Good co2 and still algae??

[sallyjano]

Ok thanks for all the comments guys. I was planning on using the ph/kh chart (plus drop checker) to monitor levels. Drop checker shows me at green going yellow by the end of the day. I will look into a ph controller. I am aware of them but after dropping several hundred for new lights and co2 I was trying to avoid it!

Brookster - re bps I have no clue. I will try adding to oil to make the bubbles go slower so I can count but right now (with water in there) they are going too fast for me to count.

Re 'turn it up a little' there's another problem! My aquatek is SOOO sensitive that the teeniest of turns will turn it up a lot and since the bps is already so fast I can't count it it's impossible to know how much I'd be turning it up. I fear gassed fish on the horizon if I'm not careful!! The other day I managed to increase it with more control by increasing the PSI rather than the flow. What's the max PSI it can be? I can do that again but not sure if there is a max level. I think right now it's at about 60.

 

[Sk3lly]

Ok thanks for all the comments guys. I was planning on using the ph/kh chart (plus drop checker) to monitor levels. Drop checker shows me at green going yellow by the end of the day. I will look into a ph controller. I am aware of them but after dropping several hundred for new lights and co2 I was trying to avoid it!

Brookster - re bps I have no clue. I will try adding to oil to make the bubbles go slower so I can count but right now (with water in there) they are going too fast for me to count.

Re 'turn it up a little' there's another problem! My aquatek is SOOO sensitive that the teeniest of turns will turn it up a lot and since the bps is already so fast I can't count it it's impossible to know how much I'd be turning it up. I fear gassed fish on the horizon if I'm not careful!! The other day I managed to increase it with more control by increasing the PSI rather than the flow. What's the max PSI it can be? I can do that again but not sure if there is a max level. I think right now it's at about 60.

Why not lower the bps to a reasonable rate and then increase the time its on before lights?


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[sallyjano]

Why not lower the bps to a reasonable rate and then increase the time its on before lights?


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Thanks - right now I put it on an hour before the lights come on and turn off an hour before lights off.

I wonder how long it takes to reach optimum level? If at the end of the period right now I'm still on the low side I'm not seeing how turning it down but turning it on earlier will help as won't I still have lower than needed co2 but just for longer?

 

[sallyjano]

How many bps you at? if youre going to dose glut, 1.25ml will not cut it, you're looking at 20ml daily to make any difference..

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Brookster to clarify - you think I'd need that much glut just to help w/algae rather than source of carbon? When I was adding high glut my fish kept dying. Now I've stopped they are fine so really don't want to go back to the high glut days (I was losing a fish every 2-3 weeks - heart breaking.....).

 

[Delapool]

That's odd - what level were you dosing at? At suggested bottle dosing levels I've yet to have a fish lost (although at higher dosing have).

 

[sallyjano]

That's odd - what level were you dosing at? At suggested bottle dosing levels I've yet to have a fish lost (although at higher dosing have).

I was only dosing 15ml a day which is less than some others but honestly as soon as I started adding the glut the fish started dying. Now that I only dose 5ml a day all's peachy.

 

[Delapool]

I was only dosing 15ml a day which is less than some others but honestly as soon as I started adding the glut the fish started dying. Now that I only dose 5ml a day all's peachy.

Out of interest is the 15ml the bottle recommendation?

I dose 30ml here in a 150gal tank which is 2x dosing. Off memory this is for seachem excel / API co2 booster which are around 1.5 to 2% glut. Hope my maths is close as this is just finishing up some left over supplies before a 10% strength solution arrives and I have to re-calc dosage.

 

[sallyjano]

Out of interest is the 15ml the bottle recommendation?

I dose 30ml here in a 150gal tank which is 2x dosing. Off memory this is for seachem excel / API co2 booster which are around 1.5 to 2% glut. Hope my maths is close as this is just finishing up some left over supplies before a 10% strength solution arrives and I have to re-calc dosage.

Metricide is close to double strength Excel. Excel guidelines would be 5ml a day on my tank so 2.5ml of metricide and I dose 5ml so double what's recommended but it's not stopping algae anyway (just got home and see a fresh batch of the nasty black stuff!). Grr.....

 

[Delapool]

Metricide is close to double strength Excel. Excel guidelines would be 5ml a day on my tank so 2.5ml of metricide and I dose 5ml so double what's recommended but it's not stopping algae anyway (just got home and see a fresh batch of the nasty black stuff!). Grr.....

So 15ml would have been 6 times?

I'm battling BBA here on the stones and hygro. The ambulia and val is fine as long as co2 delivery is working (it's playing up).

I have BBA growing on the in-tank co2 reactor where co2 is highest and in high flow areas. On the other side of tank with lower light and less natural light there is less BBA. So I'm playing with light settings at moment while trying to get co2 dosing better.

I've increased potassium dosing way past EI levels (links) and this has removed a lot of my plant problems. I'm dosing higher and the k test (assuming it works) comes in around 100ppm on average for testing. Particularly for hygro I've found extra k dosing is needed (on limited experience).

One thing I have wondered is EI dosing was worked out on several fast growing plants I believe. However my substrate is mainly gravel and my ph tends to above 7 (particularly if co2 dosing mucks up). Neither of these would help element availability.

http://deficiencyfinder.com

http://yanc.rotalabutterfly.com

 

[bcarl_10gal]

Stop worrying so much about metricide and EI and focus on your co2. I personally dont even dose the stuff in my tank anymore. The key for co2 is a consistent supply. Think of it on a graph as a plateau NOT a bell curve. BBA is the result of inconsistent co2. Drive the pH down to whatever your target by when the lights come on. You need to increase your Co2 or decrease your lights to achieve a balance.


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