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Hi all, They are really nice, elegant fish <"Splash tetra - Copella arnoldi"> . <"I kept them for a while"> (in the lab. at work). It all started well, but there were some issues with both keeping them in the tank and <"with aggression">. I've kept a <"few different Copella sp."> now and...

Hi all, Possibly a little bit nitrogen (N) deficient? cheers Darrel

Hi all, I know that not everybody is going to agree, but (objectively) that just looks fantastic. This could be the new "Teflon" <"Great Accidental Discoveries"> cheers Darrel

Hi all, Microbial assemblage? Cheers Darrel

Hi all, Just put some cucumber in an aquarium net, and leave it for a couple of hours and then remove the snails. Rinse and repeat until you have a level of snails you are happy with. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, Red green colour blindness does add another <"layer of complexity">. I think so, they look paler green, that could just be a <"lesser need for chlorophyll"> or it could be the start of chlorosis (below). Certainly true, judging leaf colour is definitely easier with a larger leaf...

Hi all, I think that makes perfect sense. One of the advantages of my <"original duckweed (Lemna minor)"> was that its faster growth rate allowed a quicker diagnosis of nutrient deficiency (and their subsequent recovery). As you have both old and new "duckweeds", what does your Lemna look...

Hi all, I think it probably is. You can definitely reduce the nutrients to a levels where Bolbitis heudelotii will survive, but Lemna minor, Salvinia auriculata group, Pistia stratiotes and eventually Limnobium laevigatum will slowly dwindle away and die (usually in that order in my tanks)...

H all, That is looking great. Temperature I think. Cherry Shrimps didn't enjoy soft water with me, although I had both low dGH and low dKH. It is a quick grower for a moss. cheers Darrel

Hi all, Perfect, I'd thin them back to 50% and then have a review (and / or thin) next week. They look pretty healthy, you could try the VIMI RRF index and see if the RRF changes colour and / or growth slows. I've found that <"Riccia fluitans"> doesn't do well for me, but give it a bit more...

Hi all, It is always <"useful to have a mixture">. If I end up with too much coverage I just have a thin, I usually thin to 50% coverage in the summer and 30% in the winter, that just reflects that my tanks get some ambient light. People are often happy to swap or take them, and you maybe...

Hi all, That looks pretty good and healthy. cheers Darrel

Hi all, If you had access to an <"ion selective electrode">, that would help. Yes, I would <"put my trust"> in time and plant growth. cheers Darrel

Hi all, I can see you might need a distraction and I really wish you the best of luck, <"I never finished mine">, and I'll be honest, to some extent, I still <"feel bitter"> about it. I wouldn't expect any nitrite (NO2-), but <"your water report"> gives a minimum value of ~17 mg / L (ppm)...

Hi all, This might be ammonia rich? What does it say on the bag? the SDS is particularly unhelpful <"https://www.kelways.co.uk/files/pdf/pdf46909.pdf">. I'll be honest it isn't a product I'd use. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that is an issue with the test kit. It is very unlikely that you...

Hi all, You look like you might have some iron (Fe) availability issues, if the new growth on the stems (Rotala spp.?, in the middle of the third image), is really as pale as it looks in the photo? Have a look at <"and why we need to talk about iron (Fe)."> & <"We've talked about iron...

Hi all, <"Venturi">. edit: what @hypnogogia says. cheers Darrel

Hi all, They aren't ideal, but there isn't much that @uk_sjo can do about them. This is @xZaiox thread (water from the other side of the Thames estuary) <"How much sodium can aquatic plants tolerate?"> Anything that grows in <"Lake Tanganyika"> should be fine, it is a sodium, and carbonate...

Hi all, That is always my starting point, it just makes life a lot less stressful. Have a look at <"Cryptocoryne Parva Carpet"> <"I do">, but @MichaelJ is right, I'm really a <"rainwater user">. I have the advantage that our tap water is <"very similar in parameters at all times">. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, The "dark start" links are in your other thread: <"Amano Shrimp , co2 and Tropica soil">. Diana Walstad talks about a dry start in <"Small Planted tanks for pet shrimp">. Personally I like "plant and wait" as well, once you have a reasonably large plant mass in active growth your...

Hi all, <"Miracle Gro"> is fine. You need to be a little bit more conservative with the dosing, just because of the <"3.5% ammoniacal nitrogen">. Yara <"Yara Ireland - Find the best fertilisers for your farm"> might sell something suitable? or from the Netherlands? Urea (CO(NH2)2) isn't...

Hi all, <"Could it be the substrate? Tank in terminal decline..."> from there to the end of the thread. All you need is the percentage of iron (Fe) in the Chempak (2%), the volume of the tank and the amount of iron you want to add (in mg / L (ppm)). You can still use the <"Nutrient Dosing...

Hi all, That is "pour some into the palm of your hand", tip it into the RO water. All joking apart, it doesn't seem like it would be accurate enough, but it is absolutely fine. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, Change three litres of RO for three litres of tank water, then lick the tip of your little finger, dip it in the "ATP Sky" and wash that small amount into your tank. Measure the conductivity every couple of weeks and as long as it stays about the same? Carry on. If the conductivity...

Hi all, Water changes never hurt, but I'd be pretty confident that you don't have any TAN ammonia, and the <"issue lies with the test kit">. The reason I say that is that NH4+ is the <"kinetically preferred form of fixed nitrogen for plant uptake">, and you have all those plants producing...

Hi all, It would depend on the test, but if it included a strong acid (at a preliminary stage), that would split the ferrous (Fe II) iron phosphate into Fe++ and PO4--- ions, but it would be less successful at splitting ferric (Fe III) phosphate. I'm going to tell you there is a much easier...

Hi all, It depends how much they add, but probably somewhere towards "hard". I think those are maximum permitted values. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, There is an easy method, that doesn't rely on pH testing, and just uses the state of <"your snail shells">. Honestly it isn't bad, it is OK, and you have actually measured the parameter that matters, <"the coffee not the froth">, and the only bit that matters is "but all the livestock...

Hi all, You can just use a <"dash of tap water">. It really depends what the TDS (conductivity) ions are. Most of us in the SE corner of the UK have <"water from limestone aquifers"> and that is about 450 ppm TDS, even if it has very few ions in it, other than being saturated with calcium...

Hi all, As I've said before UKAPS is <"just the gift that keeps giving">, where else on the WWW are you going to find <"Quotes from yesteryear.">: If @AlecF runs-out there is still time to PYO, before the Alders (Alnus spp.) start into growth. cheers Darrel

Hi all, It just helps <"with decision making">. I'm not <"very good with chemistry">, but one of the great advantages of UKAPS is that we have <"members who are">. If the vendors of aquarium products were <"more honest about their products"> it wouldn't really be necessary. cheers Darrel

Hi all, Whether it supplies plant available iron (Fe++(+)) will depend on which chelators it uses, and how alkaline your water is. Have a look at <"FE EDDHA">. If it does <"supply iron ions in a plant available form">, then it will take a little while for new growth to return to a normal green...

Hi all, It is, because it is effecting the new leaves it is one of the immobile nutrients and most likely to be iron (Fe), although another option is <"manganese (Mn)">. Because iron forms a lot of <"insoluble compounds"> iron deficiency is often an issue. This is <"Friday's post">, and I'm...

Hi all, They eat some plants. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, It is likely to be. You need to see its tentacles to make sure that it isn't a "Pond Snail" Lymnaea / Radix. Have a look at Marcel's @zozo 's post - <"Snail Identification">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, I've seen the water report, and it is less than 2 dGH. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, Yes, that is looking good. <"I do">, they have a multitude of advantages - <"What is the “Duckweed Index” all about?">. <"One advantage of a floating plant"> would be that they will tell you when your water column is deficient in nutrients, which will eventually happen as the...

Hi all, <"Is expensive bio media worth it?"> I agree with @palcente, you have vastly more filter media than you need. Have a look at <"Who needs a tank for a dark start…. Let’s see.">. I'd just stop using it. Have a look at <"Dr Timothy Hovanec's comments about Bacterial supplements">. If...

Hi all, Agreed it looks like a shortage of fixed nitrogen (N). However it is difficult to diagnose the deficiencies of nutrients that are <"mobile within the plant">, but you should get a fairly instant greening when you supply <"Liebig's Limiting Nutrient">. I don't know what <"fertilisers...

Hi all, That looks good. In terms of the fertiliser addition you can <"add a limited dose now">, or you can just use the <"Duckweed Index">. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, That is doing really well. cheers Darrel

Hi all, We just don't know with diatoms, the problem is that they are incredibly diverse and occur in ~all liquid water on the Earth. This link mentions "algae" (including cyanobacteria etc.) which occur in nutrient poor or eutrophic conditions <"General effects of eutrophication">. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, They are Fragilaria (Synedra). They should <"go away with time">, but I've never seen them quite that prolific. cheers Darrel

Hi all, This one does <"PlanetCatfish.com - Breeding report for Corydoras (lineage 7) eques by Rita Aspevik"> and Rita Aspevik would be a <"pretty good source">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, They look absolutely cracking. cheers Darrel

Hi all, They are likely to be basalt, because of the colour and presence of "vesicles" <"The ‘hole’ story about vesicular basalt">. Have a look at the map (from <"Geology of Scotland Map – Scottish Geology Trust">). cheers Darrel

Hi all, You need to look at the shape of the dark pattern in caudal (tail) fin <"Oto ID - PlanetCatfish.com">, but it is very likely they were all mixed together when you bought them. cheers Darrel

Hi all, Poor photo, but this is the "forgotten" Spathiphyllum. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily) is pretty fool-proof. I stuck some bits in one of the fish tanks about three months ago until I got around to potting them up. I found them again today, and they have done much better than the bits I potted up. Adiantum spp. (Maidenhair Fern) <"work pretty...

Hi all, I think the "Asparagus Fern" (Asparagus (plumosus) setaceus) might struggle with it being too wet in the winter. The other fern looks like a Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata), it may be all right. cheers Darrel

Hi all, I think Tropica used to do a Bolivian version of Ceratophyllum demersum <"https://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Ceratophyllumdemersum(021APOR)/4434"> but it may not have been tissue cultured (or still available). It is a plant native to all continents except Antartica, so usually...

Hi all, Ceratophyllum demersum would do <"What is this tanganyika plant?">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, Mine always showed more enthusiasm for vegetables and leaves than algal wafers. Well done. The are likely to be CPD fry. It would. Moss is just the <"best thing for fry">. Get a culture of <"Micro / Banana Worms"> (or Vinegar Eels). They are incredibly low maintenance to keep. I...

Hi all, I'm ~95% sure that is right. I think it is still true. This BBA belongs to Eric Thomas a very knowledgeable USA based catfish keeper and breeder (this tank had <"Dekeyseria picta"> L052 fry) - <"Repeat spawning of Dekeyseria picta L052 - Page 2 - PlanetCatfish.com">. I'm going...

Hi all, I'm pretty sure that is right, anything that increases the effective gas exchange surface area is likely to lead to increased outgassing and the steeper the <"concentration gradient"> is between water and atmosphere the more pronounced that effect will be. I used to visit a few sewage...

Hi all, A paper for @hydrophyte <"Maas, Benjamin & Wicks, C.. (2017). "CO2 Outgassing from Spring Waters". Aquatic Geochemistry. 23. 10.1007/s10498-016-9302-6. "> cheers Darrel

Hi all, This is an Eheim one - <"EHEIM Diffusor"> - <"Outlet Skimmer or alternative for Nano tank"> on a Eheim 2224 canister filter. I may not have a picture of the actual outlet, but unless I've cleaned it recently it will have a little tuft of BBA on it. This is what the <"bubbles look...

Hi all, You might be interested in this thread <"Can you have too much flow?"> The only places I get BBA in the tanks are on the filter outlets and some coarser sponges <"BBA on Sponge Filter">. I'm pretty sure that this has to do with snail grazing and they are places where <"Ramshorn snail...

Hi all, The conductivity is a maximum of 800 microS (at 20 oC.). It is difficult to access that spring, but I've collected water from similar ones locally and the geology is all limestone in this area - <"Geology of the Bath area: Jurassic - MediaWiki">. Because nearly all the ions are Ca++...

Hi all, Apologies for the quality of the photo, but this is a tufa spring in Corsham (opposite the "Great Western" pub). It comes out of a pipe halfway up a retaining wall, so I don't know where the spring was originally. The tufa deposit grows pretty quickly, but falls off soon after it gets...

Hi all, I was actually just admiring your moss. Fissidens fontanus will be a lot slower growing, but it will attach and slowly fill out. Riccardia fluitans* is hopeless as an epiphyte, it doesn't attach and just wants to reach the waters surface. I'm guessing <"most of us end up there">. I...

Hi all, I think they work fairly well. @LondonDragon used a <"bespoke one, with Gucci bait, to thin out his leech issue">. It <"maybe mixing">, Nitrate (NO3-) is a tricky one, purely because all <"nitrate compounds are soluble"> and you need to <"reduce the nitrate to nitrite (NO2-)"> before...

Hi all, Yes. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, If it is Cratoneuron filicinum, the "leaf" (microphyll) should have a nerve (which I can see) and inflated basal cells. cheers Darrel

Hi all, The moss may be a Cratoneuron spp <"https://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/learning/species-finder/cratoneuron-filicinum">. They are common tufa forming mosses in the UK and occur across N. America Cheers Darrel

Hi all, I'm <"not a CO2 user">, but I like to <"know how things work">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, That is why you use the 4dKH solution in the drop checker. It is your "standard" and the colour change is entirely dependent on the CO2 that diffuses over the air gap between tank and drop checker solution. This is why you get @bazz 's time lag and also why the <"tank water's hardness...

Hi all, Hard scape isn't normally my sort of thing, but they are lovely. cheers Darrel

Hi all, The spring may be supplying CO2 as a well as minerals. Tom Barr (@plantbrain) talks about this in relation to karst springs in Florida <"Turning my Plants Red?"> and California <"Volcanic springs in CA, Hat Creek source, aquatic plant nirv">. Also have a look at <"DR Congo Expedition...

Hi all, I like a Charophyte. @Iain Sutherland had some appear in <"one of his shrimp tanks">. I think they <"might be Akinetes"> and may actually belong to a Cyanobacteria, which would also account for the colour? If they do belong to the Green Algae, it may be a Pithophora sp...

Hi all, You can't forget <"an analogy"> like this: It is right up there with the <"best UKAPS has to offer">. <"I think we've all been there">- <""Aquarium Science" has some new planted tank articles">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, Congratulations on your new arrival and on the tanks having done so well with benign neglect. You have <"had a mention"> on UKAPS why you've been otherwise engaged. I agree with you and @_Maq_ on this one. I <"always come back"> to Dr Stephan Tanner's article <"Aquarium Biofiltration -...

Hi all, It isn't a bad attempt by chat-GPT I'd say it has found the <"coffee among the froth">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, I'd add a <"floating plant">, many of them are <"biotope appropriate"> and they are <"adapted to warm temperatures">. I'm an <"Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) obsessive"> (and <"Salvinia auriculata group"> would also do), but Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) would be my...

Hi all, @megwattscreative, I think you've <"had a tank before">? cheers Darrel

Hi all, They look good. Interesting. cheers Darrel

Hi all, The tank is looking great, I've just <"admired your Frogbit">. Agreed it looks like it may be fungal and I'd follow @GHNelson's advice. It should eventually go away. cheers Darrel

Hi all, We have a thread - <"Mixing ferts to resemble ADA lineup">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, I can understand buying ADA tanks, light and filters on aesthetic grounds, but I'm guessing that the substrate and / or fertilisers are part of your problem. Then I just wouldn't buy it. But I'll be honest I wouldn't buy it anyway. You can replicate that with magnesium sulphate...

Hi all, It might be from seawater ingress into the aquifer <"The Chalk aquifer of the South Downs | British Geological Survey (BGS)">, but it is probably just derived from the chalk aquifer. Limestones (like chalk) are marine deposits and typically water contained within them is much "saltier"...

Hi all, Pretty typical for SE. England, hard and alkaline with a lot of nutrients. Cheers Darrel

Hi all, We like photos. Have a look at @jameson_uk 's Frogbit threads <"Iron deficiency and which chelator do I need?"> from the link. What @_Maq_ & @AlecF say. The problem is that it really difficult to get accurate parameter for many of the nutrients we are interested in. Water companies...

Hi all, I think that is probably all you need to know. The fluorescent tubes are good until they don't light. cheers Darrel

Hi all, It depends on the fluorescent tube and control gear in the light unit. If they are tri-phosphor tubes and electronically, rather magnetically, ballasted the lamps show very <"little lamp lumen depreciation"> before they fail, so realistically they only need changing when they don't...

Hi all, Those are gorgeous. Your Oscar looks in top condition as well. I'm not a CO2 user, but I just wouldn't / couldn't with your fish <"CO2 Disaster">. If I kill any fish by carelessness it really effects me, but I would be beyond upset if I found I'd asphyxiated yours accidentally...

Hi all, I'd be pretty happy with that. cheers Darrel

Hi all, Assuming that your plants have all the <"14 essential mineral nutrients">? Then it is largely a nitrogen effect <"Black leaf edges - cause?">. Have a look at @Parablennius <"Floaters"> thread. I choose a floating plant for the <"Duckweed Index"> - <"Echinodorus bleheri - slow...

Hi all, Next time <"I buy some "dry" food"> I'm going to try that one. cheers Darrel

Hi all, It is funny with Ostracod (Seed Shrimps), some fish mainly ignore them, but <"others really like them">. They are known to be browsers on Diatoms <"Ostracods"> (and on other forms of algae). cheers Darrel

Hi all, They look fine. Looking at the colour of the older Limnobium leaves they look like you've probably had "luxury" nitrogen uptake in the past. <"The scientific background to the "Leaf Colour Chart"">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, It is a good sign it is growing well. but you will need to control it. How much coverage you have is going to depend on how intense the light is. You want "net curtain", not "black-out lining" . If you use it again, just don't use the cartridges and fill it up with sponge etc. cheers...

Hi all, I like a "punk snail", it just shows how effective they are at cleaning the surfaces that <"they can get to">. We have a thread <"Invasion of algae on algae eaters">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, I agree with @_Maq_ , we just don't know what is happening in the substrate, other than as that substrate matures, and the plant roots ramify through it, it is going to provide a <"huge range of different environments">. Dr Stephen Tanner's article is well worth a read <"Aquarium...

Hi all, Those are <"filamentous diatoms"> (Synedra (Fragilaria)). It looks like plant growth is pretty healthy. cheers Darrel

Hi all, That was what made me wonder about snails. If you turn a damaged leaf over you should be able to see the snail grazing, if there is any. The <"aerenchyma of the leaf looks a bit like stryrofoam"> (polystyrene). I find that Lymnaea snails <"eat healthy leaves">, but all the other snails...

Hi all, It looks like it might be condensation dripping on them, and / or snail damage. The new leaves look OK, so I'd just pinch off the damaged ones. cheers Darrel

Hi all, That should be fine, have a look at <"All in One -Fertilizer making- Recommendation!">. You can <"subdivide a gram">, to give you fractions of a gram, by eye. That is why <"Total (Dissolved) Inorganic Carbon"> (T(D)IC)" is a useful concept. I'm also going to guess that CO2...

Hi all, I think the potential issues with ammonia (NH3) are the problems that occur when you have a <"sudden increase in level">. You can deal with <"huge ammonia"> loads if you have an appropriate biological filtration, (and enough dissolved oxygen), even with <"just microbial nitrification">...

Hi all, We have a thread <"Water changes, HMA Filters and dechlorinators . . .">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, You can use plants to mop up the ammonia from the break down of chloramine and the chlorine will out-gas. Because the water is dripping in slowly a reasonable plant mass should mop up any ammonia. If you don't want to risk that then I'd guess an Amquel like dechlorinator is your best...