Dark

must be the season for it reading up around the place i hear reports that grasses like high light, lower light causes them to spread out wide and not grow very high. its becoming a catch 22, if i lower the light overall the bottom of the tank gets less, if i raise the light the top of the tank gets more and it is already getting too much. i think it is time to consider putting a couple of fluros in a plastic bag and dropping them halfway into the tank! (while i'm at it i think i'll stand in the tank and use a blow dryer while making some toast and setting my clock radio...) when setting this tank up i read that fluros are only good to about 2 feet, thereafter the light diffuses too much to be of any use to the plants - the cure of course was to use a more powerful lighting source such as metal halide or HPS, but the cost is prohibitive not to mention the hassle of making sure nothing melts when touching them and they don't overheat. then again, this comes down to how people rate, measure and categorize lights, which i know nothing about. I keep a (stupidly) detailed database of all the plants and fish i have; each plant has its hardness and pH ratings, but the light ratings are simply 'low' 'med' 'high'. my concept of 'very high' light (as recommended for grasses in general) is, as demonstrated, 8x36w T86 6500K 4' Fluros. I have anubias nana growing on a log that sticks out the top of my tank. It is about 3 cm below the lights with a pane of 6mm glass inbetween. Anubias is apparently a 'very low' light plant, and it is growing like wildfire (wildfire for anubias that is). It is constantly in flower, needs pruning all the time - we are talking a bush the size of half a rugby ball from a mostly dead rhizome about 6 months ago. So, my idea of high light is someone elses idea of low light but wait theres more! my swords and ambulia have red tips on their leaves - the redness is caused by a natural reaction to high light - the plant turns red to repel red light, and thereby stops or slows photosynthesis. Therefore the light at the top of the tank according to the plants is high, information that is much more useful. So I choose to ignore the warning labels and go with what seems to work - the lighting is so intense i'm getting red tipped plants, extreme growth, tiny internodes (good blue light strength), tiny leaves (smaller leaf surface required due to high light) and anubias is obviously a plant that will suck up as mugh light as you give it but can survive in low light conditions. Based on what i know about plants and their behaviour (my brain is starting to hurt) i'm starting to think that, whenever i get a new plant, i should do in-depth research on it (and anything else that looks like it, ie: green and leafy) quarentine it for a couple of months and attempt to propagate it, then perhaps think about moving it into a display tank. rant>

i have crazy plant eating culprits in my tanks as well - the cats get interested in this new thing in the tank and before it has a chance to root properly they dig it up. it then floats to the surface where everyone can enjoy a tasty snack on the fresh roots. i don't know how i managed to get this stuff to take, pure luck i think. i separated the root stock into about 7 small bunches and planted it all over the place - some got ripped out, some died, but a couple managed to take and have been growing poorly ever since.

well the parts turned up yesterday! so shiney... heres an image i poached. the difference 'twixt this and mine is simply that the bottom connector thingee sticks out the right hand side (H mount). (and on further inspection, has an NZ connector on it) BOC C02 regulator rated at 45l/m, high and low pressure gauges. according to the gauge i could take up MIG or TIG welding with this. two 'needle valves', just need to take a trip to the BOC supplier to get a couple of extra fittings to stick it all together and get a bottle don't tell my flatmates this, but if it fits the sodastream... my only gripe is that it is a horizontal mount valve, designed to be used with the bottle on its side rather than standing up - not that it makes any difference to the gas, and i'm sure it'll actually work out better when being mounted under the tank (or on the wall above it... now all i need is some underglow neon!)

Well i went and dug up the entire front of the tank (aquascaping rather than by misinterpretation of your recommendation ) no bubbles or funny smells to report. i don't have any way to test for P but i checked for rootburn, nothing wrong with the roots at all... quite the contrary! i have removed half the lighting over the tank to see what happens... guess its just a waiting game for now.

i replace the tubes every 6 months on rotation. The problem with the WPG application is that is is a guideline and does not account for the depth of the tank. Although the rating is low i think i may have gone overboard with 8x36W tubes (total 288W in a 167 gallon tank is only 1.7WPG) i guess the only other thing i can do if reducing the lighting does nothing is to look at getting a lighting system that produces around 770W of lighting. MH here i come...

630 is tiny its about 1400/600/750 i really want something about twice the size. the c02 stuff came from the old man who works in engineering - a couple of phone calls and a few bucks here and there (or was that a few beers...) and the only thing i have to get now is a bottle. you can purchase setups if you have the money and want to part with it. bottles cost about $50 and $10 a fill, a tap for the bottle will set you back about $450, other bits and pieces come in at around $250... (edit: my pricing was way off - see post regarding prices lower down.) i made the bits and pieces and scrounged the expensive bits - rather fitting for a dutch-style tank

tank is about a year and a half old and pretty damn stable water and substrate fertilizer replenished as often as recommended if not more often and C02 injection. The plants are getting their micro and macronutrients. water changes done when necessary. substrate consists of aquatic potting mix covered and propagating sand. substrate is non-heated, something i am trying to non-invasively solve. could be a number of small things or one large thing but i'm pushing towards the lighting problem... the hygrophila does not grow more than an inch off the ground, nice and thick. most of the plants that are nearing the surface are getting red-tips, that side-effect of overlighting. it is quite a drastic lighting setup - sword plants have huge leaves in the darker areas and tiny leaves on the same plant in the light. the same grass in question grows 'nicely' when it makes it way under another plant (like the hygro).

