Garhan

On some of the other sites, there are several to many complaints about Eco-complete boosting P04 levels. In some cases it also still exsists after rinsing the gravel thouroghly. You might want to do a test in two cups of tap water. 1 with just tap water and a P04 reading if it exsists at all. The second cup place well rinsed eco complete into the cup and do a P04 reading. After 48 hours do P04 readings again on both cups. Garhan

I did several KH tests on Edmonton water recently. It consistantly shows a KH of 5-6 degrees. So unless there is something else you are doing to your tank water or have something in your tank leaching out, this would otherwise not make any sense. http://www.epcor.ca/pages/water/WaterQuali...ly/wqdaily.html

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/Gar...tedtank0001.jpg <center> http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/Gar...tedtank0005.jpg http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/Gar...tedtank0008.jpg

LOL Everyone, thank you for the kind words. Milan that plant is http://www.tropica.com/productcard.asp?id=023 Alterna renecki In Calgary it is either at Milan's house or Pieces if the stock is fresh. In Edmonton and well worth the cost savings is Aquagiant. But call first to see when his shipment is in town. Cheers Hello Shelly....how have you been.. No guru just fancy plants...

I just took some new photo's to share with everyone. This is 2 growout tanks. That I use to culture new and old plants for my 2 show tanks. http://photobucket.com/albums/b112/Garhan/...%20Out%20Tanks/ I am finding that this is the best way to raise plants for the other 2 tanks. The fert program is EI, but I am mixing Dry Ferts, instead of a solution. 50% w/c every 7 days with pressurized C02 system. One tank has the new C02 regulator I purchased from Best Lab Deals and I am very pleased with the system. It works like a charm. Also bought a new toy from BLD. It is a electronic PH meter, great for instant PH results.

Where do you store the C02 reator as opposed to the position of the tank. Example. Is the C02 far below the highest point of the tank, where the tubing line enters the water ? Garhan

The commonly recommended treatments are: 1) Removal of contaminated leaves/stones/substrate. 2) Disinfectant dip for contaminated plants/objects. Two to three minute bath in a solution of 1 part bleach to 19 parts water. Follow with a rinse in freshwater. 3) Ensure appropriate fertilizer levels for healthy plant growth. 4) Increase carbon dioxide levels to upper limit of safety (around 30 ppm). 5) Introduce Siamese Algae-Eaters (SAEs). Algae-eating shrimp have also been reported to eat red algae. 6) Copper treatment. To effect the treatment, copper concentration should be maintained at 0.5 ppm for 7-10 days. The copper can be added as copper sulfate solution or as other copper compounds. There are several aquarium products which can be used including the medicines designed to kill Oodinium, a parasitic algae. A copper test kit is needed to be sure the needed concentration levels are up and more copper may be needed after the first day because plants and other organics will absorb or bind with the chemical. To reduce dissolved organics, it can also help to first pre-filter the water with carbon or do a large water change prior to adding copper in order to improve the effectiveness of the treatment. In general, the fishes should be removed and only returned after the copper concentration is again below detection limits. This is especially important for cyprinids and live bearers which are particularly sensitive to copper. Same is true for snails and other invertebrates. Some fishes including cichlids are relatively tolerant to copper and may be allowed to remain in the aquarium if difficult to net out.

I just returned from Aquagiant and there first shipment of plants are in the store. . The pricing of the Sword plants is unbelievably affordable : The plants are in excellent conditon. Theer are several speices of swords that are 7.99 each, that would sell for 20-30.00 each at most other shops. This is just great. Cheers, Garhan If you are purchasing enough plants it would be well affordable to drive up from southern Alberta to take in a good opportunity to buy these plants, it is that good of a deal. Especially for anyone starting up a new 60-150 gallon tank.

West of Dad's 1 block there is a hydroponics shop that most of use buy from. They carry KN03, KH2P04 and K2S04, TE and Chelated Iron ferts

That would lean towards PPS method. Give only as much as required and add more of short falls.

Or dont tell the wife.....lol Ive had them many times...my wife still hasnt heard about them.

Hi John, I have a 10 gallon planted running now for several months. I have been using a combination of PPS and EI with both DIY Co2 and Excel. I know this may seem complicated as to how I do this setup. But it is more of an experiment. I drive my ferts very hard and run 7.6 watts on this tank. So there are lots of ways to do small tanks successfully. To keep it simple is the best and with 3 watts per gallon either EI or PPS will work for you with Excel as the carbon booster. Keep in mind that in your filter you will only run sponges and Bio rings, no other chemical or biological media is needed. Especially so for charcoal media (not required and pulls out ferts). Give it a go, you'll really enjoy playing around. Read the info that is pinned on Plants 101, you will need that as a base to target ferts and carbon levels (carbon level may or may not be necassary depending on which system you use- C02 pressurized/DIY or Excel. Enjoy. Garhan

Third

I currently hold several BN pleco's and Ameca splendids, which are great algae eaters and spawn like guppies. The AS's I mean.

Currently your P04 level is fine. But where did the nitrate go overnight ? That is curious. Lets get the source water parameters and can you contact your water supplier and ask them if they are buffering there water.

