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Questions,questions and more questions

mrjackdempsey

Member
Joined
7 Jul 2010
Messages
220
My tank is heavily planted but not by any means designed as beautifully as the tanks I've seen on this forum.It's 150cm x50cm x50cm(375 litres not allowing for decor and substrate).Two days ago I replaced a Eheim pro 2 with a Fluval FX5 as I wasn't happy with the Eheim,seems underpowered and needed cleaning every couple of weeks ,there is also a Superfish aqua pro 3 external filter,Eheim powerball and Fluval internal filters plus a powerhead in the tank( you now understand this tank looks a mess).In this tank there is C.A. cichlids and S.A. cichlids plus Congo Tetras as dither fish.As well as replacing the filter I also pruned some plants quite hard and removed quite a few as well.
The tank will never be a beauty as the fish do their own landscaping digging large pits, etc but I hoping at least to make the plants look their best.I put the CO2 into the intake of the FX5 and am hoping that is okay as I read the plastic can become brittle from the CO2.Also started dosing with Provito and noticed algae seems to be going (surprised me but have read here that it's not the nutrients that cause the algae so seems to confirm that).The plants seem happy, pearling and swaying in the flow so hopefully changes for the better but more importantly fish are far more active especially the Congo tetras,males swimming the length of the tank in displays of speed against each other.
Here comes the questions--Would I be okay removing the other filters from the tank in the next six to eight weeks leaving the FX5 and the powerhead, to tidy up the tank and to use on another 5' tank where the cichlids will be going.
2) Should I use dry ferts instead of Provito for the plants (got 5 litres so in no rush) and 3) am I harming the FX5 with the CO2? Just to let you know I'm capable of asking many a stupid question so you have been forewarned.Thanks in advance ....Dave
 
Dave, sounds like a good setup you've got running :)

to answer your questions from my experiance and what I've read.

1) Removing the other filters slowly will be fine, if you can use some of your media from the other filters inside the FX5 for a period of time to assist seeding the FX's media a bit more that would be even better.
What amount of flow are you getting from the powerhead??
I know to get the right amount of flow/movement on my 4ft tank I've got a spraybar off the 1200 canister, 600 canister, a 3000per hour Power head at one end and a 2300 Powerhead at the other.
Maybe you might have to get a second powerhead to ensure the whole length of the tank is reached by the flow.

2) From a cost perspective only I'd go for dry ferts. I've recently gone EI myself and although its early days I am noticing a bit of extra growth (comparing from liquid carbon and TPN+ in my 80lt).

3) The impellor of the FX5 may be damaged by the bubbles of CO2 hitting it. Aparently pockets of gas cause some sort of shockwave on the impellors. You could maybe think of doing a DIY external reactor or something similar to the Aquamedic 1000 and run a maxijet powerhead or small external pond type pump to power flow through it.
I am running this,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

The quality is good, the one thing I will say is the seller told me it was 19/22 hose connections but it is 12/16.
I intended using it from my Aqua one 1200 but use my ehiem 600 instead for it.

I have removed the inlet tube on the inside so the incoming water falls through the built up gas and although my CO2 only starts an hour and a half before lights on my drop checker is light green from then until lights off.
I turn the CO2 off 3 hours before lights off too and can see the amount of gas in the chamber slowly drop.

So far very happy with my results, now need to buy black hoses to make a spray bar out of to hide mine against the background for the stealth look :)
 
First,Chris let me thank you for your speedy reply.Thinking you are right about the dry ferts but I'm a dinosaur as regards the internet and sourcing the ferts.Tried some friends who are landscape gardeners who keep fish but they tried to convince me my tank would be destroyed by algae and a chemist (who was not willing to sell to me,must look a shady character) Looks like I must bite the bullet and source it on the internet so please if anyone knows a good source please type a link.
I might keep the Superfish filter to supplement the FX5 and just get the internals out.I did take the media from the Eheim and put it into the FX5 just to colonise the filter ASAP.Regarding the powerhead don't know how many litres per hour but use it for W/C. It seems a stronger flow than the FX5 but it's a smaller nozzle so could be fooling myself.And again Chris good advice about the CO2 and the reactor so will get one plus another powerhead.Will be taking the larger cichlids out and replacing them with shoaling fish in the near future and if it works out try for 'proper' planted tank.It's just a learning curve at the moment and need some experience keeping some more difficult plants.Here in Eire there's a poor selection with plants though a very active fish keeping movement.Would like to thank all for knowledge gleaned reading other posts and if any advice for me please do so
Dave
 
i'm glad i'm finally in the position to give some advice lol.

you defo seem to be on the right track for a great setup.

i'm going to start a journal tonight and will put links to most of the stuff i've bought and the reasearch i've done before secting things. hopefully some of it will be of use to you.

will send you a link later.
 
id say the other sponsor aquariumplantfood.co.uk has better prices on powders, its £23 including delivery for a kilo of trace mix, which is unbeatable from the research ive done.

