The Plant Tank

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Tweaking amounts of K/Ca/Mg

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 5-10 (before dose)
  • PO4: 0.1 (before dose)
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate, 2.5 ppm KNO3, 1.6 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 10:1.7 = 5.9

Notes:
I received my order of Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, and Potassium Sulfate, and am tweaking the ratio of Ca/Mg/K from what is given by Equilibrium so that I am targeting dosing 15 ppm potassium, and a GH of 8 with a Ca/Mg ratio of approx 3.35.

Very roughly, for 50 gallons of water, about 0.5 tsp MgSO4 and 1 tsp CaCl2 will result in an increase of 1 dGH, or at least I hope I calculated correctly. I will measure tomorrow to check. See Solution Recipe Reference for how I calculated these amounts. Since I don't want to waste the Equilibrium I already have, I mixed the Equilibrium and chemical dosing to reach the desired target levels.

50% water change:
25 mL Amquel+
3 tsp Equilibrium
2 tsp CaCl2
1 tsp MgSO4
2.5 tsp baking soda

Friday, April 28, 2006

Melting ludwigia and senegalensis

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 0.5 ppm iron chelate, 5 ppm Flourish potassium (+ 5 ppm Flourish potassium yesterday)
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I'm scratching my head as to what nutrient is deficient, some of ammania senegalensis and ludwigia peruensis have melted away, and some of the bottom leaves of the ludwigia repens had black spots/holes. The magenta is still just sort of hanging in there. I had added over 25 ppm of potassium at the beginning of the week, which should be planty. But because of the black spots on the older leaves of the repens, I'm guessing that there could possibly be some sort of potassium deficieny going on. I'm beginning to think that perhaps the UV sterilizer could somehow be causing some of the minerals (potassium???) to precipitate out of solution, as hinted at by the bluish cloudiness that shows up after I run the UV. It could be iron precipitating out. I only ran the UV for a day, and I dose iron every day, so I don't see how there would be a significant deficiency in iron, though.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Some random pictures

  • pH: 6.7
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10
  • PO4: 1.0
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate, 0.6 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 10:3.4 = 2.9

Notes:

One of the harlequin rasboras obligingly paused long enough for my camera to catch.

The camera doesn't quite capture the color correctly for the Alternathera reineckii. The undersides of the leaves are more of a hot magenta/pink. You can see that the leaves have grown in ruffled, perhaps a slight deficiency in Ca?

There looks like a slight increase in growth of green dust algae on the tank walls today, as well as some fuzz/beard algae growing on plant leaves.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I managed to catch one of the cherry shrimp with the camera. Looks like a female from the coloration.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Ratio of K/Ca/Mg in Equilibrium and stunting

  • pH:
  • Temp: 77
  • KH:
  • GH: 7
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10
  • PO4: 0.75 (before dose)
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate, 1.0 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 10:2.8 = 3.6

Notes:
A lot of the stem plants are still growing in stunted, and I strongly think that it is related to the ratios of K/Ca/Mg. Although Equilibrium is convenient, I am frustrated with being unable to change the ratio of K/Ca/Mg. I ordered some Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, and Potassium Sulfate from www.gregwatson.com so I can fiddle with the ratios. Specifically, after looking at my previous blog entries, my theory is that the amount of K being dosed by Equilibrium is too high, relative to the amount of Ca and Mg being added.

One of the stunted Rotala indica

The reason why I think this is that I looked through my weekly tank pictures and corresponding blog entries, and during the period of the biggest and lushest growth, I was in a situation in which I was slowly trying to lower the GH from about 8-9 to 5-6 by adding less Equilibrium (3 tsp) during each each water change. What that means is that for that period of a couple weeks, the GH level was higher relative to the amount of of potassium being added, at least until the GH lowered to the target range and equalized back to the ratios being added by Equilibrium. During that time, there was also a slight deficiency in potassium (stargrass is good indicator of potassium deficiency). 3 tsp of Equilibrium adds approx 15-16 ppm potassium in my tank.

Also, I've read that potassium aids in the uptake of iron, and during that period of time, I was having difficulty with iron deficiency (pale stargrass leaves), even though I was dosing up to 2 ppm of iron chelate daily! Currently, I have no problems dosing only 0.5 ppm iron chelate daily or even less. That could make sense if there was also a deficiency of potassium during that time, and plenty of potassium now.

