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Well its been 243 days since this tank was started… Few ups and downs, algea here and there, but still running. I am thinking about big rescape, but time will tell.

Have been busy over the last few months, not many changes in my tank, just a trimm here and there. Things looks ok, this is my recipe for this tank: - lightning period from 14:30 to 22:00 - CO2 kicks in 1hr before lights and switch off 1hr before lights will go off - 2ml of Excel daily, 10ml...

Day 80 Been away for 2 weeks and my wife was takin care about the tank, lost 10 Tetra Neons… due to overdose of Excel:( Shrimps also gone:( But plants never been better. Will have to apply some trimming plus get some new shrimps and neons:( Regards Lukasz

Day 65

Day 60: Don't know why but everything seems to be growing nice, everything besides Eleocharis sp mini…. why?

Found this on one of the forums: Q1. It's ozone generator? It is not ozonizer. If you want to test, please smell it when TWINSTAR is operating in aqarium. There is nothing to smell. Q2. tell me how exactly does it work,I have M1 turned on and there is a cloud dust for about 1min. and then it...

Hello again! Day 54: Some closer shots, forgive me but I am not a photo artists:) Regards Lukasz

Can you hear any sound comming out of it while it's workin?

Evening Some quick update on things, getting some nice grow. Appologise for that dirty spray bar, it will be replaced with a glass unit next week. Photo taken just before 50% weekly water change. Regards

Hello Day 30: Turned back 2nd bulb 5 days ago, since then brown algeas have dissapeared completly. No sign of algea at all. The brown dust which was present on the front glass is not there anymore, I think this is proving that excel is doing the job. As you can see there are some fishes in: -...

Yup thats me:D:D Anyway... Day 24: Inline atomizer sorted, consideried replacing the green outlet pipe with glass one. I am quite happy with my spraybar at the moment so the idea of replacing it with lilly pipe is being postponed. Plants are defo showing nice grow. Bought some new plants which...

Sorted boys. Had to put an extreme dose of pressure to let it through for the first time, also I have changed the plastic clips for proper jubilee clips. Getting beautiful fine bubbles everywhere now. Now then, should I fire up the second bulb?

Bleach for soaking overnigh? What about dechlorinator? What do you use?

The problem is that I cant tell if iv got 2.5 bar or 3. I've got in l/min.. Not sure if there is a way of convert it to bars?

I've got the plastic nuts, will get the jubilee clips in the morning. Thanks for advise, maybe that will help.

I've got a proper CO2 tubing, I have removed all check valves and bubble counter. I have tried to apply some foam to check where is it leaking, cant see any bubbles anywhere, but I can hear the hissing noise.

The only problem is that I am not sure if I am running at 2bar or 35psi, because my outgage is in l/min.. I had it at 2l/min when I was running at ceramic diffuser and that was a lots of bubbles per second. Any ideas?

Shouldn't make andy difference, but i've connected it facing the CO2 tubing input down, not up. I can hear the hissing noise, buy can not see anything co2 mist comming out from hosepipe to the tank. WTF?

Bought myself this inline atomizer: CO2 Aquarium Atomizer Diffuser System 16/22mm Hose | CO2Art.co.uk - CO2 Aquarium Specialists Connected everything up, left the co2 regulator exactly as it was when using it on ceramic diffuser and I cant get any CO2.... Pressure keeps building up in the...

Hiya Could you point me where did you get these dosing bottles from? I am looking to buy few of them for my ferts. Regards Lukasz

Day 20: Hydor Coralia Nano 900 is in the tank now, flow is fantastic. No doubt it should bring some improvment within the tank. A little bit dissapointed, because the reviews were saying its very silent, well my ears can hear it from 3 meters:( Started dosing Flourish Excel (10 ml today) and...

Thx for the feedback Gents. Quick update from today, 50% water changed (DI Water), stones cleaned with toothbrush. Small rearrangement with anubias, splited it in to a half and separated. From Above: Side: Regards Lukasz

Busy week so didn't have a time to do a frequent updates Day 18 The tank is fully matured now I think, both ammonia and nitrites are 0ppm I have removed the biggest anubias from the right side of the tank, also Egeria densa is gone. I am looking to get some other plants on the background, any...

Amazing!

Day 12: Ammonia - 0 ppm NO2 - above 5 ppm NO3 - 30 ppm KH - 4 GH - 9 Another 50% water changed completed Like I have mentioned above pH has reached 5.4 today and seems to stay on that value. So I think CO2 is ok now. Lights on only to take a photo. Staurogyne repens still covered with brown...

