Angus

I love it when I see a new update on this build thread :happy2: It is an awesome tank Dave and your thread gives us people who can't fit a huge tank in their homes a chance to "live in your shoes" for a while. Thanks a lot and keep up the regular updates

I have a 2215 that i've had for 10+ years and it is now making the same noise as yours. When I also press down on the powerhead the noise is reduced. Combine that with the amount of bubbles being returned to the tank and i attribute that to lack of a seal letting in air and resulting in cavitation. I haven't bothered doing anything about it as it's on a grow out tank and i'm too lazy. But if I was to do something i'd probably change the o-ring as a starter. Perhaps an option to consider? Strange on a fairly new filter though. Can you claim on a warranty or fair trading act breach?

Saw a nice line on someone's signature on Planted Tank before: There are two types of people; people with algae, and those that lie and say they don't...

Unfortunately not in my experience

Thanks Peet. I calculate your sump capacity to be about 135 litres(?), so some lesser amount of water once you factor in baffle design etc. So with your 350L tank, you have about a 3:1 ratio of DT to sump. By the looks of your amazing growth, your tank's filtration is awesome. I'm thinking of what size sump to go for with my 275L DT. I have issues with the dimensions in my cabinet underneath. The maximum length of sump I can fit in will be 50cm. Looking at off-the-shelf options, this will reduce the capacity of the sump perhaps down to 55L size. This will give me a ratio of 5:1, much less than your 3:1. Do you think this will give me enough filtration? BTW - I have 5 discus, a dozen rummy's, a dozen cardinals, 8 pandas and a BN, that my 2073 Eheim manages. I like the look of the wet-dry style. The sump (and return pump)/overflow combo i'm looking at will have a 1500/2300LPH flowrate so i think the turnover will be fine as this exceeds the Eheim. But i'd feel better with some expert re-assurance :lol:

Where did you get the rimless tank from Li@m? And can I enquire how much, or pm me please? Thanks in advance.

same here, my tiger thrives in plain gravel without any 'inserts', just EI dosing... awesome looking tank btw :thup:

That is one awesome looking planted tank! Gotta be pleased with that Peet? I'd like to ask some questions about your sump given I am considering that option in the future with my planted tank. I think I can't see any lids on the sump is that correct? And if so, do you have any issues with CO2 gassing off? And what kind of overflow did you go for?

I've seen the odd reply from people who claim SAE's eat it, but not in my experience. And judging by the complaints on forums the world over, a true candidate has yet to be discovered...

If there were, it'd be the most popular fish in the world :slfg:

:iag: even one day in the sun, to dry out the wood, will kill the BBA. It'll turn a nice purple colour within a few hours, then a quick brush with a firm or steel brush will remove the tufts. I do this myself, rotating pieces of driftwood when I've run out of Excel and funds... :roll:

imo, yes to the reduction in light. Low tech planted would refer to no pressurised CO2 and not much fertilisation. By going no CO2 at all, you've got to reconsider your balance... Refer to Jennifer's sticky on optimising plant growth for a detailed explanation. But basically, you've got to balance your lighting levels against the low amounts of fertz you're adding and CO2 you're not adding. That means in a practical sense, start off real low in both amount and photoperiod. If things are ok for a period of time then adjust upwards slowly . In my experience things change all the time which makes it hard to adjust things one thing at a time but patience patience patience will reward... hth

I gotta say i hope i'm wrong but i'm holding my breath for you. With that amount of light (what photoperiod are you using), and no CO2 or fertz, i think you're heading for algae soup... like i say i hope i'm wrong :roll:

+1. I keep all sunlight off mine. The key to planted tanks is consistency in all things. Any deviation from the norm can result in an outbreak in my experience.

+1 I never vacuum, risks releasing all the good stuff into the water column (hate it when i have to uproot a plant and all the detritus clouds the water!!).

Looks awesome Peet! Love the layout especially.

+1 to the above. However, i've taken the PO4 component out of my EI mix as I also found it always in excess of the recommended levels. My $0.02 worth? Drop your lighting right back (either duration or distance). Light drives the system, and i suspect your MHs may be way too much? For my tank FWIW, reduced light, no added PO4 - result!!

Plants or no plants, double dosing of F.Excel will work in killing BBA. I'd follow the course, i.e. as many double doses as it takes to start to see the awesome red colour before doing a water change. In my case, usually 2-3 doses does the trick (one large dose followed by much smaller doses). I've never had a fish death due to the double dosing, but I strictly stick to the recommended amounts given on the bottle - except for doubling them Doing a water change during the dosing will dilute the effectiveness of the treatment and render it useless. My recommendation: get the red colour, wait another day, then do a water change if you are so keen.

nudge, go to this link, it has some info on dosing and a spectacular result photo! viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59601 (hope the link works...) Note: In my experience, it's a temporary fix. BBA eventually returns in my tank. It'll be a slight imbalance but i'm not bothered by it. HTH

At the moment i've got four Duralux L 36W bulbs, but have used Phillips PL-L 36W bulbs in the past as well. They're the ones with the straight 4 pin base. Originally had four 55W bulbs but I could never get the tank balanced, so i throttled back to the 36W bulbs and never looked back. Based on my experience, i believe that if people are struggling with algae attacks constantly, cut back on the light to a minimum and then work upwards, keeping CO2 and ferts constant. Worked for me mostly (I still get BBA as this post shows, but I tolerate it).

Thanks guys! Specs: Lighting: 4 x 36W CFL under MIRO reflectors (awesome reflectors!) for 7 hours/day Substrate: Normal gravel (no special substrate, just the odd JBL ball under the crypts from time to time) Pressurized CO2 fed into a homemade reactor EI dosing using liquid macros and flourish By Saturday (water change day) the stem plants (including the rotala wallichii) will have reached the water surface, and I trim them back to just below the foreground height. Most will take a couple of weeks to get to the water surface again, so the stems are offset so that there is always a full 'hedge' of stems. Come Saturday - trimming, trimming trimming... :roll: Growth isn't as good as i'd like, I think the available PAR near the substrate isn't as good as it should be. When the bank balance looks better, i'd like to invest in an LED setup, strung up above the tank !drool: But the tank is balanced and happy, so i'm content.... for the time being...

Yup, purchased off Trade Me

Joe, here's a photo from a couple of months ago, getting close to how I want it to look in terms of design and planting. Just short of how I want it in terms of growth... (long story for some other time) The CO2 bottle ran out a month ago, and I couldn't afford to re-fill it straight away, so growth stopped. I've had to chop it all back hard right to substrate level and start again, hence no recent photo.. :roll:

Hey Peet there are heaps of recent posts on how people use Flourish Excel to combat our friend BBA. But to summarise what I do: I follow the on bottle instructions only double the dose, and squirt straight into the water column. BBA is dead within 2-3 days for me It's a mighty foe though, as it always comes back after a while in my tank. Haven't mastered the complete eradication, but i've added a powerhead to increase the flow following advice on here.