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A lot of the approach you take is what works for you, in my case doing large (,as you would with a CO2 new set up) 50% water changes in my low techs gradually from daily to one a week in the first few weeks reduces algae considerably and less diatoms but l think heavy planting helps and you can...

Nice too see Spider Plant flowering

Still tickled pink👍. Don’t know about others but l’m finding that when using the Biomaster 600 in combination with a glass surface skimmer it’s paramount to keep the strainer section ( not the skimmer, the standard return part ) clear of debris and algae build up and keep any vegetation in...

@Superpuma1 - are we still tickled pink? Or has the filter reverted to old practises?

I've bought the solufeed 2 1 4 and solufeed sodium free tec , my question is if anyone has done a video of making it into liquid fertiliser

I think for me it was less cycling more to save daily water changes and any ill effects ammonia spike may cause to the plants and i had no melt what so ever. I have found it to be helpful but not alge free which is the main selling point and alge most likely is my own fault for being a noob alo...

Sorry to hear that @Kevin2016. I don't think it would have been treatable, so you did the right thing.

It’s done. To the swimming pool heaven 😥

Welcome! :)

I sadly don't have any Ludwigia helminthorrhiza or Aeschynomene fluitans any more, they did great in my big tank but had to destroy everything with the Fish TB saga :( I got both from Wildwoods from Dan, so I'd sad he's your man for them! Fingers crossed he can still get them in ... when I...

My concern with this line of thinking is that the microbial community is going to go through changes every time you tweak your parameters. Is the microbiome you spend a few weeks cultivating in the dark going to be a better starting point than what they replaced (the one adapted to the air) once...

Hi all, not posted for a while. Last year I redo the tank fully and the plants took hold really nicely. However in the last few months everything has died off really extremely. Has anyone got any ideas why? I have attached photos of it when I first planted it up. It then all grew really nicely...

Oh about a year bad I was plagued with pest snails! I now have a healthy colony of assassin snails because of it 😂

I've been developing a view that this focus on ammonia is slightly off-mark. Even tanks with normal substrates are prone to algae blooms at the start and a series of protocols are created to mitigate it. Be it low light, or increased water changes, or light fertilization for a few weeks, or...

:( I’m making clove tea now and when the water is cooled down I will put the fish in it :(

Two of my fish had it and within 24 hours they died

That's a nice mix. Cool hitchhiker- beats snails and algae!

Great photos Tai !

Both species were a bit boom and bust for me too, I think that the levels of light they need to thrive are truly tropical. I found L. helminthorrhiza thriving in clearwater streams in the north east of Brazil in 2022 and the weather was pretty much the same as the Sahara...without the cool nights:

Thank you!

Hi there, yes I do! I am trying to get images of the plants against a white backdrop, like this: :)

I don't have any first-hand experience. However, my reading about the disease is that it is a bacterial infection and only reacts to broad-spectrum antibiotics. (It is not available in the UK, but maybe in the Netherlands?) It seems to be a nasty disease with high mortality rates, especially...

Hi all, That is definitely where I'm coming from. Yes, I'm always going to be aiming for a <"low ammonia microbial assemblage">. I think a lot of people have always done this if they can (I always did), but it does seem to have a basis in Science <"Correspondence with Dr Ryan Newton - School...

I think a dark start is a good strategy if you are using high ammonia releasing manufactured soils. I wouldn't consider it a reason not to flush that ammonia away with large water changes at the start though as mentioned above - as @dw1305 has highlighted before the microbial community we wanted...

Seems like it! Can I do something about it ?

Indeed it is, and eventually it disappeared away to nothing. It was also a bit of a pain to deal with, so I don't have it anymore I'm afraid @taistrietman

Hi all, I fully agree, it would make much more sense to quote everything as the elemental concentration, there is no ambiguity then. cheers Darrel

Is that possibly an advanced case of Dropsy?

Hi all, I think a lot of us <"may have been there">. Reducing ammonia (NH3) would be a reason for <"doing a dark start">, I know @Cor used this technique <"Amano Shrimp , co2 and Tropica soil">. I'd just try and ensure you have <"plenty of dissolved oxygen">. cheers Darrel

Hi! Just came home and my diamond gourami is kinda blown up. I’m not sure what’s wrong with her. I already noticed she doesn’t eat well lately. Pictures says more than words. What can this be ? Kevin

I think so too. It sounds neerdy so people get attracted by it! I am aware of this, but while doing the IFC Calculator we have seen how in some instances some manufacturers sometime either are conveniently unaware of this or turned things in a way that is confusing to the user. In the case of...

Hi all, Definitely a Fissidens sp. cheers Darrel

I was just like, "Ooh, what a good question," and then see that it's my own thread. Doh! I forgot I dark started that tank at all! 😭 As you might intuit based on how forgettable it was, don't have a feeling if the dark start did much. There was never much of an ammonia dump from that aquasoil...

Pearl Gourami, Black Phantom Tetras, Yoyo Loaches, a khuli loach that hitchhiked on a plant, amano shrimp and a bamboo shrimp & Rainbow sharks. Fairly heavy stocking but I do regular maintenance 🙂

Hi all, I think they must have invented it. There is a "capstone course" one that allows students to demonstrate expertise in their subject area, so maybe it is meant to imply expertise in fertiliser formulation? This gets a mention in <"What is the “Duckweed Index” all about?"> - <"How to...

Hi all, Something to look forward to. @Wookii had it in 2022 (picture below) , but I know it is a "boom and bust" plant. @shangman had this, but the same may apply? I going to guess that is a more unlikely find, @greenbliss <"grew it">, but I don't think they visit the forum anymore...

Hello, welcome :wave:

Thanks d(ad)arrel :))) I do have some big magnolia leaves in there, have been topping up frequently so it's pretty tannin-y. Ive bought some Esha exit and Esha 2000, so will keep seeing how things go and treat with that. I'm using tap water with conditioner, but I can swap to rainwater from...

Could always agitate the surface more over night.

Hi all, Possibly not, if you are sure it is White Spot (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) you can medicate, @PARAGUAY's suggestion would be mine as well. Certainly is, I'm not sure there any fish that are really peaceful. Do you still have some structural (big) leaf litter? If you do pop it in...

Thanks @shangman ! This is leaf mulm not new tank mulm, but I'll vacuum if this will help. I'm reluctant to add any more fish whilst I'm dialling in what I'm doing, but hopefully I can get the tank all balanced and up numbers. Having read more thoroughly I think tetras can be quite nippy, I'm...

That does look a bit like ich, I would treat with esha exit, it worked for me to remove ich and didn’t seem to upset any other fish in the process. I might also treat with esha2000 too in case the ich is caused by stress from other illness. To be honest when you get a big school of fish...

Hi. I'm new here. Sorry to hear about the problems. I hate it when this happens. 😕 Diagnosing remotely can be challenging, but based on your pictures, here are a few thoughts that might help: Translucency at Night: If you took pictures of neons at night, they often appear translucent and...

You need pictures from: Aeschynomene fluitans Lagenandra nairii Ludwigia helminthorrhiza ???

Life is difficult for smaller fish. I had rummy-nose tetras (with some help from 5-banded barbs) essentially wipe out the chili rasbora population. They also ate all the cherry shrimp. So much for "peaceful community tank". Circle of life thing... not much to be done other than get species...

Hi all, As some of you may know I'm in the process of publishing my upcoming book, 'Aquatic Habitats - Aquariums Inspired by Nature'. I'm currently sorting out the photos (there are thousands) and I find that I need photos of three plant species which I used for the book but which I no longer...

This was my fear at first and I do tend to check on them more now.

Just keep an eye on any fish for suffocation at night time.

Thanks @bazz I’ll be more patient with it!! These are designed to run 24hrs a day (which I’ve done so far) and my drop checker is staying a dark lime green so I think the levels are steady. 🙂

Yes, of course, if you have a nitrogen-rich substrate, you can get away with that kind of fertilization. But in my experience, the EI system is the easiest one, mostly for beginners. It is cheap because you can use inert substrates such as sand or gravel, and you can make your own fertilizers...

The same strategy can be applied to low-tech tanks as well. You are very welcome. ;)

Absolutely, i have a matten filter so will not be cleaning it regularly! It just doesn't need it. I've noticed the finless Cory is now quite lethargic after feeding - I will monitor today, although unsure if I can do anything. I really don't want to stress it.

No problem - I'll help where I can. This would be good, although it might be hard to separate fin nipping from bacterial degradation. If, and it's a big if, it's a bacterial issue living in the water column, then water changes help, but only to a certain degree. If you had 10 billion bacteria...

Thank you @Bradders :) the tetras are back to their usual colour now, so I think Paraguay was right about the lights. Another newbie note! I've ordered some more plants, as it can't hurt to break up the sightlines a bit and I'd like more in the foreground. The tetras spend most of their time...

This has been very, very insightful. Thanks once again.

Hello @megwattscreative - sorry to hear about the problems. I hate it when this happens. :confused: I think it's always a problem when performing diagnosis by wire, but I'll throw a few things in based on the pictures you can use to further your thoughts and perhaps give the community a chance...

Not to enter into a fert debate, but there is no one-fit-all fert formula. They all have their pro & cons. Some people like to prioratize coloration over growth speed, and some other growth over coloration. I understand both approaches and have experienced boths. They both work fine and have...

@Hanuman and @fablau - thank you so much for the insights and advice. This is exactly what this forum is all about. Thank you. I dont use C02, and have easy plants - but even so, it seems I may need to re-think my Fert strategy.

Using medications is a last resort but esha exit and esha 2000 are a good combination. I would do water change and maintenance session first. Follow the instructions to the letter, fin damage will repair but finrot will spread to the body if not treated. Mention the problem to Abbys see if any...

That's a BIG trap. Never limit nutrients. That's hard to handle, and you may easily end up creating the problem you were trying to avoid in the first place. Better use balanced products like Thrive, which I always recommend to beginners...

Hello there! Very nice aquariums- what livestock do you have in the Fluval?

Here's a picture of the ants I spotted. They are dead. I honestly don't know how they got in there and why. I haven't noticed any new ants in there and there are definitely no ants in my glass tanks. There is still fish that I want to quarantine but I probably shouldn't keep using this tank...

Are these new salts that you bought or are they from the same batch you were using before? More possibly what is occuring is one of two things: 1. you are using new salts and they are not the same hydrates as you were using before; 2. most likely IMO, user or machine error. Your scale could be...

Welcome! :wave:

Hi, Interested to see how is this going with the sump etc. would be good to have an update and a photo. Cheers!

Afraid I'm not using one and not sure how long you have had it running but plants generally take a week or two to transition to new parameters. As such I personally find keeping the CO2 stable throughout the photoperiod as important if not more so than having wavering levels trying to reach some...

It could well be what @LMuhlen has described, are you keeping your salts in good quality airtight containers, I can imagine it being quite hot and humid in Italy at this time of year? I'm no chemist but I know that some anhydrous salts are used as desiccants therefore I would imagine CaSO4...

@fablau Looking at the 2hrs Aquarist website guaranteed analysis % values, they are being reported/expressed as oxydes: P2O5, K2O and MgO. This would require a convertion in order to obtain P, K and Mg. This is what we have done for all the fertilizers in the IFC Calculator whenever a...

I wouldnt do it either. I’m picturing plants being pulled out with their roots entangled in filter floss threads. Floss is good for running water through but it is just a mat of fine threads and i wouldnt want to be putting stuff in it and pulling stuff out of it.

It's a proprietary formula, namely the "Capstone formula", whatever that means. Beyond this, it is well known that 2HrsAquarist fertilizers limit N in order to increase plant coloration. This is one of their selling arguments. It is assumed when using APT fertilizers you are also using a rich...

