Search results for query: *

My first Igwami. Basic lights and CO2 unit and only using two plant species. Rocks from the garden. 30% water changes twice a week, squirt of Seachem every other day. Still filling out and needs trimming in areas. Hope you like it.

Maturing nicely now I think. I've trimmed patches of the HC to see how it grows back as I've never grown it before. I've trimmed the redneki too but it grows quickly! No algae except on the rocks and glass, so fingers crossed. Appreciate any input on trimming and plant care and any ideas or tips?

So, doing a 30% water change every other day. Dosing Seachem at the same time, CO2 at green dropper. Filling out okay and no algae save for a dusting on the mother rock. Fingers crossed!

Flooded, fizzing and fauna. All up and running. Had a bit of a disaster when the circulation pump holding magnet got knocked off and the pump fell, driving a great wedge of substrate and MC into the water column. Repaired and replanted but still a little cloudy. I've got hundreds of wild type...

Nice tank. I'd have fish that don't root about and pull up the plants next time. Barbs and platties can rip all your hard work up in hours!

Okay, I've managed to dry start for a few weeks now and plants doing okay. No mold and Cuba is filling out okay. Today I'm flooding tank with rainwater, which I've added RO Right to remineralise it. I'm going to 'flood and fizz' for a few days before putting fauna back into the tank - 30% daily...

I have tried physically removing it, including using an electric toothbrush. It's a 15 year old tank that's been in constant use all of that time. The silicon is embedded with algae, I need a chemical solution. Cheers. Never heard of that. I'll try it on a small section today. Cheers.

Yeah, I have given that a go already. It just won't shift, seems to be embedded in the silicon. Cotton bud in liquid CO2 directly onto area? Then carefully clean area afterwards? I'm worried about chemicals leaching into substrate. Not tried anything like this before :p

Hi, doing a dry start and have a very old tank with algae growing/embedded in the corner seals. Would a brush with liquid CO2 kill it off? Or bleach?

So I think the MC is filling out okay and I'm thinking about flooding the tank next week, about 14 days in. Does that look like a good idea? Also, in the corners of the (very old) tank there is residual algae that I can't physically remove. It's 'in' the sealant I think. Could I dose it with...

They look pretty awful and would need lots of extra time to recover, I'd think. I'm just doing a rescape with Monte Carlo - got it from Aqua Essentials - excellent condition as always.

Day 5 of dry start. Looks like it's growing to me?

Substrate sorted, rocks added and MC and Altaranthera.mini planted. Lights (Denneral Trocal LED strip) on for 12hrs a day 9 hrs at 100%. Fingers crossed :p

So tanks down and I've added some JBL Proflora to give the older substrate a boost. I'll also add some more JBL Manduro to top up. Rocks from the garden and some Misc. Monte Carlo and Altaranthera reineckii mini.

Ha, thank you but I don't think that counts as a carpet. More like straw and sawdust! :D

Hi all, I've kept low maintenance, low tech planted aquaria for about 15 years. Some of them have been quite nice too! I've decided to challenge myself and try an Igwami as I was losing the love (my last tank was a bit aĺl over the place). Only thing is I have to use only the current equipment...

Cheers - yeah I started reading that and lost the will to live! :D

Thanks - but that's not what I've been reading here from others, George Farmer for one. He had no green algae on his Igwami stone at all and that was a first for him when he started using Twinstar. It only appeared on glass surfaces in that build. Lot's of people saying much reduced algae and...

I've trawled te site and can't find what I'm looking for.....I've run a low maintenance, heavily planted tank for nearly a decade and want to finally try an Igwami scape. I'm really scared of algae (usually just employ shrimp and fish to eat it and put up with low levels) and have read a lot...

Thanks for the help. I'll try to follow the instructions...cheers. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I had a leak from my Mignon CO2 regulator so I took off the outflow nut/valve and three objects fell out - a spring, a valve type thing and a tiny gauze 'pellet'. I've no idea how they fir back in but.....after I tried to tighten the main nut I could not refit/screw in the outflow valve. I think...

I have an Eheim and have never had any burping issues.I have used this method for 5 years plus, just wondered if it was as efficient as I thought it was or if there is a better (cheaper) way to deliver CO2. I guess not. Cheers

I'll keep it going through the filter then I think. Cheers

Cheers Paul and Eastern - I have also been doing this for years but I was wondering about the lack of visible bubbles now. Is it better to have all the CO2 dissolved or in micro bubble form? I've read different things about how the plants uptake CO2 - most saying it has to be in bubble form...

