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I have the nicrew plant light, l just set to what l like to look at

Ah, ok, thanks. I have two lights; one currently in use is the interpet aqua smart 24w, the other one I have (not in use) is the smaller version of 13.5w. I’ll have a play tomorrow and see how it looks with the different combos. I’ll have to figure out a way to raise the lights too. Thanks.

This doesn’t seem right. Farming is pretty easy. Just make the farm organic and rip off hippies. Easy money. Have you seen the prices on organic eggs???? Just need a horde of chickens and the crumbs from the toaster

Just for comparison I run a Eheim 2180 1700l/h, a Eheim Compact 2000 to drive the closed loop CO2 Reactor timed to be on half hour before and after the CO2 window and a Nero 3 running at 15% during CO2 period and 1% thereafter for moving a higher volume of water around the tank without creating...

Yes though I'm making some broad assumptions. USING only the light you have currently: Your light is lensed at 120 degrees. So raise it so its about 3" off the water line to the face of the light. It is narrow i.e one to a few rows Increase output to make up for the increase in height. Using 2...

What issues do you mean? Not entirely sure what you propose - are you saying to raise one light to 3 inches and that will do (do I then need to increase the intensity a touch?). Thanks.

` About 3" off the water surface and you should cover most of the tank front to back. Of course as it grows in it can get issues. Certainly there is no harm in adding another light. Of course with the 1st one now turned down. Plants will tell you if they are happy with the levels.

Set it to what looks best to you.. Plants will adapt.

Thanks mate! My favourite colour is purple so it’s my feature wall colour in my man cave, sadly I will be losing said man cave in the near future, the new tank will go in the living room against a plain white wall :)

That Betta looks oddly like a licorice gourami Convergent evolution?

Loving that purple hue, mate!

Does anyone have any advice on selecting and preparing your own bogwood? I live near some gravel pits where there are all sorts of interesting pieces which have been submerged for years and it crossed my mind that I could use some of this. My understanding is that hard wood is preferable (if...

One of my lights arrived today, I plan to use two of these on the tank, newly released Week Aqua Z250 Pro. Tested it on another tank, looks ace and you get the lovely ripple effect, also has a channel in the heatsink on the top which you can run the cable through on either side, clever! :)

Disagree with nobody here who has tried to help, but there is a good case to be made to turn on aeration a few hours before the lights come on and turn it off a an hour or so after the lights are fully on. Oxygen levels, especially in warm weather, can plummet towards the end of the dark phase...

I'm not a science graduate, but my experience is that harsh, blue dominant, high Kelvin light is much less easy to manage than warmer, orange red light with plants and algae. Having said, that I have used high Kelvin light and succeeded but with lots of CO2 and careful attention to macro...

About two decades ago I used Sunglo T8 (Hagen/Fluval) tubes with good effect, but sitting directly on the cover glass, now I use cheap LED floodlights, similar Kelvin, but raised 6 inches from the surface, no cover glass. The budget LEDs seem to do the job really, really well. PAR is I find...

60l x 33h x 30d. Lightning is 4cm from surface, substrate it c7cm deep.

Par wil increase where the 2 lights overlap Since you are only using 35% of your current light the easiest thing to do is just raise it a bit. What are your tank dimensions?

That's awesome and if it seems to be working well!

Haha. Yeah. It was in a sale day.

Yeah I had trouble finding that at the time and the only ones I could find were out of budget but it was one I was interested in.

Evening, Apologies if this is a pointless question and it’s just me, as a newbie, overthinking everything once again. At present, I have a single 24w led set to 35%, which when using the light calculator on this website, gives a par of 40. My tank is low tech, with Tropica ‘easy’ plants, so...

I've heard of budget lighting, but 78P is a whole new category 😁

I have a Nicrew LED light from amazon that I've only just got around to adjusting the settings on after using it on factory default 24 hour mode for a while. It has red, green, blue and mostly white LEDs that are all adjustable in increments of 10%. The manual doesn't make it clear what colour...

I think the "Chihiros Z light Tiny" would look cool too. It has an adjustable beam angle too, so can help you get the look you wanted.

Hi all, That is the one. True, but the cost of an air stone and air pump is negligible (even though <"the noise may not be">). If you have the air pump on a time switch (I like <"mechanical ones">) it takes <"human error"> out of the equation. Personally I'm good at <"human error">, in fact it...

