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How do UKAPS'ers Its been four years since my last tank and ... I was in a garden centre with a maidenhead shop.... You all know what happened next... Saw a SuperFish Scaper 45 for 80 quid. Err yea, I now own a scaper 45. Found a reg and solenoid on an empty FE so I guess it's time for a new...

So this is it grown in. Its looking good. Needs a trim so will do that this week.

I tend to agree ;-)

Three and a half weeks in. Growing in nicely. CO2 dialled in. Lost some shrimp because; too eager so need to replace those.

Top one I had two of those on the chi and in the end on the rio. Were fine and plants did grow so I guess they must be ok

SPEC-OFF !!!!! looking great chap

Thanks all for your replies. In the end I planted it and flooded it. Reason being I wanted to check everything was working (this was a ex display tank for 70 quid with tetra active substrate all ready in) Spare reg and solenoid on a FE seems to working with a ceramic diffuser in the filter...

What the hell is wrong with me? After selling the rio I went out and got a spec v. Seems im either addicted or have more money than sense. Lets see how this goes. Not sure whether to DSM it (not done that before) or just flood and see what happens.

Nice!

Thats a great idea. Thank you

Hello, I'm doing a spec v rocks hardscape and I was wondering how to secure rocks? I've never used rocks before so this is all new to me. I really want to have some rocks stand up but also not have a huge amount of substrate. How do you secure your rocks?

Good bye Slow Roast. Its been painful but also a pleasure. May your next owner have as much fun!

Ok mate, let me know when you get a chance. I was previously running two 601s on lower power to spread the light so im not in any hurry; One on full is more than enough for the tank. Thanks Si

Anyone know where I can get a power pack for a 601plus? We had a load of brownouts around here last week and it's been flaky since. Today it finally gave up the ghost Ta, Si

I found with heat variations I could never get a stable rate. So for me it was that it was DIY

After pratting around with baking powder co2 then a soda stream co2 I finally took the plunge and got a 2kg fire extinguisher, removed the soda stream adapter and plugged my co2 dual reg in. Why didn't i do this sooner? Stabler CO2 that last longer, easy peasy

It's been a while and after letting it grow out loads I've removed about two ton of floating plants and are now letting them grow again. Plan is to repeat this cycle a few times then do a full trim and reposition. Considering this was a tank of bubbling algae not long ago it's come a long way...

A few more weeks later... Starting to grow in and get into its groove. I'm leaving it be for now

Side By Side to show progress... Lots to do but looking much better

Quite a lot of the algae now gone. Some left on the glass (lazy snails hehe) and some brush on the left log. Some still on leaves but they will be removed at the next clean up at the weekend. Slowly getting there. Looking a lot better than it did a few weeks ago

I tried that but it ended up being sucked tight against the strainer and then ended up reducing flow quite a bit. I've some filter foam coming tomorrow and then a metal cage thingy sometime this month. Will see how they go. For now I've used a clear yogurt pot with what was a filter bag for...

Pets at home are doing tropica packaged plants now, they're really rather good and quite a bit cheaper than most places around. I don't normally big up p@h but they are doing great with the new line of tropica stuff. If thats not your bag then second Aquarium Gardens.

Arrghhh I don't buy from Aqua Essentials (bad experience five years ago) but found something similar on ebay so thank you very much Nelson :) Looks like just the ticket

Hello, Does anyone have any advice on how I stop shrimp crawling into the inlet of my fluval 306? It has a ball in it but the gap is big enough for the smaller shrimps to crawl into and up into the filter. I've tried putting some foam in the bottom inlet but it gradually clogs and reduces...

This is pretty much the place I ended up. Now I'm running a lower bubble rate with a longer period (3 hours) until lights on. Fish are happy and the ph is dropping about 0.4 which seems ok. Thanks to you both

So it turned its pressure related. On DIY co2 there doesnt seem to be enough pressure for the chinese knock off so they dont close properly. At 2.5+ bar pressure they work ok, under that they leak. I've now moved to a soda stream setup from co2 supermarket and it seals properly and quickly

Hello, Last couple of days I've been doing pH profiles based on trying to get a 1 ph drop. Things I've found is that I can get a 0.5 drop however at this point the drop checkers are yellow and the fish are very unhappy. Gasping, darting, generally pissed off. My kh is 10 and my starting ph...

Lighting dropped to setting 3 on the Chihiros guessing from data provided in a thread on here I think the tank is at around 40 par. Currently doing pH profiles to find when is best to turn the lights on.

