Caliban's 46G Dirted Bowfront Evolved

[Thrills22]

Pearl gouramis are cool fish

Quite stunning too. I think a white, black, or blue background really make their colors "pop" so to speak.

 

[Caliban07]

So I order the UP atomiser that was the size too small. Haven't sent it back yet and probably won't.

Cyano continued to get out of hand despite my efforts to control it (barring manual removal) I should have taken I pic.

I removed as much as I could. I switched the diffuser to the other end. I took out all plants affected with BBA and sprayed them with a glut/water solution but only half of them are responding. I've ordered fresh easycarbo as the one I have has to be a year old and is no where near as pungent as it was originally.

I figured a major negative in the way my co2 was distributed was down to the fact I had two filter outlets on opposite sides of the tank albeit positioned to 'pass' water round in a circular motion. I noticed that my fish would congregate in the same spot in the top right front of the aquarium so I figured the flow was the most gentle in this area. On the substrate directly below this area is where the mass of cyano was. Could be coincidence though.

Having read a thread elsewhere something seemed blatantly obvious to me that I hadn't quite figured out. My flows were most likely cancelling each other out and creating dead spots. According to a knowledgeable member on another forum (and this may just be common knowledge throughout the hobby) all outlet nozzles should point the same way with flow ideally going from back to front rather than side to side.

I moved my internal filter and harmonised the two outlet nozzles. I can see an immediate difference. I picked a leaf of and let it in to the flow and it's obvious already that this should be much better. I have also ordered a new impeller for my ageing fluval 205 canister after deliberating buying a new 206 or even 306 but went with the low cost option. I also ordered a spray bar so that I can have flow going from back to front if I see no difference with this attempt.

I also taped up the bottom of the tank at the substrate to block light that may be feeding the cyano. It looks odd but I'll deal with it for now.

Will post with an update soon.




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[fishenthusiast]

Do you know what the PAR is in this tank? I found that BBA was an issue when the light was a little too high for my low light build. Also, how often are you doing water changes? Dissolved organics are a major contributor to BBA, along with too low of a CO2 concentration. I think one of these three factors is contributing to the BBA.


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[Caliban07]

Do you know what the PAR is in this tank? I found that BBA was an issue when the light was a little too high for my low light build. Also, how often are you doing water changes? Dissolved organics are a major contributor to BBA, along with too low of a CO2 concentration. I think one of these three factors is contributing to the BBA.


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I'm afraid I don't. They are 2 x t8 25w a piece with reflectors. It's fairly low.

Having soil is a predicament as there is an abundance of dissolved organics. I think the BBA is caused by low co2 but the cyano has got me stumped.


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[Delapool]

That is a puzzle. The best planted tank I ever did was under a second hand light with bulbs I never changed for several years. Go figure.

Sometimes I wonder if what we think is low-tech lighting is actually quite high (tech) lighting compared to a decade ago.

 

[Caliban07]

Unbelievable. I alter my flow pattern and for the first full day of co2 (albeit slightly higher bps) I have just come home to a unhappy female swordtail and (for the first time ever) a lime green drop checker. I've never seen this. My ph was about 6.2 down from a starting point of 7.8. My swordtail is acting the same way she did the last time my ph was this low. It just goes to show how important flow actually is. I mean I also employed some killer surface ripple too.

I think you may be right Dela. I have a suspicion that the vast majority of us are pummelling are tanks with way too much light.


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[Caliban07]

Die BBA



I'm thinking of entering this next one in to POTM






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[Sk3lly]

Having read a thread elsewhere something seemed blatantly obvious to me that I hadn't quite figured out. My flows were most likely cancelling each other out and creating dead spots. According to a knowledgeable member on another forum (and this may just be common knowledge throughout the hobby) all outlet nozzles should point the same way with flow ideally going from back to front rather than side to side.

Yes this is a very common flow fault. People try to eliminate dead spots by having filter outlets and powerheads facing random directions. When the outlets are positioned in unison they work together to move the water in one direction. This is much more efficient


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[Caliban07]

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Yes. I need to get my bps right today before I leave to watch city get beat by Arsenal.


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[Caliban07]

Btw how long does it take BBA to die once it's gone red?


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[jrizza]

Btw how long does it take BBA to die once it's gone red?


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I have found it takes about two solid days. May depend on how well you crippled it and how healthy it was to start out with.


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[Caliban07]

No sign of it dying yet. It's been about 3


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[Delapool]

Might be worth hitting again maybe. Sometimes I find it works first time, sometimes not. Hoping to pick up some peroxide today just in case my bottle wasn't fresh enough.

It was definitely fizzing along the wood and got rid of most BBA but still have two tuffs left...

 

[jrizza]

Yes hit it again. If you can remove the item from the tank, try scrubbing it gently with a toothbrush. In the "red" state it is a little weak and It will help you identify the stronger spots. Then focus your glut there.


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[Caliban07]

The lights are off now. I can just make out the ottos chowing on the affected branch so hopefully they are eating it. I've added a spray bar and replaced the filter impeller. Got good surface ripple all over now. The co2 seems to mix better and stays lower for longer. Decent sway on all plants now too. Fresh easycarbo going in tomorrow. Gonna take a chance with the vals. For once something just went according to plan.


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[jrizza]

The lights are off now. I can just make out the ottos chowing on the affected branch so hopefully they are eating it. I've added a spray bar and replaced the filter impeller. Got good surface ripple all over now. The co2 seems to mix better and stays lower for longer. Decent sway on all plants now too. Fresh easycarbo going in tomorrow. Gonna take a chance with the vals. For once something just went according to plan.


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You're a pro.


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[Caliban07]

Haha. I wouldn't say that but thanks.

Interesting developments guys and gals. The cyano is withering and almost all gone. Unfortunately, I am unable to attribute it to one single approach because I did so many different things.

1) increased (only slightly) water changes.

2) cleaned the filter including the fluval gunk magnet piping.

3) removed carbon and purigen (don't think this was the key)

4) increased nitrate (didn't measure but double dosed standard EI on macros one day and normal the rest (don't think this was the key but may have helped)

5) much much better flow rate/dynamics that went directly towards the cyano. (Suspected key)

6) taped up the front right across the bottom at substrate level to stop light entering these parts. Seems to be where the cyano starts from and quite common. (Suspected part to play)

7) added 6ml of new easycarbo was doing this before but the easycarbo was over a year old and was possibly not as potent but still killed BBA. Maybe more likely that the extra co2 benefited plants (unsure but maybe key)

8) gave plants everything they need in sufficient amount i.e much better co2 distribution. (Suspected key)

9) very good surface ripple and this oxygenation that forces oxygen to lower parts of aquarium. (Suspected key)

If I was going to summarise I would say add more nitrate, add more oxygen, add more flow but all of these have defeated it.



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[KingKoopa512]

Lookimg nice though caliban ?

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[Caliban07]

Lookimg nice though caliban ?

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Thanks bud ?


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[Caliban07]

Caliban's Dirted 46 Bowfront

Put my T5s back on. Just visually it's as though the plant have took in a deep breathe as if they were somewhat starved of light. Not that they were not growing. They were, just too slow for my liking. Now I have co2, flow and nutrients under control I shouldn't expect to see and increase in algae growth. In fact I expect to see the opposite.

Tom Barr quoted 40 PAR at substrate level was 'very low light' I mean not just low but very low. It got me thinking about what plants actually need. 40 PAR seems to be the minimum although some plants can 'get by' on less. I've seen it because there's no way my T8s are putting 40 PAR to the substrate. Not in this tank.

Was also thinking of buying a second bazooka diffuser and splitting the co2 line so I can have a diffuser on each side. because my flow now goes from back to front and not side to side the bubbles are not reaching right over to the crypts. I've these plants suffer with the higher light then this will be why.

I'm also going out for a new plant addition today so I'll let you know what I come back with.

Anyone remember when this hobby used to be about keeping fish?


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