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Since my last update I've tested the dKH twice, once every week. The API test kit I have is a little difficult to test with, with the first drop of solution added to the water sample the water should turn blue and then with repeated drops it should eventually turn yellow. For these last two...

Thanks for the further replies. I've ordered some bits which have arrived. I haven't got any leaf litter in yet but will keep an eye out for some. I have lost another cory and a cardinal since my last post, hopefully no more to come. I've just put a big bag of washed and boiled oyster crushed...

Thanks for the replies. So the message is I need to raise my kH to stop any pH swings. To do this, I can get a big filter bag to hold all the crushed oyster shell I have (a decent handfull) in the filter, will this be sufficient to raise kH? Will it raise it slowly or quickly? What kH should I...

I've done some more tests on my tap water, both fresh from the tap and some that has stood for 24 hours. Fresh from tap: pH: 7 kH: 0 Stood for 24 hours: pH: 6.8 kH: 0 So based on those values, something in the tank seems to be reducing the pH but the kH is naturally low. What are the best...

Thanks for the replies. No movement from the snails so I've put them in a second tank I have which has a slightly higher pH to see if they reemerge. It seems like the length of the acclimatising period is up for debate from your comments but there does seem to be a common element in that you...

The HMA filter is less than a year old and hasn't filtered much water in it's lifetime as I don't do very regular water changes, maybe 700 litres at most. I always make sure I flush about 10 litres of water through it to clear out the standing water and then put the fresh into the tank. I would...

Thanks for the replies. I don't add CO2, no fertilisers either and no tap water conditioner with using the HMA filter. Fish were from World of Water in Manchester but I rate their selection and stock, making the trip from Yorkshire. Certainly one of the better shops. I guess it could be under...

Hi all, I've lost some fish recently, given the tank a clean out and done a 25%ish water change with HMA filtered water. It's looking bright and clean again. On Saturday I went to buy some new fish and bought two Whiptails, two Cory Arcuantas (to add to my existing 4), six Congo Tetras and two...

Thanks for the suggestions Sanj, I'll check them out and try a few new ones. I know that they are eating, they're just not as enthusiastic about dry foods! Thanks, Dan Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Hi Sanj, that's an amazing tank you have there! I have recently collected some rainbows (reds, blues, bosemans, red tails and dwarf neon) but I'm struggling to find a dry food that they love - any suggestions? They do love the white worm culture I'm trying to get up to a decent size to feed them...

Thanks for the feedback. I've finally got round to ordering some air line to try the loop idea.

Thanks for the replies. The airline idea sounds good, I might try two smaller "pens" to put the plants in so that they can float around easier. The current free form arrangement and quantity means that the plants don't really move. This idea would also let me keep Frogbit too, I had some before...

Hi all, I have a lot of floating plants in my tank and find it quickly grows and will take over the tank surface completely. I think it's a type of Salvinia. While it is good for preventing algae growth it throws a green colour cast on to everything beneath and also causes issues with feeding...

Sorry, thought it applied to all non-UK purchases. That sounds like a decent saving then! Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

There's also import duty to consider when buying from a German site.

Thanks everyone. I have just bought some reduced TPN 100ml bottles and a Premium Plant Fertiliser at Aqua Essentials. If I ever get the time, unlikely, I might look at making my own! Cheers for the link though. Dan

Hi all, I currently use TPN for fertilising my 350 litre low tech. It appears that it may have been discontinued, is this correct? If so, what alternatives are there that people have used? Cheers for any help, Dan

Hi Iain, Yes I normally clean and then water change, but not today as I have some filter work to do which I'm waiting on a part for. Today I just cleaned the glass, removing the algae from the tank. I did also dose the TPN+ today and I've set reminders to do this twice a week - hopefully this...

Not sure what the algae is below the substrate to be honest. It's never really concerned me too much. So does the GDA need to turn red prior to removing it? I have just cleaned it off again after another big build up. This time I have tried to remove as much of it from the tank as I can. As I...

Hi all, I shall keep up the water changes as you have suggested. Had the plants in for a couple of weeks now. I haven't added as many as planned due to Royal Mail losing the biggest package. I think there is a reasonable amount though. The plants seems to be doing well, although it is a little...

I've had mixed results with corys, Sterbais seem to be one of the more sensitive. I've been told that when stressed, some corys can release a milky white toxin. They only have a limited amount of the toxin, so one theory is to stress them a little to get them to release this and then place them...

Hi all, I have the above filter which I bought second hand and I'm quite happy with on the whole. Problem is when it's powered off, it leaks from around the head quite badly. Not too bad when this is planned, but in power cuts etc. this is bad news. Would a new gasket for the head solve this...

