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Thanks very much! I'll try and get some torx bits... P

Thanks guys. Here's a pic.

Hi there, I have an Eheim Professional 3 350T and the heater isn't working and hasn't for some time. It looks like some moisture got in as I could see condensation on the inside of the LCD display, which is constantly flashing '00'. I've unplugged the heater power cable... The filter is out...

https://www.greenaqua.hu/en/beta-compact-30-30x40x30-cm-36-liter-akvarium-hatso-polcos-szuressel.html?___from_store=hu This one still keeps the full front to back depth of the aquarium. Some places sell a white version.

I'm not sure that the smaller ADA models (Superjet 150 and 300) have the same Iwaki high pressure pumps as the bigger models. Also they come with the Spin Pipe outlets which are designed to reduce flow even more for the ADA mini tanks. I find that the high flow from a jet pipe type outlet works...

This guy uses Ikea cabinets for big aquariums but with some modifications. I have a 16 litre aquarium on an Ikea Kallax 4x3 with a varnished plank of wood on top. Even though aquarium is only 16 litres the Kallax wobbles more than I would like. I would maybe put a 45P or 60P on it but no...

I have the Oase version. Hmmm.

Hi again. Could you answer a quick question about your Kallax stand? Is the board on top glued on and if so, which glue did you use? Thanks, P

Hi Colm. I don't have BBA in my high flow tank and I think it's due to low intensity light. My LED is on for 12 hours but it ramps up and down slowly with a peak of 20%. The rocks still have an algal film and I only have a few plants. The java fern does OK but crypts and Hygrophila are...

Hi. Room temperature is 19.9C, tank is 23.7C.

https://www.aquasabi.com/AquaLighter-aHEATER-Mini Smallest I have found. Use it on a 16 litre Flexi Mini set.

Nice. Just thinking about a rack system myself. Can you tell me what is the brand of the filters that you use just next to the aquariums?

Thanks very much. The filter is the smallest model (Filtosmart 60) with no room for a heater. You can add a heater if you have a bigger model (Filtosmart 100...). I don't use a heater as my flat is always warm. When doing water changes I check the water temp using my pH meter. I don't think a...

Lovely stones. I didn't manage to get such a nice gradation in sizes. Something I'm still looking to fix. I really recommend Tanichthys micagemmae. Fish for this specialised environment should be expensive! They look really nice in a big group and even shoal. Plus, the light can make their eyes...

Background I bought an Azoo Flexi-Mini Scape Set from one of the UKAPS sponsors (Aquasabi) back in September. I wanted to get back into using CO2 as I had all the equipment going unused because my 125 litre aquarium is now low tech with oxygen-loving gobies and loaches. With such a tiny...

Any rocks in the tank? If yes, have you boiled them?

Hi, Cool project! I keep a 'river' set up in a normal dimension aquarium with a canister filter (Eheim Pro 3 350T 1050lph), and a really nice yet cheap Sicce Voyager 2000 lph circulation pump. I've got about 30x flow when you take into account the rocks and sand. Bearing in mind...

LOL. Now I realise what that 'wheel' is for! There is one for my Azoo Mignon 150 but I never figured out where to put it. Just this second attached it to the base of the filter instead of the felt pads I improvised before... P

Thanks for the reply. I found some diagrams with part numbers and though the pipe sections are the same, the 'L' shaped part in the photo and the quick release coupling below it, are specific to the tubing dimensions. So, I'll just buy the complete 16/22 mm installation sets...

Hi guys, I have a 12/16 mm Eheim 'Installation Set' inlet and spraybar which I'm not using at the moment. However, I would like to pair it with a filter that uses larger 16/22 mm tubing. I have a hunch that there is no difference between the two sizes of installation set except for the...

So, a large number of low power (<1W) LEDs for even spread. No control. ADA is too cool for anything but an on/off switch! P

Thanks! Had no idea about this plant. Now I can see it's already available at my usual supplier... I really like the look of Staurogyne but I think I've wasted enough time and money on it. At times it has really sucked the joy out of the hobby for me. I trust and respect Tropica but it seems...

Hi, I have a skimmer on the filter inlet, the Eheim was just to pick up the really bad scum when I flooded the tank. I agree they do cause CO2 loss but I still get a decent profile and reasonable CO2 usage (~30g per day). I'm dosing about 0.1 ppm trace mix with Fe. The macros are also leaner...

Unfortunately, I'm quite sure that no light is designed with a 'soft start' after power cuts because it is typically such a rare event. The best ones will simply resume the light spectrum and intensity according to the time on the program, which is saved thanks to an internal battery. So I...

