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Tom's Mini M
- Thread starter Tom
- Start date
Tom
Member
Cheers Ryan - this is why I can't understand this time round! It's plain old Java Moss in there.
That tank went through 3 stages back in 2008 that used the same Java Moss base.
Stage 1 - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=0&id=90
Quite unruly and not well-trimmed. Not mature either.
Stage 2 - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=0&id=83
This was the second attempt, and the one I prefer out of the three. The moss was pretty nice by this point.
Stage 3 - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=0&id=89
Changed to Iwagumi, just to try it out.
Tom
That tank went through 3 stages back in 2008 that used the same Java Moss base.
Stage 1 - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=0&id=90
Quite unruly and not well-trimmed. Not mature either.
Stage 2 - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=0&id=83
This was the second attempt, and the one I prefer out of the three. The moss was pretty nice by this point.
Stage 3 - http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ol=0&id=89
Changed to Iwagumi, just to try it out.
Tom
Tom
Member
It started life like this:
Was going to suggest that to spread the flow more evenly to see if it made a difference, hard luck Tom! Keep fightingTom said:
Tom
Member
LondonDragon said:
Might have a go at DIY-ing one tomorrow then. Won't be pretty, but anything's better than algae. Could probably open the tap up on the filter then too and get a higher turnover with less velocity!!
nayr88
Member
- Joined
- 4 Feb 2010
- Messages
- 2,101
Yeah defo go for a spray bar mate, take your time with it and it'll come out really well.
I read up abit on it, as an electrician we bent plastic tubes, larger than what you would use but same principle, we used a metal rod that's like a spring, in this case I don't think that would any good, your better of filling the tube your bending with salt/sand and heating then bending. I'd have a U-bend to get over the glass followed by a 90degree bend to get the actual bar across the back of the tank. Would be good it you could get a suction cup on it? Like the ehiem ones.
Cheers ill check the links now
I read up abit on it, as an electrician we bent plastic tubes, larger than what you would use but same principle, we used a metal rod that's like a spring, in this case I don't think that would any good, your better of filling the tube your bending with salt/sand and heating then bending. I'd have a U-bend to get over the glass followed by a 90degree bend to get the actual bar across the back of the tank. Would be good it you could get a suction cup on it? Like the ehiem ones.
Cheers ill check the links now
Steve Smith
Member
I guess the next question might be filter maintenance etc. Anything died in the filter/any issues with livestock (sorry, I can't remember if there's live stock in the tank).
B7fec
Member
God Tom sorry to hear about the troubles......such a nice little setup too. I'd go with the spray bar idea mate, I had an eheim spray bar in my old scape when I broke my lily outlet and the results were awesome. Much better circulation and flow, better CO2 distribution because of it and my plants pearled like crazy!
Tom
Member
Right, spray bar in place. Bodged together from several different filters. It now sits on the end of my lily, and I've opened the tap right up on the Eheim. I'd estimate an actual turnover of maybe 20x. You can see where I've replaced most of the sand too in an attempt to clean things up a bit. Stones have also been removed, and are awaiting some patience from me so they can be put back again. The moss under the small bit of wood floated away - none of the moss has shown any signs of attaching to anything yet.
Moss after trimming the nasty stuff away yesterday. It's growing quite quickly, but doesn't take long to be covered in nastiness.
Good old Spiro again
Some of the BBA/Stag
The Staurogyne keeps putting out new leaves (as does the Hydrocotyle), but only the top node stays clean - the rest goes brown and diatomy once again
Tom
Moss after trimming the nasty stuff away yesterday. It's growing quite quickly, but doesn't take long to be covered in nastiness.
Good old Spiro again
Some of the BBA/Stag
The Staurogyne keeps putting out new leaves (as does the Hydrocotyle), but only the top node stays clean - the rest goes brown and diatomy once again
Tom
Tom
Member
SteveUK said:
Filter is regularly squeezed out and rinsed in the water change bucket. Maybe weekly or so, but it gets pretty nasty in the bio-ball section. I had 2 Otos - one died within a few days of being in there, the other died in the blackout. Both seemed healthy before dying, so I could only assume too much CO2 - but then why the BBA/Staghorn?
As for shrimp, I know I have a couple, but I haven't seen all 4 at a time since the blackout. Haven't found anything dead though, so they might just be behind the log again.
A
Anonymous
Guest
I do the filter maintenance every three-four months and I usually empty the canister and rinse or change the prefilter and that's it, maybe once a year I rinse the other media, even when I had internal filters with little filter media I usually didn't touch them too often.
Cheers,
Mike
Cheers,
Mike
ghostsword
Member
Tom said:
I had issues with BBA and I had lots of CO2. I also had a air pump at night. Turned the air pump off and no more BBA.
Can't explain it, but it was the only thing that has changed in the past month.
