• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

teak root mini

Added some shrimp Caridina multidentata and Neocaridina heteropoda (cherry) and two Otocinclus. They're really keeping the tank clean and removing any traces of algae on the leaves:

uVzf1.jpg


R4A1c.jpg


The yellow leaves of HC are slowly clearing:
A5MGL.jpg
 
Got some green spot algae the past two weeks. I've reduced lighting period from 1300 to 1800 hrs and CO2 from 1100 to 1700 hrs.

Upped the CO2 slightly to 1.5-2 bps and drop checker (seems such an imprecise instrument) is green. Also bought some ADA Brighty Lights (wth is with these ridiculous names!) which adds PO4 which coupled with higher CO2 should bring the GSA down?

I was given a few free pots of HC and planted one in this tank. I've noticed the new HC is pearling but the old HC isn't...does that signify something lacking with the existing growth?

Also running through 1 of those DoAqua CO2 cartridges a month (they're so very small...)
 
Hi,

DCs are used as a proxy for the amount of CO2. They cannot be regarded as accurate tools.

In my experience, HC is a heavy CO2-dependent. So this needs to be provided at large amounts. 1.5 bps sounds good but this measure is also very inaccurate so use your fauna as a guide as well.

I find pearling highly variable. Without changing anything, somedays my HC pearls a lot, others it pearls little. I suppose it depends on its mood :crazy: Of course, after a trim or WC it pearls like never before.

GSA is all about lack PO4. So you're doing right in providing this nutrient. However, note that ADA fertilizers apparently have very low concentrations. Check wet's website for calculations (http://petalphile.com/#splash)

Nice tank and evolution btw

cheers,

GM
 
leonroy said:
Also running through 1 of those DoAqua CO2 cartridges a month (they're so very small...)
Click to expand...
This is the insider info I was looking for, thank you! One month seems pretty reasonable for such a nice looking piece of kit. When I get some spare dollars this is one of the first things I'll get :)
 
Wanna buy my DoAqua CO2 kit off of me? ;)

Won't be using most of it now that I've bought a fire extinguisher and CO2 regulator to use instead.
 
Tank's still ticking over, what with work haven't even had time to see the tank during the day let alone take some pictures!

The teak root base finally arrived (all 150kg of it!). The tank looks amazing sitting on it. I also decided to (finally) buy some fish and saw some lovely yellow glass tetras at Aquatic Design Centre in London. Bit dear, but wow are they gorgeous...
 
I've been prone to leaving the tank full to the brim. As a result two tetras and six shrimp have 'escaped'. I didn't notice and kept feeding the normal amount which resulted in a cloud like fungus over the uneaten food.

The substrate which was banked originally had collapsed while scaping and I hadn't noticed this until after planting so with these two points in mind I tore the whole thing down and started again:

This time I used old cut up loyalty cards to bank the substrate much like TGM do with their bigger tanks. I also had to plant every single leaf of HC and blade of eleocharis individually. And...I trimmed that eleocharis right down... :lol:

There was some erosion of the ADA Amazonia granules but it seems stable enough to give at least a few months of good service. I'm taking things slow with feeding until I can get more shrimp and keeping CO2 high.

One thing I noticed with the tetras is that they really dislike high flow so I swapped the Cal Aqua outlet for a Gush Poppy one. It appears to have done the trick, giving me lots of turnover with little turbulence but I have had to significantly increase the bps on the CO2 counter form 1.5 bps to about 4 bps.

paS62.jpg
 
Great blog mate look forward to seeing it grow. Good photos too.

Lewis
 
This morning before heading into work I did a quick count of the fish and noticed only nine. Fearing one had jumped out I was looking around the tank for it when another tetra jumped out right in front of me straight into my hand. It was jumping all over the place but I managed to pop it back into the tank without delay.

Water parameters seem alright, low nitrates, zero nitrites and ammonia, low CO2 levels at the time it jumped. Water level was about 1-2cm below the rim of the tank. They are very skittish fish and dart around really fast come feeding time. Doesn't help that they're situated near a doorway as anyone walking by sends them darting for cover.

As the plants grow it should afford them more privacy but until then it looks like I'll need to get the cover glass otherwise I'm losing £10 everytime one of the buggers jump out!
 
What a stand! And your scape's beautiful - it's been great to see it evolving.

Can I ask a dim question, though? I'm going to be setting up a tank very similar is size to yours soon (being delivered from TGM tomorrow - woohoo!), and I've got the Do!Aqua CO2 system. Back on page 2 you were talking about a solenoid - is that basically a timer for CO2? (Physics was never my strong point :oops: ) If it is, what should I be looking for when I buy one? Thanks for any advice you can give :D
 
Just re-discovered this post.

Great scape, and that wood is stunning!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top