New 55 Gallon Log

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Purrbox said:
Personally the seista only seems to do a good job of extending the viewing time in the morning and evening. I've heard no conclusive evidence that it helps deter algae. Letting the aquarium mature and finding it's balance are the keys to controling algae.
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Yeah I just saw it mentioned here and there, I know Diana Walstad is using in now in here 50G setup and she said it works good. I'll try the solid lighting schedule for now.


Just got the new ballast hooked up so 2x ODNO on the 2 bulbs. After looking more at it I could not easily use the original ballast to use in the future if needed, as I dont understand how exactly its used as its not like a normal ballast, its integrated and is built on some PCB's at both ends of the light. So I just removed it and ran the new ballast using the orig pull chain switch.

Also I got a ton of large stem plants and some Red Tiger Lotus among other things, so I filled the 55G and 10G(since I cannibalized most of the plants for the 55G). I'm not sure if they are going to do well in the 10G?
I did a large WC while I was planting the new plants and cleaned the filter.

I tested the water(dosed prime for the whole tank).
Ammonia=2.0
Nitrite=.25

Nitrate doesnt matter as I have been dosing it, was down to 5 so I added more.

Oh yeah I'm growing Green Algae on the driftwood which is OK to me, so far its the only thing pearling, lol
 
Did a large WC today and moved the plants around, trying to take notes from others. I originally kinda just put them in there. Now I have them in groups like most do.

Ammonia:0
Nitrite: pegged purple

Been slow on the lighting, thats the main thing I've learned so far. Is to slowly make changes while plants get established. Also do WC at near the end of the light period, then turn the lights off after so algae cant take advantage of the CO2 fluctuation. Also always do a vac/WC after moving things around, ect.. Also so far I have done the "bleach dip" on a couple plants that were in my 10G that were stricken w/ algae(staghorn or bba IMO) and they seem to be doing better now.

I'm planning on switching to smooth tubing on the fluval to get a little more flow as its a little lacking IMO(just in the intake corner and showing GDA). Also plan on getting some Excel and using that to help w/ algae control and dosing regularly for growth instead of DIY CO2 hassle. Currently working on this form of relaxed fert dosing:
http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods.html?highlight=low+tech

Will post new pics here in a couple days.

New plant list: (had so many plants I had to throw some away from the beginning, also filled my 10G back up. Only had 2 snails 1 in each tank and I plan on keeping them this time to spread, I'm told they must be ramshorn that are feeders from the seller)
Ludwigia repens x arcuata
Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'
Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrot Feather)
Rotala rotundifolia 'green'
Red Tiger Lotus
Nymphoides sp. 'Taiwan', sold as frogbit but from another thread on here i believe this is correct
Potamogeton gayi
Cabomba palaeformis
Myriophyllum pinnatum

Thats on top of the 2 small swords, a couple small crypts, dwarf sag, Tropic Sunset(Hygro) and some Java moss and ferns
 
Ok some new pics, the camera sucks(maybe the operator also), Most of these plants are not settled as I just moved/trimed many. Also a couple I'm not sure they like the hard water or I dont have enough light, only time will tell. They came from higher lighting and Co2 tank so they also need time to get used to the new situation. I made up my mind to use Excel on this tank, then I'll have extra around for algae issues.

Oh, dont mind the wires on the ballast in this 1st pic, I just had to make sure it worked as advertised 1st before making it permanent. I just to drill 2 holes in either side of the top of the fixture then run the wires. Since there is a "V" right under there thats what makes this an OK reflector.

img_892620_0_c294b13ac64b7ba32baf7df5ee5cc519.jpg

img_892620_1_b02bbe5978fa315ea15674839b5c19ba.jpg

img_892620_2_8eb6b01c3f652e6c42f8bc348a7dc26f.jpg
 
Heres some pics of the reflector on this shoplight, I would say its a good average reflector.
img_892635_0_dc8af77f52719b0d6d34a42be4af8619.jpg

img_892635_1_dbce9eb5ae76123ea2c372ed239246f2.jpg
 
Oh sweet! Thanks, Speed. I was looking at them on plantgeek.net and thinking about it. They look good in your tank.
 
