Help

[Maliki]

Hello everyone i just bought some micro sword today from petco i have a dirted tank i was wondering how fast it grows and how deep should i plant it dirt on bottom florite on top but im thinkin of takin out the florite and replacing it with eco complete any advice

 

[Nils]

Just have to cover the roots. Don't know how it grows, never did good for me

 

[Maliki]

man that's not good I hope it grows , though I'm trying to grow a carpet I have co2 injection what are your thoughts about eco complete over dirt ?

 

[Maliki]

Ok so i took out the florite and capped the dirt with florite and eco complet i have a mich smaller dirt layer now and no my water is so dark brown its not even funny i cant see the wall behind my tank let alone my fish and plants in it ..will my canister filter get out the particals in the water is my substrate leech the dirt thru it i understand bput tannins but i think this is differnt ill post pics if needed

 

[Ziggy953]

Sounds to me like the best course of action is to do a water change. Your filter will clear things up but then you will have all that mess in your canister.

 

[Maliki]

Wtr chg

Yes im doing a 50%water change now but will thy make my tank cycle again

 

[Ziggy953]

Yes im doing a 50%water change now but will thy make my tank cycle again

The tank is probably cycling because of the substrate change. The cycle of the tank refers to the build up of beneficial bacteria in the substrate and filter media not the water column.

 

[Maliki]

Cycle

Ok so it wont harm my fish or anything because i kno i have enough bacteria on my canister my tank isnt so brown anymore now its more of a haze like cloudy like fog but the eco complete has bacteria in it idk if it aids in the procsess or not i would like for my micro sword to grow like crazy any tips

 

[Ziggy953]

Ok so it wont harm my fish or anything because i kno i have enough bacteria on my canister my tank isnt so brown anymore now its more of a haze like cloudy like fog but the eco complete has bacteria in it idk if it aids in the procsess or not i would like for my micro sword to grow like crazy any tips

To get the micro sword to grow you need good light and I would suggest CO2.

 

[Maliki]

Micro sword

Yes i have two t8 grow light bulbs and 1 t5 plus co2 injection but please tell me if this is normal but on my bubble counter / diffuser i set the injection to around 1 bubble per second but it seems to me like the diffused co2 bubbles reach the surface of the water faster then they mix into the water if so how can i fix this so most if not all of the co 2 is dissolved

 

[Fresh2o]

Yes i have two t8 grow light bulbs and 1 t5 plus co2 injection but please tell me if this is normal but on my bubble counter / diffuser i set the injection to around 1 bubble per second but it seems to me like the diffused co2 bubbles reach the surface of the water faster then they mix into the water if so how can i fix this so most if not all of the co 2 is dissolved

You can try placing the diffuser under the intake or the output of the filter. Both methods should increase contact time with the water.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Ziggy953]

What kind of diffuser are you using?

I had a similar issue when I was using a diffuser in the tank. I built an inline CO2 reactor so the CO2 is dissolved before it makes it to the tank.

 

[Maliki]

Co2

I have just a regular ole ceramic diffuser i bought in a kit from petco it has a built in bubble counter but i think its like basicly not doing its job but as you were saying co2
Reactor?

 

[Ziggy953]

Here is what I did for my tank...

DIY - Inline CO2 reactor....

Materials I used:

1' PVC Pipe
1"x3/4" elbow (threaded on one end)
3/4" x 5/8" elbow hosebib
Star media looking thing I had (bio media for a canister)
Brass 1/2"x1/8" nipple - CO2 Connection

Very simple design. Water from the outflow of my canister will enter the reactor at the top and flow down through the star media things and out the bottom and up to the tank.

Here is the unit dry fitted:

Drilling the hole for the brass co2 nipple -

I was concerned about the hole I drilled and knew it would be a point for leaks so I got some water tight 2-part Epoxy to solve the problem:

 

[Ziggy953]

And here is the final product after a quick tape off and paint job..

Installed under the tank. The blue line come off the co2 nipple is draining into a bucket to allow the air out. I also had to turn the whole thing upside down to get all the air out of the pipe

Here it is with the co2 line connected and injecting co2 into the system.

This was easy to build and does a great job for me.

 

[Maliki]

Wow

Wow thank you so much and i thank everyone here for helping me really good info and step by step instructions you saved the day for me if i could recommend this site to anyone i would foward this to everyone i know that has a tank thank you so much i will be doing the reactor today thanks again so much all of you