Recent content by dw1305

Hi all, Just use a horticultural fertiliser <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination">. This is the nutrient breakdown. I'd just use an "all in one" fertiliser mix, but at a low dosage rate. If your <"plants are nitrogen limited"> they aren't going to...

Hi all, You can leave them both in if you wish. Have a look at <"Is expensive bio media worth it?"> & <"Replace biohome ultra with foam?"> "Activated charcoal" stops being "activated" but is fine as a <"biological filter medium">, same with the <"ADA Bio Cube">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, <"Same for me">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, They honestly look quite different - <"Hydrocharitaceae | NatureSpot">. You can see the leaf whorls in Elodea spp. in the link. If you find a plant that <"looks like this">? It is Lagarosiphon major. cheers Darrel

Hi all, "Curly leaves" is the easy way, but there are differences in the number of leaves in a whorl etc. The linked posts cover it in some detail. There are moves to legalise species that are unlikely to be invasive in the UK, but I'm guessing that "unlikely" could become "more likely" with...

Hi all, I'm sure that is fine and I wouldn't have any reservations about adding fish. I understand that as well. Caution is never a bad thing. If you can wait a few more weeks? I would. Yes, that is sort of the issue. That is why "plant mass and time" works, there isn't any ambiguity...

Hi all, We really don't know what causes any "algae" outbreaks. We think of <"BGA"> as a single entity, but there are hundreds of different species of cyanobacteria, some associated with <"low nutrient situations"> and some with eutrophication. Have a look at <"Fighting algae in a two year old...

Hi all, You just have a reasonable mass of plants in active growth, at that point the tank is fish safe whatever the test kit tells you. Normally the problems lie in the other direction <"where people write"> something like "I cycled my tank and my test kit results were perfect, but just...

Hi all, I'll be honest I'm never going any decisions based on what a NO3- and/or NO2- test tells me. You might be interested in this paper that has come my way via my "day job" <"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00381">* *Gawanker, S. & Masten S. (2023 ) "Development of an...

Hi all, They definitely look a bit pale, but that might just be the light "washing out" the colour in the photo? If they really are pale green? You could try going back to a "complete mix" and see if <"they green up any">? cheers Darrel

Hi all, It will depend a little a bit on the tank, but I usually give mine a swoosh around (under the tap) <"every couple of weeks">. Our <"water supply"> (in the UK) is <"relatively lightly chlorinated"> so you don't need to worry about "sterilising" your sponge <"Cleaning filter sponges in...

Hi all, <"Tropica Premium"> doesn't contain any nitrogen (N) or phosphate (PO4---). Because these are two of the nutrients that <"plants require most of"> and because of this we usually recommend a fertiliser that does contain them. I'm going to say that may well be where your problem lies...

Hi all, Algal spores are universal in non-sterilised water, so as soon as you create suitable conditions they will grow. cheers Darrel

Hi all, Welcome to UKAPS, Unfortunately this is <"quite a common finding">, but I'm going to say you are now in the right place now. When you have time read through: <"What is the “Duckweed Index” all about?">. In terms of plants have a look at the <"Tropica Easy"> range, they are likely...

Hi all, The problem is that it will return, if conditions remain suitable for it. Cyanobacteria, diatoms etc are pretty much universal in freshwater, they will always be present in your aquarium, but most of the time at a level low enough so that they aren't visible. cheers Darrel