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Low tech, zero skill

I think it’s Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20. So spot on! Looks like your tank is cycled and could think about adding something living and see how it goes!
Woohoo, that's cheered me up a bit.
Off to order some snails- it sounds mean but if anything is going to die off I'd rather it be an invertebrate.
 
Looks like I have BGA in addition to the regular type, fantastic:arghh:.
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I haven't updated this for a long time bit there have been a few changes (largely due to the wife:
Stock is now:
10x ember tetra
4x CPD
3x honey gourami
5x panda corydoras (one bred in this tank)
1x bristlenose
3x amano
4? x horned nerite
??? Crystal red shrimp

My mrs decided she wanted s small tank downstairs with a bonsai in but, following a floating incident and it ripping up most of her plants, I rescued it from going in the bin and shuffled it in to here.
Looks a bit pants but I couldn't let it go in the bin considering the cost!

I added a CO2 kit last week and have it set very low (1 bubble per 3 seconds) but seems to be helping already. Photo taken at feeding time with filter on low, I dont usually have loads of stuff floating around!

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I'm going to see if any of the carpet plants can actually spread nicely in the short term, long term this will be replaced with something bigger.
 
Looks like my 2kg FE is nearly empty already. New one coming tomorrow, I'll triple check the bottle pressure this time, I'm not convinced the last one was full. Less than 2 weeks seems very quick to empty, especially at less than 0.5 BPS 8hrs a day.
I'll have to soap and water the connection to the regulator this time to be 100% there are no silent leaks.
 
Looks like my 2kg FE is nearly empty already. New one coming tomorrow, I'll triple check the bottle pressure this time, I'm not convinced the last one was full. Less than 2 weeks seems very quick to empty, especially at less than 0.5 BPS 8hrs a day.
I'll have to soap and water the connection to the regulator this time to be 100% there are no silent leaks.
No sign of leaks and pressure looks good. See how long this one lasts!
Bonus- the new extinguisher came with a wall bracket
 

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At 0.5bps id expect it to last at least 6 months, 8f not longer. For comparison a 2kg lasts me 2 months on a 200l tank with an uncountable bubble

At 0.5bps id expect it to last at least 6 months, 8f not longer. For comparison a 2kg lasts me 2 months on a 200l tank with an uncountable bubble rate.
That's what I thought, I can't figure out what went wrong other than a potentially low FE to start with. I've followed all the CO2Art leak check steps and the connection on this new one is fine so fingers crossed.
 
I haven't updated for a while but this is the tank today, post water change and with a lot of CO2 mist. Now up to 1BPS.
I'm finding CO2 a pain at the minute, currently waiting for a replacement needle from CO2Art. I set the BPS but overnight it drops so I'm in the old inconsistent CO2 trap despite investing in a top-end setup.

I think the 'carpet' is coming along but I'm considering replacing the Java fern in the tree with something smaller like Monte Carlo or maybe even anubias / bucephalandra.
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Bit of an update:
CO2 now stable thanks to a new needle valve. Currently running 1bps.

Light replaced with a Chihiros RGB A451.

Plants seem to be doing well, just a bit of BBA and hair algae but nothing serious.
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Male gourami isn't in a good way, looks pale, has a bloated abdomen and not swimming well. Fully expect to have an ex-fish in the next day or so.
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Bit of an update:

Another gourami keeled, down to 1 now. So far looking healthy but we'll see what happens.

I've stripped all the moss and most of the lava fern from the tree. The only bits left were really well attached so left them to it.
My final attempt at polishing this turd of a wood is to see if red stems will grow bushy and make it somewhat tree like.
The Yorkshire in me is determined to put this £40+ monstrosity to use seeing as I've paid out for it but I'm 90% it will be binned in a couple of months.

Also put some anubias petite from the charity auction on a couple of rocks, that looks ok.

CO2 has made a massive difference to the carpet and new Chihiros light brings the reds out on everything.
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Not going well, I've lost maybe 3 CPD this week. All other fish are fine.
I added 10x new ones after 2 week quarantine but it's the existing ones that seem to be dying. Nothing obvious I can see on them so my current theory is that they're getting beef from either the remaining gourami or one of the new CPD.
 
It turns out the last photo was the best it ever looked. We started having an extension built in April and all tank maintenance was put off as 'it'll need moving soon'. I'll finally be in a position to move it in to the new room later this week, just the small inconveniences of 3 flights of stairs and me never having moved a planted fish tank before.

Any tips?
I was thinking of taking out all wood and rocks; trimming down the crypts etc. and then catching as many fish as I can and sticking them in a tub with a filter before draining right down and attempting to move with substrate still in place. Not sure if it'll work.
 
I've moved a small tank like this without removing the hardscape. I just drained it down as much as I could, then slid it onto an appropriate sized coffee table, moved it to new location on the table then slide across to new location. Obviously, you'll need some help.
 
Looks like I have BGA in addition to the regular type, fantastic:arghh:.
Hi @mrhoyo

It is not unusual for Cyanobacteria (aka BGA) to grow exactly as your photo shows. That's because Cyano need iron and this is more plentiful where there is less oxygen available - such as in the substrate. But, Cyano also needs light and, hey presto, it gets just that where light falls on the tank. Using a pipette, I inject a few drops of Easy-Life Blue Exit into the affected area of the substrate. This is usually effective in killing off the Cyano. Some people simply apply suitable tape to the outside of an aquarium to block the light but it's a bit of an eyesore.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

JPC
 
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