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I have bean experimenting with john innes no3 capped with fine gravel in low tech tanks and have been amazed by the growth. I have two. 1. A nano running a desk lamp with a 5w daylight e14 bulb that has minimal filtration and flow 2. 120l with an Amazon 40w cheap plant led strip that’s...

Large ph swings are harmful to all the fauna in the aquarium and a ph crash (below 6.5) can reduce the filter bacteria. ability to handle toxins. The sand should only reduce the ph if there is something acidic in it. It is more likely to contain minerals that will dissolve and raise the...

Most fish don't care as long as the changes are slow or subtle. Major PH swings can mess with your filter and some delicate softwater fish (cichlids, discuss and some inverts don't like sudden changes in water hardness). Your average fish just adapts over time.

Manado supposedly contains calcium deposits so they suggest washing it in warm water. So I guess you should wash it in warm water, do lots of water changes at first and enjoy your plants for while before adding anything too fussy about water chemistry and it'll all be fine :D

Typical planted tank fan then :D :wink: :thumbup:

Might be worth getting hold of some and sticking it in a bucket with a bit of tap water to see what it does to ph, gh and kh. Some sands look fab but mess with water chemistry at first. As you live so far south you will have softer water than most and this may be more of an issue for you than...

16 tanks.. That's a serious case of MTS.. Where do you find the time?

Wouldn't work.. good idea though :) had just informed him that I need another massive filter to boost flow in the tank or risk all the plants, that I spent the best part of a day planting, turning to mush. He was just starting to sound like he was warming to the idea when the CO2 ran out...

Thanks for that.. Not too sure how to play this. Want the plants but have 4 heavily stocked tanks to amalgamate. Torn betwem plant heavily hope the plants do the cycle (risk divorce with 5 tanks totalling 800l in 20x10 room) or fishless cycle, loads of algae, no plants or plants with...

I have and it does worry me but my budget won't stretch to aquabasis for a 500l tank. Had much better alternatives in mind but I need so much substrate that I have not been able to source enough flourite or Eco-complete within budget or reasonable timescales. I have waited over two months...

Gotta redo the 90l as the flow is really poor with the over sized driftwood in the middle of the tank and a possibly dodgy u3 filter that stops for no reason. Have bba and GSA appearing on rhs of the tank (where the u3 is). If I can get the budget I'll consider aqua basis instead of the inert...

Ok. Got the manado now though and 250 quid over budget so far so DH isn't going to be very understanding when I ask to swap the manado out for something more costly. He likes the fish and thinks the plants are pretty but costly. Left to him and my 3yr old this tank would have plastic plants...

I'm going to have my son's catfish in the tank so will still cap it as I've seen the muck that comes off it. If I wasn't having bottom dwellers in the tank I might have considered leaving it as is. Got 20l of aquabasis in a 525l tank. Now need to decide how much Manado to use. Have 110l of it...

Thanks. I'll just tip it in then. Will save lots of time and water :)

So is that one vote for and one against? Wasn't too sure what to do. Heard some odd advice from this person to others in the past. I have washed this stuff before but as It is supposed to be a nutrient substrate I did wonder if I'd be washing the good stuff down the drain but also don't...

Sorry if this has been answered before. In the past I've rinsed all substrates before adding to the tank. LFS said not to wash aquabasis as I'm topping it with Manado. What would you do?

Ok. The aquarium is set up so I'll have to see how it goes. I've heaped loads of gravel on top so hopefully it will stay put. Found another link about using it in the aquarium as a base layer with just enough garden soil to turn brown so what I'm doing has been done before. Just don't know...

Found the article I was reading on vermiculite in substrate so will give it a go http://www.aquabotanic.com/sfintro.htm

Hi George, Thanks for such a fast response. I've been using Tpn+ after reading about it on here and have started to see results after a few days so I intend to use it in both new tanks. Will move to dry ferts later. I will try to keep a journal, just need to work out how to upload my...

Hi I'm setting up a 90l tank this pm and I'm thinking of using inert gravel with vermiculite and zeolite to the bottom layer as I think I read somewhere that this can help to enrich the substrate. My original plan had been to use an Eco-Complete and gravel mix but the EC delivery has been...