• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Paul's 200L, "Punishment of Luxury"

I that happen with my tank when I was too busy to take care of it, and plants were suffering the same way.

I thought I was dosing enough CO2 and ferts in there but still problems, I started adding 10ml a day of EasyCarbo and the surface scum went away, the algae disappeared, even growing HC which for me is a miracle.

I did try increasing the CO2 a few times, but then was close to killing the fish, so resulted to EC and that did the trick, could be worth a shot.
 
Now there's a thing, Paulo - I've been daily spot-dosing 3ml of Easycarbo to knock back the algae, and it has been working to an extent. I've not been totally regular with this, but perhaps I should be, and perhaps I should up the amount? Were you spot-dosing, or just chucking it in?

I'm sure my Co2 is near the max - I've backed it off just enough to stop the otos gulping, but I don't know how the harlequin rasboras will find it once I start introducing them. Anyway I'm not putting any more livestock in until I'm happy the plants have re-stabilised.

I'll review my EI dosing too - I've assumed I'm putting in plenty, as my photoperiod on full lights (c. 4wpg) is only for a few hours, and biomass is not really very high yet.

Having voiced concern about my shrimp, I decided to investigate. I crept in last night after lights-out with a torch and they were all out and about, happy as Larry.
 
funnily enough steve....

I had visions of paul crawlin in on hands and knees in full black stealth suit etc :crazy:
 
paul.in.kendal said:
Now there's a thing, Paulo - I've been daily spot-dosing 3ml of Easycarbo to knock back the algae, and it has been working to an extent. I've not been totally regular with this, but perhaps I should be, and perhaps I should up the amount? Were you spot-dosing, or just chucking it in?
Click to expand...
I just chuck it in, my tank is only a 125l also, so I would recommend you start with 10ml and up if necessary. After a water change I always dose 15-20ml.
 
I daily dose easy carbo in both my tanks, even though i have full co2 systems on both.

To give you an idea, i dose 3ml per day on my 60l, and i breed Crystal red shrimp successfully in that tank.
Its not spot dosed, just put straight in to the tank.

You dosing 3ml on a 200l, so i would support what Paulo is saying. You can dose more than 3ml with no problems. I got my lead from Graeme at TGM.
 
LondonDragon said:
I just chuck it in, my tank is only a 125l also, so I would recommend you start with 10ml and up if necessary. After a water change I always dose 15-20ml.
Click to expand...
Right, I'll get that sorted too. Thanks.
andyh said:
I had visions of paul crawlin in on hands and knees in full black stealth suit
Click to expand...
Sounds naughty. Glad the missus doesn't read this... :oops:
 
Yep I always find that dosing just CO2 is not enough in my tank, even when I pump it up to levels that the fish start struggling a little, so to compensate I dose EC which does not affect the fish, kills the algae and gives you a bigger margin for error on the CO2 dosing.
 
paul.in.kendal said:
andyh said:
dscf0004qs.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

This is a very nice setup. I like that Staurogyne very much.
 
hydrophyte said:
paul.in.kendal said:
andyh said:
dscf0004qs.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

This is a very nice setup. I like that Staurogyne very much.
Click to expand...
That's very kind - thanks very much indeed!

To be honest , although I really love it as a plant, I'm not totally convinced my unconventional positioning of the staurogyne works as well as it might. In the flesh, it's fine, as people engage with a tank from lots of different angles, rather than just foursquare like an FTS. I'll be interested to see how it develops over time.

The Hairgrass isn't doing it for me at the moment. Scruffy, scrappy, curling in all directions, lacking much colour and creating a right mess when trimmed, its continued presence is very much under review. If it fills out into a nice regular shag-pile carpet, it'll stay. Otherwise...

I've just done a major clean and prune. I gave the rotala a fairly savage hack back. Although it hadn't reached the surface (as approved), it was growing thick and strong, so I thought it was ripe for it. I'm starting to see how well it works positioned behind the rocks - all those scruffy lower bits out of sight. Nice call, Dan C!

Basic maintenance is starting to get easier. First time I stripped down the pipework etc. for a proper clean I got in a right mess repriming the filter (the 2180 has two inlets). Jim at TGM had recommended at the outset using a pump to prime, and I was faffing around moving it from one inlet pipe to the other, splashing water out of the refilled tank and getting nowhere fast. This time, after rereading my Eheim manual, I reprimed with the tank two-thirds full and simply stuck my thumb over the end of one inlet pipe while holding the pump on the end of the other one - much simpler!

I know that may sound blindingly obvious to some of you, but trust me, I've still got a lot of catching up to do on the very basic stuff.

The otos seem to really love it when the biofilm on the glass is disturbed. Since the clean up they've been charging round in a gang, obviously enjoying the clean water and seemingly spoilt for choice on what to munch on next. What lovely, characterful and helpful fish!
 
paul.in.kendal said:
I gave the rotala a fairly savage hack back. Although it hadn't reached the surface (as approved)
Click to expand...

what we all must take into consideration here is.....

firstly, if your tank is 60cm tall, do you wait until it reaches the top?.....

or if you have a nano which is only 20cm tall, do you wait for it to reach the top?.....or grow out the tank until it's 60cm tall :geek:

the 'reaching the top' thing is a guide line. the taller the tank, the less you wait before trimming. your looking for good strong (thick stem) before trimming :thumbup:

man, you need to persist with this tank. the hardscape and over all impression is amazing.

look at co2 and ferts. up both! your plant are crying out by the looks of things.
 