Thanks for the feedback. So I've been busy sourcing a fair few plants off others members, these should arrive this week all being well and I can get them in the tank. It probably still won't get me to the levels you all have, but it's a step in the right direction. I'll post some photos when...

I removed most of the floating plants due to the fact they were almost completely covering the surface, with the exception of around the filter outlet, and it's quite a large area to cover in this tank. Around the filter outlet, plants were getting pushed under other plants a few layers deep and...

Fish all seem nice and happy at the moment. My BBA problem has subsided however I now have a problem with green dust algae. After cleaning all the glass on saturday, removing most of the floating plants and doing a big water change there is already algae growth on the glass (mostly at the top)...

Wow, there are so many different opinions on this. The consensus seems to be, get the fish out of the bag as soon as possible. I think leaving them a few minutes for temperatures to start to equalise, and then get them out seems to be a good plan for future. You're right that the problem seems...

That thread was very interesting reading Darrel. These corys were Schultzeis, which aren't mentioned in the thread. The water in the bag was very milky looking and there did seem to some fish waste in there too. I did notice that one of the corys didn't seem too happy in the bag, swimming upside...

Hi all, Thanks for all the replies. I am very gutted to have lost all of the new additions and I'd love to get to the bottom of it to avoid the same in future. Some more background for the tank: * Water: De-chlorinated tap water, at tap pH of 7 * 350L * Filter/powerhead: Eheim 2128/Hydor Nano...

I added 20 corys to my 350L tank, not quite adults yet. I already have about 8 in there which seem fairly happy. If it wasn't the low pH I don't know what the cause was. All of the test results were fine apart from pH and KH. Adding the oyster shell was discussed in another thread on here, I...

Hi all, After buying some fish yesterday, acclimatising them for 1.5 hours and finding them all dead this morning I was most upset. After some maintenance today and a full set of test results, I have a pH lower than my API test kit will read (6) and a very low KH. All other readings are fine...

After dosing last night, i have lost two corys today :( i forgot to mention i lost another cory after dosing last week too. my plan this week is to dose two lots of 15ml, however it doesn't seem to have helped. Any idea if the deaths are linked to dosing?

Hi all, I dosed 35ml of TPN+ last Wednesday evening, I plan to do a dose of 30ml tomorrow to adjust for substrate volume. I haven't cleaned the algae off since the photos and I can't say I've noticed any changes in algae growth since dosing. I now have a selection of floating plants thanks to...

I know that the sand I have can become anaerobic. Is this a big issue for plant growth? It's the best substrate I've personally experienced, although previously I had pea gravel. Obviously changing substrate is quite a big undertaking and fairly costly, would prefer to avoid. The room the tank...

Hi all, It's been an age since I updated this thread, apologies about that. I think I've got the water fairly stable, as far as the fish health goes anyway. I've removed the redmoor root which seems to have helped. I did lose a couple of fish down to dropsy at the time of removing this, so it...

I love your tank Pedro and the videos you've produced for your journal. I hope to one day keep discus, when I have more time! Your discus look very healthy. I currently have a pair of platinum angel fish who spawn regularly and last night I found one which had hatched the parents were tending...

Actually, I suspect that the KH is below 1dKH. Looking at James' mix, that is only intended to achieve 1dKH - from what you've said Darrel I should aim for higher than this? The skepticalaquarist.com site is down for me a the moment so that may say something else. My GH seems to be in line with...

I've tested the water now, finally, and the results are: GH: 5 dKH KH: 1 dKH So it definitely looks like I need to raise the KH. Will do a bit more research and order some supplies.

Been a bit busy, just had another baby! I've ordered the API test kit you mention so will post back with the results. Things seem to be going better anyway, my angel fish pair have spawned. Have some new BBA growth on plants and wood though and a couple of fish deaths - probably due to the size...

How can I check the current KH/GH levels now? I'm thinking I don't want to increase it too much - presumably it's possible to go too far with this. After the water change, the fish seem much happier which is good news :)

Did a 50% water change last night including a good substrate and glass clean in under two hours. My new hose adapter for the kitchen tap works a treat :) I still need to clean the filter out, might get a chance tonight. Something that crossed my mind was what you said about pH swings causing...

Hi Darrel, Cheers for the reply. I hope to be doing the water change this week - I've ordered an attachment for the hose pipe to hopefully make this much easier. I think I have a basic grasp of buffering the water, it seems that it's just making the water harder. I'll have to source some of...

Hi Darrel, I was going on the basis that water changes were bad for the plants, unless I let it stand to disperse any CO2 in it. Hence why I have done minimal changes. I don't understand buffering at the moment, however I shall try and do some reading. If you have any good material to read...

