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My 130ltr Tank - *Updated Pics*

S

skeletonw00t

Member
Joined
16 Dec 2011
Messages
324
Hi all,

My account was automatically deleted for some reason, so I lost my journal.

So i've grouped together some shots from when I started my tank up until now.

The specs are:
130ltr opti white
CO2 via inline diffuser - FE method
1500Ltr/hr e1500 cristal profi filter
2X T8 25watt lights - 7 hours/day
Recently just started dosing via the EI method - was dosing all in one ferts 10ml daily before.

I'm not happy with my tank at the moment. I do regular water changes & co2 is always greeny/yellow. But my plants are yellower than they were before and growth just isn't what it should be. I deduced this was down to insufficient ferts - hopefully the EI method will sort this so I will post some more pics in a few weeks to see how it's improved.

Here is the progression from July:

July
julyi.jpg

Just set the tank up - used glosso for the foreground - later to be changed to HC (then finally to HG)...

August
augustm.jpg


September
septemberx.jpg


October
october.jpg

Tank was definitely at its best here!

November
novembers.jpg


Now:

img2369m.jpg

img2370vh.jpg

img2372ai.jpg

img2378mk.jpg


As you can see it looks quite dirty now - despite lots of cleaning etc. The hairgrass seems to have lots of dead shoots & it really isn't growing very fast at all.

So like I said, I'll carry on with EI and see how that improves the tank. I want to get it back to lush greens & lots of dense growth. In particular I really want the HG carpet to improve and actually cover the substrate.

Let me know your thoughts!

Link to album: http://imageshack.us/g/823/augustm.jpg/
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

I really love the scape. It's a shame the health of the plants don't match your work there, because this could be a killer tank, and will ina short time I'm sure.
I've had similar problems as you. Light, co2 and flow should be spot on. I Thought fers were also fine, but changed the regime to follow the fluidsenseronline guide very strickt, and after only 1 week I'm convincing myself that I can see improvements.
Is it aquasoil you got?
Maybe try and cut the HG down and let it grow up again with new shoots?
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Well I've been dosing the EI method for almost a week now - too soon to say if its fixed my issues yet I guess.

Here are some photo's from today though - can see some good new growth coming through on the Staurogyn but still a bit manky.

Really got no idea what could be wrong as I have great CO2 - lots of bubbles all round the tank - plenty of flow & now ferts are being dosed heavily via EI.

full tank shot
img2393js.jpg


Hairgrass growing...
img2391o.jpg


staurogyne
img2388z.jpg


see plenty of CO2- can see the bubbles!
img2392d.jpg
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

What substrate are you using? Also you could try upping your lighting a little (leave it on for say 9 hours) to keep up with the Co2 and ferts, but you'll have to be careful with the algae. Otherwise, looking good :)
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Yeah I reckon turning the light on more will just make algae worse.

Hopefully now I am dosing EI it should fix the issue... Hopefully
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Tom said:
7 hours should be fine, this isn't an issue of not enough light. Having more light while you have algae will only accelerate the problem.
Click to expand...

Of course get rid of the algae first. What i meant to say was if you don't see any change after a long period of using EI then you can try upping the light by an hour and see what difference it makes.
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Quick update here...

Plants seem to be greener again & hairgrass is growing nicely since starting the EI regime...

goodfw.jpg
 
My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

I think i have leaches in the tank??? They are small 1cm pink things and they crawl up the glass. How do i get rid of these?
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Yeah it's looking a bit better. I've added my old Koralia 1500ltr pump to the tank (front left of the tank facing towards the centre) hopefully that will promote better growth of the hairgrass 7 staurogyne.

Will cut my feeding down & hopefully the leeches will go too!
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Looks great. I only skimmed on this read but will be going back over and looking in more depth later today :) Incidentally, how do you find the JBL filter ? Is it really whisper quiet ?
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Yeah its quiet & i've never had a problem with it. Its nice and slim to so its easy to fit into my cabinet.
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Cleaned the rocks again today, will take a new photo tomorrow when the water clears. Might need some advice on the positioning of my Koralia - not sure if i have it right...
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

Right,

Took some fairly decent pics (for me) today - and I think the quality of the plants is improving.

I have added the Koralia to the top right of the tank (pushing water in the same direction as the filter). I did try placing it in the back left corner - blowing towards the front of the tank, but i don't think this created as good a current.

Whats everyone else's thoughts about the direction to place the Koralia? By having both outputs am I creating the strongest, even flow across the bottom of my tank?



Here are some pics:

ukaps2.jpg


ukaps.jpg


ukaps4.jpg


ukaps3.jpg


Here is a pic of how the tank looked a few weeks ago, I can see improvement :)

img2358is.jpg
 
Re: My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

skeletonw00t said:
Yeah its quiet & i've never had a problem with it. Its nice and slim to so its easy to fit into my cabinet.
Click to expand...

That is precisely why i like them. Did you get the greenline version (supposedly 40% more power efficient) ? I have a Tetratec EX1200 at the moment, not even used it. Its too big to fit into the cabinet without taking the ruddy door off ! I have every faith in the filter, but I would prefer one thats a little less hassle.
 
My 130ltr Tank - Lots of Pics

No mate i got the normal one as its more litre per hour (1500 compared to 1300 i think?). Not sure how much of a different it makes though.
 
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