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Amateur hour selective breeding...


Kingo

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Normal BEP seems to be available at Tech Den.

Anyway ... if any has tried ADA Amazonia Light with shrimps, please let us know your experiences with it.

Amazonia Light is "a natural colour (brown) instead of black which is not realistic in nature. The nutrient level is also very close to the nature and much more stable than the original black Amazonia. You will find the new Amazonia Light is much easier for algae control."

Apparently has less Ammonium (NH4) and Phosphoric acid (PO4) than regular Amazonia.

 

Edited by jayc
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3 hours ago, jc12 said:

Did you order the 'FINE' version? Sorry I have only been using the 'NORMAL' ones so I am not sure about the availability or price for the 'FINE' ones.

All good. Just thought I mention about the discount.

Post up pics or start a journal to show your progress!!! 1f642.png

I believe I may have made a mistake here, although could have sworn the quoted stock levels for C A L BEP (normal) were at zero, hence the email. Either way, purchase is made and items are on the way. I did order the normal version from the SYD based supplier hoping it's not from the same TDS jumpy supply as revs. I wonder if they batch their stock...

I will start a wee post pr two of my amateur progress, mistakes and lessons. Feedback is always appreciated. 

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I believe I may have made a mistake here, although could have sworn the quoted stock levels for C A L BEP (normal) were at zero, hence the email. Either way, purchase is made and items are on the way. I did order the normal version from the SYD based supplier hoping it's not from the same TDS jumpy supply as revs. I wonder if they batch their stock...

I will start a wee post pr two of my amateur progress, mistakes and lessons. Feedback is always appreciated. 

Fingers crossed for you! If it's good I'll probably use it for my next setups as well I really was a big fan til this year... if you have a TDS pen you'll know instantly if it's good or not. The TDS barely budged with the old stuff but with the newer lot I purchased it immediately started climbing up to in excess of 400ppm within days and took several complete water changes over the course of the 7-8weeks to get it under control. I also ended up with only 1/4 - 1/3 of the recommended amount actually in the tank and pH was still sitting on 5 or just above.

 

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will

 

 

 

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Thanks mate, 

 

i do do have a cheap pen, I probably will be checking twice daily in the first week. Roughly when did you purchase the sussspect batch?

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December last year. I can ask the distributor if aquaristic still has stock of the same batch for you if you want.

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will

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Holy smokes, that would be awesome. I have obviously already ordered, but running the gauntlet could mean 8 weeks of the same drama you have had. If we can check and avoid, definitely! 

 

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Holy smokes, that would be awesome. I have obviously already ordered, but running the gauntlet could mean 8 weeks of the same drama you have had. If we can check and avoid, definitely! 
 
No worries I'll message him now and let you know he should get back to me today with luck.

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will

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I've got a reply I'm afraid the news is not good. If you decide to crack a packet then maybe just open one and see what you think. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news :-(

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will

The distributor has promised me he will do his best to get assurance tbat the next batch that he imports will not be °fertile" lot as described by cal aqua labs in my emails with them.

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will

If I was to attempt to use this particular lot of substrate personally I would probably try using like 1/5 the recommended amount and see what the pH settles at. I do use RO and salty shrimp GH+ your result might be different with tapwater but you can still expect it to leach a lot of ammonia and other minerals for a lengthy period.

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will

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Hmmm, 

Bummer. Thanks for the checkup @revolutionhope. I only ordered one 9L bag and was hoping to have smooth mounds packs thick towards the back! When you say distributer - you do mean Aquaristic Online? 

I should probably follow up with them direct now as it has shipped. I will PM you for a few details...

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For what it's worth, I ordered 2 bags from Tech Den in February this year and both bags were fine.

@revolutionhope any chance you are able to find out from the supplier if the Tech Den has the same batch as Aquaristic?

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@jc12: could try but my guess is that techden still had stock of an earlier batch. Was yours normal or Fine? mine was normal.

@Kingo: no I'm talking about the wholesaler who provides all of Australia.

 

Of course we can't rule out that cal aqua sent bags from different batches to Australia in one lot. Who knows maybe aquaristic even has some good some bad ?

 

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will

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hmmm, 

Bummer. Thanks for the checkup @revolutionhope. I only ordered one 9L bag and was hoping to have smooth mounds packs thick towards the back! When you say distributer - you do mean Aquaristic Online? 

I should probably follow up with them direct now as it has shipped. I will PM you for a few details...

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It's a long story but the short answer is that the wholesaler took responsibility.

