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Any more background information about the tank would help further. How long tanks been set up, the fish, filtration etc. Nothing you have mentioned so far would cause issues other than if the water change had been iffy by some work on the pipeline but if you have used something like Prime to...
A method I have used is to get some hardboard I think it's only about 4mm thick, ideally the stuff with one side shiney surface. If the cabinet has feet lift on to the sheet then slide along the board until you reach its final destination then lift up and get someone to pull the board from under...
In my eyes they're the gift that keeps on giving...
You've probably highlighted one downside to all the other pros mate but that's not necessarily a downside.
In my tank it negates the need for a dimmer switch, if I think they're blocking too much light I can remove some so effectively they are...
I think the problem with Osmo if firstly there appears to be numerous mixes of it under one name, I bought some stuff a long time ago just in loose stuff rather than capsules but when I looked at what other people were buying mainly in here theirs appeared to have different ratios of ferts in...
Coincidently I was reading up on Walsted tonight and came across something that may have some relevance to whether substrates decline. It was to do with allelochemicals, i.e plants that produce chemicals to prevent other plants growing round them as a sort of defence mechanism. It suggested that...
I always thought Osmocote just left inert resin balls once the nutrient coating had been used up!
All my tanks get left running for years although I've never tried soils. Probably left years because it takes me that long to get it the way I envisaged it then decide I'd like it to look...
Thanks @dw1305 I had came across that post before but it only seem to scrape the surface before descending into the Glute debate. Searching this board found very little else.
I'm guessing the comment from @X3NiTH had the most relevance
I'll have to look a bit more into "chelated", it's...
Do we know what's going on here? I tend to try and only put things in my tank which I sort of understand but I recently purchased a bottle of this stuff at a MA store at a garden centre I was visiting. They say they are "collaborating" with the product. I am more than aware of all the snake oils...
I posted something many many years ago if you can find it to help with this problem and there should be some pictures on there. Essentially what I did was use some fishing wire to tie a strip I cut off a bathroom scrunchy to the end of some soft airline tubing (warm up the tubing with boiling...
It'll be fine mate, just think Millennium bug on steroids. The wheels will keep on turning and we'll all still wake up on the morning. Business and money tend to sort themselves out. Soon as somebody is losing money they'll all come up with something I'm sure.
What's that Mark Twain saying, "...
Where would you stop and start though Ian? Would you try and blend it in to the glass so its all flat again or would you need to create another definite line edge on rim that's as low as the chip goes? My tank is currently stripped down at the moment so not sure whether to tackle this. Looking...
Just to add if you were going to put a lid on clips on it I would get a clear perspex one made. If you have a glass one sooner or later you will hit it again.
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When I was digging into it mate the best I could come up with was to use a piece is tape on the top edge to form a line then maybe a clear epoxy resin like you use for windscreen repairs to patch in and see if it would polish up. My worry would be that this actually looked worse and you won't...
Feeling your pain mate. You look at the tank, check out the plants and think everything is looking fine then the last thing you look at is the chip and think except for that! What made it worse for me was I just can't get hold of a tank with the same dims unless I get it custom built so I just...
How did you manage that mate? Soul destroying isn't it. I did the very same thing with my ADA 60H by having a glass lid, was lifting it off one day in a rush and just managed to hit the edge which knocked off a chunk similar to yours. I find optiwhite glass very susceptible to these types of...
I wouldn't worry, more flow is generally better within reason. You could always bounce it off the back glass and get some flow round the back of the tank that would take a bit of over flow out of it if it turns out to be a bit much.
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FYI if you fancy going down the route of joining drinking straws together to form a floating loop Subway have green ones that might look less inconspicuous. ;) Just saying. Obviously treat yourself to some food before liberating a few :)
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They don't, but adding tannins and humic acids are beneficial to fish health over all especially if they originate from waters like that. I believe the likes of iron is more available to plants in acidic conditions. The tannins help detoxify heavy metals in the water so if you plan to go back to...
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/262681114 I think I used the low dust version though if you can get it. Needs washed a million times then wash again for first time use but after that you can keep it indefinitely. My next low tech I'm planning on capping soil with it.