Guess the levels of CO2 the remain in the water column are now more stable than before, as the surface agitation from the water pump would get rid of most of the co2 in the water, now it doesn't.ghostsword said:
Tom
Member
BBA
Other stuff, still there.
Whatever this is, it comes back very very quickly - suggestions vary from Diatoms to Spiro to Rhizo. If it's either of the first two, I don't know where the ammonia came from to cause it. If it's Rhizo, I'm blasting it with 2bps plus liquid carbon. The BBA and Staghorn suggest CO2, but there is so much going in! George managed with just Excel in a smaller tank with the same lighting. I'm dosing that, plus actual CO2 and I still get CO2-related algae.
Other stuff, still there.
Whatever this is, it comes back very very quickly - suggestions vary from Diatoms to Spiro to Rhizo. If it's either of the first two, I don't know where the ammonia came from to cause it. If it's Rhizo, I'm blasting it with 2bps plus liquid carbon. The BBA and Staghorn suggest CO2, but there is so much going in! George managed with just Excel in a smaller tank with the same lighting. I'm dosing that, plus actual CO2 and I still get CO2-related algae.
Steve Smith
Member
How old is the wood Tom? Could it be decomposing and causing problems? Clutching at straws now!
I've not read all the details, so apologies if this has been covered already...
I get BBA outbreaks from time to time in my main tank. I've noticed a large WC often triggers them, but the underlying cause is always a dirty tank. eg do not clean the filter for over a month, then disturb some muck, and do a WC.. couple of weeks later, BBA.
Hope that helps.
I get BBA outbreaks from time to time in my main tank. I've noticed a large WC often triggers them, but the underlying cause is always a dirty tank. eg do not clean the filter for over a month, then disturb some muck, and do a WC.. couple of weeks later, BBA.
Hope that helps.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Again some quick tips since I've just started the first Amazonia tank a month ago:
The diatoms stringy thingy is normal, I have it on my moss but I let it be, I just use a brush to clean it, it should disappear when tanks matures.
Try not to trim the plants too often, let the recover and they should overcome the algae, concentrate only on flow and CO2 distribution.
And finally have more patience
Cheers,
Mike
The diatoms stringy thingy is normal, I have it on my moss but I let it be, I just use a brush to clean it, it should disappear when tanks matures.
Try not to trim the plants too often, let the recover and they should overcome the algae, concentrate only on flow and CO2 distribution.
And finally have more patience
Cheers,
Mike
Tom
Member
Steve - The wood doesn't seem to be causing the main problem. The stringy algae is only on the plants, not the wood. The BBA and Staghorn however is only on the wood, but the wood wouldn't cause that would it? There's now some dark hair algae on the edges of the old Staurogyne leaves.
Mike - The the thing is the tank should be mature by now, surely. I had normal diatoms for quite a while during startup, then everything cleared within a couple of days and it was near perfect. Then suddenly I had this outbreak, which is still growing incredibly quickly. The algae is growing about half an inch to an inch per day. I'm down to 11w of light too now, and the tank looks very dark. Could be because of the red bulb though.
I'm still at 2bps CO2 which should be way way too much, yet the BBA and Staghorn is still accelerating. The Amano's seem to hide all day and night too - They don't appear to eat any algae at all, and as I've already said the Otos were gassed.
The spraybar is great for distribution - the CO2 bubbles are easily flowing round the whole tank and are being blasted directly at the BBA on the wood with no improvement. Anyway, even with the level of Excel I'm dosing I shouldn't even need to add any CO2!
Mike - The the thing is the tank should be mature by now, surely. I had normal diatoms for quite a while during startup, then everything cleared within a couple of days and it was near perfect. Then suddenly I had this outbreak, which is still growing incredibly quickly. The algae is growing about half an inch to an inch per day. I'm down to 11w of light too now, and the tank looks very dark. Could be because of the red bulb though.
I'm still at 2bps CO2 which should be way way too much, yet the BBA and Staghorn is still accelerating. The Amano's seem to hide all day and night too - They don't appear to eat any algae at all, and as I've already said the Otos were gassed.
The spraybar is great for distribution - the CO2 bubbles are easily flowing round the whole tank and are being blasted directly at the BBA on the wood with no improvement. Anyway, even with the level of Excel I'm dosing I shouldn't even need to add any CO2!
Steve Smith
Member
Did you say in another post that you're lowering the level of Excel you're dosing, or was that someone else? If it were someone else, then this seemed to make a difference. I think the theory was that the excel was weakening the plants too and not helping matters.
Tom
Member
I lowered it by about a third in my Do!Aqua which may have helped, but there could have been a number of factors. I had stopped the dosing in this tank as advised a few pages back (along with everything but ADA and MgSO4). I'm now giving it 1.5ml because of the bloom in CO2 related algae. My actual CO2 just keeps going up and up every few days.
