FresH2O's 20g planted rescape

[Fresh2o]

I say we break out the T-8s and go low light.
ATM I see some long stringy algae on the DW and Downoi. It was easy to remove on the latter because it was clinging to some nuisance bladderwort (UG's ugly cousin) that arrived over the summer with the wallichii. I don't see the string algae on the wallichii; there is some BBA or other dark algae on the lower stems probably due to crowding/shading.
As for that and the short fine green stuff I am seeing on the star repens, I would hit it up with some h2o2 but I ran out and need to get more. I did some spot treatment with glut. I did see it on the Blyxa leaves but those were the ones that were dying off; I trimmed those as soon as the new leaves came in. It appears that this is showing up on the non-actively growing leaves. I am also increasing the glut because I stopped adding it for a while. Hopefully that should take care of the BBA.
CO2 is at 3 bps but I am questioning the effectiveness of the distribution method (diffuser under HOB intake). I have experimented with having the diffuser under the HOB outlet. Lots of tiny bubbles in the tank. DC not showing any differences.
The presence of BBA and the slight melt I see on the stars means something is out of balance.
Of note, I added 5 osmocote+ tabs about 1.5 weeks ago. I don't think that is the cause but in will test ammonia and nitrite along with the phosphate and nitrate this morning.


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[Sk3lly]

I'm going to throw this out there. Lowering the light will slow the plants growth, slower growth means lower demands for ferts and co2, balance is far easier to reach

In my opinion id rather have slower healthy growth than rapid algae covered growth.

I know im one to talk with a non dimmed bml xb 14" above my lowest point. 7" in places lol! This is only temporary though and im running co2 right into the yellow and light is on 4 hours


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[Fresh2o]

Hey Sk3lly, so I was not too far off base with the T-8 comment
Makes sense. I recall some of the things you've mentioned that led to success were lower light and more CO2. I'm up for that. I can adjust the CO2 output this weekend (just need to watch it like a hawk after adjustments). And though I do not have dimmers I can adjust the fixture's overlap time. I do enjoy that time because the tank looks like a bottle of club soda with all of the pearling that goes on.


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[bcarl_10gal]

Fresh, I followed skully's advice of less light more co2, removed the algae and it hasnt been back... Knock on wood. I still run my DC to yellow and the fish are fine so its all good. I also run the co2 output through the HOB which is not the most efficient method but it works. I also put my hydor close to the HOB output to help push bubbles down and to increase "contact" time. While I was able to correct algae (except for GSA) my star and AR mini are showing issues(see my threads). I am going to be adding root tabs today so we will compare notes.

 

[Fresh2o]

Bcarl - Knock on driftwood. Thanks for the feedback. Here are my parameters:
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
Phosphate & Nitrate: 5
Looking through my notes, I typically had 10 ppm nitrates and sometimes 10-20. Wondering if the current nitrate level is too low. What would OS do? I think the phosphate is where it should be. So no adjustment to the ferts it appears.
I am running two DCs and at the most I am getting green or blue green but not lime green at all. Certainly no hint of yellow. Sounds like an increase in CO2 is in order.
I would love to get a CO2 reactor but that usually implies a canister for which I would have to build a new stand to house it. Ah, the dependencies. Although...I can do some rearranging of the contents in the current stand, split shelves, cutout panels, etc to make room for a canister. A new canister and reactor...I need to inform Santa. Stat!


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[bcarl_10gal]

I think we both need to look at our nitrates closer, i have a hard time telling the difference between a 5 and a 20. I have GBRs so i tend to be conservative with dosing nitrates.


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[Sk3lly]

Bcarl - Knock on driftwood. Thanks for the feedback. Here are my parameters:
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
Phosphate & Nitrate: 5
Looking through my notes, I typically had 10 ppm nitrates and sometimes 10-20. Wondering if the current nitrate level is too low. What would OS do? I think the phosphate is where it should be. So no adjustment to the ferts it appears.
I am running two DCs and at the most I am getting green or blue green but not lime green at all. Certainly no hint of yellow. Sounds like an increase in CO2 is in order.
I would love to get a CO2 reactor but that usually implies a canister for which I would have to build a new stand to house it. Ah, the dependencies. Although...I can do some rearranging of the contents in the current stand, split shelves, cutout panels, etc to make room for a canister. A new canister and reactor...I need to inform Santa. Stat!


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Boom theres your problem!! Blue-green DC is simply not good enough under high light. Get this green-yellow and you will see an improvement!!

Yes if we all had t8's with our ferts and co2 we'd have no algae. Just our plants would take years to grow and some simply wouldn't.

People always talk about balance but it really is so important to get the lights and co2 right. Ferts are easy. Just bang a load in EI style and the plants will not run out.

I would hazard a guess that 95% of the 'help i got algae' threads on this site are caused by people having too much light for the co2 levels they have.

Later on Fresh i will show you a photo of my DC at lights on so you can see what i run mine at. Almost a week into a new setup and ive got no algae at all, not even diatoms. Considering ive got no huge plant mass yet as they are not firing on all cylinders yet as they are putting out new root growth, i think ive done well


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[Fresh2o]

I think we both need to look at our nitrates closer, i have a hard time telling the difference between a 5 and a 20. I have GBRs so i tend to be conservative with dosing nitrates.


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BCarl - Your phosphate is 2-3, nitrate is between 5-20, and CO2 is plentiful. I run higher phosphate (5), possibly lower nitrate, and most likely less CO2. I run a total of of 8 hours of light with 3 of those at high light. I cannot recall your new light schedule.
Going to pick up some h2o2 and spot treat tonight. I plan to bump up the CO2 this weekend and cutback on the lights. I hate changing too many variables at one time. Can make it difficult to isolate root causes.


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[Fresh2o]

Sk3lly - thanks for pointing that out. This thread is like therapy. I hope this resolves the issue. I'll check back later for the DC pic. I have to go earn a living now. Later.


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[Sk3lly]

Sk3lly - thanks for pointing that out. This thread is like therapy. I hope this resolves the issue. I'll check back later for the DC pic. I have to go earn a living now. Later.


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Yea thats cool. It wouldnt surprise me if this was the cause of the star repens melt


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[Brookster123]

Loving this thread right now.. i need to overhaul my whole setup this weekend, install new reactor. Reset timers to accommodate multiple lights and photoperiods. Tweak co2!! Test nitrates and phosphates. Gh/kh.. so much to do.. i needed a strong reminder and you guys have given me the kick.. I get the nice lime green dc in my 20t and the only algae is the gsa, needs higher phosphates. The 30l goes blue/green and I get the bba.. argh.. I'm totally making a mive towards success my positive self help cassette is on full blast in the truck.. "im good enough, in strong enough and I darn sure spend enough!!!"

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[Old Scales]

Good Morning David,

Bcarl - Knock on driftwood. Thanks for the feedback. Here are my parameters:
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
Phosphate & Nitrate: 5
Looking through my notes, I typically had 10 ppm nitrates and sometimes 10-20. Wondering if the current nitrate level is too low. What would OS do? I think the phosphate is where it should be. So no adjustment to the ferts it appears.
I am running two DCs and at the most I am getting green or blue green but not lime green at all. Certainly no hint of yellow. Sounds like an increase in CO2 is in order.
I would love to get a CO2 reactor but that usually implies a canister for which I would have to build a new stand to house it. Ah, the dependencies. Although...I can do some rearranging of the contents in the current stand, split shelves, cutout panels, etc to make room for a canister. A new canister and reactor...I need to inform Santa. Stat!


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Hope you are well. I still just LOVE that sweet 20 of yours! Try keeping your NO3 at least 10ppm with PO4 at 3-5ppm with 3hr on, 3 hr off and 3 hr on light schedule. Also I found you have to keep the drop checker going to full lime green to have enough CO2 to fight the algae. Also I always had more algae problems when I reduced or missed dosing my glut. My sweet spot was 1ml for every 3 gals.(full strength) But to tell you the truth, I always had some algae form but it would stay at the barely noticable level. One trick Rivercats told me that seemed to help was to add 1/8th teaspoon of the pure potassium from my PPS pack after each major water change.
Brookster and Sk3lly - - your tanks are looking awesome. I hope you guys are happy and healthy. May your gills stay pink and your fin stand straight up. lol
OS.

 

[Sk3lly]

All well and good OS. Hope you can say the same??

David unfortunately my DC wont be much help to you. I cranked my co2 up further last night seeing as i have no livestock. Co2 still on for another 2 hours and this is my colour




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[Brookster123]

Hey Scales! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving my friend
Sk3lly.. what do you mix up for your dc solution?

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[Sk3lly]

Hey Scales! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving my friend
Sk3lly.. what do you mix up for your dc solution?

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I'm lazy and buy the ready made stuff lol


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[Fresh2o]

I go away for the day and all this goes on. Hey Scales, thanks for checking in and providing your invaluable input. Much appreciated. Never thought I'd be on the lower end of nitrates. I don't dose nitrate and have a low bio-load.
Sk3lly that is some yellow in the DC! One reason I've not added any fish is because going fishless is something I've entertained. I would be able to go bananas with the CO2. I'm even lazier when it comes to DC solution. I get the premixed stuff from Brookster.
I decided to get a jump on things and bumped up the CO2 to around 5 bps. Counting anything over 3 bps is a pain. Been running like that for about an hour; will check on it shortly. Still not happy about the diffusion method. Thinking about making a DIY reactor by putting a power head and gravel vac in the media area of an AC50. I also looked at the sun sun canisters today.


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[fish wrangler]

I was bored on Tuesday when I was in bed sick so YouTube was my friend that day. Would this work for you Fresh? http://youtu.be/7-o2f1ULnMo

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[Fresh2o]

I was bored on Tuesday when I was in bed sick so YouTube was my friend that day. Would this work for you Fresh? http://youtu.be/7-o2f1ULnMo

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Nice find. I've heard of chopsticks used as diffusers but have never seen them in action. Talk about fine bubbles. And with a manifold to boot. I wonder how much psi they require and if they clog after a while like glass/ceramic diffusers.
I still think a reactor would provide the best matted of diffusion.


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[fish wrangler]

I am thinking of trying balsa wood as a diffuser. Would be better than my regular air stone if it works. He was using it for DIY so if you are using compressed CO2 it would probably work nicely for you!

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[Brookster123]

One word. . Reactor. .. use the force fresh. .

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