Nice. I've got that in another aquarium and it takes all sorts of abuse. It even grows amongst moss and then up out of the water. P

What about the Eheim Skim 350? Wouldn't that do the job? P

Tropica need a new category for their plant range: Easy, Medium, Advanced, and... Weird! I can't really disguise these plants but I'm gonna leave things exactly as they are. I tried increasing the CO2 by a notch yesterday but the fish were soon gasping. PAR is around 60 at peak, so well below...

If this continues there will just be bare stems with maybe a pair of leaves at the top. Should I just trim the plants down to the substrate...? P

Normal service has resumed! :mad: 4 weeks since planting, 3 weeks since flooding. All plants had been growing well, even the Staurogyne. But this week, the Stauro has started to lose leaves by the handful!:arghh: Here's how to fail to grow Staurogyne (the EASY plant from TROPICA): - #...

Wow! Love the overhanging plant on the wood, what is it? P

They are used more in the States where for some reason, more shops sell ready-made 'wet-dry' sump systems. Hang-on-back filters are more common there as well. However, the problem with planted high-tech systems is that the overflow weir, the drain, and the open top of the sump cause CO2 to be...

It's more porous but you still need to do water changes. I can't imagine anything you could use that would change that. So, if you would prefer to use another type of rock, don't worry about it. I use lava rock because it's cheap, light, and the dark type is very attractive. P

I agree too and use a skimmer on the filter inlet (the Eheim is good too). If you're injecting CO2, poor surface movement and scum/film can lead to fish stress or worse. P

April 20th: Two days since flooding, fish and shrimp added. P4201044 by pepedopolous, on Flickr P4201041 by pepedopolous, on Flickr P4201045 by pepedopolous, on Flickr

Scummy Flooding Experience: 18th April 2016 The rising water picked up loads of scum so I used the Eheim skimmer to clean it up. A lot of the Riccardia which seemed attached, eventually floated off... not immediately but over the course of the next few days. I've collected these bits and put...

April 17: Planting and DSM (6 Days) I only did 6 days as I didn't think it fair to keep my fish in a plastic box for too long. Plus, I just needed the moss to attach to the rocks before flooding... P4171027 by pepedopolous, on Flickr P4171029 by pepedopolous, on Flickr P4171030 by pepedopolous...

I've found Pogostemon erectus to be far more difficult to grow than 'Monte Carlo'. So it would be strange to me of that was OK but the MMC isn't. Without a PAR meter you are guessing about the light levels. Can you borrow one or a SenEye Reef? I think it could be too much light and not enough...

Re-scape April 2016 I saw that black lava rock was available at aquasabi.com, just what I wanted! I sent them an email about what quantity to order for my needs and they sent me this: - 2016-04-04 15.11.01 by pepedopolous, on Flickr Decided to go for it. The fish and shrimp were housed in a...

OK, so bringing things almost to the present day... In December my in-line atomiser cracked (Up Aqua, new type). Just when things were going well! I decided to simply use an in-tank diffuser (Tropica), which works really well in another 60 litre aquarium I have. However, going into the new year...

Thanks. I've read that one before. I think it's where I discovered this plant which is now my Achilles heel. I see that it says medium to high light... I think I generally had light levels of low to medium. No algae but unhealthy Stauro :(

Hi, this tank is now re-scaped and I'm just dosing Potassium sulphate solution. However, before the re-scape I was dosing EI macros and micros on alternate days. Friday = 50% water change, macro Sat = micro Sun = macro Mon = micro Tue = macro Wed = micro Thur = rest I'm not sure about the...

It wasn't HC, it was Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo' which is easier. I think Stauro is just a hard plant to grow and a kind of 'canary' for CO2 levels. Once it is unhealthy, it can be very hard to bring it back again. I generally stuck to standard EI dosing (www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk). I tried...

Hey, your tank looks nice! Would be awful if something happened to it... 11988671_10156328787330201_3804392188776170480_n by pepedopolous, on Flickr

In October 2015 I got fed up with the Hygrophila not pulling it's weight! I took it out and got some new plants: - Blyxa japonica Rotala sp. 'colorata' Rotala macrandra Alternanthera reineckii Pogostemon erectus (again) These seemed to take ages to get going. I increased the light until BBA...

3/20/15 Pogostemon erectus gone, Ludwigia almost gone, Stauro very unhealthy. Yet no algae? ! ? P3200234 by pepedopolous, on Flickr P3200237 by pepedopolous, on Flickr P3200235 by pepedopolous, on Flickr 17/8/2015 Got rid of Java fern 'Trident', some Stauro has been replaced by some (already...

Ahoj! Still plodding on with this aquarium and have just done a re-scape. Maybe I can do a better job of keeping a journal this time round? I think I'll fill in a bit on the progress of the last scape for perspective...

