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Struggling a bit - can't work out why

Just a thought, i have had algae issues so what i did was slow the flow down by partially closing the inlet lever on my e1500. This has meant happier plants at the front but also i have been able to easily achieve a 1ph drop in 50 minutes from CO2 on, also i can get it down to a 1.6 ph drop should i have to...i have no fish.

My plants have reacted positively!
 
Not a huge amount to report.

I am struggling with the witch craft that is balancing CO2.

One minute too high, one minute too low. Struggling to get 1ph drop without fishing getting noticably stressed and moving to the top of the tank.
 
One thing to remember with the 1ph drop target. This doesn't have to be from the first thing in the morning reading to lights on. It's from tank water measured as rested for 24 hours to a lights on reading.
If you do not have a lot of surface agitation the over night ph may actually only drop by 0.5 or less so by aiming for another 1 point ph from that you may actually be dropping the ph 1.5 rather than the target 1.0.

If you cannot get it stable then I suggest more surface agitation as this will stop it rising too far.
 
I am wondering if my photo period might be a bit short. My lights come on at 17.30 and ramp up until 18.00. It then ramps down at 23.30 and off at 00.00. So the lights are limited to 5 and a half hours at the full intensity


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Hey Chris

Thanks for the reply.

So, I should really be getting a sample of tank water, resting for 24 hours, and then using the PH of this water as my start point.

Then aim for this PH - 1point as my lights on PH value?

Aaron
 
aaron.c said:
Hey Chris

Thanks for the reply.

So, I should really be getting a sample of tank water, resting for 24 hours, and then using the PH of this water as my start point.

Then aim for this PH - 1point as my lights on PH value?

Aaron
Click to expand...

Yes that's right.
 
That's interestng Chris - never knew that! Might explain why I can't currently get a PH drop in the right place.

My CO2 currently comes on a full 3 hours before my lights.
 
Have cleaned the tank today and done my filter maintenance. Decided to check the atomiser, it has only been on since the middle of November. It was filthy, really filthy.

I think this is because I removed the filter floss from my external to try and eek more flow.

I actually don't think the extra flow was needed now, and it recent weeks I have been running the filter at a lower throughput. I have added the floss back in and cranked the filter back to 100% flow seems to have remained the same.

I have replaced the atomiser with the new version with interchangable ceramic. I have 3 of the ceramic inners, so I can rotate these every 4 weeks or so.
 
Why not run the lights at 100% for a few hours as well? Up the photosynthesis
 
Hey Ted

Afraid the controller doesn't allow that.

I have upped the lights to 80%. They are quite far from the substrate so I think that light may have been a limiting factor.
 
That was my thought if co2, flow and ferts are optimal.
 
Hi all

I have just tested KH - bit shocked to find it was 10 mg/l as cac03 - or less than 1 degree, about .5! So next to no buffering whatsoever. This is no doubt why my poor fish are suffering with the co2 injection. Will it also be causing my plants problems?


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Latest update... I have removed the spray bar. I have put the duck bill on one side and a koralia at the other end of the tank to get a nice circular pattern.

The spray bars didn't extend the whole tank and keeping the water level perfect was a pain


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Hi Aaron

How are your plants doing lately? BBA still troublesome?

I had very similar problems in my new tank when I first started it up. Cutting back the micros and increasing macros certainly improved things for me.

Co2 or flow was definitely not the issue in my case. I used a drop checker all over the tank and spot checked with a calibrated ph meter to confirm. I know everyone thinks they have good co2 but I really can say 100% that co2 was not the issue.

My symptoms were extreme chlorosis on lower leaves of staurogyne repens. They were white in large patches. My Pogostemon erectus just didn't grow at all. Monte Carlo was browning on the edges and the tank was developing a serious case off BBA. The surface was like an oil slick and you could see white flecks in it that looked exactly like the white flecks found in my micro mix. The only plant that seemed ok was the ludwigia repens.

I know that micro toxicity is a hot potato so I'm not going to dig it up all over again but I know that stopping traces for a couple of weeks whilst performing large water changes then
Just throwing a pinch in every couple of days turned things around pretty quickly for me.
 
aaron.c said:
My least favourite ;)

I mix my EI solutions as per the AquariumPlantFood instructions below;

Macro Solution

Mix, Shake & Leave to Dissolve Overnight:

  • 4tsp Potassium Nitrate
  • 1tsp Potassium Phosphate
  • 6tsp Magnesium Sulphate
  • 500ml Water
Micro Solution

Mix, Shake & Leave to Dissolve Overnight:

  • 1tsp Chelated Trace Elements
  • 500ml Water
I tend to mix up 1l batches as I have 1 litre dosing containers.
Click to expand...

I used to do the APF mix and it completely ****** my tank. I'd have good weeks and bad weeks.

What did I do? I dumped the MGSO4 and went with GH Booster instead. Things improved dramatically.

I also do 1.5 tsp of trace to 500ml instead of the 1 tsp APF calls for.
 
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