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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...

Hiya @Ryanj8825 It looks like the regulator you have is designed to fit the disposable gas bottles, these come with a M10×1 thread. Like this. It fits this type of cylinder. Unfortunately I'm not aware of any connector that can take that thread to a BS341 / DIN477 / W21.8×14 female nut...

Different cylinders may use different threads depending on the intended use and the technical norms in each country. It is possible that somewhere in the world there are cylinders which fit in your regulator without any adaptation or connector.

not as description, so should get a refund if open a dispute with PayPal

Nerite are just amazing for cleaning hardscape. I can clearly see where that snail's been. P. S. I saw these the other day at my LFS. I have never seen them before. They LFS didn't know what they are either. Apparently they are called pumpkin nerites or pink lady nerites (fitting name as they...

thanks for the help. It was listed as ready to go.

I have done 2 60% water changes while vacuuming the substrate. The water was disgusting to say the least. I did a heavy trim and the tank looked good again. For a few days. Then it kind of bounced back again. I added 8 more amanos, 13 nerites, a large ramshorn and 4 more otos. The hardscape is...

No sorry, only ever bought them as complete regulators. I’d return it unless it’s was listed as spares/repairs

Thanks Paul! Have you links so I can purchase one? Or know a website?

They look exactly like in the photo. I slightly increased the ferts again but I think it made algae worse.

...dosing etc. You might have to dose additional <"chelated iron"> (Fe), (and possibly magnesium (Mg)), purely because of the <"hard and calcium (Ca) rich"> nature of your tap water. * it will be less than these values because you won't have the addition from the Solufeed 2 : 1 :4. cheers Darrel

Thank you for your input. The tank was set up in October last year though so I would expect it to balance out by now. It must be the organics and the lower plant mass (of stems). I'm still struggling with algae 😕

Hi Looks like your missing a piece, male threaded pipe one end and a spinning nut other end to connect to the FE

Thank you for all the helpful links and information. I will go through them over the next couple days to see what I can learn. From my limited reading it doesn't seem possible to keep tropical plants like this if your humidity is in the 50% region even with daily spraying?

Hi all, That is it, just below a node (where the axillary buds are), and then trim the cut stem back to the next node <"The Art of Nature Aquarium">., removing the "snag" of tissue (the section above the node). Plant the cutting (the bit with the apical bud) and the axillary buds should then...

Thanks for the reply, I just bought this of eBay.. it stated on the advert it was all ready to plug in and go. I’ve literally just took it out the box

Without wishing to sound condescending (I hope I don't and forgive me if i do) but have you removed the horn (the black applicator where the CO2 comes out from by unscrewing it from the body of the extinguisher?

Welcome :) agree with you on the Celestial Pearl Danio I love watching mine do the dance and put on a show

Greetings from Ukraine! why not combine 2 favourite hobbies? In autumn 2020 I tried to rescue a dying phalaenopsis by putting it in my blackwater biotope aquarium. Now it is a beautiful healthy plant with strong roots and grows on the emersed part of the driftwood. It regularly blooms twice a...

Hello, really struggling finding a connection to connect my co2 fire extinguisher to my regulator. Can anybody help me out? Tia

Welcome and nice start

Welcome :)

Thanks for the advice. It was doing better I hacked a few stems and replanted. After a while it just started to look scruffy and lots of the leaves were turning yellow and brown. I'm currently dosing with APT 1 daily so will try moving it as you and @MichaelJ have suggested!

Last time I checked, this was the definition of an expert. There is a researcher in Brazil that managed to sprout a rare plant, that was quite difficult, because there was no prior relevant research on that specific specimen. She did it so well that it growed as high as one meter in a pot...

Welcome! I'm jealous of the access the west coast has to nice aqua scaping stores. Not much out here in the NE. :/ Oh, and if you're in it for the long haul, get ready to spend a lot more money haha

Always tricky when going away and want to do for all the 'what ifs' :arghh: I done the same approach as @ian_m in the past which has worked well accepting the plants going a little laggy and straggly as Ian says, bit of maintenance and your soon back on track. Another option which I didn't...

Hi all, I can think of a few, @zozo (Marcel) is a good source. <"Where The Jungle "Destroys" Red Rock Creek..">. <"Journal - Mission Bathtub and the Pollywog Party..."> <"Does anyone have experience growing, Echinodorus 'Small bear' and Echinodorus 'Yellow Sun'"> Then there was @BigTom...

