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Just a pic update. Also some notes to myself, what I do different next time. using the rockwork as a dam to hold the soil and substrate back. Good idea, but now I can’t take the rocks out without causing an avalanche and ruining the whole tank. Not bleaching and presoaking all the rock and...

Big trim yesterday, and upgraded to Fluval 407.

Defo need a trim

I currently have 90x45x45cm tank with an island type scape. I've run out of planting space and considering changing the scape from a "U" shape to a "_". This would require me to fill in the 4" either side of the island with new gravel. I will not add soil, just new washed gavel. Would this be OK?

Hi, I can't remember who online did it. One of the Green Aqua or Tropica guys. "PRO TIP" They have a bucket with a double or triple initial dosage of Seachem Excel i.e. 5ml per 40L x 2 or 3, So for example 1ml+ in 4L of water. Leave for 24hr change to clean water, leave for 24hr and dose...

So I've run out of my drop checker solution. Is the below correct? Add 6g of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) to 500ml RO = 500ml of 400dKH solution. Then dilute 5ml of 400dkh solution with 495ml H20 to get 500ml of 4dKH solution? Take 5ml of this into drop checker and add 5 drops of my AP PH test...

Picture update, Reduced lights and reduce fertilisers and the growth is still there

TDS is up to 202 today.

Yes, I did think that, but as my GH even with the 60/40 RO/Tap is still going to be above 7 and my mini landscape rocks will add minerals back into the water. I figured worse case I'd go down to GH 3.5. I will not be doing it again and I"m going to bring my weekly water change forward a few...

As title says.

I don’t believe that flourish will kill filter bacteria. However if your tank is empty and there is no supply of fresh ammonia, most of the bacteria will begin to die off anyway.

Also, once the tank is drained if you leave it to dry out completely, I don’t see how any algae spores could survive without any moisture at all.

Flourish recommend after a big water change five mil per 10 gallons. your tank is around 15 gallons and you would want to do 2 to 4 times recommended dose. so I make that 15-30 mil. Leave it for 24 to 48 hours.

yes 20 ppm in itself Isn’t much but if this continues, by the end of the week the TDS could have risen by over 140. My community tank rises by just a few PPM in a week. I’ll try to monitor the planted tank over the next week and see what happens.

If it is an empty tank and equipment that isn’t in use thin bleach. Live plants if you can get them out can be put in a double dose of Flourish excel for 24 to 48 hours. Hydrogen peroxide also kills it, so you could spray the whole thing down with this.

still not quite sure what to do, conflicting advice everywhere for example low or excessive nutrients can cause issues. However with BBA people say do not reduce your ferts! But when I was dozing 3ml ferts and light on around 80% I didn’t have any issues. TDS Yesterday after water change 168...

Update, blasted some of this stuff with hydrogen peroxide before my water change today! I’ll see how it is in a few days. I think I need to start monitoring TDS, my previous 4 to 5 weeks water changes which have been around 60 to 70% range and have had a TDS of approximately 135. TDS before...

No to a dark green/blue. I have an air stone that comes on overnight to increase O2 and gas off any excess CO2.

Yes, while lights are on anyway. CO2 comes on 1.5+hr before lights on and goes off about 45-60min before lights out. Bubble rate is around 4 bubbles/sec.

Last 2 weeks I've also been adding 10g of Epson Salts into my 100-120L water change barrel. As my London tap water Mg is low and with RO 60% /tap 40%, Mg is only around 2ppm. Also I have a dirted tank with both Moss Peat and Aquatic Compost, so not sure if this means I can get away with less...

I don’t get this. All this talk about powerful pumps yet the 600 is only rated at 5.5l/min so just 330L/hr??

CO2 has been light lime green and nutrients have been increasing all the time. Growth has been fast. Almost too fast if I'm honest, which is why I'm lowering light intensity a bit. CO2 has been my constant , I've been increasing light intensity and nutrients to try to find the balance.

Just started to get some BBA and tiny bit of hair algae. I have gradually been increasing light intensity and TNC complete dosing. Slowly going from 3ml/day 70% lighting to currently 8ml/day up to 95% lighting. I'll begin spot doing this Friday on the affected rocks. I've also lowered the...

The problem with not adding Prime etc., is if your local water supplier begins to add chloramine into the tapwater you could end up killing your fish before you find out.

Hi, no. Mix RO/tap together and then dechlorinate.. Is what i do

A 60cm light on a 80cm tank has a 10cm gap each side.. I have a 90cm Twinstar on a 94x45x45, the light is only like 15cm wide. So thee is a 15+cm gap in-front of and behind the light. It lights everything perfectly. Also, as yours will be a low tech tank, you'll not be able to run the light...

what’s the issue with the CO2art regulator?

Trim and tidy today. Is the plant on the far left the tall one a hydrophilia? If so I guess I trim this like any other stem plant?

One weeks growth. Also tiny algae magnet to clean condensation off my cover. First pic last week, second pic this week.

Looking on Amazon most of the Magnesium Chloride MgCl2 say it comes as flakes? Is this the right stuff? e.g...

So I get this correct. Will 8g of MgCl2 or 8.5g MgSO4 (Epsom salts) raise the mg levels by 8ppm in 100L of water?

OK, cool thanks :) currently i'm also adding around 5-6ml of TNC complete a day. Not sure how much Mg and K this would be adding... Tank is probably 160-180L. Just had a Google and TNC complete is: 1.5% N, 0.2%P, 5% K, 0.8% Mg, 0.08% Fe, 0.018% Mn, 0.002% Cu, 0.01% B, 0.01% Zn, 0.001% Mo...

Okay, just see that on the other thread. that’s a new anubias and it’s only been in for a couple of weeks. It was one of the tropica plant pack out of water. not sure if this is the transition of the plant getting used to being immersed.

hello, what makes you say this?

Hello How and when should I trim this type of red plant? I’ve took the image of the card that I believe came with this plant.

Just did my weekly clean, me frogbit is going crazy. See the pictures, one is from seven days ago the other is from today. also a couple of full tank shots.

Hi, there is no need for bucket water changes anyway. All you need is a hose long enough to go from the sink/toilet/bath for syphoning water out the tank. Then a HoseLock mixer tap connector to connect to a bathroom mixer tap, fiddle with the hot cold water until your getting the right...

I'll check them out, I don't really care what colour it is... within reason.

Hi, I actually had some long lengths of this stuff in the bath, with the hot water and shower on MAX heat, it softens. But only a little and it refuses to forget its coiled up mode. The ehiem one dose soften much more and much quicker.

Hmm, that looks like the pipe I have, but mine is much more rigid than the eheim stuff. What are the ribbed and braided/reinforced pipework like?

Hi guys.. The clear 16/22mm tube that I'm currently using is very rigid. Are there more flexible options/manufactures. My currently one is tougher than ehiem but this can cause issues as it pulls the pipework out of position. For example one of my garden hoses is very flexible (but the wrong...

Well I have gone for 8 mm clear cast acrylic. With eight support clips to give support all the way round. We will see. PS Cost around £48, made to size with a 25mm feeding hole.

There is a popular YouTuber, who uses superglue to glue his plants down while the tank is full of water. So he adds a couple of dabs of superglue gel onto the plant, then puts the plant straight into the water and glues it onto the Bogwood. he said he has been doing this for years with no issues...

So what recommendations would you guys have?

Should I add more plants in my set up, or should I leave the current plants to grow out and fill the spaces? There’s a fair bit of bare rock and woodwork, should I cover this with something? Any suggestions or advice great-fully received. Glenn

Update, Fish 20 x glowlight tetra’s 8 x cardinal tetra’s 4 x ottos had to trim the stem plants at the back today, a few of them were nearly 80 cm long! also removed a lot of the leaves from the sword plant on the right side as some of them were getting 50 to 60 cm long. I have a few babies...

I’ve had up to 438 ppm out of the tap.

Estimated cost to do up the houses of parliament >£6 Billion!!! Cost of building the shard, about £500 million? Is anybody going to question the government on that one? i.e. 1000 highly skilled workers, earning £1000 a day, working 365 days a year for 6 years - 2 billion. 1000 worker are not...

I have a <1yr old AI Prime Freshwater on Ebay ATM :)....

I actually have (for no good reason).... 3 x 30L 2 x 60L 1 x 120L For a 180L tank :)

Only £20-£45 and I had one of mine for 10 years. They come in 30L 60L 120L 220L. I use these blue ones https://oipps.co.uk/120-l-plastic-blue-open-top-keg-un

Hi, I use RO cut with tap, I have my RO storage barrels in the garden and I change 70-120L at a time (50/50 - 60/40 RO/Tap). I have 2 barrels: 1 x 60L and 1 x 120L. I fill the 60L to the brim with RO, after I do my water change, so it's ready for the next week. I have 1 x 1200LPH pump from...

So I have a 90 cm X 45 cm aquarium. I purchased 2 X 45 cm x 4 mm thick acrylic sheets to act as a cover. These worked fine for about a week and then they started to bow, with LED lighting and no real heat in the area. I want to replace these with one single sheet, with a central hole for...

Added, ultra clear blue green algae stain treatment and 48 hour blackout. Two marbled hatchetfish somehow jumped out even with the covers on!

Equipment Update: I've taken the plunge and will soon have a Twinstar 900SA unit. I've made this decision to a) help balance light intensity throughout the tank b) enable me to add the floating plants. At the moment the floaters get blown across the far left of the tank and out of any direct...

Update, it’s been a couple of weeks and the tank has been left for the last 10 days as I’ve been away on holiday. Although somebody has been feeding the fish and putting two mil of fertiliser in a day. I was expecting to come home to a house of horrors however all seems okay. I did siphon...

Quick update, after 50 hours following the last water change the results was zero and zero for ammonia and nitrite. So I did another 70% water change, now I’m in Mauritius and have given instructions to feed the tank every other day only.

Update, test kits just arrived and this is what ammonia and nitrite are reading 40 hours after the 75% water change (I did another 75% water change after testing). The ammonia seems fine, however nitrites up? How unearth could this have happened with immature filter? Problem is, I go on...

Hi, the barrel was 120 L food group blue barrel that are use my water changes couldn’t put fish in as it would be near on impossible to try to net them out of such a large deep barrel. The bags were floated in the barrel open, bags use the ones from the fish shop. Water was prepared straight...

There was very little surface movement, almost none and the majority of the surface was covered with floating plants as well. But I’m assuming this couldn’t have taken all the oxygen out of 110 L in less than 18 hours. I’ve moved both filters to the waterline so now there is a lot of surface...

Yesterday we purchased 110 L aquarium to put half the fish from my old community tank into. These are the fish that are not going into my new planted set up. We removed all the decoration from the old system, some of this was put in a bleach water solution with a 1 to 10 ratio, soaked for 10...

I got a custom tank and stand from Aquarium Gardens, both are made by ClearSeal and at a very good price. You could ask for a price for the ClearSeal ClearScape stand alone? You'll have a choice or colours and made within 3 weeks.

Now there is bubbles up here as well.

The bloody stuff had loads of oxygen bubbles on it last night, after the water change. Toothbrush and new air-pump and stone on it's way (for overnights). Some of the small rocks at the front I can remove. Will London tap water kill it, or can/should I soak them in a 10% thin bleach solution?

Right going to go shopping today and buy some toothbrushes :) I think what I’ve done is contaminate the new tank from the old one. I had to move my old system, after which I had a huge algae bloom after the substrate had been disturbed. A week later I put a couple of small plants over from the...

The problem is only half the fish from the old system are going into the new system! Although I could divide the media evenly between the two.

Well, big water change today and I’ve dropped the light intensity down by 20%. External filter outlets are at the back right of the tank, firing towards the surface to the left corner. Powerhead is in the left back corner facing the centre of the aquarium glass. Filter inlet is in the bottom...

Hi guys I’ve set up my system, the link to the journal is in my signature. It was a dirt tank that was set up for two weeks before plants went in, over the past week I’ve added snails and shrimps. I’ve also added one of the sponges from my establish Fluva’s filter and perhaps a handful or so...

Hi, yes surface movement could be more TBH, I’ve got a powerhead pointing towards the middle front panel and the flow does go right past the area. I think I had diatoms on the sand, although that came up with a bit of siphoning .

One week update Or is it two week update? Anyway six x nerite snails, six x Amano shrimp and six x red cherries are in. Got some moss and just did a 75% water change. Today, I also made some temporary acrylic covers for the tank. As my snails have been found in the living room three times...

Hmmm, maybe I'll put them in my non-C02 community tank until I get a lid.

So I’ve put six snails, six cherry shrimps and six Amarno shrimps in the tank yesterday. The bloody snails keep escaping, the tanks in the dining room and I’ve just found one in the living room 15 feet away! alive....

Hi guys, also couple of questions regarding lighting. The AI Prime is 8-10" above the water, what intensity / wattage should I be starting at? Also, what lighting period? Currently I have a 6hr cycle with a 1/2 hour ramp up/down after/before, given 7hr total.

Okay, I have a second question. The new system already has some now nerite snails Amarno shrimp and cherry shrimp. Will any of these fish not be okay with them?

Planting almost done, a few things I need to move but had enough after hours!

Wow! Thank you for the detailed and thorough response. It’s definitely been a bit of a pick and mix in that tank as it’s been set up for many many years and fish have passed away and we’ve been unable to find the same so have been replaced with different fish. TBH i’d prefer less variety and...

Hi, I’ve had some of these tropical fish in my aquarium for years now and I honestly have no idea what half of them are. I’d like some IDs to make sure they are all safe for my new planting aquarium. Cheers guys

The plants have been ordered and should be going in this Friday :).. 2 x Bucephalandra 3 x Anubias (small type) 3 x Microsorum Trident 2 x Portion of moss 3 x Hygrophilia i.e. Salicifolia 4 x Cryptocoryne 1 x Amazon Sword 2 x ECHINODORUS QUADRICOSTATUS - Dwarf Amazon Sword 1 x Valis Loads...

Hi guys, I purchased one of your CO2 regulator Kids from Aquarium Gardens last week. I think I have an issue, although I’ve not had a regulator before so I’m just checking. The knob which is anticlockwise off and clockwise to adjust working pressure. When I turn it towards the off...

CO2 is in, just the plants left now!

Yes I think my plant list is Foreground Aanubias Bucephalandra Cryptocoryne types? Mid-ground Java Fern - trident Bucephalandra Cryptocoryne - types? Background Hygrophilia Salicifolia Vallisneria I've also got 1 x large amazon sword and a small amount of twisted vallisneria sitting in...

Hello, thanks for the reply. I like the look of this tank. Although I do need it as more of an island.

Another question is how am I going to attach ferns and anubias etc.. to the rocks? I can't take them out... I can't get around the rocks with cotton, and the tank is filled (although I can drain it)???

Yes, bottom of a plastic bottle :) That tank has <1cm of gravel and there wasn't anything else to plant in!

My actual planted tank has not been set up yet, I have a few plants that I’ve been keeping in the community tank while the main system is getting sorted. All had been well for weeks with the plants, however I had to move the old system which required draining, removing everything and then...

Had this frogbit in a community non-planted tank, I went to move some of it over to the new set up and noticed it has holes in?

So planting suggestions? Don’t want anything too challenging too complicated, what do you think?

Might be Neon"s + London tap water = no neon's. It's the only tetra that never lasts very long in my tanks :(.

I also ended up making my own inlet and dual outlet pipes for the tank. Using 20mm PVC pipe. On the outlets I used a 32mn to 20mm reducer but kind of the other way around. So essentially the outlet goes from a 20 mm tube opens up into a 32 mm cone, gives a nice diffuse flow. I didn’t fancy...

See above.

The outflow pipe that comes from the tank to the external filter has T added. One side of the T goes to the external filter, while the other goes to an ehiem inline tap connector. The tap connector is a double tap union where each tap can be disconnected. One tap stays on the pipe in the off...

I finished all the plumbing today, including the UV and I’ve added a T and a tap to the outflow pipe so water changes can be pumped straight out.

Looks like I was a bit early thinking I had crystal clear water, after 24 hours; not so much.

Here is a picture, on a side note how long will this wood need to soak until it sinks?

Hi guys I filled my tank for the first time after completing the hard scape. I did not wash the sand the gravel the rocks or pre-soak the wood. I have an inch or so of dirt, capped with 2 to 3 inches of gravel. After filling the tank I would assume I would be left with a dirty swampy mess...

Weird question, but I filled the tank with water today. There is over an inch of dirt in the bottom, I haven’t pre-washed the sand, rock or the gravel. The tanks is almost perfectly clear! I was expecting a swamp?

:thumbup:

In my marine days we use Deltec Aquascape construction Putty (Rock Grey), or other types of two part resin/putty.

Hard scape complete :)

Scape attempt 10000