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"Dutch something or the other" 120 Gal

plantbrain said:
Low KH is the key, GH can be quite high, but not needed.

Generally, the tap water is about 20ppm alkalinity as CaCO3 (or KH about a little over 1 degree).

So our tap water is very good, SF, NYC also have similar tap water, Seattle etc.

This makes a big difference for some species, most weeds though do not care.
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Crap!!! :thumbdown: my tapwater contains:
permanent hardness: 3,8 °dH
carbonat hardness: 16,5 °dH
total hardness: 20,1 °dH

Well, that explains why I always fail! And RO water isn't an option since I haven't found a RO unit big enough and afordable to use for my 325 l. tank! :arghh: But thanks for your answer! :thumbup:
 
Ebay has RO 50gpd for about 100$ USD or less that are decent.

2 large trash cans and a small pump to transfer the water should do it.
You'd mix 1/3 Tap water with about 2/3rds RO.

So a 150 liter water change ~ 50% water change you'd only need 100 liters, or one good sized trash can.
 
My problem is the waterpressure in our building - i bought a 4 stage RO unit 200 l/day but couldn't get the efficiency to be more than 15% even with a boostpump! :wideyed: So in these days of protecting the environment I couldn't get myself to use it!!! And I haven't got the possibility of collecting rainwater, which some do and afterward filter it :( So until I win the lottery and can afford a industrial machine with an efficiency of 95% I'll have to settle with not having UG! :rolleyes:

But is it the same with R.macrandra - does it also suffer with high kH?
 
Yes, mac does not do as well in hard water as softer KH's, you can simply avoid some species, you still have well over 200-300 species to work with and that are not touchy to higher KH valves. I had much harder tap water not long ago.
 
120gal4-29.jpg


EHweek3week.jpg


The Day's harvest: about 100$ worth of UG. That's 150$ for every 2-3 months.

beforereplanting.jpg

partialrepalnting.jpg

redoreplanting.jpg


Before:
6dffb532.jpg


After:
frontviewresizedUG.jpg


Rotala "sunset" is growing nicely and the leaves are getting larger and wider:

Rsunsetcloseupweek1.jpg

Rsunsettestweek1.jpg


Note the size increase the last 2 weeks on the Downoi scraps & stumps. Now folks would pay good $ for them.
I will move the R sunset to the middle row where the L inclinata is now and move that to the rear or just keep a little bit.
Then allow the downoi to fill back in nicely in the rest of the area:


The Ludwigia pilosa is doing nicely and has reddened up more than I thought it would. I'll keep the position it is at for now, it contrast better and is not as weedy as L inclinata.


Can you spot the fish recently added?
 
Nannostomus sp.? They look nice, how many did you add? Its interesting seeing the size difference between the amano shrimp and the fire shrimp too... the amanos are like giants!
 
Sorry for off topic (sorta),
Do the amano shrimp and cherry shrimp get along?
I have load's of cherry shrimp out populating a smaller tank, and would happily move them to 400 litre but am fearful the Amano shrimp would kill them?
I prolly have enough cherry shrimp to sustain SOME predation, but would rather not place them in harm's way.
Tom,your tank is quite beautiful considering the frequent moving/removing of plant's for sale,or just cause you want to.
Stop with all the moving, and selling already :lol:
A little trimming I guess, would be O.K.
 
Park said:
My problem is the waterpressure in our building - i bought a 4 stage RO unit 200 l/day but couldn't get the efficiency to be more than 15% even with a boostpump! :wideyed: So in these days of protecting the environment I couldn't get myself to use it!!! And I haven't got the possibility of collecting rainwater, which some do and afterward filter it :( So until I win the lottery and can afford a industrial machine with an efficiency of 95% I'll have to settle with not having UG! :rolleyes:

But is it the same with R.macrandra - does it also suffer with high kH?
Click to expand...

Sorry for off topic again. There is a membrane pump available witch connected to your RO will give you about 60-70% good water out of the unit. :thumbup: it costs about 80-100 euro though but is well worth it.
 
Piece-of-fish said:
There is a membrane pump available witch connected to your RO will give you about 60-70% good water out of the unit. :thumbup: it costs about 80-100 euro though but is well worth it.
Click to expand...

Do you have a link?
 
Google self regulating booster pump, or just booster pump it should have 80PSI pressure at least
 
roadmaster said:
Sorry for off topic (sorta),
Do the amano shrimp and cherry shrimp get along?
I have load's of cherry shrimp out populating a smaller tank, and would happily move them to 400 litre but am fearful the Amano shrimp would kill them?
I prolly have enough cherry shrimp to sustain SOME predation, but would rather not place them in harm's way.
Tom,your tank is quite beautiful considering the frequent moving/removing of plant's for sale,or just cause you want to.
Stop with all the moving, and selling already :lol:
A little trimming I guess, would be O.K.
Click to expand...

Amanos and cherries are fine, but in a bare tank underfed, then perhaps........

Fire/cherry shrimp are that which cannot die.

As far as not moving things around, it's still an experimental test tank really.
Some areas feel good so they are left alone. Others need more work.

If the tank is static, then I'm not learning.

My 180 Gal is like that, stable and set in place. See what evolves and trim only.
This is the one tank not like that.
 
Hi Tom,

I was always wondering if you've got some tips about water distribution around the tank, especially in the ones with lots of hardscape as yours. Your system looks rather simple, with one single outlet .. does the flow manage to cover all areas of the tank?

I have also a personal question, is it OK if I switch my filter to am Eheim wet/dry, I plan to upgrade mine anyway to a powerful one and I wanted someone with more experience to backup my choice. I know a sump is a better choice but I don't have space for one and I also have some issues with noise at night :)

Cheers,
Mike
 
clonitza said:
Hi Tom,

I was always wondering if you've got some tips about water distribution around the tank, especially in the ones with lots of hardscape as yours. Your system looks rather simple, with one single outlet .. does the flow manage to cover all areas of the tank?

I have also a personal question, is it OK if I switch my filter to am Eheim wet/dry, I plan to upgrade mine anyway to a powerful one and I wanted someone with more experience to backup my choice. I know a sump is a better choice but I don't have space for one and I also have some issues with noise at night :)

Cheers,
Mike
Click to expand...

Ehiem is a good choice, that's generally what I could chose. ADA fan boys might chose ADA super jet for 4x the price.
See the 180 Gal video I posted for flow.
 
plantbrain said:
Ehiem is a good choice, that's generally what I could chose. ADA fan boys might chose ADA super jet for 4x the price.
See the 180 Gal video I posted for flow.
Click to expand...

Where do we find this video Tom ? Do you have a link ?
 
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