I inject my CO2 directly into my filter intake. This smashes the bubbles up and then they are spread around the tank via the outflow pipe (and flow pump). I do this because I believe that it's a more efficient (read 'cheaper') way to get the CO2 to my plants (happy to be corrected). I used to be...

I use rainwater with some re-mineralisation product and an alovera based fish de-stress thing.

Ahh - if only I'd known about these!

That's impressive! I tried to put a brass inline one-way valve on my set-up and couldn't get enough pressurre to push through it. My seals on my homeade bottles would just blow. You should post a picture. Cheers

Amazed you can get enough pressure to get it through a needle valve in the first place! I ran 3 x 2L bottles in tandam for several years but eventually the faff got to me and I bought a cylinder system! The best tip anyone ever gave me for DIY CO2 was to add a little marmite to the mixture - it...

Nice.

I've had Eco Black in my tank for about 8 years now and want to change it over to a lighter colour (any suggestions?). Will I have to re-cycle my tank when I change it? Cheers

That sounds just what I'm looking for, cheers. Do you have a brand name for the white lights?

Thanks for the replies; I know what you mean Paulo but I don't want lots of light - just the right combination to show off my fish and keep the vegetation lush and green. I'd still stick to just two T5s over a 200l tank. Thanks - I'll look into this further. This sounds good for the...

Hi - is there a tube or combination of tubes that will show off the silver and reds of Rummynose tetras? I have a shoal in a planted tank and have 2 spare tube slots. Cheers

I have 3 Walstad Bowls in my classroom - all without heaters and only 5-6 litres. They all hold Cherry Reds and Ramshorns and are now in their second year. In the winter the temp drops to about 15C and hits 20C in the summer. The CR's breed in the summer months and are less active in winter. I...

Thanks for all the amazing ideas. Never knew there were so many choices (if it was a larger tank anyway). But...it's a small tank and I've gone for some lemon guppies as they stand out well in an unlit (apart from natural light) tank. Cheers

I've gone for some guppies - might provide some fry to add to the excitement!

Wow - thanks for all the replies. Didn't think this would evoke such a reaction! First off I have 3 beautiful Walstad bowls in my class that the children maintain, although the kids in my class are 10. Another teacher wants the same sort of thing for her class of 4-5 year olds but anything...

Cheers Tim - Thanks for your kind offer, I have explored that option but because the children are so young (4-5) I wanted to keep it electrics free. I would restock with chilli rasporas but the LFS never has any in! Thanks again.

That's what I suspected - there will be an airstone going?

Cheers - I have kept chilli raspora in the same unheated tank a few years ago without issue. I was just wondering about the wc minnow?

Sorry - I've seen plenty of planted, filterless tanks with healthy, even breeding, fish stocked in them. You obviously have to keep up the water changes and make sure you have a well balanced eco-system (lots of plants, scavengers, etc). The question is more about whether the wc minnows would do...

We have a small planted tank, no filter or heating, in the class at school and want to introduce the children to the world of fish. I kept a small shoal of white cloud minnow in the same tank with success but it had a filter then and quite heavy flow rates. Will white clouds be ok in a 'still'...

I think my shrimps and snails get most of this!

Beard Algae = SAE I can't actually see any algae in the photos though?

I'm pretty amazed that the tetras will survive 15 days without food! Really?

Thanks for all the info. I'll start researching along the lines of a heating mat that can be controlled and I like the idea of having it across the back rather than underneath. I know I said I didn't want an internal heater but has anyone and recommendations for a really, really small one...

That's what I'd like to know. Good spot about the reptile heating mats. Anyone used them for heating aquariums (with the extra weight)? Cheers

Do they exist? I have an unheated nano but this time of year it gets cold (14C) and some plants don't seem to enjoy that. The shrimps seem ok but was trying to raise the temp to around 18C. I used a small internal heater but it took the tank to 25C on it's lowest setting and it looked awful as...

Wow!

Snails are cool and IMHO should be in a planted tank - but not as an infestation! A piece of par-boiled cucumber left in for 24hrs will, when removed, catch an awful lot of snails. Repeat, then repeat again...

Thanks guys - I'll have a look at the TDS pen. I really wanted a 'mixed' tank so may have to set up a CRS only if I'm going to get them to breed! In my tank anyway, the Rummynoses have no interest at all in the shrimp, cherry or CRS. There are lots of tiny, tiny cherry 'babies' throughout the...

