Angus

Over the course of a week, mine develops a bio film between the water/air interface which is fine because I change it every week with the water change.

Thanks for the replies guys. :thup: I'm a bit annoyed because I asked the trader before purchase if he had snails in his plants, and was told no, so didn't opt for a weak bleach treatment. More fool me i guess... Navarre - when you mention good indicator of appropriate feeding and water quality, do you mean that their presence means good conditions, or poor conditions?

These hitchhikers on the back of a trade me plant purchase are getting a grip on my planted tank. Can someone please advise me whether they might be good or bad for the tank/plants/fish? They are about 15mm long. Any gastropod experts out there? :smln:

All sorted thanks. Actually got two plastics in the line; one in the airline itself just before the reactor, and one in the bottom (input) end of the new diy bubble counter. Given the probable short life time of the plastic check valves, I'll be upgrading soon. Are the brass check valves recommended?

Thanks Fugly - awesome info! I like the clear tube so you can see how efficient it is. My pvc pipe makes it a blind system. :roll: I've ended up plumbing the gas into the side near the top. I gone without bio balls or sponges inside so I didn't want to risk the CO2 being carried away by the flow if I put the line in at the bottom. Once up and running I realised I had a leak in the old diy bubble counter that resulted in the gas not having enough pressure to flow into the reactor, but once I built a new better counter (without a leak :oops: ) everything is working fine. Different systems to achieve the same result?

thanks - confirms what i'm now thinking. I've decided to buy extra pipe and set it up in a vertical position. Would still welcome any other feedback?

Hi all long time no post. I've just replaced one ehiem filter for another (2215 to 2073), and i've had to change the pipe fittings on my in-line CO2 reactor to compensate for the change in pipe diameter. I've had the reactor placed horizontally in the input line since inception, but i'm now considering placing it vertically in the output line, having read more recent online plans etc. However i'm running short of a bit of pipe, and the horizontal position solves my dilemma (could always buy more pipe! :roll: ). My question is: Does anyone have any idea of whether or not one is more efficient over the other at dissolving the CO2 i.e horizontal vs vertical? (My reactor contains sponge inserts to increase water turbulence)

and a close up (sort of).........

Thanks again for the cool comments. It's awesome when people who's opinion you really respect like your handiwork Tank size: 275L Lighting: 220W of compact fluorescent (4 x 55W) 6500k, AHS reflectors, and a fan added to the tank hood to keep things coolish Substrate: lower layer of plant mix with gravel layer on top CO2: just completed a pressurized setup after a year of yo-yoing with diy, 1.5bps (at the moment) Ferts: PMDD three times a week (yet to finalise amounts - still fine-tuning)

thank guys and i meant to say "at some cost to themselves with no thought of compensation" :roll: :oops: ....... you know what i meant i hope

After two years, i've finally got my planted tank to where i (nearly) want it. And a very large reason it is looking the way it is, is thanks to you wonderful people on this forum!! I've had alot of help from all the advice posted on here, thank you very much for your solicited (and unsolicited) advice, but i'd like to especially thank those people who have shared resources at no cost to themselves - Caryl and Jude thank you so much. So a big pat on the back to you all

Sorry to hijack the thread a little bit, but Hands - i'd have to disagree on the thread tape idea. I'm not a gas plumber but i deal with industrial gases at work and it's generally frowned on to use thread tape with gas plumbing in case small bits get into the line. Depends i suppose on the end use (hi-tech instruments differ from CO2 supply to aquariums) so it's up to the individual user. Recommendation is to make sure the seal is tight and leakproof using soapy bubble-laden water. hth Angus

i don't have a heated substrate in my 280l tank and all is fine (i'm pulling out a bucket of trimmings every week aswell) For lighting, i went for compact flouros installed over the hood along with an Aquarium Hobby Supplies (AHS) reflector. Compact flouros are the way to go!! Cram more light in in less space. Total lighting above my tank is 4 x 55W. Bit of heat in the hood is abated by a fan. The CF bulbs can be purchased in NZ, the AHS reflector can be brought in from overseas. i've battled various sorts of algae since i set up, but i'm getting the hang of the ferts levels. something i'm guessing every planted tank keeper has to go through......

