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As the title sugests, would it be OK to put a pair of dwarf gouramis in with a mature pair of 3 spot gouramis and a betta? The tank is a 4ft, heavily planted, and also contains neons, clown loaches, glass catfish and panda corys. Cheers.

I just noticed that my female Ram has gone very pale. I was wonding if this is a sign that she's sick? I just have a pairof them, the male is thriving, growing and has very vibrant colours whereas the female has hardly grown in the 3 months I've had them and has lost a lot of her colouring...

I think I just proved that it IS possible to overdose co2 with DIY. I have a 10gal set up with just plants, no fish (just to muck around with). I had 2 X 1.25L bottles set up which gave me between 22 and 35 ppm co2 (KH 3, pH 6.4-6.6). For diffusion I just have a normal airstone right under...

Thanks Sam. That makes sense. I did test just before a water change so the phosphate levels inmy tank were probably at their highest. Cheers.

It could be some of the sugar/yeast mix flowing up into the tank...? Have you got a one way check valve of a gas separator between the cannister and the tank?

I just tested my no co2, daily Excel, EI light tank, pH=6.8, KH=3, giving a co2 reading of 14ppm. Does this sound right or are my test kits way off? Would it be due to the stocking level (fairly high) or does the Excel make a difference? Thanks.

Congrats! You've given me some good advice over the last 9 months and I'm sure you'll do a great job. :good:

Welcome to the forum, Jack. I'm pretty sure that's OK. You don't necessarily need it, but your plants may not grow that well witout a carbon source. You could use Flourish Excel for carbon, it's fine for low light tanks. It is a little pricey but probably not too bad for a 35L tank. I use it...

Will see if I can find some. AE not an option, I'm in Australia, but I should be able to find some somewhere. Cheers.

Maybe it would benefit from some root tabs? Mine was struggling and took off after I added some.

Yeah, I thought the teaspoon method might be a bit innacurate. I'm starting to think that buying some could be the best option, but I might try the saturated solution method until I can find some. It has to be better than using tank water. Cheers.

Ta for reply, underwerlde. Hmmm... I don't have an airing cupboard. In fact I don't think I even know what one is......? All sounds a bit complex. These are the two methods I've found: From aquariumlife.com.au: and from plantgeek.net: Will have a look at the barrrepot too and see if I...

I stumbled across a recipe to make up your own 4dhk solution for a drop checker using bi-carb soda and distilled water. It suggests using a teaspoon to measure out 6 grams of bi-carb into 100ml, then diluting it further. Will using the teaspoon give an exact enough 4dkh refernce solution to...

Oh right, that makes sense! Cheers.

OK, will add more NO3. That makes sense that the PO4 isn't being taken up without enough NO3. I wonder if that explains why I still get a bit of algae and some of the leaves on my plants look a bit nutrient deficient. Thanks Nick.

In the pinned EI article it says that Nitrate and Phosphate should be around for plant growth. My nitrate is usually around 10, phosphate 5-10. Is that nitrate level too low for plant growth and is that phosphate level dangerous for the fish? I dose a light version of EI as it's a low...

Good luck George and thanks for the advice and inspiration.

OK, thanks nry and wolf. One thing: I'm not sure what a "top kiln" is, but would putting the branches in the oven on a very low heat for a while have a similar effect? Thanks again.

I read in the pinned article that you shouldn't put green wood in a tank. My question is: how long would you have to leave wood before it becomes safe to put in a tank? I'm thinking of some branches 1" diameter or less from an oak tree. Cheers.

I was a bit hesitant to start EI too, especially as I don't use CO2, but it's not as complex as it sounds once you get your routine going... and the results are amazing! Some of my plants that were struggling went ballistic after a few weeks. Anyway, good luck whatever method you choose. :good:

I've seen the term a bit and I think it means a scape with lots of plants and no hardscape. This right or is there more to it?

That's good to hear. I've got a nano glass diffuser on the way and DIY set up under construction. Always take the advice of the forum over the LFS! :good:

Guy at LFS told me yesterday that you have to use an airstone with DIY CO2 as the pressure is not enough to push the bubbles through a glass diffuser. I think some members of this forum might disagree.

Thanks for the quick reply! I think I'll get the smaller one then. I want it for a breeding tank so I don't want to muck around with temperatures. Cheers. :good:

Would it be OK to use a 75W heater rated for tanks 60-100L in a 40L tank? Or would it overheat it? Thanks.

All done, now I just wait for wrigglers! Thank for the advice.

Nice one. I think if mine spawn every nine days someone's going to lose an eye. The mum is all tattered and bruised and the 3rd angel, not part of the breeding pair, is battered and frightened. Keep me updated with what your fry look like. Cheers.

Just thought I'd add some photos. Angels spawning: Tank for leaf with eggs, flow from HOB filter flow running over eggs, this look OK?

Thanks for your prompt reply, tolak. OK, done. I decided to have a go at getting some fry (the parents are a diamond scale and a koi, so they could be interesting). I just set up my spear tank and put the leaf with the eggs in it. I just have one question: do I need an airstone under the eggs...

I've read the pinned article on Angel breeding but I still have a question: The angels in my community tank just spawned and are now fanning the eggs and chasing all the other fish away. If I want to remove the eggs to try to raise them do I just pull the eggs straight out and put them in...

Try this link to plantgeek.net, i was looking at it last night: Rotala species.

I think the idea is that the benefit of having the CO2 mixed with a lot of the tank's volume far outweighs any CO2 lost through the aeration of the powerhead. This is from the pinned article by George Farmer:

Ta, I've got a thread running in planted tanks at the moment, and I'm still hunting around for info. The amount of research that can go into a tiny fish tank is amazing! :blink:

Yeah, I'm also just using root tabs but under gravel in my 3ft, and it seems to work quite well. I'm not sure if you'd benefit from the tropica substrate, I'm assuming you would. I'm sure one of the planted gurus cananswer that. But I did just read that if you go sand over a commercial...

OK, thanks jollysue. Maybe it'll be the Onyx Sand then... I'll just have to check out if it's OK from a pH point of view, as it buffers slightly. Thanks again.

A lot of the plans for DIY co2 say to use 2 X 2litre coke bottles. Would this (or 2 X 1.25L botles) produce too much CO2 for a 10 gal tank? I don't want to go murdering my fish! I was thinking of scaling it down and using 2 X 600ml bottles. Would this provide enough CO2? Thanks, Nick

Ta for your reply. Well if Eco-Complete's good enough for Tom Barr, it's good enough for me! I was thinking the sand over the top as I wanted to get some Corydoras, but I might rethink that. I can imagine the sand would eventually get all mixed up with the substrate. Cheers, Nick.

Thanks for your reply. I might buy the substrate and see how fine and smooth it is, and only get the pygmy cories if it looks suitable. Hmmm... maybe I should redo my 3ft planted with sand instead and get some cories....? They seem like such cool little fish. Cheers. :good:

Imagine doing 50% water changes!