Our new 200ltr community

[MVP]

Well the aqua one comes with 3 ceramic noodles a course sponge and a finer one. I had problems with my fine one clogging and exhausting very quickly so i have since pulled that out but if you want to keep it in go:

Bioballs on bottom

Fine sponge ontop of that

Then right on top put the course sponge.

It will allow for you to get the main chunkies on top, then the finer ones then whats left over is for your bio filtration.

Hopefully that will keep you out of trouble for a while

[SYNiC]

Hopefully that will keep you out of trouble for a while

Thanks mate. I only have one grade of sponge, and it isn't that fine. I'll see how it goes for now if need be, I'll get something else to pick up what the current ones miss.

[KIMO]

There's two things you can try, if you're not satisfied with your water clarity.

1. You can add a small in tank power filter to suck up any small/fine particles in the water. But this will take up some tank space...OR...

2. Use a small bag of "Purigen" to really polish your water. You could place this somewhere in your built in filter system. It costs a bit, but once you've got it, you can "re-charge" it numerous times as per instructions. Just make sure to place it after your fine filter pads so as not to clog it up too quickly.

Cheers,

KimO.

[fongyfong]

is that 250 new with stand? if so where abouts did you get it from? cos thats super cheap!!

I know somebody that works for a Jebo wholesaler in Sydney.

Yay these shops get Heaps of profit on these tanks

[MVP]

Yeah purigen works wonders. I'd also recommend using

[SYNiC]

There's two things you can try, if you're not satisfied with your water clarity.

1. You can add a small in tank power filter to suck up any small/fine particles in the water. But this will take up some tank space...OR...

2. Use a small bag of "Purigen" to really polish your water. You could place this somewhere in your built in filter system. It costs a bit, but once you've got it, you can "re-charge" it numerous times as per instructions. Just make sure to place it after your fine filter pads so as not to clog it up too quickly.

Cheers,

KimO.

Thanks KimO, I'm off to a couple of aquarium shops this afternoon (again). I'll have a look for some Purigen (though the water does seem to have settled a little since yesterday).

I was thinking if need be, I could get a 2Plus (400lph) or 3Plus (700lph) Fluval internal to help out. Maybe I will wait until Christmas, and get a canister when the Mrs. brother comes. Hopefully I can get one cheap, and avoid having to have an internal.

I found this. Does anyone else have any other online shops that they use?. I tend to use online shops, as the prices up here are through the roof.

This cheap tank, is turning into an expensive little hobby!

[MVP]

You will not need any extra filtration... Do not buy an internal filter...

Online shop try www.aquaticlifeaquariums.com.au or www.aquariumsuppliesmarket.com.au if you can't find what your looking with one of our sponsors.

[KIMO]

"Age of Aquariums" for online shopping!!!

Excellent service and price, plus they sponsor ACE.

Cheers,

KimO.

[SYNiC]

I am thinking of trying out some plant supplements to help out with that side of things.

Has anyone had good results with any of the Seachem Flourish products?

I would like to try the "Flourish root tabs" for the Amazon Swords, and was thinking of getting some Flourish for the other plants.

What is the difference between "Flourish" & "Flourish Excel"?. From what I can gather the Excel requires higher/more frequent dosage. Do these products have any negative effects on plants, I read somewhere that they can kill some varieties of aquatic plants, is this true?.

Are these products safe to use during the cycle process?.

Can you recommend anything else to try, in a low light set-up, with no CO2/substrate?

Cheers,

Michael.

[MVP]

Personally i used Seachem flourish which was a complete supplement and Red sea root Tablets. Worked well with my anubias plants. Check out this website http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm I got some good information from there about chlorine and chloramine but remembered it was a planted aquarium page.. What i read was good so maybe the rest is good too Might be useful.

[SYNiC]

Bookmarked, great read!, thanks for the link mate.

[SYNiC]

Anyway, this is about where I'm up to at the moment.

Put most of the plants in, to get them back in water, and under light.

Nothing exciting, I'll have to read a little more and get some others to put in there. I'm not overly keen on the Wisteria, but it is hardy, and grows like a weed.

I think I'd like to have some thin vallis fill out the background, and maybe some hairgrass in the foreground.

Any other suggestions?

The water has also settled a lot over the last two days.

Still chasing up a 24" 20W T8 tube. I found a Aqua-Glo by Hagen, just waiting to see what its kelvin rating is, I have a feeling it's 15000 or 18000K - anyone know? Hagen website is of no help.

Cheers,

Michael.

[MVP]

From what i remember reading in a planted aquarium book early on you want hardy plants that "grow like weeds" to take all the nutrients away from the algae and to give it all plenty of light. Slowly you replace the hardy stuff with something not so hardy until you have your chinese gardens underwater The idea is to starve out the algae early before it gets a foothole in the tank. Both nice choices with the thin vallis and hairgrass. Look for something big and leafy to stand out like that one in the middle. Use them to feature in the tank. Also drop in the driftwood so you know what your working with in terms of what plants you want to make it all look good. It all changes once you lob in an ornament.

[SYNiC]

Yeah I didn't really put them in for the visual appeal at the moment, more so to get them wet again & to try and help starve the algae before it starts. No doubt I'll change it all later, I still have to get some wood yet. The mother in-law has a nice piece of driftwood on her veranda, I'll have to try and sneak it in to the boot one day.

The piece she has looks pretty gray though, I'll have to find out a little more about it. The only problem with buying a piece (apart from the price of it!) is then having the tanning going on in the tank, which I personally am not a fan of.

[MVP]

A purigen pouch will remove the tannin problem.

As for the wood im not sure what you can and can't use. I think the biggest problem for you is if you do decide to go out and buy a piece you will be charged an arm and a leg unless you decide to come to sydney or even stop by newcastle theres quite a few aquarists there too Just gotta keep an eye out and be prepared to travel or possibly ask someone to ship it to you.

[JLL]

SYNiC,

I am not an expert but i use Flourish, as well as potassium and iron seachem supplements. It took a while to strike a good balance but I like the combination I am using at the moment. I used excel for a short while to help with a black hair algae outbreak but once the SAEs had it under control I stopped using it.

I have found that the problem of algae is best solved by getting your tank into a happy equilibrium and dont be too fussed if you get some algae early on (SAEs are awesome IMO). If you try to tie up excess nutrients with vigorous plants then you risk breaking your hold over the algae once you remove them for prettier plants down the track.

Living in Taree you should be able to find some good Euc wood around for drift wood. A bit of carbon or purigen will help with the tannins and boiling the wood for about 8 hours (changing the water every hour) will remove the bulk from the tannins from the wood. Drift wood is just too expensive to buy.................

[SYNiC]

SYNiC,

I am not an expert but i use Flourish, as well as potassium and iron seachem supplements. It took a while to strike a good balance but I like the combination I am using at the moment. I used excel for a short while to help with a black hair algae outbreak but once the SAEs had it under control I stopped using it.

I have found that the problem of algae is best solved by getting your tank into a happy equilibrium and dont be too fussed if you get some algae early on (SAEs are awesome IMO). If you try to tie up excess nutrients with vigorous plants then you risk breaking your hold over the algae once you remove them for prettier plants down the track.

Living in Taree you should be able to find some good Euc wood around for drift wood. A bit of carbon or purigen will help with the tannins and boiling the wood for about 8 hours (changing the water every hour) will remove the bulk from the tannins from the wood. Drift wood is just too expensive to buy.................

Thanks for the reply mate. I've been away down in Sydney the last few days so I haven't been keeping an eye on things. I'll be hitting day 21 of the cycle tomorrow so I'll get the test kit out and see what's happening with NH3/NO2/NO3 levels. (I scored a handy little Aqua One aquarium log book in an issue of PFK I bought the other day )

The plants seem to be doing pretty good at the moment, I'm not sure what road I'm going to take with them yet. While I was down in the big smoke I went out with my Mrs. brother to a few LFS's in Blacktown, and one out at Windsor (I think ). I managed to get another T8 tube that was smashed during delivery, and ended up paying for some wood , so that is taken care of for now. I'll boil it up tomorrow, and soak it for a while.

My brother in-law went the "find your own wood in the bush" route, and I got a look at his ~400Ltrs of water, complete with tannin. I must say, I wasn't that big of a fan of it. I should of been on the lookout for some Purigen while I was down there.

I couldn't get over how many shops there are down there. The one at Windsor (BIG Koi ponds in the front) had a great selection of fish, and looked crystal clear. If I didn't have 2 days left down there and a 4hr drive home, I would of gone silly in there... 10 Rummynose for $25, they want $6ea for those up here!.

I'm yet to sort out a stock list for this 200L, so that will be my next thing to do over the next week or two. I'll have to do some more reading, to find any conflicts in the fish that I'm interested in keeping.

I might go out in the next few days and see if I can get some more plants to put in, I'd like to get some Val in the background, and maybe find a Java Fern (or moss) to stick onto the wood.

Keep posted, hopefully this thread will get a little less boring in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Michael.

[japes]

Sorry to Hijack your thread a little. In a recent visit to Brisbane I picked up one of these plants from a fantastic store named Pet City. The plant was healthy when I bought it and I felt it was a fantastic purchase as they had some larger ones in there that grow to be huge and very beautiful. I picked up what I think was a Chain Sword with it.

Unfortunately due to some technical difficulties (Took us a solid hour to catch a Salvini in my friends 8foot which my other friend was buying), and my stupidity, it was left in the sun for about an hour in the plastic bag, and wasn't planted for another 3 or so hours. The chain sword I picked up at the same time was also subdued to this but was destroyed by my Cichlids before I could tell whether or not it was fatal.

