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Just got back from TGM...

Tom

Member
Joined
8 Sep 2007
Messages
2,631
Location
Kawanabe, Kagoshima, Japan 鹿児島県南九州市川辺町
... with this - apologies for the picture quality

IMG_1836.jpg


Bit of a trek from Ipswich, but worth it I think. After braving the hard sales pitches, came away with my Mini M, Amazonia powder, Power Sand (scoop from a large bag), Forest Sand, Brighty K, Step 1 and 4DKH. I also picked up a few nice stones from the bank of the river in Llangollen - sshhhh! I'll also be using a couple of small pieces of wood I've been wanting to use for a while now.

Now the tough part is having the patience to keep the other tank running, sort out those algae problems and grow it in before moving the equipment over to the M :rolleyes: .. or I could just do it now.... :rolleyes:

Tom
 
:D :D :D :D :D

me jealous .....NOOOOOOOOOOOOO :twisted:

haha very nice mate, im sure yourll do the kit justice aswell, i just bought a nice set up, and am going ada all the way, one item i dont know if i can justify is the co2 kit, its the same price as the TGM's own kit, but is much muccch smaller. if i do well ill be upgrading to a ADA mini with ADA light.

dont stop the other nano just yet, beat the algae get a decent tank shot then do the change over.

anyway nice buy pal :thumbup:
 
I saw the ADA CO2 kit today, and it's smaller than a coke can! I'll stick with my FE and UP Reg thanks :D

Had a look at that ADA light too for the Mini M. I'd love one, they seem very well made but at £300 I'll give it a miss. I'm looking into making my own similar one using an 18w compact T5 - getting a sheet of metal cut for the base, and something like a chrome shower rail for the arm.

I need to wait to set it up anyway, as I've got half the plants growing out at the moment.
 
yeh it does look tiny the co2kit, if you was running a high tech tank surely it would last more that a month? the tgm kit is good value for money.

sounds like a good idea to make your own, im an electrician(in training) and ive come across some amazing lights(geek) on the current job we are on, just waiting till the end of the job to see if any are left. id chase the cables into the wall and make good after as im also a experienced plasterer :D haha.

did you ge any photos of the shop?
 
Just been researching a couple of things I was told while at TGM... They said TPN+ had no K in it... is that right? I notice the DIY TPN+ formulations all use Potassium Nitrate/Sulphate/Phosphate. He was trying to tell me why I had to buy the ADA fert range from them so I don't get a K deficiency, as opposed to using the TPN/TPN+ range I have boxes of. Are they just trying to make a sale, or is there truth to this?

He was also giving me chat about how essential the Power Sand was, but I'm sure people have had great success without, no? I refused to buy a bag of it, but he decided to split a large bag of PS Special for me, which was 2/3 cheaper. I'm still skeptical.

If I had followed all the "essential" advice I was offered, I would have walked out of there with about £500 of fertilizers alone (maybe slight exaggeration). When I asked about each one, I was told how essential each one was (Phyton Git, Clean Super, etc etc). I'm not really a fan of that sales tactic.

Tom
 
Hi all,
He was trying to tell me why I had to buy the ADA fert range from them so I don't get a K deficiency, as opposed to using the TPN/TPN+ range I have boxes of. Are they just trying to make a sale, or is there truth to this?
My opinion is that it is all moonshine, it makes absolutely no difference to the plant, they can't read labels, for them a K+ ion is a K+ ion ad infinitum.

I would buy the cheapest KNO3 you can find, we only use Analar grades in the lab for making standards now, I don't even use them for making solutions up. Analar grade reagents are more expensive because they are incredibly pure (it is something like the equivalent of 1 grain of NaCl in a tonne of KNO3), it is really irrelevant to us, or the plant.

cheers Darrel
 
It was more the claim that TPN+ had no K in that confused me. Surely it does? Maybe I'm wrong.

I bought the ADA ferts anyway, because I can see the point that it makes sense to use their ferts with their substrate. I've used it before, it's easy and convenient, and it just works - just 1 squirt of each per day. I'm having far more issues with TPN+ in inert sand, but that's probably my own fault. The diatoms won't budge!
 
Pretty sure JamesC has done the breakdown on the TPN+ if you search the forum Im sure you will find more info on it. Personally I have run tanks exclusively on TPN+ with no problems, George Farmer has as well AFAIK.
 
I will do once my ADA has run out I think. I just love the convenience of the ADA though and I find it easier to get my head around. I might end up making some Trace and Potassium to use in the ADA bottles, at the same concentration if possible. That's assuming trace would be equivalent to Step1
 
As far as ive ever been aware, and after talking to they bods at Tropica, I have been and have sold advice that says TPN has no K. N,P and trace, thats all. If you make your own up, then you can make it with K.

My slant on adding K, is that it stimulates photosynthesis, and that it is not a macro element, but more an essential element like Co2 is to plants. There is the argument that K is never really needed in an aquarium as our tap water usually has enough. I would be inclined to agree, but as adding it doesnt do any harm, I use brighty K. Once that runs out, ill look at making my own, purely because I can afford to buy it. Im still using my Tropica ferts I won from the aquascaping contest PFK ran, and I think you are too, if I remember right?

Im a bit suss about using to much TPN+. I tend to use 2/3 of TPN and 1/3 of TPN+. So, if I was dosing 4ml of Tropica ferts, I would dose 3ml of TPN and 1ml of TPN+ daily.
I personally think you can over cook it just using TPN+ all of the time. Maybe you just use less of it, rather than greater amounts of TPN. Ive always aired on the side of caution when dosing TPN+.
 
Thanks for that Graeme. Interesting to see Tropica don't see the need for K, when ADA see it as essential enough to base their main fert system around - unless of course it's just another money-making scheme. I did wonder about mixing my TPN and TPN+, and now you've mentioned it I think I'll try. Might go half and half for the time being, and see how it goes. And yes it's still my PFK stuff! Got several TPN, TPN+ and root tabs left.

Do you use Brighty K alongside TPN+ then?

Tom
 
Yes, I use all 3. I wouldnt mix them, just dose them separately.

For example. In my 30cm, I dont 2ml of brighty K, 3ml of TPN and 1ml of TPN+. I use old ADA bottle to give me accurate dosing amounts.

When I first plant up, I only ever dose EasyCarbo and brighty K (and Co2) for the first couple of weeks, even the first month or so if using ADA soil. Then, I tease the TPN in, dosing half dosage, and then, when things are really moving along, I add TPN+, lean at first, at the 2/3 of TPN and 1/3 of the +. At some point, depending on plants and their growth, you may get to a 50-50 of TPN and the + or fully +. But my experience is, go easy on the +. I know some may disagree, but for what your planing, this would be my advice. I wonder if people get told to add to much fert and then complain of algae.

Cheers.
 
I'm wondering if that might be my problem in the 10 liter - I have been dosing 0.6ml of TPN+ daily and can't budge the diatoms. I've built it up and up from 0.3ml TPN daily. Oddly, it was only 3 or so days after switching to TPN+ and slightly increasing the dose that the algae began to appear. I swapped to TPN+ because growth was very slow, and I associated this with lack of macros although there was no algae anywhere. Plants have now started to grow slightly quicker, but they're just dark brown in colour under the diatoms - as is the glass, rocks and sand! For an algae supposedly associated with new tanks and probably ammonia spikes, it's odd that it's still blooming strong as ever with good filtration and daily 50% water changes.
 
I always use carbon and ammonia remover now when setting up. This helps a lot IMO.

If I was you, I would dose 1ml of TPN and 1/2ml of TPN+ after your daily water changes. Or even give it 2ml and bin the TPN+ for now. Remember, you tap water will be high in N too, so adding more is probably not needed when doing daily water changes.

Get some green gain in there, it will pick up then. :thumbup:
 
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