Tired of being a slum lord...

[Bert2oo1]

If you would list the make and model of your light fixture, then hopefully the light output can be determined.
I would NOT hold off on the fertilizers. There needs to be a balance between lights, CO2, and fertilizers for proper growth. More light, then more is needed of the other two. Deficiencies in either one can lead to poor growth. Conversely, less light, then less demand for CO2 and fertilizers.
From what I see, decay is setting in on some of the older leaves. I believe that in times of stress that resources are channeled towards the newer growth and the older leaves suffer. The melt can be from drastic changes in light, temperature, CO2, and fertilizers.
As for plants, they should not cost an arm and a leg. This is a great community for sharing/selling/buying plants. There are good deals to be had from time to time. Check in the classifieds.

Agree with fresh. Ferts should always be dosed no matter what.

What ferts are you using? PPS pro?

Plant may be adjusting to your new co2 level etc. however pin holes that become larger can also be a cause of potassium deficiency.

Don't expect to win first go, you'll have a lot of algae issues/ plant deaths etc before you work out the balance for your tank. High lighting can be a brutal learning curve

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

OK, been too busy to post but I have an update.
I did dose the ferts Saturday in what felt was against my better judgment (but I am the relative noob so ). I also left the light on for a few hours "extra" yesterday. I changed my timer to have the lights on for an additional 2 hours a day for a couple reasons.
#1 Leaving the light on most of the day seemed to clear up the "cloudy" water almost completely which leads me to believe that the cloudiness might have been the ferts?
#2 The plants did not get worse. They haven't gotten better per se, but they didn't seem to get worse.
#3 I like seeing the tank more lol


The Flourish Advance I am dosing 1 capful a day, The Flourish every other day and the Propel 2x a week.

 

[Bert2oo1]

OK, been too busy to post but I have an update.
I did dose the ferts Saturday in what felt was against my better judgment (but I am the relative noob so ). I also left the light on for a few hours "extra" yesterday. I changed my timer to have the lights on for an additional 2 hours a day for a couple reasons.
#1 Leaving the light on most of the day seemed to clear up the "cloudy" water almost completely which leads me to believe that the cloudiness might have been the ferts?
#2 The plants did not get worse. They haven't gotten better per se, but they didn't seem to get worse.
#3 I like seeing the tank more lol


The Flourish Advance I am dosing 1 capful a day, The Flourish every other day and the Propel 2x a week.

Do you know the break down of your feet dosages in ppm? I'd be interested to know how much of what is going in?

Like for instance I dose 7ppm no3, 5ppm k etc etc I still think the seachem line might be abit lean for a high tech. If you can give me a break down I'll be able to tell you if u like [emoji106]

How longs the lighting period now? I wouldn't go anymore than 10 hours maximum

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

Do you know the break down of your feet dosages in ppm? I'd be interested to know how much of what is going in?

Like for instance I dose 7ppm no3, 5ppm k etc etc I still think the seachem line might be abit lean for a high tech. If you can give me a break down I'll be able to tell you if u like [emoji106]

How longs the lighting period now? I wouldn't go anymore than 10 hours maximum

I was going of the recommendations of the guy from my LFS. I have not gotten quite down into the very specifics like ppm of the individual's

The light is on for just about 1 HR in the AM from 6:30-7:30 then its on from 16:00 until 23:00 now. It was on about 2 hours less previously.

I haven't really gotten into the PPS-Pro specifics yet, I have unfortunately been too busy. I have a vacation coming up and in 3 weeks ill be spending many hours on a plane with lots of down time to read up on it.

 

[Bert2oo1]

I was going of the recommendations of the guy from my LFS. I have not gotten quite down into the very specifics like ppm of the individual's

The light is on for just about 1 HR in the AM from 6:30-7:30 then its on from 16:00 until 23:00 now. It was on about 2 hours less previously.

I haven't really gotten into the PPS-Pro specifics yet, I have unfortunately been too busy. I have a vacation coming up and in 3 weeks ill be spending many hours on a plane with lots of down time to read up on it.

Lighting sounds fine [emoji106]

Yea PPS pro is a much better option and u will save yourself a fortune! Those seachem bottles are so overpriced it's not funny.

After your research i would buy the dry salts u need by the kg (about 2 pound) and it will last you easily 12 months maybe even 24 [emoji16] I mixed mine in hand lotion pump bottles for easy dosing. 5 pumps is 7ml of solution so works perfectly for my tank [emoji106]

Did you sort out the pressure issue?

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

Lighting sounds fine [emoji106]

Yea PPS pro is a much better option and u will save yourself a fortune! Those seachem bottles are so overpriced it's not funny.

After your research i would buy the dry salts u need by the kg (about 2 pound) and it will last you easily 12 months maybe even 24 [emoji16] I mixed mine in hand lotion pump bottles for easy dosing. 5 pumps is 7ml of solution so works perfectly for my tank [emoji106]

Did you sort out the pressure issue?

Sadly no, I think the regulator must be busted
It is either 0 or 55-60, nothing in between. I was thinking about maybe finding out what glue can be used in the tank that is non-toxic and gluing the hose to the diffuser.

Good news however. Once the drop checker got to a nice light green, it has stayed there once I dialed the CO2 back to about 1.5 BPS which makes me happy. I do think it was just an issue of the tank taking a while to "saturate" with CO2, when the tubing kept falling off. Eventually I am going to get a reaction chamber but until I have some type of pump setup or a canister filter I don't have anyway to really connect it.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Sadly no, I think the regulator must be busted
It is either 0 or 55-60, nothing in between. I was thinking about maybe finding out what glue can be used in the tank that is non-toxic and gluing the hose to the diffuser.

