Search results for query: *

Move the DC or add another to bottom of tank - you may find you dont get the same colour change. I use to check my pH with a probe at various depths and places in tank to check the the pH drop was even in my 50cm deep tank. Having floating plants in a high tech tank with 50cm depth is a...

Wow, that's very popular! 🤣

I'm stealing them from the ones my OH has picked for beer :).

Thanks all, that gives me some more weekends reading!

I don't have much of an update, but I feel like this tank is getting closer to being truly balanced. There have been a million little things that have been bugging me (spots of algae, specific plants not quite growing as they should) and about half of them have resolved over the last month or...

You could try using a fork to tease it out of the carpet, but if you go too deep you might snag a tenellum runner!

Added some plants around the outside of the pond and re-purposed the barrel.

You're right that most of the CO2 gas is lost to atmosphere, but even after those losses the concentration in the water column is 30 ppm (or more) - that's what makes the drop checker change colour with injected CO2. It is that 30 ppm that is fully available to the plants, which is why the <1...

While I don't expect glut to contribute significantly (or at all) to carbon absorption in plants, I feel the need to play the devil's advocate and add that it is possibly unfair to compare the "equivalent ppms of CO2" that the molecules could eventually generate if degraded, to what we add of...

Hello everyone, I am Marco, a software engineer with a deep passion for technology. On a weekday, most of the time was spent coding and problem-solving in the digital realm, but on weekends, I spent my time with plants and cultivating green spaces. Gardening is not just a hobby for me—it is a...

I wouldn't recommend aqua advisor, it doesn't take plant mass into consideration among other things, and according to it my mature 200l planted tank is going to explode with ammonia tomorrow. it does the job though, and you cant really go wrong with it, it just doesn't really show the full...

Looking forward to seeing them. Is this just expanding foam that you have carved to shape? What did you use to carve it?

I know people have done this with Monte carlo but has there been any success doing this with dwarf baby tears or can I only grow in the substrate? In this context I'm talking about growing them on lava rocks underwater instead of above water. Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

Hi all, Nerites don't tend to graze plant leaves very effectively, but they are <"good on hard scape"> etc.. Snails like <"Physella acuta"> & Planorbella duryi are more effective at getting to "difficult to reach" places <"Algea id, root of cause and how to deal">. People don't like Tadpole...

Hi Darrel, Nice to have your input again. You have really helped me in my previous scape. Thank you! By "nutrients are non-limiting" do you mean that they might even be in excess? All plants in my new scape were moved over from the one in the photo above. Puzzling how with same light...

Hi Zeus thanks for your input. Photoperiod was 8h before I reduced it to 6h a few days ago . The tank is 53cm deep. If I reduce intensity to 50% won't it be an issue for lower plants? All the plants do wave gently and I can see the co2 micro-bubbles allover the tank. I can replace the neo...

I have these 2 nano tank, 10gal each (28.5cm x 33.5cm x 42cm), and I'm unsure what is the recommended stocking for them. I've been using Aqadvisor.com as a guide for awhile now, but the stocking levels indicated by that site seems a bit too high. Both tank don't register any nitrates, either...

Hi all, It really, really <"p*sses me off"> - <"Its a miracle!"> All you can do is what you've done, give an <"honest appraisal of a product">. If all <"sponsored content"> and <"infomercials"> were labelled as such? It would help. cheers Darrel

I take old backpacks / gym bags to the supermarket… had some sniggers from other customers. To me it makes perfect sense to use anything that holds stuff, when you need to hold stuff.

Hi all, It isn't a nutrient deficiency symptom, the green algae (Chlorophyta) have the same <"basic physiology and photosystems"> as all the mosses, ferns and higher plants (clade Chlorobionta). I would regard them as all <"plants">, you just have "plants you want" and "plants you don't want"...

That is a fair point about ruling out medical causes for behavioural issues. I agree it's less likely if he is fine on the days you are there. The thing that might make it worth it is it sounds like he's not going through the night? As an adult he should be able to sleep through 8 hours without...

Yeah this is the really annoying thing about this sponsorship hype culture in the community. I made the same mistake earlier on when I bought the Tidal 35 filter based of 'reputable' YT Channels. The filter turned out to be an unsightly bulky unit with very poor flow and a silly compartment, but...

With you on that one. I had a Baz and it worked really well. I changed it because i thought well if others are using it.... and purchased from one of our sponsors. I put it in and thought if this does the same thing as the Baz, well thats brilliant? Its was total rubbish from the outset the...

Hey there I think no one mentioned before what I’m going to say (hopefully). I used my BioMaster Thermo 850 fully loaded with Seachem Matrix and then just using original media. I found that with original media water looks much much clearer than when I used Matrix. With matrix there was always...

You have done the obvious photo period and I would reduce intensity to 50% max. From the pic there seems to be low surface agitation, which makes getting a stable pH drop difficult, do the plants wave about in the flow in the tank? The output of the filter is 1450lph which is a tad low for the...

Oh that gives me hope! Gotta say man, the anticipation is what kills me hahaha

Thank you for the reply! Ah i see, alright I'll drop the lighting back down and do WC's every other day while removing the BGA. Let me see if my LFS would be willing to spare me some filter juice :D

I will do just that, thanks again man!

Hey! Your aquarium looks really nice 👍 to be honest I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. Maybe nitrogen is a little low? As for the algae, I doubt photo period is the cause, and depleted soil shouldn’t be causing this either? You may have introduced a lot of dormant algae spores from...

It's going to be alot better once the jungle starts to cover all the hardscaping more. New ferts arrived last night so will start them once the TNC finishes.

I've setup a camera this morning to ensure that Son does feed the fish while I'm gone. And have made sure he puts alarms for everyday, thankfully he's only 10 doors down from me. So he can't complain its far too walk to mine. Going to do a big water change and harvest as many snails as I can...

Actually I have tried pens with him as a puppy. I had to bungee cord them to the rads. Or else he would push the cage around the room. Or he would limb out of them during the day. And then could not get to his bowl or his water. So pens were out. And baby gates were used to contain him to...

I'm a veterinarian in the US, and I definitely recommend this dog have blood work done as well as a urinalysis by cystocentesis, so the vet can check for masses or stones in the bladder. Bassets are famous for getting stones in their bladder, which cause a lot of discomfort and UTIs. Bladder...

Hello all, I'm struggling with some type of hair/fuzz algae that seems to be very aggressive in its growth. It attacks new growth within a day even in fast growing stem plants. There's no specific area of algae growth, everything is affected, from the substrate to near the surface. Some plants...

Well the tank is planted…the dark start didn’t go as long as I had hoped but I’m impatient I guess.. Everything came in as emersed or tissue culture so going to take a while till it looks like anything. I’m currently thinking about going with an Eheim 2213 instead of the 2217 that I’m using...

Just use a small fan , anything is better than nothing. Mc always melts for me some survied and is growing ok now

https://hugokamishi.com/cat/gravel/natural-gravels/ Available fairly wide spread. Have a look what your local fish shop has in stock too - they often have bags of 'plain' gravel. You can put tropica substrate (looks like dry powdered mud rather than the soil that looks like brown gravel)...

They do mate bought two and they are expensive! both broke/ leaked . I use inline now from aliexpress qanvee ones no issues

I also have one as my 'test anything on tank' it's currently a BBA battle zone. Quite fun actually. 👍

Dennerle 20l nano cube :)

Good night Ukaps ;)

Another new leaf from the spiralis 'tiger'. Only this one is after i inserted some self made fe pills in the sand after a month and an extra twinstar g-line. Left and right are leaves month earlier.

What size tank is that, I really like it!

Nothing, just gravel, with Tropica liquid fertiliser dosed weekly! Cheers!

Most of the wild caught fish in the hobby are exported from developing nations and the industry is a major source of income in some developing nations, and more importantly some otherwise impoverished communities. Further, involving the indigenous population in fish and plant collecting can have...

Thanks for the appreciation! The 'land part' is basically purfoam with a thick coloured epoxy resin. Thanks Wookii! Apreciated! The riparium has 4 waterfalls and 3 have internal tubings. Here are a few building pics. Will upload more soon ;)

It might need a day or two to run in.

Sorry to hear about the arowana. Im liking the tank, and looking forward to seeing it develop.

It's confusing,when supermarkets started not free anymore now the pay for plastic shopping bags ,we thought they would work on a biogradeable alternative, hessian based or similar biodegradeable. But a few years on it seems just the same if not most plastic bags sold(someone's making a mint) l...

I used to get excellent plant growth with laterite, river sand (a fine gravel) and minimal co2 (just topping up what was used by the plants).

I do remember the mulm, yes. Im going through that now with my Tropica soil after 3 years and bba is creeping in. So i am trying to clean it up using the 2hr Aquarist method of poofing the soil with a poofer (turkey baster) whilst getting rid of the crap at the same time. Guess its okay to lock...

So in my 7 gallon I've been using an old bazooka diffuser I got from Ebay years ago and it works great. Creates a fine mist and I can have my co2 down to 1.5bps and have my drop checker lime green in 2 hours. I saw a couple reviews and hype over these aquario neo diffusers where people state...

Beautiful shrimp 🦐

I’m sure a quick google search would lead you to an answer. For example… https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11503062/

It is important for me to understand whether bacteria eat the decomposition products of glutaraldehyde..

Okay those are very different companies btw... but anyway, what do you specifically suggest they should do? ... the reason why I am asking is because in this day and age companies that claims sustainable production methods, delivery etc. often turns out to be offering nothing more than...

Thank you both for your input. I did upgrade to a fluval 407, removed the dense sponges and flowrate seemed more than adequate.Unfortunately I think the reason my first tank was algae free was the sheer amount of plant mass. This one is not doing so well.

I hear what you are saying and have an interest in 'international development' but this comment is getting off topic really. The point is that an industry which so readily harks on about replicating and enjoying nature does very little to distinguish itself from any other industry. I've just...

With BGA, I would reduce lighting back to 6h, do more WCs than usual while siphoning the most BGA I can, keep fert the same and wait to see how it goes. If you can find filter stuff or a plant from an other hobbyist with an old/established tank it could help also.

I have almost given up with trying to save the world with my recycling bin. Have a look after one week what you put in that thing. Its bloody insane. Honestly, do you know what happens to that? How on earth do you think that it gets turned into anything useful, but more packaging at absolute...

The high temperature could be an issue for the Monte Carlo. Place the drop checker on the glass opposite your CO2 diffuser.

I saw a video today from GreenAqua where they put the glue on the hard scape then pressed the Anubias onto the glue.

I agree. While there are more environmentally sound ways of packaging stuff - recycled and/or biodegradable plastic, cardboard etc. - a big part of the problem as I see it, is that we tend over-package everything excessively - be it our groceries or the packages we get from Amazon (an ironic...

All of it would be great to see, especially the waterfall build! Fantastic tank incidentally!

Any of it! How did you build up the “bank?” Is it stone? Wood? Foam?

More important than what happens to it is how much gets added. I find this blog post from JBL to be persuasive that even with the highest level of glutaraldehyde you could realistically add without getting a lot of toxicity, and factoring in some probably wildly overly optimistic assumptions...

Porch Pottys arrived and so did Netraliser. I mopped and scrubbed the floors today and have laid the pottys in the kitchen area. Hopefully he will use them when back from the boarders after the 19th May.

Don't Worry Guys, There are plenty of Forums still plodding along for Monster Fish Keepers. Though they are not as Articulated/Polished as UKAPS. In understand why it was locked and removed etc. I was just being upfront about letting it takes its semi natural course and not removing the smaller...

Substituting plastic with paper and cardboard isn't really a realistic solution. . . 'I'll just put these wet plants in a paper bag for you, should be fine for a few minutes.' Neither is it necessarily greener. . . Paper requires more energy to produce. It is also heavier resulting in higher...

I have lots of building pics., thanks for the interest! Any particular part of the process?

Perhaps you can write in more detail what happens to glutaraldehyde when it gets into the water? What elements does it break down into and by whom (bacteria, plants) can these substances be consumed?

I had basic gravel in my nano recently, no soil or sand, was pleasantly surprised at the plant growth

Decided I'd better plant those plants I bought from AG nearly 2 weeks ago at our annual meet up. Been too busy, but with the temp increase lately I didn't think it wise to leave them in their plastic bags any longer. I had a bit of a maintenance session and cut back the stems at the back of the...

Hi all, Not really, but I only have <"Hygrophila corymbosa"> and normally they've gone from submersed to emersed, before flowering and dying. I've always had a few still submerged, and they seem to tick over from year to year without any problem. I bought the original plant ~20 years ago. I...

Shrimp going nuts over their mineral junky bites:

Have given a mineral junky bite just now, this is the chaos that happens. There is often none left by the time the snail finds it.

Have you faced problems with transitioning hygrophilas emersed to submersed in non co2 tanks @dw1305 ??

"Eh, close enough"

I have grown to dislike gravel in favour of sand. The main reason is the undesired mulm and debris that is trapped over time under the gravel. This isn't a problem with sand and additionally sand locks in the nutrient rich substate that one may use to grow plants.

Thank you so much for your compliment. Thought so it didnt had to do with a fire ghehe :)

If you haven't bought them already I'd also hang fire for a month or two until your tank is a little more mature and any risk of a high ammonia level has been removed.

Last night i said to my partner "hey remember that tank (we) I had with gravel and one big bit of bog wood with some moss"? We had one lovely Shubunkin and a little internal filter. Probably 30 litres. I got all that stuff from a small shop in Holborn London back in the day, 25 years ago. Loved...

Those dennerle boxes then have the gravels in plastic bags inside, I’ve used a few.

Thanks guys 🤗

to clear anything up, burn is a scottish word for stream or spring, not fire. it looks really good

No not including the extensions. See picture below to the point I'd reference to. I did try measuring the fish through the glass, which isn't easy with these jerky moving fish, I'll retract my 70mm previous guess and say this fish is 65mm to the point in picture below. Good to know about the...

Do you have any build photos? I’d love to see how you built up the part above the water. Really beautiful tank.

Thanks! Forest burn? Mmm... that would really add an extra dimension ;)

Hi all, <"Definitely"> cheers Darrel

Hi all, That is the problem. Because of where I live (hard water and not many fish shops) I don't often get <"temptation placed in my path">, but if Pier Aquatics or <"Aqualife Leyland"> (Aqualife Leyland | Leyland) were close to hand............ cheers Darrel

Well said JPC.

Hi all, Thank you, that is perfectly explained for me. cheers Darrel

Same as @Tim Harrison i shove them in where I can. Cable ties loosely holding them down works well too, it’s unsightly but they can be cut off once the plant attaches itself.

I’d end up spending a fortune if I went there!

That looks so natural, if I didn't know it was in a tank I would have said it was a forest burn or something!

Whenever I can, I shove epiphytes into hollows in the hardscape, and tend to design my scapes with that in mind. Although I sometimes use gel type super glue when that's not possible, I definitely wouldn't use it on fragile in-vitro plants. I lost a whole load of reasonably mature epiphytes...

You can think of glutaraldehyde as short strap with velcro-grabbers on both ends. This double-sticky strap wanders around and grabs onto stuff tying it all up together. It turns out there are lot of biological molecules that don't really work if you tie them all up together so that's how it...

Tried to capture my two biggest waterfalls in one small gif.

I would keep them in tank with little to no flow and grow them there until they toughen up, then attach them to something. a bit of overkill, but for some of the rarer varieties id say its a must

that's weird then. Call it a feature of the scape!;)