Search results for query: *

I found that running an air-stone, quickly degasses CO2 at the end of CO2/lighting period and more interesting results in a cleaner tank due to producing different water flows that lifts any settled detritus into the tank to be filtered away. I turn my air on for 3 hours at starting 15minutes...

My mate had real algae issues in his low tech tank, after changing from T8 tube to T5 tube. In the end he fixed it by putting foil rings on the single T5 tube to reduce the light intensity by 1/2, whilst leaving the light on approx 6 hours. With frequent remaining algae removal, over period of a...

So where do your plants get there carbon from ?

And keep the light level down of course..

Really need to dose some time before lights on to give a chance to circulate round before plants wake up. Probably doesn't matter if in the morning or 2hours before lights on just as long as dosed. Dosing Excel once a week is a waste as Excel doesn't last long in the water due to it breaking...

No. The UV will degrade the micros. So turn it off for 24 hours after micro dosing. Why are you using UV ? Very few people use it here as not really necessary if things are under control and balanced.

All of these are not welcome in a fish tank. Sodium is not wanted as it has no role in a fish tank and is not consumed in the tank. Why do you think the sea is salty, because no living process is consuming the sodium. Ammonium is lethal to fish even in small quantities. The copper will kill...

Check it has urea or ammonia salts in it, which a lot of concentrated terrestrial fertilisers do. Both of these are toxic to fish in anything beyond trace amounts.

Don't dose DTPA and KH2PO4 together as the iron will react with the phosphate and precipitate out as insoluble iron phosphate, making both iron and phosphate unavailable to plants. Just dose DPTA on alternate weeks if low tech. My mate has run a low tech tank for years dosing 1/4 dose...

You also might find the filter a tad small and will require frequent cleaning, possibly weekly. It has a high flow rate, but has a really small amount of filter media so will block quite quickly. Though until you try, hard to say. Did you consider an external filter ? These have (can have)...

Looks good. Couple of points, mainly about the light choice. - Make sure you have a way of dimming the lights and most LED's can be too bright, especially at startup and you end up turning your plants to algae food. - Shame the 601 is 110V power. Seems a shame to have to spend yet even more...

Except they don't sell calcium nitrate. :( Maybe there is a world supply issue of calcium nitrate ?

http://www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk/fertilisers/dry-chemicals/starter-kits/ei-starter-kit.html Just following instructions using what ever teaspoons you have available. Done.

To cope with bigger pipes and smaller CO2 diffusers you do like in my post below. Follow the thread to see how to do it in flexible piping. The valve is a must to force water through the smaller bypass, many people find it doesn't work if they don't haev the valve...

1. CO2 regulator from CO2SuperMarket or CO2 art. I have a single stage dual guage regulator, cost £50 4 years ago. Works fine. 2. CO2 diffuser of some form. I have a 22mm inline difuser in the outlet pipe of my filter. 3. CO2 source from fire extinguisher. Use yellow pages to look up fire...

Most Juwel tanks using T5 even without reflectors are in high light "plant melting" region. Unfortunately due to the electronic starter they use you have to run both tubes at the same time. Best bet, if you want a low light, low energy, low tech, low maintainance tank is say foil rings around...

The iron in CSM+B is provided in the form iron chelate which makes the iron compound soluble in water and thus available for plants to use. CSM+B is iron 7% EDTA chelate. Below is a chart indicating at which pH values the chelate should be kept at. Outside these areas the iron will become...

Looks like you CSM+B has become unchelated and precipitated out. Wont be harmful to fish but as it is insoluble it wont help the plants either. Normally some sort of acidifying agent, usually ascorbic acid, is added to keep the solution acidic which helps keep the CSM+B chelated and in...

Your RO unit and pre-filter will remove lead if it is present. However in UK lead will not be present (in any amount that will cause issues) as water supplies will be phosphate dosed, so that insoluble lead phosphate is formed in the pipes and lead doesn't pass into the water.

You should always always always add Prime even with RO water, as an RO unit does not 100% guarantee removal of chlorine or ammonia. If your input filter is not a chlorguard or is "used & exhausted " or is running too fast or you get chloramine in your water, then your RO unit will let chlorine...

Why not just mix 50:50 RO:tap water (or 30:70 etc) , like a lot of people do, especially if running low tech & dirty tank where water parameters will probably make little difference.

Not sure this is suitable as it contains ammonium which is toxic to fish. The safety data sheet also lists toxic to fish and interestingly aquatic plants, though in much larger doses. This looks like it actually contains "nitric acid ammonium calcium" what ever that is.

Yes. Remember to self, don't post from phone....use PC and read the question....:(

ppm is largely irrelevant and means nothing unless you are keeping some of the less hardy shrimp. Anything from 0ppm to 1000-2000ppm will be fine.

ppm of what ?

Not really a good idea adding a powerful disinfectant to your tank (ammonia). If anything it just delays the tank getting mature and can lead to either a tank never cycling or a second ammonia/nitrate cycle occurring at a later date. Most people here, just leave tank alone, fish food (maybe)...

It is an often repeated mistake many beginners make, is to rely on the N & P from their water supply. :eek:. It is starting down the path for disaster. The nitrate (and P) value will most likely vary day by day and the 25ppm quoted was when the water company did the test from its taps and it...

No no no no + no. If you assumed no nutrient uptake, you would have to leave the tank for weeks & weeks at EI target of 7.5ppm NO3 for instance, before the nutrient levels became and issue for fish. Due to a pump failure I once dosed 1litre of double strength EI solution into my tank giving a...

This is what I use, putting 40ml per dose per day using a pump into a 180l tank. Done. No thinking, no worrying required, just fill up the 1l dosing containers every couple of weeks.

No idea, don't care, someone has worked it out once (including me once) and I just use that. I think it was tank target of 7.5ppm NO3 and PO4 of 1.5ppm, looking back in my notes, but am actually dosing more than that I my solutions are 1.5 strength.

Yes. My tank is 180l, call it 200l, so I dose 40ml everyday of either Macro or Micro.

If you tank is 100l for instance, then Monday - 20ml Macro Tuesday - 20ml Micro Wednesday - 20ml Macro Thursday - 20ml Micro Friday - 20ml Macro Saturday - Have a rest. Sunday - Change 50% water. This is is of course dosing with high light and CO2. If not...

You might be able to rotate the reflectors on the tubes, deflecting light away from the tank, a handy way of lowering light levels when starting your tank up. When I moved my Vision 180 to high tech (ferts and CO2) , with T8 tubes, I rotated the reflectors round to keep light levels low for...

The chart below from http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105774 is a rough handy guide to light level. So with you 2 x T8 and tank depth about 20" you are low light, so nothing to be careful of. Must do if you have fish, else leave water as is, the nitrifying bacteria will feed...

Melting can be caused by lack of CO2 (or liquid carbon). If you didn't dose whilst away that would be your cause. Also dumping in liquid ferts (you don't mention brand) is generally not good. Some of the commercial single solution ferts contain various forms of liquid carbon which in overdose...

James' Planted Tank - Plant Deficiencies