UV sterilizer/GW help please

[Rebgen]

Here's a newbie UV question for you. How do you set up and run a UV sterilizer? Do I need another pump to run water through the UV unit?

Here's my tank set up:

55 gal. tank
Emperor 400 HOB filter
Twin 24" canopies retro-fitted with AH 55W CF's (2WPG)
Moderately planted with Anubias, crypt, and ludwigia species
Substrate is a base of Shultz's aquatic soil topped off with Estes river gravel
Fauna: Pearl gouramis x 3, Otocinclus x 4, Silver mollies x 3, platies x 3

The tank was set up in February and initially stocked after a fishless cycle. I noticed problems with GW within a week after doing my AH retofit. Since then I have performed x 2 96 hour blackouts followed with 40% PWC due to reoccurring GW.

A couple of weeks ago I started using Flourish Excel (5ml/day) and Flourish trace (5ml/week). The GW came back within a few days and I'm in the midst of my third blackout. I'm obviously treating the symptoms here and not the underlying problem causing the GW. Any help you could offer would be much appreciated.

BTW...forgot to add water parms:

Ph: 7.2
Ammonia: 0
NitrIte: 0
NitrAte: 20-40ppm (Tap water in Des Moines, IA is about 40ppm)

[Timmain42]

Just so I know I'm reading this right...

You have 110 watts over a 55, but no CO2?
Excel instead... right.

You're only dosing Excel and traces, no Flourish or Plantex. No other ferts than the Excel and traces?

[Rebgen]

I'm dosing Flourish Excel daily for supplemental CO2 and Flourish weekly. I use the Excel in due to the fact that I run an Emerpor 400 with a bio-wheel and need a CO2 source that doesn't off-gas with the BW. The Flourish is the standard Flourish which, I believe, has the trace elements in it...not macros.

Thanks.

Edit: The lights are AH retro-fits. 55W CF x 2 for a total of 110 W over 55 gal. for an effective 2WPG.

[Timmain42]

Hmn.
Why no macros?
And I gotta tell ya, I just upgraded my 55 to 110W of CF myself, and it's a HUGE difference with CF than with NOF. More penetrating power, and MUCH brighter at the substrate level. How deep is the substrate? I have noticed over the years that the WPG rule is kind of skewed... 110W over a 55G is actual MORE than 2WPG, because the substrate displaces so much water. Have you ever measured how much actual water is in the tank?

Since you've upgraded your lights, that's when the problem started, right? Well, sounds like your fertilization is now your limiter, not the lights. Seems to me like dosing macros would be a good start.

[Rebgen]

My substrate is a roughly 3" at the back sloping down to 1-2" at the front of the tank. Between that and the large piece of driftwood I have, I agree with you concerning the lower volume of water. The other factor probably boosting WPG is the higher efficiency of the AH German reflectors.

As far as macros go, I'm still learning. One thing that has kept me on the sidelines is my high nitrate levels in the local tap water. Nitrates are never hard to maintain. I had hoped the Flourish would take care of my nutrient needs. The one thing that sticks with me is what I've read about excess nutrients being part of the cause of GW. That's kept me from jumping in with macros.

As always, I'm all ears in regards to advice on developing a effective nutrient regimen. I've reviewed the Seachem site thoroughly and it's helped answer some questions. Maybe I need to head back over there and check it out again.

[Timmain42]

You could, but the Fert Sticky here will help just as much. I understand that a lot of people want to stick with commercially-available products such as Seachem's but no one is twisting your arm to do so. Lemme do some calculations on water volume and the like, and I'll see if I can come up with a schedule.

Before I get too far into the numbers, do you want to try the Seachem Route or the DIY ferts? I know all the numbers for the DIY schedule, but I'll have to do some reading if you want to go Seachem's Route. Either way is fine, one's just cheaper. :)

[Timmain42]

Hokay, let's see:

You have approximately 50 gallons of water, 110 watts of light. A little more than 2WPG, but again, CF seemingly tends to run a little brighter. Rich substrate, CO2. Hmn.

DIY:
50% water change, every week (I hope you have a Python)
CO2-1 bubble per second
Excel-2.5 caps @ waterchange, 1 cap every day thereafter
Magnesium-1 tsp @ waterchange
NitrAtes-no need, but keep an eye on them, your plants WILL suck them down
Potassium-5/8 tsp @ waterchange
Phosphates-5 drops @ waterchange, 2 drops every second day
PlantexCSM+B-5 mL @ waterchange, 2.5 ml every day thereafter

I know you aren't using Plantex at the moment, but I really recommend it. It contains Iron and Traces and is LOADS cheaper than other commercially-available sources.

You also have a series of low-light plants. And your tank is moderatly planted? I would fill the rest o the tank up with fast-growth plants, at least until you get this under control. Bacopa will do quite well, along with limnophila sp. Hey, you might even find you like the look of them! My bacopa went from "eh" to "WOWSERS" when I upped the WPG. L. Aromatica is very pretty, and L. hippuroides, while not the fastest grower, is an awesome red underneath the leaves.

[Rebgen]

Hey thanks very much for the awesome help! I'm all for saving some $ on DIY ferts. I just bought a 2L of Flourish and a 4L of Excel, but I'm definitely going to check out your regimen...especially after I use up what I have. In the meantime I'll add some more fast growing stems. I forgot to add I have an Amazon Sword at the back that is growing faster than anything else...new leaf every other day or so.

I'll check out your regimen when I get home later and probably get back to you with questions later. Thanks again for your help. :thm:

[Timmain42]

No problem. I might be absent from the Forum this weekend (I work on computers all day, so the weekends I don't use them much), but I'll be back around on Monday.