Don’t pull them up, just trim and replant the tops. Best to trim at a level just below any hardscape so the ugly ends are hidden until they start to grow again. And repeat as and when necessary. The rooted stems should produce two or more new shoots, so you should end up with dense bush. One I...

Simplest way would be to get a smart plug for the lights as well and use it only when on holiday. Sunset feature isn't all that important, especially if there is no one there to see it. Lights would simply turn on for ages, before LEDs. Alternatively, you could use a plug that can be controlled...

⚒️ H A R D S C A P E B U I L D ⚒️ Making progress on the mossy stream…

Quick phone picture. Fish thought it was feeding time, when in fact it was bed time. This isn’t really what I had in mind for this tank, but I am slowly adding epiphytes and also moss. I love the gangly stems, and the way Bolbitis grows through the wood. Plants such as the guppy grass, Riccia...

I usually trim a top section off, at a node, where there are hopefully new roots already forming. I then carefully remove the leaves at the very bottom of the cutting and replant. I trim the rest of the planted section down a bit, if it's extra straggly.

Hi all, Good, I knew it should / does work, but it is always nice to have some confirmation. We have quite a few threads (on all sorts of subjects) where we've offered advice, and the OP says that they have started following it, but after that we just don't get anymore posts. The problem at...

Hi. Not wanting to miss an opportunity of replanting a Stem Plant, I have been doing a bit of reading up an the forum, back to 2007 about trimming and replanting when stems get a bit ragged. It seems normal practice to pull growing stems from the substrate, trim off the bad bit and replant the...

Before I built my PLC, which has a holiday timer mode, I just turned everything down when I went away. I ran my tank over 5 weeks whilst on holday, with lights & CO2 starting 2 hours later and turning off an hour earlier. Basically had 2 T4 tubes on for 4 hours only. Also reduced fertiliser...

Nice example. I think the key is choosing the right plants from the outset, ones that don't mind their feet in water but can also tolerate lower humidity. So you're not necessarily restricted to what we normally consider aquatic plants. You also have more than a few houseplants to choose from as...

Hi - new to aquascaping and 1st time using CO2 so apologies for if this is a stupid question......... I have Twinstar G Line lights and CO2 kit supplied by Aquarium Gardens. (Absolutely amazing customer service!!!!) The Twinstar's have their inline timer / dimer control and the CO2 will be on...

Welcome ,it's looking good

Best ditch the compromised Anubias. Try purchasing replacements from the Wanted/Sale forum!

Good morning and welcome, The only advice I could offer at this early stage would be to add a fair few bunches of fast growing stem plants even if it's only temporary (they can be removed later if they do not fit in the final picture). They do not even need to be planted and can be weighted or...

Rotala could be sold to you in the emersed form...therefore need time to transition to aquatic life! Rotata macranda really need Co2 to do well. Black marks and leaf degradation are a consequence of low Co2 levels! hoggie

Welcome :)

A panoramic view of the submersed plants on the bank.

Thanks @richardcunliffe ! It certainly took a while to get this project started.

The CW51s in the breeding box are eating. I have been feeding them food soaked with metronidazole and I hope that takes care of the majority of any parasites they might have. I think it's working as I have 3 Corydoras CW27s in quarantine (they came with damaged dorsals) and I fed them some of...

Welcome! :wave:

Sorry foxfish, only just seen this. Yes it's an old fortified town in Western France. Didn't have much time for sight seeing, was there to sign off an automated welding machine at Lincoln Electric who have there French manufacturing headquarters in this location. Used to be SAF/Air Liquide site...

So I have this makeshift live blackworm culture using a small breeder box filled with crushed lava rocks, hanging from the side of my main aquarium. The box is connected to an air tube which supplies clean tank water and oxygen for the worms. Two days ago I fed them a small piece of algae wafer...

Goals: Plants are priority. I'd love to get my many species of red plants looking quite red. I know to do that I would need to severely limit the nitrates in my water column, and right now I'm just not there yet-- most of the plants haven't even rooted, and I haven't done my first trim on...

Aquariums with emersed growth are amazing and add a whole extra dimension to it! Chris AKA @shrimpery on Instagram is well known for doing this in 'pond tanks'. This is a link to his guide. There are lots of other examples on UKAPS that I can't recall right now. Someone will chime in... I've...

Dry-start Date: 10 April, 2024 Flood Date: 20 April, 2024 Cycle-complete Date: 20 May, 2024 (2 ppm NH4 in 24 hrs) So, I hope it's okay to make my first post a tank journal instead of an introduction? If not... well, I guess it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission ;) I'm a molecular...

Sure. Personally I run my UV 24/7 as well... and I do not dose more chelated traces because of that and got no signs of deficiencies. In any event, the application of UV is tricky and its value is very hard to quantify in a freshwater aquarium. It probably gives us a false sense security in...

Recently got a UNS 45s (ada 45f clone) tank with a stand I purchased for my 45u (45p clone) I am planning on setting up. I never thought much about shallow tanks but after getting it home I started poking around the net looking at some examples and I came across some awesome tanks with emergent...

Great information thank you @Happi great read 👍 I'm planning to order both these solufeed to test them myself for my 20g and small nano. My worries are my water parameters which is really high in nitrate(30ppm) from my water report which I've attached. Would you be able to to help me with a...

Nice @Mike Singh. Congratulations on finally getting it built! Looks great, looking forward to seeing it grow out.

Good Trappist beer. The only one brewed in the UK.

Yes! Shells are much better though I do still lose a snail here and there (with a translucent shell). But I’m seeing many, many more with much more solid looking shells than before. The grit that I put in the tanks a few months ago is mostly still there. Very little has dissolved. I’ve also...

You will probably understand what I mean more in these pictures. The leaves of these plants are not normal and I don't know where the problem comes from.

MAINTENANCE - 1 WEEK OLD Water Change Near 100% weekly Plants Significant Crypt melt (expected) Dead leaves removed Fertilizer None as yet Either Sea weed fertilizer or DIY fertilizer mix will be used in a few weeks Substrate Tropica Aquasoil topped up as some sinking occurred Sand...

Gotta love cryptocorynes. Never a dull moment. I have this C. Spiralis 'tiger' for several years and ALWAYS the leaves have smooth edges... Except for the newest leaf ofcourse ...🤪

Hi All, I’ve recentle rescaped my rio 180l and would love to stock it with primarely inverts, oto’s and maybe after some time very tiny rasbora’s. I’ve added some pictures of the scape, the aquarium is divided by large lava rocks, in front there is sand and in the back it is filled wit laca...

Thank you, I understand your recommendation but I'd rather keep the UV on 24/7 to absolutely minimize the risk of parasites or disease in the tank. Not everyone would agree with me on this and I respect that, but I'd rather risk the plants than the fish. In addition, I also think that with...

Thanks! That was definitely one of my aims with this one.

Here's my experience with flow, CO2 dist., and algae: I love flow and I refuse to rest until every plant is moving in the current. I generally run 15x turnover. However, don't confuse flow with CO2 distribution and well distributed flow. You can get by with almost marginal flow provided it is...

Well somethings I life just takes a turn sometimes, wich you all the best and I think your tanks inspired lots of folks. I really hope you wil come back to the hobby and that you will come back to the forum now and then. 💚

Just read the whole thread. It's an beautiful tank indeed. It had pretty high dosage of nutrients. Just wondering how my tank is doing, never had an test kit just a ph pen. Now I mixed up a batch with nitrate and phosphate and dose it manual daily I will see if it improves. 🙏

For what its worth. Before i started my thread here on ukaps last month i was a long time lurker and for some reason the handle 'CooKieS' and your threads became for me very inspirational just like some other oldtimers here. I learned a lot from you guys reading your journals for hours and...

Its hammertime! The new wendtii tropica leaf is getting more and more bumps and dents. Seeing also bits of new leafs at the other two tropicas. Cool! In other news, i took my reactor and put the blue foam higher in the cannister and filled it up with water to the roof. No more gurgling sound...

What is the cause of brown and even black spots on the leaves? It seems that the original color of the plant is lost and a black spot remains on it. But the growth of the plants is good and they are sprouting.

Hi @MichaelJ It's not that old (less than half a year). I'm at about 450ppm out of the tap, so coming down to 25ppm after the membrane gives me about 95% efficiency. Which I think is kind of ballpark what's expected. I decided not to use the DI element that came with the system. My tank is...

Aww that’s a shame. I thought all your scapes look amazing! Hope to see something from you again in the future.

The hardscape materials are: Yamaya stone… and Talawa wood… Yamaya stone is a new material to me but gives me a nice a ‘stream’ feel. I have used Talawa wood before in my Re-education scape. Its linear structure and bark offer a nice tree feel. I will use a sand and gravel substrate, and...

There is an overflow in the mizukusa wall where any overflow streams down the rear of the wall back into the tank 👍🏻

Hi @LFNfan How come your RO water is that high? How old is the membrane/cartridges ? Cheers, Michael