Hi all, Yes. So @Happi used his extensive knowledge of nutrient solutions to produce a mix of the two solufeed products that closely replicated an "ideal" ratio of plant nutrients. Commercial fertilisers aren't like aquarium ones, they have a quantifiable end result (a crop yield) and a...

I've read all 9 pages and am non the wiser on this :( So i understand theres a couple of products that can make an all in one solution. But which recipe is right and what is it based on? I'm looking to move from the dry ferts i've been using for years as they are becoming increasinlgy hard to...

Hi all, I'm pretty sure you don't need to. cheers Darrel

Thank you, Darrel. Very consoling. This is what the tank looks like with out the floating weave of egeria now removed. Would be so sad to have to rip it all apart and start all over.

Hi all, It could. We are able to detect H2S (<"hydrogen sulphide">) at vanishingly <"small concentrations"> - <"Bubbling substrate">. cheers Darrel

I actually just have poked the 2 cm in front hovering with my nose directly over the small bubbles arising. Unfortunately they smelled a bit sulphuric. I wonder if deep cleans in the area with the hose can entrap any gasses and release it outside the tank. Could that work?

Well, this will be my first big tank and this is what I had in mind. It is kind of challenging because it will be a room divider with one side against the wall. All the plumbing on the wall side. I am planning all the outflows in the upper corner along one long side and one suction point in the...

Even if beeing a curling mom, I can ditch my worries about the pygmyes not finding enough food: P.t. they are too round to rest on their dorsal finns.

OK, thanks for the tips guys.

Hi all, a cheaper way would be to raise your lily pipes at night to ensure efficient gaseous exchange so your plants, fish and bacteria get enough o2 when the lights are switched off.

Its such a great song! I am pretty shellshocked myself this morning. Cheers, Michael

As Darrel says, you can indeed. It also depends on how planted your aquarium is and the release of O2 during the day to 'bolster' dissolved oxygen levels. I decided to not add extra aeration as my DO meter was telling it it was fine in the early morning for DO levels. I also have a fair...

Yes you can, but to clarify, using CO2 doesn't mean you loose O2 during the day. In fact, as you are providing CO2 to support respiration your plants will be producing more O2. When using CO2 it's also important to have good circulation and surface movement to support gas exchange.

If you get the drop checker set up correctly and the colour of the drop checker says you have 30 ppm CO2, then you do have 30 ppm CO2 and at that point I just declare victory. If in your system that works out to a pH drop of 0.6 units instead of 1.0 units, I still declare victory. In general I...

Hi all, Yes. cheers Darrel

Update. CMC aquatics appear to be closing down (fish stock ) but selling dry goods,so avoid that one. Urmston and Premier both very good. Pier in Wigan has always been a great shop for me, as is Amazon Aquatics in my home town. Fishcove in Warrington was a disgrace,i spent about four minutes...

Hi all, That is always my worry, that the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) system will exceed the oxygen supply, with catastrophic results. Because I've had the <"good fortune"> / misfortune to work with some very polluted <"water"> I'm probably overly cautious. In wastewater treatment you...

I'm currently running co2 for about eight hours during the day, the tank is only two weeks into being filled with water. Use I have also added some cycle fluid to help speed up the filtration. Can I use an air pump at night to replenish the air lost by using the co2 in the daytime. I'm thinking...

Hi all, I just think it is the safest route. That was Diana Walstad's initial premise <"Interesting fact about natural CO2 in Lowtech/Walstad">, and also some of her rationale <"for a lighting siesta">. Because I'm <"obsessed with"> (paranoid about?) dissolved oxygen, I don't want to take any...

I would expect that in most low-tech aquariums, the CO2 level is still higher than the equilibrium CO2 level with that of the air-CO2. That means that if the aeration/surface agitation is increased, the CO2 will usually escape from the aquarium. This is dependent on the air-CO2, which, in my...

Hey Andy, Thank you very much for your well detailed answer ! In my case I do not measure the tap water (or RO water as I only use RO water). I let sit tank water for ~48h, have a reading of 6,5/6,6 pH fully degazed and measure a ~6 pH during injection. Anyway, if I understand correctly nothing...

