Low tech to High tech tank conversion

[DrNo]

After researching topics at the site for several weeks, I finally pulled the trigger this morning and joined the forum. I'd like to get some additional opinions from fellow users regarding a possible conversion for my new planted tank (now an infant 4 weeks old and counting).

Initially, my intent was to set-up a low tech, planted tank. However, after some due dilgence and after observing the plant's recent growth, I am strongly considering making the jump to a high light/CO2 injection aquarium due to existing pH and other considerations.

Here are the existing tank parameters:

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125 gallon planted aquarium
Fluval 405 filter: media includes prefilter, Clearmax resin, 2 trays of Biomax and polishing pad.

Temperature: 80-82 degrees
T5 GLO High intensity flourescent lighting, ~1.4 watts per gallon

Pangea Flatrock background
Decoration: Several small pieces of driftwood

pH: stable at 8.2 (more on this below......)
General hardness: Extremely low

Water changes: ~35% twice weekly with surface substrate vacuuming
Substrate: Flourite, 2.5-3 inches deep

Plant Nutrients: Flourish Excel, Flourish Nitrogen, Flourish Iron
(conservative dosing still under investigation)
Plants: Assorted, including amazon sword, anubias nana, brazillian sword, green onion, micro sword, rotala, etc. All species subject to change
CO2 injection: None

Fish: 2 african cichlids (having difficulty identifying species), 2 yo-yo loaches (hitchhiked home with plant water!), pangasius catfish (7 inches), bichir polypterus (7 inches)
Diet: Red bloodworms- 2 cubes, once daily

Ammonia: Stable at 0 ppm for life of tank (thankfully, given the high pH)
Nitrite: Stable at 0 ppm for life of tank
Nitrate: 5-10 ppm
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I am experiencing moderate bacteria blooms consistent with new tank syndrome, and am beginning to see considerable growth of brown algae and green spot algae. I did not bleach the plants prior to tank insertion, and I have no doubt that much of the algae came home with the plants I purchased. Naturally, the goal is to optimize plant growth so additional micronutrients will not be available for the algae. However, I have serious doubts about being able to make that happen with such basic water. The pH is stable at 8.2 (identical to the water coming out of the tap) and it is extremely soft due to the home's water softener. RO is not a reasonable option given the water volumes involved.

The fish are extremely comfortable but plant growth is only moderate; I probably have 4 ppm CO2 in the tank at best given the water's softness and the existing pH. I also know that consistently adding buffering agents to lower the pH is a losing battle.... my best option appears to be to inject CO2 and to help the plants while simultaneously enjoying the lowering effects on the pH. I suspect that carbon is rate limiting in this set-up, and the plants would prefer more neutral water regardless.

Does anyone see any red flags I have missed? Does CO2 really represent my best option at this point? I enjoy doing water changes but can not stand algae growth once the tank is properly balanced. If I proceed, I will select a fully automatic injection system with pH probe. They don't call it $$$... I mean CO2... injection for nothing.

Thanks in advance for replies.

 

[jmhart]

A comple of questions.

Is your home's water softener salt based? Most water softeners replace TDS with salt ions, which can have a negative impact on both plants and fish. If you have a way to use unsoftened water, I would recommend this. In generaly, plants prefer water with a medium hardness anyway. My water out of the tap is as soft as it gets(not softened, it is naturally that way in my location) and in my high tech tank, I add GH booster to raise the hardness to a desireable level for the plants.

You didn't mention anything about your lighting? What kind of lights are you using? What the's spectrum, wattage, quantity, and type of the bulbs? In larger tanks the classic "watts per gallon" "rule"(ehem, guideline) breaks down and therefore more power may be getting to your plants than you think...which could be the source of your algae issues and would require CO2.


Given that your tank is currently low tech, very little dosing, if any, is required, and therefore the excess of nutrients could also be your algae issue.


Going high tech is a whole new adventure, however, I very much recommend it. I think you would certainly appreciate the effects that pressurized co2 would have on your tank. If I were you, I wouldn't go too high on the lighting. I would try to put about 200 watts of good ~7000k lighting over the tank. This would give you good growth, but not out of control, and it would be low enough to keep algae at a minimum.

 

[Fordtrannyman]

Jeffrey hit most of the points I thought of while reading your post.
A diligent dosing regimen using dry ferts is another thing to take into account if you haven't already.
I would also encourage you to use tap water or at least look into the salt content in the softener.

 

[DrNo]

Thanks for the comments... lighting is T5 GLO HO flourescent.

1 double lamp 48' unit, 40 watt with one LifeGlo and one PowerGlo lamp.
1 double lamp 24' unit, 24 watt with one LifeGlo and one PowerGlo lamp.

Interesting, I didn't know that the watts/gallon guideline broke down for larger tank volumes... could indeed be why the algae has taken off. Regardless, its a great reason to pull the trigger on the CO2 as the tank looks much better visually with the enhanced ligthing. Looks like I may need to add one more lighting unit though to get close to the 200 watts you're suggesting.

Soft water is indeed product of a salt-based Culligan unit... I'll make some further inquiries. Much of the water in Tucson, without softening, has a hardness of around 40 which quickly destroys plumbing fixtures and water tanks; tastes like 5 crushed aspirins per glass.

Looks like CO2 is on its way... I'll post shots after install is completed.

 

[jmhart]

As far as lighting is concerned, this blog entry may interest you:

http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2006/11/amanos-ideal-light-levels-revealed.html


From that article, there is a link where someone has analyzed Amano's tanks and developed an equation to tell you how much light Amano would/does use over a particular size tank. The link is from the article, but here it is again:

http://www.fitchfamily.com/lighting.html


From that last link, for a high light tank, you should shoot for about 209 watts over your 125g tank.


Now, the question becomes, what spectrum and what type of bulb. I can only guess that Amano uses something like an 8800k bulb, since that's the spectrum that ADA markets.

As far as type of bulb, your guess is as good as mine. But I think it's reasonable to assume that the bulbs aren't power compacts or CFLs.

 

[DrNo]

That's an awesome article...thanks for posting the link. Interesting to see how there are plenty of tanks by Amano that are well over or well under the fitted curve though. Still, its easy for me to add on another double T5 GLO HO unit to get to get to 204 W.

Purchased the fully automatic CO2 injection set-up from Dr. Foster and Smith... ouch.