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phosphates too high, need advice
LeighMo, so you are saying since I match at the lowest testable level on my
Nitrite test, I have too much Nitrite?...so any measureable amount of Nitrite is bad?? I thought my Eheim 2028 with 2 trays of ceramic and 1 tray of efimech would supply more than enough bio life for the tank. what are your thoughts? i will add some more plants. I like the open look and lots of free swimming room for the fish, but i know it does need a few more. I have a couple of options for reducing the light. I can either: 1) turn off 2 of the 65w bulbs 2) leave both on, but reduce the number of hours 3) reduce the amount of time the second set of lights comes on what would be best? i know my Vals and Sags will slow their growth way down if they don't get lots of light. Maybe it's best to leave both sets of lights coming on, but reduce the number of hours. Opinions? i have reset my timers for about 9.5 - 10 hours instead of the 12.5 - 13 it was on when the DIY CO2 was going. I really didn't like the whole DIY difusser thing in the tank and dealing with the yeast. Can a compressed system be kept to look decent and not have a bunch of bulky crap in the tank? does anyone have pictures of their compressed setups? thanks. "LeighMo" wrote in message ... I was using DIY CO2, but after i had a herniated disc in my back about 2 months ago, I no longer am doing this since I can't really bend so much right now to get under the tank and set them up. I live by myself. You have too much light over your tank to do without CO2 injection. If you can't inject CO2, reduce your lighting. Otherwise, you'll be battling algae constantly. Try to get your lighting to around 2 wpg, if you can't inject CO2. The phosphate is probably coming from the fish food. You've got measurable nitrite in your tank. That means your biological filter is overloaded. Your tank is lovely, but it also looks a little scant on plants. Adding more plants will "crowd out" the algae, and also help reduce nitrite and phosphate. I have a 75 gallon tank with slightly less light than you, and compressed CO2. I change 30%-50% of the water each week. And I have compressed CO2. (A 75 gallon tank is a bit large for DIY CO2.) I use a Python, and it's probably the best money I ever spent. Don't worry about treating the water. You can do it in the tank. Dechlorinator works instantly. You can add it before you start adding water back in, if you're really worried. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
phosphates too high, need advice
On Wed, 07 May 2003 02:59:59 GMT, "SlimFlem"
wrote: On the Python, I just run the water from the tap to the tank and add the water conditioner to the tank. I don't get anal about the temperature. If it's close I fill the tank. Swings in temperature happen all the time in the wild. They are called rain storms. So long as you are not dropping the temperature 10 degrees you are fine. Any measurable nitrites are bad. Your filter is either overloaded or your tank is still cycling. For the lights turn off two of the bulbs. CO2 can be done quite nicely. If you get a cylinder/regulator combo that fits in your stand you will have nothing in the tank. You can build a reactor that will plumb right into the out-flow line of your cannister filter. The parts you need are a cylinder, regulator, needle valve, and reactor. LeighMo, so you are saying since I match at the lowest testable level on my Nitrite test, I have too much Nitrite?...so any measureable amount of Nitrite is bad?? I thought my Eheim 2028 with 2 trays of ceramic and 1 tray of efimech would supply more than enough bio life for the tank. what are your thoughts? i will add some more plants. I like the open look and lots of free swimming room for the fish, but i know it does need a few more. I have a couple of options for reducing the light. I can either: 1) turn off 2 of the 65w bulbs 2) leave both on, but reduce the number of hours 3) reduce the amount of time the second set of lights comes on what would be best? i know my Vals and Sags will slow their growth way down if they don't get lots of light. Maybe it's best to leave both sets of lights coming on, but reduce the number of hours. Opinions? i have reset my timers for about 9.5 - 10 hours instead of the 12.5 - 13 it was on when the DIY CO2 was going. I really didn't like the whole DIY difusser thing in the tank and dealing with the yeast. Can a compressed system be kept to look decent and not have a bunch of bulky crap in the tank? does anyone have pictures of their compressed setups? thanks. Semper Fi! Visit the forums at Aqua Botanic! http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/#1 Need Nitrate or Potassium for your tank? Go to www.litemanu.com (Just a happy customer of the above!) |
phosphates too high, need advice
LeighMo, so you are saying since I match at the lowest testable level on my
Nitrite test, I have too much Nitrite?...so any measureable amount of Nitrite is bad?? YES. Any measurable nitrite means something is wrong. The level you have is enough to be fatal to fish over long periods. I thought my Eheim 2028 with 2 trays of ceramic and 1 tray of efimech would supply more than enough bio life for the tank. what are your thoughts? Did you do anything that might have affected your biological filter? Clean it, use antibiotics in the tank? If not, your tank may be overstocked, or you may be overfeeding. You don't have a lot of fish, but some of them are pretty big. I have a couple of options for reducing the light. I can either: 1) turn off 2 of the 65w bulbs 2) leave both on, but reduce the number of hours 3) reduce the amount of time the second set of lights comes on what would be best? Turn off some of the bulbs. Changing the lighting duration won't make a difference. You don't want to go less than 10 hours. i know my Vals and Sags will slow their growth way down if they don't get lots of light. True, but they'll still grow. They are plants that do fine at moderate lighting levels. Can a compressed system be kept to look decent and not have a bunch of bulky crap in the tank? does anyone have pictures of their compressed setups? You could inject the CO2 directly into the Eheim filter intake. The only extra thing in your tank would be a few inches of thin, transparent airline tubing. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
phosphates too high, need advice
OK, thanks for all the advice. I will make some changes as per your guy's
suggestions and repost in a week or so and see how my Nitrite and Phosphate levels are doing. And I'll be getting a Python. I didn't realize they were so great. The bucket thing does get old. haha Also, I have all the stuff to make a PMDD solution. I've had it for a month or so and want to start using it. However, should I be using this only in conjuction with a compressed CO2 setup? thanks. "LeighMo" wrote in message ... LeighMo, so you are saying since I match at the lowest testable level on my Nitrite test, I have too much Nitrite?...so any measureable amount of Nitrite is bad?? YES. Any measurable nitrite means something is wrong. The level you have is enough to be fatal to fish over long periods. I thought my Eheim 2028 with 2 trays of ceramic and 1 tray of efimech would supply more than enough bio life for the tank. what are your thoughts? Did you do anything that might have affected your biological filter? Clean it, use antibiotics in the tank? If not, your tank may be overstocked, or you may be overfeeding. You don't have a lot of fish, but some of them are pretty big. I haven't done anything at all to the filter in months and I have not used any med's either. Thinking back, I probably caused this problem when I slacked on the fronzen foods and fed mostly dry foods for a few weeks. I'll also only feed fronze foods during the next couple of weeks and see how things work out. I have a couple of options for reducing the light. I can either: 1) turn off 2 of the 65w bulbs 2) leave both on, but reduce the number of hours 3) reduce the amount of time the second set of lights comes on what would be best? Turn off some of the bulbs. Changing the lighting duration won't make a difference. You don't want to go less than 10 hours. OK i know my Vals and Sags will slow their growth way down if they don't get lots of light. True, but they'll still grow. They are plants that do fine at moderate lighting levels. Can a compressed system be kept to look decent and not have a bunch of bulky crap in the tank? does anyone have pictures of their compressed setups? You could inject the CO2 directly into the Eheim filter intake. The only extra thing in your tank would be a few inches of thin, transparent airline tubing. The bad thing about all of this is that I am going to be out of country for 2 weeks next month and then have to move across the street as soon as I get back. My tank will have to be broken down completely. =( It's been up well over a year. =( =( later. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
phosphates too high, need advice
On Wed, 07 May 2003 12:15:35 GMT, "SlimFlem"
wrote: OK, thanks for all the advice. I will make some changes as per your guy's suggestions and repost in a week or so and see how my Nitrite and Phosphate levels are doing. And I'll be getting a Python. I didn't realize they were so great. The bucket thing does get old. haha Also, I have all the stuff to make a PMDD solution. I've had it for a month or so and want to start using it. However, should I be using this only in conjuction with a compressed CO2 setup? thanks. No you should be feeding the plants. When you get a CO2 system you will have to feed the plants more. But you should feed them. However while we are on the subject I'm not a big fan of the PMDD one size fits all formula. I dose each component of PMDD separately in my tanks. If you want more on this subject I have written about it on the Aqua Botanic web forum. Semper Fi! Visit the forums at Aqua Botanic! http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/#1 Need Nitrate or Potassium for your tank? Go to www.litemanu.com (Just a happy customer of the above!) |
phosphates too high, need advice
SlimFlem wrote:
The reason I've always hesitated to get a Python is because I don't want to put tap water directly into the tank. Isn't that how it works? I prefer to airate the water for a day and adding Prime to it. Do you just turn the Python on and let it start filling from the sink and you just squirt some water treatment in at the same time? how do you control the temperature? if my 5 gallon bucket of water gets too cool, i just add a little water heated on the stove and let it airate for 20 minutes more or so and then pour it into the tank. what do you think of this system. Years ago, when Chlorine was all that was added to tap water, letting water aerate for a day was sufficient to get rid of it. Actually, much of it outgassed when passing through the aerator on the faucet. Today, most of us live in areas where they use Chloramines due to tighter health regulations-that Chlorine didn't stay put very well, after all! Aerating your water does nothing to remove Chloramines. But the Prime you add takes care of them quite nicely. Regarding Python, the simple answer is to add sufficient Prime for the entire tank when performing the water change-this is what the instructions on the Prime bottle say. So if you are changing 20 gallons in a 70 gallon tank, just add sufficient Prime for 70 gallons. This may be slight overkill, but it is safe for your fish. |
phosphates too high, need advice
SlimFlem wrote: Ahhhh, I think I will get some of this and put it in my magnum. http://www.seachem.com/en_products/p...phosguard.html Well, just to confuse the issue, here's another page on Seachem's site you should read: http://www.seachem.com/en_products/p...9_Flrsh_P.html They get you coming and going, huh? Consensus here on the list is this: Phosphate is one of the three macronutrients (along with Nitrogen and Potassium) which, along with Carbon from CO2, are necessary for plant growth. Plants cannot grow without it. Excess Phosphate IN THE ABSENSE OF SUFFICIENT OTHER NUTRIENTS has been implicated in algae outbreaks, but Phosphate alone is not the culprit. |
phosphates too high, need advice
On Tue, 06 May 2003 22:57:34 GMT, "SlimFlem"
wrote: snip You need co2 plain and simple. If you go (if they are still on the newsever)and look at previous discussions about algae control you'll find a reoccuring theme: CO2 fertilizing will solve algae problems the majority of the time. Higher plants will out-compete algae every time if given enough CO2. Algae seems to do best under "adverse" conditions that are not ideal for higher plants especially when there is a lot of light. |
phosphates too high, need advice
You could put like a trough somewhere, and plumb a tube from the trough up to the
tank..put a submersible pump in there..... Use the python to take water out of the tank, or fill the trough(in advance). Water from the trough can then be pumped into the tank when you do changes. Dave Millman wrote: SlimFlem wrote: The reason I've always hesitated to get a Python is because I don't want to put tap water directly into the tank. Isn't that how it works? I prefer to airate the water for a day and adding Prime to it. Do you just turn the Python on and let it start filling from the sink and you just squirt some water treatment in at the same time? how do you control the temperature? if my 5 gallon bucket of water gets too cool, i just add a little water heated on the stove and let it airate for 20 minutes more or so and then pour it into the tank. what do you think of this system. Years ago, when Chlorine was all that was added to tap water, letting water aerate for a day was sufficient to get rid of it. Actually, much of it outgassed when passing through the aerator on the faucet. Today, most of us live in areas where they use Chloramines due to tighter health regulations-that Chlorine didn't stay put very well, after all! Aerating your water does nothing to remove Chloramines. But the Prime you add takes care of them quite nicely. Regarding Python, the simple answer is to add sufficient Prime for the entire tank when performing the water change-this is what the instructions on the Prime bottle say. So if you are changing 20 gallons in a 70 gallon tank, just add sufficient Prime for 70 gallons. This may be slight overkill, but it is safe for your fish. |
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