Help with my scape.

[Ayi]

Just pull the entire leaf.

 

[Ayi]

Okay guys, just an update.
I tested my nitrates since they were pretty high a couple weeks ago(somewhere between 80-100 ppm). I stopped dosing kno3 and it's at about the same.
The mexicana isn't coloring up as much, although it has gotten to the surface.
I'm going to try to rehome my firemouth because he was an impulse buy in January and he really needs a better setup than this. He isn't very active

I'm also having problems with algae.
Here's a FTS.
I think I need to move the swords so they're more spread out and get more light and space to grow.

 

[Ayi]

Forgot the pic...

Oh I'll also be out if town from Friday until the next Saturday. I'm going to leave food and ferts in pill boxes. I'll take before and after pics. And when I get back I might order some hygro corymbosa and wisteria.

 

[Fresh2o]

I would do some water changes to bring those nitrates down. I noticed the same thing when I first started dosing PPS-Pro; I stopped dosing KNO3 for a while. Make sure the nitrates are nice and low before you leave.
A short term fix for the BBA (and possibly for the fine strand type algae) is spot treatment with glut, excel, or hydrogen peroxide. You could also reduce your photoperiod down to 4-6 hours. I think once you get the nitrates in control, you might have a better handle on the algae. You may want to consider increasing the carbon source.

 

[Ayi]

Would it be better to do multiple small water changed or a couple larger ones?

 

[Fresh2o]

Would it be better to do multiple small water changed or a couple larger ones?

For general tank maintenance I would say either one but this case (high nitrates) I would go with the latter.

 

[Ayi]

Okay. I'll test again later and see what's going on.

 

[Ayi]

Well I did 2 10 gallon water changes. They came down somewhat.

 

[Fresh2o]

Well I did 2 10 gallon water changes. They came down somewhat. View attachment 243823

Looks better (~20-40?). I would perform more changes tomorrow to bring it down to 10 or 10-20. How long were you dosing KNO3? I dosed mine for about 4-5 weeks before I realized it was getting too high. I should have been monitoring it more closely.

 

[Ayi]

I'll probably do 2 more 10 gallon changes. I was dosing kno3 for almost a month. I should've tested more, but sadly I didn't.

 

[Ayi]

I found this piece of wood earlier today. I'm not sure if it want to break it up and use it.
What do you guys think?

 

[Mebbid]

I found this piece of wood earlier today. I'm not sure if it want to break it up and use it. View attachment 243853
What do you guys think?

I honestly think you could find a lot better pieces if you looked for them. There's not a lot of character in that piece. However, creative placement of plants and combining pieces of driftwood to make it look like a bigger piece is a very effective technique.

 

[mattcham]

I found this piece of wood earlier today. I'm not sure if it want to break it up and use it. View attachment 243853
What do you guys think?

I'm sorry but that wood is lacking branches and gnarl. Look at the manzanita branches on eBay. Those are some fine pieces!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Fresh2o]

I'm sorry but that wood is lacking branches and gnarl. Look at the manzanita branches on eBay. Those are some fine pieces!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Another place you might find manzanita DW are those stores that have bridal decor. I found a sweet looking branched manzanita at Marshall's department store for a whopping $5.
I found some inexpensive DW on vacation last year. The ones in pic #2 in the link below are in a large paper grocery bag (for scale) were $1 a piece: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269365

 

[Ayi]

Thanks guys! I don't really want to spend money. I'll see if I can find any better pieces near my house.

 

[Ayi]

So I did a hydrogen peroxide treatment. I just put it in a spray bottle since I didn't find a syringe. All the algae is bubbling like it should.

 

[Fresh2o]

So I did a hydrogen peroxide treatment. I just put it in a spray bottle since I didn't find a syringe. All the algae is bubbling like it should.

Next time you are in a grocery store, go the the baby section and look for oral medicine syringes. I found one for about $0.79. It is graduated to 10 mL but can hold about 15 mL. The tip is tapered so that you can slip airline tubing on the end to give you better reach and precise placement of whatever you are injecting.
As the peroxide reacts, I believe oxygen is released. This will increase the O2 saturation to the point where almost all you plants will pearl O2. Just an observation.

 

[Ayi]

I saw those the other day but I didn't think to buy one...
I thought stuff was bubbling cause there was hidden algae but I guess the h2o2 makes stuff pearl. In fact it still is

 

[mattcham]

The tip is tapered so that you can slip airline tubing on the end to give you better reach and precise placement of whatever you are injecting.

Are you injecting peroxide directly into the tank (in targeted areas)? Is that safe for fish?


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Fresh2o]

Are you injecting peroxide directly into the tank (in targeted areas)? Is that safe for fish?


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Yes. I cannot recall the dose (1 mL per gallon I believe; it might be more). Shut off the filters and pumps. Dose only at the affected areas. Let sit for about 20 minutes. Restart filters and pumps.
Within a day or two the BBA should turn pinkish colored.