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I don't know if yew Taxus baccata is poionous to fish, but i do know sawdust can give you heart problems (granddad did wood turning), so i def wouldn't risk it with wood rasping fish. Maybe like the tannins in oak the taxine leaches out rapidly making it safe. If you look at this list you'd...

Frozen sweetcorn squeezed out of its skin and chopped finely is very popular with small tetras, rasboras and barbs. swirl it in a bit of water on a spoon or something first else it sinks as a gelatinous lump. Courgette is another you can try, doesn't break down as quickly as cucumber which...

I've got a low point under the filter outtake made of roofing slate with some flat river rocks glued to it to keep substrate out where mulm naturally accumulates. I also have a pointed stick (the type that supports orchids) taped to my siphon hose and jutting out about 30mm that allows me to...

To avoid sucking up fish I have a piece of fishing net rubber-banded to my siphon hose. Rockpool type fishing net as sold in The Range for £1-£2. aquarium nets are too fine and get blocked by mulm. Sainsbury sell reusable fine mesh bags in fruit&veg for 30p if you are just siphoning water.

I started with UGF when pea gravel was the only sustrate available. Downside was noisy air pumps and having to frequently stir the gravel to get all the mulm out. Powerheads (is that what you mean by submersible pump?) are quieter, and move a lot more water, plus you can angle them to get...

Native tree cones are generally smaller and naturalised/imports are often larger. Stone Lane Gardens are about 15 miles from me and have 34 species. The attached out of my bag measure from 12-28 mm. Fun fact - a lot of Venice is built on alder logs. edit hazel and birch also have catkins, so...

Hi Wookii, yes, Alder. You'll see them everywhere now you have your eye in, lots of imported species used for landscaping, with variable cone sizes. Wood is long lasting in tanks as well.

Mostly oak, maybe ivy twig and leaf lower LHS (i have a note saying not to use ivy as it's poisonous). Spider egg-sac top centre. The black dots are mildew/mould - prob ok, @dw1305 might have thoughts. Your post #35 roots; looks like oak, photo of twigs would confirm. The only hardwoods I've...

Respect 'bows' I rarely post as what I know you know better and post quicker. ;) For those who don't know , there is a free tree ID app for Android/Iphone halfway down this page - https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/holm-oak/

Your local cemetery might well have beech/hornbeam hedges. Hornbeam looks like beech but has serrated leaf edges and new leaf buds are flat against the twigs. Holm Oak Quercus ilex is an evergreen oak which sheds its leaves in april/may, they look like miniature bay leaves, and are a good size...

Decent article here https://aquariumtidings.com/how-to-culture-blackworms-black-worms/ and if there is a server problem try here How to Culture Blackworms (Black worms) - Aquarium Tidings with a lot of Q&As in the comments. My summer project is to see if they are local to us...

Is Jack's Patch on the A381 Bisopsteignton still part of Maidenhead Aquatics? they had good selection of fish 5 years ago but since been bought out by Otter Nurseries. Endsleigh garden centre, Ivybridge, are Maidenhead Aquatics but we've never been there. St Bridget's garden centre, A3052 o/s...

Hi NC10, Try a search for "plastic embroidery canvas", or pop along to your nearest craft type shop and have a look, it's what folks use for caterpillar cages etc. cheers phil

Hi Sciencefiction, looks like a parlour palm, Chamaedorea elegans, although I'm not an expert. cheers phil

Hi Akwascape, Nice concept for a tank, I esp like the overhead shot. cheers phil

Hi UllavL, Those are one of the Corys that don't tend to dig in the substrate a lot, The Corys that have more of a hunched back are better (but also larger). cheers phil

Hi BigTom, Can't help with a forum but WetWebMedia had lots of useful info when you dig into it. An Asterina sp. example; http://www.wetwebmedia.com/asterinafaqs.htm (a friend of mine had a marine tank for a while recently so I can't imagine answering any other marine questions! ). cheers phil

Hi Marc1t, That's because of the way light spreads; at double the distance the light drops to 1/4, so plants at the top of the tank get more light. This causes problems as carpet plants need a lot of light and the plants we attach to wood higher up are generally low light plants from over-hung...

