George's Nano Journal

[TammyLiz]

Thanks Tammy. Have you seen Microrasbora sp. "Galaxy" yet? They're very new to the hobby so are expensive but their colours are wonderful and they stay very small (some reports say 12mm, others up to 20mm).

Yes! Actually the same guy I would be ordering the that I mentioned from has them in stock right now.


Believe it or not, I am am member of (ahem, another forum) where I saw pictures of the galaxy rasboras that are currently in quarantine at the maidenhead aquatics located in Crowland. Judging by the location you've listed here, I assume it is close to you, although I've never actually been to the UK so I could be wrong. I hear it is a great shop and apparantly there are people who drive quite a distance to go there in order to ensure they get quality fish.

 

[George Farmer]

Thanks for all the advice re. photos. I'll see how I go with Boots for now, it's only a couple of quid for 12x10". I use them all the time for my 6x4" for family album photos etc. (works out cheaper than using my own ink and paper) and the quality is better.

It will be interesting to see how the 12x10" does. Should be ok, the image is 2952x1944 pixels.

Thanks again Joel. Your offer is appreciated.

 

[voo]

You're right on both counts, it is near to Peterborough and it is a great shop. It's my regular fish shop and i was looking out for galaxy rasboras for when my nano cube arrives. Glad to know they have them in stock
Thanks!!

Believe it or not, I am am member of (ahem, another forum) where I saw pictures of the galaxy rasboras that are currently in quarantine at the maidenhead aquatics located in Crowland. Judging by the location you've listed here, I assume it is close to you, although I've never actually been to the UK so I could be wrong. I hear it is a great shop and apparantly there are people who drive quite a distance to go there in order to ensure they get quality fish.

 

[andyk]

You're right on both counts, it is near to Peterborough and it is a great shop. It's my regular fish shop and i was looking out for galaxy rasboras for when my nano cube arrives. Glad to know they have them in stock
Thanks!!

Believe it or not, I am am member of (ahem, another forum) where I saw pictures of the galaxy rasboras that are currently in quarantine at the maidenhead aquatics located in Crowland. Judging by the location you've listed here, I assume it is close to you, although I've never actually been to the UK so I could be wrong. I hear it is a great shop and apparantly there are people who drive quite a distance to go there in order to ensure they get quality fish.

far too expensive if you ask me.

 

[George Farmer]

Thanks Tammy. Have you seen Microrasbora sp. "Galaxy" yet? They're very new to the hobby so are expensive but their colours are wonderful and they stay very small (some reports say 12mm, others up to 20mm).

Yes! Actually the same guy I would be ordering the that I mentioned from has them in stock right now.


Believe it or not, I am am member of (ahem, another forum) where I saw pictures of the galaxy rasboras that are currently in quarantine at the maidenhead aquatics located in Crowland.

That is good news. I bet they sell out very quickly though, even at around £8 each.

....it is a great shop.

Not so great for the planted aquarium fan. The Waterzoo is my LFS of choice there.

 

[George Farmer]

Just ordered my plants from Aqua Essentials.

They're despatched Monday so should arrive Tuesday (24th Oct). The HC has been stored and is growing well hydroponically so is very healthy. AE have just recieved the hairgrass from Tropica so that should be top notch too.

Roll on Tuesday!

Time to get my CO2 sorted.

 

[George Farmer]

The background came out very nice. I used Max Speilmann in the end as Boots only printed up to 8x6". The girls behind the counter were worried that their machine had broken when the photo came out all blue.



I've sorted the filter and CO2 now as well. The CO2 diffuser is really small and I've actually squeezed it in the filter itself just before the outlet. This way the CO2 microbubbles get distributed throughout the water column very well indeed. I try to get some photos soon.

I'm really looking forward to planting.

 

[Gill]

Looking really good George.

 

[voo]

That background has come out well and looks real good.
Did you change the filter or you are still using the stingray?

I went and saw the microrasbora galaxy yesterday. Nice looking fish, however they are being kept in the softwater section. Will it be harder to keep softwater when using CO2? CO2 is measured using KH, but does KH affect GH?
They also had another microrasbora species...

 

[George Farmer]

Looking really good George.

Thank you.

That background has come out well and looks real good.
Did you change the filter or you are still using the stingray?

I went and saw the microrasbora galaxy yesterday. Nice looking fish, however they are being kept in the softwater section. Will it be harder to keep softwater when using CO2? CO2 is measured using KH, but does KH affect GH?
They also had another microrasbora species...

Thanks.

I'm using a small hang-on-back (HOB) filter now, as suggested by Mr G and Moody. Much better aesthetically than the Stingray and ideal for nanos as it takes up little space, especially as I can also hide the CO2 diffuser inside it.

How much were the 'Galaxys'? Or are they still under quarantine? I guess they'll be fairly fragile as they're wild caught so it would be well worthing matching the shop's water. Good to hear there's other microrasboras in there too.

CO2 and hard or softwater doesn't really matter. Some say that you need less CO2 in softer water but IME it doesn't make much difference. The only concern with very softwater (<2 dKH) is a potential pH crash but even these shouldn't be an issue if water changes are kept up. Some guys run 0 KH and CO2 injection successfully.

Close-up of CO2 diffuser and HOB filter


CO2 diffuser in position


Tank in situ (kitchen) with all running gear


The final tank location will probably be away from the stereo so not to scare the livestock!

 

[-=Joel=-]

I dont normally like blue backgrounds but that looks great

Joel

 

[voo]

Those are some good pics, shows how it's gonna work and all
With the diffuser in the filter do you get many bubbles reaching the surface or are they all pushed into the tank with the water flow?

The galaxy rasboras were £3.50 each or 6 for £20. Not too bad for a new species i think, and they did have quite a few in there (30 - 40ish). The other species were called green... something. Didn't pay much attention to them. I think they're both out of quarantine and are for sale now.

I was thinking of getting the galaxy for my nano when it comes but now the softwater is something i am not familiar with and it's put me off a bit will have to do some research i think.

Did you sign up to PFK again for the nano cube? Haven't seen you mention it anywhere...

 

[George Farmer]

I dont normally like blue backgrounds but that looks great

Joel

Thanks. I'm happy with it too. My mates' reaction when they saw me photographing the sky was bewilderment, I dare say they'd be as equally unimpressed if they read this too.

"Yes George, there's three stones on some gravel, with a pretty blue background, well done.....now hurry up so we can get to the pub........ !!"

 

[George Farmer]

Those are some good pics, shows how it's gonna work and all
With the diffuser in the filter do you get many bubbles reaching the surface or are they all pushed into the tank with the water flow?

The galaxy rasboras were £3.50 each or 6 for £20. Not too bad for a new species i think, and they did have quite a few in there (30 - 40ish). The other species were called green... something. Didn't pay much attention to them. I think they're both out of quarantine and are for sale now.

I was thinking of getting the galaxy for my nano when it comes but now the softwater is something i am not familiar with and it's put me off a bit will have to do some research i think.

Did you sign up to PFK again for the nano cube? Haven't seen you mention it anywhere...

It looks as though the majority of bubbles enter the water column. My original diffuser position was inside the tank so I could use this as reference. Here's what it looked like, not as pretty eh?



Thanks for the fish info, much cheaper than I expected.

You shoudn't be worried about softwater. Simply dilute your tap with RO until you reach the required hardness. RO has zero GH/KH so it's simple maths i.e. if your GH is 10 then a 50:50 mix will give GH 5. Same with KH obviously. Even purchasing RO from a shop won't be too expensive with a nano.

They sold out of the PFK nanos before I could renew my subcription. I understand the offer is coming around again though.

 

[Themuleous]

Looks good George, the backgorund in particular. Any reason you didnt get a blue background from your LFS?

Its gonna be sweet once planted.

Sam