Another possible idea I've been thinking about is that perhaps at higher GH levels, the plants become more forgiving of much higher levels of potassium, meaning at or above a concentration threshold of Ca/Mg, plants will still uptake Ca/Mg in sufficient levels even if there is an excess of potassium. What could be this higher GH level in which the Equilibrium ratios of K/Ca/Mg would be okay? I currently have the GH at 7. Maybe 8-10, I don't know. Another possible view on the same idea is that with higher potassium levels, plants uptake more potassium and also need higher quantities of Ca/Mg.

I want to try cutting down on potassium first, though. If cutting down on potassium results in fixing the Ca deficiency, but causes a potassium deficiency, then I will try this second method of raising both potassium and GH levels together. As soon as I receive the chemicals, I will put these theories to the test.

Related post in a forum.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 1 ppm iron chelate
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
CO2 bubble rate was not staying level, it had dropped to less than a bubble every 2 sec, so I increased it back to approx. 1.8 b/s again. There was still a slight haze in the water today, perhaps because of the low CO2 rate. I had turned off the UV sterilizer in the morning.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH: 5
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10 (after dose)
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 1.25 ppm KNO3, 1.8 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 10:1.8 = 5.6

Notes:
50% water change
30 mL Amquel+
2.5 tsp baking soda
5 tsp Equilibrium

Turned on the UV sterilizer today after the water change, got that same slight haze almost bluish haze in the water as last time. It clears up, though, after I turn off the UV sterilizer. I'm happy with the sterilizer, so I went ahead today and returned the diatom filter. It's much more convenient to use than the diatom filter, and seems just as effective.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Replacing CO2 tank

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing:
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
While I went out to get the CO2 tank refilled, I shut off the lights, because otherwise I usually get a burst of algae growth without the CO2. When I came back a couple hours later, I was surprised to see a sudden increase in green water in just the couple of hours. Some of the plants, especially the stargrass, seemed to be stretching upwards, as if seeking the light. It never ceases to surprise me to see how fast the plants and algae will react to changes in environment. I got the 10 pound tank refilled for about $11.50.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Dropping CO2 pressure

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10-20
  • PO4: 1.25
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
The danio pair were jumping into the AquaClear filter, and this time, I could see some of their eggs pouring out of the filter output as they splashed around inside the filter. The other fish were happy to have a caviar snack.

I also noticed that the pressure of the CO2 tank has dropped. It usually hovers around 900 psi, but it's been steadily dropping over the past couple weeks, and it's now at around 600 psi. As the pressure drops, the low pressure gauge in the regulator has increased from about 20 psi to about 40 psi. I will probably go get it refilled tomorrow at a local welding supply store.

The pressure usually begins dropping after all the CO2 in liquid form has been used up, leaving only CO2 gas in the tank. Supposedly, there is a danger of the regulator/valve becoming unable to regulate the flow of gas when the pressure drops too low, causing the remaining CO2 to suddenly dump out of the tank all at once ("end of tank dump"), which the fish will definitely not appreciate. To be absolutely safe, you should get your tank refilled when you first notice the pressure dropping. Some people will wait till the gas drops to 400 psi or even lower, it depends on a person's love of risk.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Results of increasing GH/potassium

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
Last night, I added 2 extra tsp of Equilibrium, which brought the GH up from 6 to approx 7. I had done so because the Rotala indica/rotundifolia was stunted, and utilization of nitrates and phosphates seemed almost non-existent over the past several days.

This morning, there was a sudden burst of growth in the Rotala indica/rotundifolia with normal sized leaves. It seems that most of the stem plants also had a burst of growth. I was surprised to see a response so quickly. My guess is that the plants were looking for higher levels of Ca/Mg. It could have been due to the extra potassium (~10 extra ppm), but growth was slow even right after the first addition of Equilibrium during the water change, which added over 20 ppm potassium. With the increase in GH hardness, I also noticed an increase overnight in algae. It seems that algae also appreciates harder water. I also saw some of the "brown sludge" algae appear today.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Plant recovery/growth so far

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10-20
  • PO4: 2.0
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 1 ppm iron chelate, 2 tsp Equilibrium
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
The rasbora with the wound/red sore on its side was lying on the floor of the tank, gasping, so I euthanised it today (put fish into a cup with some tank water and put it into freezer until dead).