Blimey Mark - I don't know what to say! You're too kind. I've got to say I've been very happy with the hardscape right from the start. In part it's the result of lots of good UKAPS advice - most notably not to rush it. I've always been comfortable taking advice from people who know more about something than me (and there's a lot of those on here!) so, for example, ramping up the substrate higher and higher was definitely good advice, I think.

I've just got off my blahblahblahblah and put an extra dollop of ferts in - I'd already put in a bigger than usual dose of Easycarbo right after the waterchange.

The tank's 55cm tall, not 60, but as you suggest I was taking that extra height into account. And the stems were good and thick - noticeably different from when they first went in.

Thanks again - I'm really very chuffed!
 
aaronnorth said:
when you get the plant health back up, his tank will look stunning :thumbup:

CO2 looks to be the problem, move the DC around the tank and get some different readings, then adjust accordingly.
Click to expand...
Thanks Aaron. For my very first tank, I've got to tell you it already looks stunning to me! :lol: I was slack-jawed when the MH came on for the first time and the whole thing started glittering. Both me and my other half both spend a ton of time just gawping at it. What a brilliant hobby!

As for the HC: I've been moving the DC around, and Co2 distribution and intensity does seem good. With no previous experience, I have to fall back on getting the basics right and trusting that that ensures I don't go too far wrong. So for me it's a very big filter, a reactor, a spray bar all along the back wall, ALL the HC swaying in the current and the bubble rate just below the level at which the otos start gasping. And from yesterday I started upping the daily Easycarbo dose to 10ml, with 20ml on waterchange days. Now it's a case of wait and see. As Saintly says in another thread, I'm probably overthinking it.

Thanks again for all the valuable input.
 
Quick update. Ten weeks old, and I'm a happy bunny. Saintly's advice to look to my ferts and CO2 is paying off. I was nervous of upping my bubble rate, as I think I've got it just below fish-gasping levels. So I increased Easycarbo dosing to 10ml per day, 20ml on water-change day. Ferts are up by 50%, and after just a week there's been a definite improvement. HC is looking loads healthier, for sure.

I had to do a major trim on the staurogyne, as it was quite heavily algaed, but it's coming back nicely. Just added 10 harlequin rasbora and 12 more cherry shrimp. Planted 5 pots of Anubias Barteri Nana 'Bonsai'.

Photos in a day or two.

Once again I must sincerely thank the UKAPS community for timely advice and info. Saintly, I really appreciate your suggestion on dosings, without it I'd be tearing my hair out by now. And the general level of support from experienced hobbyists (like Saintly, Aaron and others) available on here when things go a bit pear-shaped is immensely reassuring. :thumbup:
 
Some images -

dscf0023rl.jpg


dscf0036zw.jpg


dscf0019by.jpg


dscf0006o.jpg


dscf0013p.jpg


That last image was reasonably easy to get (even though it's out of focus), as the harlequins are staying put, gulping for air in the corner of the tank with least surface movement.

This is a bit of a worry. When the otos first went in they did the same. I knocked back the CO2 a bit and they've not done it since. Now they just sit quietly by one of the inlets when the CO2 is on. I don't really want to reduce the CO2 further if I can help it - I'll have to raise the luminaire further if I do, for sure. But obviously I don't want the fish to be uncomfortable.

I've noticed today they're still gulping, but not so much. It's set me (over)thinking. Do fish take time to adjust to highly carbonated water? Does their oxygen requirement increase due to more vigorous swimming, when they're transferred from relatively sluggish shop tanks to high flow planted tanks? Are they well-adapted to survive in poorly oxygenated water by gulping - after all, they must find themselves in oxygen starved puddles in the wild at times? Is gulping a sign of distress - mine have good colour, after all?

Or am I just making excuses for myself, and should I just bite the bullet and reduce CO2 a bit further?
 
Paul

You will probably find that its the transfer from a highly rich oxygenated water to semi rich oxygenated water/ high Co2 levels, usually the tanks in fish shops are high in oxygenated water due to the vast quantity of fish that are in those little glass boxes, give them time to settle in - if it helps tweek the Co2 levels (lower) or distrub the water surface more.

Regards
paul.
 
Thanks Paul - that's really, really helpful. And fairly obvious when I think about those furiously bubbling airstones in shops! My conscience got the better of me and I tweaked down the CO2 shortly after that last post - I knew if I was asking the question I probably knew the right answer! Thanks again.
 
Paul

It just about getting the right levels of o2 v co2 - plants consume co2 and give out o2 and vice versa for the fish - so the more fish you have in the tank the smaller the quantity of injected co2 required, it might just be 0.5 or 1 bps adjustments (very minute).

I got my levels slightly wrong in my little tank and I had my otto's doing death rolls - luckly I was at home and spotted them rolling and I mean rolling, co2 off, 50% water change and twist my spray bar up to distrub the water all night / part of the day to remove all the residual gas from the water, reset the bps the following day, everything is fine now.

Regards
paul.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top