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Rod for my own back?

pat1cp said:
Well......that was eventful. I was trying to prime the filter by tipping it slightly, one way then the other.........then the outlet hose popped off the filter head :oops:

PS - My thumb still doesn't work on my phone.
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😂
You know what they say about the rule of three’s!! Maybe avoid high ladders and sharp objects for a little while eh…..just as a precaution. 😳
 
pat1cp said:
Well......that was eventful. I was trying to prime the filter by tipping it slightly, one way then the other.........then the outlet hose popped off the filter head :oops:
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You were just checking the output flow of the filter and if the cabinet is properly sealed, right?

pat1cp said:
PS - My thumb still doesn't work on my phone.
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At least you now have reminder why cyanoacrylates and latex gloves go very well together ;) You can try rubbing cooking oil (which usually has little or no effect) or acetone (if the affected area is very small), but the safer route is simply waiting.
 
arcturus said:
You were just checking the output flow of the filter and if the cabinet is properly sealed, right?


At least you now have reminder why cyanoacrylates and latex gloves go very well together ;) You can try rubbing cooking oil (which usually has little or no effect) or acetone (if the affected area is very small), but the safer route is simply waiting.
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Hi @arcturus I was amazed at the output flow for a relatively small filter, quite impressive how much water got all over the floor in such a short space of time.

With regards to the cyanoacrylate, I've taken the waiting route, picking bits off periodically. The bits that got onto the backs of my fingers proved to be the most painful to remove (hairy) !!
 
pat1cp said:
Hi @arcturus I was amazed at the output flow for a relatively small filter, quite impressive how much water got all over the floor in such a short space of time.
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I once placed a "small" circulation pump inside a bucket of water without any hoses to check if it was working and if the output flow was decent. The short experience ended up with water dripping from the ceiling - and I live in a old house with 3.5m high ceilings... let's not forget that a 800 litre/hour pump outputs a full cup of water (~220 ml) per second ;)
 
Patience is wearing a bit thin :confused:

Nitrite and nitrates are reading zero'ish. As it's quite a small tank with I'd say about 4 litres of soil am thinking the process may be done ? Am I safe to order the plants and plant it early next week ? It's been sat running for 11 days now with one 50% water change 5 days ago.
 
Hufsa said:
Should nitrate be at 0 if there are no plants in the tank? I would have thought the goal would be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and any amount of nitrate. But maybe I am not understanding this way of starting a tank
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Could be me not understandingthe process. I'm not good with the chemical side of things, tend to rely on water changes. Apologies for my ignorance, I thought the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate cycle were all intertwined.
 
Hm lets see then.
The main reason for a dark start is to get over the ammonia bump that is released by the soil, please someone correct me if I am wrong?
Delicate baby invitro plants dont like to sit and stew in ammonia.

Ammonia gets turned into nitrite by archaea and bacteria, and then a second process turns nitrite into nitrate.
Once we have arrived at this "end" stage, the nitrate will just stick around until either plants or some deep anaerobic substrate eats it.
So since you dont have any plants yet, I would expect some sort of reading for nitrate, to indicate that we're all set to go adding plants.
Alternatively, just a 0 reading for ammonia could be ok, I dont know how plants feel about nitrite tbh. @dw1305 can you set me straight here?

Do you have a test for ammonia @pat1cp
 
Hufsa said:
Hm lets see then.
The main reason for a dark start is to get over the ammonia bump that is released by the soil, please someone correct me if I am wrong?
Delicate baby invitro plants dont like to sit and stew in ammonia.

Ammonia gets turned into nitrite by archaea and bacteria, and then a second process turns nitrite into nitrate.
Once we have arrived at this "end" stage, the nitrate will just stick around until either plants or some deep anaerobic substrate eats it.
So since you dont have any plants yet, I would expect some sort of reading for nitrate, to indicate that we're all set to go adding plants.
Alternatively, just a 0 reading for ammonia could be ok, I dont know how plants feel about nitrite tbh. @dw1305 can you set me straight here?

Do you have a test for ammonia @pat1cp
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Thanks for the reply @Hufsa ,unfortunately, no I don't have an ammonia test kit, but will have in the morning thanks to Amazon.
 
When you get that you will know, I assume that you are not ready yet, it typically takes 3-4 weeks to cycle a tank (which is what the dark start does with an NH3 source in the aquasoil).
 
Presumably I'm good to go.
20220201_094342.jpg
 
Hufsa said:
For plants, yeah id plant it up and get that baby growing, just a slight reading.
Wouldnt add fish yet but unless I have misunderstood that was not the plan yet
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You're right @Hufsa no fish yet, probably a month before adding livestock as I'm away for a few days at the end of the month. I took a bit of punt, plants arriving today. I'm meeting someone for a beer after work, I'll get it planted after that. I usually find I'm more "creative" then :cool:
 
As I'm not intending on introducing any live stock for a couple of weeks at least, and then probably just a few shrimp, can I go "full bansai" on the CO2 and get the drop checker luminous yellow ?
 
I'll update tomorrow, waiting on the hygrophila arriving in the morning. I'll do a water change and stick up a picture.
 
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