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Are we still talking about BGA or algae in general?

Theres a few examples her: https://www.aquasabi.com/aquascaping-wiki_filtration_water-flow-in-the-aquarium (scroll down a bit on the page).

I find it interesting. Not if the ratio causes BGA, but if BGA is already present, will targeting this ratio help with getting rid of it? I'm starting to consider setting up a spare tank, and get some BGA and make it thrive outside the sweet spot and then change the ratio to see if it has any...

Well, I found my NO3 test to be non working. This only proves, once again, that these tests shouldn't be used solely. I've been having some issues with my tank and lost track of ferts when upping the waterchanges, and used the test just to make sure I didn't go to low (making sure issues wasn't...

True. But my phosphate levels was much lower until recently. 2 days ago I did a large water change, 60% or so, and dosed to 1.5 ppm phosphate. Been doing twice a week water changes, and forgot to add back ferts, which I believe triggered the GSA and staghorn. So at the moment I'm upping the...

Just noticed the digital reader is phosphorous not phosphate. So I have 1.2 ppm PO4. Think I need to make a known solution and check accuracy of the device.

Forgot about algae. I have a little GSA,some staghorn and no BGA.

@jaypeecee Ok. Since I do have some algae and changing / upping ferts it might be relevant, but changes take time 🙂 I'm also very unsure about the accuracy of the tests as they do rely on my eyes reading the color right. Currently my tests shows 15 ppm NO3(Tetra drop test) and 0.4 ppm PO4...

@jaypeecee You just want NO3 and PO4 test results and maybe presence of BGA?

Well, I believe I have both of these in the tank...

@Wookii Yes! I mentioned sunsun earlier which is the same model (SUNSUN JY-03). I love how you can just pull out the floss and rinse without taking it apart.

Interesting.... I must say I'm not really being this. Over the years I've had many tanks, with very different setups, and with various amount of knowlegde. I've also experienced a wide varity of algae but not once have I had BGA. I doubt I've been lucky and hit a magic ratio 20 times, no matter...

I have plenty of Ca in my tap water, so that is not the issue. This seems to have happened to all red plants, I do believe it was/is a CO2 issue. And update. After tweaking and monitoring CO2, the curling has pretty much stopped. There is still some discoloration, on all red plants (turning...

Amazing. All that knowlegde and help he has added to this forum and its members:D

Thanks for the advise Darrel. Although, I have increased water changes, and don't have an exact number on ferts, I doubt I have bottomed out (I should see deficiencies everywhere). I also dose daily. I'm gonna increase light intensity, and see what happens growth wise. Maybe keep up the 2/week...

Not much, so I could be a bit low on ferts. However, the 'deficiencies' / wierd color and growth in the red plants, started before the frequent waterchanges. The crumbled leaves was most likely lack of CO2, and should be fixed. The coloring is still wierd, and general growth is slow, so I'm...

Hi I seem to have a few difficulties with my 360 L planted tank. I'm not in a bad spot, but seems growth is slow and some plants (red plants) struggle a bit. About a month ago, several plants started growing curly leaves, and colors turned from red/pink to deep purple. As I was never really...

I'm having some on/off issues with red plants in my tank (AR rosanervig,AR mini and Ludwigia glandulosa). I've had isdues which I believe was poor co2 distribution and now tuning in co2. Although flow and co2 is much better, I still see these funky colors. Question is, if the deep purple color...

Very interesting. Makes a lot of sense. I'm simply going to take alot of readings and watch the lifestock, while tuning. Both probes seems to give stable readings throughout the day, so I'm quite sure there isn't any major interference.

Link please:p Sharing the info?;) I read one of his articles / studies and it's very interesting. Getting my second monitor tomorrow, and calibration solution friday, so I can start testing:p Seems ORP itself is fine, but along with PH even better to get what Carl Strohmeyer refers to as rH...

Already have a skimmer and lots of surface agitation. Even with 48 hrs of no CO2 injection, the result is the same. Question is not about the starting PH, but 2 probes with different drop values.

Just a tiny difference in Fe?

Thanks @Zeus. Was thinking the same thing. Adding a bit more, will not do any harm, but going a bit low might. I'll dump a bit more in the tank, after the WC;)

A very quick question. Been upping waterchanges / cleaning lately and this ofcourse, removes more ferts. Should I re-add some of these? I'm dosing daily, and no fear of completely bottoming out, but water could get a bit lean. What is your advice?

Thanks alot for the links. Interesting read indeed. Seems ORP is of use. Like most other parameters in the tank, you can use it for stability check and not for chasing a specific value.

