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Hello Mike, Thank you for the information. Concerning light, the tank is in my studio which has double aspect windows. The tank is positioned between the two. Because it is my studio I use daylight bulbs to illuminate the room but they are not on all the time. The Monti Carlo was recommended to...

UPDATE The plants are coming along nice a slow. About 50% of the Cryptocorney and Bucephandra leaves have melted but new leaves are growing. The moss wall has new growth. I’ve added immersed S repens. I’ve mossed up the wood with Christmas moss. I stripped the plant pad with the dead moss and...

@Fireman77 thanks for the information. As you have no filter and a small volume of water, I would suggest aiming to do a near 100% water change every week for at least 4 weeks. This will take away the organic waste until your tank’s biological processes mature. What light are your plants...

I found this slug in the filter compartment of the terrarium. All plants and hardscape are from reputable aquascaping suppliers. How on earth did it get there?

Yes you can use Urea instead, I add it in with the micro's solution. I believe over a period of time once in solution the Urea will break down to NH4, but I don't know how long this process takes in the ferts bottle, either way you will still have a source of Nitrogen.

My dyslexia led me to believe that the window photo said 'Toilet Roll Soil's Danger'. Oh well, back to my WC. Thats 'Water Change' by the way! Si

I actually have an Instagram account documenting weird things you don't see every day! I'm not very active on it but here are some highlights from when I lived in Norwich. https://www.instagram.com/wyrdnorwich?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Hi all, it's fish day! Yesterday I added my first fish: 8 × sundadanio axelrodi/ neon blue rasbora 8 × Boraras brigittae/ chili rasbora 8 × Paracheirodon simulans/ green neon tetra they are all from Abyss Aquatics in Stockport and are settling in nicely. I slightly overfed them with ground...

So after aprox 12 hours work divided over 2 days the tank is back to business. I decided to take every grain of sand out after i discovered a few times of root rot/soil rot in the center of the tank. I always liked the idea of dark sand in my tank but after some (expensive) tryouts me and the...

My focus was on the planted tank/scape first and the livestock was secondary to enhance the plants and scape so I selected livestock to suit, so having a constant running temp of 22 C wouldn't of been an issue for me. If the main focus is the specific livestock that needed higher temps then...

Hello Mike, Thank you for your reply. As requested please see below. 1. Size of tank. 30cm x 30cm x 36cm 2. Age of the system approximately. Two weeks 3. Tap water parameters...

Anything like this? https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/white-fungus-like-dots-on-anubias-making-my-fish-sick.37756/#post-407875

Hi and welcome. Please provide the information about your setup as per this thread. Thread 'Please read the guidelines for plant help!' Please read the guidelines for plant help!

Sand arrived, but the bag had slit so have lost half. Sent pix to shop. I've added it to the foreground in a decent layer this morning. Cories already more relaxed and diving head 1st into it. The giant Vall needs trimming, but I like how it all coils together at the surface. Rainbow 🌈...

Yep down the road from me, so I'll be going this year.

Also you can use a teeny bit of boiled egg yolk mixed with tank water and added very small amounts to the tank. Or just order some powdered egg yolk to use in the future.

Ah OK thank you for the explanation! So can/should I use Urea instead in my AIO?

Usually, old hand towels that started off as ex hotel purchases from eBay and are now demoted to dog towels. Yesterday however I absentmindedly neglected to lock the pump head off when I opened the filter and had to resort to bath towels.

Are you misting daily to keep these emersed anubias from going crispy? Doesn't the air plant want rather different humidity levels?

Hi all, It looks like "biogenic calcification". Basically "lime scale" deposits. It occurs in water with some CaCO3 content, when the plant extracts CO2 molecule, which reduces the amount of bicarbonate (HCO3-) that can remain in solution and the least soluble carbonate (CaCO3) comes out of...

Apparently the new ones have an app or something so they will send you an email when they are getting clogged. That is a very unappealing feature to me! I chose to run eheim classics because they are simple and reliable and adding wifi functionality is the opposite of that. I don't want my...

So I am new to these forums, and I've been working on my first planted tank. I posted a reply in that thread about how I was trying to deal with a hydra infestation. Basically, because I had no livestock, I had many cyclops that were subsequently eaten by many, many hydra. Because I want to keep...

Theres some decent growth on most of those plants! The lower ones look like they have kind of burns on them? The only time i have seen this before is from when i sprayed Glute on my plant leaves by accident when the water was low during a wchange. Looks like theres a bit of die off so get rid of...

Very cool :)

It's a chemical thing. In lay man's terms calcium attracts sulphates, phosphates, carbonates. Etc. Eg mix calcium nitrate with magnesium sulfate and you'll end with calcium sulphate which is insoluble. Mix calcium nitrate with potassium phosphate and by the wonders of science you'll have a mix...

I think they were the first thermo filters ever.

I've got some but I'll add more from the other tank

Cheers Darrel, will se h0w the carpet grows in

Wow I was about to say if Eheim made a classic with a heater it would be the ultimate filter. Need to bring that model back.

Bletilla striata I couldn't provide suitable conditions for it, for the last 5 years, so it's merely survived until last year when I could give it a better home. This is the best it's flowered for me.

Do you have any floating plants? I find they’re very effective at mopping up excess nutrients.

I would very much like to buy a nice aquarium specific light, but for the price of a chihiros 120cm pro 2, I can buy ~15 fixtures of the more expensive model I mentioned, or 100 of the cheapest one. Even if I buy some of the cheap fixtures for a test and don't like it, it was worth it just for...

If the tank is well-established there could well be enough microscopic life to feed them until they are big enough for your banana worms etc. If you have a water butt, or a fish-free pond, you could take some water from there to add some micro-food. Balance the water temperature to match the...

Decided, on balance, to leave them in the current tank. Have added an air pump and will carry out frequent water changes. Add more plants too? I've taken out the moss balls which certainly were not in good health. Many thanks again for all the help.

So I knew my sparkling gourami had a nest on the go but I just spotted something move on a leaf and omg there's loads of them. No wonder I missed them they are ridiculously small. For reference the floating plant is normal.sized duckweed (so very small) Hopefully they survive, I'm giving...

I should not be this happy about something so simple but it will be a game changer for my water changes. My tap water is very hard, this will solve that problem for the most part.

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