Magicide

Had to run out of town for a week and my sample water was drained. Have to start the testing again. I should know in a couple of days.

It's in Edmonton.

I have the lighting for 3.5 watts/gallon but I haven't built a top for the tank to support it yet. I have been trying to find the best chemicals for macro dosing of nutrients but I haven't found the right ones yet that are also easily available locally. As far as my PO4 problem I have some gravel and stones soaking in some fresh tap water to see if they are what is causing the problem, I'll let it go another 24 hours before I check on it.

The Geo Systems sound like a good deal until you actually start looking around. I bought the Geo System 120 for alot more money than I should have had to spend. Look in the Edmonton/Calgary Buy Sell or just look at what's being sold by people on the forums here. For the amount you pay for a Geo System you can get a much larger setup by picking your own parts from people selling used. I just got a 75 gallon with stand, lights and filter for $300 on Buy Sell. A Geo System tank that size would cost a fortune. Just make sure you clean out any used tanks so you don't import diseases and you are fine.

I have the Geo System White River Gravel in my tank. The rocks are Gray Speckled Beach Pebbles. I have Peat Moss in my filter but it doesn't appear to be decaying so I don't think that's what is causing the excess PO4.

Try the picture again, I was fooling around with it a bit. I don't use fert tabs. The thing that gets me is that even if it was the wood or rock why would the PO4 levels not go down after a water change? It would have to be VERY high to still measure above the test kits maximum levels after so many water changes in such a short time. Those rocks are from the LFS, there's 9 of them scattered throughout the tank.

Here's a blurry picture of my tank. I need to learn how to change the shutter speed on the camera.

The only thing I add besides the water conditioner is the fertilizer. Process of elimination says it's probably over feeding or decaying plants. But I feed them twice a day with NLS and only as much as they can take in a minute without any touching the bottom. As far as the plants go I trim dead leaves as I see them and inspect them all thoroughly every week when I do water changes. Nutrafin Plant Gro - Fertilizer for freshwater plants - Fulfills the nutritive requirements of plants - Complete micronutrient formulation - Supplies aquatic plants with the necessary elements to promote optimal plant growth - Replenishes valuable nutrients - Contains beneficial trace elements - Promotes vibrant colors - 16 fl oz. (473 mL) - 0.15 – 0 – 0 - Guaranteed Analysis: - Total Nitrogen (N): 0.15% - --0.15% Water Soluble Organic Nitrogen (Cheleated agent) - Iron (Fe): 0.26% o 0.26% Chelated Iron - Manganese (Mn): 0.05% o 0.05% Chelated and soluble Manganese - Zinc (Zn): 0.003% o 0.003% Chelated Zinc - Boron (B ): 0.0005% - Copper (Cu): 0.0005% o 0.0005% Chelated Copper - Molybdate (Mo): 0.0007% o 0.0007% Chelated Molybdate

When I did it with the aquarium water it needed 15 drops to get the colour change. Using the tap water it needed 12 drops. I tried the tap water twice tonight and the aquarium water has needed 15 drops to change since I first started testing.. I also did a PO4 test on the tap water and it came out negative. I'd love to know why the aquarium water test shows massive levels of PO4 even after so many water changes. Here is a picture of the KH test I am doing. Maybe I'm just evaluating the KH results wrong.

Other people have more experience so they can say otherwise but I think having a test kit is quite important. Even with water changes I still like to keep track of the pH, KH, Chelated Iron, PO4 and Nitrate levels. This way if something goes wrong I can go back and watch for any changes that have occured rather than hoping for the best and stabbing in the dark for a solution if something does go bad.

Nope, no well water for me. I did the test on tap water and it came out with a KH of 12. Now I'm really curious as to what is causing this and if it can harm my family and I?

I have been doing KH tests for a few weeks now and the results are always so high as to be completely unbelievable. I have a pH of 6.6 which I know to be correct. The KH according to my Hagen test kit is 150 ppm (15 drops x 10 per drop). Using the CO2 calculator this shows me as having a 63.3 ppm CO2 reading which should be lethal. Instead the fish are completely happy with none gasping for air. Can anyone tell me what could be throwing off the KH readings? I'm thinking it might be a faulty test kit but I don't have another one on hand to check this with. The other thing is my PO4 readings. On the Hagen test kit it has been maxing out the PO4 readings for the kit since the day I got it. At first I did multiple emergency 50% water changes and added a Phosphate absorber in my filter but the now with 10 water changes behind me the level still reads maxed out and the fish aren't showing any of the effects of excess phosphate levels.

The only difference in the DIY system and my pressure system is the source. I don't see why you couldn't hook this up to a yeast generator. You wouldn't get as many bubbles of course but once it got going it should work just the same. They have them at Aquagiant for $15 or less depending on the model you get.

Yes, it's a design like this one. The head is a bit narrower but the bubbles it makes are excellent. The only thing I don't like, in fact I very much hate, is that there is no easy way to attach it to the back of the tank. I had to take suction cups from my old Hagen ladder and use fishing line to attach them to the Aquagiant diffusor. Other than that though they are far superior to the ladder. I currently have the bubble stream going up into the filter outflow a few inches below the water surface where the bubbles have all but disappeared into the water. Is this spreading it through the water or is the agitation just causing it to escape out of the tank? The surface water itself is smooth as glass.

Do you have pics of this diffuser? I"d be interested to see it. I'll see if I can find it online, otherwise we are getting the old man a digital camera for Christmas.