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will

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So Cal Aqua Labs got back to me on my query re their return policy and stance on the issue. 

David from Aquariatic Online took my call yesterday also and said we should be able to work something out when the product arrives. 

This from Aqua Labs..

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the email. Please let me clarify as follows. 
We have always marketted Black Earth Premium as a plant substrate, not a shrimp substrate.  Any fluctuations in the properties have been tested not to negatively affected plant growth. 
If you would like to keep shrimps and are concerned about the properties, we recommend that you look into other specialized shrimp substrate.
 
Regards,
Poe
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@Kingo, that's their standard response to variation in properties.

Test your bag of substrate first before panicking and assuming the batch is going to be an issue.

 

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16 minutes ago, jayc said:

@Kingo, that's their standard response to variation in properties.

Test your bag of substrate first before panicking and assuming the batch is going to be an issue.

 

Fair call - I was checking with both CA and AO first before doing that because an opened packet has significantly less value whether it is a fertile batch or not.. 

 

So if I open it, the batch is flawed and they do not honour returns for credit I will have blown my doe..

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5 hours ago, Kingo said:

Fair call - I was checking with both CA and AO first before doing that because an opened packet has significantly less value whether it is a fertile batch or not.. 

That's also a fair call. Cover all bases. ?

 

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So, 

My goods arrived this afternoon - prompt service from both The Tech Den and Aquaristic Online. I have got to say, The Tech Den's pre-sales and after sales service has been consistently impressive...Lots of rock stacked in my lounge that has been re-stacked, propped, re-arranged and procrastinated over... it seems that the few plans I drew up will be now dictated by the rock I hoarded. It's more than 3 times the amount I could possibly overload this wee 75 litre with. They just don't work with what I drew up, which is fine. Not sure if that is common or not. 

A few more amateur queries for the 'scape experts - This will only be my 3rd tank set up so please bear with me. I have been googling daily and reading other's builds' and trying to pick up a few techniques along the way.

I have heard of folks laying a poly foam/sponge down on the bare glass under heavy rock - does anyone set them in with anything? As in clay/silicone/concrete?! I was planning to wedge and prop with stone, heap a little left over inert substrate around to support before laying my actual substrate (Cal BEP)...

The next question was, to root tab or not? I have a bunch of Osmocoat and home made tabs I made up for the previous incarnation of this tank so it's no additional expense..

Itching to start it as it could potentially be cycling with a mature filter before I head off on holidays....

Again, apologies for my long winded posts!

 

 

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TTD is always a pleasure to deal with. Did you get any mentos? ?

Very common to change plans in scaping a tank. All comes down to what you can source! 
What i do is, i grab tape and stick it on the floor, mimicking the tank size, and just play around in the space you have. After you're satisfied for the night, let it sit for another day and come back to it with a fresh mind. You'll see things you have missed or just build a fresh idea during your sleep ?

Usually, when i set up tanks for clients, i use egg crate. Place the rock on top and you dont need to glue it with any silicone or clay as the rock and substrate does the job. Still, if you feel at ease by gluing them, then it works too. 
If you want to build some height, you can stack some lava rock from bunnings underneath the substrate also. Left over lava rock can go into your canister filters if you have any. 

I like to use root tabs in my planted tanks with shrimp. Not sure if Osmocote is shrimp safe, i have never used it but have read people successfully using with shrimp. Best someone else here answer that for you :) 

The root tabs i use is Dino Dung from Aquagreen, i like it better than API root tabs, although the dung is super messy if you up root any established stems.

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Thanks @inkevnito!

The tape setup is almost what I have - I have folded a rug to the same tank footprint of the tank and have a card backing board to mimic the height. Egg crate huh? As in literal, cardboard egg crate from the supermarket? No nasties in there for animals? Or eggcrate foam? 

 

 

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Personally I would not use root tabs if I am already using a nutrient rich substrate like CAL BEP, or Benibachi, ADA, etc. I think nutrient rich (overdose) leeching out into the water = algae farm.

@inkevnito, did you use dino dung with aquasoil? Keen to hear your view. How did it go?

Just to add on to what @inkevnito said about lava rocks. They are under the BBQ section in Bunnings call volcanic rocks and comes in 3kg bags. https://www.bunnings.com.au/dalson-3kg-volcanic-rock_p3173371

If you prefer a 'finer' grained version of lava rocks, you can use scoria available under landscaping supplies in Bunnings and comes in 16kg bags. https://www.bunnings.com.au/ki-carma-16kg-10-14mm-red-landscape-scoria-stones_p3451878

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