As you requested Clive and Fox, I have increased CO2 again, can not even count the bubbles, because its going in realy fast. From 6.4 pH before CO2 kicks in, after 2 hourse so far, pH is 5.3-5.4 lol ;D Later on I will post a short movie of how it looks like. Regards Lukasz

It realy depends, sometimes when lights are off, sometimes not. I am working most of the week days so its hard to keep it on regular basis. I am going for Koralia Nano 900 pump after I am gonna get paid.

Well its been 11 days so far with 50% everyday, so I recon I could back off to every 2 days now.

Every day.

Fair enough, I will wait. Can you guys let me know when I can slow down with 50% water changes?

Should I cover the tank with some black plastic bin bag? Or just leave it with no lights on?

Day 11 Turned light on just for few seconds to take a photo. Will leave it off till monday, but Ludwigia started showing signs of life:D So as the other plants. I have checked ammonia today.... 0.5mg/l, NO2 is peaking at the moment, so cycling is going well. I recon one more week and I will be...

I can't reduce more light becuase I am gonna end up without a light lol. I am already purging lots of CO2 through the tank... Is this not getting a bit insane? How come in Good algae article which was posted by George in Algae thread it says: Brown Algae (diatoms) are more likely to appear in...

Day 10: 50% water changed: I have discovered some brown algeas on my staurogyne repens today... Pogostemon erectus looks a bit brownish as well... Nymphaea lotus is growing nicely Hydrocotyle tripatita Any suggestions? Too much nitrates? Regards Lukasz

I will take a pic tomorrow during the water change to demonstrate. I am thinking about different option, what do you think if I could cut the bar in a half and stick it to the left side of the tank? I will defo get a higher pressure in the "nozzles" but is this gonna be enough? Once again...

Hardly, I would say they reach about 3/4 of the distance. But I've done some small experiement, I have squeezed the filter sponge from my other tank and then I observed all the debris demonstrating how the flow is being directed. It looks ok in my opinion, flow gets everywhere. I am still...

Day 9 Have not done the water change today, due to lack of time. The arylic pipe has arrived, so I have drilled some holes. The bar is 50 cm long and I have drilled them every 3 cm. CO2 kicks in now at 14:00, so 2 hours before the lights. Atm pH in the tank is around 5.6 with 4-5 bubbles per second.

No worries Clive. Filter is in the other room, so it can burp as much as it wants lol :) Will try to increase it then. Day 8: 50% water changed (4l of DI water), CO2 increased. The less demanding plants are showing some signs of grow. Egeria Densa is growing quite fast, Anubias is just about to...

What about fauna? I cant imagin keeping some fish in pH 5.3...

Day 7: I've been at work all day so didnt have a chance to measure anything. I have placed the diffuser just below the outflow, as you suggested Clive. Max I can drop my pH is 5.9, no chance any lower then that. 5.3? Is this not gonna hurt the plants?

Day 6: Still experimenting with position of CO2 diffuser, this time again closer to the outflow pipe. I have removed the anubias from the left side and replace it with Pogostemon Erectus (2 pots). In my opinion it was a bit too monotonic with anubias in left, middle and right section of the tank...

I will do my best to create a pH profile tomorrow, will measure it every hour.

Yes I did. I've got digital pH meter. I am keep checking the pH every hour. 6.3 when the lights are switched off, atm lights are off since 4 pm, pH is 6.0. kH 3

Very impressive! Also truly inspiring!

Day 5: Moved back the CO2 diffuser to the front glass. In my opinion its giving me better CO2 distribiution, I can see the bubbles everywhere. Second lamp is covered with kitchen foil, so I have limited light as advised. Ammonia has dropped down to 4 mg/l, still high but at least i've got some...

Sorted:)

Day 4: I've temporarly extended the spray bar as you guys have advised me. Another 50% water changed completed, this time on top of tap water I've used 4l of DI water which I brought from my lab. I have also ordered an acrylic tube on ebay as "nanocube" advised. The bad news is that I dont...

Thanks mate, gonna order 50mm one:D

Love the rocks! I will keep an eye on this thread. Regards Lukasz

Cheers guys! Plan for today after work: 1. Extend the spray bar (temporary), can you guys point me where I could get a nice glass spray bar? 2. Switch off one bulb and reduce the photoperiod to 6 hours. Lamp will kick in at 4pm and will go off at 10pm. CO2 1h before lamp goes on and off. 3. I am...

The problem is the spraybar is too long to be fitted at the side (30cm). I am going to get a lilly pipe, but im skinned atm:(

I am not using kits to measure it. I am using spectrophotometric methods. In my lab to measure it:) will stick to your advices. Thank you very much!

Thank you for your feedback Ceg4048. By keeping my lighting very subdued you mean what? Im running my both 24W T5 from 2pm to 10 pm. Should I reduce the amount of time? or switch one 24W off? Day 3 Water became I little bit cloudy and there are signs of small film on the surface... Done 50%...

