40g planted

[tetrin]

this the current state of my 40g planted after i moved last weekend and rescaped things a little bit.

i'm still following the barr EI, without measuring parameters. as a result i have to battle with several kinds of algae(duh!), the current one beng some sort of blackish algae (which feels coarse to touch and is very short). but i'll not give up the fight that easily . also there are some iron-deficiency symptoms, despite using iron-rich plantex.

updated specs -
2 NO 40W bulbs (1 GE P&A, 1 GE daylight) and 1 2X (or 4X?) ODNO GE daylight;
DIY CO2 (diffuser - air-intake of penguin powerhead)
eco-complete substrate (20lbs) + black estes gravel
Fluval 304 with prefilter.

and a pic of my favorite angels -

 

[Jchillin]

I cannot view your pics (company restrictions on web storage sites). But, I'm bookmarking it so I can check when I get home.

I agree, brush algae is probably the worst of them.

 

[An t-iasg]

Wow...what a truly amazing tank! After looking at the picture for awhile, I finally saw the little oto! The angel's coloring is beautiful.

 

[Jchillin]

Okay, I got home and checked the thread again. Absolutely beautiful. That angel is stunning.

 

[tetrin]

thanks JC, i bought the angels as a trio. they are growing up nicely, no scuffles or pairing up yet. you can actually see the dorsal fin of the third guy in the photo.
and you were right about the algae. it is indeed brush algae and some people attribute it to increased iron-content .

An t-iasg, the ottos usually stay hidden (there are four of them). i have no idea how the little guy came into the shot. great eye (i didn't notice it until you pointed out).

 

[czcz]

You're continuing experiment using plants and algae as indicators? When trying to beat BBA while measuring I became convinced it's from unstable CO2, not P, N, a ratio between the two, or Fe, fwiw. Tom Barr, who as you know knows much more than me, says BBA indicates low or fluctuating CO2. (Others of course disagree.) I've found its best to extend EI to DIY CO2 since it is unstable by nature: at its lowest it should be at or above 30ppm. So I think you should add maybe one 2L to your rotation, and more if necessary and the fish don't show stress. Flourish Excel works great at 2x recommended dose, but you may consider it cheating. I've also found BBA won't die and will only stop spreading, and affected leaves must be manually removed. Some say existing algae dies when treated with H2O2.

Fe can become unavailable quickly. Most who adapt Tom's method dose three or four times a week, to ensure its always available.

Is your low Fe indicator yellow leaves? If it is on old growth maybe it is NO3 deficiency.

Is that crypt lucens or parva in the left foreground? Whatever it is, its spreading nice I love that tank.

 

[tetrin]

you maybe right on with the unstable CO2. i've been suspecting it for some time, but haven't found time to go out and buy a T to add one more bottle .
i have no idea about the levels though. i'll add one more this weekend.

i was dosing 10ml csm+fe 2x a week. i'll see what happens with increasing it to 3x a week. i use hydrocotyle as an indicator. the new leaves show greenish veins surrounded by yellowish tissue. also, new leaves on saggitaria are pale.
i still have a pretty high bioload (despite removing the school of diamond tetras), so i think its not NO3 deficiency (i might be wrong). i dose 1/2 tsp NO3 2x.

right on the lucens. it grows slowly but surely. but older leaves are getting attacked by BBA.

 

[rich311k]

those angels are fabulous.

 

[travis simonson]

Great looking tank tetrin I really like the bright greens and your angels are beautiful.

I agree 100% with czcz: BBA is most often caused by unstable/low CO2 levels. If you can maintain levels in the 20-30 ppm range steadily your problems should stabilize, but like Joe said, you will need to remove affected leaves. You have to be sort of ruthless to get rid of that stuff. And 2x (and I've even heard of people using 3x recommended) doses of Flourish Excel will kill off your BBA too. I would use extreme caution if you try this though as it can have disastrous effects on your fauna if concentrations get too high.

 

[tetrin]

thanks travis. i've actually had BBA for some time, but didn't notice that it had become pretty invasive until i was moving last week. my friends are pretty happy with the way the tank looks and no one even said a word about it .

i added my hagen CO2 kit from the 20g to the 40g. and am preparing to add one more 2l soda bottle to bring CO2 levels up. can't really buy a pressurised setup now as most of my funds were diverted to a 29g cichlid tank recently with a wrong selection of fishes (stupid impulse buys).
i'll try to remove as much of the affected leaves and see how it goes from there. excel is too costly for me to use right now. also, i heard some rumors about vals and excel not getting along together (don't know much about the truth in it).

 

[Skuseman]

New to plants.Question for you all

Hi all,
I have a 55 gallon fw tank with live plants. It has been running now for a while. My question is Three days ago I started shooting co2 into the aquarium with the DIY methods. and I am now seeing much difference in my plants. I also added planted fertilizers near all the plants. I am using the standard lights that came with the hood. What size lights shall I move to to make my plants better. and I have to keep price in mind if at all possible. What is the best way to accomplish more wpg and still have money in my wallet. Thanks and God Bless.

 

[Jchillin]

What kind of lights do you have now and what is your current wpg?

 

[rich311k]

How mant watts is your light. My guess is you are well under 2 wpg which would mean that CO2 would not make muh of a difference. I would poke around different websites Ebay etc. to see if you could get a nice deal on a pc fixture for your tank.

 

[Skuseman]

I only have 2 15 watt bulbs. that would mean i'm getting less then 1 watt per gallon. Am I correct? What should my ultimate goal be? 2 wpg or 2.5 or even 3 or more? I want my plants to simple fill that aquarium looks rather empty=)

 

[Jchillin]

You need at least 2 or more wpg to justify injecting the CO2. Take the CO2 off for now until you do.

 

[rich311k]

Depends what kind of plants you want to grow. I would think you would want to get at least 2 wpg.

 

[travis simonson]

CO2 can be quite helpful at any light level and can't really cause any problems, even with low-light tanks. Tom Barr has shown that low-light, CO2 supplemented tanks can go months, if not longer, without needing a water change and are extremely resistant to algae outbreaks. What I wouldn't give for something like that

And I agree, you will certainly need more light to grow most plants. There are a bunch of ODNO (Over-Driven Normal Output) fluorescent wizards around here who can show you how to get the most mileage for the least cash out of your lights if you're not opposed to doing a little wiring I think there is some information in a sticky about ODNO too.

 

[Skuseman]

WOW. That is awesome. I'd be willing to wire something myself with any proper help. Point me in the proper direction and I'm there . I am planning on keeping the co2 flowing for now as I see no adverse affects as of now. I am noticing a little more activety in the fish but all the parameters are still in the same places they were before I started with the co2. Thanks again

 

[Jchillin]

Give me a minute Skuseman...I have links at my disposal for ODNO.

 

[travis simonson]

Run a search in the Plant forum for "ODNO" and you'll get plenty of information