Recent content by Simon

I'm setting up a 4ft x 22in deep 18" wide natural tank with a soil base. What would be a suitable LED unit to go for?

I've picked up a Redsea Reefer 170 and thought it would make a nice planted tank. Any advice on sump media and lighting? Ultimately I want a very low mantainence tank that I can grow some nice mosses and plants in but needs very little attention! I plan to keep it lightly stocked with some...

My guess is that the discus would benefit from a nightime drip W/C and I could still do a 50% each weekend. Do plants absorb ferts in the dark?

I am lucky with where this tank will be situated. It's my office which is constructed in one half of a double garage. Just the other side of the stud wall I have water point, mains drainage and power. I can easily have a 50 gallon container or prepared water just the other side of the wall and...

Sure:) I attempted this before. Set up a nice 80 gallon tank and spent 3 months letting it get established and allowing the plants to get going. It actually looked pretty good....until the discus went in. With the increase in bioload and nutrients it wasn't long before our old friend Mr Algae...

How about if the water change was on a solenoid and happened after lights out through the night? I would probably still do a vac and small water change weekly anyway.

I'm planning a new discus tank. This tank has inspired me and I want to replicate something along these lines. The tank will be 4x2x2 with a sump. I'll use low lighting, a couple of T5's C02 and probably Tropica substrate under pool filter sand. I have the facility that I could have this...

Just a little bit of BBA appearing on the moss that's high up on the drift wood and close to the LED light. I've cut the lights to 6 hours a day and will increase the Easy Carbo dose.

Excellent. Thanks again for the help. I'm going to make a quick video of the tank next week as I have a DSLR filming lesson coming up. Also ordered a large portion of Salvinia.

Cheers sciencefiction. A solid days learning;) OK. I've now twisted the spraybar down...there is now no surface agitation, just movement. Floaters drifitng around nicely and now moving over the planted area. One question, surely I'm now lacking enough oxygen, particulalry with discus in mind?

Is the idea of the floaters to create shade or suck up nutrients? The reason I ask is that the way this tank is now set-up the floaters now congregate at the bare end. If they are required to create shade over the planted area, I need to move the spray bar to the opposite end.

OK. I've made a change to the tank. The JBL spraybar has been halved in length and put on the side of the tank rather than the back. Now the floaters are circulating in the current, but not getting pushed under. So, hopefully improved that problem and have shortened the lights on to 7 hours a...

I have the spray bar set up so it's blasting the surface. The floaters are getting somewhat battered and pushed under when they get right in the current. That's a problem, I want a good surface coverage of floaters, but have concerns about 02 saturation at 82 degree's. How about an eheim...

But it looks ugly? no?

Ah. Nail on head ;) But I need a lot of surface agitation to get 02 in. The temp is 28.5 (discus)