alanmin4304

Compare the price of Daltons aquatic mix with JBL micronutrient (which does the same thing) and you might be pleasantly surprised.

The correct RTV (silicone) will have suitable for aquariums on the label.

Compost will put too much soluble nutrient into the water and cause algae problems. I have used peat in the past for some plants but you only want a little and I probably causes more problems than it is worth. Although I haven't used it Daltons aquatic mix is probably the cheapest and tends to be prefered by a number of people here. Too much organic material under the media tends to go anaerobic and cause problems.

Thankyou Warren for clarifying. I spoke to a retired building inspector who told me that it would not matter if there was a ring foundation or not as the bearers would still be suppoting the joists if it was on piles and your suggestion of putting it by the external wall was a good one. Sorry about the terminology--" head of water"-- I must have also spoken to a retired plumbing inspector.

Why do you need lead for plants. The people that need lead are those that sell the plant to the shops so it displays better while being sold. When you buy it you take the lead off and plant your plants. If you leave lead on it restricts the root growth and often causes the end of the plant to rot instead of growing roots. If you desperately want some I can send you a roll of new lead of about 1.25 kg for $10 incl P&P and you can cut it to the size you want, but I would advise against it. It is the same guage as they use in the shops (roof ridge flashing)

The problem for the floor is caused by the head of water (the height of the tank) and the way that weight is distributed. If you have 6 legs of 1 inch square box section all the weight is going down onto 6 sq inches (which is a lot). I get around the problem by building the stand with a platform on the bottom as well as the top and this makes sure the weight is distributed as well as it can be. A decent sized goldfish bowl would probably produce more weight than the design floor load for a domestic dwelling.

I am curious as to why the algae is on the plant and not the gravel. Light gravel is usually covered in algae. The suggestion to remove the old leaves may be a good one as the plant looks like it has been grown emersed and the existing leaves will be struggling. Try rubbing the algae off if you can and remove some infested leaves. leave enough to support the plant while it grows roots and gets new leaves.

Algae doesn't have to be green to be photosynthetic does it? Any more than blue/green algae has to be blue/green or an algae

It is also an ideal way to spread any disease or algae problem to all tanks. Also the chemistry and temperature become about the same.

when they are young they are straight carnivores but start eating vegetation later. I give them plenty of O2 weed and others. They will only eat what they want. It may have had that missing from its diet.

The usual confusion is between E. tenellus and Sag and the easiest way then is by the flower. It may be a microsword but I am guessing it is Sag. The cell structure in the leaf of Sag is large and can usually be clearly seen. I have some at the moment I am trying to identify but it is not easy sometimes. They look quite different emersed to submersed and some throw runners but wont flower. I thought lileopsis would be taller and have a thinner leaf but they can all be different depending on the growing conditions.

I used to breed thousands of angels and I would think it is either looking for a mate or is strengthening bonds with a mate. It is part of the mating or mate forming ritual they go through. Many cychlids do this. It can also be a threatening gesture if it thinks another fish is coming too close to the area it has claimed as territory (often for breeding). pH shock causes fish to shimmie which is similar but realy quite different. Sounds Irish but is only obvious when you have seen both behaviours.

How would you feel if you got sent to the vet every time you fell deeply in love? Good luck with the babies.

Going by the flowers on the Ludwigia it has been growing emersed so will take a wee while to convert to submersed growth.

No link but I know from experience that it does. I grow it emersed and it is usually 100-150mm high but I have had it under a large sword plant and it was 10-20mm. Smaller and shorter in low light. It may grow up to the light in low light but I have not had it do that. Hydrocotyle leucocephala will always grow up to the light.

The grass like plant looks like sagittaria subulata and the stem plant is Ludwigia repens. Both will go in a tropical tank but will do better with good light.

Nitrate is only one part of the waste stream

If you want to try any of those plants I mentioned PM me and I can give you a bit to try out.

The labelling is done by the suppliers. This is not uncommon. If you go to most shops they can tell you the price of the plant but not much else. Get to recognise the plants in their emersed form as that is how most are sold. I have just remembered that I have plants in a terrarium that has shallow water but only a 300mm flouro for light and it grows cardamine lyrata and hydrocotyle leucocephala. They will grow from the land into the water and from the water to the land. It is low light but also shallow water. They might be worth a try but will both grow up towards the light. Hyrocotyle verticulata remains in the media and may do what you want as it will grow smaller in low light.

A number of the sword plants have red new growth that will go red/brown then green ( osiris, red special, ozelot and red rubin etc) This is normal but the red can be encouraged with strong light and adequate iron

I have bought plants from there but some are not labeled correctly and many are not realy water plants or would only survive down here in summer. Do your homework and good luck.

That makes sense. Since I don't speak German I think I will stick to ppm.

Sorry,I am not familiar with that plant.

Excuse my igarence but what is KH if K is the chemical symbol for potassium?

If the nutrients get high it will stimulate algae growth. Plants growing well help to strip some nutrient but not all. If you have a heavily planted tank with only a few fish that are lightly fed you don't need as many water changes. When trying to grow out fish you feed them heavily and this produces a lot of waste and the catch 22.