Ok. Picking up my RO unit tomorrow. What percentage(s) are a safe approach when switching to RO? 10% increase per water change, or is this to much?

Just what I'm gonna start out with. Will still not be 'soft' water. We can agree. But as already mentioned, for larger tanks (or married people) this isn't always possible

@hypnogogia @Wookii I need to produce around 75L RO. I'm planning on a 600GPD unit that does a 1:1,5 RO/waste. So filling will take roughly an hour effectively (cold water and all). If this could be added along with my tap water, it would great, but amounts won't be accurate from WC to WC...

True, but don't want to store a 150 L container or 3 x 50L;) Adding RO directly to the tank would be much simpler, but worried that amount will fluctuate.:confused: But, I could just make a 'measuring' device, and fill 50% of water taken out, with tap and rest with RO. Will make WC take longer...

I'm thinking of getting and RO unit, and mix with tap water at roughly 50/50. Question is how acvurate it has to be? I REALLY don't want to mix it in containers and then pump it to the tank. The easiest way is to fill tank with RO and tap water at the same time, but this obviously won't be an...

True. It was completely stopped in 2009. I'll let you know, when I'll have the opportunity to test it. Need some calibration buffer first. Probably not ecpensive, but damn postage is😕

I sure can. Looking for something specific?

I actually don't have a clue. I tested mine for fun, and got 300+. How accurate that is or how the numbers are just before waterchange, is unknown. Once I get my CO2 dialed in, I can switch probes and do a profile. Just for fun :p

I guess it will tell you if something starts slipoing in the tank. I guess we just want a good reading 300-400 and see it stable like many other things in the tank. If it starts to drop, something isn't right:)

I already have an automted setup turning my skimmer on after 15 minutes when feeding, and could easily add my canister filters to it also. Just wasn't sure if it would be a good idea, with CO2 and all.

@jaypeecee It will. It has temp, TDS/EC and PH/ORP probes, so plenty of gadgets. I accidently ordered another one, so I guess I can have both PH TDS and ORP EC running all at once:p

Yes and no. My 'old' one is a milwaukee, with a €200 price tag. Because of a facebook discussion, I came across a cheap chinese 6 in 1 measuring device for €65. Had to try it. So far so good, but if it will last more than 2 months is the question ;)

Yes, it was pretty stable at around 6.8, or at least dropping VERY slowly. Just checked and have 6.6 and 6.67, so been amazingly stable, for the last few hours. Just need to see how long this takes, and maybe just add a little more, as it looks like I can push it a little more:p

Makes sense. Update: I now got 6.6 and 6.67 (6.6 and 6.64 when lights on 3 hrs ago). I adjusted midway, as I could tell bps was to low to get there in time for lights on. DC is lime green, and all fish are active showing no signs of stress. Gonna do a new profile tomorrow, and hopefully my K2SO4...

Are you using two probes as a fail safe? Just be sure the readings are still reliable?

Is it a good idea to turn off filters for like 10 min while feeding? I see a lot of food being drag down and into the dense plant area where fish will have a hard time getting to it. If off is fine, should CO2 just continue to build up in the reactors, or switched off also?

So far so good. 6.8 and 6.81 :p

I had 2 fish at surface yesterday, and a bright yellow DC, so might be a little to much. Currently, doing a new profile and will aim / tune for 6.6 I also, recalibrated both PH readers again, so hoping they'll agree on the PH drop:)

You are right, and I don't really care about the specific PH. But when tuning in CO2, I'd like to know if the probes are reading right. They both measure same value in tankwater, but with CO2 injected they don't drop at same rate. I'm starting to think, I have a PH goblin in the house messing...

Thanks for the reply. I took the difficult way, as I found it wasn't a huge problem. Tank has holes in bottom, and I already had input/output from the first filter in opposite corners, so one hose was already there. I love the flow, from a full length spray bar with 2 filters, and no more...

I got a new PH monitor today. I kept the old one in the tank, but calibrated both. They both measured the same PH in the tank, but once CO2 started they didn't drop at same rate. Currently I have 6.4 and 6.7 readings?! I tried doing a test with buffer and they are both accurate. What could...

I don't think there's a delay. If you cut the CO2 the PH will go up pretty quickly. If there was a delay it would be steady for an hour.

