• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Search results for query: *

  • Users: LancsRick
  • Content: Threads
  • Order by date
  1. LancsRick

    Would this be too much stock in a 180l?

    Considering closing my Trigon and just running my Rio 180 as a single tank. I'm not sure if I'm going to be pushing the limits on stocking though... At present the Rio has moderate planting, 6 amano shrimp, 3 Oto's, 20 glowlight tetra, and probably 50 red cherry shrimp. Twin JBL e901's are...
  2. LancsRick

    Can Koralias be adjusted?

    Just wondering (in terms of flow rate) if these can be adjusted. I'm going to fit a circulation pump to my Trigon 190 (currently have 2x Eheim 2217) to try and assist with my BBA issues. I'm not sure whether to go for the Nano 900 or the Nano 1600 - I don't want to turn the tank into a whirlpool!
  3. LancsRick

    Best way to ramp down ferts in a low tech?

    Ok, part of my attack on the BBA in my tank is to stop doing monthly water changes (30%) and instead just operate on a "top up" basis. To do that, I probably need to drop my dosing level. At present I'm doing 20ml for 190l every week of all-in-one ferts (James' recipe #3). Given that the dose...
  4. LancsRick

    Falling out of love with my Trigon

    My Rio 180 is a brilliant algae-repelling low tech tank with sagi. sublata and mixed moss in it. Really enjoyable tank. My Trigon 190 on the other hand, has a larger plant mass, shorter light duration, same water change, filter maintenance and fert dosing regime, and is a poster child for BBA...
  5. LancsRick

    Any types of nylon fishing line to avoid?

    Cotton thread is rotting away too quickly in my tank to let the moss graft onto the mesh properly. I'm therefore going to redo things with nylon fishing line so it isn't an issue. Before I get some el cheapo from eBay (link below), are there any things to be wary of around cheap manufacture and...
  6. LancsRick

    What on earth are these?!

    Plant in question is java fern. Tank is a low tech community tank with fert dosing. I spotted these on the underside of three of my java fern leaves today, so very localised. Wondering if they're eggs or something? https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2793861/2013-09-16 20.34.17.jpg They're...
  7. LancsRick

    Stable mature tank - Cardinal death, another swim bladder issue

    I love keeping animals, but I hate when they're struggling and I don't know how to help. Just done the usual check I do every few days on my tank, peering around everything to look for anything out of the ordinary. Found a cardinal tetra dead at a filter intake, been gone for a couple of days...
  8. LancsRick

    Struggling to get riccia to cling to mesh

    I'm maturing a large riccia carpet in a low tech tank. The plant is happy as anything, growing at a rapid rate and showing good colour. I'm struggling though with some bits not staying attached to the mesh. I keep it trimmed weekly, so I wouldn't expect there to be issues with it dying off under...
  9. LancsRick

    Sakura Deaths - Confidence to build up a colony knocked a bit

    I'm looking to use my Ebi tank to start a Sakura colony, with the idea being that any excess numbers will be moved into my other tanks to improve the RCS bloodlines in there. I got 4 about 6 weeks or so ago, 2 male and 2 female (I think, I'm no guru!). I lost a male about 2 weeks in, but all...
  10. LancsRick

    Simple Shrimp Tank

    I've replanted my Fluval Ebi after numerous issues on the previous setup, so thought I'd stick a journal up to keep track of it. Fluval Ebi tank, running a JBL e700 with ETH200 in line. Using Fluval stratum for substrate, which is ok now it's matured, but I had massive problems with...
  11. LancsRick

    Layouts you like based around ammania/stauro and hairgrass

    Having got some stunning ammania from George, and getting some more ele. sp. mini, I'm going to redo my Ebi 30litre with much more plant mass, as I'm enjoying it far less since it's not as pretty, and also finding it much more work because of the lower plant mass. So, with a combination of...
  12. LancsRick

    There are many striking fish....

    There are many fantastic fish that we put in our scapes, some for functional reasons, some for cosmetic. I'm sat here on my sofa, looking at my really basic low tech tank, and to be honest, the 15 or so really healthy cardinal tetras that are shoaling around look utterly stunning, bright blue...
  13. LancsRick

    Thinking of my first "new" purchase

    Ok, so everything I've done with my tanks so far has been with second hand kit, and I've worked around what I've got my hands on. My nearest to a totally new setup was my little Ebi, but even that had some compromises attached. I'm therefore thinking about later in the summer being the moment...
  14. LancsRick

    Has anyone ever done a fully automated tank?

    Emphasis on "fully" here. The reason for my thinking here is that I love the idea of a high tech tank. The colour of the plants, the rate of growth, breadth of plant selection. All of these things are great. Unfortunately none of these things cope well with not having regular maintenance...
  15. LancsRick

    Idea for Fluval Ebi stand

    Well having completed a full rebuild of my bathroom, I'm going to tidy up my bedroom as a lighter project. Part of this is going to be sorting out a proper stand for the 30l Fluval Ebi that currently sits on an old chest of drawers with my Sakura shrimp and Galaxy Rasboras in. From my other...
  16. LancsRick

    What brings MTS out of hiding?

    I've had a few MTS knocking around in my tank for a fair few months, nice to have some hitchhikers that are welcome for a change. Having not seen them for months, they're back in force tonight and a couple are over an inch in length. Is there anything in particular that brings them out, or have...
  17. LancsRick

    Planaria Treatments

    Well I've just noticed tonight that seemingly from nowhere, my Rio has a fair number of planaria knocking around in it. Presumably stow-aways from my most recent plants, or possibly in with frozen food that I feed them, so I'll treat my other tanks just to be sure. I've been reading on the...
  18. LancsRick

    Hairgrass and amano shrimp

    Any bright ideas to stop the amano's digging up my ele. acic. when foraging? I'm replanting the hairgrass every single day at the moment since I come home to find the shrimp have been digging through the top layer of substrate, and then the water flow has pulled the plants free! They're a bit...
  19. LancsRick

    A shopping trip and an interesting sounding speaker...

    Well I've been obsessed in DIY the last couple of months, completely rebuilding my bathroom, so my tanks have been neglected a bit. I gave them all an overhaul last weekend, and this weekend I tottered off to my (excellent) LFS, and splashed out a bit of cash... 6 Galaxy Rasboras 3 Amano...
  20. LancsRick

    Will black and brown Oto's group together?

    A little while ago I lost a couple of brown Oto's from one of my tanks, so there is just a pair in there. I know they prefer being in groups of 4/6+, so I was going to add some more, but I can only get hold of Black Oto's at the moment. Will they group with the brown's, or will they stay...
  21. LancsRick

    Green algae on glass (not green dust)

    I've been giving one of my tanks a much needed overhaul today, and noticed there appears to be quite a lot of algae on the inside of the glass. Details as follows... - Dark green colour - Pattern/distribution is similar to what you'd see with mould on cheese - small dense dots scattered around...
  22. LancsRick

    Anyone used this eBay seller for plants?

    After a whole lot of sagi. sub., and this listing caught my eye - anyone had any dealings with them before? 100 Live Aquarium Aquatic Plants - Sagittaria subulata | eBay Thanks!
  23. LancsRick

    Sagittaria subulata - How keep short?

    After several months of apparent dormancy, the sagi. at the front of my Trigon has really taken off, sending out quite a lot of runners and also growing well - great news! I'm keen to keep it relatively short and compact (3-4"), but some of the plants are shooting up to 6-8" already. What's...
  24. LancsRick

    Do Amano shrimp have a minimum group size?

    Pretty sure the hair algae I've been plagued with is actually filamentous diatoms (appears there is a strong link with new Fluval stratum substrate and this). As a result, I was going to employ the ever faithful Amano shrimp. Given it's only a 30l tank, I reckon the most I can reasonably put in...
  25. LancsRick

    Hair algae - I'm now at a loss!

