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impressive tank! Looks very healthy and the colors are amazing... I'm following your journal now and hopefully will learn a lot from it.

Beautiful scape! What is the device in the left upper corner?

thank you for all advises guys, much appreciated! At the moment my my pH is 8.2 in the morning (lights off) and is 6.7 around 18:30 (15:00 lights on). I will lover the CO2 injection a little bit more and add fish in stead of shrimps the coming weekend. I also put the lights a few inches higher...

Looking at your tank Edwin; really a beauty! How do you decide the amount of CO2 you put in your tank?

Thanks Ian! Are you really telling that pH meters are not reliable? What about the automatic CO2 systems that keeps the water 24/7 on a certain pH level based on the adjustment in the pH computer? At the moment I'm doing 60% water change with tap water every second day; will there really be...

My water company reports a KH of 8 and I also measure this value with a KH drop test kit. Isn't a drop test based on the number of drops quite accurate as you don't have to guess based on a vague color? I'm pretty sure that the pH is quite accurate measured with my calibrated pH pen.

thanks for your reply Edwin and Ian! Well this is exactly what I mean; two different opinions - which one to follow? I also read several post on this forum that the drop checker isn't the right tool to measure CO2. Some discussion on this forum are talking about a pH drop of approx. 1 if you...

There are different opinions about the pH-KH table to measure the CO2 levels on this forum; mainly that you cannot trust it. (I to new to know what's true) Reading the table I have > 120 ppm CO2 at pH 6.3? - wow! So your advise is that I should adjust the CO2 to get a drop from pH 8.2 to pH 6.9...

I'm staring up a new tank for four weeks right now and I have reached the point where I want to add some Amano shrimps and Otocinclus. I have seen the first signs of brown algea, but that's probably related to the new setup. I have created a pH profile during one day with a calibrated HANA pH...

Well, I bought it as Parvula in an online (Dutch) plant shop and I was actually also not expecting that it would grow approx. 8 cm.... I think the Hydrocotyle and maybe also the Parvula are growing up because of low light and short light duration because I'm starting this tank. pH is dropping...

I have Eleocharis Parvula planted for two weeks now in my new started scape. I've cut the immersed plants to about two centimers and planted them into the gravel. I'm following EI-method and using pressurized CO2 and EasyCarbo (no fish yet). After two week my Eleocharis Parvula (and other...

thanks Alastair, that is useful information!

thank you all for the feedback! @Arne I like the idea of placing the spraybar on one of the sides instead of the full size background - what about the complete flow from one side to another? I'm scared that my nutrient/CO2 distribution fails because of a wrong flow. Do you have some pictures...

I'm using a Tetratec EX600 which is being delivered with several filter media like wool, sponges, ceramic pipes and bio-balls. I want to "generate" maximum throughput with my filter and therefore remove all unnecessary media. Can someone advise what can be removed and/or replaced? Is it for...

Wow, beautiful tank... looking forward to seeing it fully grown. About the PO4; I've had the same experience in one of my previous tanks where I used a soil (Flora Base). Dosed up to 8ppm each week, but the test kit only measured 0.1ppm. After contacting Colombo (manufacturer Flora Base) they...

Thanks guys! Concluding; soil gives your tank a good start-up the first year and after a year just dosing ferts is enough to keep the tank (plants) healthy? I'm dosing EI and the first weeks during start-up I'm changing 50% water daily. Will this frequent water changed have a negative effect...

For my next tank I'm looking for the advantage and disadvantage of using a soil and a few question arise which can be answered hopefully by you. When looking at Aqua Soil Amazonia at some webshops they are "telling" me that, to create the perfect substrate I need at least: ADA Penac W ADA...

Very nice.... I really like the hardscape and the tree.

Finally the first signs of dead BBA spots on the treated rock! The BBA is turning grey/white after one week dosing EasyCarbo directly to the BBA tufts.

Thanks Yo-Han or the link to your BBA thread, that was interesting to read. I think I'm on my way and already doing the steps that are suggested like water changes, filter cleaning and removing dead/infected leaves daily. Hopefully it is a matter of time before all peaces of BBA are vanished...

Last week I've done a daily water change of 50/60%, turned the filter off and dosed 2ml EasyCarbo directly to the BBA spots on one stone. I didn't see the process of BBA turning from pink to white :( Are there any pictures/videos of this process? Positive news; BBA isn't increasing - but I...

Thanks ardjuna, clear and very useful information! Did already a 50% water change directly after this discussion and applied some EasyCarbo to the rock with the most BBA spots (filter off for 10 minutes). I'll keep treating the same rock daily until I see the BBA disappear and then start...

Thanks Nathaniel - seems like you are having experience with battling BBA? After dosing liquid carbon; will it turn pink/white immediately, or after a few days? Can I wait and watch this process? I'm doing 60% water change every week (Sunday) and I'm dosing EI-method... I will follow your...

Thanks for the advice Nathaniel and Foxfish, just saw your replies after posting my last reply. Any extra thoughts/advice after looking at the algae on my photos? And again; will the BBA and the green algae disappear by themselves after doing more water changes?

Unfortunately I'm not (yet?) an expert that understands all the physics like PAR and the measurements you show in the table on your website, although some is getting familiar. I'm gonna read it though which hopefully gives me some good understanding of my tank issues. Could you (or someone...

Thank for your reply. I believe that I'm injecting CO2 to the max. level; drop checker is reaching yellow during the whole photo period (between 14:00 and 22:00). Tank is running approx. 8 weeks now. Could it be to much light?

Why o why am I still suffering with BBA algae! :( It seems to be the only algae I ALWAYS have in al my tanks and can't get it away. Took care of all hints and tips like flow, pH readings etc. The BBA is mosly present on my rocks (Dragon Stones) and older plant leaves. If someone can help me...

Nice preparations! Looking forward to see the progress of this tank.... Maybe a useful tip; don't place the rocks to close to the window as this is very annoying during (plant) maintenance. Do you already have your tree and does it fit like your sketches?

Thanks all! I have ro water available, so I'm going to use this for refilling my tank. Interesting to know that it has influence on the TDS.

I have an open aquarium and now the weather is changing (dry), the water evaporates more quickly then before. As I have osmosis water available I was wondering if it is better to use osmosis water to refill evaporated water, or can I just use my tap water that I also use during my water...

Amazing! Your tank looks really clean and healthy....

I'm very happy with this probe; useful, accurate and way more faster then doing a drop check. The only think that worries me is that after calibration to exactly pH 7.0 the meter displays pH 7.1 or even pH 7.2 after 2 or 3 days putting it back in the pH 7 calibration liquid. Seen this a few...

Although I'm starting up a new tank, I've done some measurements during the day with the pH meter attached like this: What do you think of the following readings for my new tank? First measurement (pH 7.8) is being done after 60% water change (pH 8 tap water). I have calibrated the pH...

Thanks for a detailed description about your tank. Why dosing Flourish excel when you are also dosing pressurized co2?

Wow! Beautiful tank you have there, plants are looking very healthy! Can you give a little more details about the technique, fertilization, plants??

Based on the discussion in this topic I want to follow the dosing scheme below: Sun: Macro + water change (EI reset) Mon: Micro Tue: Macro Wed: Micro + water change (EI reset) - after lights go off Thu: Macro Fri: Micro Sat: Macro + water change (EI reset) I'm only wondering if it matters that...

Interesting information! Unfortunately I'm only able to do water changes after light go off... @Ceg: I assume that the 3x water changes per week is only meant for the first (or first two) week? After this I can use the weekly water changes according the EI-schema? What about fertilization...

well, that's an amazing tank! This morning filled my tank with water and plant with just tapwater (KH 8) and created macro/micro fertilizers with a few teaspoons MgSO4. Hopefully my tank will look like this one in a few months :) Maybe not the right topic to ask; is it better to do 50%...

