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Another vote for the superfish. They're probably the quietest internal I've ever used. Aeration via air pump/high surface agitation/filter venturi will ensure all gases (including co2) remain in equilibrium with the atmosphere. There seems to be a couple of schools of thought on this..... No...

If youve got all the kit to provide masses of flow then keep it and add or remove as required. No sense in selling stuff until your sure you dont need it. Have you thought about running the tank unheated? This would cut down on evaporation aswell. My unheated tank sits at 21-22c

2x54w should be good I run 1x54 over my 48x18x18 if you can space the pair apart that would be even better. Cover glass helps massively with the evaporation. Keep the sump and add a trickle tower:D i wish I had the space to do that in my cabinet. Forgot to add. Flow is not as big of a deal in a...

I use john innes no3 recipe.

Have you got a ph meter Troi? I would be interested to see a record of hourly ph changes

As was being discussed in this thread Maxing CO2 in Low Techs | UK Aquatic Plant Society Oxygenation is key as without it you wont get decomposition but in order to effectively oxygenate you will end up bringing your co2 into equilibrium with the atmosphere so lose the co2 benefit of the...

What you've got sounds fine anything will do in a pinch. If I recall correctly you live in the congo? maybe a trip to the country side and get a few scoops of that lovely rich red soil we so many pictures of.

A DeBruyn filter would be ideal for that.

On the fish front I'm loving my congo tetras, they dont look like much in the store but once they colour up and their fins develop the look good. Also have porthole catfish and they're an nice alternative to corys.

Thanks, (I've answered your question in it, if you havent seen already) They dont seem too have yet, but the growth is not as compact as it would be in a co2 environment with 10-20mm between nodes.

My Stauro is growing slowly but well so it should adapt

If you're close enough your welcome to one :wink: . My 4ft cost break down apporx prices. Tank,Luminare, Heater and Filter £200 John Innes No3 £4 10kg Play Sand £4 25kg Unipac Samoa £20 Hardscape £0 (free from local quarry) Plants 60Euro At Vivarium Show Fish (I'll come back to this later when...

I managed to pick up 2 60cm clearseals on ebay for a pound!

Tank looks good :thumbup: , Well done getting your son into the hobby, I hope I can get my 2 lads interested when they get to his age :thumbup:

Diana did after a fashion It is a pity she isn't interested in scaping Personally I don't think you can ever set up tank without algae being a factor

Simple answer......... Use both :thumbup: For gravel 2-3mm grain size is ideal. I'm currently using unipac samoa coarse which is pretty much perfect size and easy to find in shops so you can get a size reference even if you dont want to use it. I've also used argos playsand with good effect...

One tube will be plenty, I'm using one 54w t5 over my 120x45x45cm tank. I also have another tank and I'm using 2x3w LEDs over a 60x35x35 and still growing plants. No problems with using the Walstad method but you dont have to have an unkempt mess you can still scape, things just take longer to...

Looks like I've got time now :wink: *Disclaimer: DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I accept no responsibility for any loss, damage or injury suffered if you follow this and something goes wrong, that's YOUR fault not mine.* Make sure you unplug and remove the unit from the tank before attempting this...

Liquid carbon needs to be dosed daily or every other day to be effective. You can get away with bi-weekly water changes with no ill effects. Rewiring the lights is very easy I'll post a how to with a couple of diagrams later when I've got a bit more time to draw some. I also suggest...

I personally would try and run less light. I take it you cant take 1 bulb out? I rewired a fluval hood so I could do this. A bit more extreme (but will cost alot less in the long run) would to be replace the jewel lights with hagen glo unit I did this on a jewel 180 the unit cost around £30 and...

Re: Low Energy, Water Changes, CO2, Algae, and Pseudoscience I think there are 2 main reasons fluctuating co2 levels from water changes in a low tech dont cause bba blooms. First is the frequency of the fluctuations ie once or twice a week, as opposed to constantly unstable in a poor example...

Thanks Tom, Is the loam easy enough to get hold of? and which kind peat is the best?

