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Hi all. I fed my fish earlier some krill which were quite big. I came back to the tank 10 minutes later to find one of my harlequin rasboras floating upside down and then pointing downwards. It then died shortly after and its colour totally faded like fish do when they die. Do you think that it...

Hi everybody. I bought some honey gouramis the weekend and one of them seems to of developed white spot. I was wondering which treatment is best in a planted tank. I don't want to medicate the tank if I can help it so I was going to raise the temperature to 30 degrees along with water changes to...

Hi everybody sorry I haven't been on here for a while its been very hectic the last 6 months with moving house and stuff. I was wondering whether surface agitation is a good thing in a low tech tank to introduce co2 or a bad thing. I always thought that with low tech you had virtually zero...

Hi all, I'm having problems with frogbit dying off in my newly setup low tech tank. I think the humidity under the hood is what it doesn't like. I'm looking for a more hardy and much faster growing floating plant. I was thinking of using some azolla caroliniana as it looks quite nice and grows...

Hi all, I thought I would start my first journal on here as I have never got round to doing one before. The tank is a juwel rio 125 which I've had set up as a high tech co2 tank for the last few years. I have recently moved house, so I decided to completely rescape and go low tech as I will have...

Hi all, I was just after some recommendations for substrate for my low tech tank project. I will be temporarily rehoming my fish whilst I convert my tank to low tech, so I'm preferably after a substrate which won't leach much ammonia. What is everybody's favourite soil for a low tech tank. Many...

Hi all, my juwel rio is currently a high tech system with co2 and EI dosing and very fast plant growth. However, I am thinking of re scaping this tank and making it a low tech tank. I'm currently running 2x 28w t5 lights with reflectors. Would this be too much light for a low tech setup or...

Hi, I was just wondering what this new media button at the top of the page is going to be for. Cheers

Hi all, I've been a little concerned about my fish in my 125l planted rio. I have a mix of shoals of tetras and rasboras mainly. Over the last 12 months I have lost about 4 fish of different species. They have all puffed up like a balloon and had protruding scales about a month before they die...

Hi all, I just wanted your advice on one of my berried female yellow shrimp. She has been berried almost a month now so babies should hatch any day. I can see the eyes in the eggs so they must be ready really soon. However, the mother seems to be having trouble with her shell, as it seems as if...

Hi all, I hope you all had a good Christmas and happy new year to you all! Did anyone get any decent fish/planted tank related presents. I got a voucher for my local fish shop and a book on marine tanks. Don't know if I want to go down the marine route now after all! :crazy:

Hi all, I'm looking at upgrading my filter on my 30l fluval flora shrimp tank. The standard filter isn't putting out enough flow for my liking so I'm looking for a more powerful internal or hang on filter to increase flow. I don't want anything too bulky inside the tank which is why a hang on...

Hi all, I was just wondering what water change schedule is best in a shrimp tank. Is it better to do several smaller water changes during the week. Or just the normal 50% water change once a week. Or does it not really matter or does it depend on the species. Mine are yellow (Neocaridina...

Hi all, I have just recently bought some Celestial pearl danios and im having some trouble feeding them. Everything I seem to feed them they have a nibble at but don't seem to eat it. I have tried grinded up flake food, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp and daphnia. Do these fish ever come to the...

Hi all, I was wondering whether I need to inject more co2 when the water temperature is higher in the summer months. I know that warmer water can't hold the co2 for as long as when the water is cooler. Only recently when we had a bit of a heat wave, my drop checker was lime green during lights...

Hi all, I'm looking at sprucing up my piece of bog wood that's been in my tank since day one. I want to have the whole thing covered in moss, probably java moss. What's the easiest and most mess free way of attaching it until it attaches itself? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers

Hi, I was once ring if anyone grows this really common plant in their tanks. I know it's a bog standard plant, but I've always liked it. Also what does it grow like in a co2 injected tank with EI ferts. Cheers

Hi all, I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the gush pipe cleaner which I got from APF UK. My lily pipes and filter pipes have been overdue a good clean for a while now. Whilst browsing for ferts I came across the gush pipe cleaner. I took the pipes off the filter and the brush glides up the...

Hi, I'm off to Blackpool for a long weekend this weekend. I was thinking of going to the sealife centre. Has anyone ever been? If so what did you think? I have been to the Birmingham one and it was good. Cheers

Hi all, After spending the morning cleaning out the leaves from the gutters of the house, and cleaning the water butt, I should now have a pretty clean source of rain water. So next weekend when I do my water change, I am thinking of using some rain water with my regular tap water. Should I get...

