Planted Tank upgrade and questions

[Khuligirl93]

I'll try to make this as concise as possible.

This is my tank, here are the specs:
-Finnex Ray2 18" (8hrs a day)
-Pressurized CO2 on timer w/ light
-Playsand substrate w/ Mebbid's DIY root tabs under root feeders
-API leaf zone and Seachem flourish comp used 2x week
Nitrate=0 (right before weekly 40% WC)
Phosphate=0
Hardness= not sure exact # because I couldn't find the GH KH test, but I know our water is VERY hard so surely it's above 4.

Plants:
-amazon sword
-crypts
-dwarf sag
-water sprite
-Echinodorus vesuvius
-rotala rotundifolia
-telanthera cardinalis
-anubias
-java fern

So, my problem is that my rotala and telanthera do not have the nice pink color I would like them to (I believe this is partly a nitrate issue, because once when I uprooted my sword and disturbed the substrate the rotala turned bright pink for a couple days, then went back to green). And also my sword and anubias are showing some deficiencies- (but the addition of Mebbid's root tabs is fairly recent and the new sword leaves are healthy)


I'm not quite sure why I have zero nitrates because according to AqAdvisor my tank is almost 130% stocked...
I'm about to order the GLA fert package, but wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything before I do. Should the GLA ferts solve all my deficiency and lack of color issues with my plants, or should I take any extra steps?
I am also planning on adding a finnex planted plus (30") in the next few months, which I think will raise my PAR at the substrate to around 70 or 80. Can anyone see this causing a problem? Id like to get a higher spectrum of light to make my pink plants pop, and also have enough light that I could replace my dwarf sag with hairgrass. I do have a small algae problem now, but I believe that was caused by my CO2 running out and not getting refilled for 3 weeks while I was away, and it is going away more every day.
Thanks for any tips!





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[Brookster123]

I think the lack of nitrates and phosphates are your only problem. With the gla pps pro pack you can mix you kno3 separately to achieve desired nitrates.. the lack of phosphate could have something to do with algae..how much co2 you pumping in there? Dose glut?

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[Khuligirl93]

Great, thanks. So I should get 3 of the 500ml dosing bottles?
It's about 2 bps. I've had to tweak it because once I turned it up just a hair and my fish were all breathing at the surface, so I tested pH and it was 6.0-6.2 (normally 7.6-7.8). So it's as high as it can be without changing the pH right now.
I'm not using glut. I have CO2 booster for one of my other tanks but I haven't been using it on this one.


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[Brookster123]

Great, thanks. So I should get 3 of the 500ml dosing bottles?
It's about 2 bps. I've had to tweak it because once I turned it up just a hair and my fish were all breathing at the surface, so I tested pH and it was 6.0-6.2 (normally 7.6-7.8). So it's as high as it can be without changing the pH right now.
I'm not using glut. I have CO2 booster for one of my other tanks but I haven't been using it on this one.


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It comes with 2 nifty 500 ml dosing bottles, i use a leftover 250ml seachem bottle for the kno3 as do.many others here.. Co2 sounds about right but I'm a co2 newb.. I'd say investing in some metricide 14 would be a good choice too.. it helps as an algaecide and also makes the plants happy.. the finnex planted plus will probably help your plants color up, i don't think it will be too much as long as you run the co2..

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[Khuligirl93]

Ok that's good to hear
And I can always adjust the photoperiod as well if I get problems.
And for mixing the ferts, do most people just buy gallons of distilled water? I don't have a RO unit.


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[Brookster123]

Yup, I use distilled water, you'll also want to add some glut to the plantex bottle..

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[Plantaholic]

