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Hi all,

It's been four days since I've flooded and all is well so far. There's been a slight increase in the soft green diatom-like algae around the mini hairgrass but I'm not worried. It will clear up eventually. Some Ammania is definitely dying off, but there's some hanging in there, so fingers-crossed. I'll get some pics of the algae and Ammania soon.

I'm continuing my 70% daily water changes and CO2 levels are remaining very high.

Here's a few more pics.

40 litre water change
8488820691_fa5386d047_o.jpg
40 litre water change by George Farmer, on Flickr

In-situ
8488821817_abb1d92962_o.jpg
in-situ day 4 by George Farmer, on Flickr

Inside cabinet
8488821233_a348abd577_o.jpg
inside cabinet by George Farmer, on Flickr

Day 4 full tank shot
8489920730_ea8b65cfdf_o.jpg
Day 4 by George Farmer, on Flickr
 
Looks really good, looking forward to seeing your fish choice.

Have you noticed any adverse effects on the filter from having the atomiser on the intake?

No thread hijack intended.:writing:

But i have mine on the intake and it works very well for me indeed. Been on there for over 6 months with no drama at all. No mist in tank, just the occasional cough of bubbles from the filter.
 
No thread hijack intended.:writing:

But i have mine on the intake and it works very well for me indeed. Been on there for over 6 months with no drama at all. No mist in tank, just the occasional cough of bubbles from the filter.
Yes, I meant to elaborate too. I usually have mine on the inlet, because I can't stand seeing a tank full of tiny bubbles spoiling the view!

In this instance I've out the diffuser on the outlet so I can visually examine the CO2 distribution. Eventually it will go back on the inlet - probably after fish/shrimp are added in a couple of weeks or so.
 
Not bad from an old folk ;)

That DC looks same yellow as this smiley face ;)
You do not need that much CO2 with soft water. Especially if that stays soft there which will as you do not have those messy grey stones ;)

How much is the pH right now? Isn't that too low?
 
Not bad from an old folk ;)

That DC looks same yellow as this smiley face ;)
You do not need that much CO2 with soft water. Especially if that stays soft there which will as you do not have those messy grey stones ;)

How much is the pH right now? Isn't that too low?
Thanks mate. :)

My theory behind the high CO2 at this early stage was to help the plants adapt to their new underwater life after having unlimited CO2 before whilst emersed. I'm not sure if it is a viable theory but it doesn't seem to be doing any harm.

I haven't tested the pH but I'm guessing it is 5 or so. Although I'm using RO, my unit isn't the best and my conductivity is measuring about 120, so I'm guessing there's some KH.

In other news I've taken out all of the Ammania, thrown the melted and ugly stems, and replanted the healthiest.

I also have some Purigen on the way (thanks, Ian). I've only used this once, years ago, so I'm looking forward to trying it out again. It will sit nicely in the chemical media cartridge in my Fluval G.

While I'm here, who has lots of cherry shrimp they'd like to sell me? I'm not bothered about colours. I'll be after about 40. Please PM me if you can help.
 
Hi all,

Nothing much more to report at the moment. I'm seeing healthy growth in all plants, except the Ammania that I replanted the other day.

The soft diatom algae that was amongst the grasses seems to be dying back a bit. It's hardly noticeable now.

I'm dropping the CO2 leves gradually every day to eventually reach a safe level for livestock. I'm adding 40 cherry shrimp this Sunday - 50p per shrimp from a local breeder (gotta love Twitter).

It looks promising that I will be getting a new camera fairly soon too - a Canon 6D, so I'm very excited about sharing the results with you all, including some half-decent video, hopefully.

I've a day off work tomorrow so will try to get some update pics then. Any requests?!
 
I would use another fine needle stem plant that matches the Red Ludwigia but place it behind that.
Perhaps Rotala Vietnam or wallichii. Allowing it to grow up and canopy on the surface a little.

Looks good
 
I would use another fine needle stem plant that matches the Red Ludwigia but place it behind that.
Perhaps Rotala Vietnam or wallichii. Allowing it to grow up and canopy on the surface a little.

Looks good
Thanks Tom.

Your idea of finer textures is good - 60cm demands these for a decent sense of scale. The Ludwigia may not even stay in their long-term. I am actually considering replacing all of the stems with more grasses to make the layout more naturalistic. But this is a couple of months away yet, if I do decide to take this route.

I'm probably going to let some of the stems grow emerged too - I really like seeing plant life above water. One day I will do a paludarium.
 
Love the inside cabinet pic can I ask what the 2 digital things are at the top in cabinet ? What are they for ? If you don't mind just curious, the rest of the pictures are awesome aswel mate very inspiring

Thanks for the pictures Dean

Keep em coming
 
Cheers guys. :)

Love the inside cabinet pic can I ask what the 2 digital things are at the top in cabinet ? What are they for ? If you don't mind just curious, the rest of the pictures are awesome aswel mate very inspiring

Thanks for the pictures Dean

Keep em coming
Thanks Dean. :)

The boxes you can see are TMC Power Controllers for the LED lighting (2x Ultima 1500 GroBeam).

They allow you to adjust the intensity from 0-100% in 1% increments. You can also ramp up and down the lighting. For instance, I have mine on an 8hr photoperiod, but 1hr to ramp up from 0-100%, 6hrs @ 100%, then 1hr ramp down. I am actually considering a 12hr photoperiod in total but with 4hr ramp up, 4hr full power, 4hr ramp down.

Another good feature is that the settings and correct time remain, even when unplugged for over 6 months!

Does the cannon 6d take videos?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Yes. :) I will only do basic movie editing though - I don't have the time or money to invest in high-end software etc.
 
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