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I've dosed 1/3 recommended ei dose 4x a week (2macro 2micro) on some of my low techs, if you have a TDS meter you can gauge if the plants are using most of the nutrients added.

Hi Steve I would add to your list above, pre soak the driftwood or place large rocks on it or it may float once filled, once planted as your planning to use Amazonia substrate you will need to carry out large water changes for the first few weeks, around 50% every two or three days to remove the...

Hi Richard, https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/my-kitchen-nano.42798/ one of mine easycarbo only, I think the key to a good non co2 scape is plant choice and medium lighting, good luck with your new scape.

Hi Matt, I have found this a cheap and very good way of trying pressurised. Co2 http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/cheap-pressurised-co2-system-diy-guide.7696/ I used this system for a year or two on smaller tanks and the only downside was having to turn it off, in the end I ran the co2 24/7 at...

Very nice Manisha :-)

Hi Mark, thanks for the kind offer of the moss, it'd be worth giving it a try yourself I believe Java moss will do ok at higher temps, though it'll grow slower, I have no experience of discus but from what I've read on the subject frequent water changes are required to remove waste and uneaten...

Hi mark, with anubias and moss under low light you won't need co2, a lean dosing method would work, an all in one fert available from various sponsors, try half recomended dosage as a starting point, fwiw moss will probably not do well at the temps required for discus.

Buces and lilaeopsis will work low tech, I have them in mine under an aquael leddy light journal link is in my sig. Lilaeopsis has some hygro araguia mixed in not turned as red as I'd hoped but a nice mix all the same, as others have said plant the carpet as heavily as you can to get off to a...

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/allinone.htm good all in one fert recipies works well IME and cheaper than off the shelf stuff even with the cost of digital scales.

Profito doesn't contain a nitrogen or phosphorus source you have to buy them separately from the easy life range, the EI starter kit is much cheaper IMHO.

Only one thing for it jordi, another tank :lol:

Lol, dry starting the tank will have the same effect of mineralising the soil usually around 4-6 weeks is enough and it increases plant mass which is a bonus.

Really looks good, stands to be a shining example of what can be grown without co2, top job mate :thumbup:

Maybe a change in co2 levels due to evaporation while you were away, fussy plants crypts when they want to be, trim off all the melt nick and I'm sure they will grow back.

Look forward to the journal nick.

Looks great nick.

Prices are mental mate, eventually my oh will realise we will have to look further afield :lol: until then work save rent and work some more.

No mate struggling to save a deposit stuck in the eternal London rental trap at the mo :lol:, I do have space for a few of my tanks in what should be the dining area but I've commandeered it as my tank space ;-)

Hi sanj, thanks for the interest. The filter accident above led to the demise of this tank, I was planning a replacement but we are due to move soon so the hobby has pretty much been on hold of late. Cheers tim.

Lovely shots and fish ed.

Me too :-) every cloud has a silver lining :-) it'll give me the opportunity to set up a tank I've wanted to for a while now shallow plenty of emersed growth, I've had a run of filter related bad luck recently. suprisingly well ;-) got the mop out and started the cleanup for me :lol: weekend...

A weekend away without kids is a real novelty for the OH and myself, unfortunately returned today to find the spraybar on this had popped out of its suction cup and drained the tank all over the kitchen floor, filter motor has burnt out, not happy to say the least, about 4 inches of water left...

Hey Darrel, algae growth has slowed somewhat, I was away for a month and the tank as all my setups pretty much suffered from a lack of water changes, early days but the Gda/GSA on the glass hasn't returned little brown algae on the right side of the tank only which has plenty of sunlight (too...

The experiment continues and at the moment it's not going as well, flow through the spray bar became an issue uprooting the foreground plants so I've switched to some diy acrylic pipes, see how they go. Got some bba, GSA and gda, I'll keep this running to see if I can beat them back without co2...

Plant melt is normally a sign of more light than a plant can thrive under, check your lighting intensity.

This is a real beauty Faizal, so clean and healthy, really nice low tech.

I can elaborate on why I don't like it, it melts species of plant I like to use it is toxic to livestock at overdosed levels so I'd rather not risk long term effects to livestock by using it, I don't feel I need it all my opinion based on personal experience of using liquid carbon for over a year.