Hi Ardjuna, Interesting article and thanks for the detailed reply. cheers phil

Hi Ardjuna, Is it as easy to grow it from spores in that situation? Or is it possible they need a different mechanism to grow activate ? I ask because; some folks set up a new tank, 'scape, etc and get algae problems (presumably from spores) and other folks don't, some folks have algae...

Hi luckyjim, I was going to suggest Marsh Marigold, but I think it has a short flowering season, nice plant shape though, For years I had a baby's plastic bath-tub as a pond on blocks in the garden. That had sticklebacks through frozen winters and baking summers, so should be ok. If it gets...

I assume also that if the water is perfectly still the plants use CO2 and that leaves a deficit of CO2 next to the plant leaves, so they have to rely on CO2 diffusion through the water, hence there could be a slow uptake of CO2 in what appears to be high CO2 water and that's why high flow helps...

Hi all, I think one of the problems with the scientific method is that it relies on replicable results, and all our tanks are so different it is near impossible to precisely replicate someone else's results, so therefore we all holler when results are different. Currently we appear to be at the...

Hi Rahms, I hadn't considered that, but I don't think it would worry me too much. I think it will give a "receding to infinity" impression, and I tend to be a "1/3 of the fish visible 1/3 of the time" proponent. cheers phil

There's more than I thought! http://www.oddee.com/item_97819.aspx cheers phil

Only lights and windows, the rain and puddles do the rest:lol: cheers phil

Hi Roy, Just to say I think these are brilliant, I live in Devon and your WKs are very evocative of the life around here. The nearest I've got is our daily use car; https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8479/8245939782_7c421d8476_o.jpg :lol: cheers phil

Appears great for orchids as well; http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/newbie-questions-63/hydroton-clay-pebbles-18886/ cheers phil

Hi aqua sobriquet, I've used Hortag which is similar, (actually a kiln baked ash - Lytag is another name) in planted trickle filters like Darrel has. It sinks ok and plants like Java moss grip onto it better than normal gravel. As it's permeable it probably allows a bit of anaerobic filtration...

He did:lol: http://s750.photobucket.com/user/guinflu/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150329_202550.jpg.html?sort=3&o=6 Unfortunately I can't help with photobucket:rolleyes: Hi Anthony, have a look here; http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/how-do-you-post-a-picture.2618/ cheers phil

Hi Zak Rafic, My opinion, not knowledge, is that there is a complex combination of causes that allows algae to grow. Scientists don't yet fully understand the causes of harmful algae blooms (HAB's), so hobbyists' knowledge is as useful as any. Although we talk about 10? different types they are...

I prefer 1 large tank as it allows more interaction between different fish species and hardscapes, It also allows more stability and time to spot any mistakes I make before they become fatal. (assuming you consider 90x37x37 cm large). Lack of time, room, money and electrical sockets doesn't...

Hi Nayr88, Aquaessentials (sponsors here) do various mosses; http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/aquarium-plants-mosses-c-255_346.html?zenid=d53f310a6f9a4a68b4449819dd4563e6 Nice piece of wood by the way. cheers phil

Thanks James, Great pictures. Only downside is I've just realised our annual pass to the Eden Centre ran out last week:arghh: cheers phil

Hi Darrel, My understanding is that that is more likely to occur in tall narrow tanks with little surface agitation as O2 can't diffuse to lower levels easily; true? or part of the Matrix? I do know when I went to reverse-flow under-gravel via a canister filter with no surface agitation my fish...

Hi Jay1, Nope, plants give off O2 when they're photosynthesising, not resting, when they are resting (ie. at night/dark) they require oxygen intake like the vast majority of life. cheers phil

Hi Jaap, As all the folks above say and also even plants need oxygen when they're not photosynthesising, so surface agitation allows de-oxygenated water to pick up fresh from the air. I often wonder if people with tall narrow tanks have more problems with low oxygen at night low down due to...

You're right and I should read more carefully or not talk about kit I don't know:oops: I still maintain head height is measured from the tank's water surface though.:) Luke, have you cleaned out all the hoses in case there is any debris wedged in a pipe (where it narrows joining the taps for...

Hi Luke, A quick google shows your 306 on their website turns over "up to 300L/Hr", so with media and normal length pipes that will likely drop to 200L/H, so 4x turnover of your tank per hour, and with your tubes' friction you are realistically down to about 2-3 x turnover per hour. That's ok...

Hi ianh, Just read that there are epoxy resins made especially for aquarium use. google 'epoxy for aquarium' cheers phil

Useful info here; http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=5653 http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=171614 http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/uk-wood-in-aquariums.17399/ cheers phil

Hi Lindy, Like rocks it is very difficult to tell from a photo. The large stump might be cherry, looks to be fine grained on the cut end so likely a hard-wood, and therefore prob ok. re the other bits; some of them seem to have an inner core which I suspect will go soft and spongy if you put...

You can also use titanium bicycle spokes - your local bike shop might have some spare. (non-corrosive in sea water). I've used aquarium silicone to glue cork to slate, and it doesn't bond very well, so I wouldn't use that method if there is likely to be shearing pressure on it. It works to...

Hi Jamie, there is AquaSketcher, http://www.theaquatools.com/aquasketcher cheers phil

Hi Laurie Dear, Bit of info on The Arcadia Stretch LED here; http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/arcadia-stretch-t5-mini-comparison.36523/#post-392999 LED tech is changing so rapidly I can't keep up :lol: cheers phil

I like bodging if it saves my hard-earned.:) The next image is my before and after setup. Top image T5 Grolux on left, T5 Realux on right, both resting on cover glass. Lower image Arcadia Stretch Classica LED FW. 18" above surface. (Daylight and red on together as I'm a numpty and forgot to...

Hi Naughtymoose, I personally wouldn't worry as it would allow the fish to thermo-regulate unless they always stay at one end. It's possible the 2 filters are causing 2 gyres which are staying separate ( a bit like the Earth's atmosphere circulating in northern and southern hemispheres...

Hi Laurie Dear, A bit of info on the Arcadia Stretch here; http://www.arcadia-aquatic.com/classica-stretch-led/ My brief tests on the fresh-water version indicated similar lengths are comparable to T5 tubes, so the marine versions are a little brighter at surface but not much different at...

Hi Luckyjimm, Another point that confused me initially is that a lot of members here don't de-chlorinate as they are from countries that don't add chlorine/chloramine to their water supplies.;) cheers phil

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7282/16628861397_7b1b771c3d_o.jpg :p National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth.

That's great Troi, looks like it's been evolving for years. I esp like the pile of clitter rather than the more usual rounded pebbles. cheers phil

Hi folks, Putting this up here in case anyone finds it useful (and so I have it in one place). Don't expect any scientific rigour:lol: I replaced a daylight T5 tube with an Arcadia Classica Stretch LED bar http://www.arcadia-aquatic.com/classica-stretch-led/ and it gives a colder but more...

Heh - it's gravel all the way down:lol: Google maps allows you to zoom into areas of broken ground, cuttings, illicit dumps beside laybys, etc. Can't help with the lights, advice is whichever you prefer and the plants will be fine, no need to worry, as far as I know. cheers phil

Hi Neil, My thoughts; not knowledge, (just to muddy the waters - ha!); is that algal blooms occur in oceans where a lot of the above doesn't apply, and last year on Woodbury Common a lot of trees were felled and 3 rivulets were flowing out of a bank, 2 were crystal clear and the other was...

You'll definitely find rock if you go deep enough; nice? - maybe:lol: It's easier if someone else has done the work, so road-cuttings, construction works, farmer's waste piles, old quarries, etc. NB. local laws on feral rock collecting as it were might vary.:p We had friends in Waltham Abbey...

Hi Ghosty, If possible get branches and stuff from cuttings piles, tops of hedges etc as one of the problems with Britain is that it is so damp that wood lying on the ground quickly starts to rot, especially if it is dead-fall which has normally been dead in the tree long enough for fungi and...

Hi Christian, If you can see the images normally on the camera's screen and on your computer prior to uploading to IPHOTO it is very unlikely to be a camera/card problem, for peace of mind you can always try a new card, and it's worth reformatting your current card (after saving the images!)...

Hi Kev_M, I've done rafts of cork bark (from the flower arranging section of garden centres) and Java moss and Hydrocotyle grow fine on it, I've currently got a tiny Cryptocoryne willisii and a java fern sp, growing on some, The moss tends to draw up water to keep the other roots damp through...

Hi 2Pods, Sorry to hear your woes. I think the surface film could be protein build-up from incomplete breakdown of uneaten food, plant and fauna waste, etc. Another sign is if surface bubbles take a long time to pop. - I tend to think of it as the sticky bits that hold life together, and...

Hi luke1939, Maybe rather than the acrylic tower you could suspend the disc from some fishing line and hooks/clips to the rim? I'm a little concerned you'll knock the tower over doing maintenance. Can be quite thin as wood doesn't weigh much in water. cheers phil

Hi Geraint, Sorry to hear of your troubles. Your catfish are scaleless so you should only use 1/2 the recommended amount of copper based meds ie the malachite green, and probably similar info for the Formalin as well. Searching the web for "safe medications for scaleless fish" might help a bit...

Hi Jay1 I'm maybe over-cautious but I wouldn't. My understanding is it's more important to support a tank around the edges. (I also might not know what I'm talking about this time!) cheers phil

Hi Kirk, About 130L (36"x15"x15") the 6V charger took about 4-5 hours, I waited until the hydra turned to blobs but then also disappeared/let go. I didn't notice any difference in the few small 1-2mm long white planaria in the tank, but I had both wires suspended in the water, not touching...

hi Kirk, I tried it with a motorbike 6V battery charger which worked fine, one thing I noticed was that I did it with copper flex and the 1/2cm of wire strands exposed partially dissolved and bits dropped off, so I'd suggest steel electrodes etc, I didn't have livestock so can't tell if the...

Hi Mantis147, Yes, either from above the tank or through the front glass at enough of an angle that the light reflection doesn't shine into the camera. I don't know your equipment but assuming you are using the pop-up flash to trigger the remote put a bit of foil in front of the pop-up so...

Hi Scott, The filter must be kept on 24/7 as the beneficial bacteria need a steady supply of oxygenated water to survive, it's ok to switch off for a while when doing water changes, but not longer. cheers phil

Hi naughtymoose, Sorry, I copied a link which changed to an embedded image - I'd find that impossible if it was intentional :rolleyes: there is a version here; http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105774 (the first link that Hoppy provides has a huge amount of info as well.)...

Hi Christian, Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the watts/gall are USA gallons, not imperial, so your 40imp gall is 48 USA gall, so 1.6W/gall. useful table here; http://i.imgur.com/RbWzU.jpg cheers phil

Hi Daniel, That's a useful tip, thanks. cheers phil

Hi humdingerx, Our bricks (Exeter area) are sandstone based and don't leach, I assume the majority of modern house bricks are ok ( I'd be wary of using a random found brick) . I'm guessing you've got spare polystyrene so you can make a recess and put a rock/brick in, but you have to be careful...

Hi Eugene, Coincidentally I measured how long it took bits of flake to flow along my tank last night (guessed/calculated rather than measured;)), and with my 4x volume turnover per hour my flow speed at substrate level is only about 250m/hr, obviously faster in front of the spraybar, but a lot...

Hi humdingerx, It floats too easily so you need a lot of weight to hold it down (more than you'd expect;)), and it's difficult to find a glue that sticks to polystyrene and glass. You can use a brick or 1/2 brick, or ceramic tiles as an alternative. cheers phil.

Hi Scott, I'd keep it at least until it turns into a bigger nasty thing..:) cheers phil

Yep, that's right, and off-camera flash is needed to avoid glare off the glass (and macro distances mean the front of the lens blocks the on-camera flash anyway) [sorry if you know all this already]. X3NiTH's idea is good; try the lens reversed as well. cheers phil

Hi limz_777, The stripes are more defined when they are young, and the red intensifies on the males in the breeding season with the black bands merging. Please note, this fish has been bred a lot, so the colours of captive bred fish can be quite variable. I find barbs to be very characterful...

Hi, Looks good to me. cheers phil

Hi Mantis147, As LondonDragon above says, you need flash to get a small aperture as macro has very small depth of field and also at macro scales a small movement is amplified so you need a fast shutter speed as well. when I see what Alex08 has achieved with a Benq compact I'm tempted to buy...

Hi Rob, You'll probably find that moss will grow happily on your dam sponge. Good luck on the tank move. cheers phil

It's a funny old world, saw an article about Sigiriya yesterday; http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/sigiriya.html , and recently saw that the red train in the Swiss Alps won a photo comp. cheers phil

Hi Jafooli, No, not a problem. I've used metal jubilee clips before without problems. Shouldn't be a problem; Marine keepers often cram tubes close together. cheers phil

I just had a look and the price is £817.94, drops to £777.04 if you buy 15 bags :eek: (or my PC has been hacked)

Hi Jay1, Margarine tubs or any plastic food container work, easy to cut so that gravel on the base of them stops them falling over. cheers phil

Sorry Jafooli, running out of ideas for a tidy alternative to cables ties; I'd probably use some stiff wire wrapped around and then twisted, but I'm a bit of a magpie so have lots of spare bits of earthing wire etc. Glad the ballast was disconnected, that's one of the reasons naughtymoose was...

Hi Jafooli, No, don't use cable ties, they won't melt but they will get very brittle and then fracture after a while. (go on, ask me how I know...! ) Well done for having a go at it, DIY gets easier the more you do it. The T8 ballast would bubble if it still has power going to it and you...

Hi Mantis147, The Tamron 90mm macro lens is good, as are any of the Canon macros, You'd probably need in the region of 100mm macro to reach to the back of the tank at reasonable magnification. If you go the extension tube route make sure you get ones that do auto-exposure etc. An alternative...

Hi rodoselada, Nicely laid out, very natural looking. Keep an eye on the willow as I used some twigs which weren't as dead as I thought and they started growing roots and leaves.. cheers phil

Hi chka, looks good, I especially like the sunset shots. cheers phil

Hi Gus, I prefer this one, maybe lose the squarish looking one on the far right front, as all the others have a more rounded look. As Kirk says, keep playing and every so often a layout will suddenly "pop". Take a photo each time as it's a bitch if you can't remember the best! cheers phil

hi Dan_CR4, They do this as well, so you can build up a few layers; http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Polystyrene-Veneer-Lining-Paper-White-10m/p/105968 you can also use polystyrene ceiling tiles with some tape to keep them in place as you put the tank on, or a camping karrimat, that's what I used...

and tech changes all the time... http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/new-led-lighting-by-aquatlantis.36060/

Hi Jafooli, I'd probably just bodge it by drilling a couple of holes either end and either side of the reflector and use some loops of wire through the holes in the reflector, looped under the LED bar to hold it tight against the reflector where the tubes were. It's always less stressful to do...

Hi Jafooli, Yep, I use a nail which works fine on tin. Another option which would be fairly easy I imagine to attach to your reflector is the Arcadia Classica Stretch LED; http://www.arcadia-aquatic.com/classica-stretch-led/ although I'm not sure it's as bright as a T5 tube, and you might find...

ps. if it was you talking about waste water recently, this popped up as though the author read your mind!:lol: http://www.csectioncomics.com/2015/01/our-water.html

Hi Jordi, I've got the e701 and the manual covers the e901 as well. it says the e901 with all media and hoses included is 380 - 450 l/hr. I've run my e701 for about 2 months now without cleaning and with full media (and no livestock)and I reckon I've lost another 20% flow, so I reckon the e901...

Hi Jafooli, Yes, I'd use nuts and bolts like EnderUK rather than screws, once I had the T5 clips I'd see what size bolt fits them and drill that size hole. (I'm probably over cautious but I wouldn't be happy using self tapping screws on metal that heats/cools and gets moved around). You might...

Hi Jafooli, This pic shows T8 and T5 pin comparison - identical on aquarium lights. My LFS gave me the rubber conversion rings you see which go over the T5 tube and push into the T8 endcap. I guess O-rings 16 mm internal dia and 1" ext dia would work...

Get well soon. Your tanks were high on the list of reasons I joined. all the best phil

Hi Jafooli, If you do this, make sure you buy the right length tube(s) for your tank first and then buy the starter ballast unit to match it. ie. T5 and T8 wattages and lengths are not like-for-like, so you don't want to wire in a 30W T5 ballast and then discover 30wT5 tubes are too long! You...

Hi TallDragon, My understanding of the siesta period initially was nothing to do with algae control. I thought it was a way of having more intense light prior to the days of CO2 injection. ie. fish produce CO2 overnight, lights come on and CO2 drops as plants use it, then lights off, CO2 builds...

Thanks LondonDragon, Very useful info. Might be worth a mention that all the water bugs can fly, (as can the beetles) so the adults can arrive and disappear easily - not likely to be a problem unless you have an open-topper next to patio doors though. If you decide to keep any little critters...