I'll second that. I have a 5gallon fermenting bin full of the stuff which I just rinse and re-use for impromptu small tanks and scapes. I think it was about £3/4 for 25 ltrs. never had any issues with it.
I would set up holding tank using the new filter but put some media in from the old filter and replace the stuff taken out. Add about a third fish tank water and top off with fresh. Take out all the plants and put in holding tank and use lead plant weights in necessary, most will be quite happy...
Also, look into the Duck Weed Index which I find quite effective. Use floating plants that aren't co2 limited as they get co2 from the atmosphere as a canary. I generally dose a little bit of every fert weekly and keep an eye on the floaters, if they start showing signs of deficiency add a...
I think people have experimented with the no water changes at all with mixed results. There's quite an extensive thread in here somewhere regarding water changes. Running low tech is mainly about finding balance with your lighting so the plants never really hit that point where co2 becomes an...
Been considering under gravels again lately and as you have rig it up to an external canister. I think UG's are starting to make a bit of a come back.
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I have two external canisters with pretty much the same media in both, course sponge, fine sponge and some sintered glass in the bottom both with SS strainers for the shrimp. Ones an Aqua one which is quite high turnover about 1250 lph and the other a Tetratec 600 which if I'm honest runs well...
I'm with Tim on this one, I think EA really need to look at this as part of their business model. It's quite a common occurrence actually. When I first looked at their range i just couldn't get my head around the dimensions, at first I thought is it me just being a bit OCD about it and too picky...
If anything the the tannins will benefit the fish. I wouldn't hold back on getting the plants in there. Most people will start tanks off with reduced lighting to prevent algae break outs until the tank matures and the plants start filling out. In your case the tannins are reducing the lighting...
That light looks a bit tasty for no co2 mate and MC can go either way. Some have had success with MC in non co2 tanks, is the light is dimmable? Coming from DSM with plenty of co2 into a low co2 environment it would be quite easy to burn them out with too much lighting especially when you have...
Maybe an interesting experiment Darrel but I would suggest not doing it with a breeding pair of £400 blue cobalt Discus like I did.
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I think I use to use Potassium Sorbate when I was home brewing wine and beer after fermentation had completely finished to stop secondary ferment and so it would keep when bottled. That's what made it stand out for me.
Still not over it, I loved those fish. Time is a great healer though. maybe one day I'll see the funny side. ;) Didn't realise it was the sugar though. When I looked through the list of ingredients potassium sorbate was in the frame. From what I understand its used to prolong shelf life of...
Cab be beneficial for other plants especially the ones that cling to hardscape. Gives them chance to start attaching roots in the presence of high atmospheric co2.
It shouldn't affect the algae that Ottos feed of. From what I understand the steriliser part happens when cellular algae comes in contact with the first bubble that comes off the diffuser in much the same way as a UV steriliser does it when the algae comes in contact with the glass inside. Once...
These are a cheaper solution than the Eheim, also available on ebay. They come with a venturi which you don't have to use but if you open it at night it pulls air bubbles down into the water. Although the Eheim are good the thing I like about these ones is they have an integrated safety grill so...
I don't have any large tanks so tend to change 25ltrs at a time which is coincidentally the volume of the homebrew fermenting bin I use for water changes. My tanks are usually around 23/24 degrees so I find boiling a full kettle minus the cup full of water I use to make a coffee with then topped...
Just to put some meat on the bones of that, the poster on that forum had been complaining about the longevity of the diffuser and Twinstar had emailed them with advice on how to clean it properly to prolong life and also said using medications could shorten its life span. Assuming that copy and...
Haha very valid point, although most of the "renowned" scapers also appear to be using them also. In the same way though they could be freebies and twinstar know if people see them in tanks which lets be honest, were already going to be amazing and algae free with or without their device it...
I think that a lot of folks are saying its unnecessary in a way. With good maintenance, regular changes, surface agitation, plants producing oxygen to saturation point all can achieve the same thing bar the algae or possible bacteria sterilising effect but as with most things in the hobby some...
I think the guy in the video I posted earlier on did mate if I remember right. Not sure if any of the forum members did although I'm not sure how reliable o2 tests would be unless somebody has a meter. I think it's pretty much a given that it will raise o2 levels, the clearer water etc is a good...
Very low turnover this one mate. Mainly relying on water changes and letting the plants do most of the filtering. The last few months the water changes have been few and far between but looking at the sky I can see this changing quite soon.
I think there might be a little bit of scare tactics going on at the moment. United Utilities are introducing a hose pipe ban on the 5th of August and they're currently restructuring the water supply. They've been installing a new pipeline to Thirlmere to draw drinking water instead of...
Thanks, I've went for the naturescape look. Will look a lot better when it grows in. I've heard hydrogen peroxide might help but not sure where I could buy it in enough quantity without it setting alarm bells off at mi6. I wonder if flourish excel sell it in 45 gallon drums?
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Can anyone help with this, never experienced it before. Firstly some details tank dimensions are roughly 18km x 1.5km volume couple of hundred thousand gallons but recently it's been lower. Lighting unfortunately isn't dimmable so I'm stuck with what I've got lighting is on about 15 hours a day...
Intriguing, do you have anything in the forum about this?
My Amano and RCS to that matter will attack a failing plant. I had some S.Repens that wasn't doing so well at substrate level and they stripped them. Was also away for a long time without feeding plants and they stripped the pogo erectos...
I was put off by the TMC which went with the cabinet I bought as it was on 300 deep. Once gravel was in it left little room for the tall plants I was going for to fill their full potential. Ended up with the TMC cabinet with ADA 60h which was 450 in height which I think looked more balanced. I...
From what I understand shallower tanks are also better as they provide a better surface to air area per water volume which helps with gas exchange. I think that's why the Aquascaper tanks have such a large foot print.
That's what made me think, my daughter likes jelly in little clear pots and the other day I ordered some in vitro plants from eBay. [emoji189] Thought hold up, why can't I take some cutting and put in the small pot and next time I'm setting up a tank I have some good to go in vitro plant. Only...
Thanks, I was actually thinking more about actually growing them in the gel for a while rather than just keeping them alive. I could do the propagator thing was just trying to avoid soil for aesthetic reasons.
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Is there hydroponic gel you can buy and make up pots yourself? Got a new scape coming up in the next 4/6 weeks. I tend to throw out loads of plants and never seem to have enough when I want some. Just wondering if certain plants that will grow out of water could maybe be put into yoghurt pots or...
Ahh OK, I thought the point of the ADA soil was to give the plants the best start in life by loading up the column well in excess of nutrients many times EI values, last I heard was 100x. Just seems odd that one would "wash out" some of them in the dark before the plants get the benefit but...
Try low tech, you will be surprised. Don't over complicate your hobby and pick plants wisely. Make sure you have a light fitting that can be dimmed and start off at its lowest setting. Use a substrate that's designed for planted aquariums and take things very slowly, there's no rush, get a tank...
After serious contemplation and taking everything into consideration I've carried out my own personal time,motion and feasibility study on the benefits of commercial bacteria cultures and the conclusion is that it would be quicker for me to go yank a dandelion out my back garden then spend the...
Some crossed wires here, understandable that there's little point taking plants out of a tank to dip them and putting them back in without resolving the cause but Barbara said..
So I guess there's no harm in the dip method when moving to a new setup so the algae get a bad time right from the...
Yeah for sure, there's quite an extensive thread on it. Probably no need to read it all but towards the end of it people became a lot clearer about what was going on and the benefits. Oxygen and co2 are totally unrelated and both benefit in different ways for different reasons. O2 in general is...
I was thinking more of salvaging a plant that has a fair amount of established algae on it. Even with good conditions in the new tank any established algae on leaves is never going away on its own without some kind of intervention from LC or similar. Obviously yes, if you can trim off affected...
Excel Just straight out of the bottle neat Barbara. Either paint some on with a paint brush or put some in a small syringe a put a drop on the surface of the leaf. As long as it has a little contact time it will kill off the algae. Just be aware some plants are a bit sensitive to excel and it...
I would imagine the longer the bubbles are in suspension in the water the better as they have more time to fully dissolve so swirling around the tank rather than straight up and out would presumably be better the same as co2. I think I remember something like that being said in the blurb but it...
