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Thanks Tim Yes that's the plan, a short break first, time to collect some ideas, hardware etc and I'll crack on with something new. Time for me to get back on here.[emoji3] Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

The end I know I've not been around for a while and can only apologize for this, family life and work has been somewhat more important of late. The tank has unfortunately been taken down due to a leak we spotted last Sunday morning, the base was sodden and we were lucky that it held I suppose...

Cheers matey, yep all good not been slacking just need to find more time for myself to join in on here again. So much more to learn Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

Hi all, Sorry I've not been around much lately, just busy family stuff, kids and work. So, it's 15 months now since I started tinkering with the dark side and so far it's been great. As expected, I lost a few stems transplanted from high tech but the garden's grown now. Minimal water changes...

Sorry Lindy, missed your post.... Well I started with the spray bars about an inch under the surface and there was too much water movement for the floating plants so I eventually settled on where they are now. I have great water movement still, even above the spray bars and never have any scum...

I've got a pair of e1501's running on my dirted low tech 260 and they're the best filters I've ever bought Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

Hi Jez and welcome I'm Clive and not far from you at Weston. I have a 260 low tech dirted tank fully planted. Ive a sizeable thread posted on the dark side Any questions just shout mate Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

Hi all Just a quick pic as it's now 6 months since i set this up and it's filled out nicely. Started dosing ei at 10% 2 weeks ago as thought it needed it. Cheers, low tech rocks[emoji57] So here we are now 6mths after i found the dark side

Im same mate understand totally

Dude, this is looking fun, watching this with interest as I've been pondering over a new shrimp only tank for a while to go in the hallway, Fran has a sort of shabby chic long thin table which has a sort of emptyness atop it's painted shell! I got to thinking a nice tank would look sweet on...

Looking great Troi, another one i'll be keeping tabs on:clap:

I'm liking this too [emoji1] hope it all knits together looking great

Thanks Troi, its such an improvement on my high tech with regards the health of the tank in general. I was constantly fighting bba and mild green spot algae, running co2 through both spray bars i was using a 2kg FE each month and with the depth of the tank and it having a bowed front getting...

Cheers for the comments everyone, tam i do have some black card i bought meaning to try as a background i must get myself in gear and sort it out[emoji1] So it's been a while now since i started this and i can honestly say it's been great. No algae, my pest snails have vanished, shrimp...

Cool hope they do well mate

I started with a good portion from hoggie, here's my 260 low tech now, i have to get rid of about 1 ltre each week as the growth is so fast. I had issues initially but lowered my spray bars to relieve some surface flow. Picture is taken from underneath with my lying on the floor as the light...

personally i'd err on the equality of another 2075 Rob, having them the same output and loaded identically then the overall flow would be uniform in your tank, i've 2 matching JBL e1501's and 2 spraybars on the back, flow is even accross the whole length of the tank.

hi Russ I've a fluval Vicenza 260 so fairly similar size, I had similar issues when I got my tank with it's original filter not being up to the task. I now use 2 externals. both JBL e1501's from each side cabinet, they both use spray bars from the back pointing directly forward,i've a thread in...

Hi guys and girls, 5 weeks in now and all is great. Stems were actually trimmed by a couple of inches at the weekend, crypts to the right seem happy and have had no melting. No algae what so ever General growth is slow but im not bothered as long as the plants are healthy i feel I've started to...

I'm back, not started dosing yet but want to this week. Still a little dumb I'm afraid over the volume to dose. I've thinned down an existing mix to 1/10th solution With my high tech set up i dosed 130ml of macro 3 x a week and 130ml of trace twice a week. So am i starting off by just dosing...

And just dose this once a week to start ?

do I just mix the same levels and reduce the volume of solution dosed then? or do I need to reduce the salts in the mix to 1/10th?

so : Macro - dosing 31g KN03 x 1/10 12g KH2P04 x 1/10 74g MgS04 x1/10 and dose how much a week? or Macro - dosing 125ml x 1/10 per week 31g KN03 full ei 12g KH2P04 full ei 74g MgS04 full ei

Some of you will have seen my ramblings over on the dark side, my change from high tech to low and dirty 260. I feel I need to commence dosing ei and am unsure as to how much, after much reading and taking in many differing opinions i'm now full of information but cant seem to put it to much...

