Hi all,
I am struggling to find the sweet spot for co2.
I top my tank up, my injection rate causes lethargy:
1) fish move slower
2) Otto cat stays in glass.
By day 3, after evaporation, we have more gaseous exchange fish (and naturally less co2), fish less lethargic.
But then, I still have minor blips of bba algae (on hardscape) with a growth rate of - well not after one day I am not like but more like 🤔 ... and no one but myself would really notice ... so perhaps medium? Photo attached.
I had one Amano shrimp struggle this morning (after I topped off) but others are fine.
If it was a perfect situation, I would top off water to that amount daily - or set an auto top off (I mentioned this in my evaporation thread) https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/evaporation-and-the-ph-profile-ie-co2-levels.61291/
But I am not convinced that every single person has
1) an auto top off
2) they top off to the perfect amount every day
Certainly, many people do the latter 2 (I am certain) but not everyone.
By watching the fish and plants, the only algae on the plants are on select Buce which will probably be the case for a few months -- some have shaken it, others are taking longer (they came to me ridden with BBA all in the rhizome). But nothing new is popping up.
Do I just let the BBA on the hardscape run its course and scrub it off during WC etc? <-- what is it actually telling me? I "think" it says that there are spores in my system (and I had issues with them before) and they are naturally using the nutrients to grow - albeit slowly. Am I misreading its presence as "low" CO2 + distribution --- because fish are telling me something different.
Or, do I just reduce my injection rate and watch for another week?
Or, do I increase my light and hope that my current CO2 will keep up?
For what it is worth, I reduced my water level ever so slightly (to ensure that my entire surface was skimmed -- I have that stupid bar ... rimless tank in the future), and the surface is clear -- it IS possible that the tiny bit of scum decreased gaseuous exchange just that bit; however, how the scum got there - perhaps a shrimp did die BEFORE? Anyways, we don't need to go there - chicken or egg.
Since the reduction, neons look better, but Otto cat is still just chilling on the glass -- I would imagine they should be a bit more active.
I think that the root of my question is this: The presence of BBA could be due to low CO2 (but we don't actually know the root cause) and the fish behavior tells me that my CO2 is possible too high. So how do I read this situation?
INFO:
Size: 65 gallon
Lights: 2x AI prime at 35%
Flow: Spray bar
Filter: 365 GPH <-- bit slow about 5-6x my volume (purigen + foam + scrubby pads + fluval biomax)
Tropica + sand substrate + flourite below the higher portions
EI micro and macro daily
WC 60%'ers at least once a week at most twice.
DC = lime green when I look in the water ... yellow when I pull it out.
pH drop about 1.2 ish +/-
20 Neons, 3 ottos, 1 rubber lip pleco
Anubias, buce, ludwigia repens, rotala rotundifolia, s repents, crypt undulata, pogostemon erectus
Josh
I am struggling to find the sweet spot for co2.
I top my tank up, my injection rate causes lethargy:
1) fish move slower
2) Otto cat stays in glass.
By day 3, after evaporation, we have more gaseous exchange fish (and naturally less co2), fish less lethargic.
But then, I still have minor blips of bba algae (on hardscape) with a growth rate of - well not after one day I am not like but more like 🤔 ... and no one but myself would really notice ... so perhaps medium? Photo attached.
I had one Amano shrimp struggle this morning (after I topped off) but others are fine.
If it was a perfect situation, I would top off water to that amount daily - or set an auto top off (I mentioned this in my evaporation thread) https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/evaporation-and-the-ph-profile-ie-co2-levels.61291/
But I am not convinced that every single person has
1) an auto top off
2) they top off to the perfect amount every day
Certainly, many people do the latter 2 (I am certain) but not everyone.
By watching the fish and plants, the only algae on the plants are on select Buce which will probably be the case for a few months -- some have shaken it, others are taking longer (they came to me ridden with BBA all in the rhizome). But nothing new is popping up.
Do I just let the BBA on the hardscape run its course and scrub it off during WC etc? <-- what is it actually telling me? I "think" it says that there are spores in my system (and I had issues with them before) and they are naturally using the nutrients to grow - albeit slowly. Am I misreading its presence as "low" CO2 + distribution --- because fish are telling me something different.
Or, do I just reduce my injection rate and watch for another week?
Or, do I increase my light and hope that my current CO2 will keep up?
For what it is worth, I reduced my water level ever so slightly (to ensure that my entire surface was skimmed -- I have that stupid bar ... rimless tank in the future), and the surface is clear -- it IS possible that the tiny bit of scum decreased gaseuous exchange just that bit; however, how the scum got there - perhaps a shrimp did die BEFORE? Anyways, we don't need to go there - chicken or egg.
Since the reduction, neons look better, but Otto cat is still just chilling on the glass -- I would imagine they should be a bit more active.
I think that the root of my question is this: The presence of BBA could be due to low CO2 (but we don't actually know the root cause) and the fish behavior tells me that my CO2 is possible too high. So how do I read this situation?
INFO:
Size: 65 gallon
Lights: 2x AI prime at 35%
Flow: Spray bar
Filter: 365 GPH <-- bit slow about 5-6x my volume (purigen + foam + scrubby pads + fluval biomax)
Tropica + sand substrate + flourite below the higher portions
EI micro and macro daily
WC 60%'ers at least once a week at most twice.
DC = lime green when I look in the water ... yellow when I pull it out.
pH drop about 1.2 ish +/-
20 Neons, 3 ottos, 1 rubber lip pleco
Anubias, buce, ludwigia repens, rotala rotundifolia, s repents, crypt undulata, pogostemon erectus
Josh