So…. Have I made the biggest newbie mistake yet?

[Jimmyc]

Thanks darrel I’ll definitely have a good read on those links you’ve shared. Funny you should mention about the frogbit, because for the last couple of weeks, it’s changed? The roots weren’t growing and i had what looked like diatoms showing agin on what little roots there were. In the last few days, they have been coming back to looking good again.

Yeah me and the wife are very happy with the progress, I’m sure I’ll get better at it with time.
Thanks
James

 

[Jimmyc]

Tank looks great! Plants all look healthy from what I can see and it looks like sensible stocking you've went with, it looks much better than my first effort a couple of years back 🙂

Ahh really appreciate your opinion. I thought we had over stocked it haha? I ended up buying a second filter for it in the hope i didn’t harm any fish or plants. Probably slight over kill on my part.

 

[Mattant1984]

Hi all,

Active substrates (substrates that exchange a H+ ion for a calcium ion (Ca++) from the water column) will be exhausted a lot more quickly in harder water, they will stop having a water softening effect, but it doesn't really matter.

It would stay "active" for longer, have a look at <"Tropica soil raising my KH">. Personally I'm a rain water user.

It will. You can get figures from your water supplier, or <"just look at the map">, but all of the "N. Kent Riviera" will have hard water from the chalk aquifer. In terms of fish there are some web pages that may be of interest <"Factsheets">.

I'll also add in @Mattant1984, as they don't live a million miles away.

cheers Darrel

Hi mate, I live in Canterbury so not far from you and as Darrel said I also have hard water.
I've just learnt to live with it and I've just worked out what works and what doesn't. Some plants thrive and some just don't but that's the beauty of it, a bit of trial and error.
I also only use tap water.

I've actually only just started up the hobby again after about 18 months away because I was obsessing so much over my tank it was genuinely stressing me out, to the point where I wasn't enjoying it.
I've just started up a small 35 litre and kept it very basic with simple plants amd fish and it's doing really well and I'm loving it.
So what I'm getting at is don't let the science and crazy amounts of conflicting info take over, set up your tank and enjoy it and if certain things don't work then don't worry.

 

[Mattant1984]

.

 

[Jimmyc]

Hi mate, I live in Canterbury so not far from you and as Darrel said I also have hard water.
I've just learnt to live with it and I've just worked out what works and what doesn't. Some plants thrive and some just don't but that's the beauty of it, a bit of trial and error.
I also only use tap water.

I've actually only just started up the hobby again after about 18 months away because I was obsessing so much over my tank it was genuinely stressing me out, to the point where I wasn't enjoying it.
I've just started up a small 35 litre and kept it very basic with simple plants amd fish and it's doing really well and I'm loving it.
So what I'm getting at is don't let the science and crazy amounts of conflicting info take over, set up your tank and enjoy it and if certain things don't work then don't worry.

Nice one 👍🏻 thanks for the reassurance. Yeah i really want to try and keep it as simple as possible, but not get lazy with it, if that makes sense? I kinda regret actually posting this thread to be honest! It’s not a cheap hobby as everyone knows ( all dependant on what you want of course ) and with the amount of time and money invested, i went into panic mode lol and wanted to prepare for something that may not have even been such an issue. Your tank looks great by the way 😁, I’m in the middle of planning another right now ( ADA 45 p ) and I’m thinking I’m going to do a low tech no hassle breeding tank? Though that might change. I have a 60 p currently doing a dark start, and looking forward to plant it up. Thanks
James

 

[Mattant1984]

Nice one 👍🏻 thanks for the reassurance. Yeah i really want to try and keep it as simple as possible, but not get lazy with it, if that makes sense? I kinda regret actually posting this thread to be honest! It’s not a cheap hobby as everyone knows ( all dependant on what you want of course ) and with the amount of time and money invested, i went into panic mode lol and wanted to prepare for something that may not have even been such an issue. Your tank looks great by the way 😁, I’m in the middle of planning another right now ( ADA 45 p ) and I’m thinking I’m going to do a low tech no hassle breeding tank? Though that might change. I have a 60 p currently doing a dark start, and looking forward to plant it up. Thanks
James

As I said just enjoy it and enjoy this forum.
There are a huge amount of members that have a crazy amount of knowledge of the fishkeeping world on here and it's a great place to learn

 

[ElleDee]

Hi all,

Active substrates (substrates that exchange a H+ ion for a calcium ion (Ca++) from the water column) will be exhausted a lot more quickly in harder water, they will stop having a water softening effect, but it doesn't really matter.

It would stay "active" for longer, have a look at <"Tropica soil raising my KH">. Personally I'm a rain water user.

Wait, I thought an "active" soil referred to it's ability to hold nutrients (CEC) rather than its store of adsorbed acid cations? So you can have a soil that has lost its buffering capacity but is still active. No?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Wait, I thought an "active" soil referred to it's ability to hold nutrients (CEC) rather than its store of adsorbed acid cations?

That is a good question and I'm not sure there is an exact definition.

I've regarded "active soils" as substrates that reduce hardness and alkalinity via ion exchange - <"ShrimpKing Active Soil 8 l">,

......... It deliberately changes the water into a slightly acidic and soft way, as most animals and plants want in their habitat. As a natural ion exchanger, it lowers the pH and stabilises it slightly in an acidic range (about 6.0-6.5). At the same time, it reduces the carbonate hardness - depending on the starting water to approx. 0-2 ° dKH - making the water significantly softer. It also serves as a natural source of valuable humic and fulvic acids without colouring the water.........

and "plant growth substrates" as substrates where those ion exchange sites have been pre-loaded with nutrients? - <"Colombo Nutri Base 5L - Soil Substrate For Aquarium Plants">

...... The open structure of the nutrient-rich base maximises water flow through the bed for optimal bacterial growth. Colombo Nutri Base contains all the important nutrients and minerals for optimal plant growth. ......

It would be the same process in either case, with both types exchanging ions with the tank water dependent upon the concentration gradients and <"the lyotropic series">. These substrates <"will be clay based">, just because clay (and humus) are the material with cation (and anion) exchange capacity.

I like <"Lenntech: ion exchange for dummies">, I'm not a chemist and I've found it really useful.

cheers Darrel