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I've got the same connector, with a t-connector too. Once the hose is in place I don't have to touch it until the job is done, draining via the side-link, then refilling direct (dechlor going straight into the tank). The four taps mean I can test tapwater temperature at any time, by running it...

Well I took the plunge and added a terracotta urn to my aquarium Cape Clear I'm not sure if I like it, but we shall see.

Hi Russell I've no experience of bow fronted tanks myself, so can't advise. But you might try re-titling this thread something like "Bow fronted tanks - good or bad opinions?" Just might bring out the lovers and loathers of these aquaria to help you!

Why is a drop checker called a drop checker? It measures the PH drop as co2 concentration increases, but wouldn't it be better to call it a co2 checker? That's what we're using it for, after all. If we are to encourage more or to take up our hobby it would surely help if we used more obvious...

Is there scope for a thread dedicated to urns, columns, pots etc? I'm not suggesting the cheesier end of the spectrum, but I'd like to see more images of decorative elements that really work, like both yours do.

They're absolute beauties. I see Amtra make something similar - but not so nice!

Cleanator has put my long handled razor blade and my magnetic cleaner on the scrap heap. Works really well.

Slightly off topic, but I love the little Greek urn in your tank. I think I want one! I've had lots of requests to put a Spanish galleon, a treasure chest, a deep sea diver etc etc in my aquarium, which I'm (obviously?) not going to do. But that classical amphora just ĺooks - right.

As others have said, it depends on the individual. I went straight for high tech when I began, and would recommend it if you like to take on new challenges with gusto. Things can wrong more quickly, but that's a great way to learn, if you're robust enough not to get discouraged and downhearted...

Thanks for the feedback, people. George, I'm thinking more and more along the lines of retaining the existing hardscape and seeing how a different planting scheme changes it. TBH my initial plant choice was fairly arbitrary, as I had zero experience. Now I've got a (teeny) bit more, it'd be...

Not sure how long it'll take - that depends on factors beyond my control (i.e. work). What I'd like to do is build-in some flexibility so I'm not panicking to get the job done, without enough time to do it right.

My first attempt, 'Punishment of Luxury', has lived up to its name. Through lack of experience I failed to prune little and often, and then attacked with too much gusto. The result is a tank full of algae. Although I could try a black-out, this was always going to be a learning tank, and I'd...

I added 10 assassin snails to my 200+L ank and, although they didn't eradicate the pest snails, they took their numbers right down to an acceptable level. The assassins are pretty and they don't breed.

Re: Evaporation prevention (and lighting) - idiot newbit que Hi Magpie Evaporation was something that really worried me before I got my tank (100cms x 45cms x 55cms tall), as it sits in a room with a great big single-glazed bay window - and we prefer to keep the house pretty cool (wear a vest...

Might be worth getting an online report from your Water Board - if they don't add chloramine (like mine) you can use Seachem Chlorguard instead of Prime - it's a bit cheaper. Good thing with Seachem is they give you an equation that lets you calculate the minimum dosage required for your level...

Always worth posting pictures!

I'm not sure about this. Sam's initial post says: "...the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 lists all those species which it is an offence to sell or to cause to spread in the wild." Now to me, that doesn't ban the distribution of plants free of charge, if this is done in a responsible manner...

...so no such thing as a free lunch, then! I started out thinking pearling was massively important, aesthetically. I get hardly any pearling now - but my plants are really healthy - so I've decided that the excitement of pearling I can do without!

Does that mean one can increase the likelihood of pearling by increasing the water temperature, because warmer water becomes O2 saturated more quickly?

Re: Discussion: What's your favourite part of the hobby and At its very simplest, my favourite part of the hobby is - glitter lines! For me the movement they provide brings the whole scape to life in a way the fish and swaying plants can't - weird I know. More seriously, like Luis I really...

Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops Someone said it early on in the thread - why turn a passion into a 'just a job'? Most of us get on very happily doing jobs that are rewarding and diverting, without being passionate about them. It may be tempting to think turning a...

Good advice as always, Clive. Any advice on cleaning algae off the glass below the substrate? I've got ADA Aquasoil Amazonia so this doesn't show much, but I'd still like to remove it, if poss. I don't want to damage the Glosso growing up against the front pane.

Re: Stores in the Uk that REALLY specialise in planted aquar Perhaps this list just shows how far ahead of the rest TGM really is. Most of the above shops are really being listed for stocking appropriate stuff, but in terms of inspirational planted tanks, TGM just blows everyone else away...

Thanks again Mowze for your reasonable response to what really was a bit of a wind-up posting from me. But as you said, it was only fair in the circumstances! And I won't do it again Moderators - promise! As someone who would be a prime candidate for such 'education', I don't think UKAPS...

Well you certainly seem to be taking a more measured position now, Mowze, and I'm happy you recognise it probably wasn't fair to single me out. Yours wasn't a nickname I recognised, so I looked at your other posts - none of us likes criticism if it feels unjust, so I wanted to know more about...

Wow! I turn my back for a moment and a highly contentious issue surfaces on my Journal and then gets transferred off without me even spotting it! You're too kind, Mowze - to start with, at least... :lol: Your comment about the HC suggests you haven't read the journal that closely, as I've...

Actually, what I've just been doing (when I should have been working) is browsing Sense about Science, Kosh42's excellent signature link above! Nice one, Kosh!

:text-+1: :clap:

Thanks Graeme.

Are the rather rinky-dink UKAPS tool tidies available yet? Or have they all gone already?

Thanks for the various advices. Not surprisingly sledging won out, followed by plenty of aprez-sledge, so my pipework is as dirty as ever! Hi Paul, yes there's lots of snow here at the moment - champagne powder that won't make snowballs or snowmen, but will make your car slide. We've got...

Thanks both. I'm now under pressure to go sledging, so I might have to put this off a bit!

Ta Paul. Do it in the bath - obvious, but I'd not thought of it! When I split the pipes from the inlets and spraybar, any tips on avoiding sloshing water everywhere, or is it just a case of being careful? BTW, you clean the bath before the missus gets in - but does she even know you use the...

This may seem a silly question but - how do you clean your (aquarium) pipework without making an almighty mess? I'm just about to clean the green eheim pipes on my 2180 for the first time. This is my first-ever tank, so I have zero experience of this. I've got a metre-long pipe brush. Which...

Why do you think flow will not reach the substrate? If you've got sufficently powerful filtration, and flow is not blocked by plant mass or hardscape, surely it'll get there? I've got a 1700lph rated filter delivering via a horizontal spraybar along the back of a 100cms long x45cms wide x55cms...

To be honest, the water changing is a breeze - I manage tea, toast, porridge making and Radio Four as well as a water change before work, no problem. To me the environmental concern about water use in Cumbria is not of the water running out (fat chance!), but the expense of water treatment and...

Certainly a relevant issue, Neil. It's something that troubled me getting into aquaria for the first time just this year. I'm doing daily 120 litre water changes (about the same as an extra power shower) at the moment, and that makes me uneasy. Yet we all use purified drinking water to flush...

I'm a gardener, I love plants, and this is just another way to grow them. And UKAPS inspired me to have a go! :lol: :lol:

I'm in the same boat as you - completely new to planted tanks. In fact I'm new to fishkeeping too. My advice would be - READ, READ, READ, and take your time. I've been exploring all the info available on this forum for months and months now, and I'm sure the answer to all your plant-related...

Excellent interview, George! As always it's great to see pictures of your creations - the WCMM biotope looks impressive even among images of your impressive planted tanks. Not sure about that very first picture, though... 8)

Just been down to my friendly local camping supplies outlet (we have a few of those :lol: ), bought a dark green sleepmat which is now supporting my tank - good idea Ashpit! :thumbup:

[Groan}This could mean I've got to pick up a hefty (100x45x55) tank, complete with hefty hardscape, to try and get a mat perfectly centred beneath it, then place the tank on the cabinet, again perfectly centred. All without disturbing the hardscape - any tips?

That's a bit worrying. Sorry for the hijack, but how important is a mat, anyway? If it's such a vital bit of kit I'm surprised there aren't more online retailers selling them.

I'm using a 5mm sheet of expanded polystyrene. It's a bit smaller than the tank all-round, so the tank seems to 'hover' over the cabinet, which looks good. But I don't yet know if it'll squash right down when the water goes in, as I've STILL not filled it up!

There's a huge beech tree on the Green opposite my front door. Last autumn, when it dumped all its leaves and the council failed to sweep them up promptly, I decided to collect and compost them for my garden. Googling "beech compost" turned up the UKAPS forum - probably a Diana Walstad-style...

Aah, yes, silly question!

I went to Copenhagen recently and as a plant-nut went straight to their National Botanic Garden. What a disappointment the aquatic plants were! It's smugly satisfying to see other nations' botanic gardens - they rarely do it anything like as well as the UK does, so I wasn't surprised that the...

Just got the Peter Hiscock book, and would agree it's spot on. Inevitably the 'how-to' section has some stuff that's not in line with UKAPS best practice, but the plant profiles are excellent.

Er, would that be 'ee-ther' or 'aye-ther'? :?

I'm not sure you should even be approaching it on the basis of paying for space. Exhibition organisers are always looking for new attractions to get people into their shows, and will sometimes offer free space for attractions, or even pay for them. If the Piranha tank generated positive...

I was talking to Jim at TGM about this just the other day. As someone who arrived at the hobby from the plants end of the spectrum, rather than the fish end, it seems to me there's a lot of scope to get more terrestrial plant nuts involved. I used to be in the exhibition industry and I reckon...

I can thoroughly recommend the Tropica catalogue Dave suggests. It includes colour drawings of plants, which is a much better way of presenting plants than trying to capture them photographically. It also briefly describes growth patterns and planting requirements. A shortcoming is that it...

I'm REALLY looking forward to this - my fourth! - issue of PFK. I think the critical comments about PFK are a bit unfair. My guess is that it is aimed at a range of hobbyists, but with a healthy bias towards those who really need advice and info - the newcomers like me. I have yet to buy a...

Right click on the page, go to page info and click "Translate page into English"! :D