Thanks again! So it won't be a problem to use 100% tap water? I always thought that the co2 uptake for plants is better with low KH values. My tap water has a KH value of 8, that's why I'm mixing it to get KH 4. If this really doesn't matter then it will save me a lot of time!

Thanks Ceg! (Reading the link about Magnesium right now.... ) Just checked the water report for my home address, and see the following values for Magnesium and Calcium: magnesium mg/l Mg 7,81 calcium mg/l Ca 44,9 I'm mixing my tapwater with osmose water because the tapwater is average hard...

Starting up a new tank which will be planted and filled with water this weekend. I'm dosing EI and I was wondering if I need magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4) (is this the correct English translation??) How to decide if I need to dose MgSO4 beside my KNO3, KH2PO4 and CSM+B? It's still not clear to...

my standard EI dosing scheme is based on: Sunday: 50% water change, 40ml macro Monday: 60ml micro Tuesday: 40ml macro Wednesday: 60ml micro Thursday: 40ml macro Friday: NOTHING, rest Saturday: NOTHING, rest I was wondering how the scheme will look like when doing daily (or second day) water...

In my LSF they also look very pale.... providing the right conditions (plants, good food) they really turn this red (watching them in my tank daily). If they don't feel happy, you immediately notice this in their color change. Beautiful in contrast with green plants...

What about Rasborra Brigittae? Beautiful, small (max. 2cm) fish that is a true schooling fish when putting them together with a minimum of 10-15.... Having them in my own tank, really amazing fish.

thanks for the Ebay link! isn't the price difference compared to non-Ebay stores suspicious? Could there be a difference in quality, or is the quality good enough for my usage?

This simple - just put the meter in the bag: Did the PH 7 calibration first, needed to lower the value 0,8! After this the PH 4 fluid didn't need a correction.... Now trying to find KCl which is harder to get then I thought :(

thank you ceg, great support! I will calibrate my device this evening (yes there is a screwdriver included in the package). Will check the local pharmacy if they sell KCI so I can create my own solution....

Thanks! Hmmm.... the black cap seems to be empty - no foam or anything to wetten. Do you also know how to use the calibration fluid? I have these bags: But it doesn't tell if I need to mix it with (osmose??) water... it looks like the content of the bag (amount of fluid) is not enough to...

Finally my HI 98107 arrived today with calibration fluids (PH 7.1 and PH 4.1)! :) Reading the manual I have some questions which hopefully can be answered by some of you. Manual starts with "Conditioning". The meter (electrode) should be activated immersed for 2 hours in HI70300 which I...

thanks for your advise! And what about if I only use plants that are already immersed? I will use plants from my 10 months old running tank...Will be a lot of work the first 4 weeks ;)

I'm preparing a new tank where I will use the EI method. I have experience with this method, but still have a question about the start up of a new tank when using EI. Is it recommended to do 50% water changes daily the first couple of days followed by 50% water changes every second day and...

Great, thanks for your help... I'm looking for these meters right now and I'm sure I'll have one of my own soon so I can post the pH values of my tank during the day. Today I'll adjust the "start" of my CO2 injection 3 hours before lights go on and will open the needle valve a little bit more...

I turn on my CO2 two hours before lights go on and then the color isn't lime green, but dark green. turn of CO2 2 hours before light go out - is this OK? So I have to increase the bubble rate or start the CO2 injection (lets say) two hours earlier I think to achieve a lime color at the start...

Great article (bookmarked), thanks! I'm using a drop checker, but the KH/PH table was some kind of theory that I had in mind because I can't explain a unstable CO2 if I dose a constant amount of bubbles/seconds (which should be stable??) However it really looks like that after one week...

For me it's definitely the black background... much more peaceful and relaxing to look at. What a beautiful tank you have! (seen it before on a Dutch forum).