Good post, but I find the product itself to be hard to clean. You could get a sunsun fo 1/4 of the price, which comes with a fish guard. Shrimps can get in, but it's a bit transparent, so just lift the top to let them out🙂 No nore taken the stuff apart either to clean:p

Ok. Bought my second filter and have one more question: Easy setup: intake and output in same side per filter. Shorter intake hoses. Insufficient water mix? Harder setup: Filter intake and output in opposite sides. Longer, bending intake hoses. Better mix of water? What are your thoughts?

Looks right, when sun doesn't hit the screen. Could very well be the media basket, that needs proper alignment. Maybe to much media in them,?

Don't know this specific brand, but are you dure the seal ring is suppose to stick out several mm?

I'm planning on adding a reactor to the other filter aswell, for even distribution. The reactor only slows the spray from the bars about an inch or so. What that means in l/h I can't say.

@Andrew Butler Yes a CO2 reactor. It doesn't restrict flow that much, but flow is a little to low. Flow pump easily make up for it, but as all other pumps, flow is uneven.

I'm currently running a 1900l/h external filter on my 360 L tank. Water goes through a large CO2 reactor and out through a full length spray bar. This isn't enough flow, so a flow pump helps move water around. I have been thinking of adding one more filter of same type (1900 l/h) instead of the...

I did find a 1 year test, and the product along with other similar products all showed no reduction in nitrates. The companies, when confronted with the results, had no scientific data to back up their claims. If interested the whole test and more can be found here...

Hi The product 'BIOHOME' filter media, seems to be getting more popular. I'm wondering if it can actually do what they claim, and if there is truth behind their words: "Please note: Tanks with heavy stock and feeding (e.g. cichlid, goldfish, predator or fry tanks) and marine tanks may require...

Yes. Finding info on denitrifying bacteria in agriculture where drying/re-wetting happens is easy. However, these are all very different stories as the soil has a great impact on the outcome, so not much relevant info.

@dw1305 Thanks Darrel. It could very well be a good approach. I've found several studies, but bacteria strains are very different.

Its a part of a 'guide and tips' for bying used aquarium. Takes time before the tank is moved, cleaned, scaped and ready to be plugged in. Most people clean the filters very well and then goes through normal start, waiting for nitrogencycle to happen. Just being sceptic as no mentioning of...

Yes, completely dry out. I'm not sure I can translate the entire thing, but we are talking crispy dry.

Hi I recently saw a youtube video from a 'local' fish store. He recommended that filters should be dried out, as the bacteria can survive a long time,weeks, as long as oxygen was present, as in leave canister bucket open. I can't seem to find any evidence or studies on this (other than very...

Thanks for the detailed reply @ceg4048. I'm still puzzled at what has happened. New side shoots has appeared, with healthy leaves, on one species. The other still looks a bit wrong, but only some stems. Not a major isdue at all, just curious.

Hi I'm looking for some science behind red algae types (BBA and staghorn). Anyone have some info or links to share? I'd like to find some controlled studies if possible.

This has some good pointers with lots of layout images: https://www.bart-laurens.nl/dutch-style-aquarium/

Well, some quick math shows I have less than optimal Mg and K. I found a Ca:Mg:K ratio advise from the other thread to be 2:1:0,5. Mine should be (from the Ca in tapwater) - 127:63,5:31,75. I have - 127:13,6:7,2 I have a lot less Mg and K than advised, so Ca uptake shouldn't be an issue. It...

I was thinking same thing. Just as good CO2 levels doesn't mean CO2 is right if flow isn't tuned in also. Thanks for the link to the other thread. Although It seems odd the problem suddenly started without any new things in my routine you never know (maybe the soil used to absorb Ca and now...

That does make sense. However, I don't believe I have high light. Difficult to be sure without PAR readings, but visually it isn't bright and only running 6 hrs a day. If it is lack of CO2, I should see improvement in the replanted stems and see same issue forming in the none cut stems. But with...

I was also pretty sure it couldn't be Ca. I'm also quite sure it isn't CO2. I run pretty high CO2 with a more yellow than green drop checker. Any higher and inhabitants will be in danger. Flow is also quite good. Running a full length spray bar along with a powerhead and everything moves gently...

Hi Was wondering if I'm looking at some Ca deficiency, or uptake issue. What puzzles me is the water here is pretty hard. Last test from water supply says '127 mg/L' Ca. Also, I haven't had this issue before. Tank is roughly 3 months old, dosing EI. Attached pictures:

Try emailing JBL for info. At least for future reference. I believe the lower dose (10ml of 40l water) is for tanks where plants do not have good growth yet. Having slightly more ferts than needed is better than to little.

