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Hobgoblin's Cave 240L

Hi Darrel (soz auto correct edited)
no problem, the only place to buy fish in london/essex and that's Wayside Aquatics in Doddinghurst. Just outside Brentwood.
I've seen pfk staff buy freshwater fish while I've been in there.
James the proprietor is a bit of a legend.
He's got a very comprehensive website (won't ship fish and rarely stocks wild or non local ie outside of Europe) but if you want something special he's always on the end of the phone.
And his stock is stunning
ill send you a pic of some boes he sourced from Germany for me. If I can work out how lol :)
 
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Hi all,
no problem, the only place to buy fish in london/essex and that's Wayside Aquatics in Doddinghurst. Just outside Brentwood. I've seen pfk staff buy freshwater fish while I've been in there. James the proprietor is a bit of a legend.
He's got a very comprehensive website (won't ship fish and rarely stocks wild or non local ie outside of Europe) but if you want something special he's always on the end of the phone. And his stock is stunning.
Lovely job, I had a look at the web site, and the statement at the bottom of the fish page <"http://www.waysideaquatics.co.uk/epages/es785997.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es785997/Categories/Tropical_Fish_Stocklist">, is definitely what you want, "a fish-keeper with a shop", rather than "a shop-keeper with fish".
ill send you a pic of some boes he sourced from Germany for me.
Very nice, lovely colours. Although the Pseudomugil (signifer?) are more my size.

Unfortunately it isn't an area of the UK I ever visit now.
IMG_20150313_073712_zpsrbxzygaq.jpg

cheers Darrel
 
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Tidied up a bit. The PF1 filter is just a temporary guest- I'm keeping it running until I start my 120L tank project.

Planted some (Murdannia keisak) behind the tree/cave. I rather like it. Also, some (Hydrocotyle verticillata) in the middle rear, (Heteranthera zosterifolia) in front of the Blyxa on the right front. Added the (Fissidens fontanus) on a bit of lava rock at the entrance to the cave.

All the fish are settling in nicely too!

16733367259_4dedf3c266_c.jpg
 
Today I doubled the number of 3mm holes in the spray bars. Every time I turned the power up on the two filters it caused massive substrate disturbance. Now I am able to run both at full power without disturbing the sand at the front.

I've noticed new growth sprouting here and there. Soon I shall be using EI, rather than Profito (Just want to use it up before I buy the EI). I've been adding the occasional JBL Ferrotab as well.

The Vallis really doesn't seem to like the glute, and is showing signs of melt.

I'm getting BBA, particularly on the mosses. The horrid red moss (slime) has been removed. At present, I'm dosing 6ml of glute and 3ml of Profito daily.

Any suggestions folks?
 
Vallis can be a pain sometimes anyway, sometimes it will hardly grow and melts looks awful etc other times it just grows like crazy and takes over the tank. I think you have done an amazing job it looks really nice, I love the layout and plant choice as well. Keep posting pics. :thumbup:
 
Just recently I've found that plants have been melting/dying. Lots of the Blyxa has had it, most of the Rotala, the P. stellata, E. sp. 'Mini', Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' as well.

I'm starting with Ei salts today, which I shall mix with water and dose daily. I've invested in CO2 kit and will be using an inline diffuser through the left spray bar. When funds permit, I shall add a second inline diffuser, to the bar on the right.

I wish I hadn't used the gravel. It is quite a nuisance as it mixes in with the sand. A job for me soon will be to remove as much as possible and replace with the spare black sand that I have.

I lost one fish, Sparky the M. praecox; she was actually raised from an egg that came attached to a piece of bogwood. A bit disappointing, but it means I can change the plan for the other tank that I got hold of recently. More on that in my other journal (starting soon)
 
The Fluval adapter thingy arrived today. As MedicMan said, it was easy peasy to fit. Of course, you have to remember to keep the hose (which is full of
water) above the level of the tank as you fit it.

I eventually located the bubble counter that I'd bought. After pulling loads of stuff out of boxes and emptying cupboards, I eventually found it hanging in the clip, screwed to the inside of the back of the cabinet. The resultant injury to my finger caused when cutting the tubing to the required length was minor and didn't need stitching, but did leave a bit of claret here and there!

After getting the CO2 set up, I discovered that the bit of tubing was the wrong sort. Somehow, I have managed to throw away the bit of CO2 tubing that I had bought, but kept the bit of thin airline tubing instead. More tubing is on the way courtesy of CO2 Supermarket.

We also did a bit of an overhaul of the scape. I removed the vast majority of the horrid gravel using a tea strainer; this was then tipped into a jug held by my missus. It took ages but was worthwhile. I then used a bit of 40mm pipe and poured some sand down it on to the base of the tank. Eventually, the tank cleared...

I'll be replanting tomorrow.
 
Using the tube to add sand after removing gravel.I tried this before with a thinner tube, but it just clogged up. Using the 40mm tube works really well.
17050192858_70819d0b9f_c.jpg


After replacing almost all the visible gravel and moving some plants about:
17051774369_2796166038_c.jpg


I also moved the Interpet PF1 to the RHS. I'm keeping this with the venturi switched on, because I like the effect. Interestingly, the fish seem to like it too!

CO2 pipe is coming tomorrow, and I'll fit it to the left spray bar. I've found a place local to me that supplies clear pvc tube that will fit the Fluval pipes. At the moment, my plan is to have two 1m bars across the back; the pipe is supplied in 2m lengths, so this is perfect. The LHS bar will have the CO2 through it. If I decide to have an in-line heater, I can put that through the RHS bar.
 
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