Will do, and I didn't know that, cheers

Nice looking tank, from my short experience with stems low tech, I keep the trimming to a minimum normally if they hit the surface or block flow/light from other plants I cut them back and replant the tops, sometimes uproot cut them replant the tops and discard the bottom portion if they are...

Ukaps rocks :-) look forward to seeing a journal when you move Alan :thumbup:

Thanks Allan, wish I'd started out in the hobby low light/ low tech tbh, so happy I found ukaps it's helped me grow plants :-)

Thanks Faizal, it's not as spotlessly clean and algae free as I'd like but it is fairly hassle free, plants are growing well and happy livestock, I just would like it a bit bigger ;-)

Quick update, started to get a little brown algae maybe due to sun hitting the tank maybe not ? Anyway changed the timing of the photoperiod to run along side the hours of most natural light see if there's an improvement Cheers for looking.

Filters not the most powerful, they have one setup in my lfs and it's got a fair few dead spots flow wise, strong light for such poor flow IMO.

Don't be too hard on yourself mate mistakes happen, add the new shrimp slowly just to be sure there are no residual pesticides left, don't know if maybe carbon in the filter for a while may help, low techs going well I'm away from home other than weekends at the moment I'll try and get a pic up...

Hi Faizal, sorry to hear about your shrimp mate, tanks looking lovely and healthy on the plant side though, lovely low tech scape.

Thanks very much.

I've switched to a spraybar on my 12 ltr clears it up in no time mate. You can make the holes bigger to ease the flow when you add your betta.

Changed a little, growth is good, a little too good so I've removed some of the hardscape to make room for plants, also removed all stems while growth was good it was more effort than I wanted trimming them. The tennelus didn't bounce back from its harsh trim so it's been replaced with...

I think Sulawesi shrimp require alkaline water edvet, probably not suitable for a black water setup.

Very nice edvet, really want a setup like this for licorice gouramis, wife won't allow another tank at the moment though :-( subscribed.

Hi Faizal, it's going well, not much in the way of algae plants growing slowly but well, I'll try and get some pics up at the weekend, hope your tanks still ticking along nicely too :-)

Thanks Sam there's a link on page 1 to the substrate, low techs cool mate especially if your running other tanks/ high tech as well, lighting intensity is key IMO. Ta for the good feedback mate.

Hey Faizal, good to see you back on here mate, hope life's treating you well, thanks for the nice comments low tech is pretty darn cool.

Thank you Maria :-)

Tbh I only test ph and Tds tapwater is 7 ph Tds of 320 ish tank is ph. 6.6 Tds of a steady 250 so it's doing a good enough job for my cherries but I think I'd use something else for crs etc. Thanks Iain :-) low tech is very appealing for sure.

There you go stu.

Thanks stu, I'll try and get a pic up later or maybe a quick iPhone vid may show it better.

Hi Al, thanks mate, dosing 5ml a week of diy tpn mix (James planted tank recipie) dose spread over 5days 2x 20% water changes a week.

Quick pic just for the record so to speak I've added some pogo erectus, I've also cut back the tennelus to remove a little algae which was on the leaves from the tank it came from interested to see how long it takes to grow back in. Also a few pinholes developing in the staurogyne lower leaves...

Added 12 cherries to the tank today on close inspection 5 are berried already will get some pics up of them soon :-) thanks for all the positive feedback so far :thumbup:

They are fairly old bulbs about 50 cm above the substrate, as long as it's not bba I'm happy to have a little algae as long as it doesn't take over :lol: it's free shrimp food after all :-)

Hi lindy, I use all 3 bulbs for 6 hours and I've rigged a 12v led strip to come on an hour before and it stays on for 3 hours after the main photoperiod, I've found the LEDs have stopped jumpers so far in what is a hectic household most of the time.

Thank you Darrel a lot of your posts have given me much food for thought :thumbup:

Thanks chaps :-) Hi john, I'm using the soil discussed in this thread Shrimp soil | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Cheers al, yours and big toms low tech scaping ability has been an inspiration mate. Hi three fingers, thanks for the feedback lighting should be ok it's flexible 3x8 w and can be switched individually so if too much algae pops up ill cut the lighting a little.