Thanks to the magic of pestering ones parents I have FINALLY managed to secure parts for a pressurised C02 system - my yeast problems are solved! (ok, so you didn't need to know that...) The only component remaining to be aquired is a C02 cylinder, and the question I have is: What size? This is for a 630l heavily planted tank. I don't know what deals I can get from BOC (unless there are better suggestions?), but I expect I'll be hiring the cylinder (always found the idea of swappa-bottle brilliant) TIA guys (Today, I post alot.)

Lilaeopsis somethingarotheria, hard to guess from pictures online what a particular plant is, but it is basically a grass. It grows, it spreads, but it does not look happy. If it were a houseplant i would assume that it was not getting enough water! It looks withered, the 'leaves' curl over and hug the gravel and eventually it gets covered in algae spots. It has spread around the tank but the distance between shoots is quite large (about an inch). Temp is around 24degC, pH is 6.5 and KH is around 2. C02 is in there somewhere but I'm no good at measuring the levels yet (unless they really are at 30-40ppm, which I seriously doubt). Light levels are existant, created by 8 6500K t8s (no reflector) and depth is about 2 feet. I assume that the light levels are too high as grass growing under other plants behaves more like i would want it to, also noticing sword plants have abnormally small leaves... Any experience or suggestions on how to get it to grow as a nice grassy mat?

yeah, layer of aquatic potting mix (eg: daltons) with gravel or propagating sand over the top of it makes everything grow like wildfire.

one of my hoplo cats lost a barbel somehow, noticed a month or so ago and it has been growing back ever since - almost reached normal again now.

i usually have the problem the other way around... I fill my tank slowly with a hose so i often wander off and get distracted while it is filling. i don't want to fill it too fast because of temperature and chemical changes, not to mention the annoying waterflow destroying my meger attempts at aquascaping. one time i heard the trickle and thought it was the washing machine filling, heard a knock at the door and whilst walking down the hallway discovered the carpet was saturated. the person at the door wanted to know why there was water running across their ceiling! (stupid apartment blocks). and in order to make this post less OT: those one-way-valve/flow-back-arrestors for air lines; are there any available that don't disrupt the flow of air dramatically? I have used a few different ones (probably all the same brand in different colours knowing my luck) and although i'm sure they perform admirably at stopping the water flowing out of the tank, they also do a good job at stopping the air from flowing in! (and yes, i did get them the right way 'round )

The stuff i use is 'FOSROC Silaflex RTV Clear' Available from placemakers for about $7 a tube on a good week, i've used it for everything and nothing has broken. It sells itself as aquarium friendly and the instructions state only that you must use the non-coloured or 'clear' version (clearly marked on the front) as other colours contain mould inhibitors. and it is NZ made in petone

yeah, i was referring to using a toxic one for gluing the glass together and a non-toxic one for creating the internal seals to keep the water in place - not that i can see any reason to go out of ones way to use two separate types of sealers! i guess the only question left is; what glue has who used for what purpose; what works and what doesn't?

so thats what they were getting at with the curing thing... placemakers... kilbirnie the stuff i use comes in a mostly white tube with some black and blue, and a bit of red.. i think. i'll check it out when i get home and let you know. one thing i can recommend not using would be sellys space invader. i guess acid etching would not be such a bad thing on the external seals - it is usually recommended not to use machined glass on the edges of the tanks because the silicon has less to stick to (more random information from other local glaziers)

i went into placemakers and asked one of the sales assistants - he got on the phone and rang to speak to the chemist that makes the stuff! interesting... most of them say on the back of the container 'not for aquarium use'. this is generally because they contain a mould inhibitor which is toxic to fishtanks. if you get to a fairly decent hardware store you will find a huge range to look through; there are some that state they can be used. There was also some talk (somewhere) about the different curing types - one that uses chemicals (like alcohol) when curing and one that uses a 'neutral' cure (i don't personally know the specifics - air?) - what i have found is simply that it doesn't matter unless you are not planning on waiting for the silicon to cure totally before using the tank (something like 24 hours per cm thickness from surface of silicon in contact with air; two 10cm square pieces glued face to face would therefore take 5 days to cure right to the center) - once it is cured you won't have any problems unless there is a mould killing thingee in the equation. you can get stuff from some pet stores that does the trick, but (as with most tank lights) its the same stuff in a different package at 10 times the price - go to the hardware store!!

i was talking to our local wellington tank-maker about re-sealing tanks and found his point of view rather interesting... Typically when i find a tank has a leak i pull the whole thing apart, clean off all the silicon and start again. he approaches it in a slightly different manner: The silicon between the sheets of glass is for structural support, the silicon on the inside of the tank is for keeping the water in the right place. when rebuilding a rather large tank i got him to make up the top supports for it, and he decided that the seals on the inside needed re-doing. he cut them out and put them back in, without so much as asking what type of silicon i used (tangental information regarding some silicon sealants not sticking to others). i think the moral of the story is; if the tank is not trying to fall apart when you cut away the water seals on the inside you probably don't need to worry about them, and it would seem that silicon is strong enough to support this theory