Did any of forum members came across with overdosing Osmocote? What to do in this case? The reason why I am asking is because I've never had such a high concentrations of ammonia in any of my tanks before. Should I stick some ammonia absorbing medium in my filter? Should I get any chemicals...

Just done some tests: Ammonia - above 10mg/l!!! NO2 - 0.50 mg/l NO3 - 10 mg/l KH - 3 GH - 6 pH - 6.1 I hope this is temporary problem, I am quite sure this is Osmocote releasing some ammonia. I can only hope that it is only temporery issue. Doing about 40% water change every day. CO2 is...

16/22

This spray bar is a temp solution. I am heading for a glass one, but run out of funds and the moment. Need to wait till october. I am considering lilly pipe or a glass spray bar, same as George Farmer uses in his recent scape. Thanks for the hint with anubias, will try to correct it. Thanks...

Finally after weeks of preparations, tank has been flooded and planted. Pics just after flooding, as you can see no problem with cloud water. Sieving Akadama was obviously a good idea. Plants used: - Anubias barteri var. nana - Anubias barteri var. nana Petite - Egeria densa - Eleocharis sp. -...

Sorry, forgot to answer your question. It's defo a Manten Stone, I've bought it in my local store, it was called a Baltic stone. You can get it here: http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/baltic-rock-per-kg-p-5844.html Regards Lukasz

Few shoots from the trip to The Green Machine (sorry for the quality, I used iPhone and its quite dark in there): Regards Lukasz

There is a way of avoiding dust cloud with Akadama, just sieve it like I did. Then I have applied some proper wash, left it flooded for a week, wash it again and no sign of clouding during my set up and planting. Regards

Had a fantastic day out in North Wales yesterday and visited The Green Machine on my way back. Had a chat with one of the staff who was quite sceptic about using Akadema (he never heared of it), but he advised me to cover all my Akadema with a unipac sand. Do you guys think its a good idea? I've...

Not much to report, i have made some purchase through co2art.co.uk Well recommend it. Bought a drop checker and a ada style thermometer, both for less th 4 quids. Proper quality. Going for a trip tomorrow to The Green Machine to purchase some plants, so will post some pics. I want to get some...

Amazing and truly inspiring scape!

Some random snaps: Regards Lukasz

Right, Wife didn't like the sand either so decided to get rid off it. Going off for a weekend so I will plant it next week, need to order some plants from somewhere. Have not come up with conlussion what kind of plants, so your suggestions will be very helpful. Regards Lukasz

0.5 : 1.5 so far:)

Folks I really need your opinions. Is it better with the sand? Or without it?

Why dont u just stick a small screwdriver in a third hole (the one on the top), this will let you to plug it in. Its there just for safety purpouse to lock the two on the bottom with current in. I know its got nothing to do with safety but it works and I've got it like that for a year now:) Top...

Thanks guys! Just got a phone call from wife, Luminaire had arrived this morning:D Will post some pics later after work.

I am playing a bit with hardscape layout atm. Considering a small sandy beach in the left corner. What you guys think?

Right, decided to order Arcadia Overtank Luminaire T5 Freshwater 800mm OT5 through the Charterhouse Aquatics. I can't afford it to get a LED unit at this time. Hopefully it will be alright and if all goes well it will arrive on monday:D:D:D

No worries Big clown, this is just a temporary table. Just for setting the hardscape layout purpose. The tank is going to be place on this Ikea storage bit: EXPEDIT Storage combination - birch/black - IKEA Thx for feedback Regards Lukasz

Hello again I've made some progress since the last posting. Purchased a new tank, nothing fancy, just a glass tank from Pet City for 32quids... maybe one day I will be able to afford a proper optiwhite tank:( A bit of peat mixed with activated carbon on the bottom: Applied first layer of my...

Got it for free from my friend who is a professional welder. No idea how much is it worh. U recon its expensive? Regards Lucas

WoW. Did not expect that my thread will start such adisscussion:) Anyway, here are some updates:) CO2 system almost ready, I need to buy some nice diffuser, bubble counter and drop checker. This one is on top of my list, being honest all the Flo CO2 equipment looks very nice. Flo Deci Glass CO2...

Thank You very much Ceg4048! Your comments are truly inspiring. I've been thinking about adding Osmocote. I have mentioned this before, I bought a bag of granulated pest, couldnt get sphagnum moss peat anywhere unfortunatelly. So decided to crash the granules in a mortar and spread them around...

Here is the link if someone will be interested: ADA Super Clear Tourmaline Bacter 100 Penac P Penac W | eBay Well I will go with EI fertiliser method: Made up two solutions Macro and Micro. Macro contains: KNO3, KHPO4 and a bit of MgSO4, Micro contains: Fe 8.2% Mn 1.82% Zn 1.16% B 1.05% Cu...