Hey Martin, yes mate blue jelly island is still running, good to see you back on here mate.

:oops: tennelus, bolbitus, rotala rotundifolia, various crypts and anubias, myrophillium, little bit of didlipis diandra, various moss (I'm not sure on species) echinodorus rubera ? Najas sp roraima, juncus repens, plus cladophora tied to the wood and a few lava rocks (I'm good at growing algae...

Hi folks, just starting this thread to record the progress of my little low tech experiment. Tank specs 48ltr fish box acrylic tank, boyu 3x8w t5, cristalprofi 700 external. Setup this a couple of months ago after reading this thread Co2 in a low tech | UK Aquatic Plant Society and being a...

Tanks looking good Faizal, I wouldn't change a thing :-) ( more frequent updates ) ;-)

C'mon Faizal, give us an updated pic, good to see your still about mate :thumbup:

Hi rick, have to agree with troi above water changes IMHO do more good than harm and I've had a few low techs run over the last couple of years not with soil substatre I will add but I have noticed a trend with my multiple tank setups, I have too many become busy at work and with life in...

I've tried this with a couple of my tanks with semi success, what I didn't account for was the plants that would sulk when you take their fix away, in retrospect I should have lowered light levels (intensity) and removed them on first signs of issue. I have had a low tech running for just over a...

Hi sue there's a good list of low tech plants in this thread help me choose the right plants | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Hi sue, not done a soil tank so can't help there but had one of these tanks, using just the one light gives a bit of an uneven spread but with clever hardscaping and planting will work fine I added another whit bulb and found it to be too much, 4.5 hours may work but 5-6 is the norm building up...

Would it be possible to fit or does your tank have a condensation tray between hood and water this could be covered in a couple of layers of frosted window adhesive backing to maybe diffuse the light without the need to remove a bulb add upside down reflectors maybe ?

Plenty of floating plants to diffuse the light or even reflectors under the centre of the bulbs to lessen the intensity could work mate, run with a short photoperiod to start and see how it goes, I think in trois soil article he recommends t8s maybe drop him a pm and see what he thinks.

Hi Faizal, definitely wood removed is the way to go, only thing I would do is swap the crypt back right with the anubias back right IMO the sense of depth you'll achieve then will be awesome will really lead the eye around the scape. Really nice tank looking forward to seeing this mature.

Really good looking scape you have put together Faizal, maybe tie some flame moss around the vertical wood at the back to soften its appearance, will enjoy watching this one grow in mate, good job :-)

Damn phone, sorry double post.

Good to see this back on track mate, look forward to following its progress.

Looks good mate I like the way the wood on the left has enough texture to mix well with the dragon stone, are the little lava rocks going to be covered in moss or riccia or will they be left bare ?

Hi keyboard warrior, no thread for that tank I'm afraid, it's been replaced with a 3 ft tank. I do miss the simplicity of that tank to be honest it was fairly stress free :-) co2 is just another building block for the plants to grow just with lower light you need less of it along with ferts and...

Technically not low tech, I was injecting co2, 15w t8 bulb 64 ltr fish box aquarium :-)

Mate calm down, if the link isn't working for you (it does on my I phone) google aquariumplantfood.co.uk click on fertilisers EI starter kit, they also do an all in one mix just add water and dose per instructions :-)

Thanks for the info in this thread very interesting

Good call mate know what you mean about worrying just did 35 days straight at work and watched as my tanks went to s**t still after today 3 weeks off to get back on top of things have a good holiday mate :thumbup:

That's a bloody good remedy nat :thumbup: are you gonna cut your photoperiod as well while your away mate

if its any help i started running co2 24/7 with a lower bubble rate on a tank that recieves sunlight not an ption to move it algae seems to have receded

another lovely tank mate shoy keeping up with the maintenance or is it left to you im trying hard to involve my four but all they want to do is choose fish and leave the rest to dad very nice tank good job shoy :thumbup:

pm your address mate and ill get that peacock moss in the post

lucky git havin a shed (live in a flat myself) i'll have some peacock moss in a couple of weeks if you want some mate i would kill for my own shed :lol: