Search results for query: *

Been trying to increase the amount and effiency of Co2 into my tank. (Changed the scape and brown algae starting to appear, and more worryingly, beard algae) I have one of the black circular Fluvial diffusers that were so highly recomeded on here . It seems to be working well and making tiny...

Thanks mate. I have those two things already though. I wonder if the water itself is affecting the light reaching the substrate. Only reason i say this is noticed today that it has alot of suspended particles in the water? ...yes, i am clutching at straws :)

Just to add my thoughts to this. I have a Juwel Vision 180 with T5 (2x35w) and was thinking of adding more light too. My reasoning was that my red leaved plants never developed properly until they made it half way up the tank. Then the red colour developed. Hence why i thought it was light...

Yeah, you can only run one additional monitor that way unless you do the piggy back technique I mentioned earlier. If you dont want to fork out, £500 for each monitor, you can use non-Apple HDMI or DVI monitors, but then you must use something like the Matrox EGA (£300 plus cables) to achieve...

?!?!??!!? and the award for the most surreal, random post goes to...! :D

Can you show me how this is possible Tony? I couldnt get this to work, and when I finally did (by buying the Matrox TripleHead2Go external adaptor at £300 the resolution was rubbish and couldnt support my 3 x 24" monitors that my PC did easily. (maximum possible with Mac was 3 x 19" - yuk) The...

Argh, I really wanted a SSD for this machine, but just couldnt justify the cost at the moment.... but one day! Awesome pieces of kit.

Sounds like a good plan then Ady - think you have thought it through well mate, and your reasoning behind wanting to go Mac is sound. If you don't mind the higher expense, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy it - it should give you years of trouble free computing! Good luck, and health to enjoy...

Click the EDIT button at the bottom of any of your posts?

I had something similar once in filter pads. It was dead leaves from tiny floating plants. The leaves had turned white and were exactly the size and colour of sesame seeds. Might it be those?

Damn, I missed out on this conversation. Coming in a bit too late now I feel! But here are my two cents... I am a freelance programmer and Apple developer, as well as writing software for PC and online. I currently own the fastest Macbook Pro you can get, and the fastest (at least in...

UPDATE - 24th FEB (2 weeks since rescape) So, the good points: - plants seems to be growing well; - the Mattogrossense has really taken off! - the Riccia too seems to be happy enough; had to trim it today for first time, so a good sign I guess. - changed the position of my diffuser...

BINGO! :happy:

Eheim universal brush set. Awesome piece of kit, makes cleaning these dead easy.

I remember reading this oneyears ago and tried it out for myself. Didnt seem to make any noticeable difference :/

Just wanted to give an update on the tank... Ive been doing 50% water changes every day since Saturday; also continuing the White Spot treatment (2 doses since Sat.) CO2 was turned down a bit, and the reflectors were taken off my lighting tubes. The results have been encouraging. No livestock...

LOL. I missed that one. Intrigued now to see if mine is the same. Which number is it thats missing?

Yeah, it bolts straight on without adaptors. You get additional washers with it too so no need to buy replacements for a while. Im ot sure I would agree that my unit feels flimsy or the gauges are secure. the whole thing felt solid to me. But Im not edperienced with regs. So maybe there are...

What about this? Its what I use for my FE. So far its been great. Is a Hong Kong reg, but UK company with warranty. CO2 Solenoid Regulator

Bonza mate! Welcome :wave:

Of course! I should have got that. Nice one. ...and now I get the connection too.

One of the scariest things Ive seen. Who directed this video? George Romero?! :)

Cheers mate - as always, its very much appreciated. Nice to know I didnt get that one wrong with the tank as well!! :)

Because of some great advice by guys on here, I now realise I need to do 90L water changes every day for a while. However, even though I have a (supposedly) high tech tank, I have noticed that after a water change, my plants all pearl. (They dont pearly normally) I have already read that this...

Bugger. Typical me to learn the hard way. Thought I had done every bit of reading about this thing before I begun and had it all planned thoroughly, but I didnt know about the substrate being MORE important than filter. You're right though, lesson learnt and wont be making that again!

Amen to that. For an inexperienced person like me, this goes double too. Im still worried for my livestock, but feel less "panicked" by it all now, and at least have a solid consensus about what to do. Its so helpful and encouraging. Thanks all. WIll do George. I'll focus on the water changes...

lol - we got to stop posting at the same Ady, you keep answering my questions as Im typing them! One more thing though, Ei has to be dosed on alternate days, so how can I bring both the Macro and Micro levels up in the replacement water? (ie. if Im water changing every day) (sorry for being...

Brilliant guys thanks so much to everyone who has helped so far. Its very reassuring to know you guys are there, with your knowledge and willing to be some helpful! Thanks. @davem - good idea mate, maybe see if I can get some online and posted quick. @george - thanks mate. I know you didnt...

THanks so much Ady, sorry, I was typing my reply to Clive and didnt see yours until mine was posted. Damn, I thought my very mature filter would have been handling the substrate ammonia. OK, will water change every day for a week, then every other day for a week. What does this mean for Ei...

Really appreciate your help Clive - the test strips Im using more because they are there than anything! Sorry :/ Didnt pay any attention to them until I started seeing problems today. My main thought is that the substrate is now leeching Ammonia (which I have no test kit for) and the shrimp...

Ambarin, I could never grow Vallis, Eleocharis or Egeria before either. Was really frustrated as everywhere I looked, people were saying that Vallis is so easy and grows everywhere, etc, etc I kinda gave up for a while. However, in the same tank with the same water, I ended up growing lovely...

Additional - All the fish are feeding fine and even the Bosemani with the (possible) cotton mouth doesnt seem at all phased. Infact, hes still displaying and trying to pair off with the male 3-spot gourami (the one with the red pectoral fins) as he has always done! INfact, the only things...

OK, bring you up to speed real quick and give some context. Its been two weeks exactly since I rescaped my mature tank (new ADA Africana substrate, co2 injection, heavily planted, the works) Ei dosing has been happening every day as per normal doses, and last week I did two water changes of...

Yeah, and if fan shrimps, I know they dont like to be disturbed by fish so a community tank or one with faster fish probably isnt ideal as I believe fan shrimps get very stressed when they keep getting interrupted when trying to feed.

Are they fan shrimps then?

100% agree with Paulo on this one. I just bought a Koralia 900 for my 180 litre tank. Its a great piece of kit and very small, but fairly weedy flow out of it as it disperses the water quite a bit and doesnt push it in one direction. I would buy the 1600 if I could go back and start again.

Im not sure I would be too worried about that. Its a sealed unit and the salt wouldnt have affected it. It wasnt a short by the sounds of it, so Im guessing either its more of your orange friend on the heater or the water was quite cold and the heater kicked in on full beans and the orange you...

Salt improves water's conductivity, but not sure what you mean by the heater "glowing orange". If it shorted out then it would have gone bang, and not glowed? P.S. Mark, Im not trying to be insulting, but Im wondering how much you are actually helping by using these non-aquarium grade things...

Oh..... Although on second thought, its probably this. :) Drepanocladus polygamus | BBS Field Guide

It looks like a type of moss called a "hook moss" because of the leaf shape. If it is that though, I cant remember it ever growing underwater - which is maybe why this hook moss (if it is!) is thin and straggly looking.?

Possibly yeah, but I have less than 2wpg over mine so I wouldnt rush to throw more light on. If the other plants are ping ok, then I would just wait. If, as Nate says, the shrimp were actually only harvesting the already damaged leaves then the plants might just need a week to recover? Good...

Im not very knowledgable so not sure at all, and dont want to advise anything incase Im wrong, but I wonder if Alternanthera suffers like that in wrong water parameters? Eg, too warm/cold, too soft/hard, wrong pH? I have 25c temp, very hard water and 6.8pH (if it helps!?)

No i have to say that I didnt mate. Ive only had the tank set up 10 days now, but the Alternanthera is without doubt the fastest thing in there at the mo - even beating the Mattengrosse and the Hygrophilia! The only thing it did at the start was that my loaches kept uprooting it, but constant...

Ahhh ok, if its only three days then no worries. Expect them to double in size in the next week. Mine are really bushing up now.

Pps - when did you plant the reineckii?

Its the Tropica 1-2-Grow reineckii that i have too and the shrimp havent bothered it so not sure. Did you make sure to wash off all the gel that the plants came in before planting? Im wondering if thats what the shrimp are after? ...p.s. they do look like Amano 'multidentata'.

Sorry to hear that mate, but its dfinitely not normal. I have 10 very large Amanos and alot of Reinekii and they have never touched it yet. Are you sure of the shrimp species. Are they definitely Caridina Multidentata?

Sounds like it might be the species, but Ive no experience of them personally. However, fish that have swam in strong flows of mine, have always had some skin irritation/infection. Last time it was whitespot, which I think takes a few days to become visible to us even after outbreak. Keep a...

Nice Bazil - interesting write up. What happened to all the Java Moss - in the first pic on this page there is loads, and then it seems to progressively die off until finally I can't see any?

LOL :rolleyes: Nah mate, its getting them off - now thats the trick! :smug:

Thanks Ady! I didnt realise that about the subtleties of circulation pumps vs other kinds. Might have to have a rethink. The filter idea might work best then, I'll see what I can work out. Cheers! :)

Ahh ok, thanks Bazil. Really surprised at the plant growth in just 4 days! The Ricca is now poking through the netting (just like you said) and looking much better. But the real star is the Alternanthera - each little clump has nearly doubled in size and looks much healthier. All that without...

LOL - nothing too scientific Ady - I used a pair of the good lady's black tights :D Get a "winter woollies" pair (ie. thick), snip one leg off to about twice the length of your FE bottle (so that you dont have to pull them tight). Very easy to slide on, and surprisingly effective! Black...

Thats great to know mate, thank you. I dont think I had read about this so was a little bit worried Id done something wrong. Will monitor it closely for next day or so.

Follow up to the earlier postings about the nice UKAPS sleeves on the Fire Extinguishers. Well, still looking for something a bit more professional, but so far I have come up with this... Not perfect I know, but I like the black colour actually - ties in with the rest of my CO2 gear. :)

As an aside, I also took delivery of the Hydor Koralia Nano 900 pump last night too. (see pic above) I have to say Im dissappointed in the flow. It really is piddly. This pump replaced my "450l/h" cheap one from Hong Kong that I had used up till this point. BUt that 450 one blows very hard...

Quick update. Last night the replacement Fluval diffuser arrived (from one of the sites sponsors, with super quick delivery. Thanks!) and I finally got the CO2 FE system up and running. Its permanent home is behind the tank but just wanted to take a photo for the journal. ITs using the CO2...

Well update as of tonight (Monday) is that Ive just broke my diffuser!! Bugger. It was totally my fault - I was rushing to get the CO2 hooked up and pushed the delicate glass onto the suckers and it cracked in two. What a stupid move! I now have no diffuser - a brand new one all the way from...

Hi Henry, thanks for the kind words - glad it maybe helped you out. I ended up using only about 14L of substrate (i.e. a bag and a half of 9L bags) So unfortunately, I now have about 4 or 5 litres of expensive substrate that Im likely not going to use. Oops. :confused: Should just add, that...

Cheers Ady, that sounds like awesome advice all round. I'll do the water changes and keep my eye out for Ammonia/Nitrite problems. Thanks again for flagging these up to me as Id be gutted if any fish suffered, or especially if I lost my big shrimp. I'll also take your advice and just let...

Cheers mate, appreciate the kind words. Will keep my eyes open in LFS for some nice rock. They have Dragon Rock in atm, but not sure it would go with the layout?

Hi folks, This is my first journal on here, and also my first high-tech CO2 planted tank setup. :nailbiting: Id like to share it with you as just maybe it might be interesting/helpful to someone else out there, and also as a way of giving a tiny insignificant portion back to the huge amount of...

Thanks Ian - thats awesome info - especially considering this weekend I am doing a big rescape and will be changing the CO2 setup. I remember reading something about this in another thread too, so will definitely watch out for that one. @linkinruss - are you running ceramic diffuser, on an...

lol. fair point. I used one of my missus' black tights and slid that onto the bottle. Now the red FE is completely black and looks much less "utility". Setting it behind the tank has helped hide it too. ...now how to break it to the Wife that she is one pair of tights down.... :facepalm:

I wonder if its the reg or the bottle? If the reg is faulty, David @ CO2SM will stand over it I think (at least for 12 months from purchase) To be honest, I was always dubious about the SodaStream side of things - I just couldnt argue the case for the small capacity bottles. My advice would be...

Hi mate, I never used this with a S.Stream bottle Im afraid. I went straight to the 2Kg FE. (primarily, because I was worried about the small capacity SodaStream bottles! (it says 60L on the bottle, but thats how much fizzy drink you can make!))

What about this one from CO2 Supermarket? £55 delivered, 12 month warranty.

OK, got you. Thanks. Im struggling to get enough flow with my Eheim 2126. And although everyone is now talking about how important flow is, I struggle to see many pictures of planted tanks with visible filter outlets, spraybars and/or powerheads. Im going to change my setup tonight to a...

LOL. now theres a gap in the market Im sure ADA wont be filling any time soon - NatureScape board games! :D Fair enough, I'll stick it in there somewhere and let it grow.

You must be right mate!.... but thats not something Ive heard said about the Ulster contingent for quite some time! We are usually the rowdy ones at the back of the bus :arghh:

Hey! nice one. We are up to two. I know MURF is from here too, so we need to get him on. Not sure if there are others...

Thanks so much Darrel! Your description of each end having growing tips, and the bare central rhizome showing old branching is absolutely spot on (have you been looking in my windows?!) ;) I'll split it into two when doing my new layout at the weekend, and probably just discard the central...

But wouldnt it create a circular motion actually? The powerhead will be pointing from the left to the right and downwards, thus "picking up" the flow from the right side spray bar and giving it new momentum down the side and along the bottom/front.? Maybe a quick diagram would help me figure it...

Thats one of those bottles from Star Wars! Wow, you're so lucky - I think R2D2 farted some out during the attack on the Death Star. :hilarious:

100% agree. Bought an Eheim universal brush set from eBay last week - then walked into LFS on Saturday and there it was - £1 cheaper. Its only a £1 but Id much rather my LFS got the business. Lesson learned for me. :facepalm:

Ive got one in my tank - Juwel vision 180. I use the crook, and then a single 90 bend and this connects up fine. Currently debating which is better for me: - spray bar on the rear pointing forward - short spray bar on the right side pointing right to left along surface, with Hydor nano 900 on...

I have two anubias plants that are slow growing (low tech tank at the moment) but doing ok. I had to trim off some old algae infected leaves some weeks ago, and now, the new growth is coming at either end of the plant "stem" (ie. the horizontal thick stem which the leaves grow from) Im...

My marker on the member map is awful lonely sitting out here by itself. Isnt there anyone else from N.Ireland on here? Im sure there is but would be good to get the markers up to show that we are all alive and well here - maybe get a bit of a meet up going? :thumbup:

This did wonders for my outbreak before Christmas, which looked very very similar to your pics actually! I trimmed off all infected leaves, scraped away anything on the glass, then did a 50% water change and full filter clean (new pads and rinsed the filter material) Its not gone completely...

Here it is mate... DIY Water Changer, No more buckets!! | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Found it yesterday and just like Mr.McDonalds says - Im lovin' it! Thanks Paulo.

