Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing
with trace elements? chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not "powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
The tank has five juvenile goldfish. details and photos are available at
http://home.surewest.net/chet/aquariumplants.htm The tank has been cooking for four months. Water is clear, ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate is 20ppm, pH is ~ 7.5 (with addition of one tbsp per 10 gallons). CO2 is usually ~13ppm What stats are you looking for, I'll measure it and report. chet "kush" wrote in message ... Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing with trace elements? chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not "powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
That would be 1tbsp of baking soda. Normally, the water here is really soft
with a kH of about one. chet "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... The tank has five juvenile goldfish. details and photos are available at http://home.surewest.net/chet/aquariumplants.htm The tank has been cooking for four months. Water is clear, ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate is 20ppm, pH is ~ 7.5 (with addition of one tbsp per 10 gallons). CO2 is usually ~13ppm What stats are you looking for, I'll measure it and report. chet "kush" wrote in message ... Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing with trace elements? chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not "powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Xref: 127.0.0.1 rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants:69408
Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish about two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to make any difference one way or 'tother. "kush" wrote in message ... Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing with trace elements? chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not "powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10 ppm,
but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are you able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high nitrates and possibly phosphates). Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen algae problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling. -- Craig Brye University of Phoenix Online "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish about two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to make any difference one way or 'tother. "kush" wrote in message ... Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing with trace elements? chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not "powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not
"powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Don't cut back on lighting! You have the absolute minimum length of time
lights should be on. I find 12 hours a day to be the best, but others may differ. Adjusting light levels will not be a long term solution to your problem. The only thing that'll fix the problem is proper fertilization. -- Craig Brye University of Phoenix Online "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish about two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to make any difference one way or 'tother. "kush" wrote in message ... Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing with trace elements? chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not "powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:03:37 -0600, "Craig Brye"
wrote: I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10 ppm, but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are you able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high nitrates and possibly phosphates). Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen algae problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling. Ok you guys help the newbie out. What is pearling?? WF |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Xref: 127.0.0.1 rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants:69416
I'm a newbie too, so no issues. Pearling is the collection of oxygen bubbles on leaves as the result of photosynthetic behavior of plants. CO2 and other stuff is converted to oxygen. When the tank reaches oxygen saturation, the oxygen collects into to bubbles.... I thought it was a good thing... chet "WhiskerFish" wrote in message ... On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:03:37 -0600, "Craig Brye" wrote: I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10 ppm, but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are you able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high nitrates and possibly phosphates). Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen algae problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling. Ok you guys help the newbie out. What is pearling?? WF |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Oh, OK, I answered one of my questions. your temperature is 76º, so that's
OK. Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily oxygenating the water? If so, your CO2 is most likely coming out as fast as it's going in. That could be an issue, even at moderate lighting, because you've some fast-growing stem plants in there. My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it every week. Is yours growing that fast? kush wrote in message ... My point is, that at under 2 watts per gallon in an 18" high tank, you shouldn't have your lights on for less than eleven hours at bare minimum. Therefore, let's look for something else. You're supplementing CO2 so, particularly at a moderate light level, we'll rule that out as a problem. Which leaves either an excess or a deficiency of nutrients. So, three more questions: How much and how often are you changing your water? Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH? What is the water temperature? And, btw, pearling IS good. It is visible confirmation that photosynthesis is occurring (algae will pearl, too). chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish about two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to make any difference one way or 'tother. "kush" wrote in message ... Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing with trace elements? chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not "powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
"kush" wrote in message
... Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily oxygenating the water? Yes, it is the bio-wheel power-filter. I have it set to the lowest setting (I like quiet). According to the literature, it is designed to provide a high oxygen level to nitrifying bacteria that live on the wheel. It does not generate a lot of surface turbulance. I'll measure CO2 again this evening and get back to you on the numbers My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it every week. Is yours growing that fast? It has grown some, but more like two inches in a month. Plus it's getting a little "leggy". The Amazons, Onion plants, and Anacharis are the racehorces in my tank. How much and how often are you changing your water? ~40%-50% every other week. Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH? None that I am aware of. I have added Seachem "Flourish" and Seachem "Root Tabs" and Hikari goldfish food. I'll get you numbers tonight. Thanks for your help chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
My point is, that at under 2 watts per gallon in an 18" high tank, you
shouldn't have your lights on for less than eleven hours at bare minimum. Therefore, let's look for something else. You're supplementing CO2 so, particularly at a moderate light level, we'll rule that out as a problem. Which leaves either an excess or a deficiency of nutrients. So, three more questions: How much and how often are you changing your water? Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH? What is the water temperature? And, btw, pearling IS good. It is visible confirmation that photosynthesis is occurring (algae will pearl, too). chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... Trace elements. Sorry, missed that. Yes, I was adding Seachem Flourish about two/three times per week for two months. I have stopped. It didn't seem to make any difference one way or 'tother. "kush" wrote in message ... Something's out of balance. Please post your stats. Also, are you dosing with trace elements? chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I am still fighting algae. What I have now is dark reddish brown but not "powdery" like diatoms. It is definitely more like green algae in texture. When I trim the plants, the algae looks black once out of the water. I have a 29 gallon tank with a 55w CF, fluorite substrate, and Nutrafin CO2 kit. Plants include Nana, Amazon Swords, Onion plants, Java Fern, Pond Penny, Anacharis, and Rotala indica. After two hours of light they all perl like crazy. There is a shower of small air bubbles floating up to the surface. I have been cutting back on the light and am now down to about 10 hours. Will it count toward a light reduction target if I start turning off the light in the middle of the day? Will it inhibit growth or damage the plants? I am hoping that by slowly cutting back on light I can eventually get the algae under control. On the other hand, I want to see the tank while I am at home. Any advice? chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Thank you. Never heard of it before and damn sure have not seen it on
my plants yet! On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 18:45:44 -0800, "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote: I'm a newbie too, so no issues. Pearling is the collection of oxygen bubbles on leaves as the result of photosynthetic behavior of plants. CO2 and other stuff is converted to oxygen. When the tank reaches oxygen saturation, the oxygen collects into to bubbles.... I thought it was a good thing... chet "WhiskerFish" wrote in message .. . On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:03:37 -0600, "Craig Brye" wrote: I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10 ppm, but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are you able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high nitrates and possibly phosphates). Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen algae problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling. Ok you guys help the newbie out. What is pearling?? WF |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
It is a good thing, but doesn't necessarily mean the tank will be algae
free. -- Craig Brye University of Phoenix Online "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... I'm a newbie too, so no issues. Pearling is the collection of oxygen bubbles on leaves as the result of photosynthetic behavior of plants. CO2 and other stuff is converted to oxygen. When the tank reaches oxygen saturation, the oxygen collects into to bubbles.... I thought it was a good thing... chet "WhiskerFish" wrote in message ... On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 19:03:37 -0600, "Craig Brye" wrote: I'm guessing this is your problem. The nitrates should be between 5-10 ppm, but you say yours is below 20. Is it closer to 0 or closer to 20, are you able to tell with your test kit? I'm fairly new at this, but I've done a ton of research on plants in the last 1 1/2 years and have come to gain a lot of information. I'm guessing your plants are starving for trace elements and this leaves the algae to take over (feeding off of high nitrates and possibly phosphates). Just because plants pearl doesn't mean they're doing good. I've seen algae problems happen a lot even though plants are pearling. Some of the best growth and tank conditions I had occurred with only minor pearling. Ok you guys help the newbie out. What is pearling?? WF |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Got some water parameters using the aqua pharm "master test kit".