Hi All, I'm planning a new tank and need to keep the water soft and was wondering what the best soil for this is?

If you can get the 2nd 38w in there do. You can get arcdia reflectors that will retrofit or paint the inside of the lid gloss white. Check Troi's low tech tutorial for a list suitable plants. Before I found ukaps I was growing L. Repens, H. Polysperma and C. Wendtii under 1 38w arcadia tube in...

Hi All Just to clarify i meant 54w t5ho and they are only 4ft

I have a 48x18x18 tank and 1x 54wt5ho reflected is enough to grow hairgrass (E. Parva) in sand with no co2 and some tpn added to the water. The luminaire is sitting at the back of the tank and the hairgrss is at the front. Personally I would use 1x54w t5ho OR 2x 36w t8s (with reflectors). As for...

I agree with Troi and Hinch regarding the red plants, Some commonly available species I would try would be: Hygrophila Difformis Cryptocoryne Wendtii green Ludwiga Repens Vallisneria Any Anubis species Java Fern. I highly reccomend reading Troi's tutorial aswell. I wouldnt worry too much about...

Which species of plants are dying? They may be making the switch from emersed to submerged. What type of bulb are you using? t5,t8 etc.. On a side track why have you removed the biomedia from your filter?

Have you read this? http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/433-Non-CO2-methods its Tom Barr's(aka Plantbrain) take on low tech.

Here is another one for you, it mentions light at the bottom of the page http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/deficiencies.htm

A lilly would be good for the betta as they appreciate a bit of cover any of the commonly available nymphaea sp would be ok I think the tiger lotus is probably the most common.

Everyone that uses AS Amazonia seems to rate it. Im more of a diy guy and am going to try John Innes No3 compost mixed with sand and then capped. I dont think the depth of the cap matters when moving plants as anything with deep roots is going to drag up some of the underlayer on its way out. I...

They are a good filter just a little difficult to maintain. A couple of tips if you do buy one: buy a set of eheim quick disconnects/shutoff taps(otherwise you have to remove all the pipework to clean the filter), you can also buy basket sets for them otherwise you have to tip everything out to...

I would definitly check on the filter, thinking about it the pump may not be designed to handle the extra distance. If budget is tight check ebay, I picked up a 2yr old ecco and pipework for £20 in vgc Ollie

Thats quite an unsightly filter :? it looks like it uses standard eheim tubing so yes at a guess. I think the smallest eheim ecco pro (the 130?) would be a better investment as it would have less impact internally in the tank. Cant offer any advice on the light sorry :oops: Ollie

Thanks

Thanks Garuf, The light fixture I have in mind will be height adjustable, so you think 2 will be plenty? Thanks Ollie

Hi All Was wondering if 2 or 3 of these would be suitable for lighting a low tech tank http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GU10-Single-High-Power-3W-Day-White-LED-Spot-Bulb-Lamp-/320756785919?pt=UK_Light_Bulbs&hash=item4aae9822ff Tank is 60x35x35cm Regards Ollie

Please do. Im really interested In what you've tried and how it worked out. If you feel it will throw the thread off track then please start a new one if you've got the time :thumbup: . My wife would kill me if I left a load of experiments like that around the house not to mention what the kids...

To apply an engineering slant to the project, I think it all comes down to scale. Keeping a shrimp in such an environment would be like locking an elephant inside the biodome at the Eden Project and expecting the plants to reproduce at a rate that would keep the elephant well enough fed to live...

Here is a quick drawing of my propsed set up(side view) The plan is to use 2 plastic containers and silicone in bits of arcylic to make the wier, supports for the media trays and the trays themselves. the top tray will also be the diffuser plate. The hardest part has been finding the right...

Im quite intersted in this too. I have been considering DIYing a sump for mine but due to my cabinet layout it is going to have to be quite small 20"l x 11"w x 14"h, one thing I have been considering was making the trickle unit taller than the rest of the sump say 20" to maximise biofilter...