    Ok, well a few weeks ago I stripped down my Fluval Ebi because I'd lost a battle with hair algae and brown algae on the glass. Despite dropping my lighting I was still not winning (and dosing glut for a short time), so I decided that starting afresh was the best option. When I put the tank...
  26. LancsRick

    Amano shrimp looking quite orange?

    Ok, so most of my amano shrimp are usually an off-white colour, with maybe a hint of an orangey/beige tinge around places. There's one though that really is quite orange I've noticed, and I was wondering whether this was just a colour variation, or whether it was a sign of anything? Tank is...
  27. LancsRick

    Slow release/dissolving food blocks any good?

    Later in the year I'm going to be having a holiday for about 5 days, and I was wondering how to deal with the two tanks I have with livestock in. One is a community tank, including shrimp and Oto's. The other is mainly a shrimp tank with a few Oto's in. I was wondering about those dissolving...
  28. LancsRick

    Fissidens through wire mesh?

    Just wondering how well fissidens grows through wire mesh? I've not grown it before and didn't realise quite how much it is willing to go floating around the tank!
  29. LancsRick

    Eleocharis Acicularis - Several months and doesn't appear to have rooted?

    So in my Rio 180 I'm having good success with getting my riccia carpet to establish, and over the last few weeks it's steadily growing in - another couple of months and I should have a full carpet (it's low tech). Good news. What isn't quite so good news is the way I'm struggling with the ele...
  30. LancsRick

    Projects people want to see, but don't have time for?

    I'll admit it, this is one of my favourite sections of the forums. Fish are pretty, plants are lush, but at the end of the day it's fixing things and making things that I love. Here we reach the crux of the problem - I'm a DIY'er/engineer/hobbyist/madman without a particular urge for a...
  31. LancsRick

    Diatom solution that isn't Oto's or Snails?

    My Fluval Ebi (30 litres) is a good couple of months old now, but still producing a lot of diatoms on the glass. With it being so small, I don't really want to put 4 Oto's in there, and after my previous experience with Red Ramshorn snails taking over my tank, I don't want to put them in there...
  32. LancsRick

    Low tech, with ferts. Avoiding water changes.

    My tanks are really starting to mature now and I'm learning a lot from trying to perfect health details rather than worrying about shapes at the moment. One thing that I've been been mulling over is water change frequency. I know some people are religious about them, whilst others never ever do...
  33. LancsRick

    Spot Dosing - Check list

    I'm quite enjoying the fact that I'm beginning to understand my tanks as ecosystems, with my Rio showing good health, Ebi currently under a layer of frosted film since yesterday to combat the hair algae, and therefore just one challenge remains... My Trigon has a fair measure of BBA on some...
  34. LancsRick

    Hair algae - is the Fluval Ebi light too much?

    Doing my weekly inspection of my tanks, I was amazed to see a fair amount of hair algae on some of the ele. acic. in my Fluval Ebi tank. The reason I say amazed is that I'm just using the Ebi light (4 hour photoperiod), and have a JBL e700 (at half throttle) on it, which is giving significant...
  35. LancsRick

    Where to get Sakura shrimp in North of England?

    As per the title really, I'm thinking that my RCS could do with a bit more colour, but around here they seem to be over a fiver a shrimp!
  36. LancsRick

    White fuzzy stuff growing on suction cups?

    Seems like quite a few people on the net have had this, but nobody seems to know what it is - it looks like the stuff in the link below that someone posted on another forum. Fuzzy looking stuff in tank - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community This is in my new Fluval Ebi setup, with new...
  37. LancsRick

    Any difference between all the silicones out there?

    I need to get my grubby paws on some clear colourless silicone for my tank for bits and bits, and was wondering whether there was any difference between all the brands knocking around at all?
  38. LancsRick

    Short term CO2 to accelerate carpet?

