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My low-tech 30l CRS cube has been set-up for about 2 months now and is fully cycled with 20 CRS shrimp. A lot of the leaves are covered in what looks like brown / diatom algae. Seem to be a lot of mixed messages about how to cure (as with all things planted tanks). Could this be from not enough...

There are just so many differing opinions and theories about BBA, it's difficult to know what to believe and which approach to take but given that Co2 injection can be ruled out of the equation for my tank it makes it even trickier. Spot dosing the easycarbo doesn't seem to have had any effect...

With the right adjustment in conditions (reducing light, healthy plants, cleaning and reducing waste organics) - can / does BBA ever disappear on its own without the intervention of removing it manually or by blasting it with liquid carbon or H202? I'm wondering if I make those adjustments and...

Thanks for the responses guys, really appreciate the help. I've reduced the lighting down to 6 hours a day at 50% intensity. I'm thinking about removing the Salvinia too as it's a pain when doing maintenance and seems to be being pushed under the water by the flow causing it to rot. It might...

Hi All, I'm not sure if this is fungus or BBA on the wood, or both? No signs of anything on the plants... yet :/ Would really appreciate some help and advice with this one. 1. 30X30X30 27L. 1 week planted, 2 weeks cycling period before that 2. Dennerle Scapers Flow 3. Twinstar 300E 10h...

Stunning tank and really shows what can be achieved with a lower tech setup if you get the balance right and have patience. I'm taking a lot of inspiration from your approach and methods on this tank for my new 30L cube scape. You really only ran a 6h photoperiod on this?

We're all planted, up and running. I cycled the tank for a couple of weeks with just the hardscape to allow some ammonia to leech out of the substrate, get the filter media going and for that white fussy bacteria stuff that tends to form on the wood to cycle which I then scrubbed off. I'm...

It's been nearly 10 years since my last scape - a 60L Iwagumi (https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/60p-iwagumi-mountain-scape.29806/) and I thought it was about time for a new one in a completely different style. I thought I'd share and log the process with you all again (partly because I may...

Great, thanks for the help guys! I have removed a lot of the algae, resulting in some of the weak HC going with it unfortunately. I then did a 50% W/C and have increased the co2 bps, the flow restrictor is now wide open. I have also raised the lighting unit a few inches and will start doubling...

So what would you recommend that I do now to tackle the issue and get it back to full health? Clean algae, large water change, up nutrients and Co2? Blackout? How do I get rid of the algae in the substrate?

Hello everyone, After things were going so well for a number of months unfortunately I am having major issues with algae - mainly green and blue green algae in the substrate and covering the HC carpet - as you can see in the photos. Some of the HC is now melting, presumably as a result of the...

Thanks for all the feedback and compliments everyone. Unfortunately the only days that I wake up and see it properly on is on Saturday and Sunday if I have a lie in because the lights don't come on until 10am. Its at the end of the day when I can appreciate it. No, blackout day is on...

A long overdue update! Below is the tank just before Christmas. All growing very nicely. 6 hour photoperiod. Hairgrass added between the rocks. Here is a photo I took yesterday. Full carpet. I have had a tiny outbreak of cyanobacteria (BGA) in two places, which I have cut out and...

Absolutely! May I add that all of the points made were taken into consideration, researched and discussed long before they were mentioned on this blog. Thanks for the input anyway though people. Here is a quick video I took the other day of some Green Neons in a 30L at the Aquatic Design...

You could argue that a lot of species aren't ideally suited to many of the setups and layouts that people use them in. The ideal setup for a black neon tetra (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi) is a biotope, but a huge number of them live happily in minimal high tech planted tanks. If our hobby...

Thanks! There shouldn't be any need for plexiglass or plastic in the lighting unit, the whole inside is waterproof and I've had a similar setup on tanks before without any problems, hopefully this will be no different. Regs book? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

£5 in my LFS. I would be very interested to see a breeding project with them, the same goes for tucano tetra, both stunning fish and two of my favourites. Personally I'm not really into breeding fish so would just be buying a few for their beauty in this scape. No problem. Its easy to an...

They are indeed. Although my LFS (Aquatic Design Centre) has had them in before and have told me that they could get them in again. As soon as I saw them I fell for them, quite a magical looking little fish. They are expensive though, as you would expect with a rare fish. Thanks. You should...

Apologies for the delayed update. Here she is being filled very slowly with a 5mm tube Filled (this was 3 weeks ago, 2 weeks substrate leaching time with just the substrate and rocks in there, filter and heater on, no lighting. I did about around 6 50-80% water changes over the 2 weeks...

Where are your lily pipes from George? I'm looking for a new reasonably priced set.

Thank you so much! Really helpful! I knew it was something simple, I have just never had to adjust the pressure before, having always used ceramic diffusers. All sorted. :)

I am having a few problems adjusting the pressure on my JBL reg from 1.2 to the 2 bar of pressure needed for my new inline diffuser. I remember reading somewhere that you have to adjust the black bit on top, whenever I have tried to do this though, co2 comes steaming out. Any help with...

Everything has now arrived, so we are ready to go. I put a 9L bag of aquasoil into the tank to experiment with the rock arrangement and substrate heights/levels (This has since been removed ready for a full substrate system to go in), here are few examples. Through trying these different...

Thanks Luis. I'm afraid I don't really have time to make cabinets to order, not with so many other projects going on. This was a bit of a one off as I don't normally make cabinets. I believe there are one or two people on the forum who do make them to order though. I think they came to about...

Thanks George, that means a lot. I have found your journals (Scree Evolution in particular) really useful in my development as a aquascaper for gaining an understanding of particular details and techniques, I think they are such good educational tools. Hopefully this journal can be just as...

The dimensions and depth of the tank add such a new quality and element to an iwagumi scape like this, each angle looks completely different and makes a simple layout more complex and intricate. Really nice, informative and useful as always.

Its most likely to be a lighting and co2 imbalance. As the tops of the leaves are so close to the surface, they are getting a lot of light which is possibly not being balanced with the even distribution of co2 nearer the surface. Either trim your plants lower, raise your lighting or try to...

Thanks for clearing that one up! My limited knowledge hunch was that it was fine, but I thought it best to check before investing in relatively expensive CRS. I will go ahead with the standard trace elements solution. Fe 8.2% Mn 1.82% Zn 1.16% B 1.05% Cu 0.23% Mo 0.15% From aquarium...

Hi Guys, Im sure this has been asked before but I couldn't find any specific answers. I am about to start EI dosing my tank with the standard micro and macro solutions. The micro trace elements mix has 0.23% Copper in it according to the website. Will I be able to keep CRS while using...

Really like the look of this! Some serious plumbing you have got going on in that cabinet! The GroBeam lights look like they give out a fair amount of light, I'm intrigued to see how you get on with them as I'm looking to get one myself. Keep the updates coming!

Cabinet complete! After several days of filling, sanding, undercoating, painting on the top colour then adding the lighting unit fixings on, the cabinet is finished and I'm really pleased with it. Comes pretty close to an ADA wood cabinet I think, with my own touch on it. Just...

Thanks. Me to, Its one of my favourite places.

Thanks for the responses and compliments. The cabinet is coming along nicely! This was a little sketch model to look at dimensions, scale and how it would be pieced together, (I slimmed down the bar across the top of the doors). The ADA cabinets are a little low for my liking so decided...

This is a long term developmental aquascape inspired by my love of the north Wales mountains and the Japanese Iwagumi style of aquascaping. I hope it may have the potential to be developed into a slightly more complex scape with some stems etc after some time. I spent a good few hours at...

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to give it another clean and boil it, then it should be ready to go again!

Hi Guys, Just a quick question, I'm about to get up a new tank and was wondering whether it is okay to re-use old filter media? It is all clean and dry but I'm a little concerned about possible algae or things which may be lurking in there that I cannot see. Keen to know people's...

Thanks for your responses I thought that might be the case as when I rubbed the leaves a lot of the brown stuff came off. I think I am also going to reduce the light intensity further to maybe 60% and/or purchase some floating plants as I quite like the look of one of them. I think your...

70L Dosing Flourish trace, Iron and Excel (until they run out) once a week. Then ordering the 2 new tropica ferts. 15W LED bar (equivalent to 24W) directly above the tank reduced to 80%. Eheim ecco pro 130 I recently set this tank up to grow some anubias and house some of my older fish. As you...

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Re: 120 x 55 x 55cm planted... @ 2 weeks Mark, this is beautiful. Very envious of you having this slice of nature in your house. I like your choice of music in your videos, compliments them perfectly. Your whole journal and previous journals are great. With the professional photography...

Re: Nature's River By Harry Robinson Harry, people are often weary of upping their dosing, they then double it and see great results. You could definitely up your dosing and I would recommend that you do, The trick is trying to find that 'sweet-spot' in your tank and what your plants require...

Glad you like the look of it. There are so many plants, as your just starting out you will discover more and more plants available and more are being discovered all the time. Then you have to decide which ones you want to try and grow. That co2 system is an utter waste of money my friend. I...

Save it for a High-tech. You can do it with almost any moss. I would say Java, Flame or Fissidens Fontanus are the three best mosses to use. Personally I would use Fissidens, I saw it in a scape the other day and its stunning, especially in a nano. It grows really dense as well. Mini Pellia...

Probably a good idea. Fissidens Fontanus looks amazing as a carpet. It is best to and easiest to attach it to a mesh yes, then it is all attached and you can move it if needs be, pebbles can be awkward to wrap the string around etc. That is true, However it will be considerably slower and will...

A friend of mine dropped 20 Amano shrimp straight into his tank at night and they all settled in perfectly. No trip acclimation or anything. He EI doses and had loads of co2. The fish shop uses the same water as in his tank, They are normally very hardy shrimp so I'm surprised you have had such...

Anubias can look great in a cube. Ferns and crypts. A moss carpet is probably the most realistic with that small amount of light but with light carbon its achievable. dwarf hairgrass would be slow but you could try it. Can always think about upgrading the light in future if you want quicker growth.

It is recommended that you set the pressure on your regulator to around 1.5 bar as a starting point, I think many have set it at 1.7 - 2 on the JBL regulators (you adjust the pressure via an allan key adjustment with an allan key on the regulator). You should then lower the pressure of the...

The Hydor heater and UP inline atomizer is a great combo that I have used to great effect, minimizing the amount of hardware inside the tank and therefore, in my opinion making it appear more attractive and natural. So its absolutely fine to use both, what filter are you using? Its best to use...

Re: Nature's River By Harry Robinson They look horrible and take over, I tried squishing them for a few months and they do not go, so got 5 assassins and they were gone in days. Assassins are amazing, if they are fed well their coloration can be really beautiful with the yellow and black strips...

Re: Nature's River By Harry Robinson I like it without the black background, it blends into the surroundings better and opens it all up more and the wood stands out, the black closes it all in a lot. I know what you mean about it enhancing the greens a lot which does look nice but for me your...

Re: Nature's River By Harry Robinson That's a really beautiful little tank Harry, great use of the space within a small tank. I particularly like the piece of wood branching across and coming out the top of the water, it almost extends the tank into the surroundings and makes it seem bigger...

The Otto's in my LFS in London are £17 each and last time I saw them they didn't look too healthy because there wild caught so I thought I would give them a miss. Hopefully next time I see them they will be better, even so 17 each is a lot. Will question them on there pricing I think. Do you...

Over £200 for a nice piece of cut clear perspex and aluminum with an LED strip is utterly ridiculous however nice it is. I will still consider buying it for my 30cm cube when it comes to the UK though as its stunning and by far the best looking and possibly functional LED.

I heard that Zebra otto's are quite sensitive and need very stable and good water conditions compared to regular otto's because they are fairly new to being kept in aquariums. Have yours settled in well? How long have you had them in the tank for? and what are you water parameters? Sorry for...

http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=18533 Have a read through this thread, it should clear up any issues or concerns you have with where your placing the diffuser. Either an Inline diffuser or a reactor are probably the most effective ways of co2 diffusion though.

Re: Dosing a low tech 70L (more like 50L with hardscape) hel Why do all these sites such as the green machine claim that 'An excess however can lead to sudden blooms of algae' then? It makes sense that to much is not really a problem, especially if water changes are being done but a lot of...

Thanks for your responses Chris and Iain. I knew it was something to do with the relationship between the lights and other elements. I have shut this tank down completely now so don't need to worry about sorting it out. I have now learnt and realised from your responses that the light intensity...

Re: Dosing a low tech 70L (more like 50L with hardscape) hel From what I understand TPN is trace elements and TPN+ is purely Nitrogen and Phosphorus and so surely both are required. However, I have seen tanks which look really impressive that are only dosed with the TPN+. Thats really useful...

Re: Dosing a low tech 70L (more like 50L with hardscape) hel Thanks Chris. I will start off by dosing once a week then and assess it from there. How did you come to find the sweet spot dosing amount? What happened to signal that you had got it right and weren't adding to much? I like the...

I set this tank up a while ago with my AquaFX lighting unit 15W (equivalent to a 24W fluorescent) Eheim ecco pro 130 and standard (very hard) tap water, a few fish and bogwood with Anubias on it I didn't dose the tank at all. I was hoping the Anubias would grow in nicely and I could use it...

That is brutal!!

Time for a change I think. For me personally part of the beauty of Bucket of mud is the journal itself and being able to see all the elements and detail of it together and develop. The featured scape is for maybe a more of a conventional straight up scaped tank for potential new aquascapers to...

:o Thats the most explicit thing I have ever read on ukaps. :lol: A conversation for the off topic section I think.

Yes it is more or less the same thing. You just have to make sure the glass is very clean your attaching it onto and do it quickly so no dirt gets onto it. I certainly didn't find it tricky. Any idea of what background your going to go with Lee?

I was just wondering if the featured scape is ever changed, Andy's 60L kitchen tank has been on there for a while, is it just left on there permanently as an example or are new ones added occasionally?

Re: Ed's Re-Scape 240l - "Reach" - First Journal Hi Ed. That first jungle scape is crazy, looks really natural. Great start to the journal as well, loads of detail which everyone likes. The hairgrass in the sand looks nice and you have leveled the sand nicely, some parts higher than others...

No not at all. I like creating the illusion of space and something bigger within a tank and the smaller puffers will create this amongst that hardscape nicely. I only really like the dwarf ones, generally prefer smaller fish to larger ones, find them more interesting and nice to watch...

Looking forward to seeing a few more shots of it when its settles in Nathaniel

The light dispersing film that you can get from the GM produces exactly the same effect as a sand blasted piece of acrylic but sticks smoothly onto the back and so you don't need to hold or fix it in place with anything like you would with an acrylic sheet.

Clean white wall like ADA, but that only looks really good if your tank is nicely heavily planted. Or, a solid black background are the two smartest looks in my opinion and the two that I use. Some people put a blue light shining upwards on a white background which also looks great or even a...

Any chance of you putting a few more photos up of this tank Nathaniel? So we can see it from the front? Looks great, a slice of nature at your bedside. A full ADA mini M set up by the looks of it?

Don't think there would be to much benefit of the dry start method in this tank as Im going with a minimal plant layout so will plant it up and fill straight up. Thanks, Im going to start off with some puffers as I have always wanted to keep them since I first saw them, found myself watching...

Definitely will be. I think I was just considering whether it would be to much light and the time its taking to build the housing but will be worth it. I already have an AquaFX unit so am going to go with that. Im just wondering if 15W (equivalent to 24W fluorescent) directly above the tank...

Thanks. Agreed, seems to work really nicely, lots of nice textures and colours in there. Yes I have been thinking and looking at it today and agree with you, I just need to finish building a housing for the LED bar and will put it on there reduced intensity I think it will be fine, should look...

They can feed off left over food and waste in the tank, I once saw a photo of one that had got hold of a dying tetra and sucked it in, you can probably find it on the internet somewhere. Often they die off though as there is not enough for them to eat. You can buy snail food, but often people...

How big is your tank? I would stay away from any liquid removal pesticides if possible as always as there not really necessary with snails, natural is always better. Put a load of Assassin snails in there and they will be gone in no time. Assassin snails are great, I love them. Awesome yellow...

Im in need of a bit of assistance on deciding what, and how often to dose my new 70L (more like 50L with hardscape inside) Here is the journal for it. http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=20982 Using a 18W 6500K bulb directly above the tank with RO water. Going to be mainly mosses and...

