Eco complete/Co2 question

[Dominick]

Well i have that black moon sand as my bottom i would like to go with eco complete but i dont want to have to buy all the bags that i will need for a 3 inch base in a 80 gal tank.
So can i just remove half the sand and put half back in the form of eco complete?

Will i have a better time battling algae with this instead of sand?


also i made a DIY inline reactor because i was unhappy with what i had
with what i had i was pumping 3 to 4 bubbles per sec to get a 20ppm

i decreased that to 2 bubbles per sec for the new reactor and now with the light on at the end of the day end up with 180ppm assuming my calc is right

KH 6 deg
Ph 6.0

 

[rkilling1]

i decreased that to 2 bubbles per sec for the new reactor and now with the light on at the end of the day end up with 180ppm assuming my calc is right

KH 6 deg
Ph 6.0

I doubt your numbers are correct. My reactor completely dissolves all the CO2 and I am getting 40PPM CO2 on a 75 gallon tank running at 4 BPS. Plant mass and surface agitation will change the amount of CO2 needed, but your CO2 concentration is not even close to mine.

Running your CO2 at 180PPM will kill your fish.

I guess you could get that high if your hood was completely sealed.

 

[dapellegrini]

I have not heard of Eco-Complete helping with algae problems. CO2 is your most likely problem there, along with NO3 and PO4 dosing. Are you using any other chemicals/buffers in your water? I also strongly doubt you have 180ppm of CO2 (which is the right math for your kH / pH measurement).

Any less than 50/50 Eco-Complete I am told is not worth it. I think you would be much better off replacing 75% or more, to get some bang for your buck.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Actually, I don't think 180ppm would be unheard of for levels, even though I don't think it's a valid measurement. One of your readings is probably inaccurate. I was able to get 100+ppm in my 75G with the power reactor I had, and no surface aggitation, and that was easy to accomplish at 2 bubbles per second. And some of the fish didn't like it.

 

[Zezmo]

Will i have a better time battling algae with this instead of sand?

Your substrate choice is not a big factor in Algae prevention. One school of thought is that if you use a soil substrate, and minimize nutrients in the There may not see the a huge diferance in growth going from the moon sand to ECO either. Moon sand is a fine substrate for growing plants. IMO, stick with that.

As for algae, that is a matter of getting CO2, Lighting, CO2, nutrients, and CO2 under control.

 

[Dominick]

Ok Ill keep with my sand and root tabs

Also i have no top agitation but i do have allot of green water
i know why i have it im in the prosses of tweaking my fert dosing.

as for my tests i followed the instructions to the T mean this is not the first time i have done thes tests

 

[JDogg]

Ok Ill keep with my sand and root tabs

Also i have no top agitation but i do have allot of green water
i know why i have it im in the prosses of tweaking my fert dosing.

as for my tests i followed the instructions to the T mean this is not the first time i have done thes tests

try and let some tap water (or what ever water you use in your tank) sit out over night and then test the PH and KH of that) this will give you the equilibrium CO2 content of your water and tell you if there is anything buffering your water and throwing off you CO2 reading...

 

[Purrbox]

Green Water is generally caused by an Ammonia spike and usually takes many weeks to go away on it's own even after nutrient levels are balanced. Blackouts, Diatomes, and Daphnia are some menthods for getting rid of it faster after you've gotten things back in balance.

 

[Dominick]

weird had no ammonia spike did drop nitrates they where 0