Hi all, I thought I'd post an update and ask for a little more advice! I've been keeping the Amazon swords trimmed back and have yet to do anything but a small water change. In the last 3 weeks pretty much all of the Blyxa has melted away, the Amazon leaves look thin and have holes in and the...

Hi roadmaster, The lights are all T8s with 2 x Sylvannia Gro-lux and 2 x Osram 865 daylights, all 30w. I have only performed a water change of 5 litres in the time the tank has been setup, about 2 months now, and all the fish are healthy so I haven't felt the need to do more. So from what...

I'm not sure but I bet it gets down to about 10C. I think it's generally warmer in the tank in the evening so your theory could be right. Haven't been able to find anything about the Eheim's delta temperature. Next time I clean the filter I'll give the element a good scrub and try it on it's...

I haven't added CO2 to the tank no, I want to stay low tech if I can help it. So would you say that the swords are high CO2 users? Is this causing low CO2 levels generally which is triggering algae? I haven't pruned the swords back no, but if this will reduce the CO2 usage and hence improve...

Hi all, I have this filter on a 350l tank. I've noticed recently that it just doesn't seem to get up to temperature properly. I only want it to get to 23C but this morning it was only just over 20C with the heater permanently on. For now, I have added an additional 300W heater. The filter has...

Thanks for the advice. How long should it take to see an improvement? I'm still getting new algae growth on the glass :( I've increased the surface agitation in the tank increasing oxygen levels. I've upped dosing of TPN+ to 20ml a week. The lighting period is the same as originally posted...

Hi all, Thanks for the replies. I have been clearing off the glass when the algae grows and have upped the TPN+ dosing to 20ml a week. I haven't noticed any improvement in the length of time it takes to grow back, if anything it seems to grow back a little faster now. I'm not able to clean the...

Hi CeeJay, Thanks for your reply. As it happens I have yet to do a decent water change since setting up the tank (about 8 weeks). I did change about 10 litres this week to allow me to clean the filter, but this was after I took the photos. I'm not sure that I could commit to never changing...

Hi all, I've recently moved from a 125L tank to a 350L tank - I had some algae issues in the previous tank and want to get them resolved for the new tank. I'm hoping you may be able to help me. The new tank holds 350L, I have 10L Tropica Plant Substrate capped with about 45KG of play sand...

Yeah, I'm chuffed. I have in the past collected eggs and tried to raise them with no success, so I've just left them to their own devices and hey presto!

Hi all, I was cleaning my Eheim 2128 out tonight (first time since setting up new tank) and I was delighted to find two young albino corys in the bottom! They are about 1cm so maybe 4-5 weeks old. I have released them back into the tank with their parents, fingers crossed they're big enough to...

I just bought a Koralia Evolution Nano, I managed to snap the plastic when attaching it to the magnet though :( doesn't seem like very strong plastic to me. I'll be getting it replaced. Just a word caution!

I tried the technique you suggested when I got home with the Juwel powerhead that came with my tank. It worked a treat both filling the filter and both the inlet and outlet tubes. Hopefully I won't have lost all the bacteria from the filter media - it was off for about 21 hours in the end. I...

Hi all, I did a water change last night and cleaned out my filter as normal and reassembled the filter. Normally I use the manual pumping mechanism on the filter to check it's flowing okay and then plug it in. Last night, I couldn't get the manual pumping working properly as in it wasn't...

Thanks again for all of your advice. The plants have been growing very strongly. I wanted to check back in as I've been having problems with ammonia levels since stopping water changes. Unfortunately I lost one of my Angel fish before realising ammonia was through the roof at 8ppm (as high as...

Hi all, Thanks for all of the advice. I've been ill this past weekend, hence not replying. I have managed to keep dosing more TPN+ (5ml per day) and have not done any water changes. Plant growth is very strong at the moment with some stems about 2/3 of the way to the surface. The BBA seems to...

Thanks for your reply ceg4048, I appreciate your advice although I'm unsure if I can implement your points. In terms of Nitrate level, all advice I have seen elsewhere suggests that a high Nitrate level suggests high levels of decaying food and plant matter which is harmful to fish. Obviously I...

I definitely do have TPN+. Should I maybe start dosing about 5ml five times a week? And I guess I should see the Nitrates increase on my water tests? I was under the impression that lower Nitrate levels are better, perhaps there's a good level to aim for? I feed the fish approximately enough to...

Sorry, no CO2 at the moment and no plans to add. The description of BBA suggests it's only small tufts. I've had this in rather large patches before, only seems to appear on the stones I have in the tank. Could it be something else?

Hi all, I've had my tank setup now for about 8 months and have always had algae problems. I started off with a very simple setup which has developed as I've learnt more. I'm hoping that you can point me in the right direction with my current algae issues. Tank: Juwel Rio 125 litre Filtration...