Congo tetras? Gourami? Barbs? Discus or rams are good for soft water too :)

I have to agree. Anubias are easy growers no matter what you do, I feel like the main thing to look out for is rhizome rot. But I've never been able to grow Bucephalandra very well in this tank and feel that they will probably do better with their roots in nutrient rich substrate than attached...

It’s not a good idea to add fish to a breeding chiclid pair from my experience 👍

Beautiful fish, but as others have said, can be very boisterous.

Hi all, A re-post of this seems appropriate this morning - <"Songs from the Man Cave!">. I woke up and turned the radio on at 02:00 this morning and, probably needless to say, failed <"to go back to sleep">, so at least I had waking nightmares, not sleeping ones. cheers Darrel

Hi all, Perfect. I was just about to post my own, much less coherent (and probably scientifically jumbled), answer to this question, but now I'm going to remember @Andy Pierce's <"answer">, so that I can refer any-one, who ever asks this question again, to Andy's post. cheers Darrel

Having had it with my Blue Acara formed couple (Andinoacara pulcher, electric blue variety), who loves to pull out all my plants when they get in the mood for romance, I convinced the missus that a separate tank for breeding them could be a source of mild income. I'm not sure she was convinced...

Hi all, That is fine. cheers Darrel

There is no visible bubbles. The sand in that particular area had to be disturbed to release bubbles and tyhey did not smell. From what I (so far) have understood from Bradders link posted above, my fish should be in the clear. But also that debris sunken into the thin layer of sand should be...

As it’s a soft water tank I’d say tukano tetras or Pygmy hatchetfish.

Hi Michael and thank you, Regrading maintenance: I have felt as sitting between two chairs: 20-30% water changes once or during the week (orchids and other house plants love the water), vaccum the loose stuff and try to leave som debris to create a nourishing mulm for fry and my pymaeus in...

Hi. I have had a small shoal of Harlequin Rasbora for a while now. 9 years, in fact. Their numbers are depleted now and I'm looking to restock. The other nano-sized fish I have are Cardinals and hovering zebra loaches but they both prefer the lower-half of the tank and I'm wanting something...

If you are injecting CO2, then only the pH drop caused by injected CO2 counts. Decreasing the pH by equilibrium methods other than CO2 injection doesn't change the levels of dissolved CO2 gas in the water column, although the decreased pH might be beneficial for other reasons. So if the...

Terrible photography as usual. Now 6 weeks

Hi all, I don't think it makes any difference to aquatic ferns if they aren't attached to anything. None of my Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus) or <"Bolbitis heudelotii"> <"have been attached"> for ~10 years, and they carry on growing. Same with <"various mosses">, some are attached (but only...

More extreme climate more fun

Hi all, I think that is good advice and <"a quarantine tank"> saves a lot of heartache. I think this is sound advice as well. At least one observation is true ................ cheers Darrel

Thanks for the reply ! I never would have thought all this vegetation was largely 'just sitting there '! That's ingenious ! I'd figured that there would be masses of rock/wood holding everything in place ; and your rescaping took place via moving the rocks with attached plants around .

I'm sorry this is happening. I would talk to the shop. They might fob you off but they could also try to make it right. In the video you posted the chilli's looked ok but the galaxy's are very skinny and little fish like that don't have many reserves, so succumb more easily. These are also...

Sorry to hear this Spartacus :( I had a similar issue when first adding chili rasbora to my tank. I'm still not entirely sure how many I lost Vs how many were effectively hiding in the tank - I know it was at least 3, but I estimate it could've been up to 11. it's very sad and disconcerting...

Hi all, I'll be honest, I'm still not great with fish. I've "improved"*, but from a pretty low datum. When I got to know the late Bob Marklew I began to understand just how <"good proper fish keepers are">. Unfortunately Larry Waybright has <"also recently died">, I never met him in person...

Hi all, I use <"really big black foam blocks"> ( in the background, below), but I have <"no interest in aesthetics"> and <"very weedy tanks">. I use the same sponges on Powerheads etc. They are ~£10 for a 12" x 4" x 4" drilled block. cheers Darrel

An interesting thread. I use a fine mesh prefilter (Greenaqua) in my large tank to protect baby shrimp and smaller fish. The built in filter on the aquael ultramax 2000 still seems to clog quite quickly. The mesh filter seems to be cleaned by shrimp. However, a larger sponge filter may be tge...

