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Just a wee update. The lighting doesn't need dimming, so it turns out - it seems just about right for keeping my low-light plants going without too much algae growth. I've had a rescape with wood, wasn't happy with the lava rock look. The tank contains 15 CRS and CBS at grades A-SS, and 6...

Forget that, MA Wheatley as suggested had some! Fantastic, thank you

Thanks all. Rare Aquatics looks a winner, hopes to have some in in a couple of weeks

Bit of a long shot, but does anyone happen to know of a shop with some zebra otos currently in stock? Trying to get hold of a group but they seem to be rarer than a rare thing. I'm in Andover, but I'd travel a couple of hours for them. Anyone spotted any?

As I understand it, all crystal red shrimp that now exist in the world can trace their ancestors to three (well, two out of three) original shrimp discovered by a collector in a horde of thousands. Because of this, they are extremely delicate. So inbreeding of shrimp in the way you suggest...

I'm running it for 6 hours at the moment. I'm not sure about dimming, but even if it does need it it will have to wait - can't afford the controller at the moment!

I got the light and mounting bracket from Aquaessentials in the end, might be able to find a better price but I had some loyalty points to spend. The lava rock was all thrown in when I bought the tank, so it seemed a shame not to use it. It's great for mosses.

I decided to upgrade the lighting, and have gone for the new TMC mini 400 LED tile. It's pretty powerful, but gives a beautiful shimmer to the tank. Added a few more plants (anubias and java fern) and I should be receiving some new mosses tomorrow in the post. Plan now is for this to be a CRS...

Yeah I don't really know what the score is with them, I just know they can replace the controller. I would imagine you still need a power supply, but didn't that used to be the case with a Tmc controller too? I have seen them very cheap on eBay in the past, but I can't comment on whether they're...

http://coventryaquatics.com/marine-ghl- ... bbb1b50ffe Cheaper than an aquaray controller anyway...

Here is a quick photo from my phone of the LED tile with the Mountaray. There's no other lights on in the room: Not the best photo, but shows the setup. I have to say it is the perfect size for my 40 x 40 x 40 cube. If anything it's a little too bright for my low-light setup, but it can...

Thanks Ollie. That looks really good, in my opinion

Ordered mine too, will try to get a pic up.

If you wouldn't mind that would be great. These bulbs look good for a small tank but not a lot of info about them - would be interested to see some in use.

Both Aquaessentials and reefstore have the brackets in stock now - 20 quid. What size tank you putting it on?

Hi I'm looking for a decent LED lighting solution for my 40cm cube tank (60l). I don't want it to be too bright, I just want the shimmer effect and enough light for a "low light" setup - to grow mosses, anubias etc I have considered (and still am) the TMC range - they have a small clip on...

Reviving an old thread but does anyone have any experience with these tiles yet? I'm considering one for a 60l cube but I wonder if the micro led version would be big enough instead - I only want to grow mosses, java fern etc. Also, anyone seen the difference between the microhabitat LED...

Nice. I was thinking white calvus for mine, or gold-heads if I could find some. Probably Transcriptus for the julies, but not 100% on that yet.

Hi Ollie It's 150 x 40 x 60 (tall). I'm planning to add a pair of julies, pair of comps/calvus, and a pair of gobies. It's just a question of tracking down the right fish.

Interesting reading. Right, change of plan, I'm going to have a go at CRS in this tank, and leave it at that. Wish me luck...

Thanks all for the help. I'll stick with the light for now then, and I'll go for mosses, java fern, mini anubias. What about pelia, will that grow in those sort of conditions, or am I better sticking to java/christmas/flame moss etc?

Not strictly a planted tank, as such. But I thought folk might be interested to see my Tanganyika 350l, it's a little bit of a twist on the usual ocean rock/cobbles. The lighting is provided by 2 Aquarays and 2 AquaFX tubes. It could reasonably be called "low tech" :P No ferts, no CO2...

Hi Radik Thanks for your reply. I've been reading a little about the problems with bacteria in different groups. I do have a spare 20l in which I guess I could quarantine the second group - the idea would be to slowly mix the water between the two tanks over say a 2-week period, right? I do...

Thank you for the advice, all of those species look like good bets. I'm wondering about changing the LED lighting (I could sell the BiOrb light and get one of the clip ons from All Ponds Solutions or even a TMC micro 200 or mini 400 with a bit more cash). Not a lot of info around about nano LED...

Hi I bought a 40x40x40 cm (60l) cube tank at the weekend in which I plan to keep shrimp. The seller provided with it a BiOrb "intelligent" LED light unit - this is the one with 4 bright white LEDs and a blue one, it operates on a 24 hour cycle. It's quite an elegant looking thing and sits...

