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Welcome! :)

Ikea have some nice glass vases in atm, TK Max is also really quite good for these kinda wares

Hi all, You could try Ikea. cheers Darrel

Hey all, looking for thoughts on comparison between Oase Biomaster Thermal range and Eheim professional 4+ 350T (biggest they do). Anyone tried both and have a favorite or is there no competition? Are these considered the best on the market or is there better? I'm researching for a future setup...

Hi all, Personally, If I had <"soft water from the tap">? I'd use it "as is", and just keep livestock adapted to that water, it just <"makes life a lot easier">. Cherry Shrimps (and <"most snails">) <"prefer harder water">. Our tap water is about ~400 ppm TDS (650 microS) and that just really...

This is my first nano (30L cube) tank, used to much more space, stock, everything, but one and a half months into this low tech heavily planted setup. weekly liquid ferts dosing, still doing weekly water changes will adjust to every other week soon. Used filter media(mix of sponge and ceramic)...

Dry fertz day! Filled up the kno3/k2so4, po4 and tenso bottles. We are going on a 12 day holiday next week so the fertz are already stocked up.

I hope u are right and i can do water changes without remineralising. It will make life easier. I have lots of shrimps and expensive snails. My tap water has kh 0-1 and gh 3 (but how much of that is magnesium?). I add equilibrium to ensure magnesium is present. I do not think my old aquasoil...

Have you checked the hose adapter, there are two o rings inside it, mine had become damaged on the adapter itself (see photo) and this was causing water to slowly trickle down the side, and was also filling up the head. I contacted Oase and they were useless, I had to buy a new hose adapter due...

Thank you Tim. I had thought of Ikea but I had not thought of charity shops. Good idea!

Mate I don't think you need remineralise , green aqua recommend 135-150 tds max.you tap water is perfect as it is . are you keeping any specific invertebrates which need that much tds. @dw1305 thoughts?

I am just beginning the hobby of aquascaping. My main aim is create plants only displays in bowls, vases and small cube tanks. I would like some recommendations as to where I can purchase online the items mentioned above at inexpensive prices. Starting the hobby I have a lot of items to purchase...

Try IKEA as well they often have a range of glass vases or containers that can be repurposed. Also, try charity shops, they usually have a bric-à-brac section with various glass bowls etc.

Hi all, We have a thread: <"Lean dosing pros and cons">. I'd have to start by saying I've never been an EI user, but I have borrowed from the EI concept in the <"Hybrid Duckweed Index">. I was, initially, very much an <"Estimative Index sceptic">, but <"I'm convinced it can work">, but I still...

Thank you seedoubleyou for the link.

https://www.horizonaquatics.co.uk/collections/dooa-shizuku

Hi all, Very much agreed, that is why I've pushed the idea of <"plant and wait"> as <"an alternative"> and then to use the plants as your test kit (<"to act as a biotic index">). Cory from the Aquarium Co-Op talks about this in his <"Seasoned Tank Time"> video (linked here <"Help needed with...

I'm sure they could, I even considered doing it at first, but then I preferred testing it before investing much time into it. A curiosity is that, different than coconuts, they are somewhat porous and permeable. I think this is something that helps with the tinting, water passes through it. I...

I personally does EI, front loading macros and about .2 Fe of micros. The rest of the week I daily dose .1 Fe mixture of gluconate and DTPA. My water change schedule is unpredictable and I can’t guarantee I’ll get it done each week so EI gives me wiggle room to not starve my plants. Algae only...

A cycled tank and a mature tank are not the same. Having the microbiota to process ammonia and nitrites is only one part of what a microbiota maturity is. It is, however, the easiest part to measure, so it is commonly extrapolated to a broad maturity. When you "trick" cycling, though, you...

I have doubts about it having ever been the favorite dosing method. It may be so in some communities, probably on the more informed parts of the hobby, but I don't think it ever reached the masses.

I think the main reason people get algae issues using EI Method is primarily because they blast too light in the tank or have a long photoperiod while not planting heavily in the beginning. After that is mismanagement of co2 and build up of waste organics. Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

Hell Tim. Thank you for your welcome. Greg 👍

I'll take some more photos in a bit, I've moved the furniture around and added some more plants. I'm a bit worried the flow is so strong from the pump, even with it turned down to 200lph that it's a bit like a washing machine in there.

