FishEggs
Aquarium Advice Addict
sorry no experience with canisters yet but you could rig a power head to do that. hide it behind a rock or driftwood.
6 Month Progress of my 110 gallon
- Thread starter 30searay
- Start date
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30searay
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Well, one step forward and two steps back
Well, I have the new tank set up and I fully expected an algae outbreak in the first few months. But nothing like this....I have so many types of algae I don't even know where to start. But, i expect this will be a good learning exercise for me. I do know that my phosphates are off the charts so that is the first problem, but the black beard algae is out of this world.
Plenty of other messy photos I could post but I will spare everyone.
Anyway, we will get the water changed today and try and reset. At least the tank is up and running. By the way, I do not like the Eheim canister filter product, not sure if anyone else has used them. Its quiet but will not start up easily as it should and does not run at full power. This is my second pump from Foster and Smith.
Don
Well, I have the new tank set up and I fully expected an algae outbreak in the first few months. But nothing like this....I have so many types of algae I don't even know where to start. But, i expect this will be a good learning exercise for me. I do know that my phosphates are off the charts so that is the first problem, but the black beard algae is out of this world.
Plenty of other messy photos I could post but I will spare everyone.
Anyway, we will get the water changed today and try and reset. At least the tank is up and running. By the way, I do not like the Eheim canister filter product, not sure if anyone else has used them. Its quiet but will not start up easily as it should and does not run at full power. This is my second pump from Foster and Smith.
Don
black hills tj
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have never seen a FW tank INFESTED with algae quite that bad. Best of luck to you, you will need it.
newfound77951
Aquarium Advice Addict
Don't worry, I have, my 55g looked similar when I first started it up, with 4 wpg and no ferts. A small army of BN plecos, otos and SAEs along with getting the hang of ferts and CO2 and I got things under control within a month or so.
30searay
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Well, for those of you who don't think that you can't defeat the dreaded algae outbreak with 4.5 wpg - I provide you the following pic's. Note that these pictures are within 3 weeks of my previous posting! I think I had 8 or 9 types of algae as of 11/18 - never thought I would overcome the infestation without either a blackout or some other extreme measure. Just some serious TLC - watching the tank metrics very closely - and getting the water change schedule and fert schedule under control, got me on track. Note the Eheim system in pic #1 - DON'T GET ONE - biggest mistake of my life. I have gone through two systems in 4 months, neither of which worked well at all. I am going with a Fluval system now,,,,obviously the tank is nowhere near where I want it to be - but now that the serious algae outbreak is under control I can proceed with getting the plant landscaping back on track.
marchmaxima
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm surprised about the ehiem. They are meant to be the best. Sorry to hear you had problems.
But what a difference!! I hope it stays that way.
But what a difference!! I hope it stays that way.
shrek_vn2002
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
- Messages
- 104
Yeah.... I thought Ehiem is the best too. But sorry to hear you got problem from it. I bought xp2 for my 29GL and it works well... it is cheaper than ehiem but a little more expensive then Fluval
dmoney87
Aquarium Advice Freak
Go with Rena Filstar xp4 for your tank, I have the xp3 on my 75. Comes with spray bar or nozzle.. or both if you want. No problems at all its good and powerful. With 4 layers of filtration and no bypass. Could also get the Rena Smart heater which acts as your intake tube aswell on all the xp series canister filters. Oh and nice tank 
-davE
-davE
30searay
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Continued Improvement
So, progress is being made with my tank. All algae is virtually gone and I have just completed a large scale pruning of most of the plants, except for the crypts, which are stilll filling in over time. The forground plant, one of the micro swords, is spreading well, covering 2/3 of the front of the tank now. I am seeing some of the older stock showing signs of rotting out, so not sure what element I am missing - yet. Some of the problem could be due to tank depth (32") and even the slightest weakening of the t5's could spell trouble. The lights are 7 months old now.
I definitely need to find some type of tall, "branchy" driftwood to create some sense of height. I just cannot find anywhere that sells this stuff; it's all very comparable to what I allready have. Any suggestions?
Oh, and I did get a Rena filter but have gotten the Eheim canister filter working fairly well, so leaving the Rena in the basement for now. I will keep as a backup.
And a pic of my happy, and fat, gold nugget pleco....he loves to eat the Amazon sword in the back right.
So, progress is being made with my tank. All algae is virtually gone and I have just completed a large scale pruning of most of the plants, except for the crypts, which are stilll filling in over time. The forground plant, one of the micro swords, is spreading well, covering 2/3 of the front of the tank now. I am seeing some of the older stock showing signs of rotting out, so not sure what element I am missing - yet. Some of the problem could be due to tank depth (32") and even the slightest weakening of the t5's could spell trouble. The lights are 7 months old now.
I definitely need to find some type of tall, "branchy" driftwood to create some sense of height. I just cannot find anywhere that sells this stuff; it's all very comparable to what I allready have. Any suggestions?
Oh, and I did get a Rena filter but have gotten the Eheim canister filter working fairly well, so leaving the Rena in the basement for now. I will keep as a backup.
And a pic of my happy, and fat, gold nugget pleco....he loves to eat the Amazon sword in the back right.
newfound77951
Aquarium Advice Addict
Tank looks great and awesome pleco!
If you want thin, branchy driftwood check out Manzanita Burlworks. They will work with you to get you pieces that you like. May have to attach a few together if you really want a tree in there but their stuff is awesome and relatively inexpensive (for driftwood, anyway).
If you want thin, branchy driftwood check out Manzanita Burlworks. They will work with you to get you pieces that you like. May have to attach a few together if you really want a tree in there but their stuff is awesome and relatively inexpensive (for driftwood, anyway).
30searay
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Some updated pictures as of this morning. Tank is doing well, I am pretty happy with it. I wll scape/design a bit more once the plants are more filled out. The tank is 18 inches deep so there is a lot swimming area. I have ordered some new wood that will help break up the tank as well. Does anyone know why the small swords along the front left are rotting out a bit? Is it a lack of potassium?
FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
The tank is looking great. The mollies are really pulling that second picture together, well that's what I think. Just adds a nice nature like touch.
30searay
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Marc 2010 Updates
So it has been a year since I last updated the status of my tank. My wife decided that it was time to redo the entire kitchen (that is...gut) and she ordered me to tear down the tank. For over four months. The tank has only just gotten past a long battle with algae after the restart. I am pretty happy with the results so far. I am still having quite a bit of difficulty with red stems, possibly due to the lighting with the T5 setup I currently have operating (8x54w). Which leads me to the question:
What are members thoughts of operating a Metal Hallide setup (with a T5 component) on a freshwater tank? Will the plants grow with MH lights or are the light spectrums all wrong? I would still have some T5's operating as well (maybe 200w).
Here are recent updates:
Note the beautiful new ceramic tile floor!!
My very happy, albeit, very elusive Rhino pleco. I could not locate the Gold Nugget today.
So it has been a year since I last updated the status of my tank. My wife decided that it was time to redo the entire kitchen (that is...gut) and she ordered me to tear down the tank. For over four months. The tank has only just gotten past a long battle with algae after the restart. I am pretty happy with the results so far. I am still having quite a bit of difficulty with red stems, possibly due to the lighting with the T5 setup I currently have operating (8x54w). Which leads me to the question:
What are members thoughts of operating a Metal Hallide setup (with a T5 component) on a freshwater tank? Will the plants grow with MH lights or are the light spectrums all wrong? I would still have some T5's operating as well (maybe 200w).
Here are recent updates:
Note the beautiful new ceramic tile floor!!
My very happy, albeit, very elusive Rhino pleco. I could not locate the Gold Nugget today.
PaulieFish
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2010
- Messages
- 313
Tanks looks amazing! When I look at my tank compared to yours, I cry a little inside
There are three keys to bringing out the reds in plants.
1. Ensure that you have sufficient light levels.
2. Nitrate limitation
3. Iron levels
Different plants respond to each of these three components to varying degrees. I suspect that you may need to play with either Nitrate Limitation or boosting your Iron levels to really bring out your reds. Please note that even though you are trying to limit Nitrate, you still don't want to let it bottom out. Most seem aim for between 5-10ppm.
1. Ensure that you have sufficient light levels.
2. Nitrate limitation
3. Iron levels
Different plants respond to each of these three components to varying degrees. I suspect that you may need to play with either Nitrate Limitation or boosting your Iron levels to really bring out your reds. Please note that even though you are trying to limit Nitrate, you still don't want to let it bottom out. Most seem aim for between 5-10ppm.
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