Hiya mate, it's just a more effective oxygen generator than a standard airstone without sucking pollution into your tank from your living room. Any increase in oxygen in a tank has huge benefits. As the tank sits it builds up levels of organics from plant and fish waste which algae feed off, to...
I would agree with that, it's a bit like your gas and electric, at the end of the day it's the same net result out of both devices so it all comes down to how much you want to spend to get that gas. I would compare it to the numerous co2 diffusers out there, you can pay through the nose for one...
Dodged that bullet :rolleyes: Nitrate isn't a concern of mine for the above points, we are never going to get anywhere near "toxic" levels whatever they may be interpreted by whatever test that hasn't took other parameters into consideration. However there's a few points been raised in the fork...
I think that's sort of what I'm saying, I don't limit as such more if I'm adding "some" and there appears to be no issues I just don't see the need to be adding anymore. i don't think they are limited more getting what they want and no more. Obviously as plant growth increases they will want...
Just my penny's worth and observation, I haven't got much to support this. I feel like EI or Eutrophic dosing does serve a purpose however I would suggest in the vast majority of tanks it isn't necessary. I've tried a different approach to keeping my tanks of late which seems to yield better...
Sounds about right that mate. From what I understand that's how it works in the oceans. People think that all the oxygen produced by the Amazon rain forest comes from the plants and trees that grow there but I think it mainly comes from the nutrients washed out the rivers into the ocean which...
Just for record should probably mention for the OP, I meant Tropica Premium not Specialised. Specialised also contains nitrogen.
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Surely the simple answer to reduce nitrates would be just to dose some traces like tropica and Epsom salts for a while? The other ferts contain nitrates so essentially you are adding them then looking for ways to get them back out. Maybe just dose the Aquascaper Complete Food when plants look a...
Yeah well said @alto who cares how your tank looks as long as the fish are happy and what do fish know about Aquascaping.
Going in to the denial phase now I've got envy out of the way. Bitterness and anger next [emoji3]
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Nice one cheers. I guess the dilemma now is if you find some wood in the water that's water logged and still in reasonable condition you wouldn't exactly know which tree it came off.
Is there such a thing as a list of "safe" wood? Just curious, I often come across things on my travels and think that would look cool in an aquarium but not knowing if certain branches may leach toxins from sap etc or if what stage the wood needs to be at for instance how long as it been dead...
If it is creating a reactive gas at the same time using "free radicals" as previously posted and destroying algae spores happy days. More 02, possibility of a better filtration activity, some co2 production and killing algae spores. I see this as a valid product to have in your arsenal in the...
Yeah, in a nutshell I think that's exactly what it does. Increases o2 without bubbling off your gas. In fact it could be argued that it increases co2 I would say in so far as increased o2 improves bacterial action then increased co2 production by the bacteria and better performance out of the...
IMO if Twinstar want to make their product stand out from the rest and prestige price it then they need to put something out there that tells you why. Failing that I can't see any reason either. If I was buying a £100 filter and two were consuming same power with similar turnover and easy...
From what I understand (which is little). It won't be effective at out gassing co2. An air stone would actually better at that I would say. These things create very little surface agitation.
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Does it react to the environment? I thought you just set the burst and duration based on the tank size. Not sure about that one.
It is a bit bizarre that the manufacturers of these items don't try and back it up with some data. All that does is build suspicion IMO. I'm not overly convinced of...
Ain't that the million dollar question. They all appear on face value to be incorporating the same basic technology. What appears to be the differentiator is the quality of the products and the so called "algorithm" of the burst which each manufacturer seems to be claiming does make a difference...
Can you elaborate what you mean by the mesh on the Twinstar being "safe"?
Interesting to know about the free radicals [emoji106]I'm not going to pretend I'm at that level of science. I like to try but more of a plant grower. understanding the plants needs rather than how it breaks down...
Oh well, if that's how we're doing this and George is looking for someone who's crap at scaping who currently has an empty tank I'll put myself forward. Haha I don't think he's that much time on his hands tbh. I only have a low tech that's 3 months on the go, if George came this time next year...
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