I would guess your LL Water Sprite is your tanks Nitrate thief. In my 46 gallon BF, I am under stocked(63% on AQ Advisor) and also run 3 filters. Before I actually used my potassium Nitrate bottle, I was very lacking in Nitrate, and my Water Sprite was starting to yellow and flatten. With a bit of research I found they were heavy Nitrate consumers so I dosed the potassium Nitrate 3rd bottle at 1/2 dose and my water sprite quickly recovered, nitrates tested at 5-10 ppm and would disappear altogether if I didn't dose again in the next couple days(I'm apprehensive on dosing the full amount as I've read that GBR's and SAE's are sensitive to it).
As to the Alternanthera Reinicki (cardinalis), and Rotala being green, I would guess it is lighting. I have a BML Dutch 6300 on my tank that I run at 75% brightness. That puts me at 80 Par at 18in. depth. My Rotala grows like a weed, and only gets pink when it hits the top 3rd of my tank... When I added the Alternanthera to my tank, I placed it out in front of some Giant Hygro that sprouts 8 inch leaves, and was shading out the AR closest to it. The stems that were shaded turned to a green from the rosy pink that they were when I got them, but the stems that weren't shaded stayed Pink and continue to grow more red.
Sounds like the algae is working itself out with the replenishment of your Co2! Do you use a drop checker? Mine put me at ease when I was finding the right level of Co2 for my tank.


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[Brian_Nano12g]

What size tank is that? What's the distance from light to substrate? There's very little red spectrum in a Finnex Ray 2. Unfortunately in taller tanks, it does wash out colors and reds tend to fade to green. Adding the Planted+ should help. But with that much extra light, you'll really need to fine tune CO2 and photoperiod.

 

[joejeff]

Just want to say. Awesome looking tank. Good luck!

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[Khuligirl93]

It's a 36 bf, I believe it's 20" tall, the light is about 4" above the water (through a glass versa top) and my substrate is probably 3" deep. Do you think it'd be better to completely replace the ray2 with the planted plus instead of running them together? I'd like to stay in medium light or the low side of high light.
I might end up taking out the water sprite once my other plants fill in. I mainly like it because it grows fast and takes up space.


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[Brookster123]

It's a 36 bf, I believe it's 20" tall, the light is about 4" above the water (through a glass versa top) and my substrate is probably 3" deep. Do you think it'd be better to completely replace the ray2 with the planted plus instead of running them together? I'd like to stay in medium light or the low side of high light.
I might end up taking out the water sprite once my other plants fill in. I mainly like it because it grows fast and takes up space.


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You should definitely run them tandem or look into something much stronger like bml or exotic e series..

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[Brian_Nano12g]

Yeah if you don't mind selling the Ray 2 (which I've sold all 3 of mine) it would be best to go with BML or Ecoxotic E-Series. They're both dimmable so you can fine tailor your light needs. The BML you'll have to buy a separate dimmer or controller. BML, however, you can get more focused optics for better penetration in tall tanks. The Dutch spectrum would be best.

Edit:
Some pair a Finnex Monster Ray and have posted positive results in TPT.

 

[Khuligirl93]

I would love to get a BML but that's almost 250 bucks with the dimmer and shipping costs. I'd have to wait a lot longer if I decided to go with that. Might be worth it in the long run though. I'll think about it.
So the smaller angles are better for taller tanks?
And are tank mounts necessary if it's going to sit on a glass versa top or could it sit directly on the glass?

Wow those things put out some light! Just found this
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product/gallery/image/24960/id/12652/


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[Brookster123]

I would remove the glass if possible, it cuts down on light pentatration, not drastically but every bit counts in a tall tank..

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[Khuligirl93]

I really don't want to do that, my tank is in a location where a lot of people hang out and children's hands can reach. Also I've already had one fish jump out through a small hole by the filter..


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[Plantaholic]

Glass top is fine when left on, and with the light costing more than my tank and filters by itself I don't want it getting splashed(though it's sealed)!
You need the rubber tank mounts if you weren't going to suspend the light from the ceiling. And the dimmer is necessary, with out it I'd have an Algae farm... Having to add those 2 things on after the cost of the light felt a bit taxing at first, but once the light finally came, I haven't thought a thing about it!



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[Sk3lly]

I have a bml xb fixture. Can't fault it, it's great! I have a faulty solunar controller which I'm awaiting replacement. I've been running my bml xb 100% for 6 1/2 hours a day with no algae troubles. This is not ideal but it CAN be done if you get the light, carbon, ferts balance correct


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[Khuligirl93]

According to the PAR chart I found, with the 60 and 75 degree beam angles that I'm considering, it's already 90-100PAR at my substrate. I can't imagine I'd need the XB!
Thanks, I guess I'll need to get the tank mounts too them.


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[Plantaholic]

At $110 for the Solunar my fish and plants can live without a sunset...


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[Sk3lly]

At $110 for the Solunar my fish and plants can live without a sunset...


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If you've got the cash then why not?


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