Wroberson's 125 Gallon Tank

[Wroberson]

Let me first start off by describing my limiting system. Because the ratio of N in my tank is 35.2:.324 or 102:1, I have a nitrogen limiting system. This is the food algae is using to reproduce in my tank. This is not the good way to have a tank according to a water expert. NO3 is more difficult to expel than phosphate. The water test has 1ppm PO4 and 160ppm of NO3 with .5ppm of nitrite. So from time to time I have to deal with algae.

I am currently working with a phosphate reducing pad that has dropped my PO4 down from 10ppm in 96 hours. The phosphate pad also removes some ammonia and heavy metals from the water column. I am very pleased with it. The nitrate level has dropped from 200+ to 160ppm. And the nitrite level has dropped from 1ppm to .5ppm.

Here are yesterday's parameters:

Ph 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
Nitrite .5
Nitrate 160
Ammonia 0
Phosphate 1.0

The water has good turbidity and a high level of oxygen to support the BOD. The fish I keep are often found in waters with high nitrate levels with plenty of organic materials to go around. According to the Rainbow fish Bible.

In this thread I will be logging in daily parameters in the evening as I watch, wait and see the conditions continue to improve. The filtration system is only filtering phosphate at 50% capacity.

I have a NO3 filter pad arriving Saturday, and have the best expectations but it only filters solids and does have the same type of micron filter media as the phosphate pad. It wasn't the brand I wanted but at least the lone review gave it 1 star. The pad does not have other ingredients to strip away the oxygen from the NO3 to allow the nitrogen to escape into the atmosphere. There's also an ammonia removal pad available

What I am hoping to get out of the phosphate pad,

to remove phosphate, ammonia, and heavy metals
for the ammonia to reduce the food supply
for the nitrite production to be reduced for lack of food
that the reduction of nitrite will limit nitrate production
that over time, the n ratio reach 10:1 proportions
that this will allow the plants to take in the NO3
and the end result severely limits the production of algae

I know it reads like a lawsuit, and it is. Algae has fouled up my tank and it's production needs to cease.

I pray for relief in this matter and request a 60-80ppm nitrate level at a 10:1 N ratio.

 

[Wroberson]

8-30-2012 Water Test Temp steady at 81

Ph 7.5
KH 40
GH 180
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 200
Ammonia 0
Phosphate 1

The buffering capacity of the water dropped 2/3 without effecting my Ph so I'm going to ignore it until Friday's test. It very well could have bee a bad test strip. The KH reading did this before, but has yet to stay the same 2 days in a row.
Phosphate levels while 90% less than it was 5 days day remians unchenged
Nitrite level dropped .5
Nitrate is fluctuating between 160-200

Resolution:

Will ignore the KH reading change since it didn't effect Ph so I'm going to ignore it until Friday's test.
I cleaned the EX70 filter, flipped the phosphate pad to use the 1 inch strip that hasn't been use and asked the fish to stop doing their laundry in the tank
Nitrite drop indicates an increase of Nitrosomonas, increase in ammonia usage
Slightly increased Nitrate at a level my test can't measure.
Phosphate level is steady indicating that the phosphate pad will stabilize the level of phosphate.

The test strips can be difficult to read at the lower end of the spectrum. My next option to further decrease the phosphate is to increase phosphate filtering to 75% by adding a 3rd pad. It would have to go into one of the Marineland 350's meadia chambers. Because these pads reduce water flow into the tank, it will effect my biowheel.

A slower flow would give the bacteria more time to work out the O from NO3 instead of using it from the water, but it would be more effective in the back of the carbon filter. I placed the phosphate pad in front so the last function of the filter would be to remove phosphate. It's something to think about.

The Rainbow fish expert says GH and KH at 120-180 is good for the fish and that the temperature should be 75 degrees until mating season at which point 82 will trigger a spawning response.

Holding pattern continued for another day. A 50% water change is too extreme for me and the fish and a 10% change will hardly register a drop in Nitrate.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 8-31-2012 Temps 82 No lights

Ph 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 200.
Ammonia 0
Phosphate 0

I reread the section on water conditions for Rainbow fish and see I misquoted the book. The number I posted above and elsewhere was some of the conditions that the rainbow fish are found in. Many of the native waters can be contaminated by excessive levels of pollution that enters the water and decreases water quality. For some reason those nitrogen levels stuck with me rather than the information of the chart.

I am human and when I need to, I strive for perfection. However the NO3 level in my initial post is preferable than what I have now. <10ppm is suggested and they clearly need the Nitrogen. Other conditions I need to avoid are high levels of CO2 with the best range <10ppm. My most recent calculation shows 6.3ppm and 9.1 degrees. Oxygen levels preferred range5-8ppm at 75 degrees and a 85-95% saturation.

Clearly the fish are more important to me than the plants and I am willing to deal with a little algae. All my new plants may not survive, but many will. All that survive will just be moved to the left and over time, I estimate 12 years based on the 1st 20 months, the tank will be fully planted with plants that thrive in the conditions I provide.

I also did a quick test of the test strips and I find them to be accurate. They have some issues though. The dyes in the pads run from time to time. Sometimes the test pad gets a lighter reading around the edge with a darker reading spot in the center. If you let the test strip dry, they generally register the proper results. There's still N in the air, but I don't think it will effects the reading.

The water guy I have been in contact with sent me an email explaining the difference between some of the bacteria in the filtering system. Autotrophic Vs. Heterotrophic. The study found that the Autotrophic are more effective at removing ammonia and nitrogen. I need to reiterate that the man deals with lakes river's and streams and has years of experience. He has helped me measure the overall water quality using 9 different parameters.

Here's a link to the information he sent me.

Auto vs Hetero Bacteria

 

[Wroberson]

I think I fell into a black hole. There is so much conflicting information out on the web. Tropical Fish Store Owners and employees have different opinions too. Some will say Nitrates are not a problem unless at very high levels above 400ppm, others will insist this Nitrate causes stress.

I also read a study on cichlids by Tony Griffits done in water over 400ppm and a study on marine fish in water over 400ppm Nitrate. The cichlids over time suffered hole in the head and the marine fish suffered fin rot. There was nothing to do fir the cichlids, but in marine fish the fin rot was able to be reversed by moving the fish into water at <40ppm. He suggests keeping salt water fish at NO3 levels <40ppm and fresh water fish at <100ppm.

I further read about the digestive system of fish. Like humans, fish eat foods, and swim in waters contain nitrates. When the food is eaten, about 5% of the nitrate is utilized by the fish and gets reduced to nitrite during digestion as part of the biological processing pump in the stomach, all the remaining nitrate is expelled through the body as waste.

Nitrates in the very young can cause severe problems by restricting oxygen in the blood. On average the daily diet contains 75mg of nitrate. The EPA requires lees than 10ppm in drinking water. In the food we eat, 200ppm of nitrite and nitrate are allow in fish. Not pet fish, but the salmon we eat as part of our diet. This information was obtained through a report made by Argonne National Laboratory.

This black hole in which I fell into is one of psychology. The desire to provide a solid functioning and clean and safe environment for my pet fish has also cost a lot of money. So I have determined that the best course is to compile enough information and conform to an average. One community says you must have no nitrogen while other communities say, certain levels are safe and natural.

I purchased a 4 pack of "other" test strips. They are awful. All the dyes bleed. Hard to read and very difficult to open the foil package. It's a mess. The only reading I could make out confirmed my API strip test results on the level of Nitrate at 200ppm.

I also purchased 1000 gallons of bacteria treatment. This supliment is the safest way. The tank need the bacteria to break down Nitrate to Nitrogen by consuming oxygen. The nitrogen then bubbles up into the atmosphere for air breather to use. I had a choice. Sludge removal, and stress reduction. I went with stress reduction. I could have purchased barley straw to test, but I passed. I also passed on a juvenile Dennison Barb. I will get him or her next week. The babies are just too small at 1/2 inch.

With regards to the actions I am taking with my tank based on today's water test, I am still wait and see. I have a nitrate reducing filter pad coming in the mail tomorrow. This will be my next step.

The phosphate removal pad has proven it's worth and will aid in keeping phosphate levels down so my fish can eat properly.

 

[Wroberson]

Overall Condition of 125 Gallon Aquarium

New Plants: Minimal trace nutrients added at planting
Crypt Balansae all have leaves that have growth of 2 inches.
Wisteria has new growth about 2 inch. Lower part of plant looking good.
Anubias: Large plants are larger and have new leaves. Smaller anubias unchanged. Medium anubias has growth and new leaves.
Asian Red Barclaya Bulbs are growing and have increase in size
Green Spot Ozelot Sword taller
Marble Queen 2 no change, 1 new leaves, taller
Melon Sword taller, new leaf
Brazilian Sword taller
Red Spot Ozelot Sword unchanged.
Kleiner Bar Sword unchanged
Floating plants are producing roots.

Older Plants:
Algae being removed by red tail shark, flying foxes on aponogetons
Large Anubis has new leaves good growth despite large-medium algae coverage on most leaves. Other Anubia fuller despite algae coverage on leaves
Rooted crypts taller. Potted crypt no change
Amazon Sword recovering, new growth, fuller
Misc Sword no change.
Aponogetons new growth, 1 reproduced. Bulb removed and planted.
Lily Bulbs new growth fuller.

Older plants 1-2 years old went though 45 days of +90 degree temperatures had suffered extreme conditions, leaf rotting no fertilization other than at time of initial planting.

Newer plants had been shipped Fad EX Overnight in plastic bags with no water. New plants have cracked leaves, yellowing, fold creases.

All plants in tank have produced long roots that required placement in substrate and under gravel.