Sort of answering my own question here, but leaning towards the second combo I suggested. Yellow cherries first up, then blue tigers as the "harder" species. It seems to me that blue tigers are somewhere between cherries and CRS in terms of difficulty, is that fair? That being the case I'd aim...

Hello folks Looking for a bit of advice on my new setup. I've just bought a 60l cube tank on eBay. It's filtered by a Dennerle nano external, and lit by a BiOrb LED light unit. My plan is to turn it into a shrimp tank holding 2-3 colourful species. The substrate is inert dark sand, and the...

Thanks for the very quick reply. I have not heard of trident java fern, I'll have a look. I take it there are no small crypts or similar that would cope with those conditions? Nothing really that I can plant in the substrate? Here's a pic of the tank as it stands (excuse the quality).

Hi all Looking for a bit of advice on a "very" low tech shrimp set-up. I've bought on ebay a 40cm cube tank (60l) in which I plan to keep a couple of species of shrimp. It is lit by one of those BiOrb "intelligent" LED lights, which gives a lovely effect to the tank but is by no means bright...

Thank you for that very helpful reply. I think you're right in that by it's nature (the "E" in EI) recommendations will vary a bit. I just thought it odd that FSP and APK were *so* far apart. I think I will aim for a middle ground, my tank doesn't have very high light. I just don't want to...

Hi Thank you, that's the one I was using. I just wondered why the numbers it gives are so much higher than what aquariumplantfood recommends. The calculations are as below - perhaps I will switch to using those numbers... Day 1 50% Water change 7/8 tsp Potassium Nitrate KNO3 5/16 tsp...

Hi I have a 2 month old planted tank (360l). Up until now I have been using the pre-mixed fertiliser from aquariumplantfood.co.uk but once my initial supply ran out last week I decided to switch to EI to save a bit of cash. I bought the starter kit from the same website, but now I am a bit...

Ok so I've added a 5200 lph koralia, flow seems fairly good now and bubbles getting everywhere. Increased co2 to a bubble rate I almost can't count, and lighting now a straight 6 hours a day. Have done two large water change this week so far. Brown and hair algae look better, got some staghorn...

Yes, the tank shape makes things a bit tricky. I can't realistically add a second CO2 source, although I agree that would be the ideal. The larger filter on that side of the tank pretty much fills the cabinet together with the various other equipment that's stored in there. I've done a fair...

Hi there thank you for the reply, I appreciate it. I can certainly tone down the lighting, I see what you're saying about the low-light phases. as for the flow issue, the new pump should arrive tomorrow and I also have access to a 5200lph version too. I thought this might be too much for the...

Thanks for the reply. Below is a photo of the whole tank (sorry for the terrible quality, only have phone to hand). The longer spray bar on the left as you look at the tank is attached to a 2000lph external. The shorter bar on the right is attached to a 1400lph filter with the inline CO2...

Hi all I am having a few algae issues with my month-old tank. Nothing too serious at the moment, but I'm just trying to understand exactly what I have - any help would be great. My setup is a 350l tank with 150W of T5 lights, plus two "Aqua FX" LED tubes as supplementary lighting and for...

Plant list then: Ebay: Hygrophila Polysperma 'Rosa Nervis' Cabomba (green and red) Very impressed with all of these, especially for the price (effectively 30 stems for about £7.50). AE (Aquafleur): Sagittaria Platyphylla Pogostemon Helferi Bolbitus Heudelotii Nymphaea Zenkeri Bulb...

Re: Newbie planted 150 x 40 x60 (Updated 14/04) So finally got some plants in! Here's the (nearly) finished article. Still a few more plants to go in which haven't arrived yet. As you can see, it's sort of a wild approach. I'm pretty pleased with the layout of the wood for the most...

I think its ebay or nothing tbh. I have a 2000ef and a 1400, both excellent value for money in my opinion. you do need to buy some extra media though, so factor that in.

Re: Newbie planted 150 x 40 x60 (Updated 14/04) Future residents :)

Re: Newbie planted 150 x 40 x60 - from the beginning... Hi again So, a bit of an update: Over the weekend we set up the tank, filters, lighting etc etc. For the first time in my tank-owning history, I made the effort to plan the positioning and installation of the equipment in advance, and as...

Answering my own question, have attached my reg today to my FE, and the working pressure is about 2.2ish, so I imagine it should be fine with the atomizer (which hasn't arrived yet). Cheers

I rang round all the local fire safety companies until I found one that will do an exchange (new for old) on FEs for a tenner. Presumably they send them off to refill. I couldn't find anywhere local to me that would actually refill them on site.

