Bert's 30G Planted adventure.

[Bert2oo1]

On mine I found the fish were off their food and not as active when CO2 was very high and drop checker yellow. Just a thought to watch for as I saw no gasping or fish hanging really at surface.

All the fish seem to be doing alright, haven't noticed any change in them so that's good. The high co2 has definitely stopped all my algae from spreading/growing. BBA hasn't changed in over a week so hopefully when I scrub it out later today it never returns!



30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

It won't return. You may have a couple of Clingon tufts here and there but that's all.

So far in my tank I have had. GWA, GSA, BBA, BGA, GDA, GHA, and even a bit of staghorn. Only the GSA resides on the glass which is easily managed.

All these were eradicated by ensuring the plants were non limiting in any nutrient and by providing more flow and water changes.


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[Bert2oo1]

It won't return. You may have a couple of Clingon tufts here and there but that's all.

So far in my tank I have had. GWA, GSA, BBA, BGA, GDA, GHA, and even a bit of staghorn. Only the GSA resides on the glass which is easily managed.

All these were eradicated by ensuring the plants were non limiting in any nutrient and by providing more flow and water changes.


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Ah good stuff, I scrubbed abit today but didn't get around to doing the rocks. It's almost impossible to get it out of my carpet plants with a tooth brush all it wants to do is uproot them.
I'm gonna try doing 3 small water changes a week for a few weeks and see if that helps clear up the hair algae. With a few scrubs here and there too.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Bert2oo1]

Abit of an update, hair algae became overwhelming so I decided to do a 2 day black out. Had a massive trim before hand aswell. Most of it has been scrubbed off and what hasnt is now dead. Fish are doing really well.

I've cranked my co2 today but my inline diffuser won't let me go above 2 bps. Does that mean it is blocked?

Filter clean and ferts tomorrow and my light will be going to 60% and staying there as I feel that's what caused the problem in the first place. 60% should be around 50-60 par at substrate.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

Abit of an update, hair algae became overwhelming so I decided to do a 2 day black out. Had a massive trim before hand aswell. Most of it has been scrubbed off and what hasnt is now dead. Fish are doing really well.

I've cranked my co2 today but my inline diffuser won't let me go above 2 bps. Does that mean it is blocked?

Filter clean and ferts tomorrow and my light will be going to 60% and staying there as I feel that's what caused the problem in the first place. 60% should be around 50-60 par at substrate.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

Bert I can't remember if we had discussed this already but are you aware the diffusers have a working pressure? The pressure from the reg needs to be high enough to force the gas through the diffuser. I noticed your reg output pressure is controllable. Is it set high enough?


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[Bert2oo1]

Bert I can't remember if we had discussed this already but are you aware the diffusers have a working pressure? The pressure from the reg needs to be high enough to force the gas through the diffuser. I noticed your reg output pressure is controllable. Is it set high enough?


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I'm not sure that it is adjustable. I can't turn the big blue front by hand. Pressure is currently at 20psi


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

My diffuser runs at 32psi I think.

Edit: my bazooka atomiser did not sure about my inline.

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[Bert2oo1]

My diffuser runs at 32psi I think.

Edit: my bazooka atomiser did not sure about my inline.

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Turns out it just needed a while to get the feed going again after turning it off for the blackout. Back to full light and full fert dosing tomorrow!


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

Turns out it just needed a while to get the feed going again after turning it off for the blackout. Back to full light and full fert dosing tomorrow!


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

Ah yeah they do that. There's nothing fun about injecting co2.


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[Bert2oo1]

So the diffuser is still struggling. By mid day the drop checker is yellow but my bubble count isn't stabilising at all. (Frustrating) my azoo regulator isn't adjustable to above 20psi so more pressure isn't an option.

Any ideas?

Purchased a new filter for the tank I now have 8x tank turn over and a full length spray bar that give a great plant sway all over the tank.

Will post some pictures when I get home of the tank now I've finish the black out etc.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Bert2oo1]

Few pictures of after the black out and trimming. Halved all my stem plants as they were breaking the surface and also had to cut my carpet way way down to try and get rid of as much hair algae as possible.

New canister aswell (so much better than the little fluval I had)

Have changed my setup a fair bit now, currently running my lights at 60% (might increase if plant growth is slow).
Co2 is sitting at 3bps and is over 30ppm as it has dropped my ph from 7.0 -6.7.
Canister has 8x tank turn over an hour with a full length spray bar for good spread.
Dosing EI ferts (211mg kh2po4 1g kno3 m/w/f/sun and 757mg of trace tu/thur/sat)

The black out has killed a heap of the algae and I have noticed what is left of my BBA after scrubbing is now turning white/red.
I think I may be close to a good balance! But more time will tell!



