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So one of my Amano just let go of the larvae. I’ve read they need to be in salt water to grow. I have a spare set up - a 20 litre dennerle with heat and filter. Is there a quick way I can set up something to keep them alive? What would I need to buy to add to the water or is there something in...

Same village pub, 20 minutes later.

Just an update: Tank is going strong, enjoying shifting stems around to my liking and trying new ones. Currently stem wise I have hygro pinn, parawitota and triflora, Ludwigia diamond and Ovalis pink, bacopa colorata, Persicaria Kawa, pogostemon kimberly, and blyxa japonica.

Honda Novio 1976. Needs restoration, but... you don't see them everyday.

Masterline states to double the recommended dosage if running a UV sterilizer, which I am, so if I dose the normal recommended dose it's actually half the UV recommended dose. If I have potassium sorbate and Ascorbic Acid or white vinegar, will it be ok?

bit of an update. I decided to turn down my lighting from 11 to something more sensible. and also to make a modest upgrade from LED spots to an LED batten (still a cheap-o DIY store fitting rather than 'premium for aquatics'). I must say that after a few months of use, the LED batten seems to...

Hi, I'm not trying to be negative here I just have a genuine interest in what you might think will happen with the substrate once plants are being removed/moved around? The majority of the pumice from the ADA Power sand that was laid down as a base layer in my tank now lies on the top of the...

I'm new to aquariums -- since January, when I got a 10 gallon for my daughter's bedroom to interest her whilst on bed-rest. I used to breed hens and sell eggs and run chicken keeping courses, it was one of those hobbies/income blurred line things. My deteriorating health and that of my...

I know there will be plenty of folks on here who will say it's perfectly acceptable to clean it with bleach and it is, but for me, for the sake of 20 quid (eheim) I would replace it. The hoses in time will generally start to become opaque and permanently stained. That's all just me though. You...

I do want at least some shrimp in the tank as a clean up crew as with such a small volume it is very hard to get into all the nooks and crannies to remove any decaying plant matter or fish waste, Plus even with a 50% water change I have very little time to syphon off any waste due to the small...

Hey there So, just for me to clarify. I read the article you quoted, and if I got this right, when measuring pH using the CaCl2.NH20 extract we are not measuring the CEC per si, either it is high or low, but purely reading pH using the cation exchange of CaCL absorbed in water solution. Is it...

Hi , besides aquariums I also like and enjoy barbecue every weekend and native finches and songbirds.

Morning! I have just taken receipt of a 250l 5'6" tank from a bloke off Facebook, as one does. I have forced my family to re-arrange the living room to accommodate it and it's going to be a long term, dry-start, slow project that I want to get right. I want to end up with lots of little...

It’s to stop the iron and phosphate from interacting. You can mix them, but then you also need to add ascorbic acid to lower the pH and thus avoid the chemical reaction from occurring.

Why is it half the recommended dose with a UV steriliser?

Hey Si, we watched Lords of Dogtown a few nights ago, great film. I have fallen off a skate board a few times!

Can't remember if I have said this before? I've been riding a Skateboard for most of my life. Brought my first one back from USA when I was 6 years old. I still have it! When I was a teen my friends and I started what is now a very successful skatepark that is indoors. Its a charity. I'm now 52...

Same for me. The tnc complete addition of 3.5mls weekly will be adding an extra 2.8ppm of magnesium, once we take into account accumulation via 50% water changes your mg levels will be sitting around 5ppm, which should be plenty.

Hi all, You are right. The UK differs from a lot of the continental USA, because we have very low amounts of magnesium (Mg) in our water. This is for <"geological reasons">. I think some of the US recipes leave out magnesium (Mg) because of this. Most recipes for "all in one" fertilisers...

Thank you! I live in Singapore - there's no way for me to get KNO3 in solid form, what's available are the diluted liquid brand name types - if I get those then I probably should just get a brand name AIO. The only solid forn NO3 compound available is CaNO3. My tap water is pretty soft...

Huh that's the first time I've actually read that longer period will increase the redness. Usually all the YouTubers just say nitrogen limitation and high light. I did struggle a lot with long string algae in my last scape which is why I re did it. Hoping I avoid that a bit. Currently have...