Fish:
All but one fish have great colors are active, schooling.
Angfa Rainbow in courtship with Bosemani female.
One Angfa still has some kind of issue where he hangs out along front glass low to gravel. This is not a new condition, has been list this for 3 months. Was being pushed arounf by Millennium Juvenile during color displays
New Angfa female came in with heavy breathing 5 days, No change.
New Emerald schooling active, male.
Red Tail shark remains territorial with Flying foxes.
Flying foxes actively compete for space. Lessor fox retreats to corner.
Betta new. Sleeping in floating plants. Saw first venture down to the floor, get spooked by nearby fish and floated back up to top. Shyness reduced can be seen in top waters a few hours per day.
Clown Loach is bigger has taken up residence in "bear" drift wood. Comes out to feed several times per day.
Red Rainbow displays chocolate color with light, orange under no light.
Misc Rainbow has bluish top half under no light. Bright orange/pink in photos
Roseline sharks: Keep as a group and can be seen schooling with rainbows. One seems to be female as she plays with Misc rainbow male in similar spawning actions that mainly include attracting the attention of rainbow
Assassin Snail laid eggs at top of water. Stood guard for a few hours until Angelfish eat the eggs. Assassin snail walked off toward back right corner and hasn't been seen from since.
Angelfish laid eggs on Kleiner Bar Sword now fry hatched. Least active off all fish in tank until eggs are present.

Algae no new algal growth seen since introduction of phosphate pad.
​

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-1-2012

Temp 82F
Ph 7.5
GH180
KH 120
NH4 0
NO2 0
NO3 160
Phosphate 1

Last night I added another Phosphate filter pad. The filtering system is running at 75%. 4 Media slots total with 3 slots holding the filter pad. The different in test color was noticeable and was this 1st time I had seen a match in color that lasted longer than 60 seconds. I can only speculate that the amount of NO3 generated was less than the amount of NO3 used up by the plants, fish, snail and the bacteria filter itself.

I had a large colony of tiny MTS snails, they had pointed shells, but I have only see 2-3 in the last week. I may have buried the bunch with the new gravel, but the edges close to the glass is uncovered so they would have ample opportunity to climb the glass.

The Clown Loach feeds in the old substrate and may be having a feast. I originally estimated 1000 based on seeing 100. This colony came to be 12-23-2011. I woke up and they were all over the place. I netted as many as I could. This may have been when I gave up on the tank. It hurt to see that many. I snapped out of it after a week or two and continued netting and pulling any driftwood that has snails on them. 2-3 months ago I discovered the Assassin snail. I didn't buy it, it just should up one day like the MTS. Then I bought a loach. From reading online is one of the natural ways to get rid of them.

My Deep Blue Nitrate Reducer pad arrived. My hope that is will work has improved. This think is thick. Has twin stage filtration. Says that it reduces and maintains nitrate. Traps micro and macro organic particles. Is chemical and mechanical filtration, and promotes beneficial bacteria colonization. The pad is some weight to it's 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick and firm. Plenty of dust in the package and no warning of hazard.

Also in the mail was a Maxi Jet 600. A Marineland circulation and powerhead pump. After reading that strong current can promote hair algae, I'm putting it aside for a while. I bought it to help keep waste and particle waste and mass afloat longer to give the HOB filters more time to catch. The other reason was for the fish. I figured that exercising the fish in a decent current 1-2 hours per day couldn't hurt. To use this, I would have to move plants and I'm not up for that as they are trying to root.

I'm still going to wait and see. If the test results show an increase in NO3 Sunday night, I'm going to think about putting a piece of the Deep Blue Pad in the last open slot in my Marineland 350.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-2-2012

Temp 82
Ph7.0
GH 180
KH 180
NO2 0
NO3 160
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

This test was pretty average. Non of the pads malfunctioned. I watched the NO3 color change and it too a while longer to land on 160. The next number on the chart is 80. That's 2x less and might take a day or 2 to reach. The overall condition of the tank has improved and is continuing to improve. I have not yet settled on the proper NO3 level for my tank. Right now I'm shooting for 80. I have a firm stance that the fish, plants and other inhabitants require NO3 and PO4. These are some basic building blocks in all living things.


In the tank, the new Angfa Yellow rainbow is getting some color and activity feeding with the group. Most of the time she keeps to herself. Is no different than the 2 grown males in the tank that have been around for about 8 months. She's kind of an ugly child too. A Marble Queen plant came in with 2 flowers. I've seen this before. Once the leaves form, roots start to grow. One popped over night and now has 2 leaves about 1/2 inch long. The top flower is getting ready to pop. I actually watched it happen in a time lapse sense. One minute there was 1 leaf and several hours later the 2nd leaf came in.

As for the constant 82 degrees. There's a reason for that. It's higher than I would like and will be changing within a week or two. It's not something I am willing to change for the moment. While I don't need the extra heat, I do need the light that's causing it.