'Trace' elements are iron, zinc, boron etc. Seems Proflora 7 and Ferropol 24 is both micro ferts. I'm having difficulties finding this online unless it's the JBL brand? We need to figure out the contents and concentrations of each fert. Without it we have no clue how much you are adding to the...

So you are using: Ferropol Proflora 7 day Ferropol 24daily Ferropol NPK Is the concentration of the various ingredients listed on the bottles? Unless we know what is actually in the bottles and what your aim is, it's hard to come up with a useful answer;)

Spraybar is 'standard' full length at the back. Inlet at back corner. Using an older tank with drilled holes at bottom, so can't move inlet / outlet:(

I can't help noticing the ph drops and rises again. You got any powerheads, skimmer or such that also turns on and off?

I'm sure you are, but these discussions are how we learn and come up with new ideas. Been following this thread closely, and just added spraybar today for a test. Have low turnover, but no dead spots as far as I can tell. The spraybar isn't great looking but neither are powerheads. Otos and...

I believe the 10x turnover is like a lot of other things in this hobby: guidelines to avoid common mistakes. With a 10x turnover chances of dead spots are very limited. If you are experienced you can get away with much less. Just as light. Give a novice 200 par at substrate level and chances of...

They do eat plants, but I've only seen them eating a few species. They do however munch on melting and dying leaves, so maybe this is what is happening?

I remember a friend with same issues. We tested a lot of things an finally found a Cu issue. Seems some old copper pipes was to blame. I doubt the CO2 is the problem, as you should notice this in fish behavior.

@Plants234 Thanks for info Josh. Just re-read your -thread https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/not-sure-if-there-is-an-issue-or-if-patience-is-the-virtue.60454/ Hoping everything improves:thumbup:

@LondonDragon This might be useful: https://xenforo.com/community/resources/editor-bb-code-manager.5657/

What filter are you using to run the spraybar and how big is your tank? From the picture it looks like you had lots of powerheads. You still use those along with the spraybar?

Seems I'm not just unlucky... Been reading this a few times in other forums. Looking at the primer system, it's pretty easy to see how poorly the design really is.; A very big gasket which is only sealed by half a mm in top and bottom, being pulled everytime you prime the pump. What could go...

Just had another Eheim filter leak. A pro 3e 700 (2078). Just as my 2080, it leaks from the primer gasket which isn't easy to see or fix. I might just be unlucky with eheim filters, but I'm done paying high prices for low quality filters. Just installed a JBL e1902, and flow is SO much better...

Welcome! :)

Could be true, and I believe most people will agree. However, I have run into a little algea in my new setup even though I run with lower lights and much more flow/current then prior. Only difference is alot less bio media in the filter. I just filled up the filter with bio media (roughly 5...

I rewatched this video on filtration last night. In short, they say to stuck filter with lots of bio media, and for bigger tanks and a turnover of 2-3 times is enough.

That is exactly what is needed. However, I have yet to find a solution were I can get a nice gentle flow all over. I cannot seem to get a gentle sway in one end without a storm at the other end. Main problem in my case, is that flow needs to be started at the opposite end of the tank to avoid...

You can get the same ferts here: https://aquaplantscare.uk Not sure they have a kit but they have the same ferts.

Following this one. I personally struggle with this myself. The high flow to deliver nutrients to the plants makes sense, but I hate the looks. Especially in larger/longer tanks, where you need really high flow to get the flow to the other end (or several smaller powerheads). I'm so open for...

I don't think your plants will have problems growing with that bulb. However, you might not like the look. At 14000 K, you will probably get a more washed out look on the plants instead of deep green and red colors.

AR=Alternanthera Reineckii

Welcome! Sounds familiar. Must have read thousands of posts here before I signed myself:thumbup:

Looks VERY similar to my flamingo pink. Guess time will tell :)

According to Tropica plant guide amanos are added at day 5 (if I remember correct). I'm not sure I would with nitrite at 2.0 ppm. Do not at Otocinclus for at least a month or two. They need a mature tank.

Can't wait!:thumbup:

Probably:D If you have a favourite spatula, then definitely!:lol::lol:

I did. Bought two very cheap as to use as a purigen reactor. I've also used the aquamedic 1000 that @jaypeecee linked to. It's decent, but overpriced. To bad you live so far away, as I wouldn't mind part with it:(

:thumbup:

Glad it worked out.:clap: Shouldn't you turn it around a bit? Bubble counter won't work upside down;)

Not have a lot of knowlegde with anubias but have a look at this thread: https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/anubias-leaves-curling.50972/