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That is super interesting about the age thing. Is it that older fish are less likely to spawn, or less likely to have viable eggs?

Ludwigia Super Red has always stayed red for me in all but the worst conditions

CPD fry are still chugging along nicely, filling their little bellies with brine shrimp. Interestingly there is now 8 of them, not just 7, with one being significantly smaller than the rest. It is at least half the size of the others. I assume the eggs I collected were from two spawns, one just...

And they are on to fresh hatched artemia, as can be seen by this little guys orange belly. The second the bbs hit the water this morning all seven were up out of the moss and hunting madly for them. Definitely didn’t get the same response with any of the previous foods (Sera Micron, ground up...

Washed in colour could be a bacteria issue. I had my tangerine tigers colony almost completely die overnight, the few survivors looked washed out before turning almost white and dying. I didn’t lose a single shrimp from the colony of blue dream cherries in the same tank.

Yeah, my experience has been that if it is water/contaminant related then CRS will die well before the cherries. My suspect would be something contagious, but then has any livestock/plants been introduced recently? Any cross contamination with other tanks?

Update: I have moved them out of the in tank mesh net and into a hang on/external breeder box. The net was looking a bit gross after feeding the powdered food and was a nightmare to clean, so the fry get an upgrade. Much easier to see them too. They are chasing vinegar eels, and I have seen a...

Thanks everyone. I haven’t been able to source hay for the green water so they are getting Sera Micron for now. They seem to be doing well on it, bellies look nice and full. I tried some vinegar eels, but they still look to be too big for the fry. Up to 7 free swimming fry now. Really hoping I...

Thanks for that. I will get some tubs started this week for the next batch of eggs I find. How long does it generally take for the tubs to ‘ferment’ enough to draw from?

when doing my weekly tank maintenance last week I found some fish eggs amongst the S. repens and transferred them to a breeders net in my quarantine tank. They hatched during the week and as of yesterday I have about 5 free swimming fry and a few more still clinging to the moss in the net. I...

this is the way of thinking that gave me a eureka moment when playing around with your accumulation spreadsheet. Front loading takes away the water change variable and you just ‘dose’ your projected accumulation.

certainly did, thanks mate

Thanks for the update! appreciate the work involved! Quick question for @Hanuman , do you use the calc for front loading ferts? if so what is the most efficient way to do so?

After 10 days with the pH controller, I must say I am a fan so far. Being a nervous nelly I have been checking the calibration daily and apart from the first 2 days where it was 0.05 out each time it has held calibration well. I am unsure if the first few days were user error or just the probe...

Ember tetras are the only fish lazy enough to allow a daphnia population explosion like that. Absolute layabouts.

Thanks Darrel, the probe is just a standard type with the membrane/liquid. I do confirm it with a Hanna pH pen. I was just thinking if I rotated between 2 probes, while having the out of use probe soak in storage solution it may extend the life by ‘recharging’ the fluid inside.

For probes from a pH controller, that live in the tank full time, would it be beneficial to buy a second probe and swap them out at intervals? Letting the probe that is not in use soak for that interval in 3M KCl?

Beautiful! The shaping on those stems is next level!

Just swap it over, be careful not to knock the needle valve if yours is sensitive, and it should be ready to go straight back into service.

My assumption was that the small drops on the leaf surface from the bubbles popping at the surface were causing pinholes. Either through the constant damp or focussing light when the lights came on. The red root floaters I have always have the leaves above the surface of the water, I assumed...

Like anything in this hobby, there are many ways to get it done. But I have found in my experiences that lots of surface agitation leads to a far healthier aquarium for both fish and plants.

Do you run aeration? I had an issue with floaters getting pinholes and it ended up stopping when I ceased overnight aeration. I think the water droplets from the bubbles popping were causing issues on the leaf surface.

I wouldn’t think it matters if you’re using it to mix solution for storage and not calibration. Probe storage solution is pretty cheap though and with most probed you are only using a drop or two in the cap each time.

Lots of surface agitation is ideal in most circumstances. Yes you will offgas CO2 but you not only raise oxygen levels, but you raise the levels of CO2 that you can keep stable in your tank. I would recommend trying it in your own tank, raise the amount of surface agitation and notice how much...

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/dialling-in-the-co2-injection-rate-and-co2-profiles.69460/ This is a super helpful description of how to do it if you have access to a pH meter/pen

Looks great! Definitely recommend dialling in CO2 before adding fish, whether that is with a drop checker or a pH pen.

Thanks for all the input everyone! I found the newer version of the Up Aqua pH controller at a local shop and after the positive reviews of the older model here I took the plunge into pH controllers. It looks to be the same setup as the ones posted here, just with a more modern look.

New gadget alert! I added a pH controller today. I already have a stable pH profile, with a 1 pH drop (measured on a 0.1 resolution pH pen). With the doubling of my lighting from 2xT5HO to 4xT5HO, I want to bump that up, but I wanted to do it gradually, so a pH controller seemed the perfect...

This is exactly what happens with the bazooka diffusers I use on my shrimp tank. It does take about 8 weeks to hit that point though. The only time it blocked up within a short period (<2 weeks) was when the glycerine I use in the bubble counter made its way down the co2 line into the diffuser...

