Thanks! :woot:
I finally found a setting on my D70 that seems to work in my lighting situation, and with a macro lens.
75 gallon Planted Office Tank Journal
- Thread starter geekpryde
- Start date
Thanks! :woot:
I finally found a setting on my D70 that seems to work in my lighting situation, and with a macro lens.
Yeah, I have read about this before. My question is, what happens during water changes? I do a solid 50%, so wont my filters always lose suction and have to be re-primed, since the water will drop below the hole? I would love to be proactive about a tank disaster, as I am sure it will happen at some point in the next few years, but before I drill I need to know the downside. Thanks for posting, I have been meaning to get around to researching this.
Do your barbs try to make a meal out of your shrimps/snails? I have tiger barbs and am thinking of adding some shrimps/snails.
Great pics. This has been a very enjoyable thread. Although I don't post much, I do read it very often
The algae you have a picture of in the fourth picture is Staghorn I believe. I had the same issue. I was dosing Excel at the time and when I tripled my dose the Staghorn turned red and died off a few days later. I believe it's caused due to low CO2 or excessive mulm/waste in the tank.
Keep up the good work!
Great pics. This has been a very enjoyable thread. Although I don't post much, I do read it very often
The algae you have a picture of in the fourth picture is Staghorn I believe. I had the same issue. I was dosing Excel at the time and when I tripled my dose the Staghorn turned red and died off a few days later. I believe it's caused due to low CO2 or excessive mulm/waste in the tank.
Keep up the good work!
Purigen came in today, here are the pictures:
What does Purigen actually look like?
Now you know. :grinyes:
Mesh Bag, good quality, I recommend it:
I used the zip-tie that came with the bag and also another one to be safe.
I rinsed the bag of about 500ml Purigen under water, per instructions. Then tossed into the canister filter. This is the order I put it in, Blue Pad->2 White Pads -> Purigen sack -> 2 White Pads -> Black Pad.
Doing my 50% water change, then I will hook Filter#2 back up. Fingers crossed Purigen wont destroy my tank or it will be :cry:.
What does Purigen actually look like?
Now you know. :grinyes:
Mesh Bag, good quality, I recommend it:
I used the zip-tie that came with the bag and also another one to be safe.
I rinsed the bag of about 500ml Purigen under water, per instructions. Then tossed into the canister filter. This is the order I put it in, Blue Pad->2 White Pads -> Purigen sack -> 2 White Pads -> Black Pad.
Doing my 50% water change, then I will hook Filter#2 back up. Fingers crossed Purigen wont destroy my tank or it will be :cry:.
tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
When you do a WC the water in the tube stays in the tube. When you "restart" there will be some air bubbles but not very much. You do not have to re-prime.
Okay I think I will do this. What size drill do you recommend? 1/8 inch? smaller bigger?
Tiger barbs have very different behavior from Cherry Barbs. I have never had tigers barbs, although they are the schooling fish that always caught my eye and got me into Freshwater. Cherry Barbs do not bother snails, although I cant be sure they dont go after shrimp. I have never seen any of my fish go after the shrimp, but the rainbows do get curious when the shrimp scamper across the top of the water.
Great pics. This has been a very enjoyable thread. Although I don't post much, I do read it very often
Thank you. Keep reading and I will keep posting pics. :grinno:
I think you are correct. I am almost positive Staghorn is most of my algae problems. It is now getting worse again, not better. I really dont think I have low co2, but maybe I need to revisit this. I keep the drop checker in the "green" during the day, at night co2 is off, there is some degassing, and in the morning the green is slighly blue, and then the co2 kicks back in? Is the on/off cycle of co2 causing issues? I know Tom Barr says to turn off co2 at night.
I have not tried dosing excel to kill algae, maybe I will.
The much more likely culprit to me is "excessive mulm/waste in the tank". I also read this on James Planted Tank site. I certainly have too much mulm sitting on the substrate, it just doesnt go away. I have 2 x eheim classic 2217 going, I have purigen now, I do a full blown 50% water change every single Friday. I mix up the mulm mess by waving my hands and getting as much out during the water change as I can. There is still too much in tank! :mad2: After doing yesturdays water changes, I mixed up the tank again to see how much was left, and there is a ton! I think I need to rip out about 1/2 the plants, and get the vaccum down into the eco-complete. I know we are not supposed to do this on planted tanks, but how else am I going to get rid of all this waste? What the heck is mulm anyway?! :swear:
Are there mulm eating fish?
myswtsins
Global Moderator
Tank looks great & I love all these pictures! Especially the water change sequence, it was fun to see how someone else does it.
How many bulbs are you currently running?
Your CO2 is on a timer right? Have the CO2 come on before the light so when when the lights come on there is already a steady supply of CO2 for the plants to use, usually about an hour will do it but find what works best for your tank. This should help with that BBA I saw too. Remove any staghorn that you can, even trimming highly affected leaves (usually old leaves) & keep up your EI dosing and general maintenance and it will go away.
When you do your WC you should be hovering over the surface of the substrate to suck up the mulm & even doing light gravel vacing where there are not plants is a good idea. Eco-complete is very irregular so I have noticed that LOTS of stuff gets trapped in it. After awhile (6mos-1yr) the substrate will be more self sustaining but for now it needs your help.
Just wondering, it looks like you do not have the end cap on your filter spray bar so that most of the water comes out the end of the bar instead of through to little holes, do you?
How many bulbs are you currently running?
Your CO2 is on a timer right? Have the CO2 come on before the light so when when the lights come on there is already a steady supply of CO2 for the plants to use, usually about an hour will do it but find what works best for your tank. This should help with that BBA I saw too. Remove any staghorn that you can, even trimming highly affected leaves (usually old leaves) & keep up your EI dosing and general maintenance and it will go away.
When you do your WC you should be hovering over the surface of the substrate to suck up the mulm & even doing light gravel vacing where there are not plants is a good idea. Eco-complete is very irregular so I have noticed that LOTS of stuff gets trapped in it. After awhile (6mos-1yr) the substrate will be more self sustaining but for now it needs your help.
Just wondering, it looks like you do not have the end cap on your filter spray bar so that most of the water comes out the end of the bar instead of through to little holes, do you?
tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
I think 1/8 is fine, you just want a very small hole anyway. Make sure that hole is about 1" or so BELOW the water line---there is no turning back.
D70 and a macro lens? I'm jealous. I've been thinking about getting a macro lens for my D40. Do you notice a big difference in your ability to take shots of your fishy friends? Right now I'm just using the standard 18-55mm lens that came with the camera. A lens can be quite an investment. Which one did you purchase?