My gouramis have always been boisterous to the females. best ratio Ive found is one male (in whole tank) to 2 or 3 females. I have got 2 males in one tank, but they are both the same size and neither one has the upper hand so they compete, but lack any weaponry to do real damage. last months...

yeah. what he said. o_O Cheers for the info darrel, and actually I love science so while I wont pretend to have understood everything, I can grasp the basics and understand what you are saying about my hard water both in GH and KH. Appreciated everyone! Thanks again guys. :clap:

Brilliant info Darrel, cheers mate. Its hard to believe that the testing is so "flimsy" - Im an Apple mobile programmer and in the depths of code routines and bug fixing the golden rule is always "Is it repeatable?" - can you get exactly the same results every time. If not, then its no good...

Cause all these wonderful companies exist which tell us all about the 'amazing science' behind their latest 'must have' product! Really appreciate your help mate. That has put my mind at rest (for now) Now....im off to find a bird picture :D

Hey Darren!

Yup, I got it from David at CO2 Supermarket - really helpful, fast delivery, and 12 month warranty (which Im not sure you would get through eBay?)

Uh oh, the "old world" knowledge just doesnt want to leave my skull.... Im processing what you said, and one point in particular still worries me. Perhaps you guys can help me to work it out. On the back of my ADA Africana soil it says it will lower the KH of my water. At already only 3 dKH...

Lol brilliant. thanks Clive! I believe I have just swallowed the red pill. :)

Nitrate - between 50 and 100 Nitrite - 0 GH - 12 dH KH - 3 dH pH - 6.8 These are hot off the press as it were, from a Tetra "6 in 1" test strip. Im slightly worried about my Kh reading. I know we live in a hard water area (limescale on taps and in fishtank where evaporation has occured) but...

Ahh ok, I understand, sorry. Not too sure what the working pressure of your reg is, but I can tell you what mine is if that helps. The "bottle" side gauge is rated up to 160 bar (16 MPa / 2500 Psi) The "diffuser" side gauge is rated up to 10 bar (1.0 MPa / 145 Psi) Compared to your...

Not sure. Looking at the connection, it looks maybe wider (?) than the regulator I just bought for my new FE. Here is the one I got and you can see the connector which fits directly onto my standard 34B FE: Also, does it have a needle valve? If not you might need to see if you can get one as...

Doing a spot more reading at the moment, and found this excellent thread with Riccia in bowl. However, sound like the shrimp killed it off! I am definitely going to have alot of (bigger) Amano shrimp in my tank, plus some Clown loaches and an Ancistrus. Is Riccia now a big no no because of...

Anything at all is hugely appreciated. Thats brilliant thanks. I'll give you a shout week after next if thats ok. Thanks again :thumbup:

Ahhh, I got you now chum. No worries and thanks for the heads up - thats good to know. I didnt actually realise it was that demanding. Still just love the look and "feel" of it but will maybe scale back a bit on how much I was planning on using. If its as crazy as you say, then I might just...

Thanks so much mate. Thats very kind. However, you have me slightly worried - Ive done alot of reading about riccia and tried to make sure i am ready for its demands, but could you ellaborate on how it is demanding with maintenence please?

This is the only Riccia I can find thats possible to buy in UK/Ireland - surely that cant be right, or is it in short supply these days?? http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/tropica-riccia-fluitans-12grow-p-6284.html Im nearly ready to order my plants in the next couple of weeks, and thanks to all...

What a great idea! I might look into this if I can get some time.

Thanks Paul The diffuser (the glass Spiro V mentioned in this thread) and regulator arrived yesterday and I see what might happen; as you say - too erratic. So, I'll get a nice bubble counter too then. Nearly there, just my CO2 FE to find somewhere, and then the substrate and Im ready for the...

Ali-Jack - I use an Eheim 2126 thermo filter which means the heater is also in there (and out of the tank!) I absolutely LOVE it. Its been running for years without any problems or leaks etc, and I also got it much cheaper than new by buying from eBay. There are bargains out there to be had if...