@ceg4048 I'm referring to co2 levels according the PH/KH table.... If my KH increases the co2 level goes down (according the table) and the uptake of co2 will be more difficult?? At the end of the week my co2 drop checker is a little bit more dark green then one or two days after the 50% water...

Thanks all! Looks like BBA after some research on Google images... I read two possible causes; dirty or rotting materials or wrong co2 levels. I think - if these are the only causes - that it must have something to do with co2. I dose my co2 through a 2kg pressurized bottle with a constant...

I'm running a small 60x30x35 (centimeters) tank and I'm using the EI-method, meaning 50% water change every week and weekly fertilization like: 24.00 ppm NO3 3.90 ppm PO4 30.00 ppm K 0.60 ppm Fe 6.43 ppm S 5.00 ppm Mg 0.07 ppm Mn 0.04 ppm B 0.01 ppm Zn 0.46 ppm dGH Plants are growing well...

This dedicated aquarium room looks amazing! :) Iwagumi looks very nice. Very nice rocks you are using in this tank.... and the other tank is 3240L :woot: - waiting for the pics of that tank!

Thanks all! I'm going for Rotala rotundifolia after looking at some pictures of this plant... Just placed a request for a few stems on a Dutch forum.... hopefully I can show you the result later :)

Yes, I'm using the EI method (micro & makro ferts) in this tank en I am dosing co2 through a 2kg pressurized bottle.... Maybe I should give it a try, only I have to find it somewhere :)

Thanks Martin!This plant looks very nice after checking it with Google images... however, I also read that it is not one of the easiest plants to keep?

Promised to show my tank, and here it is..... three weeks after the start up I've added a few Japonica shrimps and Otocinclus. The only thing I'm looking for right now is a replacement for the Limnopilia Aromatica in the right back corner... this plant is beautiful, but it isn't the right...

Beautiful tank! I don't see any Seiryu stones?

I've bought my scaping tools on Ebay for a nice price... I bought a set with a long scissor with a bend tip en two tweezers; one straight one and one with a bend tip. Tweezers are very useful when planting small part of (for example) Hemianthus Callitrichoides or plants that need their roots...

Thanks for all replies, very useful links.... One question; I can increase my outflow a little more, but the plants at the other side of the spray-bar are moving quite fast than (maybe to fast??)... Is it assumable that the plants that have more flow around them will grow better (healthier?)...

sounds obvious, but would one or two holes really "damage" the whole circular flow you think? At this moment I don't see any issues yet (tank is running almost one week), but I only observe that there is much less flow the first 6'' from the spray-bar. I'll follow up your advise to not add...

thanks for your replies! @ceg - what's the risk you see in doing this? My theory is that the outflow is spread more effective, especially on the first part in front of the spray-bar and directly underneath it.... At this moment I've turned the tap of the outflow of my filter a litter closer to...

I'm using the spray-bar vertically placed in my 60x30x35cm tank and the filter I'm using is a TetraTec EX600 (600l/h)...... (is it better to convert my measurement units to UK units??)... There is a good flow to the other side of the tank where the flow from the spray-bar clashes to the...

Looking good! Waiting for the update where you tell us everything about the details of this tank :)

I'm a guy who is living in the Netherlands and I focus mainly on the aquascape / Amano style tanks - I love this style! I'm very interested in (tank)water chemistry and creating and keeping a good balanced tank for fish and plants. I still have a lot to learn, so I'm very happy with this...

Thanks ceg4048! I was a little "worried" about my plants getting hungry the first days, because all values will be near to 0 when you start to fill your tank with mainly fresh/new water? Not having any problems until now, plant are growing well so I will continue this way.... I'll start...

Hi everyone! I've setup my scape last weekend and planted it with the plants from my previous tank (submerse), mainly HC, Staurogyne sp., Limnophilia and some mosses. I'm using the EI-method for fertilization and I was wondering if the best way is to just start with day one of adding...