Hi all. I want to get a bristlenose pleco but feel as though my 125l tank is close to fully stocked now. I just wanted your opinions on whether overstocking with fish in a heavily planted, overfiltered tank is as much as an issue in a planted tank than in a non planted tank. According to the...

Hi all, what do people think is the best snail for algae eating in a planted tank. I saw some apple snails in my LFS the other day but wasnt sure if they would eat all my plants. Also are there any good online retailers which sell snails? Cheers

Hi all, I was thinking what kind of water is best to use to mix chelated trace powder to make trace solution. Is it ok to use water straight out of the tap? I have up til now been using boiled and cooled tap water which I was told to do. Is there any particular reason I should boil it first? Thanks

Hi all. I just wondered how often you all feed your fish. Obviously in a planted tank we want to keep organic waste to a minimum but what is the right frequency. Once a day or every other day.

Hi all, I am considering using some rain water for my 50% water changes. I am thinking of using half rain water and half tap water mix. What is the best way of collecting rain water? Is the stuff in an old water butt suitable even though it has run through the guttering and off the roof? Or do I...

The whole idea behind the 25 posts before you can access the for sale section is that you actually contribute! Either by helping others or asking questions or posting photos.

Hi all. I have posted a few pictures of my tank before but they were with a phone and weren't the best quality. So just thought I would share some better quality photos taken with my 450d. I have had a play around with the white balance settings and have got the colour much better. I alaso...

Hi, I have got some riccia on the way and planning to use it as a floating plant. Has anyone used t as a floating plant and how did it grow. How does it cope with currents in the tank? Does it just find a place to settle? Thanks

Hi all, can anyone suggest suitable fish for a fluval flora tank. The tank is 30l. Is this size tank not really suitable for fish or am I better off getting some shrimp. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi, I bought a bottle of 4dkh with bromo blue. When I got it it was more of a blue/green colour and after a month or so it has gone back to the normal blue colour. Is this normal as I thought it was supposed to be blue all the time. It works fine in the drop checker, just wondered why it would...

Hi, has anyone seen or used this yet? It's a surface skimmer which removes the protein film from the surface of the water. £180 seems a bit steep though! Here is a link to it...

Hi, I was wondering what do you need to add to 4dkh water to make a drop checker reagent. Can I add ph solution from a test kit? If not then where do I get the bromo blue to add to the water Thanks

Hi all, I'm looking at setting up a fire extinguisher and wanted to know where I can get a decent regulator with solenoid at a good price. I was looking at the the TMC regulator with solenoid which is the same as what I have now but mine has the CGA fitting. Another option would be an adapter to...

Hi all, I was just wondering what pressure you replace your co2 bottles at. I have a 500g cylinder which reads about 900psi when refilled and then drops off gradually after a couple of months. I want to get my money's worth out of these bottles so was wondering what the minimum pressure is that...

Hi all, I am think about setting up a fire extinguisher for the co2 on my tank, and then putting my 500g co2 onto my nano. Are all co2 fire extinguishers the same? Do some use liquid co2 and some use gas? If it is co2 liquid then can it still be used on an aquarium? Sorry for all the questions...

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has successfully had Amano shrimp eggs hatch in their aquarium. I know they need brackish water for the eggs to hatch. However talking to someone at my fish store he told me that his Amanos managed to breed successfully in freshwater. Any experiences would be...

Hi all, I was browsing the aqua essentials website when I saw they now sell Lemon Shrimp. Are these yellow shrimp but just with a different name? I was thinking of getting some as they grow quite big and I don't want really small shrimp. Has anybody kept yellow shrimp before and what are they...

Hi, I have just acquired some salvinia natans. Are there any specific needs for this plant to grow well? I had some amazon frogbit before and it never seemed to grow well, the leaves kept turning to mush and falling off. Is salvinia a lot easier and faster growing? Thanks

Hi all, I am looking at ways of making my water changes easier and quicker. At the moment I use a long hose which goes from the tank into the bathroom to take the water out. I am thinking of filling the bath with dechlorinated water and then using a pump to pump the water into the tank. What...

Hi all, I was just wondering how much cheated trace powder everyone uses in their EI trace solution. At the moment I am using just over a teaspoon mixed in 500ml of water and I am adding 10ml per 50l aquarium water. Cheers

Hi all, I just thought I would share a few photos of my planted tank. It has been running just over a year now and is my first proper planted tank. Thanks for looking! IMG_3869 by Matty213, on Flickr IMG_3868 by Matty213, on Flickr IMG_3866 by Matty213, on Flickr Untitled by Matty213, on Flickr

Hi everybody. I have just returned from a 4 day break to find yet another cyano outbreak in my tank. A few weeks back I did a blackout and upped the amount of nitrate I was adding. I also improved flow in the tank and when the blackout was done, all was well and it had gone completely. I dropped...

Hi. I have a juwel rio 125l with a tetra ex700, standard juwel filter uprated to and a spray bar on both filters and a koralia nano 1600. My tank is quite heavily planted and pretty much all of the plants move around with the flow. Also the co2 bubbles seem to be getting blown everywhere. Does...

Hi, I currently have a tetra ex700 filer running on my 125l tank and I couldmreally do with a more powerful filter. What is people's opinion on a fluval FX5 on this size tank, would it be way too powerful for a tank of this size? Should I upgrade to a tetra ex1200 instead which I have heard...

Hi all, I have been having great difficulty in removing blue green algae from my tank, I have tried adding more nitrate as I wasnt adding enough to my EI mix and things improved a bit but it was still growing. I have finally decided after much struggling to get rid of it, to do a blackout on the...

Hi all, does anyone know if the co2 level isn't high enough, will this cause Blue green algae to grow worse. My drop checker is green but a dark green not a lime green. I was just thinking, if the plants can't outcompete the algae properly if they haven't got enough co2

Hi all, I came across this new product from Easylife called Blue Exit. It is supposed to remove blue green algae without harming anything. I was wondering if anybody has used it and what it contains to remove BGA without harming anything and if it works. Does it contain nitrate to remove it as...

Hi, can anyone recommend an in tank glass diffuser as I have now had two TMC ones break on me now. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi all, I have in the last month started EI dosing. I have a 125l tank and my dosing was as follows: 4tsp of potassium nitrate 1tsp of potassium phosphate 6tsp magnesium sulphate 500ml of water 20ml dosed 3 times a week I now realise that this dosing is a bit lean as I have a lot of plants too...

Hi all, I keep getting blue green algae on my pogostemon erectus and I can't seem to figure out why. It starts to cover a few leaves so I remove it and then within a week it comes back. I have a Juwel Rio 125 Filter:Standard Juwel filter with uprated impellor, Tetra EX700 filter, Koralia 1600lh...

Hey everybody, I was thinking about changing my juwel 28w T5 tubes for two Arcadia J5 plant pro tubes. I was wondering if anybody has used these on their juwel tanks and if they improved plant growth much? Also what is the colour tone like on them?

Hi all, I have a bit of an annoying problem, I think my SAE is eating my hygrophilia polysperma and a few bits of my pogostemon erectus. I'm pretty sure it's either the algae eater or my gold barbs. I don't think it's snails because I don't really ever see snails on the plants. I'm pretty much...

Hi all! I am thinking of getting 2 or 3 tiger shrimp for my tank. I already have a couple of Amano shrimp, and I wondered whether the two types of shrimp are compatible with each other and whether they will cross breed? Has anyone kept tiger shrimp before? Cheers

Hi all, at the moment I have my co2 come on about an hour before lights come on. Is it better to have it come on 1 hour before or do most people have it come on 2 hours before. If levels aren't at optimum before the lights come on, will this fluctuation in co2 trigger algae?

Hi all, I bought a pot of pogostemon erectus a couple of weeks ago and it keeps getting algae growing on it. Im pretty sure its brown algae. The needles on the plant seem to turn brown and then strands of algae seem to grow from one needle to the other. Im sure its not hair algae because it...

Hi, has anyone got any reccomedations for some floating plants. I have a juwel rio 125 with lids on it. I have heard that some floating plants do better with an open aquarium.

Hi, I think that fast growing plants would probably adjust quicker to new conditions than slower growing plants. What is this ada setup?

Hi all, I have had stargrass in my tank since day one, and it has always grown really well and gets bushy very quickly. I have always pruned it but I dont think I have pruned it enough and as a result I have found lots of bunches of stems near the bottom of the tank with no leaves. I believe...

Hi everybody. Just wanted to introduce myself on here. I have been into the tropical fish and plant scene for almost a year. I am learning new things about keeping plants all the time. I have visited this site for information many times and found it invaluable for plant advice. I used to have...