Mikes P F K Nano

[Castellop123]

I like the actual rocks, all though I'm not sure about how I've layed them out.

Showing us Pics will soon sought that one out!

 

[Heather.]

Really pretty..I love the blue background ... x

 

[Castellop123]

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[mlawson]

Anymore updates (pics...)?

Sorry, I forgot to do an update.

UPDATE

Two Amano shrimp have died, I'm not sure why but it could be the Excel, I've stopped dosing and see what happens.

I need CO2! The nutrafin kit doesn't seem to work, only 12ppm! I don't want algae! But I will be getting a pressurised kit off E-bay and using a Fire- extinguisher. The HC is suffering a bit, yellowing, but still growing, the fish have all gone and I've added some new rocks. Not quite sure about how I've layed them out, I'm new to all this, but I think it looks better than the first layout.

I want to go down the EI route as soon as I've got the new CO2 kit, I already have fertilisers and such. I want more luxuriant growth, in fact I want the HM to be atleast 10cm taller, two compact bushes either side.

The tank actually looks better I think in real life, but the photos don't show how much the HC is suffering.

Any views/opinions/advice?

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Castellop123]

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[mlawson]

Looks good! The Pogostemon helferi looks like it is doing very well! The HM doesn't look as if it has grown at all (have you been trimming it?) A nice vibrant colour of green... Have you got two lights on the tank?

Yep, the HM is acting like a carpet plant again, I blame the CO2. I want it to be a glorious background plant, but it wont.

Mike

 

[Castellop123]

l!

 

[mlawson]

I forgot to mention, but those new rocks look brill!

Thanks Corin!

UPDATE

Today I bought 6 Ember tetras, they're pretty small and should do well in this setup, infact I just remembered that PFK kept them in their PFK cube, I may get a further 2-3 later. At the moment the tanks lights off and they're acclimatising so pics should come tommorow.

Cheers,
Mike.

 

[nry]

Amano shrimp and Flourish Excel....I seem to have noticed that if you dose as per the bottle they can go to shrimp heaven. I dose my PFK cube daily, based on the weekly amount, this means a smaller amount is inthe water at any one time but there should be a more steady level over the week. Works out around ~0.7ml per day: so far the shrimp in my PFK have been fine for the 4 weeks I've had them. Lost most in my other tank ages ago when I used to dose Excel as per the bottle (large amount a few times per week).

 

[mlawson]

Amano shrimp and Flourish Excel....I seem to have noticed that if you dose as per the bottle they can go to shrimp heaven. I dose my PFK cube daily, based on the weekly amount, this means a smaller amount is inthe water at any one time but there should be a more steady level over the week. Works out around ~0.7ml per day: so far the shrimp in my PFK have been fine for the 4 weeks I've had them. Lost most in my other tank ages ago when I used to dose Excel as per the bottle (large amount a few times per week).

Thanks, I might try that, little and often normally works in most cases.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[mlawson]

I have upped the CO2, a bubble every 2 seconds. I'm now just starting to use EI, hopefully it should work and I hope I'm doing it properly. I'll be getting the pressurised CO2 in perhaps a fortnight or a month (I have to earn the money first). This weekend I should get 4 more ember tetras.

I've added some Rotala spp 'Green' to the middle background, I'm going to try and make it into a compact bush in the middle of the bushes of HM, it should create a bit more variety. I also trimmed the HC slightly and it is now flatter, the rocks are more visible. The CO2 has really made a difference, the plants are actually pearling.

I also added 2 nerite snails to stop some of the algae on the HC, the bad news is 2 Amano shrimp have died again, only one left , I'm really not sure why, I have stopped dosing Excel and they seemed to be doing so well.

No pictures yet, I took some on the camera but just realised I can't find the USB. I'm already getting a bit bored of this scape, after this I might make it completely different, using lots of bogwood and a jungley theme.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Themuleous]

the bad news is 2 Amano shrimp have died again, only one left , I'm really not sure why, I have stopped dosing Excel and they seemed to be doing so well.

They can be tricky little critters. Could be the excel or just a bad batch.

Sam

 

[mlawson]

the bad news is 2 Amano shrimp have died again, only one left , I'm really not sure why, I have stopped dosing Excel and they seemed to be doing so well.

They can be tricky little critters. Could be the excel or just a bad batch.

Sam

Yep, the last one just died, none left, I don't believe it.

The 6 Ember tetras seemed to be doing so well, that I've decided to get 4 more, along with this I got 3 Otos which are in another quarantine tank, I'm unsure if I'll put them in this tank or what, otherwise they can go with my Dwarf puffer.

Plant growth is generally slow, the HC is still covered with quite a lot of thread algae, hopefully the new CO2 and dosing should stop this when it kicks in.


Mike

 

[mlawson]

UPDATE (Sorry I keep doing updates without pictures, I just sort of want to note down everything I do, so it can be a good referance, all this is a learning process for me, my first proper planted tank)

I added the Otocinclus, they seem to be very active and already rasping away at the glass, I took the nerites out, one of them seemed to be slow and lethargic so I transfered it to one to my cory breeding tank and one to my Dwarf puffer tank. There's something which affects inverts in this tank. I now have identicle stocking to what Jeremy Gay added to his PFK cube.

The only algae problems I've had with this tank is thread algae on my HC. It sticks to the plant quite well and is hard to remove even with tweezers. I've removed most and concluded (With the help of Sam) that it is due to unstable CO2. I now have changed the Nutrafin so that there is 1 bubble a second for 4 days and then I restart. Also for a preventative measure I have shortened the photoperiod and am carrying out a 50% water change every other day or 3 days. This as well as now using EI should stop the algae.

The tank's looking OK, all I need now to grow is some of the HM. I have added some Elocharis parvula to tthe sides, I think it makes the tank look slightly more informal.

Photos shoul hopefully follow,

Mike

 

[lljdma06]

Don't worry, Mike, you're not the only one with thread algae. HM is prone to it. I have a little bit on my HM in my 8g, but it's not bad, a few strands which I remove when I do water changes. It's not enough of an issue to address CO2 and it is not effecting the HM's growth. In your situation, you are right to stablilize the CO2 and this would have been my course of action if my tank was a high-tech system.

It's great that you want to be so detailed with your journal. Pictures aren't necessary all the time, and I often use mine to either think aloud or post questions.

llj