Does my tank show any indications of lack of co2? (pic)

[mrzap]

I just added the new plant in the back there (the tall ruffly one--i've totally forgotten the name) and another anubias nana.

My tank is a 29 gallon with 2 20 watt fluorescents. I am using eco complete.

I have a slight algae issue on some of the slower growing plants and those grass looking plants that are nearly touching the water surface. They get this white branching hairy type of algae on them. My albino algae eaters don't touch it. I also get green spot algae on my glass from time to time, but it is never a lot.

Also my java fern leaves seem like they should be greener and thicker, but they do produce new growth.

Without me buying a test kit what could this photo plus list of symptoms indicate? Do I need co2? Fertilizer?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Co2 will definately help, with algae aswell.

Is that UGF running reverse? (blowing into the gravel). If it is you can easily add Co2 to the intake and use the gravel as a diffuser.

I would recommend adding potassium, It's the 1 other macro that is not added to water as often as nitrate and phosphate (4 macros being nitrogen,phosphorus,potassium and Carbon (Co2 is preferred) your fish make nitrogen (in ammonia and Nitrate via the nitrate cycle) food and source water take care of phosphorus.. keeping things in a rough balance with promote plant growth rather then algae growth.

Also, lowering the fluvals output would be a good idea, reduce the surface aggitation.

 

[gfink]

my 29 gal has two 20 watt NO bulbs which makes it low light. Mine is fairly aglae free. I don't add co2 or excel, and ZERO ferts. Fish waste is plenty in low light. Every time I have added ferts, even amounts much smaller than the reccomendations, I get algae.

However, since I have fake gravel substrate, I do put fert tabs under some of my rooted plants.

 

[mrzap]

Its actually not a UGF. Its an eclipse tank so it has the hood filter + bio wheel and I added the fluval for extra filtration.

I have a bio wheel concern, I've read that it outgasses CO2. I'd rather not get rid of the biowheel though. Am I just spinning my wheels if I add co2 in a system with a bio wheel (ie no net effect)?

I am going to try adding some potassium per your suggestion. The bottle seems to list symptoms similar to what I am seeing.

 

[Purrbox]

You will be able to get a little bit of CO2 into the water while using a biowheel, but the majority will end up gasing off. You are much better off just removing the biowheel if you decide to inject CO2. Plants help the biofilter, so you are unlikely to see any ill effects due to removing the biowheel.

 

[sherry]

I used excel in my eclipse and it worked beautifully. it is a low light set up. No need for any other kind of co2 and therefore you don't have to worry about the bio wheel outgassing anything. If anything, agitation on a NON injected tank, encourages replenishment, at least up to atmospheric levels

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Sherry, Notice the Val. in the back right corner? Wouldn't recommend excel, apparently it will kill val and anacharis.

 

[mrzap]

My vallisneria is actually doing awesome. Its growing so well. Sends up shoots all the time. I am hoping it takes over my back right corner.

Oh, also, my nitrate tested somewhere between 80-160 ppm before I changed my water this afternoon. I think I discovered where the algae came from. Thats dangerous, I need to be more on top of these things. Luckily I didn't register any ammonia or nitrite on the strips.

 

[sherry]

Wiz, I've got no vals, but I do have anacharis still in my high light and I dose excel even with my pressurized co2 as an insurance (for carbon and against algae). does it kill anacharais because it is bad for anacharis , or because anacharis needs the gas... and using ONLY excel isnt enough?

 

[sherry]

Zap... don't use test strips. buy the test kits for accuracy!!!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Sherry, AFAIK anacharis is a plant that can strip KH (or carbonate) to use the carbon. Val is similar, hence both do well with adequate KH. The recet rumor is that Excel interferes with the plants ability to strip KH down.

Q: I've been using Flourish Excel for the 4 days, and I've noticed that my Anacharis seems to be dying, while my other plants are doing fine. Why is this?
A: Anacharis is a particularly sensitive species (known to be sensitive to high temperature, trace copper, formaldehyde etc.). It is also sensitive to Flourish Excel. If you have Anacharis in an aquarium in which you are dosing Flourish Excel we recommend using Flourish Excel every other day rathter than daily.

From Seachems FAQ on Flourish Excel.

 

[Skyrmir]

I can attest to Flourish Excel killing Anacharis too. I had a few extra sprigs of it in my 30 gallon. It turned into a few long stems with no leaves. I could probably drop some Val in there to see if it survives, but I'm betting it'd die just as fast.

It did kill off my algea with a vengeance though, and it's cheaper in the short term than injecting co2.

As for the bio-wheel, I've tried co2 in my 10 gallon with the bio-wheel running. It's an extreme waste of co2, especially since I was using tablets to create the co2. Took about 4 hours to drop the co2 levels back down to atmospheric levels, from a tablet that's supposed to last nearly a week in a 10 gallon.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

i have a pressurized CO2 system in my tank with a bio-wheel and i have no problem maintaining 30-40 ppm CO2

 

[Purrbox]

Jcarlilesiu - while you are able to maintain descent levels, you are also going through your CO2 much faster than if you were to remove the BioWheel. If you want to save a little money, take out the BioWheel and you'll be able to turn down the amount of CO2 you're injecting while still maintaining the same levels.

 

[malkore]

Yep, with pressurized CO2, you can overcome any outgassing issues, but always at the cost of using more CO2 to get to the right levels.

Taht's why 'how many bubbles per minute?' is a useless question. my 75gallon and my two 20 gallons have the same bpm, and the 75 usually has slightly higher co2 levels!

because the 20's have HOB filters and often evaporate quickly enough to have plenty of splashing, I have to crank up the CO2 flow.

People with DIY CO2 usually can't overcome outgassing by bio-wheels

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I cant count my bpm, I think I'm at like 10/sec. but my reactor dissolves it that fast and my controller turns it off. Controllers make the bpm moot you just have to make sure it's not accumulating in your reactor.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

hmm intesting... well, i know this is bad, but i clean my filter alot. I can't stand a cloudy or dirty looking tank. So i throughly clean my filter weekly. Im obsessed with cleaning, you should see our apartment. I know this isn't good for the tank or my bacteria, so i am going to opt to keep the bio-wheel and just buy more CO2.