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It's all done now! I didn't take any photos while doing the rescape as I was rather pushed for time so probably not worth me starting a new journal but as it's still in my Rio I suppose I can carry on with this one! They're rather bad photos as I've just got a little automatic here at the...

Looking nice Robert. I don't think a 2ft cube is big enough for anything other than a mated pair of discus. A shaol will bicker and they need to have a bit of space to get out of each other's way at times. If you're after a disc-like effect then maybe some larger tetras might work? Like...

Well it's been a while and this scape has come to the end of it's life. It could have been kept going longer but my workload at the moment has meant that this tank has had no maintenance for ages and even the CO2 has run out! The plants are a mess and I've got a fair bit of algae. I could get...

The extra back pressure would mean the RO wouldn't function correctly as you'd get too much back pressure but you can get RO water down to a 1:1 ratio of waste and reject water as some guys do their RO units on their koi ponds. The in-line filters work by using ionisation. This takes two...

Re: My 1st Journal That's looking ace Mike! Love the wood. How's the reactor performing? Getting up to 30ppm ok?

Re: TDI's Blyxa - Riverbank Looks lovely and luxuriant already but I think it's too flat. You need some height at the back IMHO. Maybe just one group of specimen plants at about 2/3rds along? Some large swords maybe or something more slender?

I've got some Rotala sp. Pearl (Mini 1) and could spare you some mate if you want a truly micro stem? It's very slow growing though for me! Might work well with the scale.

If you're contemplating pencils then I'd look at the Rocket Pencils (Nannostomus eques). I have 13 in my Rio and they are amazing things that hover in the open water at 45 degree angles. In an Iwagumi they'd look amazing IMHO. I'll try and take some pictures later and update my journal to...

Re: Completely stumped - the saga continues I'm perplexed Sam. What's the flow like in and around the HC? Could the luml be building up in there a bit as the flow there isn't very high?

Dan (and Graeme) that is AWESOME! The wood is fantastic and the way it creeps over the rocks like driftwood lodged in a rocky rapid of a stream is amazing. Gotta get some tiny stems in there and HC tucked in around the rocks, but you know all that!!! Can't wait to see it planted up.

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi Looks like you owe me then mate!!! :lol: I trust that was from CED? Which type did you get in the end?

I went into the MA at West Bridford today (in Wheatcroft's Garden Centre) and was chatting to the guy who runs it. He was asking me if I'd been to East Bridgford recently to see this great planted tank? :lol: I had a good chuckle at that!!! He was surprised at the amount of CO2 you were...

:lol: See I knew I shouldn't have let you take all those photos as we were wandering around the store!!!!

No worries mate; these things happen! We were just getting a bit worried you'd ended up in a ditch or something! :o :lol:

Time for an update. The Apistogramma have been regularly laying eggs but I've still had no free-swimming fry. This may be a fertility issue with the male or down to something not quite right in the tank so I'll just have wait and see what happens really. If they don't get it right I may try...

BTW does anyone know what happened to Dan Crawford???

Great to meet you guys today and chat. Think we covered most things over a couple of hours!!! :lol: The only problem with that picture is the fact that I always look ridiculous in pictures! The tank looks really great in the flesh and is really filling out well. The HC is really sticking...

Re: James3200s 6.5x2x2' planted tank - UPDATE - 23/01/09 Fantastic fish James. What are they, Royal Blues?

I'd double dose the EasyCarbo (the higher amount they suggest on the packaging) and use a bit more yeast in your CO2 mix to upp the amount of CO2 produced. This will shorten the mixes life though so you'll need to change it more regularly. When I did this on my Cube tank I used a drop checker...

To be honest I'd lose the stones that aren't going to be covered in Riccia and have a really lush planting fill the area in around the wood. As the wood is so contorted and intriguing I wouldn't want to detract from that. I like the Bacopa when it gets growing and you could plant it all around...

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi Very nice mate. Impressive sized lumps of rock that give a really dominant feel. But I'd go with different fish! I reckon the cards are too big! Just think how 150 Boraras brigittae would look? The lumps of rock would look enormous! Cardnals would be...

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi I really liked that mate and look forward to seeing photos of the rearranged layout. Those stones look really nice and chunky and will be really well set off by the thin leaved small plants you've picked IMHO. What's the stocking going to be? If you've not got...

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi I like what you've done with it mate! Very original! :lol: Get yourself along to CED and drool over all the different stones! The brochure appetite wetting enough for me! :lol:

Looking forward to seeing it next weekend mate. Nothing better to sell things than a really top class example of what they can look like! We always used to try and do it when I had my old plant sales business!

Still looking good for grab shots! Better than my best ones! BTW what's the stocking plan for this tank?

Sunday 22nd at 11am then! I'll stick a thread up in the events section and see who we can get along!!! I think there's a fair few people either Nottingham or nearby that could come along, not to mention off to the East side too.

What about the Sunday 22nd February then? Whenever you're usually there will do for the time. Should give it a bit more chance to fill in and a bit of time for the weather to improve! :lol:

Didn't mean to gather together to critique your scape mate (honestly! :lol: ). More to meet up for a bit of a social! There's a few drinking establishments locally too so we could have a good chat and a beverage!

WOW!!! Where did you get those beauties from? They've been on my wish list for a while so if they survive I know where some of them could find a good home!!! :lol: (BTW I might be getting some Tilapia joka in the summer from the US if you're interested?) Nice tank too! :lol:

I think all the locals should coordinate a date and time and meet up there! We can admire Mark's handy-work together then! Next weekend or the week after?

Nice tank Johnny and great choice of fish. Love the panduros! You'll have to let me know about that list as maybe we could order some stuff and split the costs?

Re: Let's help Gareth pull his scape together. There you go mate! :mrgreen:

Re: Let's help Gareth pull his scape together. Would you like it moving? It's easy to do!

Cracking set up mate!

Re: Let's help Gareth pull his scape together. IMVHO it needs something in the middle behind/in amongst the wood and rocks. If you're happy with the Cyperus then can you put another patch just off centre just behind the central rock along with a few thin bits nearer the fron in amongst the...

Re: The Henge part 2 That's looking great Mark. The East Bridgford store better get ready to stock more planted tank stuff in!!!

Might just be me getting mixed up - it's been a long week...

You've still got no fish in right? If so feel free to up the ferts. The only thing about upping the EasyCarbo is that I thought I remembered reading it wasn't a huge fan of high levels and can melt. Might want to check with Dan unless someone else has used them together? Upping the water...

Sorry didn't look in here yesterday. You want ammonia to help mature the filter and cycle the tank but too much will trigger algae. Bear in mind that the water change does not just remove ammonia but also algae spores and organics in the water. The aquasoil will supply plenty of ammonia to...

Re: Completely stumped - the saga continues I reckon it's organics in the water caused by small particles decaying. Your carbon filter won't remove that. Can you put some purigen in the filter somehow to remove any traces of it? I'd also give the water butt a really good clean and have some...

I think aquaballs are excellent internal filters. The only one better is the juwel one IMHO.

Sorry about that, I realise that now after you pointed it out!!! Good on you for being patient and taking your time - it's one of the keys to s table tank so well done. I would still do some large water changes though to dilute the ammonia and help prevent algae. As it's such a small tank...

I think test kits are invaluable at the start of a tank as they allow you to test for nitrite in particular. That test is fairly easy to administer and shows pretty clearly whether there is nitrite present or not by any hint of orange or red in the sample. Just don't believe the level it says...

Re: Completely stumped - the saga continues Like you Sam I like to keep soft water fish in soft water. I think it might be your rainwater though! How clean is the water butt and roof you're using to collect the rain water? My water butt I used to use always held some sediment, dead insects...

Re: The Henge part 2 I've just PMed Aaron about a stone merchant near us, didn't weant to clutter up your thread Mark!!! It's in Langley Mill.

Re: The Henge part 2 Looking forward to seeing it mate. You'll have to let me know when you're ready for it to be seen!

Well the eggs were all infertile and went white and some in fact burst so it's back to the drawing board again!!! I'm putting the cave back into the tank and also going to add some more caves in places I think to give more cover and choice for the females.

They tend to breed in the leaf litter where there are tiny little gaps between huge tropical leaves. The leaf litter can also be very thick and all the little crevices in there are perfect for them. They aren't always as fussy (and a mate of mine has a picture of a female spawning on the...

Thanks very much Ray, that comment means a lot. I'm happy with it certainly and now it's just over a year old there's only a few tweaks I'm making as I go along. The females in Apistogramma are smaller and thinner than the males so they can get into small spaces he can't. He sits as close to...

In Apistogramma the female takes the lead completely in brood care. In agassizii they are harem forming species and once the male has fertilised the eggs he goes baqck to defending his territory against other males and females that aren't ready to breed! The female uses a cave that the male...

Cheers guys. :D Seems I was a bit over-confident about how easy they were going to be though as the female's already abandoned the cave and is being beaten up by the male (there are lots of hiding places though so I haven't removed her). I have removed the cave with about a dozen eggs (so I...

Not too bad. The female will hopefully do most of the hard work, I'll just give them regular feeds of brine shrimp which I'm hatching lots of each day to feed the adults and the baby killifish I'm raising at the moment too. The only real issue might be the other agassizii in the tank with her.

Well great news this morning - my Apistogramma agassizi 'Double Red spawned and I managed to get some rather rubbish pics of the action!!! Hopefully she'll now be able to defend the cave and the eggs and fry against the other two females and the other fish. She's certainly keeping the...

Thanks guys. I'll try and post some pics once the glosso carpet and stems at the back have grown back in again and it's looking it's best. Should be a couple of weeks or so.

When I think minimal it's not really the type of plant that springs to mind (although there are a few I'd avoid) but the fact that not many different types are used and those that are are in large sweeps rather than small patches. The first thing that also springs to is an Iwagima scape with a...

Well it's been a while but here's an update of my tank! These photos were taken yesterday. I've trimmed the stem plants at the back right down to get them to bush out some more so it looks a little sparse at the back! The glosso has recently been replanted so looks a little straggly. I'm...

Re: saintly's "The Miracle Mire" I believe it's Total Hardness Andy. Beautiful tank Mark. Love the anubias, fern and moss centrepiece.

Re: Superman's Asian Retreat *** PLEASE HELP ME *** Sounds like you might need to do some mid-week water changes for a while Clark. Have you tested for nitrite or ammonia recently? I'm just wondering if it's a filter issue as I notice you've removed the internal filter in your previous posts.

I think there is a mix of plastic and real ones in there. It almost looks like the tank is back to front! Maybe move some of the taller plants to the side or back to create a valley between taller flanks?

Re: From scratch. YAR180 (Yet Another Rio 180) Mine were wild caught and acclimatised fine into my water. The great thing about the eques is the 45 degree angle they swim at, very distinctive. Small danios or rasboras could work well though.

Re: From scratch. YAR180 (Yet Another Rio 180) How about a big group of Nannostomus eques? They'd look great hovering over that grassy scape. I had a group of 12 and they were great, but 20 odd would have been awesome.

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank I've got a Koralia in the opposite corner to my filter pointed to give flow towards the front middle of the tank. With your Vallis though that might not be the best bet. I think either in front of the vallis on the left or in front of the filter pointing...

Will try later this week. Broke up on Friday now so might have a bit of time once I've finished a bit some work at school and then helped my mate put up a fence!

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank That's looking like it survived the move pretty effortlessly Clark, well done. Glad things seem to be settling down nicely now in there.

Re: Moss Looking forward to seeing the pics. :D

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank Good point and could possibly be. If you have another filter then maybe you can rearrange the outlets for more circulation along the length of the tank. If you need more circulation the Koralia pumps are great and relatively cheap.

It's not too bad in this tank due to the high barriers but there has been quite a lot spilling through the gaps in the cobbles in my Rio tank. However every water change I just syphon them up with all the muck in the water change, rinse them off and put them back at the back of the tank. As...

Thanks. At the minute this tank has some BGA due to a complete lack of maintenance! The Apistos are spawning and raising babies though!!! I'd include the sand for Apistos as they love to sift through it, but there are loads of guys who've kept them in pure AS tanks and they do fine. The...

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank Ok Clark, I'd suggest keeping going with the large regular water changes (up to 50% as often as you can, dosing afterwards) and then get a sample of water off to your LFS for testing asap. They should have in date kits to test the water and make sure whether...

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank Clark, What's your current stocking on this tank? It's a Vision tank isn't it? The 180? Give us all the details again and let's work through this step by step. I would simply keep going with water changes, don't panic and don't change anything rapidly until...

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank I believe the TPN+ actually has some ammonia in as a chelated nutrient source but not sure whether that will register on the test kit or not. Maybe James will know? Keep up the water changes anyway as they will help keep the algae at bay. Also the carbon...

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank Don't look at EasyCarbo or Excel as nutrition as such, it's basically a carbon source for the plants like CO2. It also happens to have algicidal effects too. EasyCarbo and Excel are basically the same stuff so be careful with the doses you use with your...

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank Not at all. IME EasyCarbo is totally shrimp safe and Excel is the same. I have dosed double dosages with no problems to anything except the algae (I don't grow Vallis or other plants which can be a bit sensititive). As you have Vallis I'd stick to the...

Re: Superman's First Planted Tank Coming on nicely. If you aren't doing so then spot treating that algae with Excel/EasyCarbo will really help shift that algae IME.

I think you need less different ypes of plants in larger groups. Using some that have smaller leaves will also make the tank look larger as they deceive the eye into thinking everything else is larger. I like the lily and it's position and would maybe try some branchy wood behind it pointing...

Sorry to hear about your back mate. Glad to hear the Rotala is doing ok for you. Mine still barely grows so maybe you'll crack growing it and I can figure out what to do! I like how the tank is doing, it does look just like something from the seaside.

Wow what a tank! You mean you're not keeping the bottom tanks as a QT system? :lol: Could come in really handy as you stock the tank and then again if you rescape!!!

I agree with Aaron about the CO2. It's very hard to get consistent levels with fermentation methods. Investing in a pressurised kit soon will help that. You also might want to look into dosing some macro fertilisers too to help the plant growth. I think it looks good, a nice jungle of...

They were good for me, but maybe you might be best to work out a list of what plants you want and see what everyone's got here going spare. I bet you could plant a lot up from other people's clippings. You are certainly welcome to any spare stuff from my tanks.

If yours is a manufactured one then I'm sure it'll unscrew and you may be able to replace the 12mm hosetails with 16mm ones that'll simply screw in. Mine's a DIY one so I need to build a new one!

Is the reactor filled with media that's restricting the flow? If so you could remove it as the CO2 will still diffuse in an open void as the water swirls around. I've removed mine at the moment until I can make a new one with larger hose connections as my Ehiem has 16mm tubing and the reactor...

This looks amazing already! I must have walked past those wood pieces many times at Wharf wishing I had a tank large enough to use them in! Fantastic and can't wait to see more on the filter design. Are you installing a permanent water change system to make maintenance dead easy? Otherwise...

Great fish and the tank's looking nice! From what I've heard Steve, while most killies will jump if they possibly can, Lampeyes don't. It may be due to the different habitats as these usually shoal in larger waters like tetras rather than living in small ponds and streams like most killies.

Well went to feed them this afternoon and one of the female Apistogrammas has spawned. She's bred at the front left of the tank under a small piece of flowerpot. Another female is doing a bit of digging under the right hand side caves and the other two girls are bickering over the third area...

I tried this and got the best results by using a tripod then measuring the distance from the tank and making sure the angle was 90 degrees from the tank. Still wasn't perfect though!!! :shock:

Looks good Sam, what fauna's going in here? Saw a great lowish light scape that was just crypts on APC a while ago; will see if I can find it again to show you.

The killies I keep live in small permanent forest streams, often in very shallow water at the upstream end. The species that live in pools that dry up are African Nothobranchius spp. and a number of South American genera too. I think the jumping may be related to getting stuck in areas where...

Apistos will occasionally jump Sam but it's the killifish I'm on about!!!!

Except when you find them on the floor...

Err, basically, NO! I understand Lampeyes are unlikely to as Zig kept his in a uncovered tank but all the others are mad jumpers I'm afraid. I had some A.bivittatum in my PFK cube with the glass cover glass on and they jumped up through the gaps around the cover glass! I plug all the cable...

I'd still up the water changes to help remove any organics that may be encouraging the algae. I'm sure it will only be a short lived thing while the plants get going. Do you have plenty of fast growing plants in there to soak up all the nutrients?

Have you got any Excel or EasyCarbo? Dosing some of that around the algae will soon knock it on it's head. I'd do another water change tomorrow and syphon off as much algae as possible then dose after the W/C. What are you adding to remineralise the RO water?

I'm never in South London but I'd still be very tempted if I didn't already have 3 males in this tank! Don't think they'd cope if I put another three in!!!! Assuming I breed these (and one female's starting to wall up one of her caves...) would you be interested in some little females to carry...

Cheers guys. Apistos are great little cichlids for any tank but great for planted ones. As long as you provide them some caves somewhere and don't mind them digging out in their caves a little then they are no problem at all. And the odd bit of chasing keeps all those shoaling fish on their...

Keeping the drop checker a nice dark green! No Limeade colours on my tanks!!!! Also setting the solenoid to go off an hour before lights out. Rather a bit of algae to deal with than gassing the fish! Been dosing EasyCarbo before the CO2 went on so fingers crossed that things should...

Cheers. The Killies are a race of Aphyosemion bivittatum from West Africa. They live in the upper reaches of a the rivers in Africa inhabited by various Pelvicachromis spp. (among others). There's loads more info on these, and every other West African killi on Tim Addis's site. Click on the...

Cheers. I was a bit annoyed as that's the small male 'Funge'! The large one (with far better fins and colours would not display and stay still for his photo! I will get a photo of him though at some point!

As promised I did manage to take some photos this weekend, it's just taken me a few days to get round to posting them! :roll: First of all the new Apistogrammas Male Female They're still babies so the red spotting on the sides isn't really developed yet and the males dorsal extensions are...

No worries. Glad they arrived ok and sorry I couldn't send more! :oops: Hopefully you'll find the trick to getting lots of growth out of it!

Thanks, I think it's getting there. I need to get some more Anubias now to replace the Nymphaea on the left side. I'll try and take some pictures tonight. The only other angle I can really get to is the view from near the window. I realised while getting into my car the other day that...