Caliban's AquaOpti 85L

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Caliban07 said:
I doubt it. I don't think eco complete has nutrients in it. At least they are not bio-available to plants. It just has a very high cation exchange capacity which mean it attracts and holds nutrients to it. Soil has the same benefits only it contains all the micro nutrients the plants need and organic matter which can protect and bind against toxicity. I think the eco may have attracted and is holding the micros causing toxic effects. I know at least two people on the toxicity wagon said they had to change substrates before things got better so I'm trying to prove it.

I have some MC in a shallow container with just straight gravel. If the MC carpets the tub under the same conditions (tub is inside the tank) then the eco complete is toxic. If not then I have another issue.
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Ah that's a great idea! I dosed iron today. I couldn't let it go any further haha. If it turns out it is toxic then I guess u get another go at scaping and have abit more time to consider it rather than having to worry about the fish!

Trying to find a plus in all these negatives ;)
 
Made a few adjustments today. It's the first time I've been home with the tank when things start coming on. I noted that the drop checker is still pretty blue when the lights come on. I think I may have been gassing it off to quickly and it's taking so time get up to the right levels.

I set it to come on another hour earlier so that would be 3 hours. I turned the bubble rate up an absolute smidge, set the lights to go off an hour earlier and rotated the spraybar down to reduce agitation. S.repens is slowly coming back. The new leaves are finally normal. The P.erectus has droopy lower leaves and every needle is coated in algae. The ludwigia repens is looking well but the Monte Carlo, it seems to be putting out new leaves but they are browning quickly.

At this point I'm suspecting a co2 issue but I do believe the excess ferts has had some play in this. The chlorosis on the older S.repens is definitely nutrient related. I've never seen it before.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day but obviously I need to be patient.
 
Caliban07 said:
The Monte Carlo is a little brown. Not sure why. I've turned the A series up to max. I don't care at this point, I've tried everything else.
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Sounds like things haven't made any improvements then?

Since detoxing for a week my tanks actually better than ever. The plants look great and no more BBA has appeared. Glass and water is nice a clear.

Are u still getting that horrible oil slick?
 
Bert2oo1 said:
Sounds like things haven't made any improvements then?

Since detoxing for a week my tanks actually better than ever. The plants look great and no more BBA has appeared. Glass and water is nice a clear.

Are u still getting that horrible oil slick?
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It's not quite a slick but there is some kind of film. I think things have improved. The ludwigia is looking great and the S.repens are now putting out healthy leaves. The carpet is staying greener for longer before it goes brown. I haven't dosed micros since this all started. I think if the substrate is toxic it is slowly being purged. I've turned the light to max in the hope of a) purging things quicker b) just in case the carpet needs more light. I've head MC can grow in some lower light conditions though.
 
Caliban07 said:
It's not quite a slick but there is some kind of film. I think things have improved. The ludwigia is looking great and the S.repens are now putting out healthy leaves. The carpet is staying greener for longer before it goes brown. I haven't dosed micros since this all started. I think if the substrate is toxic it is slowly being purged. I've turned the light to max in the hope of a) purging things quicker b) just in case the carpet needs more light. I've head MC can grow in some lower light conditions though.
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Ah good stuff! Glad it's all starting to sort out. More light is always better ;) if you've got max co2 why not go max light? Do you know what kind of par u would be running?
 
Bert2oo1 said:
Ah good stuff! Glad it's all starting to sort out. More light is always better ;) if you've got max co2 why not go max light? Do you know what kind of par u would be running?
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No. that would be useful though. That was my thought exactly so I've maxed everything out. I dosed some macros today. It's amazing how slow things move when you are watching everyday. I think I need to let things run its course. Problem is, even if things settle and start to improve fully I can't say I know 100% what the problem was.

If almost certain the micros crippled the S.repens and the pogostemon erectus. Ludwigia for me seems to always grow well.
 
Cal's Aquaopti 85L

Caliban07 said:
No. that would be useful though. That was my thought exactly so I've maxed everything out. I dosed some macros today. It's amazing how slow things move when you are watching everyday. I think I need to let things run its course. Problem is, even if things settle and start to improve fully I can't say I know 100% what the problem was.

If almost certain the micros crippled the S.repens and the pogostemon erectus. Ludwigia for me seems to always grow well.
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Well since backing off on the micro's and now dosing under half of what I was 0.3g down from 0.8, my S Repens have exploded with growth. I'd actually go as far as to say they have grown more in the last week than the whole time I've had them.

Coincidence ? I don't think so
 
Delapool said:
Good news it is improving. Would you get this substrate again or too early to tell?
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Hopefully it is. Today is the first full day at max lighting. I'll know when I get home if that is a good move or bad move. It would be unfair for me to say based on this one experience and the fact I'm not sure where to pin the blame makes it difficult. The truth will be in the gravel tub I added but then, if things are improving already, this test may not tell me anything.
 
Having the light on max hasn't really made anything worse. I know co2 is good now I can cross that off. The pearling is ridiculous half way through the photoperiod so light must be OK too. Issue has be be nutrient related. I've been dosing half EI macros so I'm gonna go back up to full. I dosed a pinch of micros today.
 
Caliban07 said:
Having the light on max hasn't really made anything worse. I know co2 is good now I can cross that off. The pearling is ridiculous half way through the photoperiod so light must be OK too. Issue has be be nutrient related. I've been dosing half EI macros so I'm gonna go back up to full. I dosed a pinch of micros today.
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Good to hear mate! The new micro dose on rotala seems to be a lot better. My water has been clearer and there isn't any signs of deficiency yet
 
Just dunked in some. Macros. My issue right now browning just on the very edges of the leaves and it's visible on all of the plants. Even the new leaves on the S.Repens have it. It's hard to see looking through the glass but it's more noticeable looking from above. Anyone experienced browning edges of the leaves? Literally just the edges.
 
The past couple of days I can finally say with some degree of confidence that things have improved. I began dosed 30ml of my half EI macro mix a few days ago and 20ml the last two days. The carpet has perked up. New fresh green leaves and no sign of browning yet. In the midst of increasing my macros as you know I 'detoxed' for a week and a bit on micros and have been adding small amounts back in here and there now and again. Also, my spraybar fell down which meant less surface agitation which meant more co2. I am also overdue my water change. This may have helped just to get a little bit of stability and it's been long enough to get a bacteria colony established in the substrate. Perhaps this has helped too. Maybe all these things helped.

Pogostemon erectus has got new algae free green needles and the staurogyne is in full flight now. The ludwigia looks awesome and it turned redder after dosing more macros which may signify it wasn't getting enough of one of them.

Ignore the position of the heater and the experimental bowl here is the tank.

IMG_2346.JPG

I'm toying with the idea of buying a second A series LED. I'm feeling like I want more light even though it's obvious I don't need it. I wanna see how far I can push everything. Also a second fire extinguisher will come in handy to make swapping out easier and give me time to get a refill as at the moment I don't have anywhere sorted that will do this for me.
 
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