penguinleo

So if you DID NOT have green water but just had some green dot algae on the glass and on some plants and tiny bits of sludgy algae, would you get a UV sanitizer? Or would it not be worth the money?

Does a UV Sanitizer in a planted aquarium help decrease the amount of algae in the tank? And is it a CONSIDERABLE decrease? Or does it actual prevent the algae from growing? Besides the fact that it kills pathogens and etc. Thanks.

Hi Devon, You could either get a couple of glasses of the creek water and let them live in their for a while. There seems to be plenty of small micro-organisms for the shrimps to feed on. But you got to keep in mind that the organisms will not live to long in a small container. If I were you, I would get a reasonably thick piece of lettuce and cruch it all up so that it is quite soft and floppy. Then sink it in the container and the shrimp will feed on that. But if you are going away for quite a long time, I would let them free.

Pebas eh? Hmm...I will still call him MR Huallaga though. A good name. That is if he was still here... A few days ago, he went missing for 4 days. I searched the entire aquarium but he was no where to be seen. So I thought he jumped out and I searched all over but no luck. Unfortunately on the 4th day I found him all dryed up behind the aquarium...first time a fish jumped out for me...a bit sad really. Maybe I should get another pair from Phil.

Woah! Crazy

Here is another go. Exactly the same pictures but hopefully they will show... :roll: Mrs Schwartz My green pine pearling My new amazon sword. Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica'. Bought it as emersed form so should become more lush and larger. Was planning to buy 5 Ottocinclus but my LFS had only 2 left. Here is one of them. My Red Lotus. I bought a pretty large bunch. Had 10 leaves on it.. The red will become more intense in strong light. Enjoy :bounce:

Just wondering what everyone thinks of UV sanitizers in a fresh water planted tank. Anyone thinks it is useless? Anyone thinks it is not necessary? ? Or is it almost vital? Thanks.

Thanks quack. I'll try that now.

I downsize the pictures before uploading them. My internet is reasonably fast so usually isn't a problem... :-?

Darn it....unfortunate that some members can't see the pics. :-? But photobucket is so~ slow! It takes me over an hour to upload all the pics and stuff. :lol: Can anyone recommend me a good quick photo uploading site other than photobucket? And make sure the site is good enough so everyone can see?

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: I used Dotphoto as my uploading site. What might be the problem...? :-? Maybe I should stick to Photobucket but its so slow....lol

So the photos aren't showing up for you Candy? And they are showing up for you Quack? Hmm..Sorry about that Candy! :-?

I reckon that plants do not need to much phosphates and nitrates at the start of a new cycled tank. They just provide too much for the more hated algae. I like to keep the nitrate and phosphates down until the plants have grown and developed enough. I don't know. Just like purigen. And I have changed my photo uploading site. Photobucket was terrible... :roll: Much better now. I got my red lotus and my new amazon sword. I got quite a big bunch of the Red lotus. Happy about that. Pearling of plants on my green pine. My Golden Black-eyed ancistrus. I'm getting too much brown algae.. I decided to leave my Glosso in clumps. They seem to be spreading very quickly along the foreground so shouldn't be a big issue. One of my Schwartz cory Busy, busy... Here's the Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica'. I bought it in emersed form so should become more lush and larger soon. I like the wide leaves. Large Red Lotus. The leaves aren't that red but will become darker in high light. Was planning to get 5 Otocinclus today but there were only 2 left. Here's one of them. I have added some more cardinals, 3 small cockatoo dwarfs, 2 otos, and 2 GBAs. Planning to add 5 more cardinals, 2 or 3 tri-line torpedo barbs and a UV sanitizer next week. Thanks for looking. :bounce:

I am finding Photobucket is way too slow. It takes too long to upload photos and to turn it on. Can someone else show me a better and more efficient site than photobucket? Thanks.

UPDATE: A wonderful sight. My plants are pearling. Very awesome. Now there are lots of small to big bubbles clinging all over my plants. Especially the green pine. On a site that quack showed me, it stated that "the proper use of supplemental CO2 with appropriate lighting and trace element supplementation should actually increase the levels of dissolved oxygen in the water. Often, in a tank with really good plant growth, you will see bubbles rising off the plant leaves. This is oxygen being produced at such a rate that it can no longer be absorbed by the water. Its only course is to escape into the atmosphere." (trying to put a photo up but photo bucket isn't working properly.... :roll: ) I'll try again tommorow... Glad that is good news. My plants are growing, the water is oxygen rich, and everything seems to be in good order. :bounce: Here is an update on the pH I collected. Yesterday at noon: 6.31 Yesterday before lights out: 6.33 This morning before lights on: 6.23 This afternoon: 6.40 Late afternoon: 6.43 Before lights out: 6.42 Not too much pH fluctuations! :bounce: I also added some purigen in my filter. Just to keep the nitrite, nitrate, phosphates and ammonia levels down. And a quick question: Will the pH of my tank water change when I add new water when doing a water change? Or will it stay at the same pH level after the new water is added? This is providing I add water of the same pH. My tap water's KH is 20-80mg/L (approx. 30-40) and my tap water's GH is about 40mg/L.

