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Nick's Journal

i'd say go for the rasboras even if they are shy,i think its a stunning sight when out of no where a shoal of fish swim along the tank and dissapear again,i think it distracts from the tank a bit if its rammed full of fish that are always swimming in the front(reminds me too much of tanks with plastic plants and a skull or sunken ship......lol),i can look in my tank for 5 mins and not see a SAE then out of no where all 4 swim together along the tank.

looking forward to the new pics

cheers dave
 
a quick update. Notice the vallis has gone. the far right stems, still need sorting but i like the effect of having the rotala behind the L.aromatica. The stems still need some better pruning :lol: = :oops: but this is my first planted tank and 2nd ever aquarium.

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A resident :D
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Is it better without the vallis?

comments always welcome.
 
i think it looks alot better now :D
only thing i would do is put the heater on the right behind the stems,my eyes were instantly drawn to it.
 
definitely much better without the vallis imo.

I used to mount my heater vertically and right next to the intake. I think the instructions say not to do this, but I never had any problems and it wa smuch more unobtrusive.
 
Nick16 said:
The stems still need some better pruning

nick, allow them all to reach the surface, let them grow along the top (just a little) then level them to the height of the wood. they'll all grow back bushier, repeat the process but trim slightly higher. :D
 
cheers for the tips, i have been pruning when they get to the point of the spraybar.

thanks for the help. so the general consensus is better without the vallis. im happy with that :)
 
i would do an update, but i have just butchered the stems so they look a right mess. but not much has changed really. still chugging along... :D
 
well in the tank in question its in there in the evening and then removed the following morning before it becomes mushy. the metal is to weigh it down :D

in my tank upstairs i leave the lump in slightly longer and it is ALL eaten. but thats becuase i have 2 clown plecs and 3 apple snails and 2 nerites :lol:
 
Nick16 said:
well in the tank in question its in there in the evening and then removed the following morning before it becomes mushy. the metal is to weigh it down :D

in my tank upstairs i leave the lump in slightly longer and it is ALL eaten. but thats becuase i have 2 clown plecs and 3 apple snails and 2 nerites :lol:

I've just put some in without metal, it'll sink once it mushes. Then I'll take it out in the morning, if it hasn't been eaten. What metal is it? Looks a bit like lead in the picture but then I thought well lead doesn't mix with aquatics lol.
 
yes it is lead. lead is fine, when you buy an aquatic bunched plant they come wrapped in lead.
 
lead shot was banned from fishing because swans swallow gravel to help them digest/grind down food and because lead shot was hard anglers were unable to re use it alot of the time so alot of anglers would throw them in the edge of the river/lake at the end of the day and the swans would pick them up along with the gravel.
as far as i know lead isnt harmfull to fish in small amounts,although i wouldnt want to leave any in my tank for any length of time,just for weighing down veggies like nick does i would say is harmless as long as the lead is taken out when not being used,i can remember seeing someone on here using stainless corkscrew type things to weigh down courgette,may be worth looking down that route if you dont like the idea of using lead.

hope this has been helpfull
cheers dave
 
they are called screwcumbers.

they are pretty good, but becuase im a cheapskate lead is fine.
 
soton_dave said:
lead shot was banned from fishing because swans swallow gravel to help them digest/grind down food and because lead shot was hard anglers were unable to re use it alot of the time so alot of anglers would throw them in the edge of the river/lake at the end of the day and the swans would pick them up along with the gravel.
as far as i know lead isnt harmfull to fish in small amounts,although i wouldnt want to leave any in my tank for any length of time,just for weighing down veggies like nick does i would say is harmless as long as the lead is taken out when not being used,i can remember seeing someone on here using stainless corkscrew type things to weigh down courgette,may be worth looking down that route if you dont like the idea of using lead.

hope this has been helpfull
cheers dave

Stainless is an idea, I can get plenty of stainless bolts for nothing :)
 
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