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  1. Iain Sutherland

    Need some help with RO water info

    Fair enough then fella, sounds like your going in eyes wide open and wanting to learn. IME using RO does reduce the likely hood of algae if the alternative is high tds hard water, don't get me wrong, it's no silver bullet and hard water high tech beauties exist is abundance, just look at...
  2. Iain Sutherland

    Need some help with RO water info

    Hi and welcome. I'd start off with asking why you want to go RO, unless you have very specific requirements for planned inhabitants, then I would always advise to use what comes out of your tap if you can. Making it as easy as possible will generally give you better results overall as it will...
  3. Iain Sutherland

    Tropica Aquacube, the forgotten crystal gem from Tropica

    Love this, amazing work with a small space. 👍🏻
  4. Iain Sutherland

    Current build status of my heavy driftwood tank

    That layout and wood looks banging (and floaty 😬) nicely done. I foresee bucephalandra in your future 🔮 and maybe a cheeky little nympaea.
  5. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    It's been a year since I last updated this... all the usual apologies of my vacancy apply, much as previously, scaping just sits on the back burner at this point in my life. One day I'm sure it won't be but today isnt that day. Which means this one has hit 5th year running with almost no...
  6. Iain Sutherland

    UKAPS Meet Aquarium Gardens March 26

    Excellent news Tim, Air bnb, curry and beers to be added to this date!
  7. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    What a difference a day makes... major trim that had a few challenges. When removing some buce the whole hardscape started coming apart, normally I would have decided there and then to rescape but I'm away soon so it will have to wait. The buce 'mother plants' are massive, be interesting to see...
  8. Iain Sutherland

    New Scape (don’t judge me it’s been a while)

    Looking good pal, so you made it a whole week before upgrading kit 😂
  9. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    That's great to hear your dipping your toe back in, next thing you know @Stu Worrall will be starting a journal... 😍😂
  10. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Sh@t the bed it's Ian Holdich!! Hello mate, we've missed you 😥 Your scaping fingers itching?
  11. Iain Sutherland

    Aquascaping newie.

    Hi and welcome to the forum. As above, aim for 10x rule. The importance of circulation is heavily underestimated, getting co2 and ferts all around the tank, especially down to substrate level will often determine your success. Go big or go low energy. Starting a journal is a great way to gain...
  12. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Thanks, yes still on specialised and really don't have a schedule but would guess it averages about 3 pumps a week?
  13. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    What's going on folks!? I'm shocked to see its been a year since I've contributed to this thread or more importantly the forum!😔 Sometimes life is just straight up busy and a new job turned out to be all encompassing and pretty stressful. That said I think I've touched bottom and now building...
  14. Iain Sutherland

    Pre made hardscapes

    There are asian companies that do this, how to source them I'm not sure...
  15. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    DO IT!!!
  16. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Standard pads with about 3 or bits of alfagrog in the impeller space. I have a feeling the tital will be really good from what I've seen...
  17. Iain Sutherland

    50% weekly water change is killing my shrimp?

    Also as shrimp die quickly after WC, is the RO water your own? Some shop have terrible R0 tds 80 etc which firstly is a waste of money but will also likely need dosing with something like seachem prime...
  18. Iain Sutherland

    50% weekly water change is killing my shrimp?

    Tds climb is normal but if you base is 150, if you add say 500 tds (arbitrary) of ferts over the week it should still remain below 200 by the end of the week. 1 rest day and 50% wc should then reset it to your base at 150... It's not always that simple though, my shrimp tank for example bases at...
  19. Iain Sutherland

    Feeling frustrated with plants

    Hey, if you can put up some images and so.e more detail then we can help... what filters, lighting duration (hard to see if 7,8 ,9 or 10 hours on pic) water change regime.....👍
  20. Iain Sutherland

    50% weekly water change is killing my shrimp?

    And before @ceg4048 gets here... there are no rules 🤪
  21. Iain Sutherland

    50% weekly water change is killing my shrimp?

    Is the RO remineralised? If its straight RO then the tank is likely low on minerals essential to shrimp. If your tds climbs so much it cant be controlled by normal weekly water changes then you need to reduce your fert dosing as the plants arent using enough .👍
  22. Iain Sutherland

    "Fifty Shades of Green" - (1600 Litre Sanjarami)

    Still looking mint Sanj, some of those fish are huge now! That rainbow shark is a beast. Are you still running the 'smaller' rainbow tank as well?
  23. Iain Sutherland

    Critique my aquascape Would love to hear some thoughts/suggestions on my first tank!

    I wish my first tank had looked like that... seems like you have a good plan including adding more plants and if you carry on as you've started then you'll be grand. Keep reading, keep learning and youll have a wicked tank in no time 👍
  24. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    If im completely honest, the ficus in the filter is a massive pain in the blahblahblahblah in respect to the tank. From the 6 filter 'pads' I can only clean one as the roots own the others. If I had a do over I'd create a filter box for the ficus and have a beautifully maintained filter 🤣 maybe a seachem...
  25. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Sure thing, they're going to need a new home as the population is now stationary... will post a for sale thread as soon as it warms up.👍
  26. Iain Sutherland

    aesthetic "transparent" overflow design that would fit well in a ADA-style nature aquarium

    I think it would be a nightmare to maintain, if you think how quickly filter pipes/ lily pipes get grubby. Even ADA Gallery sumped tanks have black weirs, probably for good reason.
  27. Iain Sutherland

    Stems and the fine co2 line

    It is the down side to a hob filter, straight down flow wouldnt be ideal, certainly with my hobs if I dont top up I see negative effects quite quickly. Keeping lateral flow would be better. Again though unless you are losing unreasonable amounts of lower leaves dont chase perfection with stems...
  28. Iain Sutherland

    Stems and the fine co2 line

    To a certain extent, and some stems more than others, it happens in low tech. However it is more about flow and the nutrients/co2 it carries than light. Adding more light will likely add issues... unless it drops all leaves aside the top few then focus on getting flow down to lower levels first.👍
  29. Iain Sutherland

    Re-education.....

    Love this mate, was a wicked tank and a credit to your commitment to it, the hobby and forum. Looking forward to the next installment fella 👋
  30. Iain Sutherland

    Resolved! Green circle around my profile pic?

    Like it... and upvoting...?
  31. Iain Sutherland

    Something... Something... Shallow UG Tank!

    Sweet, love a shallow...
  32. Iain Sutherland

    Oase BioMaster Thermo External Filter

    Yup, keep it simple... can see the appeal to a pre filter mind 🤪 JBL crystalprofi running solid about 7 years now, forget it's there it's so quiet.
  33. Iain Sutherland

    UKAPS Donations

    £20 donation for recent sales, thanks to all that bought items 👍
  34. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Agreed and have several more ranks sitting around, just the idea of more tanks doesnt fill me with joy... I think a better option may be similar to you and sell off most of the standards once spring comes, unfortunately the affordability of more fancy varieties means the demand for normal...
  35. Iain Sutherland

    BEST ALL IN ONE

    Tropica specialised everytime for me.
  36. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    It's funny, no end of people would eat a meal at mine and think the same until they actually touch it normally hours later 🤣 pre covid of course...🤪 Hope your well mate👍
  37. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    It does get a trim every few weeks as its rampant, luckily the paint is eggshell so can scrub off the suckers pretty well.
  38. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Oh and for anyone interested the ficus has actually now taken over the kitchen, even comes out the other side and the top of the extractor 🤯
  39. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Evening all, So this tank was getting pretty over grown so gave it a severe trim today. I'd actually forgotten it was maple leaf rock in there as it's been hidden for a year or two. I didnt remove any plants, just trimmed the bucephalandra back. It was quite surprising how dense and branched...
  40. Iain Sutherland

    Looking for a square led light

    I've got a radion freshwater that is gathering dust and happy to sell... pm me [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  41. Iain Sutherland

    New top poster on UKAPS!!