Dont be offended by my statement it was not directed at you. It was merely a comment that it is important to do some very basic things. First dont think with the fish side of the brain, as we all likley started in this hobby as fish enthusiasts. There is very few people in the LFS shops that know anything about raising high quality plants. When is the last time you seen a long term established planted tank in a LFS that is simply stunning....? This is also evident to there planted tanks 2-3 weeks after there shipment came in. (Yes I know that they are setup to sell quick turns on the stock, but then so are there fish.) Because what is left is in extremely poor condition, but they will still ask you for your 29.00 for the pathetic that aggetate the surface like a waterfall with minimal light and usually no C02 intergrated to there tanks. And ask them how often they feed there plants (NPK dosing) They will look at you as if your stupid, but are you really. Try not feeding the fish in the LFS for 2-3 weeks before they sell and see what you get from the customer. If we wont buy shocked fish from the LFS, then why would we buy shocked plants. Most of use can not recognize shocked plants. So at this point we are already at a disadvantage to succesfully grow out the plants properly without putting lots of light, food, and C02 to the plants to get useable new growth. You where absolutely right not getting the bubble wall system. Im not really familiar with it. So my imagination is kicking in here. Surface aggetation is a no, no. If the AC system is modified so as to not splash or break the surface tention , then that is good. Diffusing the C02 allows better saturation into the water colum. So here run it into the AC intake or into a small powerhead venturi and allow it to mist into the water column. As for LFS staff at the place you were purchasing ask them a simple question like. What is our source water KH,PH and such. If they dont know on a dailey bases the average measurement the city is achieving, then what do they know about taking it to the next step in the plant horticultural aquascaping knowledge required by todays customers. Need to know the basics first wouldnt you agree !!! All dosing of plants each tank starts at this point- source water parameters.

Perpetual Preservation System, which Tom Barr was intially into through APC. EI is a spin off from that system of fertilization. I will see if I can find the notes that show the difference between the two systems. What is ironic is that both PPS and EI agree to relatively the same target levels for NPK and C02 levels.+/- a few ppm. But there should be a +/- tolerance on each compound as margin of error for overdosing orsource water changes.

http://www.epcor.ca/pages/water/WaterQuali...ly/wqdaily.html Here is the water parameters from the tap in Edmonton up to the 24th. What is the hardness of EPCOR tap water? EPCOR water fluctuates between 130-190 mg/L expressed as Calcium Carbonate, with an average of 163 mg/L. Washing machine manufacturers often refer to "Hardness in Grains"; the hardness in grains per American gallon is 7.5-11. Edmonton water is classed as moderate in hardness.

Milan, your right on the money. There is something wrong witht the KH. Tap in Edmonton runs between 5 and 6 KH. Bring your Potassium level up also after you adjust the nitrates, and stay for now to the lower side of just above 10ppm. You can increase Nitrate levels to quickly and that might shock your fish. Last year I moved slowly away from PPMd to EI and PPS. If you need info on these systems of fertilizing let me know.

Best Lab Deals has a C02 regulator, Solenoid switch and bubble counter all built into 1 unit at $69.95 USD, plus 16.00 Fedex international ground shipping charge. Most of the expert plant entusiasts around the world use this system. https://www.bestlabdeals.com/ProductDetails...uctCode=MIL0046 This is the system I am upgrading to. Garhan

I have toi laugh, first of all increase your bubble count to 1 per second. One every 45 seconds doesnt cut it to get the rate up to where it is required. Milan has shown a great picture of how a hi tech tank should be setup. The laugh is we all learned in elementary school that plants need light water and C02 to survive. Kind of like raisding fish they need food, water, and light believe it or not to survive. So why wouldnt we as fish/plant keepers do our best and provide each life organizim the best opportunity to flourish. It like raising fish in a tank full of water and not feeding them. Plants need the same...otherwise dont waste your money on them. Sorry dont mean to be critical, it just so simple to raise plants as well as it is to raise fish. Garhan

Boost your Nirate level to 10-20 ppm. KN03 is used to boost nitrates. Here .25 teaspoon raises 20 gallons of water to 11.25 ppm. Your plants might not be taking in any nutients if your Nitrate reading is corect. What size of tank? Kh level is high also, it need to be reduced to 5-6 KH. Double check your KH reading again. KH is reduced with R/O water do a 50% Water change to adjust KH if it is a true reading of 14 degrees.Increase your Pottasium level also with K2S04 where .25 teaspoon in 20 gallons of water will give you 8.25 ppm Pottasium. The k needs to be between 10-20 ppm also. Garhan

:welcome: welcome to AA, happy to see another plant enthusiast. I liked some of your plant photos. Especially the different moses and the HC, which is hard to come by here in Alberta. :poo: If we only had someone here(LFS) that would caryy HC, I would be really happy. It would make a great foreground plant for the planted tank contest. Garhan

Depends on the bottle size.$150.00 is the cost of a new or recylced 5lb. C02 bottle plus the 9.00 dollars to fill it up. Most regulators in Canada wether specifically for C02 or a Mig regulator for a gas/acetelyne bottle runs from 150.00 up to 225.00 depending on the brand. Give use more detail on the equipment and we will let you know. Garhan

The plants will take up some of the P04 nutrients that are created by the feses and feeding. So they will have some nutients to survive. A plant like hornwort should do reasonably well provided that the tank is not to warm. (+/-) 80 degrees F.