Planted tank help

[planted-tnk-guy]

You are at the top range for an EI daily dosing regimen. You want a 4 -1 ratio of nitrogen to Phoshates so your nitrogen would need to be at 40 ppm and that would be at its max before the fish started to suffer. The phosphates are not bad for the pkants and will not cause algae that is an old myth that just wont go away. It is time for a water change I agree as I mentioned earlier. Once you get all your new plants in and they start using your nutes daily EI fertilizing when you get it and a once a week 50% water change will keep it in check. Dont do gravel cleaning just skim the surface of the substrate or you will spike your amonia level stiring the nutes in the substrate.

 

[planted-tnk-guy]

What kind of food are you using?

 

[Adamcik]

I feed frozen food twice a day and some flakes twice a day. And the food never really makes it to the bottom, and what does gets eaten by the Cory cats and the Algae eater that is too big and doesent really eat algae anymore.

 

[planted-tnk-guy]

The only good algae eaters are otos, rubberlip, bristlenose and SAEs. I would drop the flake and get a higher quality pellet type food check brine shrimp direct and look at golden pearls or even some of there other specialty foods. The pearls are amazing the best foods i have ever used for fresh and marine. But water change once per week with your ferts and new plants will be good as well.

 

[Rivercats]

Am I the only one that saw the 10+ phosphates that is to hight should be around 2

I've run tanks at over 10ppm just fine. In my 220g 100% planted that has about 2/3 non-green plants I actually run a low nitrate (10ppm) and high phosphate (5ppm minimum).

If you want to lower phosphate just do a big WC or two. Plus if your dosing it in ferts don't dose anymore until you get your level to where you want it.

 

[Adamcik]

Alright.. So having it that high, is it hurting anything?

 

[Rivercats]

Alright.. So having it that high, is it hurting anything?

IMO unless it's grossly high above 10ppm then no it's not hurting. But unless you have a lot of non-green plants I would lower it by about 1/2. A 50% WC will do that but you really only need to be feeding 1x daily, 2 tops if your feeding very small amounts. Many types of flake foods can release phosphates. One way to keep all nutrient levels low and in check is to do a 50% weekly WC. I do them on all my tanks including my 220g.

 

[planted-tnk-guy]

I second that rivercat . Fish and plants or in my case plants and fish lol are a labor of love.

IMO unless it's grossly high above 10ppm then no it's not hurting. But unless you have a lot of non-green plants I would lower it by about 1/2. A 50% WC will do that but you really only need to be feeding 1x daily, 2 tops if your feeding very small amounts. Many types of flake foods can release phosphates. One way to keep all nutrient levels low and in check is to do a 50% weekly WC. I do them on all my tanks including my 220g.

 

[Adamcik]

Even for the discus? Feeding wise. I feed them frozen bloodworms in the morning and then frozen brine shrimp in afternoon. Then have an auto feeder that feeds dry food twice a day and really never have food that stays on the bottom for more that 30 min. It all gets eaten

 

[planted-tnk-guy]

If youvare feeding small amounts throughout the day you are fine but ditch the flake and get a better more stable food either brine shrimp direct golden pearls or hikkari .

 

[Rivercats]

Discus actually do better with smaller multiple feedings daily especially when young but if they are larger they often can do very well on two meals a day. I haven't kept them since the early 80's but remember they are wasteful, messy eaters which absolutely need one if not two 50% WC's per week. I have a friend who breeds them and swears they don't do well in higher phosphate levels. So considering the fact you keep discus you need to keep nutrient levels lower overall. You could shoot for 10ppm of nitrates and 1 to 3ppm phosphates and your plants will do fine and your discus will be better off.

 

[Adamcik]

Alright sounds good I will start doing more changes and feed less

 

[Adamcik]

Ok so I have been doing everything that has been mentioned here the past few weeks with no success. Is my whole problem that I have a refugium and I just have too much o2 in the water? Would I be way better off just getting a canister?

 

[jwh0818]

You have a sump? If so that combined with the pressurized co2 won't work well. It can work but you have to take added measures to decrease the amount of oxygen in the water.

 

[Adamcik]

Yes i have a refugium sump..I have already gotten rid of the surface movement what else can b done to decrease the o2

 

[jwh0818]

Where is the co2 being injected at?

 

[planted-tnk-guy]

Sumps and co2 worm very well together you need to use more co2 and use a cerges reactor or similar in the sump to add the co2 you will have no co2 bubbles in the display tank and another benefit is the o2 exchange that must occur.

 

[jwh0818]

O2 exchange should be at a minimum when co2 is running.

 

[planted-tnk-guy]

O2 is important even with co2 for plants. C02 is a nutrient and all the other nutrients that are vital for plants need that exchange as well. Most algae problems are to low of flow, not enough added nurtrients and not enough water changes when something is lacking. The worlds best aquatic pant keepers use sumps with co2 and add copius amounts of dry fertilizers and have very little algae. One can say a lot but the proof is in the pudding as they say.

 

[Adamcik]

Co2 is going in the tank with this. . So will this work in the sump or do I need something else. And I have been adding the pps pro fert from green leaf aquatics