Otherwise, I saw three shrimp today, the most I've seen at any one time, proof that at least some of them are out and about.

I've been ramping up in Flourish/iron chelate dosing to a very high amount of 10 mL Flourish daily (recommended levels are 5 mL once or twice a week) and 1 ppm iron chelate, and the water is still crystal clear. The UV sterilizer seems to work well at zapping whatever was left of the green water. It's definitely much more convenient than the diatom filter. I will probably return the diatom filter this weekend.

It seems, for some reason, that not much of the phosphates/nitrates have been used up. The Rotala indica/rotundifolia has not flourished as I had hoped; it seems to be stalling in place. New growth is stunted. The hairgrass and glosso have recovered from the green water and are back to growing at their usual rate. The Ludwigia peruensis/glandulosa is doing well, new leaves are growing in pretty quickly. The new leaves are more of a reddish pink, rather than the purple I'm hoping for, though. The Ammania senegalensis is doing all right, it's been shedding its leaves, but new leaves are growing in a pale orange/pink.

The Rotala magenta is still looking pretty pitiful. There is some new leaves growing in, but the rest of the leaves are melting, and the new leaves are small and green. Most people seem to recommend low nitrate levels (5-10 ppm) coupled with higher phosphate levels (1-2 ppm) for Rotala macrandra/magenta, so I'm going to try to get the nitrate levels to around 10 ppm. I don't like to have the nitrates much lower than 10, because the other plants will start to show nitrate deficiency. Also, when the ratio gets skewed towards low nitrates/high phosphates, more blue green algae (BGA, cyanobacteria) starts appearing. I see some small bits of BGA in the new sprouting leaves of the ludwigia repens.

I decided to add 2 tsp of Equilibrium to see if that helps with the stunted Rotala indica/rotundifolia. I had read also that extra Ca+ seems to help the Rotala macrandra (I usually look at recommendations for macrandra, even though I have magenta, since macrandra is more common and the growing conditions are similar), despite most documented plant descriptions stating that the macrandra prefers soft water.

Monday, April 17, 2006

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 1 ppm iron chelate, 25 mL Melafix
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Trying out the UV sterilizer so far

  • pH: 6.7
  • Temp: 78
  • KH: 5.5
  • GH: 6
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10-20
  • PO4: 0.35
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 1 ppm iron chelate, 1.25 ppm KNO3, 1.4 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 16.25:2.6 = 6.25

Notes:
There has been a slight almost bluish haze since the water change and addition of the UV sterilizer yesterday. I switched off the UV sterilizer today, and within a couple hours, the bluish haze cleared away. Perhaps the haze is from dead/dying free floating algae, or perhaps something is being oxidized and precipitating out, I don't know. Perhaps there is even some reaction with the Melafix. The instructions for Melafix recommend that the UV sterilizer not be run when using the Melafix.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Hooking up the TurboTwist UV sterilizer

  • pH:
  • Temp: 78
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 7.5 ppm KNO3, 1 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:
Notes:
50% water change:
3 tsp baking soda
4 tsp Equilibrium
25 mL Amquel+
25 mL Melafix

I got the TurboTwist 6x UV sterilizer (18 watt) yesterday, and installed it today. I was debating whether to get the cheaper 9 watt version, but I finally decided that the 18 watt would be a safer choice in terms of efficacy. The slower the flow rate , the more time the sterilizer has to kill the bacteria/algae/parasites. The manual has a chart which shows that the maximum flow rate allowed to kill parasites for the 9 watt version is 55 gph. On the other hand, for the 18 watt version, the flow rate is 110 gph. The manuals are available online in pdf form.

I hooked the sterilizer up to the Eheim filter output, after the CO2 reactor, which is already plumbed in. The 18 watt version accepts a hose size of either 5/8" or 1". The Eheim filter has a hose size of 1/2", so I got some reducing couplers at Ace Hardware to connect the two different hoses. I then put on hose clamps on the hoses on each end of the couplers in order to make sure there would be no leaks. The TurboTwist gives you a choice of laying it horizontally or vertically off the tank. I decided to lay it horizontally in the hopes that it would minimize loss of water flow rate. So, far, the flow rate does not seem to be affected too much. I'm going to run it for at least 24 hours to see if I can see any difference in the tank, even though the tank is already pretty clear.


