Can't get the right balance!

[Brookster123]

Google is a good base, always come cross reference with us, i have a half baked idea and sk3lly will always correct me if it needs to be done... which is never but just incase

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[Sk3lly]

Sallyjano just remember this hobby is very flexible, especially in planted tanks. Theres no set rules and everybody has slightly different ways in which they approach things.

The fun part of this hobby is experimenting. With plants theres not much risk involved. 99% of the time they will grow back after a mistake. Patience is key and never make dramatic changes. Small tweaks here and there is the way to go


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[Brookster123]

Sallyjano just remember this hobby is very flexible, especially in planted tanks. Theres no set rules and everybody has slightly different ways in which they approach things.

The fun part of this hobby is experimenting. With plants theres not much risk involved. 99% of the time they will grow back after a mistake. Patience is key and never make dramatic changes. Small tweaks here and there is the way to go


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Absolute gospel!

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[sallyjano]

Sallyjano just remember this hobby is very flexible, especially in planted tanks. Theres no set rules and everybody has slightly different ways in which they approach things.

The fun part of this hobby is experimenting. With plants theres not much risk involved. 99% of the time they will grow back after a mistake. Patience is key and never make dramatic changes. Small tweaks here and there is the way to go


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I hear you. It's a sharp learning curve with so much to learn when you start out but I will be patient and keep trying to find the right balance for my tank. I know that once I get things under control it will be very rewarding.

 

[schoeplein]

I wouldn't say it's a sharp learning curve, but more of a long, extended, very extended learning curve. We're all still learning every day.

Spend enough time changing the doses of various elements and you'll start to visually be aware of what affects what. Phosphorus in my tank creates a lot of stem growth but also boosts green algae; iron clearly makes red plants glow; potassium increases leaf growth and health; etc. No tank is alike, so your dosing will always be "specific". At best, we can give you suggested, average doses. It's up to you to see how your tank responds. I haven't been dosing as much Excel as these guys and my plant growth hasn't been affected, tho I do have a bit more algae than I'd like. I've been ramping it up to use the rest of my bottle before my glut is delivered. As I up my other ferts and finding my liquid stuff is consumed much faster than expected, that too is getting replaced with a PPS Pro pack.

Lighting is something I planned from the get go. Once you have what you want visually, everything else should follow suit.

I look at it in a similar way to exercising. If your goal is to be the biggest guy in the gym, you're not going to reach that goal just doing any one thing. Calories, protein, sleep, etc, etc. If you're juicing your plants with light they're going to need the nutrients to compliment it. Keep at it and you'll quickly be at a point where you wish you had a bigger tank. I know I am.

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[sallyjano]

I wouldn't say it's a sharp learning curve, but more of a long, extended, very extended learning curve. We're all still learning every day.

Spend enough time changing the doses of various elements and you'll start to visually be aware of what affects what. Phosphorus in my tank creates a lot of stem growth but also boosts green algae; iron clearly makes red plants glow; potassium increases leaf growth and health; etc. No tank is alike, so your dosing will always be "specific". At best, we can give you suggested, average doses. It's up to you to see how your tank responds. I haven't been dosing as much Excel as these guys and my plant growth hasn't been affected, tho I do have a bit more algae than I'd like. I've been ramping it up to use the rest of my bottle before my glut is delivered. As I up my other ferts and finding my liquid stuff is consumed much faster than expected, that too is getting replaced with a PPS Pro pack.

Lighting is something I planned from the get go. Once you have what you want visually, everything else should follow suit.

I look at it in a similar way to exercising. If your goal is to be the biggest guy in the gym, you're not going to reach that goal just doing any one thing. Calories, protein, sleep, etc, etc. If you're juicing your plants with light they're going to need the nutrients to compliment it. Keep at it and you'll quickly be at a point where you wish you had a bigger tank. I know I am.

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Thanks for your input. At this point I'm just trying to get everything to stop dying and going brown but once I get to the point that things are actually starting to grow well I will be excited to experiment with the various elements to see how things impact my tank and to get the balance that works for me. Although I'm frustrated right now I know it will be rewarding once I start seeing some results. Right now I get so excited every time I see a new shoot!

As for the learning curve, yes I understand it's ongoing for everyone but as a noob I knew nothing about types of lights, different ferts, co2 etc... It's a lot to read about and quite overwhelming when you first start out! BUT it's fun and although I'm frustrated and feeling like I'll never get it right, at the same time I enjoy it and like learning about it all.

Anyway, thanks again. I will keep you posted with my progress!

 

[Sk3lly]

Thanks for your input. At this point I'm just trying to get everything to stop dying and going brown but once I get to the point that things are actually starting to grow well I will be excited to experiment with the various elements to see how things impact my tank and to get the balance that works for me. Although I'm frustrated right now I know it will be rewarding once I start seeing some results. Right now I get so excited every time I see a new shoot!



As for the learning curve, yes I understand it's ongoing for everyone but as a noob I knew nothing about types of lights, different ferts, co2 etc... It's a lot to read about and quite overwhelming when you first start out! BUT it's fun and although I'm frustrated and feeling like I'll never get it right, at the same time I enjoy it and like learning about it all.



Anyway, thanks again. I will keep you posted with my progress!