30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

So the diffuser is still struggling. By mid day the drop checker is yellow but my bubble count isn't stabilising at all. (Frustrating) my azoo regulator isn't adjustable to above 20psi so more pressure isn't an option.

Any ideas?

Purchased a new filter for the tank I now have 8x tank turn over and a full length spray bar that give a great plant sway all over the tank.

Will post some pictures when I get home of the tank now I've finish the black out etc.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

I can't think of any other way round this. You would think all regs would be made to facilitate the use of a diffuser (if indeed that is the problem)

Have you had a look online to see if you can find any discussions on your reg and diffusers? Did you inline come with a little instruction sheet?


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[Caliban07]

View attachment 289286View attachment 289287View attachment 289288View attachment 289289

Few pictures of after the black out and trimming. Halved all my stem plants as they were breaking the surface and also had to cut my carpet way way down to try and get rid of as much hair algae as possible.

New canister aswell (so much better than the little fluval I had)

Have changed my setup a fair bit now, currently running my lights at 60% (might increase if plant growth is slow).
Co2 is sitting at 3bps and is over 30ppm as it has dropped my ph from 7.0 -6.7.
Canister has 8x tank turn over an hour with a full length spray bar for good spread.
Dosing EI ferts (211mg kh2po4 1g kno3 m/w/f/sun and 757mg of trace tu/thur/sat)

The black out has killed a heap of the algae and I have noticed what is left of my BBA after scrubbing is now turning white/red.
I think I may be close to a good balance! But more time will tell!



30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

Looks good! Canister looks similar to mine in external design. 8 x should be plenty and the spray bar should work wonders.

I can't see any problems with this plan. Only thing I would suggest is to get a few more plants in there.


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[Bert2oo1]

I can't think of any other way round this. You would think all regs would be made to facilitate the use of a diffuser (if indeed that is the problem)

Have you had a look online to see if you can find any discussions on your reg and diffusers? Did you inline come with a little instruction sheet?


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Apparently u can replace the spring to a looser one to get more pressure but people have said that it's dangerous to do and compromises quality so that's out of the question.

It's pretty stable at 2.5 bubbles and my checker goes yellow about 2-3 hours in so it must be working half alright. I haven't seen much pearl since I dimmed my lights from 80-60% though.

I plan to get more plants soon just waiting for my lfs to get some decent ones as I can't find any good Australian online stores that sell anything other than standard plants that I already have. Some colour would be nice!


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Bert2oo1]

Question for any Aussies on here, does anyone know a good online store I can order plants from? Looking for some red plants and just something abit different?


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Delapool]

Which state are you in? I've looked up a few but import into WA is a pretty expensive exercise with state quarantine so I've never bothered. Might have some links later but will be curious on what people have used.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Which state are you in? I've looked up a few but import into WA is a pretty expensive exercise with state quarantine so I've never bothered. Might have some links later but will be curious on what people have used.

I'm in Tasmania, have also heard that quarantine can be an issue

Any help is appreciated


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Delapool]

Aquagreen is one but not sure if still shipping livestock.

http://www.aquagreen.com.au


https://www.livefish.com.au

. I know plants can be brought into WA but have seen fees in the hundreds of dollars and the solution to get rid of snails looked a bit unkind to plants. Ok if you are a wholesaler and can take some losses I guess.

https://www.livefish.com.au/shipping

"NT customers need a permit before we can ship any fish or plants.
TAS customers are only able to order dry goods - see FAQ
WA customers cannot order plants, snails or mussels - fines can apply."

Sigh

 

[Bert2oo1]

Aquagreen is one but not sure if still shipping livestock.

http://www.aquagreen.com.au


https://www.livefish.com.au

. I know plants can be brought into WA but have seen fees in the hundreds of dollars and the solution to get rid of snails looked a bit unkind to plants. Ok if you are a wholesaler and can take some losses I guess.

https://www.livefish.com.au/shipping

"NT customers need a permit before we can ship any fish or plants.
TAS customers are only able to order dry goods - see FAQ
WA customers cannot order plants, snails or mussels - fines can apply."

Sigh

Gah that's just so crappy isn't it! Aqua greens range is pretty limited I've got my ferts and some plants from them before


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Delapool]

I think aquagreen has cut back a fair bit. Not 100% sure. I was just thinking I should get some more potassium off them. No specialty shops for plants in your area? I've had to double my driving time to get a good one unfortunately. Yes, annoying (I get quarantine is important) but would be nice to have more options.