    As I lie in bed and look at my shrimp tank (as of yet lacking shrimp until it's established), the immediate thought when looking at my ele. acic and ele.acic sp.mini carpet is that, well, it's not much of a carpet yet. Since the tank is low tech, it's going to take a few months I expect until...
  39. LancsRick

    Permanent Emersed Setup solely to grow plants for Immersed?

    I'm looking at the 15l nano cube that I keep as a "hospital" tank, and wondering what I could do with it that could put it to use whilst still being easy to rip down at a moment's notice in case of an emergency. One thing that sprung to mind was taking some of my ele. acic. and growing it...
  40. LancsRick

    Eleocharis Acicularis seems pale?

    The Ele. Acic that I've got in my Rio 180 downstairs seems to be quite pale when compared to the plants I've got upstairs in my nano. They don't seem to be dying off, or suffering from any melt, they're just really pale. Any thoughts on the cause? Dose all in one ferts, 2x 30W T8s on for 5...
  41. LancsRick

    The Reason I always try to go for dual filters...

    Just came back from a few days away to find that the little internal on my shrimp tank (holding tank whilst I complete my Ebi build) had packed up, and ammonia had spiked. I've lost about 30% of my red cherries, and have given them an emergency home in my Rio 180. Mixture of sadness and anger...
  42. LancsRick

    Best Way to modify a glass lid?

    Due to the fact that I'm using external filters on my Fluval Ebi, the supplied glass lid doesn't fit. What's the best way to modify it? I need to recess two of the corners by about 1 inch. My fallback option would be to buy a sheet of acrylic and make my own lid by hand, but that seems a bit...
  43. LancsRick

    Fluval Ebi - 'Pandora'

    Right, well today's shopping has seen a bunch of clear pipework ordered from eBay, and from my LFS a Fluval Ebi and JBL e700 have been collected. I suppose since I'm going to do this as a journal I'd better give some background. The existing Fluval Edge (23l) in my bedroom was run as a...
  44. LancsRick

    400lph in a Fluval Ebi?

    I can get my hands on a brand new JBL e700 for £63, cheaper than an Eheim 2213. As a result, I'm considering going with this for my tank, as the JBL's I've got on my big tanks seem better than the Eheims. Even if I throttle this back to half strength though, I'm going to be putting 350-400lph...
  45. LancsRick

    Elecocharis Acicularis (and mini) - Emersed Start?

    So I'll be setting up a nano this month, and as I made a brew in my kitchen earlier and observed the various bits of Ele. Acic floating around in my Rio 180, I wondered....would an emersed start help avoid this in the nano? My experience with both Ele. Acic and Ele. Acic sp Mini so far has...
  46. LancsRick

    Do Eheim Taps grip 15mm OD hose?

    I'm going to give a project a go with some colourless, clear hosing, but I'm struggling to get 12/16 hose - everything is 12/15. Does anyone know whether the Eheim "gripping" taps will seal adequately over the 15mm hose? Cheers.
  47. LancsRick

    Equipment thoughts for an "elegant" nano?

    Some of you will have seen that I'm looking to sell off my Fluval Edge (23l) due to the access restrictions that come with the tank structure. That said, it has at least made me appreciate the importance of the tank aesthetics as well as the aquascaping part of things - my Rio 180 and Trigon 190...
  48. LancsRick

    Trying to combat green spot algae on anubias

    There was a similar recent thread on this, but unfortunately it didn't solve my issue, so here we go. My Trigon 190 is getting quite mature now, it's nice and stable, with maybe a 30% water change every month or two, and for the most part the plants are healthy and the tank is algae free...
  49. LancsRick

    Why is my tiger lotus suddently shooting to the surface?

    My tiger lotus has been a long standing member of my tank for a good few months now. In that time it has grown well, with a good red colour, and I haven't changed anything about light intensity, photoperiod, ferts or temperature. In the last week though, it's started to grow rapidly towards the...
  50. LancsRick

    Kaizen Bonsai - Exemplary Service

    Well it's always nice to be able to make posts like this. Having failed with my attempt at a soil tank, I wanted to return to a more manageable substrate. After debating what to use, given I've had success with moller clay (cat litter) in the past, I thought I'd go for the same, but ideally...
  51. LancsRick

    Cats just love aquarium water...

