40g planted

[countryfan05]

I can't get rid of my fish I am too attached. Yikes. I have small fish the LFS told me how many to get and now all I hear is I have too many. I have:
6 neon tetras
5 zebra danios (had 6 lost one yesterday)
2 false flying fox
3 black skirt tetras
2 honey dwarf gouramis
1 fire red dwarf gourami
1 blue dwarf gourami
4 cory cats

My levels look like this:

Nitrates 20
Nitrite 0
Ph 6.4-6.8
Phosphate 10
Ammonia 0

I had hair algae on everything, so I ditched my plants got new ones, cleaned my filter and added phosguard which I have replaced once, it has been 2 weeks and nothing has changed. The algae is coming back too. I do a 25% water change every two weeks. Here is a photo of my tank. THanks for the help.

 

[rich311k]

What is the phosphate level in your tap water? I agree you need to change water everyday. You have to get those phosphate levels down.

 

[Psybuster]

they were growing like weeds, but i trimmed them and it looks much better.

i just wish my microswords were spreading out a little faster so that i could have the entire base of the tank covered, but i think that's gonna take a year or so

 

[gheitman]

The frequency that you trim your plants is really dependent on the rate of growth. Some of my tanks I have to trim every week and some just once a month or so.

Just be patient waiting for your micro swords to spread. I planted some dwarf sags and they eventually took over the whole 10 gallon aquarium I started them. I then transplanted a bunch to my 30 gallon and have replanted some of those to spread them out. I also sold a bunch to my LFS for in-store credit.

 

[ASpec]

CO2 Injection: SMS122 Question

Quick question for the SMS122 owners out there. I see by reading the manual that when your PH set point is reached the controller will LED alarm and turn on power to the device (Solenoid in my case).

So this great in all, but my question is what keeps the CO2 from injecting for hours and hours... droping the PH to dangerous levels (i.e. 6) ?

Just wondering why the SMS122 does not have something like duel set points (high and low) to turn the solenoid on and off, or maybe I am totally missing the concept of a controller?

Thanks for any advice and sorry for the dumb question. New to this CO2 injection business.

 

[ASpec]

Nevermind! I think that was the stupidest question I've ever asked. I guess it just took me writting it to figure out my own answer!

When the PH level falls back below the set point the LED alarm stops, and so does the flow of CO2 since the solenoid is now off. Duh!!!

 

[kristap]

oops - bad typing fingers. Yes, phosphate

I was thinking about my attempts to remove the algae and wonder - should I have removed the plants from the tank to work on them? I tried to work on them without pulling anything out of the substrate as I was afraid that might cause more harm to the plants & roots than to the actual target algae.

Also, as to reducing nitrates - more frequent water changes, do you think/suggest?

 

[puffergirl]

Plant algea

I have two of my tanks planted and have noticed that the plants are starting to be covered with a stringy algea at thier edges. Is there any way to get rid of this? Is there a fish that eats this stuff? I love my planted tanks and don't want this unsightly stuff growing.

 

[rich311k]

Yes best way to reduce nittrate is to change water. Change your water 10-20% next couple of days. That will help.

 

[rich311k]

What are your test results? How much lghting do you have?

 

[rising1000]

lighting query

i have 50 gallon 36x18x18 aquarium, with 3 medium
goldfish, and 1 albino bushynose pleco
fluval 403 blowing into turbo twist uv filter 9 watt
slowed down with under gravel powered 403 power filter
in reverse mode

i basically want to start growing some plants easy.

so i want to buy a new light looking at compact
flourescent


choice 36 inch 1x96 watt coralife 96 watt 6700K
or 36 inch 2x96 watt coralife 192 watt 6700k

as i said want to grow plants easy, without what i
think the bother of this co 2 system i keep hearing
about.

so what light should i really buy , what i am thinking
is the 2 bulb version might be too bright but the
advantage is that when the bulbs start to die it will
still support plants


2. if i grow plants and don t use the co 2 system
willthey still grow, i don t mind if they grow slow

thks rising1000@yahoo.ca

 

[rich311k]

If you do not want to bother with CO2 get the single. Other wise you will be hi light and you will need CO2.

 

[Psybuster]

Pics of my Planted Tank, suggestions needed

I just got done trimming some of my plants, but I'm in a debacle right now. I look at other planted tanks and I'm astonished. I'm wondering if you guys could give me suggestions in how to rescape my tank so that it looks really nice. I'm going for a heavily planted tank, but I have no clue where to start. Should I add other decor like rocks or something, and where should I place it and/or move my other plants around.

 

[gheitman]

I think a nice piece of driftwood or perhaps some large rocks always helps. You might also look at getting some red plants to offset the green...Alternanthera reineckii comes to mind. How much lighting do you have?

 

[Psybuster]

i have a coralife lighting system in the car, but it was the wrong size, so i'm waiting to exchange it at the LFS for a larger one (30 inches) if I get that it will take me to around 4 WPG, or if I switch to the 36" (which i rather not go cause the light fixture will be excessively large) that would give me 5-6WPG.

Right now I'm running 2.5 WPG, w/ CO2 and I dose Fe every 3 days.

I guess my biggest problem is if i put rocks in there, where to position all my plants. I like to keep the same species generally in the same area, but i like it look nice.

 

[greenmaji]

unrelated.. youll have to give us an update on your discus after posting that tread..
did you raise any fry?
another tread in another place would be fine..

Im thinking that you might be better going with angels.. from everything you have told me about discus.. And it seems the Koi's are popular now..

 

[BrianNY]

Welcome to AA rising. You've got a common misconception about growing aquarium plants. I think you're looking for plants that will survive without alot of expense and maintenance. Many plants do fall into that category.

My advice would be to start with low light. Around 1 watt per gallon. Please read this link. It might save you alot of grief. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=53432

 

[greenmaji]

undergravel filters..
http://www.aquariaplants.com/undergravelfilters.htm

you can keep up to medium light requirement plants without the need of CO2 with up to 2 watts per gallon of light
http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_cat.php?category=1

you may be able to get 2 watts per gallon of light by overdriving the current NO lighting you already have. The bulbs are much cheaper and it only requires a electronic ballast upgrade to your fixture.. If you give me the details of your current lighting and size of your tank I could suggest ballasts that would do the job.. HTH

 

[greenmaji]

What did the LFS tell you stability was suppose to do for your tank? whats in it?
Have you been fertilizing the tank at all?
What kind of filtration are you using and do you have a high bio-load?

 

[greenmaji]

are you using fertilizers?
what type of filtration are you using?
how many and what kind of fish do you have? in what size tanks?