Hi so after a bit of an debate I decided to go for Co2 on my Aquascaper 600. The set up was really easy I got a Co2 Art SE reg and its attached to a 2kg fire extinguisher and I have a drop checker that hangs over the side. The Co2 was set up on Sunday so running for 4 days now. Plants have grown a decent amount in a couple of days so happy so far, but I have had a little bit of algae pop up and I want to get a grip on it before its an issue. I've been doing water changes every other day, the filter was part cycled so has not been too much of an issue so far.
I have a couple of questions that after trawling through some threads I could do with a bit of confirmation on what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.
1st, the drop checker does not really change between night and day its always green - will this start to change between blue and green as the plants grow more and use the Co2?
2nd, my ph has dropped to I think about 6, usually it is 7.2. My water is very hard and usually very stable so this is the first time I've had a fluctuation. Is this ok? I dont have any fish yet but how does a fluctuating ph affect them? In other tanks this would give me a heart attack so could do with some reasurance this is normal?
3rd, my decor seems to be blocking my flow (pic below as example) flow does not look like it is fully going round the stump on the left but the plants in that corner are growing really well? The algae I had was like a green slime (not BGA) on top of that stump at the back too only a little patch though. Should I get a little powerhead for the back right corner to try and get more flow round the back of the stump? I was looking at this, what do you think? http://www.hygger-online.com/produc...ED-Display-Controller-for-Saltwater-Tank.html - its for marine but I like that it is small and minimal and figure we spend a stupid amount on equipment too
thanks Andy
I have a couple of questions that after trawling through some threads I could do with a bit of confirmation on what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.
1st, the drop checker does not really change between night and day its always green - will this start to change between blue and green as the plants grow more and use the Co2?
2nd, my ph has dropped to I think about 6, usually it is 7.2. My water is very hard and usually very stable so this is the first time I've had a fluctuation. Is this ok? I dont have any fish yet but how does a fluctuating ph affect them? In other tanks this would give me a heart attack so could do with some reasurance this is normal?
3rd, my decor seems to be blocking my flow (pic below as example) flow does not look like it is fully going round the stump on the left but the plants in that corner are growing really well? The algae I had was like a green slime (not BGA) on top of that stump at the back too only a little patch though. Should I get a little powerhead for the back right corner to try and get more flow round the back of the stump? I was looking at this, what do you think? http://www.hygger-online.com/produc...ED-Display-Controller-for-Saltwater-Tank.html - its for marine but I like that it is small and minimal and figure we spend a stupid amount on equipment too
thanks Andy