Search results for query: *

Sharing a wafer with the bn catfish ... erm, not my fault they can’t see me tucked way over here under driftwood at back of tank ...

Great - many thanks for information [emoji106]

Thanks! Is there any range of say x to y to define soft, medium, hard, etc?

Should add I just keep rams, angelfish, loaches in with java fern, etc - not try to breed or anything, just out of interest.

This is following on but I dug out JBL Proscan as the API gh test kit had expired. First strip had colours run a little and results didn’t match too well. Second strip I took more care and the readings matched the api test, ph probes, etc much better. So it seemed to me that don’t want any...

So finally got a chance to try TDS meter. Readings sounded good from feedback but are there any links that describes what TDS readings equate to for different environments I guess? Tap was 240ppm. Tank was 250ppm. Yet to find annual water report (which can’t be trusted as they say they mix...

Some here are going from cichlid tanks to planted tanks and are just set up for large water changes (eg drains / drums with pumps / etc where they heat / stabilise tap water over night - mainly for deeper water African cichlids that don’t handle changes in water so well). And as mentioned above...

Happy Easter [emoji214]

Thanks for that - matches my thoughts on it. I don’t know of any others, one of the shops here imported it. Bit of interest from people with racks of 6 footers for cichlids and wanting to quickly keep an eye on things. I was doing the same - found a good place to take photo and that solved a lot...

Is that the same as JBL Proscan with the strips and app reader? Was curious as I have that one. I found I got errors with any light shadow, removed that problem and was still a little dubious on it. Really liked the idea though, should dig them back out as such a quick test. Seemed nice for...

Almost suspect it’s the same culprit each week. And egged on by his/her mates outside the gravel vac. On the good news side starting to get the water changes sorted with how to run hoses.

Bit of an update. Shifted into a rental. Almost cracked tank getting it out of door but made it! Lost a few fish from them living in buckets but most made it. Slight ammonia readings at moment while it re-cycles. Probably as I packed up canister filters week before. Nothing on nitrate...

Update - the plants sat in two buckets for a week. Mainly while getting everything sorted I sliced my thumb on new steak knives. 5 stitches and dire warnings from nurse not to get it wet for 4 days left me not doing much. Finally got them out of bucket and into tank. Seem to be doing ok. Just...

Sounds great! Many thanks for the help.

So shifted house and the 4ft tank is about 80% full. No leaks so far! Almost cracked one corner shifting when it slid off dolly but caught it. Heavy thing of a tank. Wondering how long plants can go in buckets for? Next weekend is a long weekend when I have some time back with tank. I’ve got...

Pretty camera shy but here we go.

I confess I think I over-stocked the tank on these spanner barbs. Looked much smaller in shop... Very stocky, actually dwarf the angelfish a bit. And if the tank was a boat, they would be tipping it to one side as they rush to follow anyone coming into the room. They kind of remind me of keeping...

Could be something like that. Must be something I guess. A few weeks back, one stem was growing out of the front, another had ducked under pipes and back up to grow out the back. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have the covers and high tank flow and could just let them grow to see what happens. At the...

Results record: Gh> JBL - 7 API - 6 Ca> API - 3 KH> still to sort out. Nitrate> JBL - 18ppm API - 10 to 20ppm

Australian Ninja shrimp photos (the iPhone was struggling, sorry photos aren’t great). Bit more colour and maybe some banding. Very tiny but very busy! I took some other photos to check out if any better. Ended up leaning the iPhone on glass and waiting for a shrimp to walk into view as it...

Cracked it and pulled the bolbitis out so I can prune it. Thing is a foot across at base. Plenty of gravel still attached so should be able to just put it back in I hope onto gravel. Going to get some wood for it though so I can prune it more easily, things a weed.

One of the flowers. Seems to have survived the water change (they seem to hate those). I've left this one as it found a gap by itself in the tank covers. It gets even weirder as once one stem finds a gap, the rest will follow (maybe I'm over-reading it).

Thought to start a journal to record changes. Will have to get a recent photo. Tank is 4ft x 2ft x 2.5ft high. Running CO2 injected at either end. Light is quad-t5ho and a strip led light. Nitrates about 20ppm and phosphates 2ppm. Plants are just Java Fern, crypts, aponogetons, bolbitis...

Hmmm, you had me at standards and then I got side-tracked. I'd love to repeat that old society meeting thread where various test kits (and members!) were put through their paces. It's an African cichlid society here though so chances are about nil (planted tanks I sometimes feel are viewed as an...

Excellent does not equal possible or probable. I will settle on possible, not probable or excellent. People cycle their tanks through ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (along with ph changes), using these hobby style test-kits. That's about as complex as it gets for a test kit to be useably...

Our water supplies change by the season while the water company report is annual. When these threads become formal, long-life stickies highlighting that hobby test kits result in failure of the following: - cycling a tank, - saltwater tanks, - almost the first question with unhealthy fish, -...

Several hundred ppm of nitrate in either form I would find of note. I used to think it didn't matter - now not so convinced. Breeders here seem to have a heart attack if over 20ppm (test kit, not true). However thinking about it, this may include wild-caught cichlid fish. On the flip side I...

Nice idea. Again though, I've seen new and old aquarium people quite successfully use these test kits. Let's say 0.1% of test kits are just plain totally wrong and 10% of people get stuck following the kit. Maybe it's 30%. And saltwater people will be more fussy on which test kits are useable...

Good question - why test - extra money but extra time as well. Then even if you do test, is it useful? For myself, I actually enjoy the testing and find it peaceful (so unlike work). Many people locally don't test using EI dosing and do well, I think that's fine. I don't care either way. If...

Fascinating - thank-you for the reply. My experience has been different. First up as someone used to samples going through laboratories (with associated quality control), I'd agree these test kits are not the same quality. And the difference between the API (both kits I own), $200 cheMETs kit...

(Sorry for double post - exceeded time limit reviewing thread for understanding on post 16). If I'm understanding correctly, it is being implied that using test kits will definitively result in the failure of a planted tank.

Right, so how does all that tie back to your statement "Which is an excellent way to fail at planted tanks." regarding my post?

What exactly are you advocating here?

I must confess to being a test kit 'geek' and at the moment I have for nitrates - two API kits, a JBL pro-scan strip test and a very, very expensive CHEMet test kit. The CHEMet test kit is for checking the others out of interest but mainly I just look at trends and increase/lower dosing as...

Clean from the buildup of fish waste eg poo. Think of it as cutting out the gravel part of the gravel vac. So no, not related to aesthetics at all. This betta, I would say several years now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks like it to me as well but I've only had that one flower. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I use a bare tank for the betta (5gal) and find that much easier to keep clean. I have either plastic or live plants in there for quiet spots, etc. For cleaning the tank I just take out and put back in. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I found getting close to the CO2 limit that certain fish went off their food while others were fine. Lifted the ph low setting and all back to good. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm afraid would be a no from me as well on dimensions and imo they are more suited to 20litre. If you did, I do find less issues with the short-fin varieties. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is that the Seneye reef par meter? I've got that and would be curious if others had tried it. Bit late but any LED I buy now is dimmable. Just gives more control for my tank. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've found some fish do better with daily dosing as well. This might be as I would tend to do a water change and then load up back up the ferts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some plants are known to be sensitive. It's rare to hear of fish deaths on multiples of normal dose rates (managed it once). In a decade(?) of use I'm yet to hear of any long-term issues with fish-keepers? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That was the concern for us with young kids. Kind of worse case but we looked into bins, etc that would be more stable and hide it away. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Meh, mustn't complain - minimal algae :) Re-did the tank last month, there is a red stem plant up the back doing really well and might replace the red alt. Still thinking (and letting the wallet recover). Tank has a co2 diffuser on either side and lights are quad t5ho with a LED strip light...

Bit of a rough snap but here we go. Congo tetras on left.

Hello, just joined and wanted to say hi / see if I can post ok. I have a 4ft planted tank with CO2 injection. Looking to learn more about the world of plants.