I am mate, it's like an unfinished jigsaw still finding pieces. ☺

A couple of new additions arrived in the plant mail today from Lindy Tailor made for the left corner, another type of Aponogeton and a crinum which is now Bob's fave plant. Cheers Lindy[emoji57]

Sounds sensible, it's a similar size box of water to mine, I've a fixed hood and changed the tubes to 2 x 21watt but they're t5's and am on 6 hrs still just starting my 3rd week. Just do your water changes and grab some floaters and you should be fine

Cheers tim, i over prepped maybe, tried to make sure i covered everything and seemed in the planning stages for ages but I'm pleased so far although still crossing all my fingers

Just a thought, if you got a couple of bags of topsoil you could mineralise it in the oven, i finished mine off this way and its quick ish☺ No ammonia for me and 2 weeks in. I just bought 2 cheap value baking trays from argooos and went for it. It's the heat that mineralises the soil. You'll...

2 weeks in and checked one of my filters last night, wow that was dirty, red tinge to the sponges and the fine sponge was so heavy must be the soil and clay. I expect the other is the same but I'll look at that next weekend so not to cause any issues. So a few new bolbitus and narrow leaf into...

Sorry lindy, missed this, busy few days not been on. Cheers for the msg

So if i went the diy route what pump would you suggest i look at?

these look good they do fixed std tank height units but also can make any size if asked, I may wing them an email as my tank is an odd height being 36 cm tall

Quick update pic after 8 days and 1040 litres changed so far Tree on the right has taken most of the melt although i can replace a few bolbitus this weekend to keep the plant mass up, I'll trim the ones i remove and see if they recover in my kitchen nano im using as a dumping ground for my...

Cheers guys Thanks Darrel, I've been reading your past posts which have led me to these two options[emoji57] I suppose i could follow suit get one to start then the other next month and add it too, so long as i dont go full throttle on the flow they should be fine together and that way I'll...

So I've had an Aqua One Aquaspace 40 tank sitting around collecting dust for about a year, was originally bought as a quarantine tank, so it's about time I cracked on and filled it with water. This will be a low tech dirted tank with plans for some red cherry shrimp, and maybe half a dozen...

Bob Also known as Gollum[emoji3]

Wouldn't have done it tbh without the help and guidance from yourself and others who have contributed to this journal. So a BIG thanks for getting me my mojo back[emoji1] It's good to have a new challenge ill enjoy trying to improve this set up as it evolves. Cheers Clive and his small...

Cheers wick[emoji57] To be honest when i first started planning the change from high tech i never considered dosing ferts, lack of knowledge on my part maybe. I could do with some sound advice as what ti do really otherwise i was going to see how things go with the dirt and go from there. Still...

The melt has begun Some crypts as expected and bolbitus so far but generally all doing not too bad. Before tonight's 130 litre water change my tds was 680, tap is 267 I'm not dosing anything at the moment so should i be overly concerned? After water change it was down to 460, I'll keep up the...

Wow I'm pooped How many hours i don't know but most of the last 3 days ive spent taking down and re scaping with mineralised top soil, some dragon stone and a couple of pieces of wood. Now I'm not an expert in placing items in an aquarium nor photography so excuse the quality of pics but this...

And so it begins Tank stripped down, taken all day. Quick play with stones etc The wood on the left will be slightly more elevated as have filled two media bags with the akadama i took out the tank today. Soil ready for the morning, cap and plant heavy☕

Welcome, enjoy the ride

Dragon stone on route now☺ My tds from tap is 256ppm, before weekly 50% water change after dosing full ei it's 533ppm, just finished my last high tech water change as i have next Friday off work to strip the tank down and tds is 381ppm before adding any salts so my thinking is a bit of the old...

Just read every page, top stuff SF, love it all :)

Back again, I'm looking at stones now, an ebay seller has a good selection at affordable prices and i have two or maybe three options. He has Manten stone which i know will not raise my ph and also some of this which will raise the ph My question is, should i stick to the Manten or is it ok to...

Cheers chaps

Oh ok i see what you're saying thanks, so there's no need to mix anything to help water flow through the soil layer then ? I'm only planning the advised 1" depth topped with pool filter sand. I will also be using the greenhouse mesh between these two layers of that helps. Cheers Clive

Did this work mate? I too am plagued, well i have hundreds if snails anyway and I've nit list any arms or legs yet

Ok cheers Troi, it may be difficult to remove all the mts and large pink ramshorns maybe better for me to do this when i strip the tank down in 2 weeks then dose, i have another home in the kitchen for the snails. My media is just sponge and sintered glass is this ok to leave in?

I have hundreds of these fellas in my tank, they are also breeding inside my two filters. I do have mts and a few large pink ramshorns but are these also ramshorn snails? Anyway of reducing the population without harming my other snails? Ta Clive

Here you are Big Clown, your stems at front just left of centre[emoji12]

Cheers guys, I'll get my assistant to give this a rinse tomorrow then, saves buying grit. I go fishing and have some small groubdbait riddles which has helped me get rid of loads of small unknown stones, just wondering if they would have caused issues with the tank if left in not knowing they're...

Slowly getting things in place, payday Monday so i can buy some manten stone and a few more plants. Quick question about areation of mineralised soil, I've resorted to baking the soil and riddled off any stones not finished yet but this is what it looks like now Do i need some grit and if so...

ooh ta, that'll do nicely Cheers

Same filter, are you saying just leave say the bottom basket with bio media and not add any additional in the other trays? or remove the rings totally and replace all with foam? I currently have the bottom basked with broken up alphagrog and a lesser amount in the next 2 baskets as well, I'll...

are you talking about the application Ian refer's to when you lick your fingers then? must talk to the Mrs as this is obviously where i've being going wrong all these years. Cheers guys, off to Wickes then, i've been pulling it so hard i've had sore thumbs ! (The hose connection block) Laterz

src="http://www.zoomagazin.lv/616-730-thickbox/jbl-cristalprofi-e1501-greenline.jpg"] I've had my 2 e1501's for over a year now and have always struggled to remove the hose connector from the head unit when maintenence is required, i've tried using vasesline on it but it doesn't seem to help...

I use one without the individiual switches, no problems but unsure if there are any benefits too, maybe just extra piece of mind? I had this anyway so just used it..

Even Mrs punkmummy likes my wood[emoji57]

Hi, thanks for this sciencefiction, I do have some new stems arriving from Big Clown so these will add some bulk to the planting from start up so i'll take it steady and watch daily, not yet ready still....soil still not dry enough for me, hopefully this weekend's heatwave may complete this...

Yes that's fantastic, I must read all that thread again later when home from work, some great food for thought. I have another noob low tech question please As I do plan on keeping any plants I currently have in my c02 enriched tank, wel as much as I can and at least for start up until I can...

cheers Wick, top stuff, I do prefer this plant tbh, slightly less uniform and maybe a tad shortter than tenellus, has a bit more character, it's on my hit list now. ta

Right then, i'm finally giving some thought to additional plants and possible layout, I really need some rock, I also need another payday and would rather have everything in place to set this harsdcape up as I initially want it rather than shuffle things around in just two weeks, so I may get...

Ta mate The ebay seller has replied to me saying much the same and also that he'll be putting a new stock of Dragon Stone on his site later too, by going low tech and less water changes is my only concern really, and my shrimp too pal. No rush anyhows, these pieces would maybe fit in with my...

Cool cheers for that, gives me something to muse about.. I've not decided on my scape yet, although I have a few ideas it will need to come together slowly as paydays are monthly;) so what stems I plant can always be changed at a later date, rocks etc can be added as I go but i'll hopefully get...

Anyone know if this Natural Mountain stone is inert or raises tds etc? From the bay has some nice stuff just unsure what it actually is[emoji57] Ta Clive

Cheers Ed.. Question on raising my substrate level without increasing the depth of my soil or cap. As I currently have akadama which will be coming out, could I use this inside a filter media bag? I presume the akadama wouldn't cause any anaerobic issues by being buried? this will be new to...

:clap::joyful:ha ha ha cheers chaps ok, I'll remain as Pinkmummy79, it makes no odds, does sometimes cause amusement and maybe confuses others Nice pic Ed, I would like to take up Troi's suggestion, would you mind me snagging this splendid likeness for my avatar?

Hi everyone, sorry I've not been on for an update for a while, to be honest apart from waiting for the postman not much has happened yet. So, i havent yet taken down the 260 high tech as there are a few bits needed still and thankfully the c02 hasn't run out yet I now have pool filter sand...

Cheers pal I've got two huge handfuls for just 5 golden nuggets, it will be going in my 260 next week but currently floating safely in my nano until i get to work on it

Old thread but ive gained a huge bag of riccia from a tank in my local store after a trim. Would i be able to grow this low tech at all? Plan was to hair net it over branches to create a small tree

Under 2 weeks to go (ish) well i want to change before the existing c02 runs out so i can keep as many plants as possible and algae free. So been busy and ordered 2.5 k of powdered clay, some dolomite and muriate of potash, soil just needs drying a tad to riddle off any unwanted stones etc. Sand...

Im interested in this too... Its been frustrating not being able to adjust the lighting due to a fixed hood etc. Will look into this also. Great input ian thanks and good post r32syd cheers

Ok cool. Will order tonight cheers pal

Hi thanks for your input Edvet, I'll certainly take this into consideration as i have Cory s. Troi, does pool filter sand need rinsing much?

OK peeps, I need to order my soil cap over the next few days, it's going in a 260 litre and my scape will hopefully have an open area to one side not fully planted, so sand choice now would preferably have more of a natural look to it aesthetically. I have narrowed things down to maybe these...

His Aqua Nature World site is very good im looking and theres so much choice and his prices are very reasonable. Im hopefully after wood and stone just don't let the Mrs know sshhhhh

Hi Andy I have the 260 and had similar issues, I removed the reflectors for starters and have now changed my tubes to these http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs-Tubes/860-and-865-Daylight_7/T5-21-Watt-860-Sylvania I presume you're running the 39 watt T5's at the moment? you could replace one...

Cheers Clive top man as usual

I'm changing over my high tech 260 to a soil based tank in 3-4 weeks when my last bottle of c02 runs dry. So, I've been trying to mineralise my 35 litres of top soil outside doing the usual wet/dry cycles for over a month now and due to the weather i'm only on my 2nd drying cycle. I'm just not...

Cool, thanks this is what I was hoping for, I might start this weekend and prepare this ready for adding the powdered clay when I get some Plant list next :)

More rain, i'm just now going to manage to get 35 litres of top soil mineralsied in the next 4 weeks (my date for changing over when my c02 runs out). in the last 4 weeks i'm only managinging to be drying my soil for the 2nd time. I must look at Baking especially if I'm going to need a couiple...

Again, many thanks Troi, you're a valuable asset :) I presume the above substance seals the substrate due to it's smaller partical size not allowing any flow of nutrients etc? I'm down to two options then as I see it, retain the akadama as a cap and save some pennies or spend a little on the...

Thanks Troi much appreciated, smaller would look cleaner/nicer maybe so good to know I'll order that getting sorted slowly but desperate to do this right. Cheers

found some pool sand 2-5mm size £22 delivered for 25kilo http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIGH-QUALITY-SILICA-BASED-FILTER-SAND-GRAVEL-FOR-POOL-POND-FISH-TANKS-/121425618721?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&var=420362627145&hash=item1c4587e721#ht_2005wt_1069 would this be ok? I presume it would be more...

found the mesh link now :) I see what your saying about the colour of the cap being covered etc, my experience with the akadama is that it's a very light substance and stems easily lift out by themselves especially with little depth to plan into, sand would be a better option I think for...

so, project low tech/soil tank is in full swing... i'm 3 weeks into topsoil mineralisation and due to the general lack of sunshine in Somerset i've only managed one wet/dry cycle, it's been mostly wet. Currently have 30 litres spread out on a tarp on the lawn :)my small assistant Bob is...

With all this rain it's difficult to dry the top soil in the garden, after a week it's now wetter than when I first spread the 35 litres our on a tarp to dry. May have to bake it in the over Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk

Here you go, like this;-) Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk

I have two e1501 filters running on my 260 litre tank, spray bars from each filter at rear cover the full length of my tank, they're quiet, they do their job well and in over a year's continuous operation haven't caused me any issues, highly recommend them :-) Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk

So I've taken on board advice and suggestions and in readiness for changing to a lower light set up with soil, no pressurised c02 I have made a couple of initial alterations to the tank. Water change last night, I'm still currently running c02 as am in the process of mineralising soil, I've...

Cool, sounds like a plan to me, I can think about plants and layout in the meantime, lower wattage t5's ordered today so ball rolling now;-) Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk

:):)What a fantastic reply Sciencefiction Thanks for this, most helpful, I actually have an unopened bag of Homebase top soil at home, would mineralizing this for a month prior to going into the tank give me less issues with transferring the fish back in, my thinking that if so, once it has...

Hi Edvet, I definately decided on a low tech approach. I should use the existing tank and filters and not get carried away with additional shrimp nano's, this can be another project for another time. So, I need to check my light unit tonight to see if it will still work with a single tube...

Hi and thanks Henry, I understand you about the smaller high tech tanks not being a definitive success, sorry my intention is to go low, quite low, probably soil based, maybe hob filter, aquaball or similar but more low tech, sitting looking at where the existing tank is, if we had a nice unit I...

Well here's a couple of quick snaps, sorry I don't have a better camera but my phones ok, so you can see the tank size. The past 18 months have been a blast and certainly a quick learning curve with all my info gained from ukaps :-) Time is precious with small children in the house so many...

Hi My 260 l fluval vicenza is curently set up in high tech mode running co2 through 2 x UP inlines (2KG FE) and dosing ei daily, I also spot dose liquid carbon daily as have ongoing BBA issues which I have been unable to eradicate for the past 12 months. So I am now considering either the...

Cheers Bertie :-) that was my next option, off to homebase Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk