Help me dial in my high tech tank

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

Sean W.

AC Members
Aug 8, 2013
305
1
0
32
Whats up guys,


EDIT: this turned into a long read, for those who read all the way through and help me, thank you very much!


I started a iwugami style 29 gallon planted tank about 3 weeks ago, cycled basically over night by adding mature bio media from other tanks. There are 3 types of plants, baby tears, dwarf baby tears and S. Repens.


its current stocking is:


22 neon tetra
6 Ottos
4 ghost shrimp
2 tiger shrimp
1 powder blue dwarf gourami


Its parameters:


29 gallons
standard 10 gallon kit HOB filter @ 100GPH packed to the gills with ceramic cylinders bio media
Temp: 78.4°F
PH: 6.8
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
Ammonia: 0
Phosphate: 0
General Hardness (GH): 15°
Carbonate Hardness (KH): 10°
Co2: 2.05bps
glass top


Substrate:


1" base of original florite and 1.5" Eco-complete black fine substrate cap


fert/ dosing schedule:


None


Light duration:


9+/- hours


Light type:


6x ebay Gu10 spot lights producing 6.4Watts and 560 lumens each, 6500K temperature


My goal:


Obviously first and foremost to have a perfect environment for my fish to thrive, but equally so i want to see my plants pearl like crazy, to make it look like reverse rain with the amount of pearling, i love that look and when i first planted it, within the first hour of the plants being in the tank they were pearling like crazy, and since i turned the lights off on day one, they have not pearled since.


My problems:


Like i mentioned, the plants aren't pearling which is very frustrating. I havent had any fish die except two ghost shrimp, and the parameters are telling me the tank is fully cycled, so i dont know what the problem could be.


Also, i am having an algae problem, what i believe to be BGA algae is really taking over the substrate and the dwarf baby tears on it.


My questions:


- it is my understanding that any surface agitation will dissipate any Co2 making the Co2 being injected into the tank useless for the plants, so i have the water line really high, all the way up to the brim of the tank so that the return from the HOB filter is under water so there is no splashing. But last night when i googled " how to get plants to pearl " i read that there needs to be oxygen and high circulation in the tank for the plants to absorb Co2 to create O2 (pearl).... then my brain exploded and i went to bed...very confused on this


- as far as my BGA problem i read that a manually removing as much as possible then doing a 3 day black out will solve the problem. im worried tho that 3 days of no light and co2 will melt my baby tears... is there an alternate solution?


- I am am thinking about switching from my DIY led setup to a dual T5HO fixture that way i can read up on the PAR of the fixture so i know where exactly i am on the light scale, low, med or high, but i feel like with my lights im in the high end, but i have no way ( other than purchasing a par meter ) to know for sure. I am thinking about getting the ebay oddysea 30" Dual T5HO 6700K fixture, ive read mixed reviews, people say its awesome while others say its garbage. any input here would be nice.


- I feel like my KH and GH are really high and i am thinking about trying to get an RO/DI unit to eliminate this problem, thoughts on that please





I guess that is all for now, Thank you for any input!


here is a pic of the algae im having:


 

Mgamer20o0

BobsTropicalPlants.com
Staff member
Jun 4, 2003
31,221
19
89
www.bobstropicalplants.com
but equally so i want to see my plants pearl like crazy, to make it look like reverse rain with the amount of pearling
you might need to add ferts as well... get a drop checker to help messure the co2 levels.
plants aren't pearling which is very frustrating.
they dont always pearl.... some do it more then others. there are things you can do to tweak to set up to help it.
Also, i am having an algae problem, what i believe to be BGA algae is really taking over the substrate and the dwarf baby tears on it.
i am guessing the tanks not balanced.... think you might have a good deal of light on a long time but not enough plants growing to compete with the algae.

- it is my understanding that any surface agitation will dissipate any Co2 making the Co2 being injected into the tank useless for the plants, so i have the water line really high, all the way up to the brim of the tank so that the return from the HOB filter is under water so there is no splashing. But last night when i googled " how to get plants to pearl " i read that there needs to be oxygen and high circulation in the tank for the plants to absorb Co2 to create O2 (pearl).... then my brain exploded and i went to bed...very confused on this
you can add a small power head to help with circulation. though you dont need high circulation to pearl. pearling is the over saturation of o2 in the water

- I feel like my KH and GH are really high and i am thinking about trying to get an RO/DI unit to eliminate this problem, thoughts on that please
i wouldnt mess with it.


personally if it was my tank i would get a few faster growing plants in there for now. i would also lower the hours the light is on maybe even raise it and see what happens. the whole key is balance. it can take time to find that right spot.
 

Turbosaurus

AC Members
Dec 26, 2008
705
1
18
Yonkers, NY
Plants need CO2, light and FOOD..


Plants metabolize food and CO2 with the energy from the lights- O2 is the exhaust- the exhalation. It readily dissolves in water. your plants need to grow so much, they need to metabloze so much food and carbon dioxide that they supersaturate the water with their exhaust and it begins to come out of solution. (that's what the article means when it says you need a lot of oxygen- its not something you are supposed to add- it something the plants have to do- and they have to do A LOT of growing for that to happen) Not all plants will do this, and most will not do it under conditions where fish can survive.

you have a shot with the HM, it might but you need to up your lighting- way way way up- and start dosing fertilizers.
You want pearling, get some riccia. Upside down rain? thats a tall order... riccia is the only thing I've ever had that will do it- and I run high tech tanks.
you have a very long way to go, either way. Pressurized CO2 does not make a high tech tank. Its required, but there is more to it.

You have roughly the same amount of light as a single t-5 tube would provide. If you want pearling- you will need 3-4x that.

You also need to dose. 0 phosphates is one glaring deficiency
no dosing means food shortages which means slow or no growing- and you got it, no pearling.

The problem is, you need it to all kinda happen together- plants need all three in proper ratios to flourish. One or the other wont work.

The good news is your hardness is fine- dont mess with it. Ca and Mg are some of the minerals (micros) plants need to grow, and you dont have plants that would require soft water. If the fish are happy, its fine the way it is- spend the RO money on lights.

Dont bother with the powerhead- it will actually delay pearling by evening out o2 concentrations in the water- picture the gas bubbles like sugar on the bottom of an ice tea- if you stir it- more will dissolve.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store