I tried the whole citric acid/baking soda on a 120l. The varying amount of co2 generated depending on temp and pressure really screwed my tank up. It was either nowt or very little co2 or an insane amount which couldnt really be controlled to any degree. My advice is buy cheap buy twice. I...

All of you!!!! I spend hours reading new and old threads on here. The amount of knowledge is huge so a massive thank you to you all

Algae getting less... Found about 10 cherry shrimps loving it in the filter... Getting better day by day although I'm not convinced it's winnable. Time will tell

It's got six amanos (thinking fo adding more), a bunch of cherrys, two ottos and six nerterites. Its gradually coming back especially now the co2 is sorted and stable. ProTip: baking soda, citric acid is bloody unstable at delivery rates on larger tanks... Who Knew??? (EVERYONE) :D

Its err very Natural ;-)

Cheers fella. I want to see if I can rescue it! Damn its hard work but I'm convinced it can be saved. Temptation has been HUGE to sack it off though and never ever look at a fish tank again! hahah :)

After the massive problems of filters breaking and leaking everywhere the 306 has been on for a bit. Inline jbl, and moved to a sodastream reg and solenoid. The algae is bonkers but its going day by day. Tank right now..

One of the my all time favourites that I missed (since someone mentioned Columbo, love a bit of Columbo on a sunday afternoon)... Rockford files... I wasn't even born when this was out but it was repeated in the 90s and I binged the lot. Got it on DVD somewhere and think the soundtrack and the...

I watch Rowan Atikinson doing shakespeare. had the same feeling at the beginning; by the end you knew he was a a very good actor.

Yea designated surviver is weird to watch because of the jack bauer thing. Also the orville. Everytime Seth talks all I hear is Brian the dog.

Nah its not that. Its equipment failure, Royally screwed it up. What I thought would work hasn't combined with equipment failure and an evac = a right bloody mess haah!

Currently hitting up: Star Trek: Discovery (its just getting good) - Netflix Man in the high castle - Amazon Video MasterChef Professionals - BBC Rick & Morty - Netflix Gotham - Netflix 12 Monkeys - Netflix

I'm drinking beer, looking at algae. Contemplating what the f**k is going on with Slow Roast! Chin Chin! Urgh! Filter, leaking, Algae, growing, Shrimp dead, Plants unhappy. No plan is solid until it meets the light of day huh! Oh well, at least the beer is good :D What do you do when...

Oh its got loads worse! The utterly terrible All Pond Solutions EF2+ won't seal. Thats why its flow is so bad. The tank now is in a very sorry state. Lights are off, because the filter is off (I don't trust it not to dump the tank on the floor) that means the inline heater is off. I've got a...

I am borderline ready to strip this tank, bin the plants and start again on saturday. Its a real mess now, the big filter isn't pumping out anywhere near enough flow, co2 is now sorted but its a real clusterf**k. I'm thinking, remove all the fauna. The wood and then substrate. Re-attach the...

This really is becoming the start from hell. Auto feeder issue caused a metric ton of food dumped into the tank this morning. Got home to dead shrimp. Massive amounts of nitrates and a co2 cock up. Urgh. So this was before the water change, clean up and reset. Stripped the filter from the...

Suffice to say the emergency evac of everything out of Charlie Chi along with continuing issues balancing CO2 levels and keep them stable has created a bit of a mess. Plenty of algae or various kinds. Stressed fish from before the evac and after. Along with the issues with the wood early on...

So this tank has brought me back into the hobby. I was thinking of keeping it running however I missed judged my CO2 so had to move all the fish out into Slow Roast. Now I'm stripping it down and will start again in the new year. It really has turned into a lovely high growth tank. Really...

Wow thats a helluva setup :D In the end I went for a JBL ProFlora Direct simply because it's a brand name and I could order right away. Both Aquarium Gardens and CO2Art seem to be away. Once it turns up I'll install it and see how I get on. Has to be better than the bubbles I've got right...

How do! My plan for Slow Roast was to just stick a tube in the bottom of the inlet for the APS EF2. Turns out this isn't working at all well with this filter. Lots of trapped CO2, burbling and a generally unhappy filter so for now I've gone back to a rhinox. To solve this I wondered what you...

Some great ideas here. Thanks all. I'll have a think and look up the plants mentioned. I like the idea of having a sponge to cover it as well and maybe grow some moss on it. Thanks, Si

Yea, they are already pushing out small leaves now. :)

Day 8 Crypts melting and some CO2 changes and way of injection. I suspect I'll change CO2 to an inline when I can find one I like/trust. For now its going via a Rhinox 1000 under the inlet. Even this doesn't seem to be diffusing properly so an inline I suspect would work better. Plants, the...

I have a spray bar on the left of "Slow Roast" and then a down pipe and a sticky outy bit that has a floaty surface skimmer jobby. Any thoughts on plants to hide them? Or just live with it etc etc. I don't have much cash atm so glassware isn't going to fly until next year. Would something...

Hey Mel! Dang about the rocks. Best of luck if you do change it around. Ended up having some time tonight to fix my cockup yesterday. Can't say I'm in love with the new layout but it's not terrible so once everything has grown in I'm sure it'll look great. Moved crypts to the right of the...

Anyways ignoring todays cock up the plants are: Eleocharis acicularis dwarf hair grass for the carpet. Cryptocoryne beckettii as a specimen plant - Left wood grouping Cryptocoryne wendtii as a specimen plant - Left wood grouping Java fern on the wood on the left Anubias barteri on the right...

Cool than you chaps

Thats exactly what i'll Ian, got egg crate in the bottom of the tank, musta thought i'd attached it. Turns out not. Problem is I can't get back to stripping it, anchoring the wood and replanting till next weekend. Will the plants be ok? Am I best to just leave the lights off and then sort...

So I finally put "Slow Roast" together today but for some stupid reason I forgot to tie the wood (whish has been soaking for a month) to the egg crate in the bottom of the tank. What a dumbass right :D :D :D I need to strip it, tie the wood to the egg crate and replant but I cant do that...

so HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA! I'm a noob and i screwed up! Going well. Yep looking good. Oh darn it! So next weekend will consist of stripping it, tying it to the crate in the bottom (Why i didnt do this I have no idea, must have slipped my mind) and fixing it all back together. Should i...

Now I'm back in the land of the living and can lift more than a kettle I've moved the tank to its final position and started putting the substrates in. Tropica Plant substrate in the bottom capped with dennerelle crystal quartz. The wood is now in its final position. I hope you all like how...

I spoke entirely too soon about being back from Hospital. The tl;dr is I went back for a while and then had some nice hand maidens help me out for bit. The interesting thing for fellow APS'ers is this is what the tank looks like with a month without any ferts, water changes or any CO2...

Back from hospital and the tank survived. Some GSA on the glass, I'll get that cleaned up soon. In the meantime the snails, otos and shrimp are doing a stirling job. Plants look like they have some deficiencies so will be putting some TNC complete in for the next few days.

I'm starting to reap the rewards of dosing TNC at what I think are high volumes. I've gone from half a ml, then a ml then 2 ml a day in a 19l tank. Algae has slowed and the plants have exploded. I'm high light and co2.

Vid from today. The bubbles are oxygen from the plants going nuts. :D https://goo.gl/photos/C1y6tfmiSHyMz64LA

The most bizarre learning of this experience so far has been dumping loads of ferts into the tank. I had major algae problems earlier on, now that is (kinda) under control, still get GSA on the glass and the snails/otos are loving that. So lights, 10 hours, co2 3 hours before, off two hours...

Get some from Sauce shop chap. Theres bloody good. Heat and flavour. http://sauce-shop.co.uk/

I've had it apart and stretched the spring, also had a look at the o ring and it seems a good fit so I've asked for a replacement from ebay (it can always go on the other tank when thats setup) and also ordered a solenoid from co2art.

Cool, I think the ebay chap is going to send a replacement but in the meantime I'll give that a go. Thanks Zozo

Hi I bought a happy smiley corp solenoid off ebay however it doesnt close properly. I seem to leaking about a bubble every ten seconds. In a large tank that wouldn't be a problem however this is on my fluval chi so water params are somewhat less forgiving. Is there anything I can do or is it...

So I have all the things to put this together apart from plants. I'm off for a surgery and a week in hossy next week so this tank will probably be put together October time when Im fit and able to do the water changes. On hold for now :)

https://goo.gl/photos/jYr52EWThYUYhoh98 Little video

Getting there. Everything is growing, some algae still but seems to be less and less as time goes on.

