tank problems

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parkle414

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Sep 20, 2003
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I have a 55g tank that I recently have planted. I have a couple of issues that I need some help with. First here is what I have. I have a triple tube all glass lite for 90watts and a 96watt power compact. I am using injected co2 and flourish trace along with potassium, iron, and phosphate as recomended. I have a flourite like substrate made by ada(amano products). My filtration is an eheim 2226 whith efhimech and efhibstrate whith some peat. The first problem is a large ph rise and fall. The substrate lowers my ph to about 6.5 on its own (from 7.4 out of tap) and the c02 lowers the ph even further to below 6.0. At night (co2 is off-on timer with light) the ph rises again to about 7. The problem is that when I added 20 harlaquins that all but 3 died off (my first massive fish kill in about 4 years of fishkeeping) and I think it was due to the massive shifts in ph. Should I add coral to the filter or change kh with baking soda? Can I keep the co2 where it is but adjust some other way?
My second problem is the alge that I am getting. It is a dark green alge and has overtaken many of the leaves on the plants. I can't seem to get rid of it. I have purchased more sae's, small cats and amano shrimp recently but it is difficult to combat. Any suggestions?
THanks,
Parks
 
Hi,

I suspect that the pH swings are the result of low KH. Increasing it by using sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) should fix that problem. Do a search to determine how much to use.

The other problem sounds like blue green algae (BGA). If it is affecting the plant growth in a new tank I'd suggest manually removing as much as possible and then dosing with erythromycin, an antibiotic. One source of that is Mardel. Use it at 1/2 the recommended dose. That should clean it up fast.

If BGA occurs in an established tank there are other issues to be addressed.

Good luck!

Bill
 
I change the water twice a week. Now that I have a python I change about a third of the water and then re-dose flourish and such. What about coral? Has anyon had success using this to buffer ph flux?
 
Also,
Dose increasing the kh cause the co2 to dissipate or otherwise leave the system? I know they are inter related and I don't want to loose co2 in the system.
 
Exactly what is your kH out of the tap(test after left standing for a minimum of 2 hours) and in the tank itself?
This is a subjective question, but how heavily planted is the tank and with what? Plant mass is important, especially in a newly set up tank. And, you've got a bunch of light over the tank.
Was this an established tank that you just planted or started recently from scratch?
Crushed coral is ideal for adjusting and setting kH, but it is slow acting. As Bill recommends, baking soda will bring it up quickly.
Also add 3 tbsp. of coral(in a filter bag) to your filter for long term buffer.
You can adjust your bubble rate down temporarily to avoid poisoning/stressing the fish until you can obtain a kH of 3.0 - 3.5.
kH, for our purposes, gives you the amount of buffer in the water table. It will keep the pH from crashing. As stated above, it has no affect on CO2. Once you get your 3.5kH you will be able to inject 24/7 for 25-30ppm, with a minimal pH swing over night.
In most cases, new plants do not need to be fertilized immediately when planted into the tank. They have stores of nutrients built up which last a week or two. Cutting back on the nutrients temporarily and cutting down on the lighting(the 90watt NO) will also help with the algae issues. Then when the kH is where you want it and the CO2 can be eased up, you can start dosing lightly and eventually add back your lighting to full capacity.
The recommended site above is like a bible for many of us with regard to many topics. Study it hard......there may be a snap quiz at the end of the week:) :).

Len
 
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