SamH

Somehow I managed to gas the tank in my room, more CO2 than you can imagine flowing into the tank killed off half a dozen embers, fighters barely hanging on. No idea what happened, bubble counter is empty.

:iag: Fishstreet is best, even though half the price is shipping it's STILL much cheaper :roll:

Not yet so just go off this one in the meantime. http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Pressurized-CO2/19/ Basically you need a cylinder, regulator with solenoid and needle valve and a diffuser. Anything else is extra, check valve, bubble counter, etc.

He means software Joe. Did you even try Google Cam? This is the first thing I got.

The general rule is that anything that fits in their mouth will be eaten. Exceptions include fish that raise their young. Harlequins do not so if you want the best survival rate, you'd best remove them.

I'm no good with anything marine but as far as aquascaping goes, you could try putting your focal point 1/3 the way across the tank. I'm guessing this is the gap between the rock piles? Could look more appealing, couldn't hurt to try

A spray bar tend to disperse this flow whereas a straight pipe or lily pipe would create a stronger flow. You can do one end to the other if you like, that's more of a linear flow than circulation though. It really depends how powerful your filter is.

Yes pressurised CO2. That's what really makes a high tech tank high tech.

I agree with disgustipated. I'd be looking at CO2 before substrates.

Thanks guys! I predict that by the end of April this tank will be looking its best 8)

All on the left so the water flows to one end of the tank and is sucked back in the same end, makes for a U shaped flow pattern. Here's how I got my 60x30x30 braced, not sure how well it would scale up to a tank your size but you get the idea. Blue is the brace, red holds the lids (glass siliconed to the underside of the brace) and the green is the lids.

I'm glad I'm not the only one interested in my thread :lol: The first point I'd like to make is that the key to a successful planted tank is balance. This can be achieved by matching high lighting with pressurised CO2 and an extensive liquid fertiliser regime. Or it can be achieved by carefully selecting your equipment to match your budget. If CO2 is not an option, less lighting is used or the lights you have are mounted further away from the aquarium. A low tech tank that has balance can be just as beautiful as a high tech tank, although it will take a little longer to develop. Lighting. If I were you, I'd use that T8 double unit only on this aquarium. Get some new tubes (perhaps power glos or just 6500k cool daylight tubes if you're on a budget) and mount that directly on top of the aquarium. 5cm each side won't be noticeable and with your tank 40cm deep, it should give you a nice amount of light without being too strong and causing algae. I'd be running the lights for 6hrs initially and seeing how that goes. I'll base the rest of my answers based on that lighting set up. CO2. With that sort of lighting, it's unlikely you will need CO2 to keep algae in check but it wouldn't hurt to increase plant growth. But seeing as your tank is 160L, a cheap sodastream setup is out of the question and rigs take a bit of cash to set up. Leave it at no CO2 for now. Fertiliser. Now you've mentioned substrate fertilisers but not liquid ferts. I feel that neither are really needed in low tech tanks but they do help to keep algae at bay (provided you do the right water changes) and increase plant growth. I've have some of my best success with inert substrate so I'd be sticking to that unless you have heavy root feeders such as swords. Filter. Now this is an interesting one when aquascaping. Aquascaping as a game of aesthetics and having a great big filter pipe through the middle of your scape is really unattractive. Think about this when getting your tank made, I suggest you allow for the pipes to come through the left side of the aquarium so they can be hidden by the natural reflection of the glass. If you were really keen on aesthetics, lily pipes are another option too but again must be mounted on the side, not the back of the aquarium. The issue you may have is lack of flow within the tank, algae is a real issue in any spots that don't get enough water movement so extra pumps may be needed, you won't know until you start the tank though. I find the Aquascaping World Forums to be the most useful in terms of aquascaping aesthetics, their plant knowledge is good too. May I suggest you have a look through these: 2010, 2011, 2012, to get an idea of what sort of tank you might be after. Hope this helps!

Welcome Sandra That's a very interesting mix of fish you have there, any idea on how you're going to move them from their old home to their new one?

This is the tank as of tonight. 0 visible shrimp All WCMM doing fine 'cept for one looking a bit thin and weak unfortunately.

I'm thinking a youngish angels if anyone has any for sale nearby?

Argh I read it as get a 220-240volt thing as in get a 220-240volt adapter :nilly: :oops:

Really? I used my wavemakers straight through a plug adaptor. I didn't expect an adaptor but I tend to get them, you could always ask when you order but they're cheap as anyways.

I'm not quite sure where they're from, I just bought some "moss rocks" from Stone and Water World and water blasted the dirt off them. They do look quite volcanic though!

I asked Greg to make my last tank a "minimal silicone aquarium". I think what he did was make it as normal but cut any excess on the glass off. I doubt whether the silicone that's not between two sheets of glass adds anything. Here's what it looks like, very clean.

Could you please specify how you get 210W of light? I.e, 2 x 54w T5 tubes, 3 x 10w cfl bulbs, etc.

I love mucking around with lighting like that but it's so hard to capture what you see in person through a camera :nilly:

Did a water change tonight as the water reeked of dead shrimp, hopefully this doesn't cause the rest to die especially cause I'm off to Napier until Thursday. I also learned that minnows are damn stupid and swim right up to the siphon tube, three of them did this but seem to have gotten away with just minor dizziness. Will need to rig a net up to the end of my old gravel vac.

In my experience, TradeMe sellers give more per $ than the store.

Mine go pink too, the tank never goes above 24 and people have had success up to 26, only a select few shrimp are affected.

Thanks! It's very relaxing especially next to my desk 8)