It took 7 pictures to capture the fish I was taking a picture of using a preflash. He is a Red Rainbow Fish. He had 3 brothers, but I traded 2 adults and 2 Bala shark for rainbows. The 2 male Yellow and the misc rainbow. They were just babies. I estimate they are 10-12 months old. The store owner said that the fish had great colors and asked about the diet. The 3rd Red rainbow ran into the glass at high speed at lights out and went limp.

In the picture Red. The other fish is a Millennium Rainbow. Like the yellow, there are several red rainbow fish. This one is one that gets silver scales. I think it's Irian Jaya, but not certain. The silver scales on the Millennium is what separates him from the other red rainbows. The two look nothing a like and the reds are of different shade.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-3-2012

Temp 82
Ph7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 200
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

Well, it's time to top off the tank. So I removed <25% of water. 4.75 inches. It's being replace as I sit here with cold water, but not cold enough to drop the temperature. It's more than usual. I didn't add any dirt to the water. The water is being agitated as much as it can to help limit the chlorine. Would have been a good time to remove the last patch of algae. Usually the fish play around in the near the flow, but today, all of the fish are up in the right hand corner of the the tank. I guess that was more when the water was 90 and not 82 when cool water felt pretty good. I'd never seen the fish not enjoy the water being replaced. The only change is the drop in phosphate from 10ppm+ to .5 over the last 8 days.

One possible reason for the increased nitrate is that one of my biowheel stopped rotating as was not working properly. After quick test by moving the pad and seeing the wheel spin back into action, the phosphate pad in that chamber was removed.

The end test to the Purta Filtration Pad is positive. Removed 90% of the phosphate in my tank.

I set up a water removal/replacement schedule

Water Removal Schedule to reduce Nitrate to 100ppm
1 time every 7 days for 28 days. 20% of the water


Water Removal Schedule to reduce Nitrate to 70 ppm
1 time every 7 days for 28 days. 15% of the water

Water Removal Schedule to reduce Nitrate to 70 ppm
1 time every 7 days for the rest of my life. 10% of the water.

I don't want to hurt the fish with the chlorine in the tap water. I could just empty 75% of the water to speed things up, but at some point a water removal will have to be done every week to keep the NO3 at what ever level I choose. I'm thinking 40ppm. This should prevent the tank from zeroing out and flatlining and provide nitrate for everything that needs it.

I'll try to change the water with the Deep Blue Pad for a week. Let's see if this baby works. The less I have to do that disturbs the fish, the better it is for the fish.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-4-2012

Temp 84-83
Ph 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 80
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

Test results show the lowest NO3 level ever recorded in the tank. Doing the math using the 20% water change and the previous test numbers may show that the Deep Blue Nitrate Pad is doing what it is supposed to do. Even with a NO3 level at 160, 20% water change should only drop the level to 128 which my test doesn't cover (200,160,80,40,20,0).

Last night I added my new lights. the fish will adjust. The plants were getting about .5 watts per gallon since the tank's inception. The plants are now getting 3.52 watts per gallon and a total of 26400 lumen from 6 CFL bulb of varying wattage and spectrum. I estimate the lumen to be a combined average of 4400. The lights are raise 2" from glass on a DYI rack. Each light fixture can be removed and with 6 lights, the total light and spectrum can be modified. The 6 bulbs are 2-23/100, 4-19/60 watt bulbs. Lumen per watt varies by bulb between 60 and 64.

Kleiner Bar Centerpiece is a concern. The tall plant came packed in one of those small netted pots, as did most of the plants. The crown may have been compressed and is definitely under some gravel. From my understanding, the crowns of sword plants should be above the gravel and receive light. I left everything in their pot because I've killed several plants by removing them from the pot, others had been stunned but were viable enough to recover.

The only plants I am having concerns with are the swords. Generally too buoyant and hard to keep rooted down leading to rocks holding the plant, low light. None to little added nutrients. The floating bunched plants. Inexperience and lack of solid understanding is key. I have 2 tanks, 5g and 10g I can use to nurse bunched plants to root in gravel, but that's a project for next year.

Four swords with no signs of loss of leaves are the two Ozelot swords and two Marble Queens. The mother queen and Kleiner Bar and Green Melon are three plants with leaf loss at lower part of plant. Marble Queen mother is supporting shoots. Marble Queen lower offshoot has 3 leaves. Top shoot has 2. Kleiner Bar not enough light reaching lower leaves.

This fish have had a tough week. Continually improving conditions, increase light. I hope to get them a little break. The light change is more extreme with a 7x increase overnight. With a little effort, I'll try to keep my arm out of their home, but the removal of dieing leaves and floaters must go on.

Young female Yellow Rainbow still hanging in there. Sometimes hanging out at the top, most time spent near bottom.

 

[Wroberson]

Deep Blue Filter Pad Test

Water Test 9-5-2012

Temp 82
Ph 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 80
PO4 .25
Ammonia 0

Test:

I was laying around thinking that these filter pads have some limit. Maybe they max out. I was also wondering if the pads are filtering out the same amount of nitrate of phosphate daily. The nitrate level was 200, it's now 80. Does this mean that the pad is removing 120ppm continually. As if to say, this one 5x7" pad can only filter 120ppm. I may make it a note to remove the pads in a month, run the tank for 48 hours and retest the levels.

Fish:

Fish are nice and active. Early this morning, the Emerald Rainbow and the Millennium rainbow thought it was be special to spawn to the top of the water in the floating plants. It was. It was special. The splash at the end confirmed it. The assassin snail made an appearance. I also was told that I have M. Herbaxelrodi, or Yellow rainbow fish. While there are yellow scales that break up the black band, the firm yellow color of the fish is brighter than the M. Angfa. So I guess I paid for what I was buying.

Plants:

The Kleiner Bar has 8-10 shoots at the top of the water. It came in with the flowers and not knowing if they were viable flowers, or spent flowers that had already went to seed sort of ignored them. This morning during my inspection and leaf removal, I notice wide oval leaves mixed in with the floating bunched plants. They are still attached to the flower stalks. Once again, I need for the roots to form before propagation. At the time, the plantlets are removed and rooting in the substrate.

I have dosed the plants trace minerals at a low level. 1 capfull. I don;t know how to handle this. There's at least 3 ways. High dose to ensure that the plants have more than they need and a steady supply is available. Daily dose per direction on the bottles. And low dose once every 2-3 days. The three treatments I have are Flourish trace, iron and potassium. The 2 main macro nutrients are readily available, nitrate and phosphate. CO2 is an expense I can't take on at the moment.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-6-2012

Temp 81
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 80
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

No changes in the water condition. Inserted a second Nitrate Reducer Pad. The EX70 filter is at capacity and won't hold anymore media. I guess I could remove the carbon pad and replace with media of my choice. I might be able to add a phosphate pad into the carbon media holder for a tight fit.

Marineland biowheels never worked better. The option on this side is to make my own filter pad by removing the blue foam pad add a little more carbon and sew the pad of my choice to the plastic cartridge. The important part of the Marineland filter is functioning properly as is should.

Algae

Notice that the algae on the older Anubias is slowly being removed or maybe dieing off. No notice of new algae growth on glass. I scraped an area last week as a control area. If any new growth were to appear it would be along the edges of this area. The area I left untouched should be removed. The fish are feeding less and less in that area.

Plants

Kleiner Bar Sword is continually losing it's lower leaves. I beginning to look at is as if it's doomed and should try removing the crown from the plastic pot and some how root the plant in the gravel. It was only $9.99 and could have traded it with the LFS for whatever I wanted. There's new leaves coming in, but they are cramped. I would like to be able to spread the leaves out and open it up.

All other plants look great and all have new leaves, even the older plants. The two sword that has absolutely now spotting or have had a dieing leaf are the Brazilian and Ozelot Swords. Those three plants may be the swords I concentrate on in planting the tank. Red lily bulbs are finally getting bigger.

Plants should be able to survive as well as the fish. Many of them do, but I've never had luck with most of the swords I've purchased. This time last year I had found an extra large Melon and extra large Amazon. The Melon went fast but the Amazon did great until the heat wave and 45 days of 90 degree water.

Fish

Still no fish loss since April when a large red rainbow swam into the glass at high speed. Last illness was back in January. Fish are happy and healthy. The smaller adult fish, the Yellow rainbows seem to have grown a bit. Can pick up 3-4 Preacox Dwraf Neon rainbows locally for 5 bucks each.

Me and Myself

I'm doing okay. This remodel has been expensive and kind of interfered with with plans I made in March. It's not a complaint. I'm happy the aquarium is doing so well. However, I have to pay off both credit cards by December 28th and this means less spending. I need a rental car for a trip to Yellowstone National Park and a New Year's Eve Party. The trip is a done deal. I only need the car and gas money.

65% of my income is going towards paying off my debts. Should be done in November. I will have to fork over some more cash for the Master test kit. I would also like a 30 dollar Oxygen test. A Co2 test. There are even some saltwater reef tests, like stronium and boron, magnesium and calcium and others I would like to have just for the sake of having them.

 

[Wroberson]

Fidh Tank Photo

Here's the old beast 14 days into the restoration. There an old picture in my Introduction. I think. Taken just after the new plants were plants and before any water test was done.

EDIT: Power strip raised above waterline. Cords and placement need work.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-7-2012

Temp 81
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 80
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

The nitrate test took a little longer to reach 80ppm. I am hopeful that it will decline to 40 in a day or two. The color test may already be in between 40-80ppm. I will admit that I failed a color test during a physical back in the 80's that made the difference of working in the computer field and security specialist. I got 1 out of 10 correct. I was unable for pick out patterns in a field of similar colored dots. Can't have some guy who can't tell red from green wiring up bombs. I may give the pad an few extra days to prove itself.