The other option I thought of is to put a standalone solenoid downstream from the solenoid the controller is connected to, and have that run off a timer.

What about timers? I assume you all turn off the co2 injection overnight? Do you put the timer at the controllers electrical plug (ie the controller itself shuts off overnight) or between the solenoid and the controller outlet (ie controller stays on overnight but the timer prevents it powering...

Thanks, very helpful. I think I am interested in giving one a try. Mostly because I love a gadget but also because it would remove one point of worry when I am away from the tank for a week or two.

I was going to post this is the dialling in CO2 thread, but didn’t want to take it further off topic! I am wondering if those that use a PH controller could give a bit more information on their setups? I am interested in: What brand do you use? How often do you calibrate? What is the process for...

I have been meaning to start this one for quite a while, but I keep putting it off as it seems like too much effort to write the "story so far". Of course putting it off makes the story get longer, so I am just going to begin by posting the tank as it is today! As you can see, I enjoy a crowded...

Think this will help a lot of people. It can be a confusing process at first.

Of course! only calculator that lets me see all the micros on the same page and calculate the individual solutions at the same time (Feel free to put that on the infomercial 😃)

Thanks yet again for your help! All my ingredients have been ordered so I will be giving it a shot once they arrive.

Thanks for that Gregg, that’s super helpful. I just have a couple questions. Are you mixing those into a single solution for your dosing? If so do you mix it weekly or make up a larger batch of it to save time weighing out ingredients? I guess a quick rundown of your process would be greatly...

Sorry if I’ve missed it, but may I ask what raw ingredients you use to roll your own micros?

The issue is, that you have been continuously asking for this in a thread where we are discussing doing just that and other experiments. I think you had a point, but continuing with it is just dragging what is an interesting thread far off course. Changing from EI to a leaner dosing regime with...

How are you measuring PAR?

Interesting that we both, without meaning to have arrived at pretty much APT complete dosing levels

I am always keen for an experiment. I will continue with the urea dosing for now and in a few months see what happens when I withdraw it.

It seems very high. Have you tested the KH?

Bit of an update on my lean dosing adventure. First the tank currently: So first, the negatives: I had a decent outbreak of GSA, mostly on the glass and old buce leaves. I have upped the PO4 dosage and it appears to have stopped claiming more leaves and there has been almost none showing up on...

High flow doesn’t necessarily mean high velocity, which is what some smaller fish dislike (my embers have always preferred the less turbulent areas in my tanks). If you use multiple sources of flow or spread the flow out using a spraybar you can have a high turnover without areas of high...

This only works if you actually want to keep it, if you are trying to get rid of it then it gains the ability to survive breaking waves on the surface. It is a devils plant.

What ended up working out of interest?

As an addition to this, be very careful when gluing clear PVC, the solvent will turn it hazy if you are messy with it.

Yes. Makes it easy to clean the heater housing when I clean the filter.

In the tank it is in it most likely is CO2 levels, I have the light and CO2 turned down considerably as it has an MC carpet I don’t want to have to trim fortnightly. It grows beautifully if I remove the bottoms and replant the tops, but it I trim and leave the bottoms to branch, the branches...

That it is, and I find it needs to be pulled up and the tops replanted, as it doesn’t look great when it regrows if just trimmed.

One of my favourites, but I just can’t get it to grow reliably. Such a beautiful leaf form.

That doesn’t look like rotala to my novice eye, looks more like a myriophyllum sp. I am very likely to be wrong though!

Apologies for the bad photos, it is a cramped cabinet under a 45cm tank

unfortunately not. I would look at a PVC repair coupling, or I would cut my own thread into the acrylic tube. I have actually made my own DIY external heater from pvc, and I skipped the clear section. I use an STC 1000 t/stat to run it and didn’t bother with anything clear to see the light. My...

As an ex plumber, the silicon holding the joints together makes me very nervous. Particularly the acrylic to PVC. It isn’t a matter of if that will seperate, it is a matter of when.

I was wondering the other day if these would work ok in freshwater. Guess not. I have one of the low range phosphate ones left over from my reef tank days and that works well in freshwater, but it doesn’t have the “Marine” stamp on it

That makes sense, I hadn’t thought about accumulation.

8ppm PO4 per week, wow. That seems extremely high, what is the thinking behind that?

myriophyllum roraima will grow in anything in my experience. Larger stems but same bushy fine leaves, also has a nice rich coloured stem.

I know this isn’t the topic of the post, apologies to OP… but with the talk of PH probe technicalities… Why do I get a relatively instant read when checking calibration in buffer solutions, but it takes a while for the value to stabilise in tank water?

What timing!

Also it comes with set of 7 buffer, 4 buffer and cleaning fluid but my local horticulture shop had the 250ml bottles of buffers and the storage solution for $7 each. Should last a fair while, only need a drop of storage solution in the cap after each use and the buffer solutions last a while.

Not sure what they cost over there, but the Hanna PH Checker was the ‘lower’ cost option I went for. I have been very happy with it, it has held calibration well, still checks out after a month of use dialling in CO2. https://hannainst.com.au/hi98103-checker-ph-tester It’s only 0.1 resolution...