No sir, going on this relaxed fert schedule for now:
1/4 teaspoon of KNO3
1/16 teaspoon of KH2PO4
1/16 teaspoon of CSM+B, I'm not sure on this one and I have hard water

These are all 1 time every week or 2 weeks and assume very small water changes and/or not very often, no need to "reset" it b/c the dosing is small and the uptake by plants should be also. Much easier to manage IMO. Heres more info:
http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods.html?highlight=low+tech

Then I decided to use Excel on this tank so I will be dosing ~3ml 3x per week to start then maybe bump it up to 5ml doses and bump up the other ferts as needed. I have not ordered it yet as I'm still adding things to my order from Aquariumguys.com.

I'm going to do some mods to my Fluval 304 to get a little more flow also, mainly replacing the ribbed tubing w/ smooth to increase flow and make it so the inlet diameter is large than the outlet as its syphon/gravity fed and I see thats how many Eheims come from the factory. When my filter is perfectly clean it moves the water surface in a good circular motion but if its slightly dirty then the far corner is stagnate on the surface. Hopefully this will make the small difference that I'm looking for. The only thing I'm worried about is losing the factory check ball in the inlet strainer so it may be harder to prime and start afterwards? I plan on using some Eheim parts like the large intake and maybe the outlet?

I'm not in any hurry to upgrade this or get the Excel, so prob in 2 months or so at least after I get some fish+ shrimp in there
 
Well I used my store credit at the LFS to get 3 Oto's(only 3 they had and I think they have been there awhile as 2 weeks ago they had the same 3 IIRC).

I put 2 into the 10G for now and since I'm being impatient I put the most active one in the 55G. My Nitrites are still high according to the test kit so I hope it does OK. I will do another large WC here tomorrow just to make sure. Prime says in one place that it detoxifies nitrite then on the other part of the label it doesn't say. I have at least single dosed it for the whole tank volume every WC and the single male Endlers has been in there for ~3weeks now and seems fine(even through the Ammonia through the roof readings).

I was going to put some RCS in the 55G but I'm waiting to get a pre-filter for the intake as I'm sure it will suck a couple up(let alone babies).

Also noticed some tiny baby RCS in the 10G and I think the Endlers are eating them, so I'm not sure what I want to do there yet. Prob either another 10G tank(dont really want to) or just add more dense plants/decoration, I plan to get a small piece of driftwood for it since there is none now. Also saw at least 2 Endler fry and noticed the adults chasing them so maybe they will eat there fry just like gupppies.
 
The Oto's are doing fine. I now have 3 male Endlers, 3 RCS and 2 Otos in the 55G. My Nitrite is still way high. I need to do another 60% WC tomorrow and try to get rid of the algae thats making me mad. I did a 24hr blackout today to help, then I'll clean tomorrow and WC. Then hope for the best.

I should have some Excel by the end of the week along with a couple other things to make new inlet/outlets for the Fluval to hopefully pick up some flow or at least have smooth hoses that wont clog as a couple people said happens with the ribbed hose. I did move the outlet slightly and seems better.


This Hygro "sunset" that I have was very pale when I got it, and after 1 week the tops are very pink. I thought I read something about low nitrates causing something similar in other plants, or using this to get a good color for a pic. I'm pretty sure that the ammonia that I had and low nitrates is what started this algae.

I'm thinking about picking up 5 baby BN Plecos soon and then when they grow eventually trading all but 1 back to the LFS for credit.
 
I did a 20% WC very early this morning and scrubbed some green algae off from a couple plants, ect.

Nitrites are 0 now, also the plants seem very good today( I also made sure the nitrates were at 20), I think they are coming back(especially since I did a 24hr+ blackout yesterday).The Rotala rotundifolia looks much better today as it was the one I wasn't sure that was going to make it(well a couple others also). Lots of bubbles on plants

I think its all downhill from here. I Plan to get some more fish soon. I'm not worried about the BN either as but may still get one? just plan to get 6 or so Oto's for it, then leave 1 in the 10G. I found a guy on aquabid that is local to me that has bosemani Rainbow's so I was thinking about getting 6 of them and waiting on some peacock gudgeons also once some are available..
 
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