Last night went to walmart. They had minute maid fruit juice for a buck ans I love the stuff. The fish department had a whisper filter that came with a nitrate pad. It's new. It's separate from the carbon pad. It said it was good for ever. I thought that was interesting. I didn't see that they were selling the individual piece. I think it come with the filter kit.

Going to try and root the Kleiner Bar Sword into the gravel leaving it's crown above surface to see if I can save the plant. It's going down fast. Everything is is going well. Will be adding more gravel to bury the pots where the plants are being held.

I tried the Marineland Maxijet circulation pump. Super quiet. The Bosemani rainbows spent the most time swimming against the current. The other rainbows seem to enjoy swimming with the current. Don't recommend for angelfish, one spent time against the current and seemed to enjoy it. Only one plant was injured. The pump can be used as a sump or powerhead too. I give it 4 stars.

 

[Wroberson]

I retested my Phosphate levels a 8 o'clock and it's down to .25-.50. I'm calling it .50. It has renewed my faith that the phosphate pad is still removing phosphate. I am hoping the same turns out with the nitrate reducing pad. During my search for these pads, I ran across a couple that were use for 48 hours and toss.

The angelfish spent the entire day inflamed with color. The black was super black and they just looked awesome. They also spent the entire day scouting the tank for a nesting place. 3 areas were the most popular. The intake pipe of the Penguin 350. The back side of the Kleiner Bar Sword near the top. And the Brazilian sword to the right of the tank.

I did some more reading on plant care. One article was about poor man's dosing drops. I'm not about to make my own fertilizer, but he provided some useful parametera I found interesting. The paper also went on to discuss the macro nutrients N P K. He listed the levels that he keeps his tanks and they were very nice looking.

So I had to rethink how I am going to handle the situation here at home. I will need to get a few ore tests. Iron, Potassium, CO2. I can get an estimated CO2 reading just by testing the Ph and KH. It's been in the 6.3-7 range. I've located the Iron test. The potassium test is the expensive one at close to $1.00 per test compared to pennies for Iron, Phosphate, Nitrate and CO2. Being able to test for Fecal coliform in the water column would be very helpful. I think that's the one nasty that would require a water change to remove.

Armed with the new information, plus the message I got from an online friend in the water management field, I think I have come to a final conclusion of how I want my water column. I will be low dosing to achieve the desired levels. I will be shooting for the following.

0.1 ppm iron,
1 ppm phosphate,
10 ppm nitrate,
20 ppm potassium
7 –8 ppm CO2

Here's a link to something helpful. Unless you have tests to get the levels, you'll have to estimate. There are formula's for everything on the net. BOD requires the weight of the fish in the tank. Everyone should have a few of these numbers already and the turbidity of the water for most should be better than mine, and I have really clear water, but with recorded high levels of "stuff", like nitrates. My water has improved from when there was 200ppm of nitrate, from an estimate of 70 to 75%. However, the nitrate will always prevent me from reaching 91%

Water Quality Index Calculator:

Water Quality Index Calculators

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-8-2012

Temp 76
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

Cool temps overnight and the water finally fell below 80 for the first time since April. I guess I have to turn one of the heaters on to make sure the temperature doesn't continue falling. This will help the plants as many do well in cooler water. I will get to see if the 6 CFL's bulbs also add some heat to the water. I am very pleased with the Deep Blue Nitrate reducing pad. According to the package, I can rinse and reuse.

I'm either going to spend 10 bucks on four 60 watt bulbs at 6500k, or I'm going to get an API Nitrate test kit. I might even get them both if the tips keep rolling in. I have about 5 more test strips left and could skip a day here and there if I wanted too. I think I'm okay with GH and KH and as long as the ammonia stays undetected the nitrite should follow.

I've started dosing my plants. I have used 20ml of the trace elements and 5ml each of the iron and potassium. That's a weeks dose for a 30 gallon tank. Reading the bottles, I've added about .5ppm of potassium, about .375ppm of iron and an undetectable about of 9 different trace elements.

Things are going as well as I hoped and better than expected. Whoever gave the Deep Blue pad a bad rating and said it didn't work must have had more nitrate than I had and just didn't give it enough time. I have 2 pads of each filter media. At some point, I will remove all four pads and see what happens over 24 hours. This will give me a better idea as to what's really going on here. I would hope that 10-20ppm of NO3 and .5ppm of PO4 are going straight to the plants.

The Angelfish laid eggs on the Kleiner Bar Sword overnight. This morning when I turn the lights on I watched the fish for about an hour. When the angelfish woke up, they swam over the to floating plants. The female was looking up at them and the male came over.

His black trim was showing and he was talking to the female. Kind of leaning to the side and making body gestures. The female nudged him on the chin. He went back over the the nest and she stayed by the floating plants. Some time passed and she went to the nest, but was soon back over by the floating plants. I guess he wants her to stay away.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-9-2012

Temp 78
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 20
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

Yesterday I put in my new 6500k lights. The total light didn't change, just the spectrum. The heat from CFL's does not effect the water temperature. The fish don't seem to mind. I also looked at a garden edging strip to do some landscaping along the back side of the tank. Too expensive. I also found a great piece of driftwood at 7 bucks a pound. It's spectacular. Will have to hold off on that.

