Rowaphos

[MarkW19]

May get a few hermits then! Will they do they rock, plants and sand? I can keep up to the glass myself.

Are there different varieties? Do they need target feeding??

 

[darb2]

The 2 most common varieties are blue leg and red leg. They are usually in with algae packs. They get enough food from lr and ls

 

[Atari]

I would definitely get the dwarf blue legged variety if it's for algae. I have a fishless tank so I drop in some food for them now and again, but you probably wouldn't need to do that. If you want a price comparison, my LFS sells 5 for a tenner.

 

[MarkW19]

Thanks! Any problems with a fire shrimp (compatibility etc.). The fish won't eat them will they??

How small are they? I'm thinking of getting 5 for my 30gal. Do they grow much?

Do I need to drip acclimate them?

 

[MarkW19]

I'm going to get some blue leg's (and another fire shrimp) tomorrow.

Can anyone answer my above questions?

 

[Atari]

Shouldn't have any problems at all.. they don't grow much. Not sure if 5 will be enough but it's a good start.

Acclimate them like any other invert.

 

[MarkW19]

I'll get 5 and see how they get on

I lost my 3 shrimp (2 cleaner and 1 fire) so I'm a bit warey about adding more inverts! Don't know what I did wrong.

 

[Atari]

Try just the hermits for now.. if they are doing well after a week then give the shrimp another go. I would also try buying the shrimp from another LFS if at all possible just out of curiosity. I've noticed the cleaner shrimp in one of my LFS don't seem to do well in their tanks.

 

[MarkW19]

So it's a dwarf blue legged hermit I want?

 

[MarkW19]

Hermits it is then...

 

[MarkW19]

How often should I be replacing the Rowaphos in my filter guys??

If it's not replaced often enough, can it be leeched back into the aquarium or anything, or cause any other bad effects?

 

[Shultz]

How often should I be replacing the Rowaphos in my filter guys??

If it's not replaced often enough, can it be leeched back into the aquarium or anything, or cause any other bad effects?

I run Rowa in my external & normally change it once every 3 weeks (250ml) But thats cos I also change the poly filter & carbon in there at the same time....

According to the makers it doesn't leach anything back in, so if you want maxium value from it leave it in & test your tank for PO4 & once you detec some then change the rowa

Edit: If you didn't know when you first put rowa in your water will turn a chocolate brown, don't worry as it will clear & its supposed to do that

Cheers Shelton.

 

[MarkW19]

Luckily my water didn't change brown at all. You know me, I'd be worried if it did

What I did was put the rowa in, and it seemed to work straight away. It killed off the majority of the algae in my tank straight away so that I could just get rid of it and it didn't come back.

But after a couple of months, the sand started getting a lot more undesirable with algae, so I've just changed it for some new rowa. That's the best way to do it I reckon

After a couple more times I'll know exactly how often I'll need to change it for my tank, so that I don't get the algae coming back at all

On a side-note Shelton: as you're in the UK, any ideas where I can get mail-order dry base (Calcium Carbonate based) rock from?

 

[Shultz]

Hmmmm, my local LFS does mail order & if he hasn't got something then he can normally get it as I real good price, there's only about a third of his stock listed on the website though!!

give him an email, I think he's still about today as he is going on hols for a few days, tell him you've spoken to me & also you are a member of ReefPark for a discount!

http://www.shop-coralgarden.co.uk/

Cheers Shelton.

 

[MarkW19]

I've been in contact with Steve quite a lot about carbon/phyto etc.

Just emailed him

Cheers.

 

[MarkW19]

Have you seen this??

http://www.shop-coralgarden.co.uk/p...d=526&osCsid=688d6309dec871d153880fa063a7365c

£75 Wonder if it's any good?

 

[Shultz]

Its one of the better ones tbh! Most people here in the UK say RO-man units are good, he does a refillable DI cart for it now, which saves money

Its the one I will be getting once my conservatory is finished, atm I buy my water straight from Steve 10gal at a time

Cheers Shelton.