Konsa
Member
Hi all
I am running a mature well planted 120 ish litters low tech tank. Dimensions 80x35x45H in cm.
Tank is few years old.
Filtration :JBL CrtistalProfi 1501 with sponge prefilter cleaned weekly. Filter clean every 6 ish months .Eheim surface skimmer.
CO2 :None
Lights.2 x60cm T8 18w 6500K tubes 8 ish hours a day.(I know very retro right!! )
Substrate: moler clay and Polario fine gravel.
Hardscape.Maple leaf rock and Redmoor root
Fertilizer:APFUK EI starter kit as per their recipe.Dosed on alternative days macro and micro 45ml dose weekly .Micro supplemented with Fe DPTA and Fe EDDHA.
More details on it below.
Live stock:
3 SAP Puffers
11Amano shrimp
4 Corries
Various Snails
Plant list:
Floaters
Various Cryptocoryne sp
Anubias pettite
Various Java ferns
Bolbitis
Pogostemon Quadrifolius
Hygrophila polisperma
Potamogeton Gayi
Various Bucephalandra
Few other bits and bobs.
Maintenance:
Weekly water change 50-70%
TDS of tank : ~260
Algae: little BBA berely noticeable
Latest tank pic how it looks atm.
Tank journal found here:
In general tank doing well.
Slow steady growth on almost all plants.
However the Bolbitis is always struggling with BBA and lately the new growth is deformed some stems have developed black patches on them,and some leaves doesn't develop fully.Some plants are not looking as lush as I like them.
A little bit more about my relaxed approach.
I am not one to micro manage and test water.
Basically winging it based on overall system condition.
Anyway thought to go a little in depth in my nutrient dosing as while I am thinking that my ferts are sufficient(Probably on the rich side for low tech even)its possible that ratios or sth else can be optimised so will do a little test and use branded product(Tropica specialised)that is supposed to be well balanced to see how tank responds over few months.
I am unsure what initial dose to start with tho and this is where I need your help as haven't used this product before and it seems rather lean compared to what Im putting in atm and I do not want to shock the system.
Below some figures of my tap water report on 18th February 2022
Alkalinity as CaCO3 -69.9 ppm
Hardness Total as CaCO3 -117ppm
Hardness: Slightly hard -8.19 Hardness clarke
Ca - 34.2ppm
Mg-7.64ppm
Cloride- 7.91ppm
NO3 -<2.02 ppm
Sodium-18.8ppm
Sulphate-32.8ppm
No PO4 on water report
Below my weekly fert dose breakdown using Rottala butterfly calculator:
NO3 -12.51ppm
N-2.83ppm
K-9.10ppm
PO4-2.93ppm
P-0.96ppm
Mg -2.96ppm
S-2.99ppm
dGH -0.57
FeEDTA -0.37ppm
FeDPTA~0.02ppm
FeEDDHA ~0.02ppm
Due to the type of live stock (Puffers are dirty fish) and there diet its likely that there is quite a bit NO3 and some PO4 coming in with waste and food but I will ignore those .I feed frozen foods (1 cube ish daily) and supplement with live when Im going to LFS now and them.
To wrap it up.
Its possible that plants are suffering from CO2 shortage due to high plant mass and that is where my issue comes from.Not that I can do anything about that.Is there sth else that may impact nutrient absorbing that I need to look into.
Based on the above information how much Tropica specialised will you advise to start adding weekly(Although I give /ask weekly targets I am doing daily doses so will split that over 6 days).
If I don't like how tank responds over a month or two to Tropica specialised and I will revert back to DIY ferts mixes and see what can I tweak in my current dosing.I was thinking I can up K but no idea what is best chemical to use for that.
Hope I managed to word myself properly(a bit early and just having my first coffee .lol) and Im looking forward to your thoughts
Regards Konstantin
I am running a mature well planted 120 ish litters low tech tank. Dimensions 80x35x45H in cm.
Tank is few years old.
