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CO2 & Light Demands

CO2 & Light Demands

Thanks ceg - i thought it might be the second one - and how now I'm using the spraybar then the co2 will be being distributed more effectively anyway.

Lighting is only at 7hours a day too.

Have ordered another spraybar for my filter too so that I can extend it right the way across the tank - I may also add a black background outside the tann which will hide the pipework quite well i think.
 
Hi

Looking at the tank, I think the big stones are messing with the flow as well.. Before the co2 rich water can go from below the plants (as Ceg mentioned), the stones are lifting it up towards the no-plant volume of the tank. 1 or 2 such rounds and the co2 is gone. So my hunch is that even if you have great co2 (yellow DC), great flow (10X rule), the hardscape design might be the culprit. Naturally the dust settles down on the grass and other plants (a much stronger flow will cause more dust, deteriorating the situation further). This blocks the plant cells from taking ferts & co2, as well as helps algae settle down on the leaves. Kind of vicious cycle..

Moving the rocks, or making sure that the flow actually passes through the deep valleys in between the rocks might help.

My 2 cents.

-niru
 
CO2 & Light Demands

Thanks for that - i agree I think the stones are blocking it to degree... Not much I can do though really without changing the scape drastically...

Im going to do a rescape in march so i'll do something better thought out then!
 
Maybe putting a Koralia exclusively for squirting the dirt from the crevasses might help. Run it occasionally over all plants to remove the dust..
 
CO2 & Light Demands

I've removed the Koralia - i think i'm getting better flow without it as it interupts the flow generated by the spraybar.

I think one thing i am missing is a clean up crew. All my shrimp died & my oto's were pretty inactive due to a yellow DC.

So i have 30 cherry shrimp on order, lowered co2 to lime green, going to buy 2 more oto's & also added some snails. These should help i think with reducing the bio film on leaves!
 
It looks fine. My flow was a little weak so I taped up every other hole to increase the velocity slightly.

What I do is look down the tank from the side. With the co2 mist on I can see it going down the front glass then rolling to the back of the tank. Remember though, if all plants are gently swaying then they should be getting the co2 and nutrients they require delivered to them as we can presume your dosing and co2 is sufficient.

I would be tempted to prune the bit's of Staurogyne you have in there and replant in a clear, unobstructed area that gets good flow. You can then use those to judge growth rates and compare with the plants in and around the hardscape.

So 9 days with the spraybar now, I expect next weeks posts will be about all the new leaves your plants are putting out and how green and lush they are looking. :thumbup:
 
Still getting brown algae/diatoms.

Really don't know why... Flow is right, lighting isn't high & only on for 7 hours daily, co2 is lime-green, ferts are EI.

Ordered some Flourish Excel - hopefully I can nuke it using that!
 
I've also just read that excess silicates can cause diatoms/brown algae...

Could it be that
A) I added some fresh sand recently and this has caused it?

or

B) I always disturb my sand so that the algaefied top layer goes to the bottom & the top layer looks nice & clean again...

Is it ok to do this?

also - is it true that brown algae is caused by too little light?!
 
any update on this thread? am looking forward to it, as am dealing with the same issue in my tank.
 
Yeah - see my two posts above lol.

I'm going to try a blackout to get rid of the Diatoms.
 
CO2 & Light Demands

Starting to see growth yeah BUT diatoms won't go away - so I think I need a blackout to nuke them.

Am I right in thinking that this is the case - and that this type of algae won't just go away on its own even if conditions are correct?
 
skeletonw00t said:
I've also just read that excess silicates can cause diatoms/brown algae...

Could it be that
A) I added some fresh sand recently and this has caused it?

or

B) I always disturb my sand so that the algaefied top layer goes to the bottom & the top layer looks nice & clean again...

Is it ok to do this?

also - is it true that brown algae is caused by too little light?!
Click to expand...
Check this thread-
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=18067

It's OK to disturb the sediment just prior to a water change. Blackouts a d reduction of lighting will help reduce diatomic algae.

Cheers,
 
CO2 & Light Demands

I have 2 and all they do is stay at 1 side of the tank and never seem to be active :/

Might buy some more once ive done a blackout... Day 2 at the moment
 
Had a peak into the tank earlier too see whats going on during the black out.

Am I ok to turn the lights on for 2 minutes during a blackout to inspect?

There was a lot of dirt in the tank getting blown around etc - is this because the diatoms are dying and are starting to "let go" of their grip on things and are then being blown about?
 
Not sure Ceg - could it be because of the way the spraybar is set up across the back that its just pushing dirt round and round & not actually into the inlet?

Serious about no peeking lol? will 2 mins of light hurt the process??!
 
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