Bert's 30G Planted adventure.

[Caliban07]

So using the calc I need to dose mon/wed/fri/Sunday 1g of kno3 and 211mg of kh2p04

And tues/thurs/sat 757mg of trace

That's 4g of kno3 and 844mg of kh2po4 per week and 2.274g of trace per week.




30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

That sounds about right mate and you are welcome. I haven't been dosing micros lately as I have a soil substrate. I was waiting to see if I could spot and micro related deficiencies and then just bob some in there but well....I am still waiting.

The idea behind EI is so that you can provide non limiting nutrients and eradicate testing. Because we know that the powders do not cause algae or even harm to livestock (TDS will rise) all that happens is your plants grow healthier and make the system more robust. the 50% weekly water change resets nutrients. If you are unsure maybe do a bit more than 50%. You probably won't like what your tests kits tell you but why test when you know exactly have much you are putting in? There is nothing more accurate than that?

Good luck.


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[Bert2oo1]

That sounds about right mate and you are welcome. I haven't been dosing micros lately as I have a soil substrate. I was waiting to see if I could spot and micro related deficiencies and then just bob some in there but well....I am still waiting.

The idea behind EI is so that you can provide non limiting nutrients and eradicate testing. Because we know that the powders do not cause algae or even harm to livestock (TDS will rise) all that happens is your plants grow healthier and make the system more robust. the 50% weekly water change resets nutrients. If you are unsure maybe do a bit more than 50%. You probably won't like what your tests kits tell you but why test when you know exactly have much you are putting in? There is nothing more accurate than that?

Good luck.


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Yea it's a good system I've read a fair bit about it over the last month or so. I'll be starting it on Sunday


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Bert2oo1]

Abit of a co2 question guys. I'm currently running 2bps out of the cyclinder (according to bubble counter on reg) but at my diffuser it's about 1 every 2 seconds. Could this mean that there is a leak somewhere?
I'm tending to trust the bubble counter on the reg more.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

Abit of a co2 question guys. I'm currently running 2bps out of the cyclinder (according to bubble counter on reg) but at my diffuser it's about 1 every 2 seconds. Could this mean that there is a leak somewhere?
I'm tending to trust the bubble counter on the reg more.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

What kind of diffuser do you have? Mix some washing up liquid with water to check for leaks. All over the reg and connections etc.

Also how long have you had the set up running. Sometimes tweaks at the needle valve can take a while to adjust through the hole system. That's why you need to stay with the setup all day.


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[Bert2oo1]

What kind of diffuser do you have? Mix some washing up liquid with water to check for leaks. All over the reg and connections etc.

Also how long have you had the set up running. Sometimes tweaks at the needle valve can take a while to adjust through the hole system. That's why you need to stay with the setup all day.


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The diffuser is a Aqua one 3 in 1 ceramic diffuser (a plastic price of crap basically) just using till my inline comes next week. Has been setup for 2 days now


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Bert2oo1]

Turns out the diffuser must have been clogged from when I used it with my DIY. Was causing back pressure to the bubble counter. (Wouldn't adjust past 2bps). Swapped it out for another one and it's going great guns.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

Turns out the diffuser must have been clogged from when I used it with my DIY. Was causing back pressure to the bubble counter. (Wouldn't adjust past 2bps). Swapped it out for another one and it's going great guns.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

Excellent. Can't wait to see how things turn out.


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[Bert2oo1]

So today is water change day. I've done my 50% weekly change and from today I'll start dosing EI ferts. I'll be dosing macro sun/tue/thur/sat and micro mon/wed/fri.

I'll update any changes in growth or algae over the next few weeks. Co2 will be at 30ppm.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

So today is water change day. I've done my 50% weekly change and from today I'll start dosing EI ferts. I'll be dosing macro sun/tue/thur/sat and micro mon/wed/fri.

I'll update any changes in growth or algae over the next few weeks. Co2 will be at 30ppm.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

Good luck dialling in the co2.


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[Bert2oo1]

First day going to EI and co2 was an incredible difference already. Light came on and an hour later my stem plants started pearling and by the end of the day my tank was like a soda bottle. I used to get pearl in the last hour of lighting but today they basically went all day.

Drop checker is lime green and fish looking lively.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Fresh2o]

Sounds like things are working out.
Prepare to trim those plants


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[Caliban07]

First day going to EI and co2 was an incredible difference already. Light came on and an hour later my stem plants started pearling and by the end of the day my tank was like a soda bottle. I used to get pearl in the last hour of lighting but today they basically went all day.

Drop checker is lime green and fish looking lively.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

Congrats ??


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[Bert2oo1]

Abit of an update

Plants are growing like crazy, hair algae is non existent on the glass now and GSA is long gone. Hair algae in my carpet has disappeared on one side of the tank but is still a big issue on the other side. BBA has slowed right down but there is a lot of small tuff's on my rocks and still a few spots in my moss, has definitely slowed down growth wise though.

Will be removing rocks and giving them a good scrub the get rid of it on Sunday with my water change. Any ideas on fighting hair algae in my carpet plants? I'm thinking this could be a flow issue maybe?

I've stopped zapping the BBA with excel as I'm already around 35-40 ppm of co2 so don't want to over do
it.

Any suggestions are always welcome


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Bert2oo1]

So my atomizer finally came! (Feels like it took forever) and my God does it make a lot of difference. Still running 3bps. BBA is really taking hold though so I have a busy weekend of trimming and cleaning ahead of me.

The wife came home with some new tetras aswell and they have settled in great


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Fresh2o]

Post a pic of the atomizer when you get a chance.
Hair algae on plants is tough. In my shrimp tank I used a toothbrush to snag most of it. Reduced lighting worked best in the long run (no CO2 or ferts in that tank).
What kind of tetra is that?
Sounds like good progress so far.


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[Bert2oo1]

Post a pic of the atomizer when you get a chance.
Hair algae on plants is tough. In my shrimp tank I used a toothbrush to snag most of it. Reduced lighting worked best in the long run (no CO2 or ferts in that tank).
What kind of tetra is that?
Sounds like good progress so far.


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It's a glass blood fin tetra. She got 4 of them. Pretty cool looking fish. Yea I've read that people use toothbrushes to comb it out. I plan on trying that this weekend. Also have to do the rocks because the BBA is just getting worse (very frustrating)

The atomizer is giving a lot better spread of co2 so hopefully everything balances out soon. If not I'll have to drop my lights down abit (I'm at about 80-90 par at substrate id say)

It's an up Aqua inline atomizer:


Sorry for the bad pic it's hard to get behind the cabinet


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Bert2oo1]

So had a really big trim today, basically cut my carpet back to substrate level... Turns out my hair algae issue is a lot worse then I first thought.

I'll be dropping my lighting down to 40% over the next 3-4 days and cranking the co2 to try and destroy it all. Hopefully I don't loose any plants.

I think my lighting is far to strong for the plants I'm growing and my needs, when I put my lighting back up I'll be putting it up to 70% and see how my growth is.

Will post updates when I have finished my low light session and report on any effects it has!

Also quick question, can I dose excel even when I'm at max co2??

Wish me luck!


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Caliban07]

So had a really big trim today, basically cut my carpet back to substrate level... Turns out my hair algae issue is a lot worse then I first thought.

I'll be dropping my lighting down to 40% over the next 3-4 days and cranking the co2 to try and destroy it all. Hopefully I don't loose any plants.

I think my lighting is far to strong for the plants I'm growing and my needs, when I put my lighting back up I'll be putting it up to 70% and see how my growth is.

Will post updates when I have finished my low light session and report on any effects it has!

Also quick question, can I dose excel even when I'm at max co2??

Wish me luck!


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

Hi Bert. What is max co2? How do you know you are at max co2? Do not trust what the drop checker is telling you 100%. Most people have the co2 come on 1-2 sometimes even 3 hours before the lights to ensure that the water column is saturated the moment the plants begin to photosynthesise. This is the most important time for plants.

You need to manually remove that algae or it will take an age to dwindle away. The co2 won't kill it. It will just just stop in coming back.




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[Bert2oo1]

Hi Bert. What is max co2? How do you know you are at max co2? Do not trust what the drop checker is telling you 100%. Most people have the co2 come on 1-2 sometimes even 3 hours before the lights to ensure that the water column is saturated the moment the plants begin to photosynthesise. This is the most important time for plants.

You need to manually remove that algae or it will take an age to dwindle away. The co2 won't kill it. It will just just stop in coming back.




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I've cranked it and my drop checker is yellow as yellow but fish are looking alright. I've dropped the lighting down anyways and I've got a tooth brush to have abit of a scrubbing session tomorrow.

I've also heard doing frequent water changes (like 2-3) a week can help get rid of it so I might try that aswell,

any advice to conquer this annoying stuff?

My co2 runs for 9 hours and lights for 8. Co2 comes on an hour before and I also dose ferts before lights come on

30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Delapool]

I've cranked it and my drop checker is yellow as yellow but fish are looking alright. I've dropped the lighting down anyways and I've got a tooth brush to have abit of a scrubbing session tomorrow.

I've also heard doing frequent water changes (like 2-3) a week can help get rid of it so I might try that aswell,

any advice to conquer this annoying stuff?

My co2 runs for 9 hours and lights for 8. Co2 comes on an hour before and I also dose ferts before lights come on

30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

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.