Filtration :JBL CrtistalProfi 1501 with sponge prefilter cleaned weekly. Filter clean every 6 ish months .Eheim surface skimmer.
CO2 :None
Lights.2 x60cm T8 18w 6500K tubes 8 ish hours a day.(I know very retro right!! )
Substrate: moler clay and Polario fine gravel.
Hardscape.Maple leaf rock and Redmoor root
Fertilizer:APFUK EI starter kit as per their recipe.Dosed on alternative days macro and micro 45ml dose weekly .Micro supplemented with Fe DPTA and Fe EDDHA.
More details on it below.
Live stock:
3 SAP Puffers
11Amano shrimp
4 Corries
Various Snails
Plant list:
Floaters
Various Cryptocoryne sp
Anubias pettite
Various Java ferns
Bolbitis
Pogostemon Quadrifolius
Hygrophila polisperma
Potamogeton Gayi
Various Bucephalandra
Few other bits and bobs.
Maintenance:
Weekly water change 50-70%
TDS of tank : ~260
Algae: little BBA berely noticeable
Latest tank pic how it looks atm.
Tank journal found here:
My current tanks(pic heavy)
Hi all Instead of creating multiple treats here is my all in one for the current situation with my tanks.Please excuse my phone quality of the pics. First one is modified Betta duo with the devider removed and spray bar installed. CO2 : none Substrate : Ada Nile sand small leftover from couple...
www.ukaps.org
Slow steady growth on almost all plants.
However the Bolbitis is always struggling with BBA and lately the new growth is deformed some stems have developed black patches on them,and some leaves doesn't develop fully.Some plants are not looking as lush as I like them.
A little bit more about my relaxed approach.
I am not one to micro manage and test water.
Basically winging it based on overall system condition.
Anyway thought to go a little in depth in my nutrient dosing as while I am thinking that my ferts are sufficient(Probably on the rich side for low tech even)its possible that ratios or sth else can be optimised so will do a little test and use branded product(Tropica specialised)that is supposed to be well balanced to see how tank responds over few months.
I am unsure what initial dose to start with tho and this is where I need your help as haven't used this product before and it seems rather lean compared to what Im putting in atm and I do not want to shock the system.
Below some figures of my tap water report on 18th February 2022
Alkalinity as CaCO3 -69.9 ppm
Hardness Total as CaCO3 -117ppm
Hardness: Slightly hard -8.19 Hardness clarke
Ca - 34.2ppm
Mg-7.64ppm
Cloride- 7.91ppm
NO3 -<2.02 ppm
Sodium-18.8ppm
Sulphate-32.8ppm
No PO4 on water report
Below my weekly fert dose breakdown using Rottala butterfly calculator:
NO3 -12.51ppm
N-2.83ppm
K-9.10ppm
PO4-2.93ppm
P-0.96ppm
Mg -2.96ppm
S-2.99ppm
dGH -0.57
FeEDTA -0.37ppm
FeDPTA~0.02ppm
FeEDDHA ~0.02ppm
Due to the type of live stock (Puffers are dirty fish) and there diet its likely that there is quite a bit NO3 and some PO4 coming in with waste and food but I will ignore those .I feed frozen foods (1 cube ish daily) and supplement with live when Im going to LFS now and them.
To wrap it up.
Its possible that plants are suffering from CO2 shortage due to high plant mass and that is where my issue comes from.Not that I can do anything about that.Is there sth else that may impact nutrient absorbing that I need to look into.
Based on the above information how much Tropica specialised will you advise to start adding weekly(Although I give /ask weekly targets I am doing daily doses so will split that over 6 days).
If I don't like how tank responds over a month or two to Tropica specialised and I will revert back to DIY ferts mixes and see what can I tweak in my current dosing.I was thinking I can up K but no idea what is best chemical to use for that.
Hope I managed to word myself properly(a bit early and just having my first coffee .lol) and Im looking forward to your thoughts
Regards Konstantin
Last edited: