Recent content by Andrew waterson

Water sprite has just arrived, but in little pots and they are quite tall (I know they can be planted in the substrate as well as floating) I've taken them out of the pots, freed the roots and soaked/cleaned them They float but looks like I've put a bag of salad in the tank, certainly not what...

Thanks Byron you been a great help. Hopefully I'll get it under control and avoid a big breakout

Assuming I find a good balance point of light time, shade from floating plants, nutrients (liquid and root tabs) and water change/maintenance. Would the bba die off or just be under control and not growing? I don't actually mind it on lava rocks and gravel as it actually looks quite nice! It...

Water sprite already ordered!! I'm going to start clean the filters each week particularly the hob one. I thought you couldn't wash them in tap water as the chlorine killed the nitrifying bacteria? 1 tank seems like a more manageable task now!!

Hi Byron, The water sprite does look great in your tank. How would it do inin covered tank, I don't have a great deal of clearance between the surface and bulbs? I'm doing 25-30% water changes with a gravel cleaner/siphon and carry the bucket to the kitchen sink (15l was about the biggest I...

Thanks Byron Excel is certainly out then!! The bba started forming before I began using flourish comprehensive, so may imply that it is light related. I'm going to drop the lights on period by a few hrs and see if this has any impact. Would floating plants help, diffusing the lights to some...

Hi All, My tanks been up and running for a few months now, but I've started to develop BBA Its still in small patches at the edge of leaves and lava rock and a few clumps on gravel, but I'm aware this can become a bit of a nightmare to deal with if left unchecked Tank info -160L community...

Thanks both, that is a great help (as always!) I'll stick with the lights as is and keep up with the root tabs. Hopefully they'll thicken a bit as they grow. I do have a bit of algea that I'm cleaning of every few weeks, mostly just a bit of green film on the glass but a few patches of black...

Its a T8 (interpet) , the spectrum is list listed in wavelength nm and is approx 660nm (I think that's in the red spectrum?) I can't see a K rating on the manual, they have 780 lumen and 7,000 h? I don't think there suppose to be that good, but came as part of the package (hood lighting built...

Hi All, A question about my Amazon swords, I don't have much experience with aquarium plants They seem to be growing well (flowering stalks have grown out of the tank!) and lots of new leaves. The new leaves look healthy but they are a bit see through (still green, but I can see the shadow of...

Thanks. I think I'm going to look into red cherry shrimp. In terms of hiding spaces. Is plant cover better (i currently have a moderately planting level, but mostly tall plans like amazon sword's) or more stone shelf type cover (I have lava rock)?

Hi Colin, What's your view on red cherry shrimp and dwarf rainbow fish, will they view them as a tasty snack?! Bronze Cory's look like a good fit Thanks!

Hi All, I'm looking for suggestions for bottom feeders than would do well in a alkaline (pH 8.2) hard water (270ppm, GH 15) community tank Its 160 liters, moderately planted and has guppies (all male) and will have dwarf neon rainbowfish in soon. I'm looking for a good tank mate that will help...

Thanks both, you've been a great and very knowledgeable help on this and several other of my question threads!! I'll keep on with the more generous feeding and keep testing every day. If the ammonia and nitrite stay at 0 I'll add a few more fish in the coming weeks!

Hi all, I've had my new tank setup for 2 weeks now (after some great advice from this site) I decided to go for a fish in cycle as it's a moderately planted and I've got filter media from a established tank (ceramic rings), also I'm probably a bit impatient! I've got 4 guppies in a 160 litre...