Sumped Cube

[not called Bob]

Think I forgot to mention it before, but the neons I got I suspected had come with neon tetra disease, well I'm almost certain now, as they age this is the case, so I'll let the thing run its course and take action if they seem in unnecessary distress, but for now besides a bit of body modification, you'd never know they are feeding and active.


I think the time has come to think about feeding the plants, there appears to be some chlorosis going on, excuse the floaters, they are free range and get a bit of down time so look a bit battered.

 

[not called Bob]

Yate, Coalpit Heath and Warmley (415)
Your drinking water supply is classed as hard.
Your water supply comes from surfaces waters (rivers)
Water composition
Calcium 89 mg/l Ca
Magnesium 7.2 mg/l Mg
Flouride 0.12 mg/l
Hardness 251mg/l
CACO3 18 UK Degrees Clark(C)
25 UK Degrees French(F)
15 UK Degrees German(dH)

Additional details
Alkalinity 160 mg/l CaCO3 No legal limit applies
Alkalinity 195 mg/l HCO3 No legal limit applies
Chloride 46 mg/l Cl Legal limit 250
Nitrate 20 mg/l NO3 Legal limit 50
Phosphate 1.7 mg/l P No legal limit applies
Sulphate 88 mg/l SO4 Legal limit 250
Sodium 35 mg/l Na Legal limit 200
Conductivity 585 μS/cm @200 C Legal limit 2500

Currently I have just been running tap water and the odd root tab, I currently have no plans to run gas (hopefully school restarts soon and I can go back out to sea for a few months and have a rest) as it would not be fair to add to the task list, this was part of why I had such a simple to run marine setup using this tank, so open to any and all suggestions on what sort of Fert regime I should go down.

 

[not called Bob]

Still growing away happily, though now have a reeflink so will increase the photo period and possibly power a little.

Had an otto and guppy wash up in the sump dead since last update. Normally weir riding does not seem to cause any harm, so maybe they were all ready on their way out. Sump is still a breeding ground for shrimp, plenty of life down there in the dark.

 

[not called Bob]

Water change last night and pinching the tips out, just before heading off to a stay in a quarenteen hotel pre work and tank looked OK.
It's not going to be waterchanged for at least a month so maybe a suplemental fed is needed in that time for the plants.

With dst I set the reeflink up and sorted the lights out, they will now slowly change over the next month to the longer and brighter settings.

 

[not called Bob]

Well considering I have been away since late March, the pic sent today looks like not too much feeding and topping up evaporation has been taking place.

Edited the weird multiple posts of the same image.

 

[not called Bob]

2+ months of neglect seems to do the world of good.

Not sure what's going on with surface plants, maybe the radion is frying them, but the submerged plants are doing well

 

[not called Bob]

Back from a weeks half term holiday and at 3 months of nothing being done it looks like I need a good cut, if any ones near North Bristol make your self known or the flower bed gets the cuttings.

 

[not called Bob]

@dw1305 could it be for me due to the lights output at the surface the floaters are being cooked, or is something else at play that I have overlooked. it used to grow like stink when the lights output was 10%, think though not checked its only at 40%, but it is a unit that packs a punch as it can support corals and anemones with no worries. the Duckweed Index was such a handy way in the early days, before the submerged life started to grow with gusto in this low-tech setup

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

at the surface the floaters are being cooked

Yes, it definitely could be. It may just be back to the <"first law of thermodynamics">, the energy (not used in photosynthesis) will end up as heat and then you may have thermal damage. It is Clive's <"Klingon photon death ray">.

cheers Darrel

 

[not called Bob]

With growth bursting out and into the air and children asking to see the fish again I finally did some tlc. A water change and grabbing a few fistfalls of plants, snapping and adding to the flowerbed as a green mulch. The stems are still in leaf, right to the base, so no need to replant anything.



Depends on how it settles overnight, but I might pull a bit more tomorrow. Excuse the fragments of leaf in view, they will soon settle and rot away.

 

[not called Bob]

A busy summer of rig removals and owf pre build work has had me away for a long time and returning with a duff back meant time just looking at the tank.

I love the tiger when it hits the surface and spreads out and goes green on top, yet keeps its lovely pattern when viewed from below.

But I realised that there's been a lot of shading and over growing, so rather than a water change, using the kids drawing table as a platform to stand on to reduce the bending, it was happy hacking time so its gone from this



To this



Needs a bit more, but don't want to do too much in one night, that's a big old change for the inhabitants. Plenty of bits awaiting fishing out from the sump comb or allowing to breakdown and be scavenged by the CUC.