Kimbubbley
Member
Forgot to tag you.. Now your tagged! 🙂
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Superfish Scaper Tanks
- Thread starter jameson_uk
- Start date
tomerus
Seedling
That is a beautiful tank right there! Thank you for replying. Good thing I asked. So no full blast with the lights but start at 50%. I will wait starting with setting up until my dimmer arrives. Again, thanks!
Kimbubbley
Member
Thank you 🙂 It's my first so still learn g and asking lots of questions, myself! Ukaps has loads of good advice. Don't forget to post pics, I would love to see 🙂
tomerus
Seedling
I will post photos for sure! Will you ever ramp up your light to 100% procent or is it just too much you think?
Kimbubbley
Member
I don't have a clue yet about this. I am waiting to flush the excess organics out of the substrate first and cycling the tank. I have no ammonia, but I get nitrite still at the moment. The plan is, when this has finished I will try increasing the lights by 10% and see what happens. I want the nitrites to be gone so I can put shrimp and snails in if I need to to counter algae growth, if (when?) it starts . And there is a little biofilm and diatoms on the wood that I would like to see cleaned up. So I don't want to up the lights yet and risk any problems.
Today I have removed the big rock that was weighing down the wood. The rock was having an effect on the water flow. And also shading some of the light into the tank. So I will be looking to see if they extra light is now there is no shade, is still OK for the plants.
I will post some pictures later when the lights come in 🙂
CalRed
Member
Hi @tomerus I can only speak from my experience but I have experienced algal blooms in my setup.
The things I would have done differently from the start are as follows:
1) Ensure that CO2 levels are at 30ppm at lights on every day. I had an issue with a blockage in my regulator which saw me without sufficient co2 until I cleared it. Its one variable you can keep constant fairly easily.
2) Think more about hardscape placement and flow. I've recently changed my lily pipe to a downward facing outlet as opposed to the standard output that flows just under the surface. Not only should that help minimise CO2 wastage (i think?) but it directs flow towards an area that I had green hair algae and staghorn algae recently. It may turn out that the flow suffers somewhere else but this comes down to hardscape placement which Im unable to change now.
3) A dimmer allows for more flexibility when trying to balance your tank. If CO2 and nutrients remain the same, light will be the variable you can alter when you need to, provided you keep up with maintenance. 50% once a week after tank cycling is advised but to be honest, i've had to change it about twice every 10 days. As @Kimbubbley mentioned, change as much water as you can initially.
Ive asked about the lighting and done some research online and its 269 PAR rating does seem quite high for a 40cm deep tank but again others may know more about the subject. What i would say is think about plant selection. I have some Anubias and Buce that would probably have preferred some more shade but they're doing ok. Again, with a dimmer you're not stuck with that intensity if it does become a problem.
I hope some of this helps, I've been chasing my tail so to speak through inexperience with CO2 injection but I have learnt from it through trial and error and also help from many of the members on the forum. You learn from your mistakes so don't despair if you have any issues, it might not be anything you could have helped after all.
I'd just say enjoy it and don't think twice about asking for help, even if its just to confirm something you think is the case 👍
The things I would have done differently from the start are as follows:
1) Ensure that CO2 levels are at 30ppm at lights on every day. I had an issue with a blockage in my regulator which saw me without sufficient co2 until I cleared it. Its one variable you can keep constant fairly easily.
2) Think more about hardscape placement and flow. I've recently changed my lily pipe to a downward facing outlet as opposed to the standard output that flows just under the surface. Not only should that help minimise CO2 wastage (i think?) but it directs flow towards an area that I had green hair algae and staghorn algae recently. It may turn out that the flow suffers somewhere else but this comes down to hardscape placement which Im unable to change now.
3) A dimmer allows for more flexibility when trying to balance your tank. If CO2 and nutrients remain the same, light will be the variable you can alter when you need to, provided you keep up with maintenance. 50% once a week after tank cycling is advised but to be honest, i've had to change it about twice every 10 days. As @Kimbubbley mentioned, change as much water as you can initially.
Ive asked about the lighting and done some research online and its 269 PAR rating does seem quite high for a 40cm deep tank but again others may know more about the subject. What i would say is think about plant selection. I have some Anubias and Buce that would probably have preferred some more shade but they're doing ok. Again, with a dimmer you're not stuck with that intensity if it does become a problem.
I hope some of this helps, I've been chasing my tail so to speak through inexperience with CO2 injection but I have learnt from it through trial and error and also help from many of the members on the forum. You learn from your mistakes so don't despair if you have any issues, it might not be anything you could have helped after all.
I'd just say enjoy it and don't think twice about asking for help, even if its just to confirm something you think is the case 👍
I bought one if these just over a month ago to house crystal reds and I'm very impressed. The tank build quality is good, the light is excellent, the HOB as supplied is useless but becomes acceptable after a few modifications and replacing the filter media.
I also bought a programmable controller for the light, which gives the light it's excellent rating. As a package, it's superb value for money, especially taking into consideration that my wife bought it for me as a gift!
I also bought a programmable controller for the light, which gives the light it's excellent rating. As a package, it's superb value for money, especially taking into consideration that my wife bought it for me as a gift!
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mario
Member
Hello, could you share how you modified the filter please? I also have one and I want to get out of the cartridges nonsense. Thank you.
How did you shrimp proof the hob inlet?
What I mean is, I've got this hob and it has a really awkward inlet connected to the skim inlet, that a simple sponge wouldn't fit over, unless I'm missing it.
Same as mine.
Get a longer sponge filter and cut a notch in it to allow for the right angle so you can cover the adjacent hole. I used this. Pre Filter Sponge,Saim... Amazon product ASIN B00RSPNQQK
Get a longer sponge filter and cut a notch in it to allow for the right angle so you can cover the adjacent hole. I used this. Pre Filter Sponge,Saim... Amazon product ASIN B00RSPNQQK
I see, thanks. It is a decent hob filter, but I hate how non shrimp safe it is, out of the box
The internals are next to useless. I removed the cartridges and using some pvc pipe fittings, redirected the flow to the bottom of the chamber, through a piece of sponge with a slit cut into it. I placed media on top of that. It can be a bit of a challenge to prime but imo it really improves the filter.
UrbanDryad
Member
I've recently picked up a second-hand Scaper 45, and this thread has been very useful reading - many thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences with it. How are your tanks doing now? Any tips and tricks over a year on?
My modifications (thus far using only second-hand stuff I already have):
Lauren at Tiny Menagerie says the skimmer is a death trap for shrimp, so I'll see about making a cover for it. And following the advice on this thread, I'll look into getting a dimmer that works with the light!
My modifications (thus far using only second-hand stuff I already have):
- I've put a fine foam pre-filter sponge on the intake. I considered tying one of the coarse foam pieces around it, but I felt like it wouldn't reliably protect shrimp or delicate fins, so I've got the fine foam on it for now since it was more able to fully enclose the intake.
- I've put two coarse foam pads inside a cartridge cage, specifically the final cartridge with the stopper on it, so the water is forced to travel through the foam.
- I'm planning to put some Biomax rings in the rest of the filter, and try to arrange it so the water goes through a polishing pad.
Lauren at Tiny Menagerie says the skimmer is a death trap for shrimp, so I'll see about making a cover for it. And following the advice on this thread, I'll look into getting a dimmer that works with the light!
