BCarl's 26 gallon Bf Build

[bcarl_10gal]

Okay guys new theory, I was getting ready to order some new filters for my RO/DI. When deciding which kit to pick I noticed BRS offers to kit for my system one for 29.99 and the other for 20.00. When I bought the system back in May I used the filters that it came with most likely the 29.99 version. I switched the filters back in late September.... About the same time the melt started.... I am on well water that uses salt and bleach very lethal to plants. Maybe the cheaper filters are not removing all the chlorine/salt....? Emailed customer service to see what they think....

 

[Brookster123]

DING DING!!! We have a winner!! That would.make the most sense to date??

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[bcarl_10gal]

By far! We use a lot of chlorine in our well water sometimes it smells like pool water.... It wasn't until now I realized the more expensive filter was the original carbon filter, not the one I bought. If this is the problem its interesting that some plants are still doing fine....

 

[bcarl_10gal]

Maybe different plants have different tolerances to salt? Fish have also been fine. Hmmmmm


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[bcarl_10gal]

Spoke to the guy from the RO/DI place. Didnt believe the filters would make a difference. Looks like we will find out regardless...


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[bcarl_10gal]

Here is a weekly update shot, the hate for the Limno is strong, its just SO BIG. I am slowly taking it out. I got the new RO/DI filters going, I added some carbon to hopefully remove some metals and turned over the substrate pretty good. I am not dosing any micros again this week, then I will reassess.

I moved the plants around to their "permanent" location. I have some new plants I am adding this week. I would like to add some color to the stem plants, maybe some bacopa and rotala in place of the the limno.

Heres the pics!

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[Sk3lly]

Yea unless you can get your limno to colour up, otherwise its like dead space. Leaf structure is too similar for it to be there on this alone


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[bcarl_10gal]

Im thinking either some kind of rotala, purple cabomba or red myrio.


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[Fresh2o]

To try to achieve that balance of greens and non-greens, I've tried to (but not adhered to) doing an alternating pattern such as green-red-green-red-green-etc along the back wall. And with the mid and foreground plants try making sure that the color behind those plants are a contrasting color (e.g.- star repens in front of AR or AR mini in front of pogo erectus).


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[Brookster123]

Mehh.. if it doesn't die in my tank it can stay.. my limno is doing a major melt while shooting new, healthy sprouts??

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[bcarl_10gal]

Hmmmm this is one of the few plants that never melted in my tank. Im really curious to see what happens to new AR and s.repens.

I dont think we will ever know what the exact problem with my tank was....

Side note, no canister yet, hopefully next weekend. Been a busy month!


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[Brookster123]

I'm thinking it was grown emmersed, the supplier I ordered from does a lot of emmersed growth..
Sometimes new stock can make a difference, fresh's stars kicked mine into high gear!

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[bcarl_10gal]

I think im going to just throw out the old stuff...

Nothing else adds up, Brian adds 4 ml of iron per week too his 12 gallon biweekly. I dosed about the same amount to my 26. My recommended micros were 3ml a day, i was dosing 5ml, shouldnt cause a toxicity.

Only things left are a potassium overdose or something with the RO filters. My money is still on the filter...


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[Brookster123]

It's gotta be the water man.. u wouldn't disturb the current star patch, they've some serious root systems in place..

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[bcarl_10gal]

I accidentally uprooted some today, root system is still healthy


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[bcarl_10gal]

Canister filter is up and running! Initial impressions are looks great, and CO2 will last twice as long!


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[Fresh2o]

Canister filter is up and running! Initial impressions are looks great, and CO2 will last twice as long!


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Which one did you get?


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[bcarl_10gal]

The Eheim 2217 ill post a bunch of pics tomorrow of my set up. Pretty happy with how it came out.


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[bcarl_10gal]

Update #1/2 (Canister Filter Install)

This weekend I finally got around to installing my Eheim 2217 canister filter. I also added the inline CO2 diffusor and UV sterilizer.

There was a few problems that I needed to solve... #1 limited cabinet space that would require stand modification without moving the tank. #2 the hose size on the UV sterilizer was a different size and had limited space. With a few clamps and PVC connector, drills I was able to install it. The pictures speak for itself and if you have further technical questions PM me and i can answer them ( I dont want to get to technical on here for times sake).

As for the review.... Just wow this thing is quite, couldn't even tell you it was there. The flow is perfect, all plants have a light sway in the aquarium. The fish love it and are far more active. I believe the CO2 will be more efficient in the long run but time will tell as I am still getting it dialed in. I am glad I went with the larger model. But anyways here are some pics!

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[bcarl_10gal]

Update #2

I got some new stems of AR mini and s.repens this week. Unfortunately the s repens is already starting to melt. I am not sure if this is due to my existing issue or just transitioning to a new tank. I have not dosed a total of 4ML over the course of the last 2 weeks to try to eliminate adding heavy metals. I have noticed a few stem plants starting to rot in the middle of the stems. I added some new root tabs and considering adding back the micro dosing.

The GSA is actually getting better every week, so that is a good sign. Still scratching my head over the whole s. repens melt.

The limno is officially gone as there will be one more round of new plants coming into the tank. (Stay tuned)

Here are some pics under full light! Enjoy!

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