Anyway, to the point, what sort of lighting are you running to keep this thing alive? I was using bi-weekly doses with flourish and it got to the point where I had to remove the plant the other day. Current lighting in my tank is a 2x30W, one's a 15k tricolour and the other is a standard 10k. Just figured if it wasn't my lighting and it was indeed my being an idiot, I'd pick up another one.

Tank's looking great.

[aquadog]

Looking good

Does anyone know what that last plant is called? I got a teeny plant that came in on the roots of some val that I ordered online, planted it and it turned into the one pictured. Would love to know what it is

[SYNiC]

Anyway, to the point, what sort of lighting are you running to keep this thing alive? I was using bi-weekly doses with flourish and it got to the point where I had to remove the plant the other day. Current lighting in my tank is a 2x30W, one's a 15k tricolour and the other is a standard 10k. Just figured if it wasn't my lighting and it was indeed my being an idiot, I'd pick up another one.

Tank's looking great.

The sword was in a 10G with a 15W T8 (so about 1.5WPG), not sure of the kelvin rating, just the standard T8 that came with the 18" Aqua One reflector. It's now in the 200L, running 3*20W T8's - all 10,000K (been running 2*20W for the last 3 weeks). No ferts or CO². It was given to me along with the Wysteria, I just put them in, and let them go - they seemed to do fine, they are pretty hardy/beginner friendly plants. I might resort to some root tabs for the sword and see if that brings it along any better. As I've said before, I'm pretty new to the whole planted tank scene. I've just been reading different articles, getting advice on forums and using the trusted old trial and error method.

What is the volume of the tank you are running 60W with?.

How long are you running the lights for each day?.

Perhaps using tabs would help, Amazon Swords are root feeders if I'm not mistaken.

Amazon Sword - Echinodorus Bleheri The most popular aquarium plant of them all. A nutritious bottom promotes growth. Use laterite, florite, or some root tabs. Hardy and easy solitary plant for both beginners and experts. Height 20-50 cm, Light requirements low-very high, Temperature 20-30 °C, Hardness tolerance soft-hard, pH tolerance 5.5-9, Growth fast (good plant for out compeating the algae). Very easy to grow.

Source.

Looking good

Does anyone know what that last plant is called? I got a teeny plant that came in on the roots of some val that I ordered online, planted it and it turned into the one pictured. Would love to know what it is

Amazon Sword.

[aquadog]

Aha! Thanks!

[japes]

What is the volume of the tank you are running 60W with?.

How long are you running the lights for each day?.

Perhaps using tabs would help, Amazon Swords are root feeders if I'm not mistaken.

Running them on a 160L/42Gal 3 foot with basic sand as the substrate (Filter Sand). Running near as makes no difference 12 hours of proper lighting, and another 2-3 perhaps with just a standard crappy downlight in the ceiling that really doesn't light the tank at all (it's for ambient room light).

I'm thinking I've just killed it with the transport. Basically I live a good 90 minutes away from where I bought it. Picked it up (was an impulse buy), and accidentally left it in the sun in my car at a mates place for at least an hour, probably close to 2, then it was in the shade for maybe another 2 and a half before it was back into water and planted.

Poor thing would have boiled in the bag in my car when I didn't keep it shaded.

[SYNiC]

What is the volume of the tank you are running 60W with?.

How long are you running the lights for each day?.

Perhaps using tabs would help, Amazon Swords are root feeders if I'm not mistaken.

Running them on a 160L/42Gal 3 foot with basic sand as the substrate (Filter Sand). Running near as makes no difference 12 hours of proper lighting, and another 2-3 perhaps with just a standard crappy downlight in the ceiling that really doesn't light the tank at all (it's for ambient room light).

I'm thinking I've just killed it with the transport. Basically I live a good 90 minutes away from where I bought it. Picked it up (was an impulse buy), and accidentally left it in the sun in my car at a mates place for at least an hour, probably close to 2, then it was in the shade for maybe another 2 and a half before it was back into water and planted.

Poor thing would have boiled in the bag in my car when I didn't keep it shaded.

You have a higher WPG rating than I do, so I cant see that being a problem. I got mine off my brother in-law in Sydney, I drove for 4 hours up the coast with it, in a "Glad" lock bag with it in the console. Maybe leaving it in the sun wasn't the best for it. I'd say grab another one and have another go.

[SYNiC]

Here is a quick picture of the wood I'm going to use. It is two separate pieces, I just have to wait until the Mrs. is out before I pull the large pasta pot out to boil them up for a while.

[MVP]

Here is a quick picture of the wood I'm going to use. It is two separate pieces, I just have to wait until the Mrs. is out before I pull the large pasta pot out to boil them up for a while.

Wow your game... Make sure im the first name in your will for your new tank