At my work place (I am a chemist), after running few quality measurements I can tell that : - Penac W (is mainly SiO2 in around 99%), sample purchased on ebay is exactly the same - Penac P (CaCO3 in 98% and a bit of MgCO3), again sample ok. - Super Clear - this is just an Activated Carbon very...

Hello everybody I have been following lots of journals on this forum and finally decided to create my own, where I could seek for advice and some useful hints. I am in possesion of a small tank (55l) which was a gift from a workmate who really wanted to get me involve in aquascaping. Thx Andy! I...

Quick question quys. I have a 55l tank which I am planning to rescape next weekend. I went to my local bonsai store this morning to get a bag of Akadama, mission completed. The plan is to flood Akadama with water tomorrow in a bucket, my current KH is 2, GH 9, pH 6.5. I am keeping in my tank 2...

Love the idea with moss. I will try this with my next project.

Quick question to people who are using selonoids. Do they getting very warm while operating? Mine is generating lots of heat. I am a bit scared that it could cause fire st my flat. Please advise Lukasz

I cant be bothered to pay for a new one if I have got one for free:) All I want is to make sure its alright:)

Thx Andrew. Lukasz

That connection which is visible on the pic is the one which goes to FE. It fits, the output is not visible on the pic but its 10mm and im going to add solenoid to it, then needle valve with a 6mm output. I was concerned about the values of the pressures on this regulator. It looks like its...

Dear All My mate brought me a CO2 regulator from his work place (he is a welder). Just been wondering if this regulator will be alright for my CO2 kit which I am planning to make using FE. Thx for your help Lukasz

Hi Just havee been browsing throught some polish aquascaping websites and found this. ADA Kalendarz Nawożenia | peHa:68 - akwarysytka naturalna Seems to be a calendar based on all the expensive ADA ferts;) Hope someone will find this helpful. Regards Lukasz

Thx ceg4048. Yup you are right. I overestimated this value. I have just done the JBL CO2 test which is showing green colour (20ppm). My pH is 6.69, KH 3dh, so applying the CO2 calculation I am getting somewhere around 18.8ppm of CO2... I am afraid that my Tetra Optimat is a bit rubbish:( need to...

Dear All I have set up my tank at the beginning of November 2012. Nymphoides sp "Taiwan" was one of my first plants and it grown very fast without any problems in my tank besides the fact that I had a very poor lighting (11W in 54l tank), poor gravel mixed with aqua sand, no CO2 and no ferts. At...

Hi Darrel You are right. Here is the brief description of the method which I use: The results in mg/L COD are defined as the milligrams of O2 consumed per liter of sample under the conditions of this procedure. The sample is heated for two hours with sulfuric acid and a strong oxidizing agent...

Thx Darrel i have managed to convience my wife and from more then two weeks, filter is running non stop 24/7:) CODs are being measured in the lab in the company that i am working for. Im using a spectrophotometer to determinate it. All the test methods used in the labs are validated according to...

Unfortunately I have lost all my guppies now... and I have started loosing my Tetra Neons now. There is 11 of them in the tank now. 2 b Here are my recent test results: pH 7.1 (evening measurement) pH 6.85 (morning measurement) Water Temp. 26.5 NH3/NH4 - 0 ppm NO2 - 0 ppm NO3 - 10 ppm COD's - 35...

I would like to say big thank you to all for very helpful posts! Female Guppies are better now, started swimming normaly. Male still stays in one place, refuse to eat again. Will see if he will get hungry today. If not then I am afraid he wont take it much longer... BTW. Filter was left switch...

It depends what you want to achieve. By filtring your water with brita you will reduce Ca and Mg ions. So u will reduce your carbonate hardness. You can also get rid of the free And bound chlorine, Pb and Cu.

Nope not at all. I have only changed around 10% water twice. The area where I live (West Yorkshire), got pretty hard water. It says on YW website: "The water supplied to the zone is classified as being slightly hard to moderately hard water, which is river/reservoir derived. As we have a...

I've done few test today: Refractive angle: 3.368 same as DI water Conductivity: 144.5 uS COD's (Chemical Oxygen Demand): 42mg/l Anyone could help interpreting these results?

My air pump is on all the time. I will measure the COD's tomorrow. Just to mention this again, this started happening almost stright after I have introduced my Neon tetras.

Dear All I am new here. Let me introduce myself. My name is Lucas and I have set up my "low tech" tank at 6th of November. Here are some details about my tank: - 60l tank - 11W light ( I know its very poor, but thats how I got it with the lid, I am planning to upgrade it next week by adding...