90X45X45 finally.....

[adipnayak]

Originally Posted by Shadow

normally you will get CO2 in gas form. I'm read somewhere that you should get the food grade one instead of industrial grade. Industrial grade is less pure, not sure how true

will ask for food grade..how much would you pay for a refill and is once in 25days refill normal? i have made sure my drop checker stays dark green thts normal not too high and not too low for 6hrs a day!!

[Jur4ik]

optimal color of your dropchecker depends on your water parameters. If you have very soft - dark green should be ok, if you have about 10°dKh than it should better be light green or so.. But it is only for a quick check and to simply monitor the ph same as the temperature.

[sworrall]

that sounds about right for a big tank. I had a sera 500g which I replaced with a big 3 or 5lb bottle, cant remember the size sorry. Last for months but Im lucky in that theres a gas supply shop near me that does the refills for £10. Do you have any fire extinguisher/fire security firms near you as they may be able to refill with liquid co2?

[adipnayak]

Originally Posted by sworrall

that sounds about right for a big tank. I had a sera 500g which I replaced with a big 3 or 5lb bottle, cant remember the size sorry. Last for months but Im lucky in that theres a gas supply shop near me that does the refills for £10. Do you have any fire extinguisher/fire security firms near you as they may be able to refill with liquid co2?

hey i got my tank refilled at this Industrial Gas Supply place there charged me 1Omani Rial i.e. 2.61USD/1.58£ its pretty cheap and they refilled it for me in 10mins so i guess its great.
My Black Mollies had babies tons of them so little black guys strolling all over the tank...apart from tht everything else is great..the tanks doing good..will keep you posted...

[adipnayak]

hey there i have a hair/beard algae infestation. i got mollies i cant get sae in this part of the world. what do i do?
i have a ton of snails that keep the tank clean any chemicals or any common fish that would get rid of it?
I even bought a fish thinking its a rosy barb but i dont think it is....a few picks of the algae after i removed a little with a brush and the unfamiliar fish

[Blue_dolphin]

You can try this fish called: Siamese Algae Eater

[adipnayak]

Originally Posted by Blue_dolphin

You can try this fish called: Siamese Algae Eater

hi there i live in Oman Muscat they hardly have a specialized LFS. The fish shop sold me these fish saying they were rosy barbs but i am sure they arn't & am absolutely sure they dont have SAE's.
What do i do??

[Shadow]

how about shrimps? Yamato shrimps will eat hair algae. However, it is hit and miss. So if you do want to put shrimp, put large number of it. SAE can grow very big and when they do, they no longer eat algae.

[adipnayak]

Originally Posted by Shadow

how about shrimps? Yamato shrimps will eat hair algae. However, it is hit and miss. So if you do want to put shrimp, put large number of it. SAE can grow very big and when they do, they no longer eat algae.

naah cant get any shrimps again. i have only seen lobsters being sold, no clue if they are any good in a planted tank.
Found out the fish they sold me as a rosy barb is a Serpea Tetra and a Cherry Barb which came into the bag by mistake LOL
Am thinking of returning it and getting a Pleco of some sort...

[adipnayak]

hi guys still trying hard to fight this hair/beard algae. bought in black mollies & rosy barbs but still cant get it under control.
I found Chinese Algae eaters in a LFS here & from what i have been reading i think they are fine and do the job of eating all sorts of algae like hair/beard algae as well as a SAE would. The only problem comes when they grow older and get a bit territorial. Am i correct...please reply asap as i dont want to buy any more fish and regret...thank you

[tirtha1979]

Do not get Chinese Algae eaters. They are simply good for nothing. You can stop feeding the molly and Barbs for 2-3 days to see they are attacking algae. Otherwise there is another way. Simply go for 5 days 100% dark out. Cover the complete tank with Black sheet and left it. After 5 days do a large water change and make sure you are maintaining a steady CO2 level in the tank.

[adipnayak]

Originally Posted by tirtha1979

Do not get Chinese Algae eaters. They are simply good for nothing. You can stop feeding the molly and Barbs for 2-3 days to see they are attacking algae. Otherwise there is another way. Simply go for 5 days 100% dark out. Cover the complete tank with Black sheet and left it. After 5 days do a large water change and make sure you are maintaining a steady CO2 level in the tank.

so even though i am sure i wont be able to find a proper SAE in the region you wouldn't suggest me to have a CAE for the time being, to have a go at the beard/hair algae??
do a large stock of fish add to the algae problem. i feed them sparingly every alternate day....& my co2 levels are normal and my light period is 8hrs...

i am guessing i bought javamoss from a lfs and with it came the algae. how do i do a bleach dip.is it the normal bleach that we use for clothes? & does it work?

[adipnayak]

hey guys just wanted to post an update...the javamoss tht came in with the hair algae has been replaced by some plant i have no idea about....evrythings grown in pretty well...i know the color correction is bad...but just a quickie...lol

[Anti-Pjerrot]

You need some middleground in the sides. The transition between the two hairgrass' is not good and gives a lot of FFWS (Aquascaping Philosophy 102 - Aquascaping - Aquatic Plant Central)

[adipnayak]

hey there sorry for not posting as much as i would have liked too....after some crazy algae issues/crazy fish ripping the grass away/snail infestation & a major redo this is the updated tank:




the tips of the hairgrass are going near black is it algae?
how can i trim this japenese hairgrass should i be?
waiting patiently for the right side hairgrass to grow and become a thick carpet like the left...

[tirtha1979]

You have very less plant mass which is one of the main reason behind Algae. Cover up the substrate with as much plants as possible. And from your difuser picture, I can say, you are not giving enough CO2. So spike up the CO2 immidiately.

You can give your grass haircut anytime. No problem with that.

[adipnayak]

do you think uprooting the patch on the right and planting it around will help it fill in faster? or should i just wait around till it spreads?
i dont have a LFS in town which has any hairgrass or any decent plants for tht matter.....

[stripeygourmai]

I have rock's like them, apparently there called Elephant rocks or something Interesting scape, very nice!!

[adipnayak]

Hey here's the latest update on the tank, had been on holiday for 3 weeks, my colleagues managed to kill all the fish by unintentionally increasing the CO2.
The HG really took off though as you can see and i continued to provide with a lot of CO2 for the last week and the plants have been growing extremely well. Havn't added any fish though.
Wanted to ask if there was a better way to untangle the vivipara and stop it from looking like a mess?

[tirtha1979]

The tank looking really beautifull. Now this is the time for you to start think about some stems in back ground.

For Vivipara, you can trim them half and after prunning, comb them with your fingers slowly. They will grow back within 2 weeks. But keep combing them.