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The Hook and Point (Time to shut down, i'll be back though)

Keetchy

Member
Joined
8 Nov 2019
Messages
439
Location
Milton Keynes
So I got my love back to this side of things with my little 60 litre tank. It was easy to maintain and it was successful. Turned into a nice little tank.

Now is time for me to step it up a bit and try on a bigger tank. So my new scape will be in a 160 litre tank. And so far I'm happy with it. But then again, it has only been running for less than 24 hours so still early doors yet. Lol.

Siamensis 53B
Bacopa
Palustris super red
Cryps Parva and couple of other Crypts
Monte Carlo
Tenellum
Buce Kadagang
Buce red
Anubias Mini
Trident fern
Windelov

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Thanks bud. Progress like this makes me love this side of the hobby :cool:
Yeah, its really awesome when it works out - it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out (decades!) how to consistently be able to run a planted tank :lol: ... and best of all, is that I now have a much better understanding why - in no small part because of UKAPS :)
 
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Yeah, its really awesome when it works out - it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out (decades!) how to consistently be able to run a planted tank :lol: ... and best of all, is that I now have a much better understanding why - in no small part because of UKAPS :)
Good stuff man. Yeah the guys on here definitely know their stuff and have massively helped me out along the way too. Everyday is a school day when reading through threads on here. Really nice to see the different style of tanks too, gives me different ideas
 
Help needed please guys. So mind the kiddy crayon lines. Lol. Yellow is flow from filter outlet, blue is flow from surface skimmer, red circle is Ludwigia super red struggling, orange circles are Ludwigia super red doing well.

So I'm guessing the Ludwigia is not doing well in the red area because of flow. Any suggestions how I can improve this? Other than a powerhead, as I think fitting a powerhead on that back glass panel will look out of place and will get in the way of the stem plants growing along that back panel.

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I've had one for three years. You'll find random plants floating and your substrate being rescaped when they reach full size.
 
I'm not so sure it's flow related as the filter inlet will be pulling water through that area. It could be a co2 dead spot but from a quick look it seems that area is more shaded, with the wood blocking more light, than where the others are, that look like they are more directly under the light. If that is the case then it might just not be the best spot for it, or somewhere where it will take longer to get going.
 
I've had one for three years. You'll find random plants floating and your substrate being rescaped when they reach full size.
Ah noooooo. I did think it would happen eventually as it gets bigger. Lol. That's why I put him in at a small size so gives the plants more time to fully settle into their roots before he starts mayhem. Lol. The albino bristlenoses are good for algae control right?

I'm not so sure it's flow related as the filter inlet will be pulling water through that area. It could be a co2 dead spot but from a quick look it seems that area is more shaded, with the wood blocking more light, than where the others are, that look like they are more directly under the light. If that is the case then it might just not be the best spot for it, or somewhere where it will take longer to get going.
Thanks man. Yeah after a closer look that's what I thought too, it's a light related issue more than flow. I have moved the light unit further back a touch but not too much as I don't want the MC to start suffering. I will keep an eye on its growth rate with the light further back
 
noooooo. I did think it would happen eventually as it gets bigger.
Some do some don't. I've got 2 and never had any major issues with them uprooting plants, sure if the plants haven't put any roots down then they could be disturbed as they rummage for food but never actively seen mine digging up established plants.

They do like to munch on the occasional leaf, echinodorus sp seem to be a preference in my tank.

Algae wise they're constantly grazing on the glass, wood and leaves for bio film, so yes they will help in algae control up to a point, that said mine will quickly devour any algae wafer tablets, blood worm etc that find their way to the bottom of the tank, so don't rely on algae alone to feed these beautiful creatures.
 
I recently lost my albino bristle nose and he was really good in the planted tank and didn't cause any issues until about 6 months ago (it was about ten years old). It became a pain with plants when I switched to a sandy substrate because it could flick this out of the way with its tail and uproot plants but before this I had a coarser substrate and it only uprooted the odd plant accident.
I barely had to clean the glass in the time it was in there and I would get another but I want to grow echinodorus again and they have stripped the leaves in the past.
 
Some do some don't. I've got 2 and never had any major issues with them uprooting plants, sure if the plants haven't put any roots down then they could be disturbed as they rummage for food but never actively seen mine digging up established plants.

They do like to munch on the occasional leaf, echinodorus sp seem to be a preference in my tank.

Algae wise they're constantly grazing on the glass, wood and leaves for bio film, so yes they will help in algae control up to a point, that said mine will quickly devour any algae wafer tablets, blood worm etc that find their way to the bottom of the tank, so don't rely on algae alone to feed these beautiful creatures.
Ah sweet. Mine is still really small so I'm sure the plants would have rooted properly by the time he's at a size to cause me any issues. Lol. And yeah I frozen blood worms and also algae wafers that I drop in the tank once a week before WC day

I recently lost my albino bristle nose and he was really good in the planted tank and didn't cause any issues until about 6 months ago (it was about ten years old). It became a pain with plants when I switched to a sandy substrate because it could flick this out of the way with its tail and uproot plants but before this I had a coarser substrate and it only uprooted the odd plant accident.
I barely had to clean the glass in the time it was in there and I would get another but I want to grow echinodorus again and they have stripped the leaves in the past.
Ah damn that's not good to hear. But just goes to show they do a good job then. I only ever see mine come out when the light goes off. Lol
 
This is related to my other tank I have. I was adamant I was gonna leave it with just rocks and sand, with no plants, but it looked so bare sat next to the bigger tank. So this happened. Lol.

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My plan is to take Bacopa and 53B trimmings out of the main tank and plant at the back of this one
 
So after some of your guy's suggestions, I have fitted another light so am now running 1 at the front and 1 at the rear to get full coverage. I will monitor the tank over the next few days and if I see algae starting to show, I'll either reduce the time on one of the lights or stick insulation tape over half of the white LEDs.

Before and after
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So as expected I am seeing algae growth on the plants. The plants that are suffering the most is the Trident attached to the wood in the middle of the tank. Which I guess is where the cone of light is hitting from both lights combined. I will cut out the algae infested leaves and monitor again. If the algae comes back again quickly, I will put each light on separate timers and maybe only have both of them on at the same time for 1 or 2 hours of the day, the other 4 hours will be just 1 or the other.
 
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