JBL e401 and Aquael Minikani are new-ish. Then there's the usual Boyu and Eden 501 type filters from Ebay... P

'Liquid carbon' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutaraldehyde) and CO2 are both fine as long as you don't overdose. Some shrimp types are very fussy about water parameters and all should be acclimated carefully even if simply moving between your own aquariums. P

It's enough light. You will need good CO2 for a carpet. I have 1 of these lights over a 60 litre Dennerle Cube! P

Light rock = lava. If you can get it, 'black' lava looks very nice. Try aquasabi.com P

On a 125 litre tank with 8 hours per day of CO2, I can't get decent results unless I use 25-30g of CO2 per day. That is with PAR of 30-40 and 'easy' plants such as Staurogyne repens and 'Monte Carlo'. I use an inline Up atomiser. I recently tried a Tropica in-tank diffuser but I got terrible...

Tropica mention in the instructions to let the diffuser soak for 24 hours without any CO2 going through it. If you ignore this advice, big bubbles will escape from the edge of the ceramic which is a bit wasteful. However, this stops after about 1 day. P

Lots of people here have had success with the Tropica 3-in-1 diffuser. It's cheap and works really well. P

Good question, I thought the ADA and other similar soils soils were dug locally in Japan... Not 100% sure though. P

JBL Cristalprofi E401 or better still E701. P

Looks like a cool product, probably very similar to others, maybe even from the same source. However, on aquasabi.com it is one of the cheaper options so why not try it? I'm sure it won't be the difference between failure and success. P

Amazing set up! What intensity are you running the Mitras at? P

I can get my e701 going even though the primer button has been stuck for ages. I just fill the filter with water first and then suck on the outlet pipe (spraybar removed of course). I have a bucket handy to collect the water, then just raising the tube up halts the flow so I can reconnect the...

I think that the 'disco effect' is coloured 'zones' appearing on the substrate. It can be bad if you have a light sand substrate like many marine tanks. Maybe ADC in London? P

Nope. The disco effect comes from having too much space between the individual LEDs (point light sources). The Mitras and Radion etc pucks are designed to prevent this, as the tight spacing plus the reflectors or lenses cause the 'cones' of light to overlap each other and the light seems more...

For the cost of 2 Radions or Kessils plus all the necessary gear, you could get a single GHL Mitras 6000. More control, hanging kit included, not too much blue: with all channels at 100%, it's 7000k. 1 Mitras can cover 86cm x 65cm according to the manufacturer. P

But in our planted freshwater aquariums, is this valid? The sheer number of hobbyists with successful aquariums and low pH during CO2 addition doesn't make sense... Unless Nitrobacter adapts in these environments or is in fact unimportant with other bacteria taking over nitrogen fixing... P

Are all autotrophic bacteria badly affected by low pH? My aquarium water is pH7.0 at equilibrium and I target pH5.8 adding CO2. I have a few tufts of BBA on hardscape but not bad at all really... P

I have the opposite experience to Troi. MMC can grow horizontally in low light (less than 30 PAR). You may be able to see lots of CO2 bubbles but it how much CO2 are you injecting? I would be worth making sure that you are really getting a pH decrease of 1 unit from when the CO2 comes on to...

So your plants aren't melting but very slow growth. Just increase the light a little to say 15%, see what happens. P

If DIY isn't your thing: - http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/fish/water_and_plant_care/cleaning_equipment/water_exchange_and_floor_cleaning/102655

Hi, The marine version would look very blue and this is not a good colour for showing off planted aquariums with green and red plants. You could also try the 11W Dennerle Nano Lights (non-LED) or the 5W Dennerle Nano LED: http://dennerle.com/en/products/nano-aquaristic/nano-light I have a...

I set up a 60 litre cube with pressurised CO2 in my classroom over the summer. I left it unplanted for a couple weeks, planted it and then left the country for 10 days! The temperatures were really hot (38 degrees) which can't have helped. The plants looked pretty bad or melted... Now school...

Maybe just use google to search for 'ukaps ADA 45'?

Never had this happen to me so can't advise. How do you know the water is in the cylinder? P

Interesting... I'm lucky enough to have soft water and I've grown Tropica 1-2-Grow! 'Rotala Bonsai' with no problems. I didn't fancy my chances at the time as the plants from the pot are so tiny and even George Farmer apparently has had issues with it melting. Of course, there's plenty other...

You could just use a normal diffuser (or more than one) in the sump. The trouble is you need to try and seal the sump so that CO2 doesn't escape easily via gas exchange at the water surface. Overflows can degas CO2 a lot. Perhaps it's possible to tune it to run at a full siphon and not to...

Only with the appropriate reducing adapters (which will also reduce flow). P

Hi, This happens with high working pressures (> 2 bar) and the effect is worse with the metal on-regulator bubble counters which have a smaller volume to hold water. Do you have an inline atomiser (on the filter outlet tube)? i think this makes things worse as when the CO2 comes on, the gas...

One thing that the GHL and Ecotech (I think) lights do is give you an estimate of the Kelvin rating for a particular mix of the LED channels. Not that I believe this makes a difference to plant health but it's a real tinkerer's delight as you can see the looks of different colours and have...

The usual suspects just like the marine hobby: Ecotech, GHL, Giesemann, Kessil, Elos all do controllable $$$ freshwater (e.g. not too blue) lights. Search for these names in this forum and you will find some users or even reviews of such lights. P

I think that for the GroBeams you need the controller (Aquaray Control). It adds to the cost but you will have lots of algae/unhealthy plants otherwise... P

Reduce the light intensity so then flow/CO2/ferts become less important (easier to manage). You will still be able to grow nice Rotala etc and have much less (or even no) BBA. P

It's not the substrate, I've grown MC in sand and tend to think it easier than most carpet plants. Can you be sure your CO2 at the substrate level is good? I would get a pH meter and test the pH decrease due to CO2 over the course of a day. It should drop by 1 unit before your lights come on...

It's all about the light... If you have loads of light it's like driving through a crowded city street in a Porche 911 at full speed. Not easy, takes a lot of skill, and even then very risky. Of course you need to start using pressurised CO2 as well and that is a whole new aspect to learn...

You never said what is percentage light intensity of the Grobeams. If you have ramping up and down then I assume you have the TMC controller... First thing I would do is decrease the light intensity by half or more. Even at 40%, I would get algae using the TMC Mini400 tile. P

Should we really be worried about heating up water for water changes? That must be expensive and I don't bother with it... I have had water temps of 28/29 this summer and I just use tap water (with Prime). Once the 50% water change is done, the temp is back down to 22/23. I add the new water...

Yes, because 'Monte Carlo doesn't need a lot of light. P

What about the Giesemann Pulzar? http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/giesemann-pulzar-ho-and-bt-interface-review.36800/ P

Thanks, Viktor. Though I'm just using a pH meter to measure pH not control it. it's just a 'pen' with a digital display that you dip in the water. Wouldn't re-using old soil prevent the initial low pH? P

I think things are surely getting easier for absolute beginners because there are far more shops (both LFS and online) and forums like UKAPS with really good advice from helpful members :) The truth is that even with experience and practice, this hobby simply isn't easy. I think perhaps this is...

http://reefbuilders.com/2015/07/29/answers-top-10-questions-mindstream/ Lets have a cheapo freshwater version please (no not SenEye)! P

I'm not denying the complexity of the task, nor blaming any one company in particular (I use Tropica plants and soil). However, the situation is generally frustrating and as I get more experienced I just try to be more patient and adjust my expectations. If anyone could/should do research, it's...

I'm sorry Jordi, and I expected this kind of response, but this is just like saying 'the Lord works in mysterious ways' - completely unsatisfactory. It's just someone's subjective experience versus another's. There is an answer out there and it needs real research. If there is a certain...

With the freshwater hobby, I don't think that the companies really have any secrets to give away. Their 'research' is not much better than hobbyist amateur efforts. That's why I would like to see a pool of money from various companies aimed at specific planted aquarium research. Take the case...

I think the problems mentioned here have a lot to do with marketing by aquatics companies themselves. Any product will claim improvements over previous/alternative products, ease of use, and effective results. It can't be true for all of them. Most hobbyists with some experience learn to be...

I think the 701 will be fine. I run one on a 60 litre cube and it's even quieter than my Eheim 350 (which I use on a 125l tank). Having said that, I have very little media in both filters, with the 901 you could pack in loads if that's your thing. Also, the media that comes with the filter is...

I started with the normal pots which had already been growing submersed for some time. They grew so well that I was always chopping of the tops and replanting them. They would soon grow to the surface again. However, I had less luck with getting the bottom parts to re-grow new shoots. It seemed...

The TMC 1000/1500 Aquarays use powerful Cree LEDs yet only passive cooling (heat sinks, not fans). I wonder if that has been a problem. P

Hi guys, I've noticed that my pH meter gives and unstable reading when too close to the flow pump: - If I put the meter in the opposite corner, I get a stable reading. Cheers, P

Can you reduce the intensity of the LEDs? If yes, don't bother with small changes... reduce the intensity by 50% for at least a week. P

Looks great! Do you think the light will be enough for the corners of the tank? P

I would like to know this too! But I'm guessing that you can't adjust one specific nutrient without affecting the other. This is despite what ferts manufacturers advertise e.g. ADA Brighty K is still simply a weak solution of KNO3 and/or KH2PO4. it can't only contain K. Nethertheless, in this...

Nope, it's the dual stage. I can fully adjust the working pressure. P

There was one at the URL ro.ta.la but it's gone too. However, there's still this one: https://www.thenutrientcompany.com/aquarium/calculators/ei_calculator/ P