I don't know all the answers to these questions but here's my understanding. I dose EI in one of my tanks. It has a mix of slow-growing epiphyte plants & moss, medium growing plants like monte carlo and hygrophilia and fast growers like Vallisneria and floating plants as well as the additional...

Welcome :)

In 2005 Tom Barr and a handful of other aquarists developed a eutrophic fertiliser dosing method know as Estimative Index (EI). They contended that inorganic nutrients do not cause algae therefore it is safe to dose ferts in excess. It initially met with a lot of resistance from the old guard...

Hi all, Have a look at <"Amano Shrimp , co2 and Tropica soil">. Yes, that is as good as we've got at the moment. This is the Ryan Newton thread: <"Correspondence with Dr Ryan Newton - School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee">. I'm going to guess that this won't make...

Mike, thank you for the welcome. Question - In your forum photograph I assume that the aquascaped bowl is one of your creations. Please could you tell me where I could purchase bowls like that and others? Greg 👍

Hello hello I don't know much about dark start. But I do know that putting old media or plants help to inoculate your new tank with bacteria that will do a jump start in your aquarium There is a correspondence with Dr. Ryan, that teaches a thing or two on this matter. Quoting @dw1305: Journal...

Welcome

I didn't think the tds was that bad. Especially since I know what the tds is from. I mean water from tap is 100ppm then I remineralise with seachem equilibrium and kh up for the invertebrates' sake. I wish I could do RO water tho but for a 250L tank it's a bit of a pain. Nitrates from tap are...

They look pretty tough, but could they be chopped or sawn into pieces?

Hi all, Welcome to UKAPS, @algae_connoisseur hasn't posted for a long time, so you may be reliant on another member to comment. cheers Darrel

Hello. My name is Greg. I am an artist but now retired. I have recently returned to aquarium keeping after many years. I now have a marine reef aquarium but decided, as a keen gardener, I would like to try under water gardening in small vessels that could be kept around my home. Following some...

If you can I say do both the dark start as well as add old cycled media. For my second tank that is currently cycling I decided this time to stick with the dark start method (unlike I did with the first tank where I planted early). I used only a few Miracle Gro root tabs in the substrate as a...

How did the lid do on the long term? I got the same tank for a really good price, but the lid was missing... I used two pieces of laminate floor boards of 8mm, but they bend slightly from the humidity, even if they are waterproof types for bathrooms.

Always though that if I started another tank, I would do the dark start as I think it would be the best in terms of the benefits it offers and while it's cycling. But I thought if I use half of the media from my old tanks canister, does that mean it's cycled already enough for some starting...

Thanks a lot!

Hi all, Because it is a neutral salt it doesn't effect pH, all it does is lessen the time the electrode takes to reach equilibrium. This means you don't need to add a set amount, just tip a small amount of salt into the sample. Details below for DI water...

Good night Ukaps :)

Besides Peace Lilies l think Spider Plants do very well emmersed aquarium plants and like the "reed" effect they give

Hey @Sarpijk. Think the most rare i have are the c. Veinghera and the c. Spiralis caudigera. Glad you are enoying the journal :thumbup:

Presumably then you’re storing captured energy in your DHW cylinder before charging the batteries? Assuming an aquarium temperature of 25C, a mains water temperature of 5C and a DHW cylinder temperature of 65C, you would be mixing water in the ratio of 2:1 mains to cylinder to get a 25C mix...

@dw1305 I’ve seen you have mentioned on another thread that KCl can be used as an additive to test sample to improve pH reading results. Could you please elaborate on this a little bit more? For example if water has low TDS or hardness what KCl concentration we should aim for to improve reading...

That makes absolute sense despite the fact that some stock solutions sold online contain some mould inhibitors (If we believe what description says) Yeah, when I was doing research I found that some solutions are 4M and some are 3M. I guess the more concentrated the better + as @dw1305 says...

Interesting question. I bought KCl for the same purpose. I thought 3 mol/l is the standard concentration for the pH pen storage solution? Not sure if it matters much.

Hi all, I'd guess not, it grows in dry places normally. Most other Tradescantia spp. (other than T. sillamontana) should work. Cheers Darrel

Yes, our winters are cold and dry here in Minnesota... In the winter we often see indoor RH% down in the mid 20 ties. During those times the water evaporation from my tanks is pretty significant. Summers on the other hand are relatively humid which means less evaporation. That said, while it...

