foreverknight

first off this is my first actual soil based substrate. please leave some comments for me.

i had to link what i did and the pictures from facebook because of image size

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...6&l=14843e3c44

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digital_gods

Could you try to reduce the file size and repost the picture on here? My work's network blocks me from all social networking sites. Since I can't see it, tell us about what you used as your substright. What is your lighting? I would love to see it. I can give you a portion(1.5oz cup size) of Christmas moss to get you started.

Regards,

Robert Bradbury

foreverknight

here are more pictures

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digital_gods

Very nice. Ive used peat moss on three of my aquariums. Don't be surprised when you notice your tank farting. The cellulose will start to break down by bacteria and release Methane. Just blame it on the dog. What are the watts and color rating on the bulbs? My setup reminds me of Sponge Bob. One thing to mention, don't be surprised when your water start to look like tea. The peat will leach Tannin into the water for the next couple of weeks.

foreverknight

from what i can tell they are 2 10 watt compack flourecent marineland 5100k bulbs. will probably upgrade them later with the ones tex gal is useing when i get a chance to hit fry's and i'm considering putting CO2 into it also because like you i do homebrewing and keep decent yeast supply arround so a homemade setup shouldn't be a bad thing for this. also used a couple of pinches of iron sand blasting medium in it to see if that would do anything for it ... didn't put much but i want some plants that use iron so i figured it might help a little... i have flourish also i'm planning to supplment with.

actually i screened out alor of the bigger pieces of matter from the potting mix useing an old piece of window screen ... it is a really fine mixture on the bottom under the black diamond.. and so far i'm loveing the look of that black diamond stuff.

digital_gods

What is Black Diamond? I've switched most all my tanks to pressurized CO2. I had my son one day dump the entire contents of my reactor into my tank. It took a week of cleaning to get it back on track. Compresses is so much easier. Just set it and forget it.

Got any good home brews going? I got 5gal of plum wine right now.

snowball2020

it's black sand that they use to sand blast stuff. the edges are too rough and can easily cut fish that likes to burrow or sift through the sand.

foreverknight

i have 1 gallon of an orange cinimon meade and 1 gallon of a orange blossum meade going.. both are terrably sweet

digital_gods

You got too small of batches going. I do the five gallons at a time style. Just like with fish aquariums, larger the size, easier it is to control. If your using the Mr. Beer fermenting keg, trash it. Not a good enough seal to prevent infection of wild yeast an bacteria. As far as the sweetness goes with your mead, just let it take it time. I aged my for six month, all the time clarifying it by clarification chems and racking it. Depending on the yeast you used, they can leave a sweet taste to it or you may need to add sweeteners before bottling. Your meades sound tasty. My last batch of meade was thistle honey meade. It was a bit strong when it was fresh but aging it brought out more mature flavors. If you ever need to make any washes, I have a yeast that will do 20% abv. I haven't tested it in the DYI co2 kits yet.

foreverknight

yeaaa i found some money and payed my dues yesterday.