I am not an expert, but if you are omitting the potassium nitrate I would add potassium sulphate into the mix.

This is my thinking too. But I also think he must have an eye for miniscule changes in plant growth and health, so if he is finding positives in a different form of fertilisation I am definitely keen to hear about them.

All his tanks are stunning and healthy though! Is there a way to tell if it is the substrate/ferts or just his skills at optimising every other factor?

is the ‘burped’ CO2 just going out the filter outlet? If so I assume you would be right and you can lower the input to match what is actually being dissolved as the excess is just wasted.

Wonder if it would help to wrap the tank in blankets or towels to insulate it from the cold? I wouldn’t have thought a few days at those temperatures would kill plants completely but I have no actual experience of this as I live in a place where 15*C is an extremely rare phenomenon

Is there a way for someone to view the archived thread?

Agreed, especially ones that may look like colourful sugary drinks to children. The blue nickel solution always looks thirst quenching 😂

Thank you both! Into a dark box they go.

Do these need to be kept in the fridge to keep for that long?

I love pea puffers so much!

Do you have floating plants in your tank? I have noticed when I am floating stems, or after a carpet trim but before I have skimmed the trimmings, that my embers spend more time in the upper water column. I am thinking of putting in some red root floaters as they definitely seem happier with...

I love that ScapeCrunch article. The multitude of tips at the end are great and I have copied and pasted them into my aquarium notes for future reference. It also goes without saying that your tank is a real standout, the fish and plant health are amazing.

I had similar behaviour from my embers when I had 10 of them. added another 8 and now they are never shy and roam the tank all day. Being a smaller fish I believe safety in numbers is a strong instinct, you may need to find the tipping point where the school is big enough for them to feel safe.

Unfortunately the salts for DIY micros are extremely hard to come by in small enough quantities in Australia to make it viable. I have switched over to Yara Rexolin (same manufacturer as Tenso) and added in my own nickel. I am also using 13% EDTA Fe to add a different chelator (Rexolin is DTPA)...

New fert batch day so I can add my numbers as a data point Liquid fert dosing weekly ppms (micros delivered in one dose every day and macros split over 8 doses every day) N 1.8ppm (8ppm NO3) half from urea half from KNO3 P 0.16ppm (0.5ppm PO4) *worried this is a bit low, would love comments from...

I have been admiring your tanks on Facebook for some time, welcome and well done on such beautiful aquariums.

Beautiful tank and this thread is a great read.

It is 2.26ppm N per week (10ppm NO3) 1.68ppm of that is from NO3, 0.56ppm from urea. The 1.5ppm is PO4 so 0.49ppm of P. I make new ferts every 2 weeks, my plan is to reduce the NO3 in the next lot and observe. The occasional stunting in the rotalas in the jungle tank is the main reason I am...

Both were classic EI dosed previously. Current dosing per week on both tanks is: N 10 (using IFC calculator so I believe that is actually NO3?) with a ratio of 3:1 NO3 to urea. So about 0.36ppm of urea per day according to the calculator. P 1.5 K 5 ( I use potassium carbonate to remineralise RO...

I am currently doing the same in my two tanks. I have been dosing 10ppm NO3 and I am now dosing 25% of that with Urea. It’s only been a week now but not ill effects on invertebrates or shrimp. Can’t see any change yet in the jungle scape tank but the MC growth in my iwagumi shrimp scape has...

I am using RO. I’m also dosing urea and even though I have read conflicting information on the need for nickel I am looking to play it safe and add trace amounts

Thanks!

I am hoping someone can give me a quick science lesson so I can work out how much ammonium nickel sulfate to put in my micros. The IFC calculator has nickel sulfate in it, but I assume there is less nickel per gram in my ammonium nickel sulfate, so I am wondering how to work out what percentage...

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

I have noticed similar stunting after water changes, and I use a turkey baster to stir up sediment to vacuum it out. Going to try this approach for the next few weeks. How does it go long term though, don’t you end up with a build up of sediment?

Very interesting setup! Following along

@Happi from your experiments, do you have a ratio of micros or a target ppm for each micro nutrient that complimented your lean dosing of macros best? I am about to embark on making my own micro mix and I’m just about to calculate how much of each salt I will need to buy

Genius!

it would be interesting to see how far off various test kits were. Not a cheap exercise though I imagine.

A new leaf on one of my cryptocoryne parvas has developed a red margin around the outside of the leaf. It is in a fairly new setup (~a month old), with new Amazonia and EI dosing so I wouldn’t have thought it was a deficiency of nutrients. I have been dialling in CO2 over the last week so I...

thanks so much.

Thanks so much for this great tool, it is making fert mixing so simple. I am just wondering if this micro mix powder could be added into the next version?

Thanks Happi

Would ammonium nickel sulfate be useable? it is the only nickel powder I could find available in 100g or less. Ammonium Nickel Sulfate crystals (NH4)2Ni(SO4)2·6H2O I realise the ammonium part could potentially be an issue but wonder if the tiny amounts I would be adding would discount that risk?

Good to know it’s not just me that could not find it locally!