    Congrats Darrell, your such a great asset to the community. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  42. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    I dont remember them ever not being in flower and looking back it seems all images are full of flowers just hadn't really noticed. Ive no idea what stimulates it though as previous tanks havent been so prolific. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  43. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Had a couple of serious trims in this over the past weeks so it's all looking a lot roomier now. Otherwise all is well and not much to report [emoji106] Its amazing how quickly the buce recover and multiply, in just a few weeks where the stem is cut as many a 4 new stems will begin to appear...
  44. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra paludarium

    Dont know how that just created random links to my sentences.. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  45. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra paludarium

    I dont remember it every being that small , thanks for linking it. I just noticed this weekend it is is also reproducing... little baby stag horn [emoji3] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  46. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra paludarium

    Looks a bit less crap now... Gave the filter a clean, remarkably the sponges were almost spot less[emoji2957] However I did then remember I took out almost all the media during last water change 6 months ago to start another filter... grand total of 6 pieces of alfa grog running this tank. I...
  47. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra paludarium

    I know, its exhausting...[emoji23] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  48. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra paludarium

    Bi annual water change and maintenance day. Cant imagine why the filter was struggling....?[emoji2962][emoji23] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  49. Iain Sutherland

    Always room for just one more....

    Lovely scape brilliantly delivered mate. I see @George Farmer even copied the hardscape layout for aquarium gardens 60 tank [emoji2957][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  50. Iain Sutherland

    IAPLC 2020 top 127

    Link is to filipe oliveira fb page for top 127 if link doesnt work. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  51. Iain Sutherland

    IAPLC 2020 top 127

    Some great scapes and a few questionable decisions... Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  52. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Thanks mate. They may be coming out, I get the feeling the tank would benefit from a freshening up pretty soon... catching the shrimp is whats causing the procrastination! [emoji2962] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  53. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Hey fella, caradina mix pretty well, at least for a while. They dont go muddy or revert to wild colours like neos will. Having the Taiwan gene means the patterns hold better which I think is the main advantage. If you want some Taiwan's mate just drop me a pm [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F...
  54. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  55. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Very neglected, no water change since lockdown began but they didnt seem too bothered and loved grazing the green glass caused by direct sunlight this time of year.... tds was 245 Now clean and adjusted to 185, will clean again next week to get it back to 160 ish along with the impossible carpet...
  56. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Was originally just a taiwan bee mix, mostly crs and cbs and one blue bolt in the first set up with these shrimp. When I started this tank I added 5 blue shadow pandas... [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  57. Iain Sutherland

    Get your garden out

    Been hard at it over lockdown, turning what was the 'builders yard' during the house Reno into veg garden and chicken run. 2/3 done and almost all upcycled materials. Furlough starts again thursday so will be back on it. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  58. Iain Sutherland

    Forum has been upgraded

    Thumbnails are a pain when using mobile and tapatalk... much prefer threads having full image upload [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  59. Iain Sutherland

    Forum has been upgraded

    New search layout is awesome... 'Find threads - your threads' is sooo welcome!!!
  60. Iain Sutherland

    Forum has been upgraded

    Top job Paulo, first time ive been on and it looks great fella, thanks a lot. Now get back to saving the NHS and print that PPE :doctor:
  61. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra paludarium

    One 5ft anubias left [emoji23] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  62. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra paludarium

    Stripped back, which made it amazingly evident the low plants had pretty much died off due to shading from the umbrella plant, ill be surprised if they come back but fingers crossed. Cut the crypts down to the gravel, it's amazing how quickly they come back after such harsh treatment. As for...
  63. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra paludarium

    This is well out of control, even garden secateurs were struggling to fall the forest! Crypt carpet was bonkers... Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  64. Iain Sutherland

    Transitioning Phase... (Unknown Weeks) Transitioning into a Journal

    Manzy sinks pretty quick so you shouldn't have to wait long.. [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  65. Iain Sutherland

    Transitioning Phase... (Unknown Weeks) Transitioning into a Journal

    I'm no scientist and all the above may be true, however i feel it misses an important point.... that being over whelming evidence from planted tanks the world over that filter media capacity isn't particularly defining in a tanks success. Id hazard a guess that if the above was true it is...
  66. Iain Sutherland

    Transitioning Phase... (Unknown Weeks) Transitioning into a Journal

    What...Clean it?? [emoji23] reckon that the reason they cook tanks...! Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  67. Iain Sutherland

    Transitioning Phase... (Unknown Weeks) Transitioning into a Journal

    Choose a filter based on reliability, flow volume and noise not filter media capacity. Most planted tanks are quite happy running with over half empty trays... recommendations for anything that are based on how quickly they fix a problem says a lot about the quality of the product in the...
  68. Iain Sutherland

    Low tech 60p

    Lovely low tech tank, well done fella. [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  69. Iain Sutherland

    Low tech 60p

    It's not exclusive for success, many stunning hard water tanks around but I fully believe it makes life a lot easier! Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  70. Iain Sutherland

    ADA live demo in the UK

    Hey Ryan, there is a good bunch of older members going that you'll know, you wont be lonely fella [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  71. Iain Sutherland

    Diatoms or something else?

