linford585
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2016
- Messages
- 5
Hi everyone!
I'm new to this forum and will be writing an introduction in the introduction section right after this post, but I'm having a little trouble and was hoping to get some help!
What I have:
I have a 36 gallon bow front tank, Marineland Penguin 200 filter, Finnex Planted+ 24/7 LED light kept on 24/7 mode, Seachem flourite substrate, 2 amazon swords and a moss ball. No heater or fish yet (still cycling). Apartment is kept at about 75 degrees (it's hot out and the AC can't really keep up below that) so I haven't been worried about a heater, but I do have a EHEIM Jager 150W arriving tomorrow. Freshwater.
What I've been doing:
Last Sunday (the 7th), everything was put together. I used Seachem Prime to dechlorinate the water, and have been using Seachem Stability to establish my biofilter. Until Wednesday I was only using a 17W T8 light as it was all I had.
What has happened:
I had read online about using a liquid CO2 booster so purchased API CO2 Booster with everything. I hadn't read enough yet to realize that at my low light levels natural levels of CO2 in the water would be fine, or that some plants can be very sensitive to too much liquid CO2 supplement. Sunday evening I added some of my booster per the instructions, and Monday morning I added more (probably bad that it was so soon after, but I wanted to do all of my water additives in the morning from there on out). By Monday night, all 3 plants in my tank started getting a little brown around the edges of the leaves (edges of the fuzz in the case of the moss ball). I also measured the pH of the tank that evening, and found the next problem. It's around 8, and hard (I'm using strips, which I've heard are a little less accurate than test tubes). I tested my tap water, and it's also 8 and hard. I stopped using the CO2 booster completely on Tuesday, and as noted above, installed the better light on Wednesday. Today my plants seem to have even more brown than before. Have not changed any water since my initial fill.
Do you think the high pH level is causing this? Perhaps the CO2 booster stressed them, and the high pH is making it worse? Not sure how long the CO2 booster will stay in the water... Maybe it's all just been bad initial stress, and the plants will be fine given more time?
I'm new to this forum and will be writing an introduction in the introduction section right after this post, but I'm having a little trouble and was hoping to get some help!
What I have:
I have a 36 gallon bow front tank, Marineland Penguin 200 filter, Finnex Planted+ 24/7 LED light kept on 24/7 mode, Seachem flourite substrate, 2 amazon swords and a moss ball. No heater or fish yet (still cycling). Apartment is kept at about 75 degrees (it's hot out and the AC can't really keep up below that) so I haven't been worried about a heater, but I do have a EHEIM Jager 150W arriving tomorrow. Freshwater.
What I've been doing:
Last Sunday (the 7th), everything was put together. I used Seachem Prime to dechlorinate the water, and have been using Seachem Stability to establish my biofilter. Until Wednesday I was only using a 17W T8 light as it was all I had.
What has happened:
I had read online about using a liquid CO2 booster so purchased API CO2 Booster with everything. I hadn't read enough yet to realize that at my low light levels natural levels of CO2 in the water would be fine, or that some plants can be very sensitive to too much liquid CO2 supplement. Sunday evening I added some of my booster per the instructions, and Monday morning I added more (probably bad that it was so soon after, but I wanted to do all of my water additives in the morning from there on out). By Monday night, all 3 plants in my tank started getting a little brown around the edges of the leaves (edges of the fuzz in the case of the moss ball). I also measured the pH of the tank that evening, and found the next problem. It's around 8, and hard (I'm using strips, which I've heard are a little less accurate than test tubes). I tested my tap water, and it's also 8 and hard. I stopped using the CO2 booster completely on Tuesday, and as noted above, installed the better light on Wednesday. Today my plants seem to have even more brown than before. Have not changed any water since my initial fill.
Do you think the high pH level is causing this? Perhaps the CO2 booster stressed them, and the high pH is making it worse? Not sure how long the CO2 booster will stay in the water... Maybe it's all just been bad initial stress, and the plants will be fine given more time?