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Awesome thread, hax47! Your work and posting are much appreciated! I’d really like to copy/build your sensor. I’ve done my own controlled test for a couple of months to check the effects of heavy aeration on the pH/CO2 in equal non CO2 tanks. No strange outcome: the aerated tank is always...

Yup, think it's a pretty common stress dream for fish keepers from what I've read on Reddit etc... doesn't make it any less jarring. Thanks for the well wishes too!

That's so wonderful! For all the stress these little guys you through you deserve a win! I also have dreams about killing fish, usually because I have forgotten about them and discover that I am the owner of a whole tank of dead and dying fish. 😩

...Alternatively, on the subject of the paint colour of the wall, if it suits you I would recommend a darker wall paint, possibly black, as everything, from fish and plant colours seem to pop, much more contrast! *from experience from using different backgrounds for the tanks, painted on the back

Ahh. Makes sense!

N

Sponsors of the forum, not sponsors of you.

Okay. I will not worry about CO2 for now. I didn’t know I could have a sponsor. I am so glad I found you guys.

The lucky bamboo leaves are just reaching the top of the water. I’m expecting them to come out soon. The annubias look good and I have one Java fern baby that I will move on its own once it gets a little bigger.

A BREEDING UPDATE Hi all, hope you're well :) in a very fun and slightly disconcerting turn of events, I noticed I have an extra pygmy cory - they've only gone and bred without warning me first 🫠 I did notice quite a smart, smaller Cory a while back but didn't clock that it wasn't one of the...

Hi all, Welcome to UKAPS Does it have its leaves out of the water? cheers Darrel

Hi all, You will need to start adding a compete fertiliser, I don't know what is available to you? But you won't need to add a <"vast amount"> for your epiphytes. You don't need any remineraliser then, just add the magnesium addition with the fertiliser. The CO2 is a <"double whammy"> in that...

What's the best paint colour for the wall behind my lushly planted tanks? My tanks are heavily planted and black backed right now but will remove this evantually.

Yeah, tonnes of hawthorn, chestnut, blackberries etc, but we have lots of Sycamores and Myrtles around us as well. Some of the Myrtle in particular has great shapes etc. if I get round to experimenting, I’ll feed back…

Hi all, They break down really quickly. I haven't tried it, but I'd be slightly wary just because they are very resinous. Are there any other trees you can access? cheers Darrel

Brian Cox new series coming up Solar System looks a good watch

As your new to planted tanks ,I would in my own experience go low tech, low energy set up first and go for easy plants and fast growing stems . If later you want to go down the CO2 route aquarium then the sponsers on UKAPS will have all genuine advice. You can have a beautiful aquarium with easy...

Does anyone have any thoughts on Sycamore leaves (apols if I missed this in the thread - saw sends but not leaves)? Also Myrtle wood/leaves?

Ok, so low lighting and easy plants. You won’t really need or benefit from CO2. CO2 is best when using high lighting and remaining plants.

The cheaper the better @MichaelJ ! Here’s the plantation plan, I want something with green only this time so: -riccardia in the cracks of the rocks -hemianthus micranthemoides as an background bush -patches of HC Cuba in the foreground for details -some Eleocharis pusilla in transition between...

Hi!! I’m Noelle. I found Ukaps on the internet researching how to aquascape.

Also 3 annubias

Thanks! I have Java ferns so far. And lucky bamboo. I have low lighting - the light that came with the aquarium. Tetra is the brand of the aquarium.

Can't wait for everything to grow nice and lush! At the moment, the tank is at the floor, until I place the stand sometime in October. As for the radiator, it's about 15cm or so away from the tank - but not to fear! I never really turn on the heating until late into November to the point where...

Do you have CO2? I’ve found that in my high tech tank the shells of MTS deteriorate quickly and then the fish pick at them and eat them. Ramshorns seem to do better. In my low tech shrimp tank however, snails everywhere! I like snails though so it’s all good.

I agree. For a planted tank, reasonably stocked with some sensible maintenance applied to it, additives and special filter materials are grossly unnecessary - a good sponge for mechanical filtration is all you need - keeps flow up as well. What filter @CooKieS are you using?. Love the rocks...

One more, when cleaning with magnet, apply some water on glass, it will make process much easier.

I uped the pressure to the recommended pressure and it's fine now lol didn't realise I didn't have the right pressure when I changed the cylinder.

Very beautiful setup! What is the reddish round-leaved plant in your very first picture? I'd like to add a bit more color to my Terrabase.

What plants and lighting do you have? You may not even need CO2.

