Yet another 40b Build thread.

[Cichlid Kid]

I'm just starting to see a little beard algae around the filter intake, not much but I've learned it doesn't take long for that stuff to get outa hand. I'm already running the photoperiod 6hrs. a day. Co2 is at 1-2 bps.
I think I'm gonna try raising the led lighting up a few inches to get my par reading at a more reasonable level. According to my chart at 18" par is around 120. Does this seem a little high? I'm also gonna take out 2 of the clf's. Does anyone else think I've got to much light? I was considering just running the led light but it doesn't have a very good light spread.

 

[Rivercats]

You may just need to increase your CO2 alittle. Brian_Nano12g is the LED guy to talk to about that and par levels. Also spot treat the BBA on the tube tomorrow. BBA is commonly found high up in the tank closest to the light, I'll even see a tiny patch every now and then and just hit it with H2O2 or Glut/Excel. With higher light and dosing dry ferts you often need to increase CO2 slightly, try upping it 1 more bubble per second and see how the fish do and after treating the BBA see if it reappears. If so then I'd consider moving the lights alittle higher. I wish there was a chart for par on my metal halides!

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I finally found a local welding supply company to refill my co2 bottles so I'm good to go there. I can understand more now why you do glut. exclusively. I've been doing a comparison of the differences in growth I see with the new plants in the 40 using co2 and in the 20g using glut.
I'm actually seeing better transitioning and growth in my 20g. It's only been 5 days since I planted but still, there's a difference.

 

[Rivercats]

So your seeing better growth so far in the 20g glut tank?

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Yes, believe it or not. The rotala indica and few little sprigs of a. reineckii perked up the day after planting. A. reineckii pieces were just mere stems with one or two wilted leaves. I thought for sure the leaves would fall off and that would be the end of it but they didn't.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

On closer inspection I see alot of aerial roots, and new leaflets forming especially on the L. Repens. The rotala indica is also sending out roots. I always thought that the way to plant stemmed plants was to do it individually one stem at a time vertically.
All these root n shoots make me wonder if I shoulda planted them horizontal in the substrate, Should I? Looks to me like I'd get better growth that way. Are all these aerial shoots an indication of something? I hope not because they are unsightly but the new leaf growth is welcome.
I'll post pics of the ludwigia and indica when I get home.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Sorry about the quality of the pic.

 

[Rivercats]

Rotala Indica under higher light always grows more horizontally than vertically. I tried it months back in the 220 but it refused to grow vertically under my lighting so I took it out. I actually could have made a carpet out of it and it tried to take over with it's fast growth. L Repens gets alot of aerial roots as does Cabomba Furcata. I can tell you some stem plants just grow more aerial roots than others. I often trim those roots off on the upper stems if they are highly visable. Cutting them off doesn't hurt the stem growth any.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I just recently acquired a redsea reactor 500, it has been doing a wonderful job. My indica and other plants have been doing ok, some better than others. I still have a bit of an algae problem though. I suspect it's because I haven't gone pps pro or another dry fert yet.

 

[Rivercats]

I think once you get the dry ferts and everything going good your algae issues will slowly subside! It took a good 6 months to get the 220 balanced correctly. For now you can spot treat your algae if need be. I also think your plants will do better overall when you start your ferts also.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Yes, I agree. My rotala indica has been branching out almost like a carpet and even though it's at the bottom of the tank it is achieving a marvelous pink hue.
I'm actually considering just letting it do its thing and instead of trying to train it vertically just let it go nuts along the substrate.
There are a few reasons I want this. One being that my panda corys are spawning almost every pwc, the bnp are getting ready to spawn again and this growth from the r. indica provides necessary shelter for the fry. My gbr have quite a sweet tooth for any fry other than their own. Plus I just really luv the way the indica looks.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Sorry for the pic quality. My male black sailfin molly had to make an appearance lol.

 

[Rivercats]

I think it's a good idea to keep it that way for the fry! From what I can see in the pic the plants are looking good.