    Exhibit A... https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2793861/public/VIDEO0002-0.mp4 Oh, Java Moss is apparently tasty too...
  52. LancsRick

    Does riccia become self-anchoring?

    I'm going to have a bash at a riccia carpet, and have read the article on here about it. I've got one question - the article shows considerable effort in meshing and restraining the original section which is placed in the tank, but no mention after that about restraining it once the riccia has...
  53. LancsRick

    Salvaging a soil substrate tank

    I set up a Rio 180 a few months ago using a soil substrate and gravel cap, and I'm really not happy with it. I've used aquatic soil, with gravel tidy on top, and capped with black gravel. Not only do I STILL have tannins present, despite numerous water changes, chemical filtration, etc etc...
  54. LancsRick

    Food advice for Red Cherries

    Evening all! I've got a 23l tank full of Red Cherry shrimp (plus some snails that I'm slowly eradicating), and they seem to be doing really well at the moment, zero deaths, plenty of moulting, generally happy shrimp! One thing that I was hoping to improve on though is their colouring -...
  55. LancsRick

    Otocinclus with Tannins?

    My Rio 180 is still a tannin-tank, despite months of water changes and running Purigen, but the water chemistry is now perfect. Last week I added 4 Amano shrimp which are having a great time, and I was going to add a further 4 Amanos plus 4 Oto's. My one question is whether Oto's are bothered by...
  56. LancsRick

    Ramshorn snails are amphibious?

    I've read that ramshorn snails are amphibious. Is this true, and if so, can I therefore relocate my excess from my tank to the garden without harming the fellas? I really want rid of them but would rather not kill them!
  57. LancsRick

    Price of Seachem Prime

    I appear to have joined the planted tank community a little too late, as it appears that Seachem's recent restrictions on sales of their products are really driving up prices. The average price at present seems to be around £17 for 500ml of Prime, whereas a few months ago you could pick up...
  58. LancsRick

    Manchester (M60) and Sheffield (A57) Shop Suggestions?

    Off on a trip later in the week and was going to see if there were any interesting shops in the area since I need some Prime and assassin snails anyways - any recommendations of places near the M60 north, or Sheffield centre? I've had a quick Google and Sheffield Aquatics looks like it might be...
  59. LancsRick

    Am I a shrimp killer?

    I have a horrible feeling that I've made an error that's killed a load of my shrimp :(. I did a water change at the weekend, and rather than "shock" them with cold water from the tap (with Prime), I put in a bit of hot to bring the temperature up. Today I came home to find some of my shrimp...
  60. LancsRick

    Self inflicted snail explosion...

    Ok, so I got some red ramshorns for my Fluval Edge tank since I thought they'd be a good invert solution to algae control... I may have caused myself a problem here. My 23l tank is now teeming with red ramshorns, (also some speckled/spotted ramshorns?!) and there are "egg patches" absolutely...
  61. LancsRick

    Tanks...How do you enjoy yours?

    Ok, so moving on past the blatant Creme Egg ripoff subject... As I lie here on my sofa with a purring cat and my second bottle of Weston cider, this is about the pinnacle of my enjoyment for the tank in my lounge. The plants are gently swaying, all the fauna is darting around, lit up brightly...
  62. LancsRick

    Snail ID please!

    I'll get a picture up later, but in the meantime, here's a description: Small (at present?), 1-3mm diameter shell Shell is a circular coil, flat (i.e. like a disc). Shell is at right angles to the snail (like a set of helicopter rotors). I've had these appear in the last couple of days in my...
  63. LancsRick

    Do I need to add calcium? If so, how?