Decided to open up a space just left of centre to add a bit more depth and some variety. Also decided that instead of the LED bar which I think maybe too powerful, however I would dim it and haven't had time to make a housing for it to sit on top of the tank yet, that, therefore Im thinking of...

Link does not work!

They are great little fish. Looking forward to trying to get some decent photos of them. Thanks. Took a few attempts to get it right, quite happy with it now. I dont think it is, hope not. Its silica sand. I may ring the suppliers just to make sure though.

Setting up a hardscape dominated (they like lots of cover for territories) dwarf puffer fish tank. Thought I would start my first journal as I have wanted to start one for ages and now have the time. Going to keep it relatively low maintenance so that it can be sustainable plus so much easier...

Great, what ferts do you use on that 40L Iain? Im going to start a journal for this tank in the next few days. Exactly, that was my thought but wanted an opinion (or a few) but it seems people arent responding to much on here at the moment :( haha I have been fascinated by them for a while...

Hi Everyone, Im about to start a new set up as I have had my tanks out of action for a while. Wanting to set up my 70Litre tank with dwarf puffer fish, which like a tank with a lot in it to break up their line of vision so they can each have a little territory within the tank. I want it to be...

haha. brilliant. think there is quite a balanced and effective review and range of opinions on this thread now, really useful.

http://www.acressupply.com/new/Default.asp?Page=43 This place is great. They know what there talking about in there and some interesting things to look at.

It is difficult to judge LED suitability though because the wattage is different compared to light output of a standard fluorescent. On the website they claim that it is the equivalent to a 24W T5 but the light intensity seems much stronger then when i put just one 24W on there. I will be...

Sorry to be another one asking/checking/asking for thoughts about lighting levels but I really want to check this before setting out and then experiencing problems. Would my 15W Aqua FX tube (Apparently equivalent to a 24W T5 tube) be too much light for a 70L low tech set up, no co2, just excel...

No problem, I guessed that must have been the case. :) Great post Plantbrain. I think anybody who looks at your amazing 120 Gal tank can see that just aquasoil alone is more than good enough and as you say, all the other stuff really doesnt seem to make a difference.

Not sure i really understand your question. Substrates arent safe or unsafe with certain flow rates. :/ Powersand is a substrate additive that goes underneath aquasoil for optimum plant growth. It is only optional and really only needed for a scape with a lot of stem plants. So using it or not...

What do you do with the erio c that you took out then? put that all in another tank temporarily?

Get the eriocaulon c back in there! Was my favorite plant in the tank, love the spiky look of it compared with the softer looking plants.

I really love this scape and particularly the rock used in it. Does anyone know what type of rock it is or anything similar to it?

They grow to about 2 inches. I like these crabs a lot. but they tend to hide out in caves most of the day and arent too active, when they are active it tends to be at night. They prefer slightly brackish water (a little salt) and need a large space out of water. They like to spend 50% of the...

That light looks great. What make is it and where did you buy it from?

How many amanos are in there roughly? That is true, once shrimps have established and breed in tanks its nearly impossible to remove them. Not a bad idea. A bit wackie. I would give it a go. I cant see any major issues except the co2, nutrients and fresh water getting or rather, not getting to...

I use a Eheim ecco pro 130. Great little external filter. If you don't want to have a filter inside the tank or hanging on the side. Plus you can invest in a smart pair of lily pipes for it at some point.

The background plant is Blyxa Japonica. The nano cube to the right of this tank looks interesting to, you should upload a photo of that as well. The light above it looks real smart. What light is it?

75cm puffer?! I will be setting up a small journal of the crab tank in motion so watch out for it in the next few weeks. I wont be having many if any plants in there, mostly a rock scape, maybe a few mosses.

Re: 120 x 55 x 55 Going for a record! How long has this tank been running for now Mark? Very impressive, everything from the videos to the photos to the journal itself.

I have seen South American Puffers before and have to say I prefer the Dwarf ones. Smaller and more delicate plus I could have a few of them in the 60L, just preference. Thats exactly the same as me, I saw one and thought, I'm going to have to have a tank with a few of those in at some point...