the bugger is i've already bought the regulator, so all i need is the needle valve :roll:

i inquired at hollywoods (not expecting to find one) and got told that they aren't stocking needle valves yet (though they intend to in the future). No mention of systems as i only inquired about needle valves on their own. warren - i'm not the sort of person inclined to make my own, with pressurised co2 running through it the dangers of that sort of approach out weigh the positives - but thanks for the advice!! fishboi - which model? 3A or 3B? jim r - no worries - a question asked is a problem halved. when i find one i'll post it for you. quack - i'll check out picales (sp?) tomorrow morning - hope they're open thanks to all!!!

Having persisted with a diy CO2 setup for two years, i've finally splurged out and bought a two stage regulator and hired a 6.5kg cylinder from BOC. My problem is i haven't been able to locate an in-line needle valve. I've tried the model supply stores around Auckland and most have looked at me with a blank stare. BOC had no idea either..... :roll: Anybody had success finding one of these? Aw yeah, and what about an adaptor for the outlet side of the reg to fit standard diameter hosing (4mm i.d.)?

I went through a similar search awhile back. I used to feed my CO2 line into the intake line of my eheim but after a short while the 'burping' noise from the filter got too much for me to bear.... So i found this site.... http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#1 .... and built the powered CO2 forced reactor described at the bottom. I went through the long process of ordering the exact same components as listed, but you could probably get most bits locally in some similar form that would do the trick. I really rate its performance. Now if i could just gather up enough cash for a pressurized system rather than a yeast system...... :roll:

A couple of weeks ago i emptied my 280l to put in some plant mix underneath the gravel. I found the only way to catch the last rummynose (man he was quick!!) was to remove nearly all the water and then scoop the gravel up into a wall/dam shape so that the size of the catch area became alot smaller. He seemed to give up after that.... And that was with two nets as well. I put all my fish into a 40l chilly bin, complete with heater and airstone for the duration - all happy and healthy.

not a problem without sounding like a traitor :oops: the forum on that site has alot of really useful info for planted tank enthusiasts too

i have one similar in my tank - i've always thought it was Echinodorus schlueteri........ http://www.plantgeek.net/images/plantpi ... ueteri.jpg

On the same sort of topic, does anyone know if paint stripper will dissolve, weaken silicon? I've just removed old paint from the back of an old tank in preparation for a new colour using stripper, and i haven't got down on my hands and knees to inspect the joins yet to see if they're alright...... (leak test coming up this weekend :roll: ) If it rips through silicon, perhaps that might work Aqua?????

if someone wants a quick fix, i've had success with double and even triple dosing with Fluorish Excel. It kills the bba pretty quickly.... careful about over dosing though. Seachem don't advertise this as a property of the product but they are aware of it ........and of course it treats the symptom and not the cause.......

i have four clown loaches in my 280L and i have never seen a snail - ever! Pretty heavy influx of plants from time to time so either i'm lucky, or the clownies do a great job the latter i reckon they are most fantastic fish to watch. they can be over enthusiastic at times which can semi-spook my discus at times but it is only in exuberance and nothing purposeful, and overall they have been great tankmates.... however they are getting a bit big now (largest is ~12cm) and so the new tank will be a purpose built loach tank with a fast cuurent and lots of caves tank stand currently under construction

that's what i want to achieve!!! my mate just picked his earthworms from his garden (the kokopu went nuts - they really are angry little fish ) but i'm extremely nervous about sourcing from the garden as you just don't know what little nasty hitchhikers would come with them. could i create a safe earthworm farm perhaps? even then I think i'd be nervous. i was just wondering really if other people had done it and if it was safe.