Bought a new API NO3 test kit. After seeing the results, I seriously question the accuracy of both the API strip test and the guy doing the testing. The strip test showed a level of NO3 around 160ppm. The dropper test came up with a level of 20ppm. This will be a learning process. The color chart for the drop test is easier to read, but 40-80ppm will be a problem area for me. To me, those two red stripes are the same color.

A big tank you to Pet Supplies Plus for the free Cryptocoryne Red Wendtii. I would have paid for it, but since he offered it to me free I bought a loose bunch of Bacopa Carolina. Their tanks suffered over the summer and the manager noted that he's stuck with fluoro tubes and suggested I show up on Wednesdays to by plants went they come in. The store has also cut down on supplies stock. The chain was where I bought all my large volcanic rocks.

New test in, new plants and new lights. Did a little reading on making a sand waterfall. I would have to go with a kit over making my own which looks really simple. The main concern is the type of sand that is needed and the kits come with the proper sized sand. Now all they need to do is make something that looks natural. I don't want a Buddah, or Skull and Crossbones. The log kit looked weak.

Everything in the tank looks normal. New fish still in question. Plants growing nicely. Side Shoots getting roots. Red Barclaya bulbs finally visible. The baby Kleiner Bar that was planted looking good. Fish enjoying swimming the current for 15 minutes a day. I don't things could have gone any better.

Also thanks to all the invaluable service and information provided by these online aquatic message boards and all the people involved in getting the information out there. I have found and used advice from just about every board I've read. There is advice and solutions that will benefit everyone.

Dosing: trace 25ml, iron 10ml, potassium 10ml.
Inherent: NO3 20ppm PO4 .5-1ppm
Estimate: iron .085ppm K 2ppm
Desired: Iron .1ppm, NO3 10ppm PO4 1ppm K 20ppm,

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-10-2012

Temp 76
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

Today's test used both the strip test and the drop test. Both test were 40ppm of nitrate. It was also first test I was able to do in sunlight. I added the last two Deep Blue Pads to my Marineland 350 filter. I also changed the media cartridge in the filter. I managed to keep the wheels turning by placing the nitrate reducer in the back of the filter with the carbon cartridge up from.

The new Yellow rainbow didn't make it. First the angelfish attacked it and then the redtail shark at she hit the bottom. The other fish purchased from the same store is going great. I just picked a weak fish. The betta is finally enjoying the bottom levels of the aquarium at will without all the hype and attention from the other fish in the room. I moved a few plants and a rock. The plants are growing roots nicely.

Will get my iron test within two weeks. There is a generic potassium test kit out there designed by a plant nursery. All the other K tests are designed with saltwater and reef care in mind. One the test is here, I'll be better able to manage the plant nutrients without waste or overexposure to iron. Added 1 cap full potassium to water. The numbers below are 7 totals.

Dosing: trace 25ml, iron 10ml, potassium 15ml.
Inherent: NO3 40ppm, PO4 1ppm
Estimate: iron .085ppm, K 3ppm
Desired: Iron .1ppm, NO3 10ppm, PO4 1ppm K 20ppm

Today I'll be starting to remove the rest of the old algae. The back wall is no longer being utilized by the red tail or flying foxes however, the do enjoy grazing in the apongetons and the driftwood in the area. It's going to take a few days to get it all, and when the next picture is posted, I'll see where the last remains are. Aqueon heater may be dead.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-11-2012

Temp 78
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

I only tested the Nitrate and Phosphate today. I only have a few strip tests left and other than the nitrate on the strip test, everything else is stable. I removed another 20% of the water. I don;t expect much change. The nitrates may very well be 40ppm tomorrow. Other than the initial nitrate drop from 200ppm to 80pp which also included a 25% water change. The Deep Blue Pad seems to maintain the level. The load isn't increasing with new fish adding new waste, there's just old buried waste that's going to take time to be cleared by the bacteria.

Fish are doing well. Betta is part of the community. It's a high maintenance fish. It likes to play near the intake tube along the back glass and I'm not one to sit around to see if he can get himself unstuck. Just a little tap on the filter and he's free. He's turquoise and red. One of the better looking fish that day.

I remove that last sheet of algae from the left back glass. I can see a few missed spots. The red tail shark, angelfish and flying foxes were willing to graze most of it form the bottom while it was being removed. The rainbow fish didn't want anything to do with it. The water sure clears up fast.

After a month there as always a good green or brown hue to the front glass. I can see some haze on the right side panel, but the algae isn;t growing as fast as it used to. The razor blade shows it to be an opaque color. Not brown. Not blue or green. Sooner or later the NO3O4 will hit the proper ratio and algae will be even more restricted. I'll see to this personally

I found a $180,500.00 aquarium It's about 12 feet by 10 feet by 7 feet.. There's a 2400 gallon tank on Vegas craigslist. Vegas has a lot of 100g plus tanks for under $200. The F.I.S.H. stores are really cool. I've spent a month there over the past year and will be around in March. Plants are doable on a plane. Fish might not be allowed as the TSA won't allow that much water through the scanner. Checked baggage isn't safe for fish.

I the same tone, I'm heading to Yellowstone for a week over New Years. I've been there in the winter before. I think it's the better time to go. It's not that expensive either and you can pay for it 9 months in advance. I was originally going to take the long way home through Vegas, but this last 3 weeks pretty much shut the door on that Superbowl wager. So now I'm looking for fish stores between Jackson Wyoming and Chicago. Cheyenne, Denver, Lincoln, Omaha, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Quad Cities.

There's a meeting being held under the floating plants. Every fish is there. I think it's a spawning discussion group. It's very popular in the morning. I'm pleased with the tank. The snails aren't seen very much anymore. The only improvement is that I know the condition and I am working to get them to a level that benefits both fish and plants.

The one downside is that it's maxed at about 85%. I might be able to squeeze 1-2 more fish in. I still considering getting rid of the adult barbs and replacing them with juveniles. Also the angelfish are on the list too. I doubt that I'll move on it anytime soon. I found my 10g pump and may set up the 5g tank, but first I have to get around to removing the dresser and getting the 55g stand I built in here. The mini fridge takes up all the space on the dresser.

new 336 x 96 x 72 '' tall 1/2 bullnose $180,500.00 delivered .... 3.90'' thick acrylic

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-12-2012

Temp 82
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

No changes in the water. I have several remaining options to lower the nitrate.

I was reading again and found out what makes the Deep Blue Pad work. It's coated with an anion resin that removes the nitrate, sulfate and other -ions. It has a capacity. When the capacity is reached, anion resin can allow the nitrate to reenter the water. This happens because the resin will exchange a nitrate for a sulfate in water containing high sulfates. Cation pads are different and can be used to remove +ions from metals like copper, iron, lead and other + charged ions. Cation resins will soften water and add salt. I am using both forms for nitrate and phosphate removal.

The very best option in my opinion is to get more plants. More plants will use more nitrate and thus lower nitrate in the water. Hornwort and wisteria are recommended because they take in high amounts of nitrate and grow quickly. I like plants. I want more plants. Under the right conditions, plants will balance out the nitrate.

Other options are sludge removers containing anaerobic bacteria. Chemical removers that neutralize the nitrate. Continuous large water changes. RO treatment. Anaerobic bacteria chambers and canisters. These all have pros and cons. The pro is they remove nitrate. The cons are anything from causing low oxygen in the water, bacteria blooms in the tank and accidental poisoning of plants and fish.

So the question for me is how much nitrate will one plant remove from the water? I've read general statements that say plants need 10-20ppm of nitrate to grow well. The problem is the person didn't mention what types of plants or how many plants are being used to remove 10-20ppm from the water.

The levels below are what is being added to, what is already there, and what level is desired in the water. Some of the levels are plant specific and others are the levels recommended for the type of fish I am keeping. It's pretty much a mixed bag and I call it a happy medium. Plants and fish require different amounts of each element. Example. Plants 10ppm of NO3 and rainbow fish <8ppm of NO3.

Dosing: trace 30ml, iron 15ml, potassium 20ml.
Inherent: NO3 40ppm, PO4 1ppm
Estimate: iron .1ppm, K 4ppm, CO2 6-7ppm
Desired: Iron .1ppm, NO3 10ppm, PO4 1ppm K 20ppm, 7-8ppm

Note to self: figure out which of the additives, trace, iron, potassium causes a slight cloudy condition in the water.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-13-2012

Temp 82
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

I'm hoping there's a little progress happening. The test tube when shaken didn't turn immediately red, It was orange and then went red. So I'm hoping the nitrate level is about to change for the better. Working on adjusting the heater. It's 70 outside and the water shouldn't be that warm.

I'm having plant issues still. The Melon Sword and Radican Marble Queen Sword plants were grown emersed. For these two plants, you can tell how it was raised by the shape of their leaves. Oval leafed plants of this type were grown above water. When place into water to grow, the old emersed leaves die off and new submersed leaf forms will start growing. All other plants growing nicely.

I thought I would share an off topic link.

Free Yahoo Pro Pick Em Contest:

Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Pro Football Pickem

Each week the player that picks the most winning games during the 2012 NFL season wins 2 round trip tickets to any of the lower 48 states. Overall winner wins a trip for 2 to Las Vegas. To be eligible to win prizes players must opt in by clicking the box that says, I want to be eligible to win prizes. Not my game or rules, and I would love to see a few people from here win.

Sorry. For the late call as this will also be my 1st week, but I could have gotten this in Tuesday. And of course sorry for the content not being aquarium related.