Good news however. Once the drop checker got to a nice light green, it has stayed there once I dialed the CO2 back to about 1.5 BPS which makes me happy. I do think it was just an issue of the tank taking a while to "saturate" with CO2, when the tubing kept falling off. Eventually I am going to get a reaction chamber but until I have some type of pump setup or a canister filter I don't have anyway to really connect it.

Super glue "gel" is safe for aquarium use, I use it to glue plants to rocks etc

Just remember the disc diffusers do need to be cleaned every now and then so glueing may make it abit harder to clean. You could increase the hose nipple size with the glue tho to make the hose fit tighter? Aslong as its working now and not still blowing off your should be fine with the 50-60 [emoji106]

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

Super glue "gel" is safe for aquarium use, I use it to glue plants to rocks etc

Just remember the disc diffusers do need to be cleaned every now and then so glueing may make it abit harder to clean. You could increase the hose nipple size with the glue tho to make the hose fit tighter? Aslong as its working now and not still blowing off your should be fine with the 50-60 [emoji106]

It seems to be working much better now, bit its only been 36 or so hours, I will see if it stays long term I suppose getting clogged would increase the pressure as well wouldn't it? Maybe I should clean/soak it. It seems to be working fine but maybe that is part of why there is so much pressure.


*EDIT* Tho now that I think about it, the pressure is still that high even when the tubing falls off.

 

[Fresh2o]

It seems to be working much better now, bit its only been 36 or so hours, I will see if it stays long term I suppose getting clogged would increase the pressure as well wouldn't it? Maybe I should clean/soak it. It seems to be working fine but maybe that is part of why there is so much pressure.


*EDIT* Tho now that I think about it, the pressure is still that high even when the tubing falls off.

Does the pressure eventually drop after the diffuser falls off? Or does it stay elevated? One would think it would drop because of the lack of resistance (diffuser back pressure).
I think there is something wrong with the gauge based on your last statement and from previous observations.
Perhaps the gauge can be removed, tested, recalibrated and/or replaced.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

I believe it stays the same. I'll check next time it comes off which is hopefully never lol.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

Overall the tank is looking pretty good.

Most of the "grass" has new growth, do I assume I should eliminate the team leaves correct?

The DBT look TERRIBLE! What do I do?

And on the large plant directly in the back... should I remove the leaves with the large holes in them? I also feel like I should cut the "stem" down some.

The red plant on the far left I have already cut that shoot trying to reach the top.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

The pressure/tubing issue seems to have passed.

 

[Bert2oo1]

The pressure/tubing issue seems to have passed.

What lighting are you running? Seems like you might be lacking in either light or co2? DBT can be a pain to grow especially if you get it emersed grown (a lot of suppliers sell emersed)

Anything that looks non perfect/translucent should be removed [emoji106]

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

Ug...

I come back from vacation, and both bulbs are blown and my tank has worms.

Also it looks like I have a snail infestation

Someone save me!!!

 

[Autumnsky]

Pwc, pwc, pwc. Get an LED light and use a power strip with a surge protector. There were some storms recently.

Are they Planaria?

Vacations are maybe good for people - not usually good for tanks.

Sorry to hear.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

Pwc, pwc, pwc. Get an LED light and use a power strip with a surge protector. There were some storms recently.
Are they Planaria?
Vacations are maybe good for people - not usually good for tanks.
Sorry to hear.

Yes they are, and you ain't kidding on bad for tanks lol.

OK so crisis mode at this point. I got new bulbs, 1 X 24W 6700 bulb and 2 X 24W "color something" which is eventually going to be changed. I miss having the 10K bulb because MAD did it make the tank look great. Anyway, the plants recovered mostly, but the DBT are in SAD shape.

The worms went away on their own. My guess is it was the decaying leaves that brought them out.

NOW, the filter died. BUT I just ordered an Eheim Classic 2213 that I am pretty excited about. Oh and the CO2 just ran out lol. All this stuff happened within about 3 weeks. The good news is thanks to the awesome community, and a couple here specifically I got some good advice and finally took the plunge and ordered my canister filter AND I am getting a reaction chamber for my CO2. I am VERY excited about this part at least as it seemed like the CO2 went much faster than it should have (maybe 2 months at most.)

ATM I am just going to leave it with the light off and NOT add any ferts. I am going to need some help with the fertilizer however. I have never really done them right so I need to know what kit's, if any that I need besides the PH. Also where do you recommend I go to mix my own fertz and how do I really do it? I understand the basic principles but I have no idea how much or what to add.

 

[Autumnsky]

Just in case the Planaria come back, usually the are there you just don't see them
Guide to Planaria and Hydra Elimination - Aquarium Advice

What are you leaving the light off on? Plants gonna die with no light???

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

The light I'll turn back on tonight after I get my CO2 tank filled. With no filtration and no co2 I'm concerned about a bad algae bloom. The water already looks a little off

Ty for the link! *Edit* Now that I had time to read through the entire thing it is invaluable! It wasn't over feeding tht did it to me, but dead/decaying plant matter (I assume) so if anyone is new take note of that!

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

I just got my tank refilled so the 1st thing I am doing when I get home from work tonight is to take are of the tank.


#1 Hook the CO2 back up.
#2 Vacuum the tank. I think I may clean it, refill it and clean it again. I am debating on getting a slightly smaller vacuum to aid in the cleaning because I feel like the water drains too fast for my tank.
#3 Dose fertz.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

This is actually from 9/9 jus a couple days after I put in the new canister filter. It made a HUGE difference and I LOVE the quietness!

I have a new pic this weekend after I gravel vac it. Coming along well, I salvaged just about all the plants and have some trimming to do. The amount of roots I need to trim 8s kind of annoying, but worth it