green to graying transparent mush over the course of a couple of days and I’ve seen leaves yellowing and withering over a couple of days as well. While I do think the former description is more what hobbyist refer to, I don’t think we have a firm definition of...

Crypts in the morning 😍 Aquarium is starting to look good! Rotala has settled and growing 2cm a day. Monte carlo took a heavy trim low at the front and was yellow behind the brown algae. Hopefully it will fill in soon with nice green leaves. Probably its to thick now and wants a full cut back.

A bunch of Corydoras were out and about yesterday evening so I decided to take a picture. Current fish list 1. Corydoras sterbai x 5 2. Corydoras caudimaculatus x 5 3. Corydoras CW51 x 5 (6th one in a hospital tank as he appears to be approaching the end of his life) 4. Corydoras CW27 x 3 5...

Also one of my lotus' is very stunted they are next to each other by about 6 inch apart. One has already reached surface level and the other is barely sending out any leaves 🍃 which is weird.

Sitting infront of the tank this morning while remunating with a big mug of Tea. I've ordered 25kg of sand to add to the foreground. I'll order more if needed. Ordered the V10 Hailea to see what's its like and for the price not too worried. I want the kind of outflow they have in the UGFs in...

Can make it easy for me with the spectrum thing.These are brod terms to catch upon. If you have time would u teach me more on those terms and i don't know how to use raycal 2.0. I just thought spectrum can be changed with use of Bluetooth controllers.Bt making a light jst like Chihiros vivid...

Well how I used watts in the above is a generalization with the assumption of equal efficiency across models. Holds fairly true for main stream "stick" lights. I could have easily said 1-$2 / 100 lumens. Except for the fact that RGB lights have a lumen count lower than its photon count since red...

Hello folks. Here again but this time with direct focus on my plant health. I am really at my whitsend now and just losing the fight. 330Ltr Tap Water (Manchester area) 24.5C 2 Filters, 1 with skimmer (Biomaster 600T & Eheim 600 Pro) Purigen and Carbon TMC Vectron UV Inline CO2 2 hr before...

APT Cheap? Maybe for small tanks. As example I have 800 liters tank, and 1 liter of apt 3 will last for me only 5 weeks. And price for a liter is 50 euro. For 50 euro I can get dry salts for 24 weeks at least.

Thanks, and sorry for delayed reply :) Seahorse id my to-go for ada stuff. They usually have what I need. :)

Christmas moss 😁

Welcome! :)

Darrel, a little off topic but coincidently I took a sample of our rain water earlier - runoff from our roof. I was quite astounded: TDS 6 ppm (EC 12 uS/cm) I should probably consider collecting rain water during spring and summer :) ... perhaps ship and sell it overseas ... with some...

@Ady34 which moss did you use for the moss wall?

Hi Due to the uncertainties with respect to the quality and output, it may be better in the longer term to purchase an aquarium specific light. The modern lights like the Chihiros are very customisable via their app: timers, intensity and colour. “Spend now to save later”

Welcome