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Island Shore - 60 x 30 x 45 Rock, grass and hopefully class!

legytt said:
Hello chris

Could you give me some info on your co2 filter adaptor. Is a 13mm to 4mm Reducing tee od 16mm?

Cheers
Ryan
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Hi Ryan,
I take it you are referring to this..

Photo%2004-02-2015%2009%2008%2035.jpg

I'm afraid this is not a stock fitting. It's a 12 mm - ¼" threaded T and the little blue elbow that the CO2 is connected to was robbed from an old leaky bubble counter. I cut a thread into the T and screwed it in with PTFE tape to seal it. I'm fortunate in that I have a reasonably well equipped workshop to cater to my "I'll knock something up in the shed" type needs.
 
Chris Jackson said:
Hi Ryan,
I take it you are referring to this..

Photo%2004-02-2015%2009%2008%2035.jpg

I'm afraid this is not a stock fitting. It's a 12 mm - ¼" threaded T and the little blue elbow that the CO2 is connected to was robbed from an old leaky bubble counter. I cut a thread into the T and screwed it in with PTFE tape to seal it. I'm fortunate in that I have a reasonably well equipped workshop to cater to my "I'll knock something up in the shed" type needs.
Click to expand...

yep that the one im talking about. I manage to find one call aqua medic reducing t-piece look like the one you using. Are you still injection co2 this way? And how is your filter?

Cheers
Ryan
 
legytt said:
yep that the one im talking about. I manage to find one call aqua medic reducing t-piece look like the one you using. Are you still injection co2 this way? And how is your filter?

Cheers
Ryan
Click to expand...


If you look further back in this thread you'll see that i switched to an atomiser and then an independent pumped reactor I put together because I was not getting enough CO2 dissolution in the filter to meet the demands of the Aquasky lights and I hate the atomiser mist effect in the tank. The CO2 is still introduced through this T setup into the new reactor. I have run a tank for years using just a filter as reactor without issues but it wasn't that intensely lit much of the time and I had a second larger filter also running. I'd say using the filter as reactor is great for simplicity and low cost in a low to moderately lit tank but a decent quality reactor or atomiser/diffuser is better in a brightly lit tank.
Cheers
C
 
Chris Jackson said:
If you look further back in this thread you'll see that i switched to an atomiser and then an independent pumped reactor I put together because I was not getting enough CO2 dissolution in the filter to meet the demands of the Aquasky lights and I hate the atomiser mist effect in the tank. The CO2 is still introduced through this T setup into the new reactor. I have run a tank for years using just a filter as reactor without issues but it wasn't that intensely lit much of the time and I had a second larger filter also running. I'd say using the filter as reactor is great for simplicity and low cost in a low to moderately lit tank but a decent quality reactor or atomiser/diffuser is better in a brightly lit tank.
Cheers
C
Click to expand...
Thanks chris
 
Looking good... I like the 'high quality' approach and fitting in beautifully to a home. A nice tidy minimalist set up and even the cabinet is tidy and well organised. That's exactly what I'll be striving for with my new tank. But no doubt I'll end up with an uninspiring scape and tangle of cables, pipes and tubes everywhere!

Al.
 
TallDragon said:
Chris, how are you liking the co2art skimmer? Does it nicely adjust to water level changes automatically?
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I like it a lot. However it does need almost daily maintenance to clear away bits of leaf trimming (perhaps less of an issue without the likes of riccia or monte carlo to deal with) and I do get more plant debris drawn into the filter as a result which mean that needs rinsing more frequently. It adjusts to the water level perfectly as the skimming part simply floats on it's own bubble of air but this "bubble" needs adjusting otherwise it can float too high and not function properly. So it is a bit fiddly but there is zero surface film and I'm fairly well convinced that the increased aeration from the water drawing down through the skimmer is a real benefit. Fish and shrimp became far more active as soon as I added this and algae has been in steady decline as well.

I am however toying with the idea of making a new spray bar with a couple of jets angled more towards surface to achieve a similar effect, but without the tank clutter, but that system doesn't adjust to water level quite so well.... a work in progress.
 
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Sorry no complete re-scape just yet...I feel I can still enjoy getting some interesting mileage out of this pile of stones for a while longer...

The pic above was taken today exactly a week after I lifted the vast majority of the Monte Carlo carpet. In it's place I have Helanthium tenellum and Alternathera reineckii 'mini with the tentative idea being to build up the light levels until I have something approaching a red carpet. The stragglers in the back left are some stems of Rotala rotundifolia taken from my sadly neglected and currently low tech big tank that I'm nursing back to health. Other new additions are Rotala Wallichi and Hygrophila 'Araguaia' which are settling in well in the background. The old Juncus Repens is also re-grouping. It wont be too long before the look and feel of the tank will be dramatically different.

Now the algae was already well into decline before I removed the MC carpet but it has to be said that there seems to have been an even bigger change now that it is gone. I strongly suspect that the leaf die back from beneath the overgrown carpet was polluting the tank more than I realised....ummm
 
Great Cornish rock- lovley tank, where in Cornwall are you chris?
 
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Thanks for the prompt Legytt...😉

Here's an update...

E.Tennelus / Helanthium tenellum is growing in very well but I've realised that the 1 2 Grow version I've bought is specifically "Green" which rather puts pay to the red tinged carpet..Doh! I rather like it though and it's height is in keeping with the dimensions of the tank however it is far faster growing than the Alternathera reineckii 'mini' so it's going to take some very regular trimming to get that balanced.

The Alternathera reineckii 'mini' and Hygrophila 'Araguaia' has suffered a fair bit of leaf melt but new submersed growth is now going in strongly while the Rotala Wallichi as also picking up but still very green.

The Alternathera Rosanervig in the mid ground has had a trimming with the tops then replanted and will soon be making a bigger presence in a more compact form.

I've made a mark two spray bar that I'm very happy with. This version has a removable bung at the far end to make for easier cleaning and has 6 x 3mm holes along the front and 3 on the back pointing towards the glass to direct water down in the background. It also has a 2mm hole at each end directed towards the surface to provide surface agitation for gas exchange and bio film prevention. I've removed the Co2 Art skimmer because I really didn't like the intrusion into the tank or the amount of maintenance it required. The new modified spray bar achieves a similar result.

Finally, (and I'm a tad proud of this 🙂) I've modified my Co2 reactor so that it is ultra efficient and now runs at 1-2 BPS with virtually no "burping" which is very satisfying compared to the hasty stream of bubbles that the previous UP atomiser required to get the same PH drops.

More on that to follow...
 
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