Welcome!

Re: Newbie planted 150 x 40 x60 - from the beginning... Wood arrived today! Not sure if I have quite enough, might have to order some more and/or combine it with the Redmoor from my old tank. I'll try to get some pics up.

Thanks for the info soad - looks like it will be a close run thing.

Who is that supplier, out of interest?

Hi. I've bought this reg: http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/tmc-v2-pressure-regulator-pro-with-solenoid-valve-p-3702.html It looks pretty well built, but there is nothing in the instructions about being able to alter the working pressure. Now, I have also ordered one of the UP atomizers from...

Re: Newbie planted 150 x 40 x60 - from the beginning... Thanks for the comments. Corki, that's very kind of you to do the EI calcs for me, a job I was too lazy for. I may well give them a shot depending on how I get on with the pre-mix. Received my other filter today (exactly the same but...

Edit: Cross posted on PFK, for info. Hi Well following a lot of reading and some great advice on this forum and over on PFK I am finally getting to the point that I can start my first planted tank build! It's a bit daunting to be honest... Hopefully if I can keep this thread updated you kind...

Makes sense :) I think I'm going to stick to sand alone and trust myself to keep on top of the water column dosing. Might put a bit of osmocote at the very bottom just for a little extra help.

For anyone interested, I got these from Cov Aquatics in the end. £169.99 delivered for the twin 54w, and they switched the bulbs to my choice.

Msny thanks to both of you. The hole in the cabinet base is an idea I considered but it still wouldn't be talk enough. Might have to stick to smaller FEs, its just a shame as these cylinders are both convenient to me and a bargain.

Thanks ceg

Hi I live near Andover Patio Centre who sell 81cm tall co2 cylinders on a rent-free basis for about £20. Really good deal, but the cylinders are apparently 81cm tall, which is too high for my cabinet. It "might" fit, if I was able to wedge the cylinder in on the diagonal at the back of the...

Thats great thanks. I quite like the snails :) Should I be after any particular osmocote - eg osmocote "plus"? I take it I just bury the little capsules deep in the soil - Di they eventually break down completely and disappear? Thanks again for the advice.

Hi. I'm just starting the set-up of a new tank (150 x 40 x 60) which will be planted and have pressurised CO2. I've been debating the substrate choices and am pretty much settled on play sand/silver sand (both for the low cost, but also for the look which I've always liked). I understand that...

That's great thanks, just what I was after. That's a properly tight fit, are all the 5kg ones the same height? Nothing for it but to try I guess...

Thanks for those repies, it gives me a good idea of what the reg will add. My problem is that the cabinet is only 66cm high inside - I need to know the actual height of the fire extinguishers themselves, can anyone with a 2kg or 5kg model measure for me and tell me the total height and model of...

Might be a slightly odd question but can someone with a DIY FE setup tell me how tall their FE/regulator combo is inside the cabinet? Trying to work out what size FE I'll be able to squeeze into the cupboard. I've found some 5kg FEs which are 66cm high, but I imagine the reg adds a fair bit? Thanks

Is there an alternative base-layer substrate that can be used with sand - something of a similar grain size? Alternatively, could you use a fine mesh between the substrate and the sand to keep them seperate?

Old topic I know but I'm thinking about the DD lights too - nice unit to fit under a hood. Did you get them in the end aand ever find anywhere except Paraquatics who would sell them with non-marine lights in? My MA don't sell DD and paraquatics want £25 delivery. Can anyone suggest an...

Love your tank foxfish. Can I ask why you decided to try the pre-mix - just less hassle? Any other comments from anyone on my planned setup? Do they look like reasonable choices for a first go at planted?

Thanks for the link, that looks ideal. As foxfish says, it looks wrong to be filling straight from the tap without pre-mixing dechlorinator, but it seems to be working for everyone else :)

Hi Quick question on the large water changes that are suggested for planted tanks. I understand the reasoning behind them, does anyone have any tips on how to go about doing them more easily? Currently I change about 25% per week on my 180l tank (not really "planted"). I use the good ol'...

Re: New setup - 360l first planted tank - help! Thank you for that. Changing the tank size is not really an option - I agree swapping the depth and width would be great but the oak cabinets and tanks MA do come in limited sizes and I have to fit the tank in a fairly thin alcove in any event...

Hello! Brand new member here, having found my way here from PFK. I am in the process of planning my first "planted" tank, and I'm just looking for some advice/reassurance about my choices so far. I've kept fish for a long time and my current setup has low light plants and is very low-tech (no...