I have a 180 litre planted tank with a few CRS that I am trying/hoping to breed - I use RO and then add Kent 'RO Right' to adjust it back to soft/very soft water. My question is do I need to add any other re-mineralisation product to help the CRS thrive? They have been in the tank for 8-9 months...

Looking forward to watching this - could be better than a box set of 'Breaking Bad'!

Sorry to hear of your stem crash. How are the non-stem plants looking? Do you run/have a powerhead Rob? I found it was possibly the best bit of 'extra' kit I ever bought. Gets the circulation of CO2 and nutrients to most parts of the tank.

That's what I was thinking too - I'm trying to steer him towards wood.

A mate of mine has got one of the tall Fluval Edges' and wants an iwagumi style scape. Having looked at it the light output I can't really see how he is going to get a carpet of anything going. Has anybody seen anything similar scape-wise in one of these tanks or could point me in the right...

Ottos will deal with that!

They get to about 6" and then start to bulk out more as they mature.

They jump!

I always have them in my tank and they keep the BBA away even though they also take fish food (and lots of it). They just always seem to be hungry! I once lost my last one and couldn't get any replacements - within two weeks the BBA was back! Some may say that this shows my tank is not being run...

Like the others I'd cut down the numbers and the species. Some fish in there are not all that plant friendly either. Barbs IME pull up plants (although I've not had those 2 species) as do Corys, especially smaller carpet type plants. Discus and plants can also be a problem as they get bigger...

Well good luck with that. If parotet can get his water soft they would be excellent fish to have in a smaller tank.

Interesting - do you run their tank with no/slow flow? The shoal I had were in a quite moderate flow and seemed to enjoy 'playing' in the stream. They did display really intense colours but on the other hand they seemed to live for only about a year and a half. How long should they live for...

Yes they do like soft water - I was just indicating that soft water is usually on the acidic side of neutral and that using rainwater or RO and running CO2 will all help.

Just a thought - have you considered some micro-type fish, like the chilli Raspora or the kubotai. I had a shoal of both (20 chillis in a larger nano) and they looked amazing. Again though you may have to think about softening the water by using some RO or rain water. Your CO2 will bring the pH...

I had a shoal of these for several years and they are amazing to watch, especially for an hour or so before lights out when they would shoal tightly and move around the tank in swishes and swirls. I have a 170 litre though and had 25 of them. Not sure you would get the same display with only 10...

With the tank and light set-up you have you would be better off going for the slow-grow, low-tech approach IMHO. It's a less intensive approach and you will need patience but it's far less (maintenance) work and a lot cheaper (less ferts and liquid CO2). You can still have an amazing, lush green...

Those embers look nice. Do they no shoal all the time?

Cheers George - I'll have a look at the Rummynose, never thought of them before. I do keep a SAE in the tank so hopefully his size would keep them on their toes.

I'm due to restock my 170 litre tank and I'm looking for an active, attractive, shoaling fish. I have the remnants (12 left of 25) of an ageing shoal (+5 years) of Cardinals but have to say that I have been very disappointed with them. They are a beautiful fish but spend most of their time...

Just a quick point - if you want to get rid of bba buy a SAE. They eat it for fun. I lost mine a while ago and had a major bba outbreak within a month. To be honest I'd never seen the stuff before but quickly bought another pair of SAEs and it was all gone within 3 days. Never seen it again. Of...

That sounds like a great idea. I have one so will put it in tomorrow. Cheers. Maybe - there are lots of hiding places though so I would have expected one or two to make it. Plus I've never seen a single one, ever. I think the female maybe dropping the eggs as Nathenial suggested above. Cheers.

Water change about 15% a week. Usual way? RO and rainwater mix with some re-mineralisation product.

She seems to carry them for a week or so. Then nothing. It's a 170 litre and quite heavily planted. I do see a lot of transparent young but assume they are cherries as none have matured into 'coloured' CRS. Could they be young CRS that never make it past that stage?

...but no young ever appear. Hi - sorry if this has been covered elsewhere. I have a very small colony (6) of CRS and I have seen the dominant female berried twice now but have never seen any young. They are in a heavily planted, med. tech tank with Cherries, Cardinals and an SAE. I have CO2...

Cheers - gone for the Alternathera and a red Lug. Many thanks all. Cheers

Cheers P - which is the other plant you have, Lug. sp. or the Alternan.? And how red are they? Many thanks

I'm looking for an easy to grow, vibrant red plant. I have moderate light, injected CO2 and ferts. My water is not amazingly soft however (but not hard either). Any ideas - Rotala looks too demanding for me but what about Lugwigia sp, Limnophila hippuridoides or Alternanthera reineckii? Cheers

PMDD - Poor Man's Dosing Drops What is it? Originally known as Poor Man's Dupla Drops it was created by Paul Sears and Kevin Conlin in 1996 as a method to supply the plants in the aquarium with all the necessary nutrients, but to restrict phosphate as a means to control algae. Phosphates must be...

No, my tank has CO2 injection.

Try this, although all I really do is to take the El method recipe and 'water' in down by about 1/3. I do less water changes so any nutrient build up has to be kept in check by adding less in the first place. Lighting is moderate and I have CO2 injection. I'm not advocating this method as a...

Have a look at what you want 'scape wise and then read, read, read! Just one thing - the Corys will rip up anything with shallow roots so if you want a carpet you may have to think again about them. Cheers

I'm a lazy bugger too! There is a 'poor man's El method' (I think Tom Barr put me on to it a few years ago) which I use. It basically involves dosing less but over a longer time frame. Water changes are far less frequent and only 25%. I've adapted it even further (just because I'm lazy and...

Sorry to jump in here but...I've got planaria in the school tank (despite microwaving the substrate at last rescape). They don't seem to bother either the Ramshorns or Cherry Reds but I can't be sure. How do you get rid of them?

I agree with the above. I run a small shrimp tank in my class at school and have no CO2 at all, not even liquid (I think it may be harmful to some inverts IMHO). You could look at low light plants and I've achieved a carpet using a plant that I can't find the name of! It grows really well in...

I can't believe that there are no UK suppliers of black intakes! The Aqua 1 is grey - getting there but....

I'm after the same pipe...had one but cut it down for the school nano. Now I can't work out where it came from! Black has to be the bog-standard background colour for most planted tanks surely?

A friend has a Fluval Edge (the tall one) and the lighting seems a bit low to me. I remember seeing something on here about an upgrade unit that just clipped into the 'hood' of the Fluval - but I can't find it! Anyone have any thoughts or could point me to the correct thread? Cheers

What an amazing first attempt. It looks really great. Is that the plants pearling or have you only just flooded the tank? How about a full tank shot? Cheers

Hi mate - it may be easier to get some answers if you post a picture. For my two-pennies-worth I'd adopt a 'go slow and let it grow' policy. See what works with the set-up you have, remove (or let them fade away) the poor performers and build your 'scape around the successful growers. Later...

That looks like a great bit of kit! I might even be able to follow those instructions. Thanks for that...another idea to toy with:) . I've never noticed any problems but my tank is not 'on the edge' - I have medium light, high plant mass, poor mans fert routine + CO2. It might be different with...

I'm assuming that CO2 reactors dissolve the gas into solution and therefore do not produce a 'mist' of fine bubbles? What method do you use foxfish? I thought I had a plan of action but not so sure now! If you can get it to the leaf! Is there a benefit in the plant uptaking CO2 quicker in a...

Cheers mate and I agree...getting the CO2 into as fine a mist (small bubbles) as possible is the most efficient method to begin the process of getting the carbon to the plants, but it has to dissolve fully for that to happen. The plants cannot uptake the CO2 you can see as a mist, it's still far...

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll put it on the outflow for now. My point about the 'mist' is that it is CO2 bubbles. If I can see bubbles then the CO2 I have injected has not fully dissolved in the water column. It will flow around the tank for a short period of time (even with good flow...

The benefit won't be lost - I don't want the mist in my tank - I want it before then so the CO2 can be fully dissolved by the time it reaches my tank. I currently feed it directly into my U but a finer bubble would be less wasteful and so better on my pocket. I still see this as a 'bucket and...

Sorry for jumping in on an old thread - just like to add my bit as I ran DIY on a 180 litre for many years. It can be done on medium to large tanks I believe and the usual problems with DIY can be avoided (like fluctuating levels). I have to confess that I now use a pressurised unit (that I...

Just got one of these Up Inline diffusers and I'm wondering if anyone has a 'quick release' type set-up that I could copy? What I've been told is that they can get dirty and clog so I'd like a way to be able to get at it as easily as possible. I might also place it pre-filter so it will need...

You're right - it doesn't look very blue or green in the picture. BGA is usually quite vivid in colour and looks like a thin 'blanket'. Could this be diatoms?

Thanks for that - sounds like it's the cable vibrating against the tank and cabinet. problem is it's too short to be placed in any other position! I'll cut the plug off and then I can position it at the rear of the tank and that should sort the cable as well. My filter is a basic Eheim...