    As Darrel has said above, increased maintenance and amano shrimp will nail it a very short space of time. If left It will either overrun the tank and ultimately kill your plants or burn itself out. I had this back here https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/iwagumi.40514/page-2 It's a simple short...
  72. Iain Sutherland

    Recommend me a shrimp food . . .

    I think the reason people talk about feeding a lot is often shrimp keepers keep tanks pretty sparse by way of plants/decoration. In a bare tank, sure you need to feed but add lots of plants and moss and the shrimp will largely look after themselves. For context, my shrimp tank is completely...
  73. Iain Sutherland

    Re-education.....

    That's stunning mate, exceptional looking tank and inhabitants.... although I reserve judgement on the betta [emoji848] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  74. Iain Sutherland

    Low Energy ADA 45H

    Bit of purigen will clear that up [emoji23] In seriousness I've never rinsed purigen and never had this... maybe its changed since I last used it a few years back.... Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  75. Iain Sutherland

    Bug!

    @dw1305 ....darrel, amaze us with your knowledge! Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  76. Iain Sutherland

    d2's Planted Tank Adventurama

    It's a great looking tank, shame about the jumpers! In answer to your questions... drop checker should be lime green, just to confuse people it should be like the inside of a lime not the skin (dark green) so edging towards yellow is normal. I didn't see how long your light were on for but I'd...
  77. Iain Sutherland

    Splash tetra - Copella arnoldi

    I'd be surprised in spikes too, a cycled tank with good amount of emersed plants should be bulletproof. I blame the test kit [emoji49] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  78. Iain Sutherland

    Recommend me a shrimp food . . .

    I dont know the size of tank or number of shrimp but it's unlikely you need to feed them at all unless you bought a colony. If it's a 60cm tank there is no need for food until you have over 50 shrimp and even then it would only be a weekly pellet of something like shrimp king. They have all...
  79. Iain Sutherland

    3rd Time Lucky 45p

    Hey dean, sorry your having a few issues fella...all good learning [emoji106] In regards to solving the issues I'd think your dosing is still a bit light, I dose one squirt tropica in my 60 low tech shrimp and and it gets consumed, granted the ficus in the filter helps but worth looking at. If...
  80. Iain Sutherland

    Mixing Various Cardina Shrimp

    Generally all caradina species will cross breed however you dont get the muddy colours like you would with mixed colour neos over time. Many people keep mixed caradina tanks, initial cross breeding can be quite interesting but over time (quite a long time) the patterns can be lost resulting in...
  81. Iain Sutherland

    Can anyone recommend some extra long tweezers?

    And yes there is a huge difference in quality tools. If your staying in the hobby long term it's well worth investing. Diesnt have to be ADA, tropica stuff is good. Amazon tools are generally toilet! Especially scissors, cheap stuff is good for RSI [emoji856] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  82. Iain Sutherland

    Can anyone recommend some extra long tweezers?

    There is a knack to it... Grip plants at 45 degrees, push straight down with tweezers at 45, pull out at 45 degrees. If you push straight down and pull out straight up then you will always get a good amount either pull out or float when filling if your doing initial planting. [emoji106] Sent...
  83. Iain Sutherland

    Flow Options

    Hi chris, Your best option would be none of the above [emoji2957] Generally with two outlets the best option is positioning outlets at opposite ends, one front and one rear to create a vaguely circular flow around the tank. Often with the front outlet being positioned a few inches away from the...
  84. Iain Sutherland

    Measure absorption rate of a fertilizer

    It can give you a pretty good idea. I check this way with my shrimp tank to ensure tds doesnt climb, checking this every couple of weeks ensures ferts increase or decrease with plant mass... Tds 180 Add ferts TDS 190 Next day TDS should be back to 180. If it isn't I reduce dosing. As above...
  85. Iain Sutherland

    Taiwan Bee not so nano

    Frozen peas always pull in a crowd. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  86. Iain Sutherland

    Black Sulawesi shrimp

    Never kept them but believe they are easy to keep initially with lots of breeding but are challenging after several months with entire populations crashing almost over night. Think this crashing cycle is why you dont see them around... I'm amazed an LFS has them, even through breeding forums...
  87. Iain Sutherland

    Jumpers....

