Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
My latest planted tank - Updated 22.07.08
I think this tank may be a little more permanent than that, somehow.
Anyway, what do you think?
I liked the red moor wood but no sooner had I filled the tank than it decided to float.
I think, on balance, that the tank looks better with one type of wood.
Shiny new Eheim 2026, very kindly seeded by Peter in Aquapaws, fair play to him.
I finally settled on this. It needs tonnes more plants, particularily some big ferns midway up the tank to shade the crypts low down. A hairgrass/E. Tennellus carpet, maybe?
The E. Stellata isn't too healthy at the moment but I think it'll live. Loads more crypts to come and more mosses.
CO2 is steady at just slightly into yellow on the drop-checker. I'll leave it at that level until i'm ready to add fish. I'm dosing trace as API Leafzone for the week.
Finger crossed. All advice or comments on the layout are welcome.
170L Bowfront Community Tank : Heavily planted : CO2 : T5 lighting
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Oh yeah, I also like the luminaire
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170L Bowfront Community Tank : Heavily planted : CO2 : T5 lighting
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170L Bowfront Community Tank : Heavily planted : CO2 : T5 lighting
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I replaced all of them with smaller, darker ones. I think it looks much better.
The Limnophilia is way too stemmy so I trimmed it way back after i took the shot. I'm not sure I like it so I may replace it with a Rotala of some kind. (suggestions?)
There's one stem of E. Stellata and a tiny bit of Downii planted in front, hopefully they'll take off. I plan to use the Downii for a carpet on the left side.
I like the E. Tennellus but I think I need a mid-ground plant between it and the bogwood. Blyxa maybe? and move the long stems to behind the hardscape?
What do you think?
170L Bowfront Community Tank : Heavily planted : CO2 : T5 lighting
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This tank looks fantastic !
Maybe one of the thicker plants beside the bog wood would be better on the right hand side. The left hand-side looks a little heavier compared to the right hand-side. Mind you, with time and CO2, I am sure it'll even out !...
Well done !
Valerie
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Started dosing dry ferts 10 days ago, a teaspoon of each seems to be enough for the moment.
Growth has improved, particularily the lily which is putting on 8 inches a week. The limnophilia has recovered it's vibrant green and will be kept.
I'm seeing small amounts of BBA which I think may have been imported from my other tank (despite my best efforts) :oops: .
I'm overdosing EXcel and crossing fingers.
Some of the crypts are melting slightly too but they should be ok in time.
The E. Stellata in the foreground has recovered now and seems to be starting to put on new growth. Not so the Downii but time will tell, I suppose.
I have Blyxa on the way courtesy of one of the posters on UKAPS to fill out the space between the E. Tennellus and the bogwood behind. I removed the Hortwort as it didn't really suit the layout.
Any suggestions for a suitable tall background plant to fill in behind the Java Ferns?
170L Bowfront Community Tank : Heavily planted : CO2 : T5 lighting
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Just one thing when you say your \"overdosing EXcel\" for the BBA.
Did you mean you were using easycarbo to kill the BBA? This needs to be injected into the algae for a couple of days but dont go over the recommended dose for the size of the tank.
It dose work but if the algae keeps coming back there is a problem somewhere.
Darren.
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Just one thing when you say your \"overdosing EXcel\" for the BBA.
Did you mean you were using easycarbo to kill the BBA? This needs to be injected into the algae for a couple of days but dont go over the recommended dose for the size of the tank.
It dose work but if the algae keeps coming back there is a problem somewhere.
Darren.
Yeah, sorry. I put that badly. Before the fish went in I was overdosing with Flourish Excel. Now i'm injecting it directly on to the Algae. My problem is CO2 related, my dropchecker is lying to me! I've upped the CO2 and I'm adding more flow this weekend to get better distribution.
I'll kill it, don't worry!
170L Bowfront Community Tank : Heavily planted : CO2 : T5 lighting
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