Tank journey: 10 gallon > new 20 gallon long build

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Yes, still DIY CO2
& no I haven't tried out the manual settings since I really like the 24/7 mode, which can't be dimmed. If you want to dim the light you have to manually enter a custom color combination and use a separate timer. It would be extra cool if you could also customize the time of day buttons and have it slowly fade between them, but for the price it's probably too much to expect. To use the 24/7 mode for a low-light build you'd want the fixture to be at least 20" or so from the substrate.
 
Curious about your dosing method and schedule? Also are you using yeast co2 or citric acid?


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Curious about your dosing method and schedule? Also are you using yeast co2 or citric acid?


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

I'm using yeast and sugar.

EI dosed dry, 6 day schedule:
kno3 - 1/8 tsp
kh2po4 - 1/32 tsp
k2so4 - 1/32 tsp
3x per week

On alternate days:
Plantex csm+b - 1/32 tsp
Flourish iron - 2 mL

Initially I was only dosing half those amounts of kno3 and kh2po4, and extra k2so4. Eventually switched to full EI as plant mass increased.



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The new finnex has been running in 24/7 mode for over 5 weeks now. If anyone is curious about the the 24/7 mode causing algae problems, it hasn't been an issue. I did have a bit of algae show up, but it was because the co2 wasn't quite keeping up. The change in light intensity and duration really increased the demand for everything, even more than I anticipated. After I upped the fert dosages, the co2 demand also increased, and the pH was increasing slightly during the afternoon while at peak intensity. I added a 3rd one-liter yeast/sugar bottle, and now the ph is remaining steady again.

The staur repens is still not looking so great. I think what happened was that after P was increased, a N deficiency followed. I bumped up the dosage of all ferts just to be sure, and gave them some fresh osmocote tabs. I've heard s. repens is known for melting spontaneously, hopefully that's not what's happening. There seems to be a slow improvement now that things are back in balance, I hope it makes a full recovery soon.

Here's what I'm dosing now- EI 6-day schedule, macros and micros 3X per week on alternating days:

KNO3 - 3/16 tsp
KH2PO4 - 1/32 tsp
K2SO4 - 3/64 tsp

Plantex CSM+B - 1/16 tsp
Flourish Iron - 2 mL

Excel - 2 or 3 mL daily

photos:
Fxhf6CF.jpg

I7jqBq8.jpghttp:

s6YVvsH.jpg

izQvStv.jpg
 
The new finnex has been running in 24/7 mode for over 5 weeks now. If anyone is curious about the the 24/7 mode causing algae problems, it hasn't been an issue. I did have a bit of algae show up, but it was because the co2 wasn't quite keeping up. The change in light intensity and duration really increased the demand for everything, even more than I anticipated. After I upped the fert dosages, the co2 demand also increased, and the pH was increasing slightly during the afternoon while at peak intensity. I added a 3rd one-liter yeast/sugar bottle, and now the ph is remaining steady again.

The staur repens is still not looking so great. I think what happened was that after P was increased, a N deficiency followed. I bumped up the dosage of all ferts just to be sure, and gave them some fresh osmocote tabs. I've heard s. repens is known for melting spontaneously, hopefully that's not what's happening. There seems to be a slow improvement now that things are back in balance, I hope it makes a full recovery soon.

Here's what I'm dosing now- EI 6-day schedule, macros and micros 3X per week on alternating days:

KNO3 - 3/16 tsp
KH2PO4 - 1/32 tsp
K2SO4 - 3/64 tsp

Plantex CSM+B - 1/16 tsp
Flourish Iron - 2 mL

Excel - 2 or 3 mL daily

photos:
Fxhf6CF.jpg

I7jqBq8.jpghttp:

s6YVvsH.jpg

izQvStv.jpg

Nice pics PD! Following brotha...

sit in silence...
 
The star melt.... Ahh the humanity!!!! Been there man, they've always come back though, never really pin pointed the root of the problem (pun intended). Tank still looks bangin son!

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How did I miss this thread?

This tanks rocks dude! You've almost put tom barr's staurogyne tank to shame!:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u312/plantbrain/bfc20a04.jpg

(don't tell him I said that)

Hahaha not quite. I can't even begin to compete with the pros. Thanks for the compliments guys.

lol Brookster, I guess that's what I get for saying "nah, it'll never happen..."

I tried to get a sunrise pic this morning, but it's not happening- it ends up looking more pink than orange for some reason. I'm not sure it's possible to get great photos of all the different times of day with my $250 camera, the colors just don't always look right.

I did get a few blurry moonlight pics last night:

ER2uJFH.jpg


Rotala still pearling at 11:00 PM! :huh:
TkdAGN4.jpg
 
That tank is smokin. Beautiful. You definately have it dialed in PD. ?


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1 year update

Well, today marks 1 full year since this thread was started. Thanks to everyone above for your compliments, you are all too kind! I'll give a quick update, no pics but I'll try to get some new ones this week.

I'm still using the 24/7 mode with no issues. I love this light, especially in the morning. It makes the tank look so inviting throughout the entire sunrise sequence. (y)(y)

I'm pretty sure the reason some plants (star repens in particular) have been struggling is some sort of micro-nutrient toxicity due to too much CSM+B and/or osmocote+ in the substrate. I haven't added any micros since November, except last week I got anxious and I tried adding just a single dose of Flourish comprehensive, which was definitely a mistake.

While plant health hasn't got any worse overall, it's taking a frustratingly long time to recover. There seems to be a gradual improvement with every water change. I've been doing extra water changes mid-week when I have the time. Other plants seem totally unaffected- the cyperus helferi and crypts especially are growing like crazy and starting to take over.

Other than the crypt explosion, it doesn't look much different from the previous photos except on Sunday I took out the piece of wood on the right with a huge mass of java moss attached, threw out all the java moss and tied some fissidens fontanus to the same piece of wood. I got tired of pulling out java moss every week. The fissidens moss should be easier to manage. I also uprooted all of the a.r. and replanted just the tops since I had neglected pruning it for too long and most of the lower leaves were gone.

New fish! :brows: After tank maintenance on Sunday, I picked up two different species of dwarf cories. One lfs had habrosus, and the other had pygmaeus.

I bought 8 habrosus for this tank,
c_habrosus6.jpg


and 5 pygmaeus for my son's betta tank.
hqdefault.jpg

(not my photos)

They are in QT and doing great so far.
 
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