You can see the new leaves of the Echinodorus "Kleiner Bar" growing in a nice brownish red. The plant has been growing about 2 new leaves a week.

I topped and replanted some of the Limnophila hippuroides and Alternathera reineckii, which were starting to grow out of the water. I pruned the tops of the Rotala indica/rotundifolia, but left the bottom halves to regrow.

I took out one of the two mechanical filter sponges from the AquaClear filter and I added two more bags of AquaClear bacteria filter media in its place in order to boost biological filtration.

I also took out the Eheim surface extractor, since I now instead use the air pump running at night to remove the surface scum daily, and the extractor is prone to have algae grow on it. It also makes an annoying rattling sound from a valve in the extractor.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Stem plants, nutrients, and browning java fern

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate, 5 ppm Flourish potassium (25 mL)
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
It's only been a little over a day since I've added the new plants, and I've already noticed that the algae levels, which had initially come back after the green water algae was filtered out, are noticeably lower. The water is also still crystal clear. The plants are also slowly recovering in terms of growth. What's more, I've noticed that in the same time period of a day or two, the java fern leaves have suddenly started to turn brown again. It seems that with the increased plant growth and all the new plants (about 5 bunches worth of new stem plants), the excess nutrients are being taken up by the stem plants, leaving less for the algae and java fern. It seems that the java fern is a poor competitor for nutrients, which may be made worse in high lighting conditions.

I'm still stumped, though, as to which nutrient deficiency is causing the browning. After researching online, it seems that this is a common problem that many people have with their java ferns, but no one seems to have a grasp on what is the cause. I've read that some people think that low nitrate levels might be the culprit, but I've been consistently maintaining NO3 levels greater than 10 ppm (usually around 15 ppm). I've also been keeping the phosphate levels up, so I don't think that is the problem. Potassium may be a problem, but I was still having the problem when there were levels of 33-66 ppm of potassium. In fact, I noticed the problem originally starting a couple months ago when I increased dosing of Equilibrium (which is my main source of potassium). It might have just been coincidence, though. It might be some micro nutrient deficiency. Now that the plants are recovering, I want to try to ramp up on Flourish and iron chelate dosing to see if that makes any difference with the ferns.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Water roots observations

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10-20
  • PO4: 1.0
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.25 ppm iron chelate, 1.25 ppm KNO3, 0.6 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 22.5:2.85 = 7.9

Notes:
I noticed that for the past couple days, one of the harlequin rasboras had what looked like some sort of wound on the side of its body. It also seemed to be breathing faster than normal. I put in a dose of Melafix to see if that would help heal the "wound." I'll continue to dose it for at least a couple more days.

I noticed also that there have been a lot more water roots (roots growing from the stems) growing lately. When I was dosing more Equilibrium, adding more K/Ca/Mg, there were not nearly as many water roots growing. When I lowered the dosage (which lowered the GH from 8-9 to 5-6), the water roots started growing out again. It appears that the roots tend to grow when there is less K and/or Ca and/or Mg in the water.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

New plant arrivals

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4: 1.5
  • Iron:
  • Dosing:
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I recieved an order of plants from AquariumPlants.com: Rotala magenta, Ammania senegalensis, Ludwigia peruensis, and some more Anubias barteri var. nana.

I had placed an order with them a month ago, because I really wanted some Ludwigia peruensis, but after a week of not hearing from them, I called them and found out that they were out of stock (contrary to what their website said). They said it would come in the next week. I checked the next week, and the week after that, etc. and it still hadn't come in. I finally called Monday (a month later) to check and cancel the order, but the peruensis had finally come in (though they never bothered to ship out my long-standing order). I redid the order, and they promptly shipped it out the next day. The plants came in today in relatively good condition.

The leaves on the bottom half of the Rotala magenta were melted away. They are probably somewhat fragile shippers. I planted the stems individually, about an inch apart from each other.






The Ammania senegalensis (middle of picture) seems to have been grown emmersed, there were flower buds growing off the stems, and the leaves are very broad, unlike the narrow down-turned leaves you see in pictures.

