Bert's 60g Planted Tank

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
I've been pretty lazy when it comes to this tank and I'm paying for it now.... I've currently got green water. I've put it down to lack of cleaning and trimming. I'm due for a filter clean and floss replacement, need a good trim and also need to clear the debris from a few spots in the substrate.

Due to the large plant mass I'm having a few flow issues causing debris to collect in certain spots.

I also amped the lights up to 80% so I think this was another factor. I've dropped my lighting back to 70%.

Big day ahead of trimming, filter cleaning, glass cleaning and water change [emoji106]
 
Bert2oo1 said:
I've been pretty lazy when it comes to this tank and I'm paying for it now.... I've currently got green water. I've put it down to lack of cleaning and trimming. I'm due for a filter clean and floss replacement, need a good trim and also need to clear the debris from a few spots in the substrate.

Due to the large plant mass I'm having a few flow issues causing debris to collect in certain spots.

I also amped the lights up to 80% so I think this was another factor. I've dropped my lighting back to 70%.

Big day ahead of trimming, filter cleaning, glass cleaning and water change [emoji106]
Click to expand...


I've had that happen to me countless times when I had high lighting. Just get a UV sterilizer going for a day or two to eliminate that free floating algae [emoji1303]. Your tank should be back to normal in no time!
 
fishenthusiast said:
I've had that happen to me countless times when I had high lighting. Just get a UV sterilizer going for a day or two to eliminate that free floating algae [emoji1303]. Your tank should be back to normal in no time!
Click to expand...



I don't have a uv steriliser so I may need to look into getting one if water changes don't work [emoji106] I think flow is becoming abit of an issue due to the plant mass. It would almost be impossible to have no dead spots lol I may need to get a small power head at some stage.

Hopefully it clears with a few water changes and a drop in lighting. I got abit excited with the lighting, was trying to get abit more red out of my plants lol 80% would be 140 par at substrate so really it's a stupid amount of light [emoji23] learn from your mistakes I guess! [emoji16]

Here's a pic after water change, looks a lot better but still a little hazy.

http://pho.to/AlCNs
 
That is a lot of light. Perhaps drop it down a bit more.
In my Planted tank I think the Finnex 24/7 produces ~60 something PAR at 12" (substrate is at around 10"). Not sure if that is at the MAX setting or the peak of the daylight phase in 24/7 mode. Yes, I supplement it with a Finnex Planted+ but that is only on for 3 hours. It's at a level I can manage with minimal care yet get decent plant growth.
 
Fresh2o said:
That is a lot of light. Perhaps drop it down a bit more.
In my Planted tank I think the Finnex 24/7 produces ~60 something PAR at 12" (substrate is at around 10"). Not sure if that is at the MAX setting or the peak of the daylight phase in 24/7 mode. Yes, I supplement it with a Finnex Planted+ but that is only on for 3 hours. It's at a level I can manage with minimal care yet get decent plant growth.
Click to expand...



Yea agreed. I've kicked it back to 70% as it was fine at this level. I started at 60% but I pushed it abit more as the lower leaves in the dense spots were starting to look abit ruff.

Shouldn't take long to get it under control [emoji106]
 
Hey Bert have you increased your fert dosing online with plant mass increase?

I've found that you can get away with s missed water change here and there as long as plants are cruising along at optimal conditions though I haven't had this luxury of late things are looking up.

I don't want to sound like I'm picking holes but you can see in a number of your stems the smaller leaves and reduced intermodal spacing on the red plants and the Cabomba in particular. Is that cardamine lyrata on the right? You can see it there too. Like you say an earlier trim may have helped with this but the increased light has only exacerbated the issue.

One thing is for sure. When plants are not at optimal health it doesn't take algae long to show up.

It sucks that planted tanks (especially with higher light) are so difficult to maintain but the key to success seems to be constant micro management.
 
Caliban07 said:
Hey Bert have you increased your fert dosing online with plant mass increase?

I've found that you can get away with s missed water change here and there as long as plants are cruising along at optimal conditions though I haven't had this luxury of late things are looking up.

I don't want to sound like I'm picking holes but you can see in a number of your stems the smaller leaves and reduced intermodal spacing on the red plants and the Cabomba in particular. Is that cardamine lyrata on the right? You can see it there too. Like you say an earlier trim may have helped with this but the increased light has only exacerbated the issue.

One thing is for sure. When plants are not at optimal health it doesn't take algae long to show up.

It sucks that planted tanks (especially with higher light) are so difficult to maintain but the key to success seems to be constant micro management.
Click to expand...



Nah dosing is still the same, dosing high light for PPS pro. yea the hygro seems to still look abit ruff as the leaves get larger, they tend to crinkle abit, I haven't bothered trying to fix it yet as growth across the board is really good. I'm not sure if this plant appreciates a high light environment as it's generally a lower tech plant.

The ludwigia super red mini is a new addition (got rid of the old lot as it seemed to not recover from the tox issue I had ages back) is this the plant your talking about? Or the AR large variety over the back?

I've got Liminophila hippuroides on the right with bylxa japonica, hygro stricta, bolbitis, Liminophila sassifolia, hydrocotyle Japan and rotala bonsai(hidden by the hydro) thinking I'll remove the rotala as its going to get lost in the hydro anyway lol

Oh and it's fissiden fontanus in the little nursery. Can't bring myself to throw it away lol
I want to get a 900x300x210mm after Christmas to do a iwagumi scape so I'll be needing it and it's too expensive to throw away lol
 
The AR. The hydrocotyle is what I mistook for cardamine. Generally I agree growth looks good but the stems will always give you a clue because they are faster growing and closer to the light.

I'm currently experimenting with reduced potassium as it was way over the maximum test number of 15ppm. I have a lot to write in my thread. My AR and not perfect but I've never kept them so healthy looking for so long.
 
Caliban07 said:
The AR. The hydrocotyle is what I mistook for cardamine. Generally I agree growth looks good but the stems will always give you a clue because they are faster growing and closer to the light.

I'm currently experimenting with reduced potassium as it was way over the maximum test number of 15ppm. I have a lot to write in my thread. My AR and not perfect but I've never kept them so healthy looking for so long.
Click to expand...



Ah yes! Yea the large ar is also new, think it was grown emersed aswell due to the large spacing and it has what look like flower buds in the forks.

Only issue I have is the hygro compact at the moment and I think it may be crippled from the previous toxicity or it just doesn't like my conditions in general lol I've just been cutting it back and hoping it will fix itself over time. New growth comes in nice but it turns to crap after a while.

Glad to hear your tanks getting there! I'm having major co2 dramas with the Ada still. I think I'll send back the regulator and get a better one. The bubble count doesn't hold once it turns back on the next day. I've checked it all for leaks and can't find one anywhere and tried 3 different check valves and it still doesn't work. Also if i pinch the needle valve adjustment the bubbles stop in the counter. Total piece of rubbish and a waste of $$ if u ask me. Think I'll get another azoo reg [emoji106] could be an issue with the reactor but I don't think it is.
 
Well the green water isn't fixing itself with water changes and general tank upkeep so I've ordered a uv steriliser and it should be here new week.

Growths really exploded this week, Everything is at the surface on the right side [emoji20] and the hygro's are in a desperate need of a trim.

Tanks really starting to get there. Considering swapping the hygro stricta on the back right for the large AR on the left side just to break up the Reds abit more. Think I'll wait for it to grow in first before I make a decision though.

Rotala bonsai is invisible now the hydro has taken over it so I think I'll remove it and just make a huge ball of hydro on the far right to give a curtain effect [emoji106]

Check out this crypt runner! It's popped up at the front glass about 20cm from the mother plant [emoji23] I've already cut 5-6 sprouts out from the repens and pogo.

Pics http://pho.to/AlVf6
 
Regular AR was always an algae magnet for me. I couldn't keep the algae off of it. The UV sterilizer will take care of the free floating algae rather quickly!
 
fishenthusiast said:
Regular AR was always an algae magnet for me. I couldn't keep the algae off of it. The UV sterilizer will take care of the free floating algae rather quickly!
Click to expand...



Used to have the same issue with ar mini lol this tank is a algae killer these days though, I haven't seen any form of algae at all on anything apart from a small amount of GSA on the glass [emoji16]

The hard part at the moment is keeping up with the trimming it turns into a jungle every 2 weeks lol
 
Tanks back on track! Uv is doing its thing and the waters almost clear again! Another few days and I should be green water free [emoji106]

Now that I can actually see in the tank I've noticed a heap of damage to the repens carpet. About 10 stems have dropped all leaves and are just bare stems.

Maybe lack of light due to the green water? Maybe mechanical damage from the power head I use to do water changes? Not really sure. I'll have to cut and replant a few during the week to fill in the bare spots [emoji106]

Crypts are becoming very evasive and I think they may be due for an uproot and split treatment. I've got runners poping up between the repens and pogo everywhere.

If I split them I recon I'll be able to get 10+ plants off them so the wife's tank may get a few new additions [emoji106]

Growths good, still waiting for the left side to play catch up. The new additions have adjusted nicely and are showing promising signs of new growth [emoji106]

Gladulosa? (Spelling?) is going to be so thick! Check out the pictures, they are only an inch tall but would have 10-15 leaves each!

Overall happy days [emoji106][emoji16]

http://pho.to/AlrTL
 
Bert2oo1 said:
Tanks back on track! Uv is doing its thing and the waters almost clear again! Another few days and I should be green water free [emoji106]

Now that I can actually see in the tank I've noticed a heap of damage to the repens carpet. About 10 stems have dropped all leaves and are just bare stems.

Maybe lack of light due to the green water? Maybe mechanical damage from the power head I use to do water changes? Not really sure. I'll have to cut and replant a few during the week to fill in the bare spots [emoji106]

Crypts are becoming very evasive and I think they may be due for an uproot and split treatment. I've got runners poping up between the repens and pogo everywhere.

If I split them I recon I'll be able to get 10+ plants off them so the wife's tank may get a few new additions [emoji106]

Growths good, still waiting for the left side to play catch up. The new additions have adjusted nicely and are showing promising signs of new growth [emoji106]

Gladulosa? (Spelling?) is going to be so thick! Check out the pictures, they are only an inch tall but would have 10-15 leaves each!

Overall happy days [emoji106][emoji16]

http://pho.to/AlrTL
Click to expand...


I'd say the free floating algae was cutting down on the light a bit--I've had tannins do that. My UV sterilizer has saved the day many times. It's sort of like having a couple band-aids in your back pocket, and then suddenly getting a small cut. The tank is looking good! Keep up the good work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
New plants propagating but not growing
Replies
3
Views
655
Colin_T
C
G
Please help... Tank is getting away from me
Replies
6
Views
1K
Joe_D
J
H
Plant Issues - Algae?
Replies
3
Views
845
Caliban07
Caliban07
A
Fishless cycle, nitrites bounced back up. Is that normal?
Replies
19
Views
628
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
T
Planted Tank Advice
Replies
3
Views
862
Caliban07
Caliban07

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom