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I'll have a go. Sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose, which is broken down and converted to 2 glucose, fermentation of which produces 4 CO2 and 4 ethanol. That ratio is in moles not mass, so is converted by multiplying by the molar masses, giving (I think) 1kg sugar : 0.51kg CO2 ...

It definitely has some similarities to flukes, but I don't think it is quite right. Also they seem to be almost entirely ectoparasites (skin/gills) not intestinal. Just googled it and rotifers looks to be spot on! Interesting that they seem to survive in the digestive tract, but I assume they...

Can anyone ID these? I found two species present in the fresh faeces of one of my headstanders (Chilodus punctatus/gracilis). The pictures/video were taken at 100x on a microscope. I found 9 individuals of the first species and only one of the second. The first, more elongate species seemed to...

Hi Henry, The tank and stand are still in use, the cabinet is generally in great shape. There has been slight swelling from some joins in the (melamine?) covering due to them getting wet. Obviously with more careful use this would not be a problem. They do also silicone seal the inside base of...

I've got two e1501 running and have never had that problem with the elbows cracking despite frequently messing around with the connections so I'm not sure what's going on there. As for the e401 issues, whenever I have air caught in the filter I either leave it to sort itself out or rock the...

Perhaps oxygen levels are on the low side, how much surface movement do you have? If there is no surface movement and unhappy plants there may be very little oxygen. Increaseing surface rippling will increase oxygen but also drive off CO2 so you may need to increase CO2 as well. I have found...

Subscribed! No doubt this will be as good or better than the last disobedience :thumbup:

I sometimes find my plants look a little pale on the top at lights on, which is also when I dose micros. I've always just assumed that it is a very slight and temporary micro deficiency which is fixed within hours of the photoperiod/micros being dosed. Could well be something else though. I...

Here is a pic I just took of some silicone bubbles, which I'm beginning to think is more than I like (for looks and structural) although I don't think it is actually structurally weak. Don't let this put you off. So certainly not flawless but if money is tight then ND Aquatics are a great option.

Here is a link to a thread I replied to with full pics of my setup when it was new. http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/cheap-custom-tmc-signature-style-tank.34558/#post-369151 As you can see the silicone is visible but not obtrusive in my opinion. I have also come to realise that there are...

I also have an ND aqautics tank (and cabinet) and I am very happy with it. It is optiwhite with clear silicone. All very good quality and for a decent price, however you should know that the silicone although very neat is not just in the glass-glass edge like in ADA or TMC signature tanks, it is...

If you can I would raise the lights up high, possibly using one of the par/distance graphs to estimate at what height the doubled wattage will output the same par as before. Then you can slowly lower the light unit, increasing CO2 as you go until you reach an optimum level. If you can't do...

I might be tempted to remove the left most branch as it is relatively thick and this makes it very dominant in the scape in my opinion.

I found decreasing my dosing to half EI has helped to produce the proper leaf shape, although it is still relatively inconsistant, I have noticed some stunted tips in the last few days so it is by no means a complete solution, I have yet to notice any deficiencies apart from occasional pale...

Yep, those are definitely sterbai. I must say they are my favourite cory by far. The orange front edge of the pectoral fins is there main distinguishing feature along with the solid colouring of grey/white spots. I find most cories are just too pale, but these guys have strong patterning. Sorry...

Great growth after just one week! I'm sure this will be a stunnning dutch scape. I'm very tempted to copy you and go dutch at some point.

Beatifully simple :thumbup: Some bettas would look nice in their, but what about something like apistos or kribensis, lurking amongst the anubias? Just a thought ;) Crypt balansae is a lovely plant and very easy to grow.

How are you adding oxygen? An air punp, increased surface agitation or something more sophisticated? The tank is looking great and the colorata should make the colours a lot more varied (and red:))

I see them! It should wonderful when the rocks are covered in so many different buces, its quite a collection you have, must have cost you a fortune!

Pics not working on android browser for me...

Perfection. This is now possibly my favourite scape of all time. Congratulations Luís, you are an amazing aquascaper :clap:

Sorry some odd formatting there, can't remove the first image for some reason...

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/brighid-sleeps.37083/ This is the scape I mentioned. I wouldn't completely rule out threadfins based purely on what I said, however if you are after something for a 50 strong group you maybe able to find something that shoals a little better. The threadfins...

Not exactly answering your question BUT: I had a group of threadfins who were very happy in my 60L tank that was run without plants as a storage tank for my fish until the new tank was setup. When I moved the threadfins over they eventually died off, except for a single female who remains alive...

Great news about the new tank! Have you got any pics or description of how the inside of the reactor works?

Hi pedro, wonderful tank as always :thumbup: Is there any reason for such a low dose of Mg compared to EI?

So perhaps 3/4 EI macro? What about micro, decrease to standard EI levels?

Sorry forgot to say that macro is from the EI guide but micro is double the dose recomended by aqaurium plant food uk (so a larger dose than the EI guide recommends)

I have grown this plant a few times and it always seems to end up with this same stunting/deficiency but only on some parts of some stems. The tank is 180L 90x45x45cm 2x 39W t5 30cm from water surface Full EI as per the EI guide on the forum (adjusted to tank size), split into daily doses. 2x...

It already is! Francisco could you tell us your fertiliser dosing regime? And is your water hard or soft? Do you run the led on full? Do you have any other advice on how you achieve such a healthy tank.

Definitely better than the previous one, the previous one had great textures but in the end it was just a mound, here you've used the same skill to create intricate textures and flow with the rock, but making a much more appealing overall shape. Sorry if you have said this already but what type...

Floating plants could provide a nice natural looking dimmed/dappled effect, although you may struggle to find an African floater (or not).

The flow is certainly strong, causing decent motion of plants at the bottom at the back however none of the H.Z. is next to the spraybars. I struggle to believe that it is being ripped a part by flow although I can't provide a better reason...

And I was hoping this would be an easy, fast growing weed of a plant! HE = high efficiency = less light?

The leaves of my heteranthera zosterifolia seem to be breaking up slightly despite promising growth from emersed, what you see is new, submerged growth. Some info: 180L 90x45x45cm tank 1 point pH drop at lights on ( 7.96 - 6.93) using inline atomiser. Lights on for 6 hours, 2x 39w T5 30cm...

At least he got to see the success of his creation in Lisbon, his most spectacular aquascape. RIP Takashi Amano :(

Wonderful video (I need to get me a GoPro), that is such a vibrant aqautic habitat, most of the rivers I've seen around the uk seem relatively lifeless, just fast flowing water and rocks. Anyone know the name of that bright green plant at the beginning (looks a bit like rotala sp green!) Is it...

Welcome, That is a really nice tank and a great example of how successful a simple low tech tank can be. Sterba's cories are by far my favourite corydoras and one of my favourite fish overall. The cardinals look amazing under the moon lighting.

What type of discus is this? It is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I often wonder why people always go for a mixture of colours, obviously it is nice to try different types but just one or two varieties would look very natural.

I think a lot of the problem comes down to time and money. People are not willing/able to spend thousands of pounds on par meters etc and to buy tanks only to set them up as experiements. Nor can people afford a full ADA setup. Most people may only have 1 or 2 tanks and they want these to be...

Tempting...

Just after I ordered a tank-full of plants I noticed this offer was on...:mad: Typical, but that's life I suppose.

Don't despair :shh: It is the difficult times that really make you appreciate the good times. I hope you can get the tank sorted and the fish back into their home. Then I'm sure you'll be able to rediscover some of the joy that currently feels so lacking. Good luck!

I have heard this also but being some one who uses an atomizer I would say I see no obvious way this could work, there is no build up of micro bubbles on the underside of leaves for plants to access gaseous CO2. What I do know is that they are easy to use and quick to dissolve CO2, where...

Now what I want to see is a biotope done on that scale, but with aesthetics in mind, then you'd really see some natural fish behaviour.

Aeschynomene fluitans, I believe, it was mentioned earlier in this journal, a lot of people have taken a great interest in it aswell, although sadly it seems to be widely unavailable.

Great video! Seeing how effective those wave scissors are for trimming a carpet I think I need to get me some. The tank is looking great and is clearly in very good hands :thumbup:

I had a some threadfins for a while, all of which did fine in a low tech temporary tank (open top), but when put into my high tech I noticed that many of them pumped their gills (presumably due to high co2) while no other fish did. Through a combination of unexplained deaths and maybe one jumper...

Where did you buy the planters from? Also what substrate did you use in them? The growth in the high tech is looking great :thumbup:

I tested my APS 4x 39w T5 hanging luminaire with a tube missing and I remember the other tube would flicker as it turned on, which didn't happen when both tubes were connected. I know it is a small thing and I have no real understanding of the electronics but I decided against using just 1 tube...

I did notice a similar paling a week ago and added a micro dose on the rest day, after which the pale colour dissapeared, I think 1.5 micro is a good bet, and of course I'll keep considering CO2, although I do feel I am getting near the right level (turns out my 7bps ends up being roughly equal...

My best guess is that I have added more than 500ml to the supposedly 500ml dosing bottles when making a mix, thus dosing a less concentrated amount. However seeing as EI is unlimited nutrients and I am not running excessive lighting, it should not have made a huge difference.

Is this an iron deficiency (plant rotala rotundifolia) I am dosing EI according to APF instructions with APF ferts: 4tsp potassium nitrate 1tsp potassium phosphate 6tsp magnesium sulphate 500ml water 1tsp chelated trace mix 500ml water Dosing 36ml 3x a week of each, alternating. Macro Micro...

Ian, is the distance on the graph distance through water or total distance including air (like with hanging light)? If it is just water (judging by your response to the original post) then do you know how to work out par through air and water?

I use one, it is extremely efficient at cleaning the surface however you should be aware that fish and shrimp can get sucked in. I use a plastic mesh inserted in the top to prevent this, but I find this lowers the skimmer top, making it less effective at surface skimming. It also degasses quite...

I think the dirt is mostly decaying plant matter, so if you have dying leaves that contributes to the silt you are describing. The best thing to do is to just waft the affected areas with your hand and syphon out as much gunk as possible. Also removing dying leaves before they are dropped and...

I have CO2, lights and eheim skim on timers, digital and analog, never had a problem. You can leave the lights off for 48hrs, fish won't mind, the plants should be fine if it is genuinely dark, ambient sun light could cause algae though. I recently skipped a day of light on my tank after a...

Is the moss on the right side wood and rocks still the spiky moss? The colours in this tank are so varied and vibrant, a really great scape!

I use an intake strainer of an external filter for the same job, run in reverse so the water comes out the strainer. As water hits the bottom it fans out through the slots. Works really well.

That's a really nicely shaped bit of wood, the rocks look to have a great texture and colour, I especially like the use of lots of small pieces of rock, it makes it more intricate and will help merge the rock into the substrate. My one small criticism is that I think perhaps the rocks could...

Just realised I have exactly the same thing on the same plant as you Paulo. I am dosing full EI (with mg) and very hard water (19dGH). So zanguli-ya-zamba, you think we just have to wait it out? :( (While keeping maintenance as good as possible)

Judging by these (old?) pics I think it needs more plants, but you say H.polysperma is growing out of the tank, so some more recent pics would be great. I really like the seperate islands of rocks/wood, it creates great perspective. Once the plants have all grown in (and we get pics ;)) it...

That carpet (monte carlo?) is looking great, really healthy. Overall plant health is very good, however I find the straight, horizontal part of the wood a little distracting/out of place. Once the moss grows in it should dissapear. :clap:

Emersed form: Submerged form:

Meaning basically no ammonia/nitrite, I assume, but surely plants can still have fert/CO2/light issues, especially as demand increases but CO2 remains the same (and seemingly low in this case). So even with negligible organics and high plant mass, plant health can be poor and ferts high ->...

Sounds good, do please keep us updated (with pics :D)

Hi Tom, That rock arrangement is very nice :clap:especially that outcrop. Good luck with the aiptasia, they sound like a nightmare. Could you do an equipment list so that people could see the cost and hardware involved in a nano reef? I would like give one a go someday, if my budget and time...

Sorry, double post, but I can't seem to delete the last smiley and the first pic when I edit???

Finally managed to delete the double post.

I took this one ages ago, but I'm very proud :happy: Macro attempt, with some accidental reflected product placement :shh: An amano tucking into a blood worm Spotted this berried cherry shrimp today - very excited! I removed some of the url I found, you just want it from...

IMG_2114[/url] by Crossocheilus1, on Flickr[/IMG] Nope, didn't work… What link do I want to use to display a pic from flickr?

Thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to do a proper update. I have added: 20 amano shrimp 17 cherry shrimp 25 copper harlequins 5 threadfin rainbow fish 4 ottos 4 sterba's cories 1 bamboo filter shrimp I syphoned out the sand as it was covered in aqausoil and looked a mess and relaced...

I respect that you want to persevere with, what I have also learnt recently, is a very difficult thing. You also seem to be getting some results now. You've still got a way to go, but if that's what you want to do, and you're willing to make more mistakes and potentially spend quite a lot to fix...

I'm sure most things will be fine, I currently chuck in a Hikari Algae Wafer or some JBL nova prawn granuals (because they are what my lfs had) now and then. Basically any veg based or shrimp specialist food will be fine, just make sure not to add too much, otherwise it could cause ammonia/algae...

I keep amanos with micranthemum 'monto carlo' which is very similar to hc. I've never seen them eat any leaves and have no bare stalks. Perhaps the amanos are slightly starved of food, if you have very little algae and lots of shrimp you may need to supplement their food with algae wafers or...

Valley of colours, sounds good, perhaps a bit more hardscape in that? Have you ever used an atomizer or ceramic glass diffuser? If so how do they compare to the reactor in your opinion? Thanks

My tank has been set up for 3 months so emersed-submerged isn't an issue now. I dose ei so there shouldn't be any deficiency. I suppose CO2 is the most likely issue, I run 2 39w T5 on a 180L tank so I doubt it is a lack of light although it is the leaves near the top of the tank that do better...

I have the same, it seems to be the only plant suffering in my tank, whereas rotala rotundifolia, ludwigia sp., rotala wallichi, flame moss, bucephaladras, monte carlo, hairgrass, trident fern, fissidens, riccardia chamedryfolia and hydrcotyle tripartita are all doing pretty well. All the...

Just found three large branches have fallen off our buddleia due to the wind. We think it might be buddleia davidii. Would the wood be aquarium safe?

Could be salvinia cucullata, I had a salvinia in my tank a while ago that looked just like that.

Ok, so algae based, treat with excel/easycarbo and that's about it. As I said before may replace all flame moss with spiky (which attaches) or weeping. Thanks for the help

I love those emergent plants, everything is looking really healthy. I am impartial towards the carpet, planted or not it doesn't matter too much for me. You just need the ferns to grow now.

So they photosynthesise, and filter feed? Seeing as I have no other algae I would hope the filter feeding is why they survive. Is there some way I can easily kill them without harming the moss or tank inhabitants? I could always remove all the moss as i have decided that I don't really like the...

Nope, no movement. Looking on the planet inverts website they have a thing called bryozoans, which do not sting, unlike hydra, filter plankton out of the water but have a hard skeleton that multiple polyps inhabit, but I haven't found any obvious skeleton thing. Hmmm...

They don't have the long base stalk, just a large number of grey/white hairy fronds growing in tufts on the moss.

Microscope pic, 4x magnification.

These white polyps have invaded my flame moss, nothing else in the tank. Could someone identify and tell me how to irradicate them? Any treatment must be completely shrimp safe. I can get a slightly better pic if need be.

Hey Victor could I ask what T5 tubes you use? I am not happy with the colours from what I am currently using. Thanks And btw I love all your tanks, although I do find it frustrating how you have so much success with very high light, a glass co2 diffuser and not ideal flow... yet I struggle...

Sounds like you've got it all sorted :thumbup:

Thanks, I've decided to turn CO2 on an hour earlier because by the end of the photoperiod by dc is lime but at the beginning it is quite dark. I will make sure I am vigilant tomorrow for signs of distress in fish/shrimp. Looking a little light on foreground plants, if your budget can stretch...

Thanks, could you tell me what your light/CO2 timings are? And what sort of night time aeration you use, if any, and so what colour your dc is before CO2 on? Thanks for being patient and understanding about all my questions, it really does help me a great deal.

Great to see you've sorted the crisis. I have a few CO2 questions. How many bps are you running with which bubble counter, what dc colour and which atomizer? I'm trying to sort out how much CO2 I should be using on my 180L, with a lime dc by end of photo period I still have a little bit of...

That's grown quickly! Have you changed the lighting or adjusted settings on you camera because the colour rendition is less yellow now, making the scape look more sophisticated and professional. What lighting do you use and which tubes (if T5)

First of all can I say that that is a great looking scape, although you may want to add more wood as once the plants have grown it will disappear. As to the dry start. I have a couple of emersed propagators and what I have decided is that lots of different approaches seem fine. One thing is...

I think the red definitely improves the tank, it adds a layer of complexity of colour and texture to otherwise fairly uniform (but very healthy!) planting. Your tank just keeps getting better! It will be interesting to see how well they root into the wood.

Looks really great, you just need that carpet to fill out now :thumbup:

Understatement of the century -- it's going amazingly well! Congratulations on such a beautiful tank jose! The look of the tank has now completely changed from the two opposite mounds to a more Dutch style, but either way it looks spectacular.

Multiple tank syndrome :) I think everyone gets it at some point, I'm certainly tempted but in reality I don't have the funds or time for multiple tanks. The tank is looking great, sounds like you are handling the rearrange very well! It is a shame that sometimes what our plants need is...

So with a lower bps, no mist and the same lighting and flow (?) You have the same plant health (or better) as with an atomizer? If so I need to think about making one of these!