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If you look back at some of the older Estimative Index posts you should find your answer. There’s lots of scientific talk that explains it properly When I first joined the forum I was just starting in the hobby. The advice was to overdose fertiliser to ensure that there was enough of...

Hi everyone. Hope you are all doing OK A while ago I asked about growing Hygrophilia Pinnatifida low tech as I was struggling and several of you gave me advice. I wanted to share my recent success. I’d tried several pots of established plants that just dropped leaves and melted away. I...

I’ve found him already and a few others. Been stuck at hime while the kids had COVID. Been watching a lot of YouTube. Think I found him from a Bentley Pascoe video. Sunscribed to quite a few channels lately

I’ve had a lot of good advice from this forum over since I started keeping planted tanks. I’m looking to create a low tech, low light, relatively low maintenance tank. I have the latest edition of Diana Walstad’s book and (possibly still have the original hardcopy somewhere too.) I’m also...

Apologies for the dumb question but I’m confused. I set up a little tank yesterday morning. Thinking of trying it as a breeding environment to experiment with ember tetras and Pygmy cories. (Yes, I‘ve been watching Mark’s Aquatics) Everything in the tank has come from a mature tank or has...

I really want the excuse to have a big group of Pygmy corys but it will be easier to get agreement for a shrimp tank than a second fish tank 😂

The 12l is currently my hospital tank. Thinking of settig it up in my garage as a place to grow on tissue culture plants

Been talking to my husband about my new 4ft tank and the fact that I’ll still need a shrimp tank. My current options are 12l, 25l or 120l. He thinks 120l is excessive but I think a colony of RCS, a few amanos and a filter shrimp with 10-15 pygmy corys and a similar number of ember tetras would...

I top the tanks up daily after removing any surface scum and so a weekly change on the large tank and sonetimes two on the smaller ones

Thanks everyone

Rinsed soil capped with gravel stuffed full of fast stem plants. Should only take a month to cycle with no additional ammonia. The soil will leach nutrients at first. You can remove with 50% water changes daily for the first week then every other day moving once a week after 3-4 weeks. I...

Thanks. I’m going with black. I did a very unscientific experiment. I put a dark covered book against the back from the tank and observed the fish. The embers continued to explore the whole tank. seemingly unphased by the change . Next I tried white polystyrene and they acted...

Hi, I’m looking for some advice please from all you knowledgeable people who set up tanks all the time. I have a tank on my windowsill that is heavily planted, dirted low tech tank on a north facing windowsill. The plants are growing well but it with the limited light (a desk lamp) and no...

Been out of the hobby for a while. Had a large tank planted with slow growing plants and had little need to buy new plants for a few years. When I went looking for plants I found places where I used to buy plants locally were gone and the options that replaced them were poor. More recently...

For some reason it came up as new for me. Glad you have a workaround.

I have soilent green for now to see if they’d take it. I intend to get the algae and community versions too when I have spare cash and mix then. (A hole in the roof diverted a lot of spare funds this month). I made some up in cubes in addition to the rocks and pushed it through a garlic press...

Thank you. I have indian almond leaves in there with alder cones and a little bit cholla wood. I had them for my shrimp tank and tucked a few bits away in the fish tank too. The outlet on the filter is fairly fierce. It is an FX4 (the smaller of thr two filters from the old tanks) turned down...

I had a 60x24x24 500+ litre tank with a wooden lid/hood. One thing to consider is how you get the lid off for maintenance. Ours had a narrow flap at the front that was fine for feeding fish and cleaning the front glass. Cleaning the back glass, filter pipes or working with plants at the...

Mine bred in the last tank. It was low tech and I struggled to reach some of the glass to clean it so it has over ten years of biofilm build up. The tank had to go and I feel guilty for moving them to somewhere so sterile. It will be months before a decent biofilm builds up to sustain them

I used chips of dragon stone. I had huge stones in the 500l and had to break them up to use them in the smaller tanks. They shatter and I kept pebble size bits

Was worried that ottos I found when I tore the down my big tank would starve in the new one as it is too new so I invested in BacterAE and Repashy hoping they’d have something to graze on. Being contrary fussy eaters like all ottos they had been ignoring all the blanched veg that others have...

