Help with plant ID

[Alan79]

The finnex planted plus series are a reasonably priced alternative if you opt for Leds. When i have the cash i'll buy some to try.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

Thank youguys for the advice. I went ahead and bought a light fixture from topdogsellers on eBay. It's a 36" t5 quad with 4 6500k for $90. I also bought two of these co2 injectors.. They're called "co2 natural plant system" from nutrafin. It's like a diy system except it will look better than those two litter bottles.. It comes a bubble counter and all I need is sugar and water. It has an activator packet and a stabilizer which I believe are the yeast and baking soda? I'm not sure what I read in the reviews. Anyway most people who bought them on amazon say that they use the packets and then they make their own recipe instead of buying the refills.

It says on there that one is good for up to 20 gallons and if I have a bigger tank I'll need two.

Anyways my questions are, has anyone tried these before?

should I wait for the lights to get here?

They won't get here till another two days.. If I install this now will it kill my fish? Or will they be fine if I run a bubbler till the lights get here. I know I'll have to turn on the aeration system while the lights are off at night anyway so I'm setting that up as well.

And lastly, my tank is way overstocked.. I do scheduled 30% water changes every Monday and so far they're fine. It's a thirty gallon tank I think.. 36" 18" 12" and I have the following in there..

2 kuhli loaches
5 Corys (3 bronze, 1 pygmy & one julii)
6 harlequin rasboras
5 neons
3 cherry barbs
3 glow light tetras
4 long finned leopard danios
1 blue ram
1 honey dwarf gourami
1 mystery snail
A few mts
And maybe some cherry shrimp if they haven't been eaten..

Ammonia is at 0 right now and nitrite is at .25 or whatever is right above zero.

(I know that's way overstocked but aqadvisor says it's fine for some reason. I also have two aqueon filters a 30 and a 10)

Anyway would youguys recommend I set up both of these co2 injectors? The canister is about the size of a 20oz water bottle and one is recommended for 20 gallons.. Or do all these fish produce enough co2 to replace the second canister?

Again I appreciate any advise and sorry for all this writing but I really want to solve all these dilemmas I have with my tank that I'm falling in love with after all it's cost me some big bucks now

 

[foster53]

You can start the co2 right away if you want. It will help even in lower light situations. With high light, like you will be running once your new light arrives, I would recommend using both generators. Higher light will require higher co2, and ferts. It will take a while to get your tank balanced. You may encounter some algae issues in the beginning. Adjusting the photoperiod, amount of co2, and fert regimen should take care of it. Start your photoperiod at around 6 hrs. per day. If no algae problems then you can up it by 1/2 hr. per day. Once your getting good plant growth, and little to no algae then you'll know you hit the sweet spot. (balanced) We can help you along the way if you want.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

Thank you. I will set up the co2 first thing in the morning. I'll be sure to ask questions I'm sure I'll have as I go along.

 

[jetajockey]

What size tank is this again?

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I think it's 30 gallons. 36" * 18" * 12"

 

[jetajockey]

4 bulb t5ho is a lot of light . Is it 12 tall or 18 tall?

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

Well I just measured it again. It's actually 17" tall

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

Will that kill the plants?

 

[jetajockey]

In a nutshell, more light means more demand of co2 and ferts. If these demands are not met, algae often proliferates due to the imbalance.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I can time the lights to control that like foster said.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I can't wait to get off work and wait for my lights to get here! Quick question. Will these leaves regain their color or are the gone once they start browning like this? Should I cut them off?

 

[jetajockey]

No, they will not, cut them off.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

The whole stem or just the leaf?

 

[foster53]

Cut the stem as close to the base of the plant as you can. This will encourage new growth.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

A little update on my tank. I got my lights today. It comes with three different timers! Two for each pair of the t5 bulbs and one for the moonlight LEDs. My co2 seems to be moving steadily up the bubble ladder now and the bubbles do decrease in size as they make it to the top. I also received my order of giant ambulia which my danios seem to love cuz they swim through them. The glass top I ordered arrived broken so I went ahead and shipped it back for a full refund. I hope my fish don't try and jump out and can save me this expense of the glass top.

Now I'm just waiting for the artificial Texas holey rock I ordered for my kuhli loaches. When they arrive tomorrow I'll be moving all the plants around, I think I made a mistake by spreading all of them all around the tank. I'll keep them close to each other when I redo the tank so it won't look this messy.

I gotta say this lights make a huge difference in the way my aquarium looks. Everything looks more alive already. Just the coloring alone. I hope my plants enjoy it as much as I do and thrive on it. Thank you guys for the advice I'm really liking the way this tank is looking.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I did that with one of the leaves when I first got the plant since the whole stem was pretty much brown. Now what's left of the stem is shooting up tiny bubbles from what looks like tiny veins or tunnels inside the stem.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I'm finally done with my tank. I'm just waiting for a couple more kuhlis and some MTS. But all the rest is in. Co2 injection, four 6700k lights for 7 hours a day to begin, and a bubbler for when the lights are off. They're all on timers so all I have to worry about is basic maintenance. No worries about forgetting to turn the lights or air pump on/off. I gotta say I'm not as satisfied with the end result as I thought I would be but, maybe that's because it's not all bright and lively yet. Maybe it'll look more appealing to me when the plants settle and begin to look healthier. Thank youguys for the help and advise. Wish me luck with this new joy.

 

[Rivercats]

With that much light you also need to be dosing liquid carbon along with the CO2 as that CO2 system will not be enough for that much light. You can buy Metricide 14 Day Solution, a gallon for about $27 shipped. Mix it at a 1:1 ratio with RO or distilled water. I mix it up and use old Excel bottles. It has to be kept in opaque bottles as light breaks the Glut down. Then you want to use it at a rate of 1ml Glut (Metricide14) for every 2 gallons of tank water. In a couple weeks time you will probably need to up your dose it 1ml Glut to every 1 gallon of tank water along with using the CO2 system.

You also need to be using dry ferts so plants get all the macro and micro nutrients they need. Here is the info...

As for dry fert this $15 package is all you need and will last a couple years... http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/micro-macro-fertilizers.html.



You need 3 dosing bottles found at the bottom of this page... http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizer.html.



This is a good thread about dosing PPS-Pro. Only read the opening post not all the comments after it.... http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/pps-analysis-feedback/39491-newbie-guide-pps-pro.html.



There are two things I do different from the article. First I use 3 dosing bottles as I split the macro nutrients for better custom dosing to the needs of the tank. Nitrates in one bottle, phosphates and potassium in one bottle, and micro's in the 3rd bottle. The other thing you'll notice the recipe calls for using MgSO4, magnesium sulfate, which you don't need if you have hard tap with a gh of 4 or above.

The plant you have does appear to be red nesaea since it has pink red stems. It is a high light plant that needs CO2 and dry ferts. You also need to plant each stem individually so leaves of each stem almost touch the leaves of the stem plants around them.

 

[aqua_chem]

A CO2 system shouldn't ever need to be supplemented by glutaraldehyde. If you've got a problem where you need to turn co2 up past the point of fish tolerance, you're doing something wrong somewhere else. If you're adding it for algae reasons, that's different, but it is in not way required.