It is strange though. My pH doesn't drop much at night. It is almost the same as in the day. I measured it yesterday. Around the afternoon it was 6.31, just before the lights went out it was 6.33. (Basically no difference) and this morning was 6.23. A one point drop. I guess this is normal though isn't it? Even in aquariums with no CO2, the pH still drops at night but not as significantly. I have added some fish today and I'll see how it goes. p.s: Approximately how much are solenoid valves? And how do they work? Anyone selling any presently?

UPDATE: Like I mentioned previously, I had a fault in my first Arcadia light. Now I have brand new one which my LFS exchanged for me. Looking great so far. Presently, no fish at the moment. I am afraid that there may be pH drops like there was when I added the CO2. Dropped from 6.4 to 5.6. Luckily I had no fish in there. The pH seems to be steady at the moment. I measured it last night and it was 6.33 and this morning it was 6.31. I think I will leave it one more night and see if there are any pH drops. If no major fluctuations occur, I will start adding fish again even though the permanent test kit indicates a yellow meaning too much CO2. I guess if the pH is stable it is cool. I am running 1 bubble per second. I just measured my KH and my GH. GH is around 0-60. Quite soft water. KH is 20-80. Ideal for acidic loving fish. And I also ordered 1 red lotus for $45 and 1 E.PARVIFLORUS They are some awesome looking plants. The tank a few minutes ago. I still have to construct the Glosso carpet tommorow.

I'll do that then.. :-?

I see...the red lotus? I haven't got it yet. I'm going to order some in from Hollywood. And the glosso. So shall I plant around 3 stems of Glosso 2-3cm apart? :roll: Thanks.

UPDATE: The remainer of the plants arrived today. (Thanks to Henry ) He even bought them over to my house himself! Makes the job much quicker and easier. Much appreciated and thank you! I have taken out all the fish to keep them safe from the CO2 system. And luckily I did. I found the pH dropped 0.5 this moring! I leave the CO2 running at night because I did in my last tank and no pH swings occured. Just for the first week. Then it stabilized. I think I will measure the pH now (which is 6.4) and after the lights go off, and in the morning and see if there is any difference. If not, I think I would be safe for fish to swim again. But another worry is that permanent pH test kit which measures if there is too much CO2 or too less or just okay. At the moment it is sitting on yellow...too much CO2. Will too much CO2 kill or harm fish? Or would it be still okay to add fish if the pH is steady and the test kit is yellow? I will get a kH test kit tommorow and measure the kH. I'm so confused.... :roll: Anyway here are some photos. The tank. The arcadia hood's ground wire has a fault in it so I am getting it replaced. Using the original hood for now. Will collect the Arcadia tommorow. Fish in a smaller tank...waiting... A question: Do all JEBO 338 tanks have T5 lights? CO2 system Green Pine Really beautiful First sight of algae!! Brown algae that is...time to bring in the Otos! Didn't know how to plant rooted Glosoo...but still will grow and spread.. :lol: Ambulia grew a lot didn't it? Red Pines Stargrass still growing..... See what I mean by the yellow.. Here is a tiny bit of hairgrass I found tangled in the mass of Glosso..I will try and grow it! It may be small at present but maybe in a few months time... The tank is still developing and young. Not that attractive yet. Needs some time to grow. I will add a red lotus as well. Will keep updating! :bounce:

Small update... I have positioned my JBL CO2 diffuser in my tank and am now starting it up. Hard to see the bubbles flowing...It is 1 bubble per second. At the moment my pH is quite low (around 6.1) so I removed all the fish until the pH stabilises completely. Last time, I sent 4 fish to heaven and I don't want to risk anything.. :-? More updates to come soon.

Interesting Plant man, but I leave my CO2 on 24/7 and my fish don't go to heaven..

Thanks for the article Quack and cheers for that Rory. I'll keep updating..

The hatchet will probably have to go then...they are really striking though in this tank.. Will be great if you do that Antwan. And thanks for the tips Blue. Kind of like an amazon biotype. But I am not sticking strickly to this. For example I am planning to invest in getting some Tri-line torperdo barbs. I think they look very nice. P.S: I got my CO2 bottle refilled at Nova Fire for $5. I'm planning to use it when all the plants are planted and fish are removed. Don't want algae to get the upper hand and I don't want to risk any fish. :roll: I will start the CO2 at 1 bubble per second. Sounds alright doesn't it? And does anyone know what pH level is okay to start CO2 in? Since the pH and kH will fall.

Thanks everyone. I hope it will get better. I don't see why it should get worse. :lol: And the hatchet fish...yeah I noticed they jumped around a lot..especially when they get frightened by a person walking by. I have had them jump out while feeding as well. So do you think I should get rid of them? They don't seem to actually jump "out" but more on the spot :bounce: And thanks Alan for the plant name. Antwan, so you don't think these guys are Huallagas? They seem a bit differnt to Pebas. More colour around the eyes and fins. But I'm not that sure too. :-? Phil told me that they were Huallagas...