Thanks everyone. I’ve managed to restart a thread with a proper poll

I’ve been a member of the group on and off for a long time. I know a lot of people on here are serious aquascapers who create amazing tanks and choose fish to complement the scape. Some of the tanks are spectacular. There must also be people like me who are fishkeepers that like plants to...

On my iphone I only see discussion or question. My vision isn’t great so maybe I missed something. If an admin can make this a poll I’d be very grateful 😊

Don’t know how to post a poll on here or if it is even possible. I’ve been here on and off for a long time and always wondered how the membership is split How many of you are: aquascapers who keep fish to complement your scape? fishkeepers who keep plants to benefit/complement your fish...

I ran a 500l tank high tech for a while but it was hard to work isn’t as the cabinet was extra tall, the tank was 2ft deep and 2ft wide and I’m 5ft. I gradually reduced the CO2 over a month. Has a bit of algae and melt but not horrific

I had one of the older Roma tanks for a while. Wasn’t impressed. Hard to fit external filters, lighting was tubes and low light.

Thanks. I agree that one has been moved slightly to help hold the wood down. It was further back. The wood had a spindly bit at substrate level that I pinned down

Hi everyone In thr process of moving from a 500l to a 120l. Reusing as much hardscape and as many plants as I can as the budget is limited Does this look OK as a starting point? Tank 120l second hand bargain Filter FX4 with a mature biofilter Substrate: John Innes No3 capped with gravel...

Hi, I’m back after a very long time and hoping for some advice on a low-budget setup as things have moved on a lot since you all helped me setup my 5ftx2ftx2ft tank over a decade ago. We’d planned to replace the big tank with something slightly smaller later this year but it just became more...

We have to catch fish in a 520l tank and resort to a big net in the centre of the tank and chase the fish into it with smaller nets then dump the contents into a trug to sort through. Will give the bottle trap a go next time. Thanks fit the tip

We used to brand new plastic dustbins after cleaning then thoroughly

Glad it worked out for you

When I did a properly planned reshape on my tank a few years ago I removed the fish into bins, placed the heaters and filter inlet/outlet in the bins to keep the filters running. I removed the plants and hardscape onto plastic sheeting. To clean the substrate for reuse (I have too much to...

I love the Aqua-ball filters too. I've had one running in my son's goldfish tank for years. It has outlasted 2 fluval internal filters and countless little box filters on our other tanks So easy to add extra media trays. Multiple sponges so you can just clean one at a time. Doesn't get noisy...

I have a couple of plain old Interpet heaters in my 500l tank. They have been there since 2010. They may not be pretty but they are reliable. Not had to change them yet. In the meantime just about everything else from lighting to filtration has died and had to be replaced

It is low light (almost low tech - very low dose liquid carbon), deep and huge 5'x2'x2' so I'm not sure about carpet plants. I might just bring the crypts out further from the central area but maybe not all the way to the edge unless they choose the spread that far I did have carpet plants...

Yes. I still have the catfish. The lump of veg at the front of the tank is my attempt to vary his diet. He demolishes sword plants so I want to move away from using them. The substrate is going to get more attention at the weekend. It's amazing how many snail shells, bits of wood and other...

I've had a bit of a busy eventful afternoon that ended with me reorganising my tank. I received some lovely plants from Darrel and decided to attach them to the driftwood temporarily rather than leaving floating around the tank. The wood in the tank has been in there since 2010. It was 3...

Not at all! I'm just worry about everything :). Hubby just reminded me that he moved a 120l goldfish tank containing a lot of gravel and an inch or so of water 20ft across the room while I was out once using brute force, a makeshift trolley and sheer luck and it was in his words 'a piece of cake'

Good luck. Hope it goes without a problem. You are far braver than I would be

So do I most if the time if they are individual plants. When I was setting up my tank the first time I ordered lots of stems and had the same problem. I had far too many to plant in one session and I wanted to keep them organised as there were a lot and they weren't bunched. I put lots of wet...

The thought of moving my 500l tank has actually put me off the idea of moving house. The thought of removing all the substrate so we can lift the thing is daunting. Trouble is hubby wants to extend the house and move the tank into another room when the extension is complete so I'm interested...

Not familiar with that substrate so no idea. My big tank took a lot longer than 18 days to cycle. Nearer 5 weeks but I was adding ammonia each day. Even when I've managed to do something silly and cause a mini cycle it has taken 2-3 weeks to settle down again

Did the water change stir up the substrate?

Thanks guys. Just picked up a Blagdon 700lph for under 20 quid. Don't know what the brand is like but it has a years warranty. Couldn't find anywhere locally stocking maxi jet.

3 months old. Not had a great experience with interpet recently.

Hi Paul That looks like a great idea but a bit complicated in my setup as I have two fluvals with ribbed hosing and a huge aquamanta with odd sized hoses. They are crammed into the cupboards in a way that means a setup like yours would be awkward if not impossible. Getting the filters out for...

Hi Sam. Have loads of hose and need to get the waste water from one end of the house to the other so just need a reasonable lph pump that will fit the hose I have. Was hoping someone could recommend a brand they have otherwise I'll grab something on eBay. Just want to avoid another duff...

Hi can anyone recommend a cheap submersible pump that will fit onto standard garden hose that I can use for water change? Ideally somewhere between 500 and 100l/h and in the UK. The interpet one I was using rattled and died a few mins ago. Siphoning through the hose is sooo slow with 250l to...

Several people on here use the frosted film with backlighting. Not me though as I have fluval filters with ugly black hoses. I'm sure you could find a few examples in the journals.

Thanks Clive. I'll try to stick to addind fish on water change day and try your method.

I'm not to worried about minor differences in water chemistry just want to reduce the amount of water in case of water bourne parasites like whitespot.

Maybe it was just a stress reaction. I tend to net the fish out of the bag as I'm reluctant to add fish shop water to my tank. Didn't need to worry this time ad I was moving them from one tank to another but did it out of habit.

Is there anything extra I can do to avoid this next time? Been keeping fish for years but using pressurised CO2 is new

Just added 4 fish extra to my tank after spending an hour slowly acclimatising them, gradually replacing the water they were in before netting them and releasing them. Now they are gasping at the surface. The drop checker is green rather than yellow and the other inhabitants of the tank seem...

Depends on your LFS and how well you know them. I've heard several of our local fish shops say they don't buy from the public as they risk disease in their tanks but they will happily take the same fish for free :roll: I've had credit notes from the same shops for ivory and pink apple...

Thanks for the reply. I'll reduce the light to 7 hours and if there are no ill effects and the diatoms continue I'll reduce it again. Everything's growing fast at the moment so I guess it will be ok. Thanks for you help. Now I have a better idea of what to look for.

Quick question. What is the minimum photoperiod I can get away with for a planted tank? Currently have 108w t5 running for 8 hrs over a 2 week old 500l tank. This is already down a bit from where I started. Noticed a few diatoms on the spraybars today (plants are ok so far touch wood) and...

Glad to hear your Dad is going to be OK. That kind of call is scary enough when you are in the same country.

Re: Will JBL reg for refillables work with halfords disposab Direct into the tank maybe ;)

Re: Will JBL reg for refillables work with halfords disposab Hi Paul, I'm not shocked that it has gone in 4 days more that the reg dials didn't give me more warning. I just thought the left hand dial would drop slowly over time not 50 to 0 in a few hours. I thought I'd have another 24hrs...

Does a halfords disposable bottle fit jbl reg Managed to get calor's website to load properly this time and they aren't open. So it's MA or Halfords if the disposable bottle fits

Does a JBL reg for refillable cannisters work with Halfords disposables or will I need an adapter? Think my JBL reg may be faulty. Has been setup 4 days running 10hrs a day. This am it was on 50bar, now it's on the red :shock: ok if the gas has genuinely gone.. But some warning would have...