Hi all, You don't need anything else. Nothing will grow in 4 mol. KCl, it is pretty "salty". Cheers Darrel

Already planning to take the Hygro back a bit.

Got to love Crypts man! So unfussy plants , so many different colours ,types and sizes! What is the most rare you have?

Hi there I’m looking to make my own KCl 4M storage solution and I wonder if using potassium sorbate in such solution is a good idea. Thinking of preventing mold formation and not damaging pH electrode in any way. Also I’m going to use RO water. By the way I’m using Hanna pH meter. Cheers

You can propagate in water but does anyone know if Tradescantia spathacea (moses in the cradle) is viable long term in water?

Yes! My Peace Lily corpse was from Asda at the princely sum of 20p. Very easy to resurrect and knowing that you basically can't overwater is a big win in my book

Now Si has his answer can I hijack this and ask if anyone has seen Bacopa compact or Carolina doing this two for one deal on tops? I just get one for one and have all these single stem plants and no bush effect

Huh. I pretty much always wind up just tearing it all out. It doesn't make that much of a mess and clears up pretty quickly. Next time I'll have a go at leaving the bottom pieces in.

I would and the hygrophila too

It is a bit large, but yes, only one. I bought it already dried, from a garden decoration / floral arrangements shop.

That TDS is just ridiculous🫣 wrgb pro is very strong light too have you thought about raising it slightly? Also you could try to get your hands on 2-3 simese alge eaters , tank your size should be ok . You also if you could start cutting your water with some RO that would bring tds down . I...

🤣 I have that exact page open in my browser. Great minds and all that 😆 Sounds like I'm on the right track. My mate says use the bath upstairs and fill it up from there. It would work but I think there would be additional additives to the water for the tank unless I did a deep clean of the bath...

So, it is time for a update. This picture I took last night when I arrived at home, I was out of town for nearly 5 days. Today, the nineth day since it was set up, the readings are: pH 7,6 (I measure just two hours after the lights went on, in the morning. Usually I measure it at night...

Interesting, I hadn't thought of it like that 🤔. On reflection, my kitchen is the warmest room in the house with the kitchen heating rarely on. It gets the early morning sun and is also south facing. So, it picks up plenty of heat from the sunshine. Also, with cooking it heats up quite nicely. I...

I've used a few various sizes of potable water tanks for storing RO water - this is one seller. https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/water-tanks/above-ground-water-tanks/potable-water-tanks/c1184?page=2 Some model come with threaded ports at the base to securely add taps.

I have indeed. A super cheap as chips option, with the help of a submerged pump and hose. Great option, but after something a bit more palatable as it will be in my kitchen, although more or less out of view. I'm more inclined to using a lay-flat 150+Litre container with a tap, on some...

Nice work on the tint - is that just from one shell? I might look into those!

Hi all, A water butt might be the cheapest option <"Garland 114ltr Harcostar Water Butt (Includes Tap & Child Safety Lid) Electrical World">? cheers Darrel

Hi all, I don't think you don't need to dose EI levels, personally <"I don't"> and would only do so in <"very, very specific circumstances">. That is why I'd start with just adding the micronutrient mix from @BuffBall 's post <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC...

EI strategy is based on excess -- even with huge plant mass, you dose more than is consumed and there is always nutrients available for algae. But it is expected that happy plants will keep algae at bay, especially algae growing on the plants.

I ask as a genuine curiosity as I live in a different reality, but I wonder if your tap water is colder than the room temperature, I'm imagining that the room is heated. And if that is the case, adding 115L of cold water to your room will generate a demand for room heating equivalent to the heat...

Have you thought about a water but that youd normally keep in the garden?

My worry about EI levels and the plant like nature of algae is that I don't have enough fast growing plants to consume the nutrients and "outcompete" the algae. If I increase the fertilisers won't that just make the algae take over the "slower" growing plants? My other doubt is in regard to...

No gamblers here ey ☺️ The red abaxis is from mine wendtii green! In fact this one has 3 different leave versions! Olive colour with red abaxis, fresh green en olive/green with dark pattern. Every leaf is different, so cool. The leaf with the red stains and red vain is from a c. Wendtii...

Only 8 days after adding the sapucaia fruit, and the water is very dark! It has reached a point where I may have to consider controlling it and set a desired darkness level, instead of the "as dark as I can get" strategy I had before. This and the slow-but-steady growth of the floating plants...