Hello everyone !! I am Noelle and brand new to aquascaping. And I’m hooked. Now wanting to add CO2. Have read everything I have found and can’t decide. Please advise on the starter CO2 unit. I have a 20 gallon fresh water tank with just plants so far. I do want fish but I’m not rushing...

Hurray for plants, it's going to look nice once they give you a bit of height on the left. At the risk of asking the obvious, how fa away is that radiator?

This is looking great. Love the layout. Keep us posted! 🇳🇵

Hi Darell, Thanks you for your kind comments. Regarding the mineraliser, I will be mindful using it in the future. Immediately after the last water change, I tested the TDS and it was somewhere near mid-30s if I remember correctly. I then added the mineraliser which brought it to 100ppm. It...

Hi Scapernic, it can be ok, depending on your setup. Please let u know what is your output pressure, what co2 diffuser you have on both branches, maybe some pictures? Can that needle valve reduce and stop the co2 flow? What you have chained on each branch (bubble counter type, valves ect.?

Hi all, Just don't add anything like as <"much remineraliser">? You are going to add magnesium (Mg) with you fertiliser, so you only need to add a pinch of calcium (Ca) If you have added some carbonate hardness (alkalinity)? That would account for it. You rock looks like it might be limestone...

Thank you, @Commander Shepard ! There are online shops mainland Europe I use. I have checked some UK stores, but I live is Sweden and for all practical purposes it is just easier to order from mainland shops. I sent you a PM.

Beautiful! Noticed the old setup had a lid and a new one doesn't. Did you keep it this way?

Oh, and the internal filter and heater hurts my eyes! Will hide as soon as everything grows in, probably to the back left corner

Hi all 🙂, after a while, I'm back with the entire scape, 1 month or so in, which seems to be growing in OK. Settled on: cuttings from another tank: Heteranthera Zosterfolia, with some weird kinda echinodorus/crypt like plant (I honestly don't know), which seems to do.. horrible!(more on that in...

After reading this thread I started to look around strets for some botanical. And I have found one interesting seed pods. Foxglove tree or Empress Tree (Paulownia Tomentosa) easy to find in London parks and streets. I can not find if it is poisonous but I put one in my tank. After two weeks...

Too late, I have a filtosmart arriving today. But thanks for your suggestion 👍🏻

Bad enough collecting High pH test bottles without using the others at twice the speed

I am going to go down the MD route when I reset in a month or so. I'll put it in the journals section. Fir me it's just another trial, I've done the aquasoil thing. Now it's sand+

Cool setups! Where do you get the miniature orchids and bromeliads from? They seem quite difficult to get hold of.

I think MDs sponsers ,2 maybe 3, are reputable companys , the fact that he is honest with the methods he uses proves this IMO

What about a HOB? the Dennerle Scapers Flow would be great on your 45P.

Hello Folks, Here are todays weekly test results: Tank water: GH: 7 KH: 5 pH: 7.2 Ammonia: 0,05 (more yellow than green) Nitrates: 0.5 Nitrites: 0.1 Im not sure how accurate they are (I’m trying to follow the rule of if it looks fine it is fine) rather than be ruled by some test “results”...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this !

Thanks for all your input on this, much appreciated. So in the end, i ended up buying a new filtosmart 200 ( couldn’t find any secondhand ones unfortunately ) due to the lack of cabinet space i have for this setup. So I’m hoping that it be suitable for the tank, and I’ll be reducing the pipe...

That looks spot on 👌, that’s given me a good idea of what to look for. I’ve been a bit messy lately and keep leaving my things out on top of my tank 😅. Thanks for the tip

It looks really good well done 😊 I added a 3D printed tool holder to the inside of mine. Got it off Etsy for around £11 - was considering magnets / knife rack but this and some Velcro is solid 😊 Added a towel hook to the right hand door for my towel 😊

Thanks Murray that’s definitely something to consider for next time. Yeah I’m not a fan myself either, but it was an off the cuff moment I had whilst at home twiddling my thumbs. I was happy to buy one from aquarium gardens, but that’d be another 5-6 hours round trip, so i just fancied having a...

Very nice indeed James 😊 I’m clueless with DIY also I did use Cut My | Cut to Size DIY Store - No Mess, No Fuss who do custom cut materials in order to get a base out of 18mm marine plywood for my 90cm tank. I don’t have the tools (or skill!) and not a fan of B&Q 😊 All the best with the scape...

The only reason i opted for B@Q is because they cut it to how you want, no one else locally offers this, so it was a convenience thing. Next time I’ll i decide to build another one, I’ll be looking at other options, because i don’t think their products are of any quality. That said, it did the...

Looks good! I gave up on B&Q for ply. Checked stock on the drive there and no 18mm in South Wales, closest was Bristol. Ended up at Travis Perkins instead

good morning all. So after reading through the successful cabinet builds, I thought I’d have a go myself. My plan was, to use a hardwood ply for this, but unfortunately i had to result to using MDF! Popped down to B&Q with all my measurements that someone kindly shared on here, and off i went...

Update: 28th September Two days ago, I brought the plants home and planted into the tank. Here are the updates: 1. I changed about 80% of the water. I used stored rainwater for the water change. 2. The plants were: (i) Bolbitis; (ii) Anubias (petite); and (iii) Microsorum (Narrow). 3. I...

Looks really good, still leaves room for plants to have an impact without the hardscape being too overbearing.

Thanks @martinjcxn, @Spartacus and @Maf 2500. I am indeed using Tropica Aquairum Soil. Also, the aquarium is very new so hoping this is all just part of the process. As suggested, I might increase surface agitatiion for a while and also up the water changes for another week. Plants are...

Try floating a sheet or two of kitchen roll on the surface for a few seconds and then remove. Should pick up most of the surface film that is trapping the bubbles.

Hi Bradders, I had a similar issue albeit with around 1/3rd of the bubbles but surface film also. Using Tropica Aquasoil - I raised the outlets on my filters to make more surface agitation and that has definitely helped with the film and the bubbles reduced significantly. I don’t know what...

My guess is it’s a build up of organics and proteins, most likely leaching out of the aqua soil. Foamy water is a tell tale sign of excess proteins/ organics in your water. I wouldn’t stress too much yet, and it will likely clear soon if you keep doing your water changes. Unless you’re adding...

Hi All, A new aquarium, new filter, heavily planted, CO2 injected, started 10 days ago, with no livestock. All looked OK, then I started going down from daily to 3 times a week water changes from Tuesday, and the below bubble-tastic surface started. (Water changes may be unrelated). Doesn't...

Thats great mate

Thanks mate, appreciate it, I know I had to do something with these new stones since i saw them hit the market this year. I speed cycled the tank by rinsing old filter media from my iwagumi after filling it with water; Some flooded pics, doing 7-8 days darkstart with cycled media: It always...

Hi, you did an great job with the scape in this bowl but as the others said, it would be nice to keep only shrimps or snails in there. I’m glad you took out the gourami as these needs at least 60cm tank to thrive properly. Would be great if some famous youtubers could stop scaping bowls with...

In fresh water of about 25C it’s going to take a long time (50+ years) for PLA to break down. You need much more heat like in an industrial composting facility. https://www.gianeco.com/en/faq-detail/1/10/how-long-does-pla-take-to-decompose...

I had couple of additional free days this week, so I spent them on redoing the terrarium. The tank (60 x 45 x 45 cm) is not, at least to my current skill set, ideal for creating verticality. 10 cm less to width and 20+ cm for height might be a good starting point. Although, looking it now, I...

Hi all, It looks in generally good condition, so I'm going to say it probably isn't bacterial. Even though I have Corydoras pygmaeus I see them very infrequently and never know how many I have (but at least 10 at the moment, some I bought and some bred in the tank). This means some must have...

These are the same additions from the journal, i haven't added any more fish since getting them a while ago. I picked them up :)

Hiya. So on this tank I have two filters one is a biomaster 350 and the othe is a 250. Weekly water change of anywhere from 50/70 %, pre filters are cleaned weekly with tank water. I do have some purigen in one of the filters. And I fertilise every day with 2hr aquarist complete. Other than...

I'd like rice fish but they're pretty illegal to have outside in the UK unfortunately. I've kept goldfish for years, I'm aware of their size so I'll only keep a small number of shubunkin if I do get any at all. Roughly +800L of swimming space and another 100-150L in the filter should be enough...

One of the small wild Betta species like Channoides would fit the bill. They’re far too small to eat adult shrimp but they’ll eat the shrimplets.

Thank you for the video, that's really helpful. It's very much how I imagine mine will work but I'll make mine look a bit fancier

I wasn't sure if that was the final spot for the tank, if it is I agree about the plug. For me I'd move the big stone a fraction forward as well as right & maybe get a small stone on the "horizon" created to it's left to add more depth.

Hi Meg, are these new additions? And when you say arrived from the shop, were they delivered or you picked them up?