Regards, Gus.

*edit* wrong webby :oops:
 
Thanks all for your advice and speedy replies and you never know I might be in the position to give advice some day though seems unlikely at the moment.
chrisfraser05 said:
i'm glad i'm finally in the position to give some advice lol.

you defo seem to be on the right track for a great setup.

i'm going to start a journal tonight and will put links to most of the stuff i've bought and the reasearch i've done before secting things. hopefully some of it will be of use to you.

will send you a link later.
And yes it would be a great help to me ,to learn from other's mistakes rather than our own certainly makes sense and looking forward to seeing your journal,thanks Chris
fozziebear said:
id say the other sponsor theplanttank.co.uk has better prices on powders, its £23 including delivery for a kilo of trace mix, which is unbeatable from the research ive done.

Regards, Gus.
Thanks Gus it's either a famine or feast but the more choice the better thanking you for the link and a big thank you again to Arana as I spent a good hour reading different material in the site you posted.Noticing a different in my plants already so maybe didn't hack them too much.
 
yeah i must have spent a good 5 hours reading articles on ukaps lol its addictive learning more about planted tanks. good luck with the tank!
 
Cheers Gus, seems to be going well everything is pearling like crazy even the anubis but the salvani dug a pit under the wood about 10 inches across right to the bottom of the tank just to let me know who is the boss :rolleyes: Will order the dry ferts to see how things will work out.Will Profito do in the meantime or will I need something else to make sure the plants are getting everything they need?I'm getting excited like a small school child
 
Another one of my silly questions -have I got any other kind(?)Above the tank I have a Betta STLF 1500 light unit with 6 T5 bulbs (rated at 80W each, 150cm or 5' long) and wondering how many I should have on.I can have 2 bulbs,4 bulbs or all 6 and have replaced the Betta bulbs with Arcadia bulbs if that makes a difference
Cheers
Dave
 
If it helps you I'm only running 2 30W T8's and everythings growing. Even the HC's got new growth and the leaves on the new stuff seems smaller than the old (which is a good sign I believe).

I'd start off with 2 if I were you, at a push maybe 4. I'd say the 4/6 would be great on a reef but too much for FW.

2 then if everythings going well with no algae up it to 4 to see.
 
Thanks yet again Chris,will leave it at two for a while and maybe up to four in a week or so, was just getting some algae on the anubis with the six, had turned it down yesterday to two but no pearling today :( but better it looks clean than yueck and pearling, and save on the electricity bill as a bonus.All the different filters are creating strong flow in the tank but will take the internals out in the next fortnight as they are are not the prettiest looking and would be handy in different tanks
 
Did a 50% W/C today in the tank and afterwards plants were pearling again under only 2 bulbs and it got me thinking am I not putting enough CO2 into the tank( don't have any means at the moment of checking it, just upped it until the fish were gasping when backed off a little) or was it caused by cooler water and ferts added(Profito, one capful)The CO2 regulator is made by Hydor and the CO2 cylinder is a large one for soft drinks.Should I put more fertilizer in the water(375 litres and one capful every second day)I have some BBA on some leaves but could be I haven't giving enough time for it to clear.I'm afraid patience isn't a virtue I have........
 
You should see about getting drop checkers asap really.

Always helps to have some sort of guage to know where you are at. I've got one on each end just to be sure.
 
Don't let pearling after a water change lead you into a false sense of security. There's lots of Co2 in tapwater, my glass starts pearling after a w/c :!:
 
chrisfraser05 said:
You should see about getting drop checkers asap really.

Always helps to have some sort of guage to know where you are at. I've got one on each end just to be sure.
Ha, Chris you're coming to my aid again, fair play to you.Will get a drop checker as soon as I can,if it is not enough CO2 I can't get any more into the water as the Hydor is fully opened unless I get a better regulator
Simon D said:
Don't let pearling after a water change lead you into a false sense of security. There's lots of Co2 in tapwater, my glass starts pearling after a w/c :!:
Thanks for the reply Simon,that's the reason I posted.If there isn't enough CO2 in the water would the plants pearl?As they have stopped pearling under two lights normally yet pearl after a W/C which to me means that my tank water has less CO2 than the tap water and if this is the case I might have to change the regulator :( if the CO2 is too low.If the pearling is caused by the fertilizer then that is a different problem/solution. As Chris says I will have to get a drop checker to make sure.....
 
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