Search results for query: *

Nice one Steve. Well done mate. Cheers,

Moved to the Planted Tank Galley. Cheers,

Hello, If you think L. aromatica is too big then you should absolutely stay away from P. stelletta. In this photo P. stelletta is on the left and L. aromatica is on the right.The distance from left to right edge in this photo is 2 feet. Do not waste your time and energy. Get a truly small...

Hi Zanguli, That's really good news that your orders from Europe make to you in a reasonable time. I've ordered plants from Asia many times and they take just as long (a week or more) to reach me without any issues. As far as planting glosso and others carpets like HC, some people have a lot...

Happy New Year to you as well mate. Yeah, you should not use the results of one tank to troubleshoot another. We have to address the known causes first and then investigate the other, less common possibilities. There are too many inter-related issues, many of which we lack the control of. Having...

Hi, Possibly, but it's more likely that you are simply not adding enough CO2 when the gas is turned on, or, it could be a distribution issue. Here is a tank that lived in an all glass South facing conservatory, and whose gas was on from about 10AM-5PM. At times, the ambient light was actually...

Hi, May I add that your judicious use of the Advance Search Function is thoroughly appreciated. An example for all. Well done mate. :wave: Cheers,

Nice one mate. That's a beauty, no doubt about it. Congratulations! Cheers,

Hi mate, it's not so much the basket, but the rock wool which wraps the roots that serves as an impediment. Just pull the wool off and you'll be fine. Errr.Mark you may have read that from the same place in The Matrix that Gavin was reading about swords needing rich substrate. The level of plant...

Hi Gavin, Well all the swords splay out to some extent. The only way to control the splaying is to prune. E. aquartica is the only one that doesn't get too high as you can see in the second photo. You can judge the size compared to the big crypt just to the right. I generally...

Hi mate, E. Schlueteri is an OK choice because it does get very large leaves in an EI dosed tank. E. aquartica is much more compact. Also, Schlueteri tends to splay out more and is does not have a particularly pretty color unless you get the "leopard" version, which if you're going...

Hi Gavin, OK, big leaved low growing sword? Absolute first choice is Echinodorus Aquartica (Tropica 074F). It's the one right in the middle encircled by the wood. Don't worry about light. Second choices is E. red rubin (Tropica 074B) What happens if you were to tun off the gas...

Yeah, H. corymbosa or Ludwigia repens are a real speed champs, but you know, swords are pretty fast growers as well and they might be more resistant to attack because they taste kind of nasty. You could stick an E. ozelot or E. barthii in the back somewhere to add a bit of color. Instead of...

Hi Gavin, There is no way oxygen is a limiting factor in a planted tank. The plants add more oxygen than can ever be achieved by aeration alone. This is not true at night though. It's more likely that CO2 is an issue. CO2 is much more problematic as the size of the fish increases...

Hi Gavin, Yeah that's really looking smart mate. It looks like the anubias are elevated, which brings them closer to the light and increases the PAR at the leaf surface. As a result they are susceptible to GSA. Normally you want to shade anubias to lower the PAR reaching them. As long as...

Wow Viktor, truly spectacular stuff. Congratulations mate, excellent interpretation and beautifully executed. I think that's what people fail to consider when reviewing the results of these contests; that the tanks are being judges not just for their emotional appeal, which is at a visceral...

Well it's generally considered a CO2 lover. Once it's CO2 needs are met it grows like a weed, to the point where it can actually become a nightmarish nuisance. You can already see it starting to dominate that fellows bowfront. Given the chance via unlimited NO3+PO4+CO2 it'll outgrow all but the...

Hi, as mentioned previously this is most likely Pogostemon stellata (Tropica No. 053G) Cheers,

Job well done mate. Nice execution and cool photos! 8) Cheers,

Re: 120cm - The Crypt Eternal Lovely photos George, I love the natural textures, especially on the fauna. Well done on the placement mate. :thumbup: Cheers,

Wow, lovely, clean scape and brilliant interpretation. Congratulations and well earned mate. Thanks for sharing! :D I like the backlighting effect for the sunrise. What is the Riccia mounted on? Cheers,

Hey Dan, As a reality check, high phosphates is not responsible for hair algae. Hair algae is due to poor CO2 so you must have fixed your CO2/flow in order to get rid of the hair algae. 8) Cheers,

Re: Six years of 'scaping All spectacular George. To tell the truth I like the first one if nothing else but for the variation of texture and color. I'm finding the SE Asian Matrix is overwhelmingly green I'm afraid (no less spectacular though). :P Cheers mate!

Hi ty_phan, You're drawing conclusions based on optical illusions. You rescaped the tank which means that you damaged the sediment bacterial colony. They are the ones that do a lot of the ammonia nitrification. When you change your tank you change the distribution patterns as...

Hi ty_phan, I'm always hesitant to suggest increasing the CO2 when uber-expensive fish are involved but if you have already tried increased injection rate into the yellow without issues then it would be better to keep it there. Many time folks use tank water in the dropchecker...

Hi ty_phan, The best thing to do is to take all of your test kits and throw them in the bin. As usual with test kits, they are causing you to make bad decisions and are only prolonging your agony because they lie. It wouldn't be so bad if they told you that you have less...

Hi ty_phan, Gosh that's a lovely tank you've got. Everything looks nice and green and I don't see any evidence of Fe deficiency. I think that it's a waste of time to be constantly testing for Fe or for any of those other parameters. Discus tanks are complicated enough and if you...

I have an unsubstantiated theory that it is PO4 related as well as light related. JamesC gave me a clue in this thread=> viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1967 It flowered with massive doses of PO4 and was bronze(ish). I left town for a few weeks and my tank ran out of PO4. The Blyxa turned emerald green and...

Yes, that could be. I kinda like the idea of the convex mound myself though. To get the triangle wouldn't the Blyxa need to grow taller than the fern? Tough to do. To me Blyxa is more of a transitional element because it's too tall to be ground cover but doesn't have the magnitude to be a...

Wow, speechless mate... :shock: Only the tiniest of question marks would be that the Blyxa-like plant on the left aft side seems to disrupt the symmetry ever so slightly? Maybe the reflection off the side glass makes it look more of a disturbance than what it is in reality. Cheers,

Re: 60cm opti-white Wow! George using red in a composition :?: Hell must have just frozen over :lol: Brilliant stuff mate! Cheers,

Hi, No, I don't think so. Here is the image: Review the syntax required to achieve that and compare it to what you have: Also, instead of hitting the "submit" button select the "Preview" button prior so that you can see how it will turn out before actually submitting the post. Cheers,

Hi, Also peruse the Tutorials forum for instructional articles regarding tank setup, CO2 measurement, plant maintenance dry dosing and so forth. Cheers,

Nice job Johnny. First nice betta penitentiary I've seen. :idea: Cheers,

Yes, but then how to explain the fact that it's now green, as well as the green in the 80 cm... Cheers,

Gosh, I've just about run out of suspects. :roll: Dan those were deep green exactly like those shown in Georges 80cm. The specimens I have now are from that same group and they are now green again. The only thing I can think of is the actual CO2 level. If it's not that then it's back to square...

Hmm..OK... :? That's a good data point. That means I'm suffering delusions and that it must be some other factor or combination thereof. :roll: My next suspect is TPN+ or possibly lighting. Sorry to be annoying mate but could you confirm that the plant in the nano is in fact B. japonica and...

Well, not only the stelleta but also the colors of the Blyxa. I'm seeing that they both go bronze (each in their own way). Deletion of Excel seems to return them both to more green within a week or so. I'm not sure if this is coincidence or illusion or real. Cheers,

Hi George, Absolutely gorgeous mate. One question for you. Can you recall if you used Excel on this tank within a week or two of these photos? Cheers,

Hi, Welcome to the forum. Gorgeous tank. Thanks for sharing. :mrgreen: Cheers,

Hi George, It's not really necessary to run the CO2 up till lights out. CO2 usage is much more important in the morning but in the late afternoon the consumption is lowered. If your lighting ON/OFF cycle is consistent the plants figure out when lights OFF is and they actually...

Hi, For hair algae try turning the gas on 2 hours before lights on and turning it off 2 hours before lights off. Cheers,

Hi Steve, The concensus has been that the best prices for the NPK is Garden Direct. The KNO3 is here: http://www.gardendirect.co.uk/potassium-nitrate-p-210 and the KH2PO4 is here: http://www.gardendirect.co.uk/potassium-phosphate-p-213 You can just buy the minimum quantities to...

This is the format for embedding the images: Cheers,

Steve, As Sam mentioned, feel free to ask any questions regarding EI. This is simply a method which works quite well. It does not preclude other methods because the basic physiology of plants work the same regardless of method. It certainly is not our intent to push EI as some sort of...

Hi REDSTEVEO, Welcome to the forum. It's a very nice tank you have there and everything seems to be in tip top condition. While your adherence to a disciplined methodology is to be applauded I believe that most here will agree that the available scientific evidence does...

Wow that really needed a haircut. :shock: Looks all healthy though. Can't wait to see the new setup. Cheers,

Well it's hard to tell just from photos but I wonder if the amount of surface plants might be robbing the lower plants of light a bit. The T8's are not as bright as the T5's. Lower light delivers a lower rate of photosynthesis (but also a lower risk of algae). Are you dosing only Fe? It would...

NICE! Is this a low tech? Give us some specifications if you get the chance. Love that surface shot! 8) Cheers,

Cool, What's the stem in the middle, some type of Bacopa? Cheers,

Hi, Nice job! Yes, big tanks really suffer circulation problems. This has a really negative effect on CO2 distribution as well as nutrient availability. Plants that are considered "easy" in a 200L suddenly become the bane of your existence. A shame about the background because it looked...