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My tank

Yes a gift from my wife (I don't think I'd ever buy fish on my own) they were bought from LFS ... 1 died before we got home, 1 floated up to the top the next day, but I assumed this was due to stress... they were added aprox. 2 weeks ago?
 
Hi Alan
The reason i ask is fish from LFS can suffer when you add them to a Co2 set-up.
They can take a long time to adjust to this sort of environment....at times.
Some fish are better than others at it....Cardinals/Neon Tetras seem to find it more stressful than other fish.
That's my observation over the years.....the LFS dont pump Co2 into their aquariums do they.
You get my drift.....i don't know what more to suggest regarding your fish...other than you could always move them to a tank with a air stone to see if that improves their health for a few days.
Then try and re-introduce them again.
Cheers
hoggie
 
I get what you're saying, and I thought at first about this too... I got the fish "acclimated" to the tank.. or so I thought... I added some tank water the bag (a bit more each time) then put into a seperate tank for a bit... not just drop into the tank.... but the problem is the 2 older fish are also suffering ones that didn't really mind the co2 so much anymore. :\ I think you may be right... it's a shame it's summer, the mate that owns the shop here does co2 his tanks but he's got only a few fish otherwise she would have went there... my main reason why I thought CO2 was the cause was they dying off of the shrimp...[DOUBLEPOST=1404803276][/DOUBLEPOST]I was wondering, if Ammonia would cause these kinds of issues... the shrimp seem to have a black spot on them and I read it could either be ammonia spike or stress...
 
There could be many reasons why fish/shrimp die...Co2 stress could be one.
You could try a little experiment....take half of your fish out and put them in another non Co2 tank.
See what happens...
hoggie
 
A quote from Tom Barr
Well, DC have issues also, they tell you basically 3 very general things (not enough, hopefully just right and too much) and they are slow to respond.
I do not use them personally.

I use experience basically.
I start off low and then incrementally and progressively, but most importantly patiently and slowly add more and more CO2.
You can use the pH/KH chart to target that range, the chart will never underestimate the CO2, it will very often overestimate the CO2, so you will be lulled into thinking you have say 40ppm, when you might only have say 15ppm.
The reverse is never true: it will not suggest you have 15ppm, when you actually have 40ppm.
Unless you have a broke pH probe etc or made a mistake measuring etc.


I add more CO2 and wait 2-4 days and watch fish, plants etc.
I do not rush this process.

This way I can tell the response of fish, plants, and algae to only slight changes in CO2 dosing.
This is really useful, because I can easily add ferts consistently, and the PAR from the lights does not change except over years.

So this leaves CO2 changes as the main variable to keep an eye on.
Some species of fish, algae and plants are more responsive as well.

hoggie
 
Hoggie, that's exactly what I was thinking about yesterday, to put some of the fish and remainder of shrimp into the non co2 tank and see what happens, it's a small tank but at least they wouldn't be under co2 stress.

I'll do a water change and do as suggested in the quote, I will slowly add the co2 when I see that the fish are responding positively after a few days... but this is assuming that CO2 is the problem, what if the co2 is almost completely turned off and still have the same problem?

cheers for your input
 
Hi Alan
Although your drop checker reads as Blue you may have 29ppm Co2......this maybe too much for your fish at this moment in time.
When the colour changes to Green you will have 30ppm Co2....when it changes to yellow you will have more than 30ppm Co2.
As you see it could be around 28/29ppm range of Co2 when the drop checker turns to Blue....which maybe stressing your inhabitants.
Just to add the census is that 25ppm and above of Co2 can cause stress in fish...not sure about shrimp.
Have you a rough idea what your ph is and KH?
hoggie[DOUBLEPOST=1404807387][/DOUBLEPOST]
co2chart.jpg
 
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straight out of the tap the ph is 7.7 (according to water works) now it's about 6.8~, KH out of the tap is 201-213CaCo3 Mg/L (not sure how to convert this) I have no idea what's in my aquarium I have no tests to check it as they're bloody expensive ... so with PH being 6.8 I'd need 19ppm to have 'ideal' concentration.... yes?
 
I think you divide it by 17.9....to get the figure.
Approx 12.
You should aim for 24ppm Co2 or slightly below for a few weeks...till your fish get acclimatised.
This should be enough to keep your plants healthy enough till you start increasing the Co2 to get your drop checker to turn Green this will be 30ppm.
 
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so slowly turn up the co2? give them a couple days and then turn up some more? until I get to 24ppm leave for a few weeks and see if everything is happy?

Curious, How did you get the approx 12?
 
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Great article and lots of good insight about CO2 delivery. I am here cause I have an issue and hoping someone can shed a light on it. Just recently set up a 220 gallon tank (72" L x 30" H x 24" D) for a friend. It has been a week since the setup and I am losing a lot of plants due to a major meltdown. I have been dosing EI since the following day of the tank setup regularly as advised and recommended for a tank my size. Both macro and micro nutrients has been dosed regularly for 5 days. When the tank was filled after the aquascape was done, it was filled with only cold water and all 3 lights turned. CO2 was pumped into the tank the next following day and has been set to turn on an hour before the light comes on. A photoperiod of 6 hours per day is used daily. A 50% water change was made on Day 5 and dosing of ferts commences as usual. I am dosing NPK & CSM+B for the past 6 days and today is day 7.


My drop checker solution was added into drop checker and tank water was used to measure the levels. I have never changed the solution in the drop checker since then and the PH has remained from solid green when the lights go on and turns to lime green by the end of the day.


From Day 3 I have been noticing some issues with the plants in the tank. My Java moss that has been used on top of the driftwood has turned brown. Anubias nana, java ferns, java ferns lace is melting and leaves turning yellow, green, has holes on it. Some plants that has been planted has been melting too like my Staurogyne Repens. Riccia Fluitans tied to rocks showed some signs of melting but now is slowly improving. Below is the list of plants that was planted into the tank:-



1. Java Fern- Glued them down to the driftwood with crazy glue. ( Melting, turning black to brown on some leaves)


2. Java Fern Lace – Glued them down to the driftwood with crazy glue. ( Completely turned to mush and was brown/black)


3. Anubias Nana – Glued them down to the driftwood with crazy glue. ( Leaves showing signs of deficiency e.g. yellow coloration, dropping off, light green )


4. Bacopa Caroliana - Planted into the substrate. ( Looks healthy)


5. Hemianthus micranthemoides – Planted into the substrate. (Some stems have turned brown and has melted)


6. HC Cuba – Planted into the substrate. ( Looks normal but not great either)


7. Baby Tears Giant –Planted into the substrate. ( Looks normal but not great either)


8. Taiwan Moss – Glued them down to the driftwood with crazy glue. (A little brown)


9. Glossostigma Elatinoides – Planted into the substrate. ( Some leaves melted but I can notice some growth)


10. Staurogyne repens – Planted into the substrate. ( Some has melted, some shows signs of growth)


11. Riccia Fluitans - Tied to rock slabs and scattered throughout the tank. ( Melted in the begining but slowing showing signs of growth on the rocks)


12. Java Moss - Attached to the top of the driftwood. (Turned brown on Day 3. Had to remove some portions and moved it into a low light tank. Some leaves are turning green slowly)


13. Pennywort - Planted into the substrate. ( The healthiest of all the plants. Nice bright green and looks awesome)


These are my specs for the tank:-



Hardscape: Driftwoods bought from Big Al's LFS


Rocks: Yamaya rocks and some random rocks found from rock quarries that has been aquascaped into the tank.


Substrate: NETLEA Brown Soil (5L) – 26 bags Mid Size Grain (Think of this as the Chinese version of the ADA Aquasoil and it has worked amazing for me in the past in my previous aquascapes. It has water buffering capabilities and maintains the PH at a steady PH of 6.6. )


Decoration White Sand (12KG）- 8 bags


Substrate Base Additives:NETLEA BASE FERTILIZER 500ML - 4 units


Bacteria : Biozym - 2 bottles. ( Sprinkled at the bottom of the tank )


Lighting for high light high tech setup: 666 watts of lighting in total – 3 metal halide lighting unit with compact fluorescent. Each lighting unit has (150 Watts x 36 watts x 36 watts). These are suspended over a metal bar off the tank.


Filtration System: 2 Big Canister Filters with a 1350 GPH turnover rate together.


Co2 Setup – 10lb Co2 setup with solenoid valve, check valve, 4 in 1 diffuser with check valve. ( The CO2 is placed under the inflow of one of the filters and the outflow is placed beside the inflow and pointed down for CO2 distribution. A glass drop checker with a 4DKH solution is placed opposite of the tank to measure PH levels.



This is my dosing schedule:-


Day 1


  • Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) : 2 tsp

  • Monopotassium Phosphate (KH2 PO4) : ¼ tsp x 3

  • Magnesium Sulphate: (MgSO4) : 5 ½ tsp

Day 2


  • CSM+B Trace : ¼ tsp x 3

Day 3


  • Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) : 2 tsp

  • Monopotassium Phosphate (KH2 PO4) : ¼ tsp x 3

  • Magnesium Sulphate: (MgSO4) : 5 ½ tsp

Day 4


  • CSM+B Trace : ¼ tsp x 3

Day 5


  • Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) : 2 tsp

  • Monopotassium Phosphate (KH2 PO4) : ¼ tsp x 3

  • Magnesium Sulphate: (MgSO4) : 5 ½ tsp

Day 6 & 7: REST



So since the meltdown, I have reduced the lights turning on only the middle metal halide lighting unit with compact fluorescent and only the compact fluorescents turned on for the other 2 lights. The same photo period of 6 hours is being applied and it is Day 7 today.


I have acquired the plants from various sources and have no idea is they have been grown emmersed or submersed. There are no livestock in the tank as of yet until I figure out what is causing the melting of the plants.


If someone can shed some light I would be very grateful as I have gone through various forums and have not found a satisfactory answer from other fellow aquascapers hence wanting to post it here. I have been aquascaping for years and have had some great results but kinda stumped now seeing how I am unable to figure this situation out.

I have attached 2 videos of the tank setup below.






Thanks!


Martin.
 
Well what I meant by stable is that the substrate has ph buffering capabilities and has been at 6.8 since the day it was set up. The substrate maintains the water's PH around 6.6-6.8.[DOUBLEPOST=1406919642][/DOUBLEPOST]And no, CO2 is only turned on for an hour before the lights come on and turned off an hour before the lights go out. I am on a 6 hour photo period.
 
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