I returned to the hobby (after a 20 year absence) last year, about 18 mths ago.
Since then I have struggled to get the 'balance' right in the tank to get the plants growing and algae irradicated. I've not got bad algae but its present on older leaves and I can't get the plants to 'pearl'.
My tank is 1m wide, about 50cm high, 200+ litres, 26 degrees C, medium-light stocking. Lighting is 4 TMC grobeams - which I thought would be better for plants and despite lots and lots of reading up before purchase, I'm now wishing I'd stuck to normal lighting! CO2 is fitted and is not an inline diffuser, running at 3 bubbles per second.
In the last 18 months I have done the following
- I changed the filter to an FX5 to improve flow. I now worry flow is too high in places, esp trying to get CO2 down to the ground plants, around the dwarf hairgrass which grows but painfully slowly.
- I recently added a TMC light controller as I had had to put the lights on for just 4-5 hrs previously to stop algae. So I thought I'd add the controlled to reduce the light intensity and lengthen the photo-period to 8 hours, with some dimming either side.
- I have recently increased the CO2 bubble count up to 3 per second as I didn't think this was high enough after reading a comment from George Farmer in the PFK.
- I have had added problems with flow because I planted Amazon sword initially which when fully grown gets in the way and changes the flow direction quite significantly. So I regularly cut off full leaves.
- Maintenence is 50% every week now with trimming off of old leaves
- Substrate is pea gravel but I did put a bottom layer of Tetra Plant underneath.
- Fertilisers. A while ago I changed to making my own, trying to follow the EI method set out on James' Planted tanks website and I have subsequently upped the dosing to be about 50% higher than his suggestion for my volume, on the basis that I thought the light and CO2 were both running quite high.
What have I missed? What do I need to do to try and get the balance right?
I am getting frustrated as I love my aquarium and I am now wanting to break down the tank and start again with better substrate and a better designed aquascape. But I don't want to do this unless I have confidence I can 'get it right' as I would be gutted to go through all of that effort, expense and upheavel only to see plants not grow, grow slowly or algae to slowly return dusting the leaves.
Since then I have struggled to get the 'balance' right in the tank to get the plants growing and algae irradicated. I've not got bad algae but its present on older leaves and I can't get the plants to 'pearl'.
My tank is 1m wide, about 50cm high, 200+ litres, 26 degrees C, medium-light stocking. Lighting is 4 TMC grobeams - which I thought would be better for plants and despite lots and lots of reading up before purchase, I'm now wishing I'd stuck to normal lighting! CO2 is fitted and is not an inline diffuser, running at 3 bubbles per second.
In the last 18 months I have done the following
- I changed the filter to an FX5 to improve flow. I now worry flow is too high in places, esp trying to get CO2 down to the ground plants, around the dwarf hairgrass which grows but painfully slowly.
- I recently added a TMC light controller as I had had to put the lights on for just 4-5 hrs previously to stop algae. So I thought I'd add the controlled to reduce the light intensity and lengthen the photo-period to 8 hours, with some dimming either side.
- I have recently increased the CO2 bubble count up to 3 per second as I didn't think this was high enough after reading a comment from George Farmer in the PFK.
- I have had added problems with flow because I planted Amazon sword initially which when fully grown gets in the way and changes the flow direction quite significantly. So I regularly cut off full leaves.
- Maintenence is 50% every week now with trimming off of old leaves
- Substrate is pea gravel but I did put a bottom layer of Tetra Plant underneath.
- Fertilisers. A while ago I changed to making my own, trying to follow the EI method set out on James' Planted tanks website and I have subsequently upped the dosing to be about 50% higher than his suggestion for my volume, on the basis that I thought the light and CO2 were both running quite high.
What have I missed? What do I need to do to try and get the balance right?
I am getting frustrated as I love my aquarium and I am now wanting to break down the tank and start again with better substrate and a better designed aquascape. But I don't want to do this unless I have confidence I can 'get it right' as I would be gutted to go through all of that effort, expense and upheavel only to see plants not grow, grow slowly or algae to slowly return dusting the leaves.
