the-obstacle

How do I know if I've put enough in there? I've only got comprehensive in there at the moment, don't want to use excel. Anything else I should throw in? I've got co2 being added via nutrafin ladder but will hopefully add another or a couple of real diffusers with 3L juice bottles attached. Any tips appreciated.

So I just re-wired the MH lamps (again - longer cords) and replaced the old bung lamps with brand new 6k bulbs and I am scared of these lights!!! I swear the new bulbs are twice as bright as the old ones and the old ones were ridiculously bright. Tomorrow they go above the tank. I'm thinking 1 hour a day for a few weeks is going to be all the existing plants need to get a a little boost over and above the powerglo. I'm crapping myself about the amount of algae these things could promote though.

That's great info. I have a blue / black sheet on my guppy tank and it looks great where it contacts the glass but where it lifts it looks really horrible. Replacing the bits of selotape with a properly finished oil adhesive sounds like just the trick!

Looks amazing man. I love this tank.

Me too please

It's like enamel but with special ingredients to make it stick to/seal concrete. It's damn good stuff.

Oh I meant with 26 being the top of the panda temp range and 26 being the lower of the angel range. As it is I'm having enough trouble keeping my big tank at 26 degrees for the pandas now. Maybe I should just harden up and put the angels in there too.

he'll be sweet. Just might take an hour or 2 to get his breath back. I wouldn't worry about quarantining him unless he's physically injured.

Yeah, that's what I was originally looking for but it turns out when you ask kiwi paint shop guys for latex paint they have no idea what you're talking about.

Sweet! I like the angels with the pandas but didn't have the balls to try it.

So the roller is the trick. I did find that if you didn't let it dry between coats iit did tend to pull off the previous layer but once I realised that was happening it was all good. It took about 5 coats to get to even nearly fully covered though. Next time it's all enamel all the way.

+1 - but if anybody happens to be travelling via Himatangi Beach to Auckland I'll put in an order right now. Need about 30 litres of the stuff.

What temp are you running it at? It looks good.

That looks nice. Is it darker or lighter in real life than the pic shows? Still a sharp sand or is there enough silica / ec sand not to notice? Well done on the mix. I like it.

Pandas are awesome but they limit the types of tank mates you can have as their theoretical max temperature is 26 which is most other tropicals lower temp.

do you run the marine glo at night for a moon effect or just for a bit of flash lighting?

Yeah, or move the pots I use as caves away from the filter inlet. Then again, as the rest of the fry got eaten I consider the filter dwellers to be pretty damn lucky on the whole. :lol:

High lighting yes, co2 yes, bit of ferts but not too much (comprehensive is perfect). Doesn't need root balls or aquatic mix but it wouldn't hurt. I've found it grows faster in black grit than in silica sand as it's easier for it's roots to spread between the gaps in the gravel.

My current t8 powerglo is no where near pink. It's a great colour all round really. I'd go all powerglo all round if it was for a planted tank.

So I was cleaning out the cannister on the community tank today and as I went to tip out the filthy water in the bottom after cleaning it I noticed 2 juvies in the sink about to go down the plug hole! :facepalm: I managed to grab the bigger of the 2 but the other one went down the drain while I watched in horror. They'd clearly been sucked into the filter and had been growing in the filthy water for about 2 months. From their size I'd say they were from the last batch before the male died. So now I have 3 juvies and their mother living in the community tank. At least one of the juvies is a male so maybe once they're old enough I can promote some incest and start them breeding again. Might take a while though - they're upset at me for pulling out all the crypts, swords, half the substrate and all the pandas.

Thanks, I was wondering about your cory sand. It looks very light but not white like silica as you say. So you think the east coast sand would cut it with those river stones? I wouldn't mind something lighter than the stones to be honest - now that they're in there the substrate is fairly dark all round. Let me know how tomorrow works out. I'll be popping into HFF to see if I can find a female german blue ram to replace the one I lost today but won't get much other time for hunting.

I have the NLS h2o stable wafers - should I be getting something else for my L140s?

Cheers! Once I've cleaned the garage I'll put some effort into cleaning the glass. It's a bit of a lost cause though. Still, I can just move my head a bit to see past the blemishes

Thanks! I don't think there is enough room though. The pup you sent me is on the top of the hill on the right and I suspect now that it'll get some real nutrients and light it'll be towering over everything in no time. (that and I no longer have a cent to my name (damn :evil: fish addictions) mutter grumble)

Seems the camera doesn't like staring straight into a powerglo. No idea why... Anyway, here's where it's at today. From left to right the plants are (or I think they are) Ozelot, Rose, Rose x Ozelot and the one on the right which I was given but didn't get the name. Behinnd between the ozelot and rose is 1 sprig of ambulia which will rocket up I'm sure. Behind between the rose and roseX is some of that stuff and between the roseX and the unknown sword is that other stuff (both of which go an awesome red under great light). Along the top of the riverstone wall is a mixture of crypts. Behind the log there is a green tiger lotus and there's some micro sword in front of the roseXozelot. The front of the tank is actually 50% of the depth but it looks like a tiny strip unless you look from the side in. It's going to be a sanded area with no plants. The apisto pots will be strategically placed somewhere out of view once the plants bed in and the sand is covered with riverstones to geo proof it. At the moment I've just got the 3' T8 powerglo on it to get the plants used to the tank as they've only been there 24 hours. In a week or 2 I'll add the halides for an hour a day and see what happens from there. Now I just need to wait for it to all grow. Oh, and I'll fill it to the top once I've got the rest of the riverstones.