    A couple of my red ramshorns seem to have shells which are slowly turning white - the others are absolutely fine. A bit of research has led me to the conclusion that this might be calcium deficiency, so my questions are: 1) Could this be calcium deficiency given that only some of the snails are...
  64. LancsRick

    Lights not working - troubleshooting?

    The T8 light fitting in my Rio 180 won't turn on anymore. Unfortunately I have no spare bulbs, so I was wondering if there was any other way of identifying whether it was a bulb or the ballast which had gone? Cheers!
  65. LancsRick

    Storing 1-2-Grow Plants?

    I've received some plants today but can't plant until Saturday - do I need to do anything with the 1-2-Grow pot of stauro repens or can I just leave it on the windowsill for a couple of days? Cheers!
  66. LancsRick

    What the heck is up with my Gouramis?!

    Ok, I'm at a loss to explain this so I'm seeking help or reassurance, whichever is required. I've just had to euthanise another of my red honey gouramis due to dropsy, and I think this can only be down to getting a "sickly" batch since I got them all from the same place at the same time, but I...
  67. LancsRick

    Edgey Shrimp (a.k.a. Inverts in a 23l tank)

    Ok, starting my Fluval Edge scape here. Orange Fluval Edge tank with upgraded LED unit. Aquatic soil with Gui Ying rock (looks like mini landscape to me) Will be for cherry red shrimp and some snails. First attempt at hardscape below, thoughts? Will be black gravel with a white gravel...
  68. LancsRick

    Algae just at high levels of tank?

    Where my plants have grown within about 4 inches of the surface, I'm now seeing hair algae develop on their leaves. The rest of the tank is fine. Am I right in assuming that this is due to the PAR at that depth of water becoming such that algae is thriving as the leaves at that level cannot...
  69. LancsRick

    Your Sneakiest Tank Inhabitants?

    I always used to give my Amano shrimp this accolade, since were incredibly antisocial until I upped their group from 4 to 8, and regularly thought they'd been eaten! The new kid on the block though, without a shadow of a doubt, is otocinclus black. I've got 4 of these fellas, and for about 2...
  70. LancsRick

    Do Ramshorn snails eat diatoms?

    As per title really, I'm after some cleanup crew for my cherry shrimp tank, but it's too small for Oto's as a permanent home - any suggestions if ramshorns won't do it?
  71. LancsRick

    Tweezer recommendations on a budget?

    As long and thin as possible really! I'm after some tweezers but don't want to spend daft money - some of the prices take the mick. Most of my tools are scavenged medical instruments, but unfortunately I haven't been able to get any fine tweezers! Cheers.
  72. LancsRick

    Can I give my Oto's a luxury holiday?

    Partly because I like the fellas, but also because I'm giving my nano a damn good clean at the weekend because it's got plenty of algae in there. Given that the Otos have cleaned my main tank so well that they're existing on just cucumber and algae wafers, I was wondering about treating them...
  73. LancsRick

    Does high tech necessitate regular water changes?

    Ok, the planning for my Rio 180 continues, and I'm giving more and more thought to CO2. That said, I'm getting more and more questions as a result. At present the Trigon 190 is doing well, with 2000lph turnover, and 0.8wpg of T8 lighting (with reflectors). I'm dosing James' All in One at a...
  74. LancsRick

    A post of Thanks

    A few months ago a fresh faced hobbyist appeared on these boards, with levels of experience just as green as the plants he was intending to keep. Thanks to kindness, generosity and knowledge, he has a tank in dramatically improving health, and another tank in progress. Without this support, the...
  75. LancsRick

    Filter inlets at different heights?

    I've got my 2 Eheims set up in my Trigon in a configuration that seems to give good flow, with both sprays one after the other along one of the straight sides, and both of the inlets in the back corner. From sprinkling in very fine flakes, I've watched the flow pattern and there's a good flow...
  76. LancsRick

    Sick Gourami - Help!

    Came down this morning to find one of my 4 Honey Gouramis appears ill. The other 3 are absolutely fine in appearance and movement. No other sick fish/inverts in the tank. The "sick" one appears bloated, in a uniform manner (not just a sphere on the lower abdomen), and has developed a "fat...
  77. LancsRick

    Ceramic media vs sponges - any quantifiable benefits?

    The two Eheim 2217's I run at the moment have a media setup as below: - Floss - Substrat Pro - Coarse blue sponge - Coarse blue sponge One of them also contains a bag of purigen. They seem to do a really good job of keeping 190l clean and shiny. I'm thinking of getting another couple of...
  78. LancsRick

    3ft of Uncertainty... Now Planted!

    Right, this is going to be a very slow journal, but I may as well make a start! The equipment? Rio 180 in dark walnut 2x T8s, 2x T5s External filtration, circa 2000lph No CO2 Weekly dosing of James' Planted Tank ferts, recipe 3 The criteria.. - Will be a community tank, so there is a need...
  79. LancsRick

    How to make fish more "socialable"?

    Ok, so my Trigon 190 has a fair amount of planting now, and a reasonable community in there, but I seem to possess very shy fish! They're not showing any signs of stress, but always hide behind the big piece of bogwood and rarely come out. Any ideas why? 18x Cardinal Tetra 4x Honey Gourami 4x...
  80. LancsRick

    External filters for nanos

    I think I'm going to move to an external for my 14l nano, partly to free up tank space, but also to increase my media space so I can get some chemical filtration in there as well as mech. Any recommendations? I'm looking at the Eheim Aquacompact 40 (or maybe the 60 for future proofing since the...
  81. LancsRick

    How to plant trimmings with next to no stem?

    I've just got some lovely looking staurogyne repens trimmings from Logi-cat, and now need to plant them. I've never tried planting trimmings like this before (i.e. no roots, and a few mm of stem below the cut), so I was wondering how best to anchor them in my tank? There isn't enough to get a...
  82. LancsRick

    My Cat is a freak...

    ...I can think of no other reason why I've just found him purring loudly and chomping his way through a bag of algae wafers and fish flakes...
  83. LancsRick

    Near Miss with Purigen - Toxic Water

    Well I think I've just written off 100ml of Purigen, but thought I'd make sure first in here. Just regenerated my Purigen in bleach, and then rinsed in de-chlorinated water thoroughly, and stuck back in my filter. Cue the penny dropping about 10 minutes later and me frantically dismantling my...
  84. LancsRick

    Fish Food - What and from where?

    Time to get myself some more flakes for my community tank, and that got me thinking... Given my introduction to the world of generic fertilisers being just as good as the pre-mixed stuff, what do people do for flake food? Is buying the tubs from Aquarian/Tetramin/King British the only way, or...
  85. LancsRick

    Increase flow rate without creating a whirlpool?

    I hooked up my two Eheim 2217s last night (and initiated myself into the external filter camp of "mouth of fish water"), and I'm hugely pleased with them. Given that I have a 190l tank (Trigon), I was expecting to need both of them in accordance with the 10x flow rule. With a single filter...
  86. LancsRick

    Borderline rip down - advice needed please!

    Ok, well this isn't quite a ripdown since I'm hoping to leave at least the substrate intact, but here goes. - I want to replant - I need to remove the horrible Juwel textured background - I need to remove the Juwel internal filter (more on that later) As a result, I'm intending to empty the...
  87. LancsRick

    Amano Shrimp to Tank Size Ratio?

    I'm going to get some Amano shrimp to assist in dealing with my hair algae tank (which happens to have some plants and fish in there too....). It's a Trigon 190, moderately planted (planting to increase to heavy in the future). I'm just wondering what number of Amano shrimp would a) be...
  88. LancsRick

    Cost of plastic tubing?

    I've managed to grab myself a couple of 2217's from Gumtree which should be arriving later this week, complete except for hoses. I've therefore been looking around to find the cheapest way to get 4metres of 16/22 and 4metres of 12/16, and with postage it still works out at £24!!! (eBay, £6...
  89. LancsRick

    Hair Algae with T8s?

    Ok, struggling to get this under control so I've been reading up on hair algae. Tank is a Trigon 190, T8 lighting with reflectors, not dosing any carbon (gas or liquid). Lights are on for 8 hours a day. My flow isn't great, and something I'm sorting out in the next week or two. I'm also...
  90. LancsRick

    First shrimp tomorrow!

    Ok, so I've done my reading, and tomorrow I'll be getting 6 (hopefully 3M/3F) cherry red shrimp from my LFS, along with some algae wafers. So this post is partly "yey I'm excited" (as sad as that sounds), and partly "I've done my research, but any particular nuggets of info you wish to impart to...
  91. LancsRick

    Dead Cory

    Just lost one of my Corydoras Longipinnis, found it floating upside down this morning, but when I went near it it swam off - has been upside down all day, so I added some API Melafix earlier (general bacteria treatment), but have just found it lying dead at the bottom of the tank. It looks fine...
  92. LancsRick

    RCS - Going rate in shops?

    I fancy giving some shrimp a go, and dropped into my LFS today but they only had glass and fire red (£6!), so I was wondering what I should expect to pay for RCS in a shop? I'd buy off the forum but if I miss the delivery I wouldn't forgive myself for causing animals suffering (yes, even...
  93. LancsRick

    Project/Bargain Undertaking!

    What does £25 get you these days? Half a tank of fuel (if that). A handful of recent DVDs. A small restaurant meal. Oh, and also, a 4ft x 2ft x 1ft fish tank with very nice clarity glass.... So I liberated this from someone's garage today in exchange for what I view as a miniscule amount of...
  94. LancsRick

    Surface movement in the planted tank?

    In the past I've always viewed surface movement as very important in order to facilitate CO2/O2 exchange to avoid suffocating fish. Now that I'm running a planted tank though, I'm keen to maximise flow within the water column to benefit the plants. Would I be right in thinking that since the...
  95. LancsRick

    Honey Gourami as next addition?

    Right, it's time for a new addition to my slowly-building tank, which is currently at 18/19 cardinal tetras, 8 juvenile corydoras, a few plants, and 190litres of space. As well as the (potential) Gouramis, I'm adding in a single Botia Striata ASAP, since I seem to have a neverending supply of...
  96. LancsRick

    Trigon/Corner Tank Flow

    Ok, there are various snippets both on here and scattered on the net, but nowhere have I found a discussion where anyone appears to have returned to say how they got on with their flow layouts. At present I'm running just the internal filter (to be upgraded to 1000lph), but will be moving to an...
  97. LancsRick

    Do some planting - disturb mulm - horrible looking plants

    Ok, I wasn't sure whether to put this in Filters or Plants, so hopefully I chose right! Whenever I do any planting adjustment in my tank, I stir up a load of debris/mulm out of the substrate, which is to be expected. The problem though is that as the tank clears, loads of this debris settles on...
  98. LancsRick

    Hagen Elite Mini Heater - Should there be cloth in it?!

    I've just taken delivery of a Hagen Elite Mini Heater (25w), and there appears to be a piece of fiberglass cloth over the heater element within the glass tube. Is this meant to be there? Never seen it before, and just wanted to check before I plugged in it, in case it was a manufacturing fault...
  99. LancsRick

    N.A.N.O. - Not Another Nano Offering

    You came for the title, you stayed for the aquascaping! (hopefully). Ok, so I've got myself a 14l P@H cube that is my entertainment for this evening. The image below is my proposed layout. Currently there's a layer of cat litter in there, but it's going to be capped with black gravel. Plants...
  100. LancsRick

    2 weeks in and already want to start over!!

    Well I'm not going to start over, since that wouldn't be fair on the fish, but I am going to start building up thoughts and ideas of whenever I do get around to my first rescape in the future. Things I've realised already that I'd do differently... - Get rid of the textured Juwel background...
Back
Top