McTurtle Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 Yep, I'm going the EI route. I've been skimping a little on the dosing since my plants were small/ tank wasn't fully planted. Now I think it can probably handle the full dose. CO2 is usually 2 bps. Maybe I'll try to up it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 If you're going 10-12hrs of light, you'll get amazing growth and will likely end up in the 5-7 bbl/sec range. If your stem plants become too much to handle, switch some out for Crypts and swords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted August 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 I've upped the light to 9hrs and the bubble count to 3/sec. Plants seem happy. The Nesaea crassicaulis is collecting a lot of algae on the lower leaves. I'm hoping the otos I'm planning to add tomorrow will help munch it up. I removed another piece of driftwood/ java fern from the left side and replanted most of the left side of the tank. I'm pretty happy with it, but I need a background plant for the left corner. Problem is that corner is mostly gravel instead of eco-complete because I had planned for the driftwood to sit on top of it. Any suggested for a tall plant that could take up most of it's nutrients from the water? Black corys are getting braver but they seem really fat! I'm feeding 1 hikari algae wafer or northfin wafer per night. 2 guppies and 6 catfish feed on it and it's gone by morning. Does that sound about right? I also put in a tip of a toothpick of microworms for the CPDs but they also pick up some of the wafer that's kicked up into the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted August 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 OK, no more plants allowed. I wanted one plant for the back corner and I ended up with ... 4! I haven't looked up the names of them yet. One is a red lily looking plant, one has broad red leaves and an amazing magenta colour, one has small leaves with pink colouring and the fourth was free because it is so beat up, but is green with very fine leaves. I will post pictures and see if I can figure out the names. I'm not sure the magenta colouring is going to remain, but we'll see. I added 5 Otocinclus on Saturday and they all seem to be quite content. They have very full round bellies from scrounging all the algae. The CPDs seem to like having them around. I bought two zebra nerites, on for my 10 gallon and another for the 65 gallon. The one in the 10 gallon is happily munching and it's kind of funny to see his mouth pattern where he's scraped off the algae. The one I put in the 65 gallon I'm fairly certain did not survive. I have no idea why. The ramshorn snails in there are enormous now. There must be something the nerite is sensitive to. I forgot to put the timer on last night and the CO2 went for ~3hrs with the lights off. (Normally it's all automated but I was messing around with it a little during the day and wanted it on for a longer period). The fish seem OK. I shut it off and left the lights on for ~2hrs. Hopefully nothing to drastic occurs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 The only issue I have with nerites, is the females produce eggs even without the males. They are a pain to clean off and haven't found a fish that will eat the tough things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted August 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 More pictures, sorry they're not great since I didn't scrape the glass first. Cory cats at dinner time 2 new plants - central one = free due to excessive damage, but I think it's coming around - small pink leaves to either side also new names anyone? Giant ramshorn snail. Has doubled in size since I put him in the tank. I've never had a ramshorn snail this big. The moss on my rock seems to be doing alright but the moss I tried to get going on the driftwood that spikes up is a fail. The algae just overwhelms it. I don't know if I'm going to keep that piece of wood or try to rearrange things again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 parrots feather and cant tell what the other 2 are from the pic. probably rotala indica/rotundafolia? That pogostemon stellatus is going crazy for you eh! Just so you know, the longer you have it closer to the light, the bigger the stem will grow in diameter. I had one that was easily 1cm across in my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted August 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 parrots feather and cant tell what the other 2 are from the pic. probably rotala indica/rotundafolia? That pogostemon stellatus is going crazy for you eh! Just so you know, the longer you have it closer to the light, the bigger the stem will grow in diameter. I had one that was easily 1cm across in my tank. Yest the pogostemon stellatus seems to be very happy. It's right at the top of the tank now, so I've been trying to figure out if I should trim it back. If it will widen without trying to grow out of the water then I'll just leave it. The top most leaves are starting to take on a pink shade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 If you're still having algae problems (and dosing EI), you need more CO2. Don't worry about harming your fish with more CO2 - it doesn't have an inverse relationship with O2. In fact, when you get CO2 to a certain level, your plants won't just out-compete the algae, but will drive O2 levels up to 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted August 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 The algae levels have dropped since I upped the CO2 and extended my light period. I'm still getting some algae growth but my ferts may not have been in balance since there were floaties in the jar. Just made up a fresh batch with sterile jars/ water last night so I'll know soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 while your balancing your ferts with plant intake give metricide a try, it'll give a kick in the @$$ to get the algae out the door Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted August 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 When I was using Excel I had no algae, but it melted some of my plants. Once I hooked up the CO2 I cut out the Excel and most plants recovered. I maybe wrong, but I think metricide is just a stronger version of Excel... so I can't use it and make my plants happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 Metricide is (from memory) 1.7x the glutaraldehyde as what excel contains. Which plants melted for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 IME, some plants - like Valisnaria - that are sensitive to glutaraldehyde (Excel/metricide) can handle up to recommended dosing (follow instructions on Excel bottle); however, stuff like Riccia fluitans can't handle any. Even at 1/2 dose, or even spot treatment, you should be able to get rid of that algae w/o killing those plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted August 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2013 (edited) Well the algae problem is pretty much resolved. I've removed 99% of the java fern and moved the anubias to be in the shadow of other plants. The otos are happily munching up the rest of it. I've had a frustrating week. I lost one spotted cory do to my own stupidity. The tweezers I was using were sitting on top of the tank and I bumped them with my elbow. The of course fell into the tank and must have fallen on the poor cory. He wasn't doing much the rest of the next day and had died by the next night. I'm still mad at myself. I get attached to the little guys. I've been worrying over the others all week and when they don't come out after 20 minutes of my sitting there I really start to worry. Night before last I could only find 2 maximum, so I replanted the tank and did an extra 20% water change. Turned out he was just hiding. I ended up removing a bunch of star grass and a lot of the camboba. The camboba is growing, but it just isn't happy squished in with other plants. I have one bunch that has a clearing around it left in the tank and the rest I'm trying to rehome. The star grass, water sprite extras etc are going to their new home this afternoon. I do have some roots/stems from the pogostemon stellatus up for grabs if anyone wants them. I finally laid the driftwood down so it's not poking up so high into the tank. I also re-planted the foreground. The grass is doing very well but I think the cories have uprooted almost all of my baby tears. I need to take a new picture. The ramshorn snails in my tank are still growing. I've noticed that their shells are very smooth and almost see through now. I'm guessing it has something to do with the water conditions or their insane growth rate. The shells aren't pitted so I don't think it's a CO2 issue. CPDs are finally getting some red in their fins. I've been feeding baby brine shrimp the last few days and they love it, as do the guppies. I think the cories are slower to come out because they aren't as hungry for the pellets after vacuuming up the bbs. Edited August 16, 2013 by McTurtle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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