My 10 gallon

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I'm losing a lot of leaves from my hygro. I'm thinking they don't like the extra flow of the second filter? Or maybe it's just the bad parameters. I'm considering tearing down the tank again so I can remove the osmocote... Really not looking forward to that, but I'm not seeing any improvement... :(
 
That's better than loosing everything. I still have nitrates going to 40-60ppm almost every day so I'm doing daily PWCs. I only added a fraction in my 20 of what you put in your 10. If you haven't seen any improvement yet it's time to think about hitting control+alt+delete. This stuff is just a little to powerful. I think I'll stick with Seachem from now on. Let us know how things go.
 
Wow... Sorry to hear about the misfortunes using osmocote.. Curious, what made you want to use that in the first place? What are you going to use now?

On the bright side its only a 10g so the tear down won't take too much effort. Further, you can upgrade the substrate without breaking the bank due to the small real estate. I'm getting great results using Floramax (eco complete), Fluval Stratum, and Flourish root tabs.. I would continue using these in my future builds. If i had to consider an upgrade to my current substrates, I'd probably go ADA Amazonia Aqua Soil. But I'm quite content for now.
 
Thanks. I wanted to order aqua soil, but didn't feel like waiting for shipping... This is what I get for being impatient! I've heard of people using it as root tabs and also I was wanting to redo the tank right when coralline was doing his. He said he used osmocote under his substrate so I figured I'd do the same. I guess I should have done a little more research on how much to use or wait on the aqua soil. Blame it all on coralline! Hahaha. I still would have had an ammonia spike, but not this bad.

Yeah a 10 gallon is small, but it still takes about a day to tear it down, clean, rescape, and replant everything. The micro sword is a pain to plant and keep down in such fine grain sand... It's very light and loose. I'm still picking out floaters and replanting them.
 
Yeah, he heard about it from me. I've used it for root tabs in the past and got excellent growth. It comes highly recommended on ThePlantedTank forums. Lots of people use it under their substrate at the start of their cycle. It's all about enriching the sub in a fresh tank. It takes very little only about 5 beads per square inch or so (never even covering the glass). I used this amount in my tank and it's basically the same as a recycle. I'm still waiting on it to fully balance after nearly three weeks but it's just high nitrates at this point, about 40-60 every day and only about 0.1ppm ammonia if that.

I tbink most people didn't suspect Osmocote was such a strong ammonia source because when cycling a tank you're never surprised to see high ammonia anyway. *sigh*
 
I'd probably use less than 5 beads per square inch, after this experience. Maybe a table spoon for a 10 gallon would probably be plenty. I'm starting to see new growth with the microsword, which is making it even more difficult for me to break it down...
 
I believe it. The plants in my tank are also growing well. Overall, the tank is mostly stable and I'd do it again but just use even less of it. Strict moderation must be the key with using Osmocote in a tank. I added only what was recommended on TPT and it was still to much for an established tank. The learning curve with this stuff is brutal.
 
I guess i just really wanted to grow that carpet and went overboard with the stuff. I'd do it again as well, just very very little like you said. I've definitely learned my lesson. This stuff is crazy, use it cautiously!
 
It's definitely good practice to avoid terrestrial ferts if possible because of the ammonia. Root tabs can be expensive though so it's not a bad idea to read up on diy tabs or dry dosing.

You can get good growth with a cheap substrate it doesn't have to be a big shelf brand, although they are quite nice.
 
I've been curious if nutrient rich substrates are really worth it. I mean, eventually wont they lose all the nutrients anyways, making water column dosing even more essential? But then again, they claim to be able to absorb nutrients from the water column... I think this could be a good debate. I'm also curious of plain sands ability to absorb anything at all. Obviously, the sand is wet throughout, so would column dosing be enough to feed roots? Would the nutrients be able to get into the sand, or in a sense, the water in the sand? So would root tabs even REALLY be needed? Wish I had a few five gallon tanks that I could line up with different substrates but the same light and dosing to do some experiments with, but maybe that's something I could try down the line.

I was thinking of trying the root medic tabs next time around. From what I've read they have a good mix of micros and macros, unlike the API or flourish tabs. They are also supposed to last quite a while. Anyone use them before and see spectacular results? Haha
 
There are some data charts comparing CEC values between common substrate choices, I'll try to dig it up. You could spend 20 bucks on some clay based tabs, osmocote-like gelcap medic tabs, or buy your own ferts and mix it to your specifications , it's just about how much you are willing to deal with it. The diy route does come out substantially cheaper though, that's why most planted tank people dose e.i. or pps /pmdd.
 
jetajockey said:
There are some data charts comparing CEC values between common substrate choices, I'll try to dig it up. You could spend 20 bucks on some clay based tabs, osmocote-like gelcap medic tabs, or buy your own ferts and mix it to your specifications , it's just about how much you are willing to deal with it. The diy route does come out substantially cheaper though, that's why most planted tank people dose e.i. or pps /pmdd.
Click to expand...

That chart would be very helpful. I guess what I am wonder is, is CEC really that relevant when it comes to a submerged substrate. I mean in soil it's one thing, constantly drying out and being wet again, so it would need to absorb nutrients and release them again at a later time. But in an aquarium, where its underwater, and there are ferts being dissolved into the water, wouldn't circulation to the roots be just as important or a substitute for CEC values? I don't know, I guess I'm just think at it too much... Are you getting what point I'm after though?
 
Tested for ammonia now just for the heck of it, I didn't really expect any progress. Ammonia has gone down to what looks to be between 2 and 4 ppm. I haven't done a wc in about 3 or 4 days, so that's great news. I don't even want to know where my nitrates are... Haha

On another note, took down the second filter because the flow was killing my hygro. I decided to get my DIY co2 up and running. Everything is working great. It's been up for about 3 or 4 days as well, and no issues with any algae yet. *fingers crossed* *knock on wood* I've got a nice steady lime green in the drop checker.

I'm still waiting on my glass bubble counter, as it was lost in the mail, but the cheap diffuser is working out quite well.

Do you guys think the co2 is helping the plants to suck up that ammonia, or do I sound stupid? Just a little coincidental that since I added co2 the ammonia decides to drop.
 

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The tanks looking great! Yes, co2 helps plants grow faster which means they'll take in more nutrients as they grow. I think because my tank has co2 to spur on plant growth that it had a hand in helping the plants metabolize the ammonia. Plus it lowers pH which makes ammonia less toxic in general. It's great to hear some improvement is starting to finally show. Hopefully your over the hump.
 
It was weird, I let the vial sit for 5 minutes and took the reading. Super excited! Did some stuff around the house and came back maybe 15 minutes later and it's a dark green brown. Which it never turned before. Before it would be a dark green/blue after only a few minutes. Go figure? I'm going with the 4 ppm reading though... :/

Edit: thanks for the compliment by the way! :)
 
I wish I would see more tanks with proper setups doing lilaeopsis. It's got a reputation as such a slow grower but I somethinges think that's only because people don't give it what it needs.
 
aqua_chem said:
I wish I would see more tanks with proper setups doing lilaeopsis. It's got a reputation as such a slow grower but I somethinges think that's only because people don't give it what it needs.
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Thanks. I was both looking forward to and fearing harvesting it all. It did take a while to have enough to harvest and replant, considering I battled BBA and GSA, and haven't ran co2 for awhile either. I think that was a definite necessity when it comes to lilaeopsis. Either that or buy enough in the first place... but you really do need to cut the runners if you want a full carpet, IMO/E. Also, a lot of people complain because its too tall, but I like it. Can't wait wait for it to fill in!
 
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