Recent content by ThePlantedMedic

I have had the CO2 running for two weeks now as well as running EI ferts and I am noticing quite the change. My dwarf hairgrass and other carpet is taking off well. The crypts are also producing a large amount of new growth. I have cropped down the aromatica, bacopa and ludwigia to see if I can...

That sounds to me like the cycle is moving along. The Nitrate spike is the longest part of the process by far. This phase will last a while. Keep ontop of the ammonia and those nitrites will vanish shortly!

can you post once you have started the EI regimen and let us know how its working? I just started with EI and am curious how this will work. The only comment I have is I had that almost purple "algae" that is on your drift wood there when I first started my tank. People told me it was a sap that...

only change the water during a cycle to get your Nitrites or Nitrates back down to a readable level. A water change will not remove any BB from the tank, just the ammonia you added along with the bacteria byproducts (Nitrite, Nitrate). The sulphur smell is from what is going on in the substrate...

Ok it's definitely not done if it's only been a week. I bet you see the nitrites show up around the 10 day mark after the first dose of ammonia. Keep it dosed to 4ppm and it will get there just check daily or every other day and top up the ammonia. Let us know how the levels check out each week...

The ammonia does not just evaporate. There is one thing that can get rid of it without live plants and that is the first bacteria. This is suggesting your cycle has restarted maybe? Again, I would suggest keeping ammonia at 4ppm. Check daily or every other day to make sure there is ammonia still...

That as well as increasing the temperature. I had my tank in the mid 80's during the cycle, bacteria love warm.

You can only add too much if you dose the tank over 5ppm at any point. Add your ammonia and then test the water an hour later and see exactly what you are doing to your water. That way you can fine tune it instead of trusting the bottle that says one drop per gallon or whatever. I used household...

The SunSun runs whisper quiet and holds a ton of media. The flow on my 304b has a 525gph rating on it. I know that is way too much for your tank but compared to the flow of canisters its same size and for half the price it is worth a good look. I have no regrets with mine currently. It also has...

Nils told me about this also and is exactly right, mine melted too. I waited it out and they are now looking good. I ge the sulphur smell as well with my dirted substrate capped with blasting sand. I poke the substrate about a quarter section of it each day to relieve the building gas. No effect...

I cannot answer your algae question as mine is just developing its first layer now, I can chime in about the glass. I have a flat top with removeable glass on both sides, I keep one side covered and one not to control the temperature and I find no difference in plant growth on either side. I was...

This tank is gorgeous, I like the way it almost frames the middle of the tank where the fish will hang out. Super nice, planted well and that path is unreal! Make sure to update with pics!

I would dose to 2ppm as a test and see what the result is at 24hrs. Hopefully the nitrites and nitrates do their job and gobble that up.

I run a SunSun canister filter on my 75G. It was the cheapest one I found and had a few good reviews so I gave it a shot and the thing works awesome, I have no complaints. Remember that you cannot have too much filtration, no matter which way you decide to go lean towards the higher capacity and...

I am also not an expert, however I did just finish with my fishless cycle on my 75G and now I have it at 60% stocked living happily ever after... There is a great article on here about the fishless cycle I would imagine you have already read it, if not here it is...