I'd be reluctant to use gravel or used media from a LFS. The nature of their business means that any number of diseases and parasites pass through their tanks. Good fish shops quaratine their fish for a bit before selling them on but they also get a lot of new stock weekly and have multiple...

Re: Using pins to hold plants on bogwood Thanks everyone. Decided to put the plant a further along the wood and used a clear rubber band. Will try to post pics tonight or tomorrow. I know that superglue was an option but I lack the control and finesse reqired to use it neatly. Last time...

Re: Using pins to hold plants on bogwood No just plants. Was planning to get the plants established over the next month or so then add fish. Would remove the pins before adding livestock

I'm sure I've seen pics on here of moss attached to bogwood with dressmakers pins. Has anyone been successful at using this method to attach plants/mosses. I want to attach an anubias nana to a recess in some bogwood but the shape of the wood means it will be very hard to tie.

Try neat white vinegar on a bit of newspaper. Smell fades really fast and no nasty chemicals.

MA @ Farnham is shut until further notice after a fire. May save some of you a wasted trip. Shame as it was a great source of tropics plants full info on Maidenhead aquatics website

I tried this in my 90l and used a bit too much on the bogwood. The excess went White in the water and looked bird droppings

I received a box containing two bunches of plants through the post yesterday that I wasn't expecting. I can only assume that they are from someone on here who has sent me plants before as I haven't ordered any yet from online suppliers. I think they are some form of rotala but not too sure...

Waterlife research have a shop on the Bath Rd in West Drayton. The other side of Heathrow. Not been there in a while but I used to live in the area and gave heard that it has been done up. They have always had an aquatics centre but I've heard that they have added a pet and Tropical plant centre.

Re: Stores in the Uk that REALLY specialise in planted aquar Maidenhead Aquatics @ Winnersh usually have a good range of plants (not Tropica) and equipment. Lately Maidenhead Aquatic @ Bracknell have had a good range of plants in including some of the more unusual ones. Best day to visit for...

I'm just starting out and have found the info and articles on this site great. I got a cheap copy of The 101 best aquarium plants from eBay when I decided to add plants to my tanks for reference but I tend to refer to the catalogue from the plants alive website more as it has photos and...

Thanks. I'll try that when the other pot of P. Helfrei arrives on the post.

Hi Steve, About 3mm. The finest cheap gravel I could get without resorting to sand. I guess practice will make perfect. The tweezers have angled tips. Maybe I'll invest in a 99p straight set from HK. Currently battling with PH plantlets and my technique is gradually improving. Amanda

Hi everyone. DH has bought me some plant tweezers but there is obviously a knack to using them that I haven't got yet. I know the theory is 1. Hold plant with the tweezers. 2. Push plant into the substrate 3. Open and remove the tweezers 4. Plant stays put. So why does the plant float to the...

I'm a stay at home mum so no boss but I'm writing this while looking at a big pile of dirty dishes and a bowl of hot water. Would doodle if I could find pens that work and paper that's not scribbled on already

Had one in our unheated garage. Was ok until the really heavy prolonged snow in Dec/Jan when the tank sprang a major leak. Drained in mins :(

My dwarf neons didn't.

I have 4 ottos, 3 nerites, loads of CRS shrimp and 4 baby BN catfish. Will get some SAE as soon as I have a big enough tank. The nerites seem fine with my DIY C02, haven't lost any but they tend to spend most of time in the filter of my river reef tank, don't know if that is co2 related. One...

Thanks for the reply Tom. I've spotted the typo in the lighting description I missed out the word double makes a big difference ( oops ) Amanda

Sorry error in my original posting lighting will be 2 x double T5HO 54w so 216w plus reflectors when plants start growing and initial algae dies back

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum and after managing to keep two small planted tanks reasonably healthy I'm about to invest 2 yrs savings on a large tank. I'm hoping you can check out my proposed setup so that I can avoid costly mistakes. I'm a stay at home mum with busy toddlers so can't...