Mojo Troll said:
If I remember correctly. Did'nt the moderators of this site move this post to the planted section?
Nope. The thread was created in the Planted Tanks section, just where it sits now.
Mojo Troll said:
Perhaps you should reread this entire post. The original author FMJ has clearly posted pics of the tank. One dieing plant stuck to the filter intake, does'nt justify it as a planted tank.
With the pics and post the author has posted, it is obvious that the tank needs far more plants for the amount of lighting, nutrients,
CO2 the author has provided. Its that simple. Other wise spot and hair algae are going to overtake the tank quickly.
Just because I post one or two pics doesn't mean that's my entire tank. The plant stuck to the intake wasn't dying. The lower part was past its prime, but the new growth was perfect. It was pruned and planted shortly after. I have about 24 plants of anacharis; either bunched, floating, or individually planted. I agree it needs more plants and isn't "planted", but it's still a work in progress. As I've already posted, my tank is doing fine. As long as I continue to manage it, I will NOT have a major algae outbreak that you keep hinting at.
Mojo Troll said:
Can you point out one single tank here on Aquatic Gardeners Association that has goldfish in thier tanks? Heres a link....
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/
Goldfish are cold blooded. Planted aquariums like tropical water temps. Do the research. Your in over your head.
edit...if you want to keep kois or goldfish in an aquatic planted aquascape. Build a small pond in your back yard and plant some water lillies.
Just because nobody from the AGA has a goldie planted tank doesn't mean it can't be done. Haven't you seen that massive planted cichlid tank?!?!?!?!?! Perhaps I'm just as stubborn as he is.
I may be in over my head, but at least I'm accepting the challenge and I'm kicking it's rear end as well. I like to think that I've trained my goldies not to nip at plants. They're far from your stereotypical goldfish that you are refering to. Give them some time and a nice schedule that they like and they'll be oblivious to plants. I've done this in my pond as well. I've kept goldies for years (10+). I know how much they like plants, but after about 5 or 6 years, I learned how to keep them happy enough not to need to revert to plant supplements.
I do have a "pond" that is "planted" with goldies. It's doing just fine, thank you.
Billsgate said:
What is this turning into?
Instead of commenting on eachother, give your piece of advice!!
I agree that the tank definetly needs some more plants. But the anachris should do a pretty good job at sucking up nitrates before the algae can...if you have enough.
FMJax, I would cut your anachris once it reaches top of the tank in half, and replant. If you have enough individual plants, they should grow like crazy and take care of most of your nitrates
I had some of it in a newly setup tank, and it was hard to tell when it got cycled, because the anachris did such a good job at sucking up the
NO3
Thanks Billsgate. I do have enough anacharis to suck up nitrate. Usually, by the end of the week, I'm at 10
ppm. That is when I do a
PWC and remove 1/2 of the old plants. The
PWC drops nitrate to under 5
ppm. It then jumps to about 20-30 by mid week and then begins to drop. Repeat... Perhaps this well I'll just remove anything that looks bad and see if my nitrate jump isn't as dramatic. My plants grow about 1/2 to 1" per day. I only let it get about 6-8" before I prune. I'll have to experiment with size.
greenmagi said:
My bad! The temperature of this tank will be around 74-75 F when you get your fans going FMJax I dont see this as a problem..
I suppose I should have updated the thread. I got a 120V to 12V converter and my fans are now at 100%. I still haven't bought the 50mm's, but tank temps are steady at 75F. Even during a hot day, it stays at 75F. Just because goldies are a cold water fish doesnt' mean they can't thrive at [sub]tropical temps. I've kept them up in to the 80F's when I was living in Texas. No sign of trouble as long as I kept the
O2 levels up.
Mojo Troll said:
I had some of it in a newly setup tank, and it was hard to tell when it got cycled, because the anachris did such a good job at sucking up the
NO3
A newly planted tank will never cycle like a traditional unplanted tank.[/quote]
I don't remember saying my tank wasn't cycled, but whatever. It was cycled 100% before anacharis was added. It's a stable tank, as I've said at least 3 times now.
Mojo Troll said:
I was refereing to cold water fish such as goldfish, koi, carp etc... in a tropical plant environment with higher lighting,
CO2 injection, higher ferts etc...
Good point none the less.
I've already made mention of this... here it is again. Just because goldies are a cold water fish doesnt' mean they can't thrive at [sub]tropical temps. I've kept them up in to the 80F's when I was living in Texas. No sign of trouble as long as I kept the
O2 levels up. Goldfish are one of the most hardy species of aquarium fish (or at least in my experience it is). I've also kept them in my pond during freezing temps. They all survived next spring during the thaw. As long as you provide top filtration and
O2, there's virtually nothing the goldie can't handle. This doesn't mean I would go and mix them with tropicals though. With higher temps, the chance for disease is higher. I've already fought that battle, but I'm clear now. This also goes to show that my tank is in good, healthy order.
So what is the point of all your ranting and raving Mojo Troll? I appreciate the advise and agree that I need more plants.... but that wasn't the topic of this thread. The point is that I'm on limited fund and wanted to try to overdrive my stock lighting without spending $100 on lighting and $200 on
CO2. I spent less than 1/2 of that and got success (
BTW, I'm using 3 bottles, all three with valves so that I can turn them on/off as needed. This is how I can keep my
CO2 levels nice). I never said I needed help with my plants (not in this thread anyway). I also never said I had an algae problem. You've got this idea in your head that because I have minimal planting and goldfish that my tank won't succeed. Perhaps it won't succeed like the community tanks with high planting, but it will succeed in the fact that I'm happy with it. It's all just opinions so I can't really get upset with you. HOWEVER, you are trolling my thread so it will be dealt with accordingly. If you don't like what you read, then stay out. There's nothing stating that you HAVE to read every thread out there.