We all started as noobs at some point lol


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[sallyjano]

We all started as noobs at some point lol


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Yes....a LOT of research time. My husband is starting to complain that my fish and plants are more important than he is

 

[sallyjano]

Im with sk3lly, maybe up it 5 ml every 5 days until you hit 30 ml??

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By the way.....why is it not a good idea to increase glut quickly? Why the need to increase over time?

Is it due to fish/plants acclimating so as not a shock? If that's the case what about when you introduce new fish/plants?

 

[LetsGoFishin]

I too am a high Glut user. I dose 30 ml undiluted Metricide 14 daily in my 50g heavily planted along with daily EI dosing. It runs on a split photo period of 4 hrs each with a 3 hr break inbetween. Half the glut get dosed just before the first period and the other half before the second period. PAR is approximately 35-40 at substrate with two T5HOs, however both lights are on simultaneously only a total of 4 hrs daily.

I still have signs of CO2 deficiency but growth is good and algae is very minimal. You just have to adjust your photo period to figure out what will work best. I keep only Rasboras, Neon tetras, and a few Bloodfin tetras. I have never seen a fish death yet due to Glut. Also when adding new fish to a highly glut dosed tank they seem to do fine as well.

My Kamoer autodoser helps make it all self sufficient too, as I'm out of town sometimes for a few days at a time. Probably one of the best investments I've made aside from getting into CO2 in the future one day maybe.

 

[Delapool]

I too am a high Glut user. I dose 30 ml undiluted Metricide 14 daily in my 50g heavily planted along with daily EI dosing. It runs on a split photo period of 4 hrs each with a 3 hr break inbetween. Half the glut get dosed just before the first period and the other half before the second period. PAR is approximately 35-40 at substrate with two T5HOs, however both lights are on simultaneously only a total of 4 hrs daily.

I still have signs of CO2 deficiency but growth is good and algae is very minimal. You just have to adjust your photo period to figure out what will work best. I keep only Rasboras, Neon tetras, and a few Bloodfin tetras. I have never seen a fish death yet due to Glut. Also when adding new fish to a highly glut dosed tank they seem to do fine as well.

My Kamoer autodoser helps make it all self sufficient too, as I'm out of town sometimes for a few days at a time. Probably one of the best investments I've made aside from getting into CO2 in the future one day maybe.

What % glut is metricide 14?

 

[LetsGoFishin]

What % glut is metricide 14?

Metricide 14 is 2.6 %

 

[Delapool]

Metricide 14 is 2.6 %

Hmm, thanks - I think I will dilute this 10% solution I have down with distilled water. Does glut have an expiry date or shelf life once opened or anything?

 

[clarkm]

I still don't beileve that it's 10 percent. That's like 4 times stronger that met 14. I wouldn't get that stuff on your skin if it's really 10%


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[clarkm]

I googled it and I guess it really is 10% solution of glut. Interesting that I never have heard of it. They also have Dino pee which I assume is like seachem excell


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[Delapool]

I still don't beileve that it's 10 percent. That's like 4 times stronger that met 14. I wouldn't get that stuff on your skin if it's really 10%


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That's a good point. I'll see about getting some distilled water and rubber gloves. I think they make it up there at their shop, I assume to keep weight down for shipping. The instructions talk about dosing in drops but I'd rather dilute it as it is so much stronger.

 

[schoeplein]

Wow. That Kamoer auto doser is expensive! Probably worth it, though I need to get individual timers for all of my lights, first...

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[sallyjano]

I too am a high Glut user. I dose 30 ml undiluted Metricide 14 daily in my 50g heavily planted along with daily EI dosing. It runs on a split photo period of 4 hrs each with a 3 hr break inbetween. Half the glut get dosed just before the first period and the other half before the second period. PAR is approximately 35-40 at substrate with two T5HOs, however both lights are on simultaneously only a total of 4 hrs daily.

I still have signs of CO2 deficiency but growth is good and algae is very minimal. You just have to adjust your photo period to figure out what will work best. I keep only Rasboras, Neon tetras, and a few Bloodfin tetras. I have never seen a fish death yet due to Glut. Also when adding new fish to a highly glut dosed tank they seem to do fine as well.

My Kamoer autodoser helps make it all self sufficient too, as I'm out of town sometimes for a few days at a time. Probably one of the best investments I've made aside from getting into CO2 in the future one day maybe.

Wow that auto doser looks great! But at $300 too steep for me right now. I would like to invest in injected co2 at some point and I'll do that first but hope to get the doser one day.

Wow 30ml metricide in a 50g! You are a high glut user. I wonder why you still see co2 deficiencies?

Sounds like we have a similar set up so thanks for sharing.

 

[sallyjano]

Guys 'n gals - quick Q. Do you think there is any problem with the lighting fixture being too close to the top of the tank? It's only about 1" from the top. I assumed that wasn't an issue as long as I had enough ferts/glut for the level of light but is there some reason that it being close would be an issue?

 

[schoeplein]

No issue with it being close. You may get slightly better lighting. Mine are about 2" from the surface just cuz my water isn't up to the edge - corys like to race to the top for oxygen and were slamming into the glass, lol, and the middle support beam kept the surface of the right side of the tank funky.

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