help with my test results

[Sesos]

thanks for looking,

46 gallon
96 watts of light, 12 hr rotation (I have 96 more but I'm trying to avoid adding a co2 unit)
60 lbs Eco-Complete
Penn Plax 1200 Cascade filter
79 degrees via Ebo-Jager

[acronym:b8202f7673="Normal Output Fluorescents"]NO[/acronym:b8202f7673] co2, although I have been dosing with Flourish Excel (SeaChem)

3 Yo-yo loaches (added after two weeks)
1 golden algea eater (added after three weeks)
2 farlowalla (added after four weeks)

3 asst swords
2 dwarf grass clumps
3 taller grass clumps
I'd like to add alot more in the way of plants but I'd like to get my situation under control.

3 medium pieces of driftwood

ammo 0
nitrates 0 (!?)
[acronym:b8202f7673="Carbonate Hardness"]kh[/acronym:b8202f7673] (Red Sea test) 12-18 [acronym:b8202f7673="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:b8202f7673], 4 drops
[acronym:b8202f7673="General Hardness"]gh[/acronym:b8202f7673] (Red Sea test) >30ppm, 9 drops!
[acronym:b8202f7673="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:b8202f7673] 7.6+ (mykit states tht it doesn't read higher)

soooo,...what the heck is going on? Fish seem very happy, plants look ok-ish...

Shouldn't my nitrates be up a bit? [acronym:b8202f7673="General Hardness"]gh[/acronym:b8202f7673] and [acronym:b8202f7673="Carbonate Hardness"]kh[/acronym:b8202f7673] seem way to high?

How do I knock that [acronym:b8202f7673="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:b8202f7673] down? More chemicals? Should I just suck it up and add co2?

thanks pals!

[krap101]

wut are ur nitrites?

[Sesos]

sorry, didn't test them today, last week they were the same as my ammo, 0

[krap101]

try testing them again. same with ammonia/nitrates. because either a faulty test kit, your not feeding your fish at all, your plants are eating ALL the nitrates (which i highly doubt). personally im going with the faulty test kit if the nitrates arent showing up when you test it again

[Sesos]

I'll test them all again when I get home.

Of course I am feeding my fish!

The ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits were all purchased seperately and are two different brands.

[Sesos]

I'll test them all again when I get home.

Of course I am feeding my fish!

The ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits were all purchased seperately and are two different brands.

[medge00]

its completely possible your plants are sucking up the nitrates, though, krap's advice to test again, or even have a good [acronym:4ec33b63bd="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:4ec33b63bd] test is a good idea.

you said your plants are okish... what's their deal? yellow? tattered? growing overly slow? If your nitrates are 0, its possible the plants need a little more of a boost than flourish excel.... like a trace mix (flourish). Swords are heavy root feeders, so they may enjoy a root tab. I use jobes, they cost about a buck.

[Sesos]

thanks medge00, I'll look for those

the plants are growing slow, a couple of leaves are tattered here and there but nothing horrible looking

[Sesos]

also, what about my [acronym:51f3c2c98b="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:51f3c2c98b]?

[Momotaro]

You have a really nice system set up! However, I think there are a few things going on here.

First is your lighting. You have 2WPG over a 46G aquarium. Thats a good moderate to low light system, but hairgrasses could really use a little more light to truly flourish. Could you explain your 12 hour rotation to me?

Next is your lack of [acronym:80bc7aab19="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:80bc7aab19]. I can fully understand your wish to avoid setting up some sort of [acronym:80bc7aab19="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:80bc7aab19] injection system. Pressurized can be costly at first, and [acronym:80bc7aab19="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:80bc7aab19] may need a little more attention than you may able to provide at this time. Flourish Excel is a great product, but it works best in smaller set ups, in my opinion. 46G is a pretty nice sized aquarium, probably too big for Excel to be a factor in. If you are able to add any form of [acronym:80bc7aab19="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:80bc7aab19] injection to your aquarium, do it! That "suck up" will pay dividends!

Your water parameters are fantastic. It is no wonder your fish are so healthy! Unfortunately, they are not so fantastic for plants! Your [acronym:80bc7aab19="General Hardness"]GH[/acronym:80bc7aab19] and [acronym:80bc7aab19="Carbonate Hardness"]KH[/acronym:80bc7aab19] look fine. Your pH is good as well. If you really feel the need to lower it, which you don't, then a [acronym:80bc7aab19="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:80bc7aab19] injection system would be the most beneficial way to do it. Never adjust pH with chemicals. [acronym:80bc7aab19="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:80bc7aab19] injection will feed the plants and lower the pH in one shot. I think you need to get an idea what your phosphate level is. A phosphate level of .5 to 1 [acronym:80bc7aab19="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:80bc7aab19] is ideal in a planted aquarium. Red Sea makes a good test kit. You will also need to get an idea as to what your nitrate level is. Nitrate levels are more important to planted aquariums than nitrites. A nitrate level of 5 to 10ppm is what we shoot for. Rex Griggs' website has some great info on how to raise those levels.

You have a good set up. Nice equipment, and pretty good parameters. You can grow plants! You may need to rethink some of the higher light loving plants. Plants that require lower levels of light will do well in your aquarium, and when you take the plunge and get the [acronym:80bc7aab19="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:80bc7aab19] flowing, those mid to lower light plants are going to explode out of your aquarium!
You have a healthy aquarium!

There are no major problems with what you have. You need to do some tweaking and fine tuning!

Mike