Even using a perfect mixture of high c02 yield yeast and alcohol absorbant additives in an airtight and c02 resistant system kept at optimal temperature i have never managed to get a culture to last more than 3-4 weeks. Adding more water is likely to make the reaction last longer, but because the yeast will have to go hunting for the nutrients it needs you'll probably just get a lower C02 yield over a longer period of time. You are better to admit defeat at having to replace your C02 every couple of weeks and concentrate on making the best use of the C02 you are generating. With 5 tablespoons of sugar, 500ml of water and 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in a 750ml C02 resistant container using C02 resistant hosing and a 100% efficient diffusion reactor, I can get the C02 in my 600 litre tank to dangerously high levels. The entire setup cost me about $25, but the point is that, in my mumble experience, the use of non-co2 resistant systems and poor diffusion methods are far greater problems than having to replace a yeast container every 3-4 weeks - you should be worrying about having to weed your tank on an almost daily basis!

Does anyone have any great ideas or recommendations for a device that acts like a gravel cleaner/siphon yet does not remove the water from the tank? I have seen some kind of electric gravel cleaner that sucks up the gravel and has a small filter on in, but i'm thinking higher volume use for when one rips all the plants out of ones tank and re-plants them. The amount of detritus and substrate stirred up makes it hard to see, and i don't fancy pulling the cannister filter apart every couple of hours in attempt to make it do the work, or waiting the hour or so that it takes for the water to settle again.

for those of you that care; i have had an outbreak of BBA in my tank. because i do not know when it was introduced the plants that i will be offering tomorrow may be contaminated. If in doubt i suggest not taking any. I am working to rid the tank of the stuff but i think i need about 30 SAEs to do the job. see you all tomorrow

people are always on the look out for worms to put in their garden, i have come to the conclusion that fishtanks are probably no exception (planted ones anyway). I suffered no ill effect from the worms that were in the tank, and as soon as i added a substantial amount of fish, all the worms and other little critters mentioned just up and vanished, along with the baby snails.

does anyone have a chemical breakdown of flourish excel? might be able to concoct something similar. most of the BBA is on plants, i will be cutting it all out this weekend - it is not going to look pretty! SAEs are about $10 each - does anyone have any spare or breeding? i'm interested in getting some but not terribly interested in paying store prices for them.

i can send you a sample if you would like to have it take over your tank! I have a theory that it can also use excess iron and silicates in the tank and the heat from the thermostat, to make itself a mechanoid army of amphibious algal dispersers.

Black Brush Algae, BBA. Pain in the #*$&, i could tell you, but you all probably have experienced it in one way or another. I have seen some really nice set-ups that use it to great visual potential, however in my tank it is evil, i hate it and it must, frankly, die. So we resort to fish that eat it: SAEs eat it, although I have some speculation (due to reading to much net-media) that they only eat it when it when not fed more delectable substances. Perhaps a chance to take, the other fish in this tank can survive for at least a week without food. The problem now arises when trying to source SAEs (For those playing the game at home, the infamous SAE is the Siamese Algae Eater; Crossocheilus siamensis) Most places sell C. siamensis as 'Flying Fox' or 'Black Line Flying Fox' which, unless they got the 'English Name' wrong is actually Epalzeorhynchus kalopterus, a close relative who does not like to eat BBA. Because i don't really want to risk spend $50 on (4) fish that may not do the task assigned to them, another resourt must be opted for. Many articles suggest bleaching or chloraxing logs, equipment, and some even suggest doing this to the plants. Raise the lighting and the nitrogen, plants will out-compete the algae (an age old remedy for any algae really). This does not seem to be having much effect. BBA does not like high Copper concentrations. I can easily add copper by throwing a few handfuls of copper into my cannister filter. My main concern is what effect high(ish) Cu concentrations will have on the other plants and fish. Apparently Val does not like it (i have met few things that do, humans included) along with other similar plants, Although Crypts and Swords don't seem to care. There is also extensive discussion regarding its control/termination by raising the nitrate levels in the tank. The theory being that plants use nitrate and phosphate to grow, whilst red algae likes to eat phosphates. If the nitrates are too low plants stop growing, stop using phosphates, and BOOM its everywhere. Im interested to know what other people think of this interesting little predicament, any experiences etc. Oh, and if anyone knows a cheap source of (real) SAEs i'll love you forever.

i like the elephant-nose, although it reminds me of a sr71 blackbird on its side with eyes and a long nose. the fish i find generally the ugliest would be most of the tetra collection, but i find them ugly in the same way i don't like the look of the lamborghini countach because i have seen it too often. I have glowlights and they are not pretty when they get larger - they look like their scales are too big for their bodies. and the latest addition of ugly fish that i want to get: chocolate/brown knife fish. Saw one for the fist time in r/l today, must buy it! this also goes for the banded knife, but hes not ugly.