Been reading a bit about the solufeed ferts, still fully clueless on dry salts but I think I'm getting the jist of it now. If I were to create mimic apt zero, would I just use the solufeed free tec and some potassium? Or would I be better of with just a smaller dose of both combined. As much...

I totally agree, I made the mistake of following the advice of YouTubers and bought the fancy products when I knew damn well that I could make them myself at a fraction of the cost. To be honest at first I was just going to go low tech but it escalated fast 😂 I'm not one to do things by halves...

Hi Darrel, thanks for the advice. I'll give the snail guide a good read :) Looking at the map I live right in the middle of a soft water area. I checked where I used to live on the map and indeed it was in a small pocket of hardwater, I swear at times it was sea water coming out of the taps...

Decided to do maintenance on my filter late last night and made a very unexpected find in my canister filter 20240519_004520 by Lenny Lim, on Flickr Corydoras sterbai fry! I only found two of them in the filter. I did notice that the eggs in the aquarium disappeared and I wasn't going to raise...

Remember posting this last summer Marcel @zozo ? When I first saw it I remember thinking that's pretty cool, wish I lived near a Trappist monastery so I could try their beer too. Well I was using Google Earth yesterday, looking at my local area for places to walk to and visit, and stumbled on...

IFC Calculator - always better to take control yourself IMO, trouble with using water reports is that waters contents vary over the year with water company's blending it at time to meet regulations

They look great!

Don't sweat it... your plants are not very demanding. You just want to make sure you get enough of NPK and Micros (Iron in particular which is already covered with Plantex CMS+B). Yes, that would work for batching. Are you using tap water? What is your water like in terms of KH, GH (Ca/Mg...

Hi all, It is to do with cation exchange, but if you extract a soil with calcium chloride (CaCl2.NH20), rather than water, it is pH is a more accurate representation of the soil pH. The reason its quoted is there is about 1 pH unit difference, so that would be nearer to pH 7.4 in a water...

Hi all, Perfect, the dGH is the <"German"> value, so dKH = 3.45. One dKH is equivalent to <"21.8 ppm bicarbonate (HCO3-)">. We have a map <"Some handy facts about water">, but tap water can be very variable over short distances, They use both, the shell is the "aragonite" form of CaCO3. Have...

Now I have shared about the main characteristics of my new set up, after gutting about the old one as @Cazza has pointed out. So far I have used the old substrate, lights and heater (which is set at 22°C) Then it was time for planting. In the front I planted some Sagittaria subulata, or maybe...

Thank you Bazz! Thanks Cazza, the botanicals are a mix of Red Oak and Texas live oak (green and brown - first time I've seen dried green botanicals!).

Here’s a better view of the tank with the lights dimmed a little, should the Alternanthera be more red/pink? It’s growing really fast but doesn’t look as vibrant as in the picture on the 1-2-Grow cup.

I'm really lucky and live in North Wales, my water comes from a reservoir that is situated in moorland with a lot of peat surrounding it I believe. My KH could be 0.5 - 1 but the test kit instantly turns yellow with one drop so it's hard to say. I'll show my water quality report, I'm not...

Thank you, My worry about going lower than 3 is that my PH will drop down too low, Like you say i'll wait until I've got a little more experience until I try that. Perhaps I'll try it on the larger 45 litre tank i'm cycling ready to put this Betta in as it will be more stable than the 10 litre...

So I was browsing the internet looking for substrate of various kind. Then I find this one, very well presented and with the following guarantees of nutrients readily available: P: 250 mg/dm³ K: 28 mmol/dm³ Ca: 380 mmol/dm³ Mg: 80 mmol/dm³ Ph in CaCl2: 6,14 (don't know what it means really, so...

Did you ever get the GLA reactor to work as intended?

Wowzers! Where is that magical tap water?

Continuing on filtration and starting the substrate layout. I love substrates and the whole dynamics it has, although I'm not a pro, or a well versed in this topic, I really love it, more like a child that don't know much but truly appreciate. Let's give you some picture All around the...

I think it is time to talk about the filtration sistem and how I set it up, as well some info about the substrate layout. At the front bottom I put the UGF plastic thing (don't know the proper name in English) and some geo fabric over it. This yellow plastic is about 12cmx12cm each, and I put...

Let's talk about DIY. In Brazil aquarium lights are really expensive for us. Not just because it is expensive, but our paycheck is short too haha. So I made a wooden light support to hold all the lamps. I used the same light setting that I was using in the previous tank, but I want to share with...

