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Journey of a beginners first planted 50gal

Well i added the airstone after i had the problem with Hydrogen Sulfide because of low amounts of oxygen in the water collum, and i did check and an air stone wont effect excel if i did go to presurized CO2 then i would remove the airstone, but after that nasty bacteria bloom i am a bit reluctant to.
 
Hi,
I think you have things upside down.

1. Plants need CO2 more than they need anything else. By using an airstone you are defeating this purpose.

2. Plants effectively eat CO2 and eject oxygen into the water column and into the substrate.

3. Oxygen in the substrate facilitates the development of aerobic bacteria which consume ammonia. When there is a lack of oxygen in the substrate then a different kind of bacteria - anaerobic bacteria develop in the soil which then produce the sulfide gas you find so objectionable.

The bacterial bloom that you see as cloudy water is a good thing. These are the bacteria that will help you tank in the long run and which will displace the anaerobic bacteria which is causing the problem. The "nasty bacterial bloom" was actually the best thing that happened to your tank and you are defeating them with the airstone. Not good. If there were no plants in the tank then this would be the way to go but in a planted tank this is bad news.

Feed your plants add more Excel and/or CO2 and lose the airstone. The plants will then do the job of adding oxygen to the tank. Plants can add way more oxygen than any airstone.

Cheers,
 
Thanks for the advice, i will remove the airstone but that bacterial bloom was just to much it stunk the whole top floor of my house out and made it nion impossible to sleep in the bedroom.

I'll remove the airstone when i have the chance later today and today is water change day anyway, how much excel do you think i should add? At the moment i am doessing 5ml everyday when i turn the lights on.
 
Hi,
I don't believe the bacterial bloom that caused the cloudy water had anything to do with the foul smell which, if it were a rotten egg smell, would have been coming from the anaerobic bacteria in the substrate. The two are totally different and their appearance would have been coincidental. Keep your lighting subdued and dose the Excel per bottle instructions while performing a couple of water changes per week if possible. You can also use double the dosage but that might be a bit expensive on a 50gallon.

Cheers,
 
Well the water left to its own devices when the anaerobic bacterial bloom was in the tank the water was going a black colour, i dont mind the cost of the excel to be fair if i double the dosage it would only cost <£10 a month. The tank as it is at the moment looks fine plants all like nice and green and water is nice and clear i will up the doseage of excel to 10ml a day and see what reaction i get from the tank.

Will adding more plants over the comming weeks just looking around for idea's at the moment if you have any?
 
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