The leaves of the Ludwigia peruensis (right side of picture) were more green than the expected purple (emmersed form?), but hopefully, they will turn that nice deep purple in my tank.

I'm not expecting all the new plants to survive, but I really wanted to try out these red plants. The Rotala magenta will probably be the most difficult plant to get to flourish, followed by the Ammania senegalensis, then the Ludwigia peruensis.

I uprooted about half of the stargrass, and moved the rocks upon which the java fern and anubias nana were sitting upon to where the stargrass had been. I wrapped weights around the new nana to make them sink, and rested them on top of the rocks. Where I could, I buried part of the roots into the gravel.

Since I did a lot of gravel stirring/uprooting, I really should have changed the water, but I was feeling lazy and decided to just run the diatom filter instead, and change the water on the weekend. Even the diatom filter is a hassle to run because of the DE powder and charging required. I had ordered a UV sterilizer (18 watt Turbo Twist), and when I receive it, I will try it out to see if I like the sterilizer or the diatom filter better, and return the other unit. The sterilizer should be more convenient, because it will be permanently plumbed in, so all I would have to do is to turn on the switch. The sterilizer is more expensive, though, and the bulb replacement is also very expensive.

The tank after planting and running the diatom filter.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Algae and plant recovery notes

  • pH: 6.8
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I've noticed that the green dust that usually builds up on the tank walls hasn't made it's appearance so far this week. I wiped it down while running the diatom filter last week, so the filter probably filtered out the green dust algae as well as the green water algae.

The water is still relatively clear so far. I've been cautiously dosing Flourish and iron chelate in an attempt to try to ramp up plant growth back to full speed. The algae that had been suppressed by the green water has been slowly returning (fuzz, thread), thought they have never been too much of a problem in the first place, so I'm not too concerned about them.

The "brown sludge" algae has still been appearing this week, despite my increase in nitrates, so probably it is not related to too low nitrate levels. There goes that theory. I will continue to keep an eye on it.

A lot of the Rotala indica/rotundifolia has been growing stunted. I don't know if it's because of a deficiency in micros or if it's because of the reduced K/Ca/Mg Equilibrium dosage. I had recently reduced the Equilibrium dosage to lower the GH from 8-9 to 5-6. I had originally lowered the dosage in order to see if the holes/brown patches in the java fern was related to an excess of potassium or related somehow to the amount of K/Ca/Mg. With the lower Equilibrium dosage, I haven't seen any of the browning in the remaining java fern plantlets so far, but it is too early to come to any conclusion. I will first dose more of the Flourish/iron to see if that solves the Rotala stunting problem.

I've noticed that the CO2 bubble rate has crept up again (2.1-2.2 b/s). The angelfish were taking a couple gulps from the surface. Sometimes, toggling the solenoid on the regulator off/on helps the bubble rate stabilize. I toggled the solenoid and lowered the bubble rate back to 1.8 b/s again.

Monday, April 10, 2006

  • pH: 6.8
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10-20
  • PO4: 0.75
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 0.5 ppm iron chelate, 5 ppm KNO3, 1.0 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 21.25:2.25 = 9.4

Sunday, April 09, 2006

A little privacy, please

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 2.5 mL Flourish, 0.25 ppm iron chelate
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
To my surprise, I've been seeing the male and female zebra danio jump up against the current of the output of the AquaClear filter into the filter box. After several minutes, they jump back out into the tank. They've been doing this several times. My guess is that they've been trying to spawn?

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Theory on the "brown sludge" algae

  • pH: 6.7
  • Temp:
  • KH: 5
  • GH: 6
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10 before dose
  • PO4: 1.25 before dose
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 6.25 ppm KNO3
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 16.25:1.25 = 13

Notes:

The tank is crystal clear after the second run of the diatom filter yesterday.


I checked the CO2 rate, it had crept up to 2.1-2.2 b/s (KH 5, pH 6.7: ~30 ppm CO2), and though the fish seemed okay, I reduced it a bit to 1.9 b/s to stay on the safe side.

I hadn't been able to see any of the cherry shrimp for the past week, since I first put them into the tank, and I assumed that they must have died with all the water changes, flocculate, etc, but to my surprise, I saw two of the shrimp hiding out in the H. micranthemoides bushes. They were very red and looking bigger than when I first put them in.

The new leaves of the Echinodorus Kleiner Bar are growing in a nice bright red.

Ever since the green water, the plant growth has slowed down a lot. I want to avoid dosing iron/micro nutrients for a couple of days, at least until the plant growth picks up again. I have definitely observed that if green water exists, dosing iron/micros encourages growth in green water. On the other hand, I hope that a lack of iron/micros isn't the cause of a slowdown in plant growth...

I noticed that some of the "brown sludge" algae made a sudden appearance today. You can see a description of this type of algae in my algae gallery. I hadn't seen this sludge for the past couple weeks. Tom Barr has the theory that green water is triggered by ammonia, e.g. ammonia that may be released when you stir up the gravel during pruning/uprooting. I had purposefully added less nitrates after the water change based on the unscientifically based hope that lower nitrate levels would encourage the plants to soak up any extra ammonia instead and avoid another green water bloom. Now, I'm thinking that maybe low nitrate levels encourage the growth of this sludge. I dosed the phosphates as normal (1-2 ppm levels). I checked my past logs, and noticed that during the previous appearance of brown sludge, the nitrate levels had been < 10 ppm, usually around 5 ppm. The sludge's disappearance also seemed to correspond to an increase in nitrate dosing. I'm going to increase the nitrate levels tonight to see if that causes the brown sludge to go away tomorrow.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Diatomaceous earth brands do differ in filtration

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3:
  • PO4:
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: After water change: 2.5 ppm KNO3, 1.0 ppm KH2PO4
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:

Well, I finally figured out why my diatom filter was unable to filter out the green water earlier this week. I found out that different brands of diatomaceous earth do differ in their filtration ability. I asked around on different forums which brand of DE people used. After a suggestion on a forum to try "Celite Aquacel," I called around different pool supply stores till I found one that carried that brand. I bought a 10 lb bag for about $8.50. Over the past week, the water had been growing progressively hazy again, so I tried out the new brand today, and it actually filtered the green water out in about 2-3 hours! So, avoid using the "All-Clear" brand of DE, which was the first brand I tried out unsuccessfully.

60% water change:
-25 mL Amquel+
-5 tsp Equilibrium
-4 tsp baking soda
-5 capfuls of bacteria starter

Probably because the green water earlier had blocked out a lot of the light, most of the new Rotala magenta died, so I pulled it all out. I'll probably try it again when I fix the green water problem.

I also took out all the java fern, and cut off all the damaged leaves (black spots and patches), which were most of the old leaves, leaving only the small plantlets.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Thoughts on preventing green water again...

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH: 4
  • GH: 5
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10-20
  • PO4: 1.5
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 2.5 ppm KNO3
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 17.5:1.55 = 11.3

Notes:
Here are the before and after pictures:

Green water a couple days ago


After the flocculant/diatom filter treatment


Here is a picture of the diatom filter in action:


Here's the filter after a couple hours:


The plants seem to not have grown much/at all during the worst of the green water. The algae was probably sucking down all the nutrients + blocking the light from the plants. There also wasn't much green dust algae during this time. The dwarf hairgrass seems to be a bit yellow, some of the blades dying, perhaps from lack of light. There's also a fine grey powder that is coating most of the plants, probably the particles that fell out of suspension from the flocculant.

Tthe green water seems to have been triggered when I uprooted my Rotala indica/rotundifolia and trimmed it back heavily. The rotala is the fastest growing and provides the most plant mass to my tank. I like to replant the tops, since they're nicer looking, but that means I'm always uprooting the bottom half. It grows like a weed, so I have a tendency to prune it back drastically just so I'm not always constantly pruning it. I always do a 50% water change after mucking around the tank, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

Someone recommended that I should boost the biological filtration (ie getting a bigger filter like the Eheim 2050), but I don't really want to buy another filter, at least for now, because of the cost and lack of space in the aquarium cabinets.

Here are the changes I will probably implement to try to avoid green water:
--Try to prune back the plants less severely
--Do a 70-75% water change instead of 50% if I'm uprooting/pruning plants.
--After the water change, add a dose of bacteria starter (hey, it can't hurt)
--Think of replacing some of the mechanical filtration media with more biological filtration media in the AquaClear filter.

Another thing I've been thinking about is to get the Eheim sludge extractor so I can really vaccuum up all the debris. The debris always seems to collect faster than I vaccuum up during my weekly water changes. I'll probably wait, though, till I get the UBYAG (Urge To Buy Yet Another Gadget).

I added another 1 tsp of baking soda, to raise the KH from 4 back to 5. I also dosed the micro fertilizer (Flourish) at night today to see if it is any different from dosing it in the morning. The water has grown slightly cloudy by the end of today, I hope that it doesn't grow any more cloudy...

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Adventures with the Vortex diatom filter

  • pH:
  • Temp:
  • KH:
  • GH:
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 5-10
  • PO4: 0.75
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 30 mL KNO3 (7.5 ppm), 20 mL KH2PO4 (0.8 ppm)
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:1.55 = 9.7

Notes:
Yesterday, I finally received the Vortex XL diatom filter, and tried it out. The instructions on the manual weren't great, as other people have noted. I recommend that you do a search to find better instructions given by people who have actually set it up.

Here's what I do to run the filter:

-Fill the jar halfway with water and seal the jar.

-Put the intake and outtake tubes into the tank. Turn on the filter, and turn the jar upside down until you see the intake tube fill with water. Turn the filter off. This will create suction so that the filter jar will fill up with water. Once it has done so, turn the power back on. The filter should now be running with water.

-Take a small bucket or large cup that is big enough to hold both the intake and outtake tubes in the bucket/cup under water. Dip the bucket into your aquarium, and scoop out the intake and outtake tubes so that they are still under water in the bucket. Lift the bucket with the tubes out of the water.

-Add 3 cups of diatomaceous earth powder into the bucket of water. The filter should suck up the powder within a few minutes, and the powder should evenly coat the filter bag.

-An optional step if you feel the powder has not evenly coated the filter bag: Turn off the power (with the tubes still in the bucket). Wait a minute for the powder to fall off the filter bag. Turn the power back on, and wait a minute or two for the powder to recoat the bag.

-After the water is running clear in the bucket and the powder has coated the filter bag, lower the bucket with the tubes back into the aquarium. Remove the bucket. Your filter is now running! As recommended in the manual, the filter should be sitting lower than the aquarium (eg on the floor).

So far so good. But, although everything seemed to be working properly, the filter was not removing the algae, even after several hours! I checked all the connections. I tried different doses of powder, recharged the powder several times, but nothing changed. I was stumped, since I had read how people had no problems using the diatom filter to filter out their green water. I let it run overnight. In the morning, it had cleared the green water only very slightly.

Finally, today, I got some flocculant or water clarifier (Seachem Clarity), though I had been reluctant to use it initially. Supposedly, it can interfere with the fish gill function. I added the maximum dosage into the tank while running the diatom filter. Within minutes, the filters started to filter out the algae (as evidenced by the green film on the filter bag)! After a couple hours, the water flow reduced as the filter clogged up with the algae/flocculant. I recharged the filter, added another dose of the flocculant, and several hours later, the tank was crystal clear! Hallelujah! It was so clear, that I realized I had forgotten what my fish and plants looked like.

I was finally able to take a look at the new plants I had planted last Friday for the first time. The Rotala magenta is in very bad shape, it's more dead than alive, but I decided to keep it in there to see if it would revive. The Lobelia cardinalis looked fine, and the Echinodorus Kleiner Bar looked okay.

I then did about a 65-70% water change:
30 mL Amquel+
3 tsp baking soda
4 tsp Equilibrium
~40 mL Proquatics bacteria starter

Well, we'll see how clear the tank remains. Before/after pictures coming soon...

Saturday, April 01, 2006

  • pH: 6.8
  • Temp:
  • KH: 5
  • GH: 6
  • NH4:
  • NO2:
  • NO3: 10-20 (before dose)
  • PO4: 0.5
  • Iron:
  • Dosing: 2.5 mL Flourish, 2.5 mL iron chelate (0.25 ppm), 15 mL KNO3 (3.75 ppm), 30 mL KH2PO4 (1.2 ppm)
  • NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 21.25:2.6 = 8.2 (estimated inital levels of 10:0.2 after water change)