paul.in.kendal
Member
My first attempt, 'Punishment of Luxury', has lived up to its name. Through lack of experience I failed to prune little and often, and then attacked with too much gusto. The result is a tank full of algae.
Although I could try a black-out, this was always going to be a learning tank, and I'd rather start over - so how do I do that? I'm hoping to work at it over a number of days, rather than trying to do it all in a rush.
At the moment I'm thinking along these lines:
:arrow: Remove and dispose of all plants safely (compost them)
:arrow: Switch off CO2, stop adding ferts and reduce light intensity
(potential for a pause?)
:arrow: fill a temporary second tank with main tank's water
:arrow: Move livestock (harlequin rasbora, ottos, cherry shrimps and assassin snails) to temporary tank
:arrow: swap thermo-filter over to the temporary tank
(potential for a pause?)
:arrow: Empty main tank, remove and rinse Aquasoil/Powersand (which will become mixed together)
:arrow: Thoroughly clean tank
:arrow: Rescape, using old Aquasoil mixture, capping with fresh Aquasoil for aesthetics
At that point I'm a bit lost - how do I move filtration back to the main tank to cycle it? Do I have to buy another filter for the temporary tank?
:arrow: Reintroduce livestock to main tank
:arrow: Decommission temporary tank
Does that all sound OK? Should I have substrate and plants (or other cover) in my temporary tank? Any good advice or tips?
Although I could try a black-out, this was always going to be a learning tank, and I'd rather start over - so how do I do that? I'm hoping to work at it over a number of days, rather than trying to do it all in a rush.
At the moment I'm thinking along these lines:
:arrow: Remove and dispose of all plants safely (compost them)
:arrow: Switch off CO2, stop adding ferts and reduce light intensity
(potential for a pause?)
:arrow: fill a temporary second tank with main tank's water
:arrow: Move livestock (harlequin rasbora, ottos, cherry shrimps and assassin snails) to temporary tank
:arrow: swap thermo-filter over to the temporary tank
(potential for a pause?)
:arrow: Empty main tank, remove and rinse Aquasoil/Powersand (which will become mixed together)
:arrow: Thoroughly clean tank
:arrow: Rescape, using old Aquasoil mixture, capping with fresh Aquasoil for aesthetics
At that point I'm a bit lost - how do I move filtration back to the main tank to cycle it? Do I have to buy another filter for the temporary tank?
:arrow: Reintroduce livestock to main tank
:arrow: Decommission temporary tank
Does that all sound OK? Should I have substrate and plants (or other cover) in my temporary tank? Any good advice or tips?