Slow Roast is coming together and is about ready for planting. If i got the blister packs and/or the 1-2 pots does any one know how long they would last before needing to be planted? Would they last a week or two ? Ta, Si

I like 8 hours, I will dial it down if needed but I don't think the lighting period is 100% the problem, more a symptom :( Quick update, Solenoid has turned up and I've moved the rhinox to under the canister filter inlet. Added 2 zebra snails and a couple of ottos. PH pen coming tomorrow so I...

Welcome! I still have torn ligaments from mountain biking in the forest of dean in the mid 90s. Love that place :)

Stunning! I might have to try out my flying legs and go see it.

Ahh cool. I think I'm going to see if I can a condensation lid for it and see how that goes Juraj. Finally found some milton and the red moor was looking like all the tannins were out of it so i drained it, added the milton tabs and refilled it. This is what I found this morning...

So the Chi is starting to wake up. Still got algae issues, still got issue with crashing pH (my fault with Co2 and a crappy drop checker solution this time) Solenoid is on order so waiting for that to come. Regime has changed, now adding 1ml TNC Complete every day and way changes every 3...

Indian proverb says Big Leaf, Hollow Log is good fortune :D

The cover is going and I'm thinking of using a plastic top that will just act as a condensation collector when the lights are off. The rough plan is have that not completely cover the entire tank. Do you have any views or advice on this?

Wow the Chihiros turned up six days after ordering. Bonkers! Blimey thats a powerful light. Getting close to getting started now. Waiting on a solenoid to turn up then we can start thinking about plants.

The wood is busy soaking and surprisingly after a couple of changes of water isn't leaching too many tannins. Next up for the wood is some baby bottle sanitizer and it should be good. Some more goodies turned up today: All Pond Solutions EF2+ canister filter (It's a beast for 85 quid)...

Angels are mesmerising to watch when they start breeding. Watching them care for the young is one of the best sights in an aquarium.

Bit of an update: Heading into week 3 now. Oh how I wished I'd waited for putting fish in, silly mistake. However they are healthy and the Amanos are fine. Having algae issues recently. Currently dealing with that by not dosing any ferts at the minute and doing 35% water changes every...

I got a chi. Do not get a chi :D The downside is you have to replace pretty much everything and 50 quid for a tank this size is a bit much. I went to get a spec, should have got a spec. Next time I'll get a spec.

Cheap as chips as well. eBay turned up trumps. Let hope they sink after a good soak ;-)

The magic Multiple Tank fairy dropped off a Rio125 so I'm going to get my nano sorted then make a start on this, maybe low tech but haven't decided yet. It may be a few months before I get this going but figured I'd start a Journal since some drunken clicking has made these bits turn up today...

Today I think I've come to conclusion the ProScan strips are not very good. Took three readings all three completely different. I think if I take a sample of water out of the tank then test if working the best. Although confidence is now knocked. Drop checker is perm green, fish are swimming...

Nice, thank your Dave. current plan is to add a bit of bicarb as i do water changes 25% every two days. At the weekend i'll go find some buffer that is better, thinking crushed corals in the filter. Does that sound good?

Great, thanks for letting me know.

Could it be the test kit being ropey? Are the proscans decent enough to give reliable results?

Strange it's been going down consistently, I'll do a water change tomorrow, with a much less bicarb buffer ;-)

Sorry one thing I was thinking of is the bogwood. When first bought they leached tannins like mad when soaked in a bucket. They were soaked for maybe a couple of days having the water changed quite often (3-4 times a day), the front one is leaking sap (I think its sap, the white stuff) into...

4 comes out of the tap. Honestly don't know why its bouncing around so much so all i can think of is buffer it. Doing 50% changes every 3 days at the minute. Any ideas?

guilty pleasure

Ahh T8s, cool, thank you.

Hehe yes I do. I was/am having problems with KH so my pH was crashing to sub 6. My first reaction was to dial down the CO2. That didnt do much as the KH is the issues. So doing more water changes and adding a small amount of bicarb for now until I can get a more perm solution (thinking back...

Thank you all. I ended up punting a chance on a Rio 125. Got it for 80 quid with stand and its in decent enough shape and is pretty clean. Got some wood on order, need a filter and lights. Can't puzzle out whether this is a t8 or a t5. Im sure T5s were smaller but its been years. Planning...

That would be Excel that helps with algae control. I have some but haven't used it yet. The plants are starting to stand up. Lighting has been replaced with 2x30 led stands. It looks quite bright and time will tell if they are any good. Also turned down the Co2 to one bubble every 20 second.