a litle help plz

[caimen]

Im trying to convert my 55gal in to a planted tank.

im running a aquaclear 70 and i have a aquaclear 50 power head in the right corner. as for light im running a coral life 65/55 x4 compactunit I only run one set of lights on a 10 hour timer. the lights are 10000k 55watt day lamps. (2 wpg) the substrate is 2-3 inchs deep and is pea gravel. Im using RO water and i correct GH with KENTS r/o right. a week or two ago the PO4 was sky high. I have lowered it and im working on ballancing the Fe. In short the tank is all out of wak. I will post a full water test later tonight.

In the tank i have 4-5 small melon swords a lot of unknown crypt and some java fern. as for fish i have 3 octos, 5 shrimp (algae eating shrimp) i dont know what speicies they are. a panda cory and my male bristel nose pleco ( i also have about 10 babys) the rest i keep in the breeder tank.

I also have a lot of algae, breard algae and blue green algae mostly. I have read alot of links found on this site before posting so i have an idea on how to get a grip on the tank.

i would like to get a little advice on how to make this tank an awsome work of art.

 

[Purrbox]

When you post your test result, please include the type and brand of test kit that you are using so that we have a gage as to how accurate the test kit is. It would also be helpful if you could include information on the Brand, Amount, and Frequency of any ferts you are using. Finally are you injecting CO2, and if you are what method are you using for your CO2 source and diffusion?

 

[MarkP]

At first glance, with that algae and that fishload- How much nitrate are you dosing? You may want to consider dosing more, depending on the results of your water test.

In fact, I see Purr beat me to it- Are you dosing any ferts? If so, how much?

 

[JDogg]

i agree to make our suggestions we need test results and more info...

this was already mentioned but i like to give a nice easy list to fill out

here a a list of things we need
Ammonia=?
Nitrite=?
Nitrate=?
Phosphates=?
PH=?
KH=?
GH=?

What and how much are you dosing?

Are you adding CO2? is so how much and what method? (pressurized, DIY...)

 

[caimen]

more info.

i will have a full test after work. as for nutrients im using Kent products. R/O right, discus essential, and freshwater plant. These products are all that work has to offer ( i work at a petland as the asst. manager). I have just started using these products and have slowly started to raise my Kh and Gh. ( they where at 0 ) i dosed with the liquid products just a few days ago. As for a test kit im useing a hagen master kit. I do not use CO2 yet.

I had a reef tank when i lived at my fathers, that was nearly 8 years ago. I think i did very well with it, but i left the tank at his house when i left for school. I understand the importance of a ballanced ecosystem, light, water ect.

I ordered ecocomplete 50# and moon sand 20# last night. will this be enought to give me 3in substrate in a 55gal?

what kind of drift work would you perfer, Malaysian or African root?

I have controll of what products come in to the store and it is my job to controll inventory and pricing. so make some sugestions I want my store to have the coolest fish department in this reigon.

 

[rkilling1]

These fine people that have responded will more then help you with your problems, so I will not add my meaning of life to this thread. (Well, not yet anyways, )

But I do want to ask, why are you using RO water? instead of just tap water?

EDIT: I almost forgot the most important thing: WELCOME TO AA!

 

[JDogg]

Re: more info.

i will have a full test after work. as for nutrients im using Kent products. R/O right, discus essential, and freshwater plant. These products are all that work has to offer ( i work at a petland as the asst. manager). I have just started using these products and have slowly started to raise my Kh and Gh. ( they where at 0 ) i dosed with the liquid products just a few days ago. As for a test kit im useing a hagen master kit. I do not use CO2 yet.

I had a reef tank when i lived at my fathers, that was nearly 8 years ago. I think i did very well with it, but i left the tank at his house when i left for school. I understand the importance of a ballanced ecosystem, light, water ect.

I ordered ecocomplete 50# and moon sand 20# last night. will this be enought to give me 3in substrate in a 55gal?

what kind of drift work would you perfer, Malaysian or African root?

I have controll of what products come in to the store and it is my job to controll inventory and pricing. so make some sugestions I want my store to have the coolest fish department in this reigon.

i do not like kent products they are watered down (you go through more to get the same results.) i am thinking that once you post your test results we are going to suggest you start dosing Trace, NO3, K, PO4 and CO2, but will wait for results. i suggest buying your ferts dry from gregwatson.com, or you could pick some Seachem flourish products...

 

[caimen]

my tap water is nasty! i dont drink it!

 

[rkilling1]

my tap water is nasty! i dont drink it!

LOL, could you be a little more specific? or how about telling the location where you reside so I can look up your water supply? just town, state, country.

or we can just take your word on it.

 

[caimen]

where can you get water quality info from? i live in sterling Il whiteside county 61081.

To me the water tastes funny. smells a little strange to.

My plan is to start all over, the sand and ecocomplete will be in tomarrow, and next week i will be picking up a fluval.

so i think i need advice on how to start this tank from step one. I will do more reading tonight when i get off work, a good link would be awsome.

thanks AA rocks you seem to have a kick as community here.

 

[rkilling1]

where can you get water quality info from? i live in sterling Il whiteside county 61081.

http://www.amwater.com/awpr1/ilaw/pdf/IL-Sterling.pdf

you have a lot of iron and sufates. what does that mean. I don't know as of yet. Fe and S04 are good for plants to an extent, but to much can be a problem. Like to much S04 can cause H2S and that is not good.

EDIT: upon futher research, Higher amounts of S do not contribute to H2S. high organic decay and poor maintenance and having your substate void of O2 are what gives you H2S.

EDIT: NVM that Fe level is in PPB not PPM. I don't see anything to worry about in that pdf.

Can you perform a set of measurements on your tap water along with your tank? It would behoove you to use your tap water then to use RO water.

 

[rkilling1]

where can you get water quality info from? i live in sterling Il whiteside county 61081.

http://www.amwater.com/awpr1/ilaw/pdf/IL-Sterling.pdf

you have a lot of iron and sufates. what does that mean. I don't know as of yet. Fe and S04 are good for plants to an extent, but to much can be a problem. Like to much S04 can cause H2S and that is not good.

EDIT: upon futher research, Higher amounts of S do not contribute to H2S. high organic decay and poor maintenance and having your substate void of O2 are what gives you H2S.

EDIT: NVM that Fe level is in PPB not PPM. I don't see anything to worry about in that pdf. (maybe just alittle Na)

Can you perform a set of measurements on your tap water along with your tank? It would behoove you to use your tap water then to use RO water.

 

[caimen]

I was samped at work to night and did not find the time to test my own water.

if i understand correct your saying my water is safe to use in my tank?

im excited my substrate will be in tomarrow, and im going to brake down the tank this weekend. got any good link on starting a planted tank?

 

[rkilling1]

from all the searching I have done, I have found nothing that would indicate that your water would not support plant life, but I would still like you to perform a set of measurements on it just to be safe. or should I say, It will let us know what we are dealing with, so we will know what we need to add or not add. (the principle behnd this is getting away from buffering your water on your own and letting nature do that for you and on top of that saving you some money and time)

GH, KH, pH, NO3, and PO4 if you got it would be nice. and any other test that you may have.