A journal can be a cool way to record your tank's development (for you and for 'watchers'), and a helpful reference / context to link to if / when you are asking more specific questions in one of the other sub-forums. As well as keeping my journal (patchily) and having a bit of 'chat' in that...

Welcome

Thanks @PARAGUAY ! I've just attached some pics in an edit to make it a bit clearer. I'll definitely add some more plants to help out asap. I've also added some more info regarding possible fin rot rather than fin nipping??

Welcome!

The tank arrived as planned, and my wife said: "it looks much nicer than I expected!" Win! Thank you all for the responses. Got lots of reading ahead of me! But @dw1305 and @castle I'm hearing, spend less on testing kits, and more on plants. @Iain Sutherland I'm hearing be patient. I should...

Hello! I'm from just outside Newbury! Living in Andover now :D

Be a shame to not have them, maybe increase numbers if you can, the greater the numbers the better if you have room, MD Fish Tanks set up a large Amazon themed aquarium ,very heavily planted and many shoals of tetras, behaviour kept in check by the addition ofa few Columbian Tetras their bigger...

FIN NIPPING OR FIN ROT? A DISASTROUS UPDATE Hi all, I've been monitoring the fish since adding more rasboras and pygmy corys, and I've noticed that my green neons (and possibly the odd cardinal that slipped in) are extremely aggressive with each other. I've gone from seeing 8 tetras regularly...

Thank you 🙏

I've recently brought a Fluval Bio-Co2 kit for up to 250L. I had a bit of a false start by using cold water with the yeast mix. However after restarting using hotter water I finally got the Co2 going! I haven't noticed much difference in the tank yet but that may just be my impatience? Anyone...

Nice tank :)

Well, not bad per se, but I am surprised potassium (K) is so high compared to N. Phosphorus also is high compared to N. I am talking about APT Complete and APT EI. And it's strange that N is so low, considering it is the main macro element, which should be at least 2-3 times higher than...

Welcome Jay. Nice aquariums btw 👍

Hi everyone I'm Jay from Hampshire. I currently have a Fluval Flex 123l & a 22l Betta tank. Looking to expand to as many aquariums as the wife will let me! I have an Instagram where I post often - @TheAquaticMann

Is that bad, then? Or just out of normal balance for pre-mixed ferts?

Yes, I have noticed that too. Most interesting is the potassium value vs the other macro elements.

You are most welcome!

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum. There isn't any benefit to starting before you go, the time would be better spent putting your hardscape in and staring at it, tweaking your layout to be sure of your plan until you get back end of august. Stability and consistency is the key to success, be...

Great looking boarder, in a nice piece of the world!

Hey Guys, This is the before & after pictures of our aquarium, when it wasnt going good, it was the first time we experimented with having additional houseplants on the top of the aquarium. Well those went out. Before After things are going good now. Youtube video (Yes i know quality...

I swapped out for a clear plastic suction cup from CO2supermarket and it looks so much better! Very chic. (top one in the photo)

I have never used so much potassium and observed no deficiency while using the Tropica clone. I do not understand why potassium and phosphate are so high.

Are there any instructions for an idiot newbie? :D I put in what I am dosing and it gives a pretty chart but not sure what they is telling me to do.

I thought it too, but I've just calibrated it at 50ppm and when testing my tap, the result is correct, the measure of RO water without remin is the same too, I think that the pen is working fine. Idk how to check the last part. The salts are CaSO4 .2H2O and MgSO4•7H2O

Could be something wrong with your TDS pen or your scale... Does the TDS pen have some sort of TDS-conductivity switch, or some way to calibrate? Could be that you were using anhydrous salts (more concentrated) and they absorbed humidity from the air, becoming more diluted. Not sure what else...

Hi guys, I have a 330L planted tank since September. I did a 2 month dark start with tap water (around 400ppm). After 2-3 months, I switched to 100% ro water remineralized with caso4 and mgso4 at wc volume (150L, around 15g, 23ppm Ca and 12g, 7ppm Mg). Usually my ro water tds before remin is...

Thank you @fablau. this is really big help.

Thanks, I'll try daily dosing and see how it develops!