Hi All, At the moment I am cycling my tank (only 1 week in). I am preparing to use EI ferts with a weekly 50% water change. Having a 230Litre tank I want to store 115Litres, or so, of tap water. 24+ hours of temperature equalisation to room temperature before dosing and adding to the tank. I...

£5 for this tank is a really good find, the rear filtration space is superb, and goes well beyond what is required for the volume of water

Thats wicked guys! Thank you all for your collective technique! Good to know that its okay to not uproot the stems. Phew!! Si

Very true. I try to make sure any plants have acclimatized well before winter, if not then it's worth waiting until spring unless you can plant (aquatic) plants below the water surface and let them make it up onto land on their own. Established plants usually handle dry air without to much...

Hi all, They are definitely a bit deficient in something, the problem is working out what the <"something"> is. I think this as well. Time is a great <"healer">. I'd probably look on increased algal growth as a good sign, both <"green algae and aquariums plants"> are fundamentally "plants"...

Hi all, Problems often come in the winter, particularly in more continental climates. @Tyko_N or @MichaelJ can probably add more from their <"personal experiences"> of <"life in a cold climate">. The problem is that the cooler the air is the less water vapour it can hold, so really cold...

This is my tank. Some plants have roots on the substrate, some are attached to the wood as epiphytes, some live in moss above the water but with a cotton wick pulling water up. Some houseplants, some aquarium plants. Humidity isn’t really a problem as it’s in my south facing kitchen. Water loss...

Hi all, Sage advice, that is why UKAPS is the <"gift that keeps giving">. I think, <"back towards the start"> of the <"cycling wars">, there were <"one or two posters"> who suggested that, if they ever met me in person, they were going to re-arrange my dentition, but this may have actually...

If you can keep house plants alive then there will be plants that you can use in the tank. Googling the UK is meant to be 50-60% average humidity in summer and I've not had many issues with what I've tried and I don't mist at all. You might need to experiment with different plants but there will...

Sounds like your CO2 is fairly well optimised. But stay on top of it and make sure you can rule that out as a potential factor. The reason, the new tank is relatively immature and missing an essential component to stability; a balanced microbial community throughout the entire system. This...

I've never heard of Filtreau. Please tell us more about it, if you are interested more specifically, price, support, service and what parts you changed. I use a drum filter made in Korea from the rau company, I ordered it here: raufilter.com I have been using a 35m³ drum filter and a...

If eventually the original (after several trimmings)bottom of the plant starts to look iffy, lack of light maybe dropped leafs it can be cut at substrate level keeping soil disturbance to minimum

Lots of lovely floating plants arrived in the post yesterday and are now in the water -- thank you so much, @simon_the_plant_nerd 🌿

Thats what I mostly like to believe. ... and that is why I hedge my bets and never open my front door to strangers after dusk. Cheers, Michael

Ha! I haven’t been traumatized on this forum … yet. Instead, I visit most every day to see what new tidbits you guys are handing out. Such a great place to learn.

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome. I actually do have a pressing question, now! I noticed two small green hydra on my front glass a few days ago. I spot treated both with less than a mL total of hydrogen peroxide and I sucked them up when they became detached from the tank. I already knew...

Yes, I think so.

The height at the back is only 20 ish centimeters so i think the usteriana would be a little to big. I was looking at echinodorus red diamond. The ted tiger could be an option! Thanks for the help @Walt1908

Thanks for the help, just been looking I’ve found this connector JBL. Are these the right sizes that I need?

First time attempting a Micranthemum ‘Monte Carlo’ carpet. When the best time to trim it back??

O to 3 weeks

I think JBL used to do a converter. JBL stuff is now very difficult to get hold of in UK.

Wow! I love kuhlis! I have the oblonga and the pangio. This handsome would be a nice addition 🧐

If i had your tanksize ill do 1 or 3 cryptocoryne usteriana and some c. Spiralis 'tiger' for 100% :cool:

Thanks for the info, I already have some floating plants and will add some stemplants in the near future to help aiding the startup process. Some of the juwel led fixture i Blacked out with some heat resistant tape.

Rearanging some crypts result: Hole in a cryptocoryne nevelli leaf... Nothing big, but something to keep an eye on. This is the second most isolated crypt to the most right in the tank. Its surrounded by multiple balansae doing just fine. 15cm to the left from the nevelli: To the right a...