Ammonia: 0.0 Nitrite: 0.0 Nitrate: 5.0ppm kH: Uhhh.. I can't find the directions but it was five drops of the kH test liquid. pH: Somewhere between 7.6 and 7.8. A little discrepancy between the high and low level test kits. Temp: 76F I'd calculate CO2 saturation, if I could quickly figure out kH levels. I performed a 40% water change this past Sunday. Is there something I'm missing? chet "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... "kush" wrote in message ... Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily oxygenating the water? Yes, it is the bio-wheel power-filter. I have it set to the lowest setting (I like quiet). According to the literature, it is designed to provide a high oxygen level to nitrifying bacteria that live on the wheel. It does not generate a lot of surface turbulance. I'll measure CO2 again this evening and get back to you on the numbers My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it every week. Is yours growing that fast? It has grown some, but more like two inches in a month. Plus it's getting a little "leggy". The Amazons, Onion plants, and Anacharis are the racehorces in my tank. How much and how often are you changing your water? ~40%-50% every other week. Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH? None that I am aware of. I have added Seachem "Flourish" and Seachem "Root Tabs" and Hikari goldfish food. I'll get you numbers tonight. Thanks for your help chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
OK, water-changes are good so, unless you have problems with your local
supply like phosphate or something, or you're overfeeding your fish (you're not, right?) the issue seems to be something that there's NOT ENOUGH of, rather than something there's TOO MUCH of. See, this is like Sherlock Holmes, isn't it? Once you've eliminated the impossible... I'm going to go with a complicated "two cause" diagnosis. CO2 AND trace element deficiency - I suspect that either there's not enough CO2 being produced or that too much of your CO2 is being dissipated by the biowheel. With pH at 7.6, your dCHº would have to be 15 (somebody check my math, please!) to be at the low end of optimal. So please test for hardness again to verify. There is a condition of very basic (high pH) and very soft (low dCH) under which iron (and other trace elements?) precipitate out of the water column. Unfortunately, I don't have the chemistry to speak inteliigently about this. Recommendation: Get more CO2 into the water. Increasing CO2 will lower the pH. Resume supplementing with trace. DON'T overfeed your fish. DON'T post back that you have superabundant CO2 because that would make me look stupid and **** me off. Good luck. kush "You can't have everything - where would you put it?" chet chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... Got some water parameters using the aqua pharm "master test kit". Ammonia: 0.0 Nitrite: 0.0 Nitrate: 5.0ppm kH: Uhhh.. I can't find the directions but it was five drops of the kH test liquid. pH: Somewhere between 7.6 and 7.8. A little discrepancy between the high and low level test kits. Temp: 76F I'd calculate CO2 saturation, if I could quickly figure out kH levels. I performed a 40% water change this past Sunday. Is there something I'm missing? chet "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... "kush" wrote in message ... Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily oxygenating the water? Yes, it is the bio-wheel power-filter. I have it set to the lowest setting (I like quiet). According to the literature, it is designed to provide a high oxygen level to nitrifying bacteria that live on the wheel. It does not generate a lot of surface turbulance. I'll measure CO2 again this evening and get back to you on the numbers My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it every week. Is yours growing that fast? It has grown some, but more like two inches in a month. Plus it's getting a little "leggy". The Amazons, Onion plants, and Anacharis are the racehorces in my tank. How much and how often are you changing your water? ~40%-50% every other week. Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH? None that I am aware of. I have added Seachem "Flourish" and Seachem "Root Tabs" and Hikari goldfish food. I'll get you numbers tonight. Thanks for your help chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Just as quickly as it is adding O2, it is evaporating CO2. Planted tanks
almost demand a minimal surface agitation filtration to be successful. I'm afraid your CO2 is not getting used by the plants as much as it could. But you are getting pearling, so obviously some is staying dissolved. I guess the point is: it could be better, and maybe if it was better your plants could compete better. Regarding nutrients, your nitrates appear reasonable, but you don't know your phosphates. You should only be feeding once a day, and only as much as they can eat in five minutes. Goldfish have more mass than other fish and so, they produce more waste. This could be producing excess phosphates. Again, watch those feedings. You have nitrogen and phosphorous covered, but you are not adding any potassium (K). Your plants could be potassium limited, which means they can't absorb the other nutrients without potassium present as well. Flourish has some K, but not too much. You might want to consider finding a supplement with more potassium. Just my two cents. Jody "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... "kush" wrote in message ... Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily oxygenating the water? Yes, it is the bio-wheel power-filter. I have it set to the lowest setting (I like quiet). According to the literature, it is designed to provide a high oxygen level to nitrifying bacteria that live on the wheel. It does not generate a lot of surface turbulance. I'll measure CO2 again this evening and get back to you on the numbers My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it every week. Is yours growing that fast? It has grown some, but more like two inches in a month. Plus it's getting a little "leggy". The Amazons, Onion plants, and Anacharis are the racehorces in my tank. How much and how often are you changing your water? ~40%-50% every other week. Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH? None that I am aware of. I have added Seachem "Flourish" and Seachem "Root Tabs" and Hikari goldfish food. I'll get you numbers tonight. Thanks for your help chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
"kush" wrote in message ... Once you've eliminated the impossible... I'm in... I'm going to go with a complicated "two cause" diagnosis. CO2 AND trace element deficiency - I suspect that either there's not enough CO2 being produced or that too much of your CO2 is being dissipated by the biowheel. The Nutrafin/Hagen kit pretty clearly states "up to 20G US", maybe I should have two for a 29G tank? With pH at 7.6, your dCHº would have to be 15 (somebody check my math, please!) to be at the low end of optimal. So please test for hardness again to verify. That is in the range I have come to expect, 13-16 is where it has tested (when I could find the manual). There is a condition of very basic (high pH) and very soft (low dCH) under which iron (and other trace elements?) precipitate out of the water column. Unfortunately, I don't have the chemistry to speak inteliigently about this. No clue here either. however, water here in my part of Sacramento is generally soft and acidic. By default, it comes out at a bout 7.6 pH and extremely low kH and gH levels. I have been bolstering kH with baking soda (good old arm and hammer). That may be of interest. Recommendation: Get more CO2 into the water. Increasing CO2 will lower the pH. That would mean another kit. Oh well, another $30 won't hurt.. Resume supplementing with trace. Not an issue. I'll take a stab at twice per week. DON'T overfeed your fish. I'm really careful here. If anything, I am slightly underfeeding, if there is such a thing. DON'T post back that you have superabundant CO2 because that would make me look stupid and **** me off. I promise not to make you look any more stupid than I am. You have my word. chet Good luck. Thanks. chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
I agree with Jody on the Phosphate issue. In my experience, excess phosphate
(PO4) causes my worst algae problems. Some foods, pH buffers and fertlizers are very high in phosphates. You can get a phosphate test kit to test for it, and there are several types of phosphate scubbers/sponges that will help to reduce the total amount of phosphates. Algae requires more PO4 than plants grow, so when it gets too high, you get algae instead of plant growth. There is also a plant safe algaecide that can help slow down the algae and give the plants a chance to get the upper hand. "Jody" wrote in message ... Just as quickly as it is adding O2, it is evaporating CO2. Planted tanks almost demand a minimal surface agitation filtration to be successful. I'm afraid your CO2 is not getting used by the plants as much as it could. But you are getting pearling, so obviously some is staying dissolved. I guess the point is: it could be better, and maybe if it was better your plants could compete better. Regarding nutrients, your nitrates appear reasonable, but you don't know your phosphates. You should only be feeding once a day, and only as much as they can eat in five minutes. Goldfish have more mass than other fish and so, they produce more waste. This could be producing excess phosphates. Again, watch those feedings. You have nitrogen and phosphorous covered, but you are not adding any potassium (K). Your plants could be potassium limited, which means they can't absorb the other nutrients without potassium present as well. Flourish has some K, but not too much. You might want to consider finding a supplement with more potassium. Just my two cents. Jody "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... "kush" wrote in message ... Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily oxygenating the water? Yes, it is the bio-wheel power-filter. I have it set to the lowest setting (I like quiet). According to the literature, it is designed to provide a high oxygen level to nitrifying bacteria that live on the wheel. It does not generate a lot of surface turbulance. I'll measure CO2 again this evening and get back to you on the numbers My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it every week. Is yours growing that fast? It has grown some, but more like two inches in a month. Plus it's getting a little "leggy". The Amazons, Onion plants, and Anacharis are the racehorces in my tank. How much and how often are you changing your water? ~40%-50% every other week. Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH? None that I am aware of. I have added Seachem "Flourish" and Seachem "Root Tabs" and Hikari goldfish food. I'll get you numbers tonight. Thanks for your help chet |
Can I turn off lights in the middle of the day?
Planted tanks with CO2...true, without CO2 injection. you want as much surface
disturbance as possible. Jody wrote: Just as quickly as it is adding O2, it is evaporating CO2. Planted tanks almost demand a minimal surface agitation filtration to be successful. I'm afraid your CO2 is not getting used by the plants as much as it could. But you are getting pearling, so obviously some is staying dissolved. I guess the point is: it could be better, and maybe if it was better your plants could compete better. Regarding nutrients, your nitrates appear reasonable, but you don't know your phosphates. You should only be feeding once a day, and only as much as they can eat in five minutes. Goldfish have more mass than other fish and so, they produce more waste. This could be producing excess phosphates. Again, watch those feedings. You have nitrogen and phosphorous covered, but you are not adding any potassium (K). Your plants could be potassium limited, which means they can't absorb the other nutrients without potassium present as well. Flourish has some K, but not too much. You might want to consider finding a supplement with more potassium. Just my two cents. Jody "chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message ... "kush" wrote in message ... Also, I'm not familiar with the bio-wheel power-filter. Is that a mechanical filter that accelerates bacterial breakdown by heavily oxygenating the water? Yes, it is the bio-wheel power-filter. I have it set to the lowest setting (I like quiet). According to the literature, it is designed to provide a high oxygen level to nitrifying bacteria that live on the wheel. It does not generate a lot of surface turbulance. I'll measure CO2 again this evening and get back to you on the numbers My Rotala indica is one of the fastest growing plant in my tanks. At comparable light levels, I'd expect to prune four to six inches off it every week. Is yours growing that fast? It has grown some, but more like two inches in a month. Plus it's getting a little "leggy". The Amazons, Onion plants, and Anacharis are the racehorces in my tank. How much and how often are you changing your water? ~40%-50% every other week. Have you added any phosphate-based products to adjust your pH? None that I am aware of. I have added Seachem "Flourish" and Seachem "Root Tabs" and Hikari goldfish food. I'll get you numbers tonight. Thanks for your help chet |
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