Just my opinion: The main stone looks great, i would consider moving it slightly to the right, covering the black plug behind the tank. I like The right angle stone location but agree with the point raised above. Maybe have an alternative edge facing upwards? Path between the main stone and...

I’m West Cork and my tap water is really soft according to Irish Water (76mg CaC03 per litre). I generally find it tests the same aiming out of the tap (kh/dh are really low) and the ph is acidic (6.5 ish), although I find that pH rises to about 7 when left out for a couple of days (literally...

Hi all, hope you're well. Following my trials and tribulations with bacterial illness effecting my corydoras, I'd like to get a second opinion on whether this looks to be damage or a bacterial issue. This pygmy corydoras arrived from the shop with a white patch near to her dorsal fin, and i...

Hi all, I'm pleased you found it useful. I'm ridiculously proud of the "Duckweed Index". That may relate to the sand substrate, just purely <"because the processes"> that might make iron (Fe) plant available hadn't had time to develop. Do you know if you have hard alkaline tap water? I know...

Just under the surface it will fizz slightly any deeper and there's no output at all. Good idea about the volume output, I'll test and see how it compares to the specs.

How deep are the airstones? have you tried holding them just under the water surface? Would make a difference if it is pressure related. Might be worth measuring the volume of air output by the Eheim, which would likely be seriously reduced if it is faulty. (Time how long it takes to fill a...

Having read that extremely helpful thread, they definitely did! The circle of white rings in the frogbit was something I definitely noticed, as well as a bit of yellowing.

How many were the few degrees increased? I live with massive water temperature fluctuations here because of the weather, and I'm always curious about the experience regarding temperature in tanks of people who live in insulated homes.

I think what you want to do is similar to this aquaponics setup more or less. It's something I've been considering doing too. Just to add another layer of complexity adding a window is definitely do able.

Hi @Jimmyc - what is you current maintenance routine? i.e. filtration, water changes + anything else you do. Also, how mature is your aquarium?

The air stones are brand new. I was thinking that the piezo air pumps may produce more pressure than the eheim but I couldn't find any specs on pressure output for the eheim so not sure. Surprised it can't push air through the air stones though. I even tried connecting both outputs to a single...

IBC's are nearly a metre deep, so yes, plenty deep enough for goldfish. On the other hand I find goldfish look better in a larger swimming space as they can grow quite big given time. For a colourful fish that is hardy and stays small have a look at medaka (Japanese rice fish).

There’s maybe only 2-3 60cm sized tanks and they are 36 or 40cm deep so no 60p, with an 90p you can expect better ranking but it seems 120cm is still the way to go. Unfortunately I can’t afford something bigger than 60cm so I decided to skip iaplc now, this and the fact that the judging is so...

Hi all, I'd guess it should be all right, they are compromised fish in ways that your other fish won't be. I'd follow the recommendations in <"Apistogramma and Dwarf Cichlid Aquarium Care"> they have served me well. Your tank looks lovely, and an ideal environment for them. They were the first...

How old are the airstones? Might be partially clogged, and the Eheim not producing enough pressure to overcome this. When I researched the piezo air pumps a while back I was very surprised by the very high air pressure compared to low air volume pumped in this design.

Well we obviously didn’t do enough research in the first place I guess! This was something that didn’t come up on the internet when we were planning to add them, we made sure that the water conditions were favourable, and that they were okay with our other fish. What a shame, because when i...

Where I live the depth is more than enough for goldfish to live comfortably, besides the pond will be insulated too and have a glass cover in the winter months. Thanks for the support!

I fear now for the rest of my fish! Reading up on hole in the head, it can spread throughout the whole tank? Thanks for your advice though.

I have a concrete yard unfortunately and I rent so it has to be able to be dismantled and relocated. The plan isn't much work at all, I have all the tools, knowledge and access to all the cheap good quality materials that I'll need. The top will be covered with wire mesh with exit points but...

That's the idea with mine too, I'm going to clad the outside with insulation and panelling and I'll line it with a pond liner too just in case of cracks and also so the inside isn't white. Thanks for the support!

Thanks for the support! I have access to some that were only used for RO water previously. The plan is to insulate and clad the IBC with insulating foam boards and wood panels, also I'm going to line it with a pond liner to so the inside isn't white and in case of any cracks etc. I'll be sure to...

I don't know about Plastikote specifically but the rival product Plasti-Dip makes a thing out of being safe for aquarium and pond use - Using Plasti Dip for aquariums - Plasti Dip As for the automotive lacquer, I would have thought it would be totally inert once fully dried, with the warning...