There was a bit of a mishap with the chiller yesterday while I was out at work and it was only discovered when I got home past midnight. Basically, the external temperature probe that I installed malfunctioned which resulted in a temperature reading of over 38°C. I've set the chiller to 25°C so...

I changed my tank but here it is with the light I found for 78p on AE. I only have a few crypts in there and epiphytes but I’ve not had a melt or anything die from using this light.

It's been mentioned but Hikari micro pellets ,my tetras love it

There's a sweet spot to be achieved when it comes to crumbling up pellets to the food size - too big and it doesn't fit in their gobs but they chase it round the tank ever optimistically. Too small or powdery and they don't view it as worth bothering with.....

Well it's all relative isn't it, having your future at the whim of the UK weather or large corporations price fixing against you can no doubt bring it's own stresses, I don't think it's all just an idyllic bounce around in a tractor whilst cuddling up to your animals at night 🐮🐷🐣.

It's possible the driftwood has already spent some time in water and as such has already begun to deteriorate much as it will do once again when submerged in your tank. I would just soak it and then pressure wash it, it's up to you if you want dig out the soft bits manually.

Hey, Thanks for your answers ! So, if I understand, the 1 pH drop is totally achievable even with aquasoil. Whats strange and bothering me is that even with pretty high injection (5 bps Proflora Inline integrated counter, that seems MASSIVE for only 30 gallons) I never reach the 1 pH drop...

Hiya! Thank you for the kind words, I'm actually flattered. Not sure why I stopped updating my thread on TPT I should probably do so soon. To answer your questions: The Anubias nana petites and Bucephalandra are for the most part tied to small lava rocks. I bought all the Anubias nana petites...

Hum. I don't mind common names if they would stick ;) Btw the kleiner prinz is the plant the fish is looking at in the first picture (it was purchased as little bear). I had one years ago but could never find it again not knowing they changed the name. With co2 it produced the most wonderful...

This thread has become way off track from the original topic, therefore I've removed some of the comments!

Why don't you soak the plant in room temperature water for a few hours. Wouldn't kill it. As in completely submerge it. they are probably hiding in the soil and waiting to come back like a swarm of zombies

A pressure washer would be a good bet. Just don't get too close with the jet and you won't damage any good wood.

If growing a carpet was your main priority you might see a benefit from an outlet near the substrate.

I rather like the comment made about flow and the mental health benefits (for all) of engaging with aquascaping. This resonates with me. I think aquarists are a mixed bunch of neurological and neurodiverse individuals. The key word here being individuals. I cannot see a preponderance of either...

Yes, just translations of the names I am afraid. (Prinz Kleiner would be Little Prince, for example.) Technically, cultivar names should not be translated but it happens all the time in all different branches of plant growing, causing heaps of confusion when comparing plants grown in different...

You are getting help, right? 😀

That part is the easiest to clean. Just remove the manifold from the Biomaster as you would during maintenance, then separate the double taps. There is a trick I saw online for cleaning the manifold and any attached hoses.

I agree with @nijat11. It's always difficult to diagnose online. If in doubt treat with the broadest spectrum medication possible. Check out eSHa for more details. Meanwhile... Someone clearly offered the wrong advice at some point in history... Mars Turning Down the Chance to be in 'E.T.'...

Haha… it’s always the places like this… before long we will have the secrets of the universe

No such thing as bad advice. Thank you.

Hello Nijat11. Nice to see other Dutchman over here. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I have 10 of them. They swim fast and eat a lot.

This is probably gonna be bad advise, but when I see something on fishes (did not happen already for a long time). I just start Esha 2000 + Esha Exit treatment and in most cases it helps.

So I guess the off gassing goes slower than the re circulation. Then I can save the effort of making a lower outflow point.

It is only soft in some areas. Is it wise to use a high pressure (water) cleaner? Our would this damage the wood? I was afraid it was sort of iron deposits. Is this possible?

Always very comforting to know the most pressing and important matters in the universe will always find at home at UKAPS

There’s even a picture. Now, I wouldn’t attempt to put an fx6 inside the tank, especially not if there’s water in the tank. :lol:

Is all the wood soft, or just some areas? If not, I’d be tempted to clean it with a wire brush to get rid of the soft bits and then wash it to get rid of any loose bits and dust.