Yes

Would love to know how you have 5gdh and zero kh out of the tap... regardless beta's like soft (low kh) water 😀

Thanks all, appreciate the input

Really sorry to hear about your losses. The tank is looking superb. What kind of leaves are the botanicals?

I recently got myself Skylight hyperspot fl for my tank and I'm very very pleased with it. Edit: nvm Ive read that you've made a choice already [emoji6]

Thank you very much for your guidance Michael! Just some of my responses to your suggestions 1. I've downloaded the calculator and have been playing around with it. My ignorance is which is the best formula to clone or target to aim for 2. So ideally I should go for MgSO4, CaCl and K2SO4 to...

I picked up a Week Aqua S-series to mount on the rim of the Shrimphaus. I am happy with this light so far and did an in-depth write-up. Short version: excellent lighting quality, mounts securely. Controlled by bluetooth from a phone app which works well and is reasonably intuitive to use -...

Gutting about the old one, but onwards and upwards! Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

Good luck with your new set up.

After the physical crash, I had to lower the water level and wait for a new tank, the Angelfish was donated. My plants suffered a little bit during those days: It stayed like this for a few weeks. But overall it did great, I added springtails to deal with mold, that appeared after I lowered the...

Very nice I also have a pink and yellow one but they get a bit bigger then the white one. If I ever get a bigger tank I intend to grow some in there. For now creating more shadow spots in my current tank would be disastrous [emoji23]

Hello guys and gals! For a quite long time I was preparing myself to set up a new planted tank using under gravel filter (UGF), but I also wanted to try the lasagna method that I learned with Alex, from the "Fishtory, the History behind your aquarium" a YT channel that I find quite informative...

Condolences Courtney. Tank, plants, shrimp and fish are looking good!

Curveball Since my last update life has thrown curveballs like they were confetti! I couldn't find the fish I was after but it was the least of my worries. Unfortunately both of my Grandads passed away in the last month and I'm certain it influenced my decision to make this low tech tank even...

Alright, thank you for your reply!

Ah I see, thank you very much!

Dennerle's Amblystegium serpens is quite green emersed and very compact/tight to whatever it's attached to. Mini Christmas moss is also great for this.

eBay, Planted Reef and random tanks at fish shops is where I found all of mine!

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/ifc-aquarium-fertilizer-calculator.63045/ @Zeus. is a sound method for raising kH but I personally would not even go as high as 4, I run mine at less than 1 although I would not advocate this for a newcomer to hobby but 2's plenty. You can also feed additional...

Hi Any recommendations please?

Depends on numerous factors. Bottom line is unless you just use those RGB 5 meter rolls of LEDs or even plain white and use like smart home controllers you probably won't save money. Or maybe a bunch of 5/$ eBay LEDs. It's more if the idea of making it " your" build. Like doing...

What’s the build cost to make one of these DIY LED lights?

My little lily flowered only once a long time ago in 2018 back then she was bigger. The one in the bowl is a cutting from the lily below. It would be gorgeous if she would make such a tiny flower as yours in the bowl by the window. They can flower indoors with enough light. This is the other...

First if you are going to build it yourself I'd not settle for just RGB. Deep red(660), green, amber,royal blue(450) Or if really adventurous deep red,cyan,amber,blue(470). You can play with this calculator: https://1023world.net/raycal/ Decide what your best look is and use that as a sort of...

Went outside and one just happen to flower, my finger is just to show the scale of the flower.

I am Sushanth Kiran Bhat N from india . I would love discuss more about the making own rgb led light for my aquarium.Can u provide any details of your to get in contact with you . please 🙏.

Thank you, I will definitely be buying the salts/minerals to make my own ferts this week. I'll pick up some potassium bicarbonate at the same time. I did buy my dry powders off TNC many years ago but they seem to have stopped selling them. Any suggestions on the best place to buy them these...

Thanks mate ill have a look

I'm not sure properly identifying ferns can sometimes be tricky, but it looks like Asplenium sp. And the ones growing to cliffs and walls do not like to be wet all the time in my experience. Mature ferns in general don't like to be moved from their preferred spot without suffering at least some...

I didn’t mean to suggest that you can’t use ADA Bio Cubes long term, it is after all just bits of chopped up foam! I just read somewhere that ADA considered it a “starter” media before using something different. The Bio Cube concept seems a good way of using up those small trimmings from...

Yes DIY it and you are done for a few quid... All you need is a frosted glass foil on the back panel and an RGB LED strip behind the tank on the cabinet pointing up. And a natural white coloured LED mounted to the top rim of the tank pointing down. Both strips are in the length of the tank. Then...

Thanks Zozo , I found a pic of the fern I mentioned in my first post. Do you think it is the same species? I am tempted to collect one from the cliff and try it again but this time I won't allow it to be constantly wet.

Very nice, I have 3 types of pygmy lilys in my small pond outside.

Yup! That looks very much like an Asplenium ruta-muraria. :) They are very picky and sensitive... I bought them a few years ago and taking them from the habit they are used to and replacing them is not welcome. Non survived...

I'm moving things around and had to find a new place for my first little lily. Have a bowl and a stand and a window with loads of sun. So here we go, the only place I had... I did not know what to expect, didn't know what to call it, it's hardly scaping, it isn't Wabi Kusa...? But it...

Hi all, there a shaded part on my street and on a cliff there are three ferns nested on the brittle stone. I believe I have previously collected the same fern from another place in my city again growing on rock. I kept it in my paludarium but eventually I lost it and came to believe that it...

True. I thought about the petchii cause of the ruffed edges. Oh well either way awesome!

Looks like Crypt Flamingo!

Ultimate reef is pretty good to get some fairly rare macro algae

Higher lighting levels and longer lighting duration...will increase the chances of turning both plant sp's red...l don't bother with limiting Nitrate! As this could have a negative affect on other plant species that l have in the aquarium. Only thing you need to watch out for is Green Thread...

Hi and welcome back :wave: So you just need to add a little KH as your GH is fine already, as mentioned above. When your present remineralisers run out, you save some money and get some Potassium Bicarbonate and make a solution as below and just add 5ml for every 1 litre of water added to...

Think the rotala to the right will become a nice addition :thumbup: What are the pink species to the left? C. Beckettii Petchii pink?

Thanks bazz I'll contact @shangman

Nice looking tank, I'm surprised those Crypts haven't started randomly popping up all over the substrate.

Welcome! :wave:

@Mr.Shenanagins That looks so cool! Never seen such a colour pattern on a costata and when i see the size of your ottocinclus i can imagine the size of the leaves. It's indeed a smaller version of the 'tiger' you created :cool: Few days ago i planted a few cryptocoryne costata in my own tank...

Have you seen this? Journal - The Mermaid’s Rockpool Garden, not solely macro algae but well worth a read.

Did you get the light screens in the end? What do you think of them?

Hi all, Just use a horticultural fertiliser <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination">. This is the nutrient breakdown. I'd just use an "all in one" fertiliser mix, but at a low dosage rate. If your <"plants are nitrogen limited"> they aren't going to...

Hi all, You can leave them both in if you wish. Have a look at <"Is expensive bio media worth it?"> & <"Replace biohome ultra with foam?"> "Activated charcoal" stops being "activated" but is fine as a <"biological filter medium">, same with the <"ADA Bio Cube">. cheers Darrel

I did think of RO but Darrel on here suggested rainwater so I’ve been collecting it from a large shed roof into a 210L water butt. It gets cleaned out around once a year and I try to keep the gutters clean. I also filter the water through kitchen roll before use to help keep any bugs out. I also...

Very good question, I can’t help except to say when I’ve used Carbon to remove tannins it needed changing after three or four weeks. I also read somewhere that ADA don’t intend their Bio Cubes to be used long term? Hopefully someone will be along soon with some better information for you.

Have not used dry salts at all, so not sure what to buy at all. Ive been using TNC complete so far with my previous 100L inert gravel substrate, but have switched to a aquasoil now. I would like to use APT zero/1 to make my rotalas and red root floaters red. Im UK based so ive seen Aqua care...

Brilliant I'll keep my GH at 6 and drop my KH to 4 then, Thanks again.

Yes, you need to keep GH min 5/6 for snails and shrimp, KH for the plants 😀

I only use the tap for degassing after I did filter maintenance as it will dump a lot of air into reactor once restarted. I newer leave it open and also always keep reactor valve fully open. I never degass CO2.

Nice sun set tonight.