    All sound advise above, only thing I would add is putting triangles of perspex on the corners. Fish nearly always jump from the corners, small 3 inch covers on corners IME almost completely eliminates the problem. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  88. Iain Sutherland

    Self watering tube

    Like this... unsure what he used but iften its upcycled or 'supermarket' items repurposed..... https://www.instagram.com/p/B6gXyz1H8Hr/?igshid=lj1vtceq075g Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  89. Iain Sutherland

    HI FROM SOUTHAMPTON

    Welcome. I wouldnt worry about the light. If you've got white leds then there will be plenty of red in it, spectrum really isn't too important. Just see how your plants go with it, if it looks good to your eyes then just run with it. [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  90. Iain Sutherland

    Full Spectrum/Low Profile/High Output LEDs in UK ?

    Twin star is the obvious choice as well priced and effective https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/twinstar-led-aquarium-light-900e-2287-p.asp Other options are chihiros, similar but cheaper or ADA solars if your feeling flush. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  91. Iain Sutherland

    Rock elevation

    @zozo the plant pots are a good idea, most people have them knocking around and generally cant be recycled. To gain height I used media bags full of alfagrog... the last picture is before the top substrate went on so the supports are hidden once complete. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  92. Iain Sutherland

    Rock elevation

    Any plastic substrate supports work... some people use old CD cases, some yoghurt pots and I use lawn edging strip as you can see in the image below. If you dont use supports you are right in that it will slowly level out .. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  93. Iain Sutherland

    Concrete Mountain Landscape

    While dry starting you may as well wack your lights up to 100% as the plants aren't limited on co2. I wouldnt spray ferts, the soil should be enough during dry start. Wouldnt worry about a few leaves dying off, as long as it's just a few then it's normal, if it's a slow decline if more and more...
  94. Iain Sutherland

    Rotala Indica and Rotala Ammania Bonsai - are they the same plant?

    As above, washing away the gel, splitting and planting, its that simple. I havent kept it for a while but have suffered unknown melt. Once on a newly planted tank and once after it was growing great for 3 months, trimmed and replanted several times then 'pop' all melts in a few days. Still...
  95. Iain Sutherland

    Staghorn (now BBA) Algae issues

    Also dont be afraid to cut away badly affected leaves either [emoji2957] Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  96. Iain Sutherland

    Staghorn (now BBA) Algae issues

    Hi, First off I'd dim the lights a bit, normally a safe bet with any algae issue... say wind back to 75% until resolved. Staghorn is a pain in the ass but isn't the worst by any means. Given your maintenance is pretty rigorous it's unlikely to be due to a dirty tank but a light filter clean...
  97. Iain Sutherland

    Don’t Panic!

    Baby shrimp rarely venture away from substrate or undergrowth so dont tend to end up in filters but juvenilles will. 1mm holes in a custom tube would be fine you would just need to work out how many holes. Alternatively buy a stainless mesh cover and just tape up the one or two slots that...
  98. Iain Sutherland

    Best way to help my moss spread

    Flame moss doesnt attach itself as such wont spread naturally. You need to trim and re tie to get additional coverage. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  99. Iain Sutherland

    Moss and light coloured plant questions

    The moss issue also largely depends if you have a moss that will attach or not? Flame, spikey, fissidens and Phoenix dont.... If it's a moss that doesnt attach itself then fishing line is the only real option. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
  100. Iain Sutherland

    A few shrimp questions . . .

    Certainly seem to be trust worthy, there are few main sellers that you will see. Most people on there are from the shrimpers uk facebook group. BAND is basically a forum and selling page that doesnt have livestock restrictions like fb and ebay. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
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