Complexity Journal: 75g "High Tech" Planted Tank / New pics 8-24-2012!

[Complexity]

Just added 23 new otos to the tank to help with the diatoms. I already had 3 in the tank so that gives me 26 total.

I've also ordered 50 amanos which will hopefully be in this Thursday. They should do a good job cleaning up the dead algae. I think I only have 2 or 3 in the tank right now so they'll finally have some more to keep them company. I always keep a large stock of them in my tanks so it's been very strange to have so few in that tank.

I also ordered 5 SAE's and a Flash Pleco (L204) for the tank. They're both favorites of mine so I can't wait to see them in there.

Looks like I need to find more places for QT tanks!

[Karackle]

Sounds like lots of good things and new fishies are happening in this tank (even if there are some some new tank diatoms and other algae ) Can't wait to see more pictures of the tank and maybe the fish if you can get them

[Complexity]

Yeah, I'll try to get some pics. Not much to show right now, but it'll be fun to see the growth as things balance out. I should have taken pics of the algae before I hit it with H2O2, but you know how it is.

[Complexity]

So what comes after a major killing of algae? A mini-cycle! Sure enough, I'm starting to get some nitrites. Just did a 85% water change. Nitrites reading is back to 0ppm again. I'm looking for some hornwort to help the tank through the process. I'll be testing regularly now to watch for spikes. I'm not surprised considering how much algae I killed. I just have to stay on top of it now.

[Complexity]

Things are looking good! Just tested the water. Ammonia and nitrites remain at 0ppm. Nitrates are somewhere between 40-80ppm which is higher than I'd like given the plant mass in the tank so I'm going to decrease dosing nitrates until I see the plants using more than the tank is producing on its own.

The water clarity is also looking much better today. I have a feeling yesterday's nitrite spike was the tail end of the mini-cycle. I'll keep testig 2-3 times a day to be sure, but I'm happy with the way things are looking so far.

The tank's algae correction appears to be right on schedule. I usually like to give the tank a week to recover from the H2O2 treatment, and today marks day 4. So I'm at the halfway point, and the tank appears to have turned the corner. I may have to do another H2O2 treatment next week, but it probably won't have to be as aggressive as the last one.

Otos are doing good, too. Just 1 death so far which isn't unusual for the first week with otos.

Hopefully, I'll get pics posted soon.

[sewingalot]

Oh wow, your tank is looking so pretty! I am wishing I could love your driftwood, but I've never been a fan of the naked look. But even so, it fits in great with your scape. I am looking forward to reading more details and have subscribed so I don't miss out.

[Complexity]

Thanks! I understand what you mean about the driftwood. I have it like that mainly because I enjoy watching my amanos climbing up it to eat stuff from the surface when I feed my fish. Plus, I have learned that I love stems so anything low just gets buried (which is why I'm no longer putting rocks in the scape). Once I get the tank passed the algae stage, I am thinking of adding some fissidens to the driftwood. I really love that plant and think it would look good.

Things are looking better with the tank. I'm winning the battle over the algae and my diatoms are going away (or the otos are eating them all). I keep trying to get pics, but haven't done it yet. I hope to get some for sure this week.

[sewingalot]

Fissidens would look fantastic. It'll hug the driftwood better and maintain the shape of the wood, too. I always loved rock scapes but they end up looking random when I try to mimic nature. Oops. And definitiely on the hidden by other plants. I'm finding even my subwassertang completely took out the view of my rocks in the 10.

[Complexity]

Yeah, that was the problem I had with my rocks before. I had to keep the plants in front of them very, very short or they'd be hidden. Then I got frustrated because the rocks took up space where I could be planting plants! So the rocks had to go. I had to face it -- I'm a plant junkie! LOL!

[sewingalot]

That's exactly what I think about driftwood. Why give up valuable planting space? What I appreciate about yours is the fact yours isn't the normal status quo in terms of placement and shape. It seems like everyone wants this branchy, winter tree turned sideways that is just so unnatural looking for me.

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by Complexity

My ADA double check drop checker. I think I have the CO2 right on target!

Do not assume this is correct.

Since most drop checkers target only 30ppm for the green coloration, but it is slightly light green, medium, or dark green? or sort of blue or sort of yellow? That's a wide range 1st off.

Second off, many tanks need more than 30ppm to operate correctly.
They might have higher rates of degassing, less surface film, many potential reasons we commonly ignore.

Not one of my tanks has operated correctly at 30ppm. Some likely could have, but I would have had to reduced the O2 and the livestock.

Point is, each tank has an optimal CO2 level and this seems best determined by eyeballs and good close careful observation of the fish 1st, then shrimp etc, then algae, then plants etc. DC's and pH/Kh will get you around the right area, then tweak from there.

Only once you have a good well run tank for awhile, then..........you can go back and test CO2 etc.

But by then, pH meters, pH probes are more suited as a relative measure and more precise than a DC.

[Complexity]

LOL! I understand completely! I'm actually not that crazy about this current batch of driftwood. I made the centerpiece using my leftover pieces -- all those pieces I kept turning down whenever I selected the perfect piece for my tanks. So these are the rejects! Still, I figured once I get the tank stuffed with plants, no one will even be able to see it so it didn't matter. The amanos and pleco likes it which is what really counts.

[Complexity]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

Do not assume this is correct.

Since most drop checkers target only 30ppm for the green coloration, but it is slightly light green, medium, or dark green? or sort of blue or sort of yellow? That's a wide range 1st off.

Second off, many tanks need more than 30ppm to operate correctly.
They might have higher rates of degassing, less surface film, many potential reasons we commonly ignore.

Not one of my tanks has operated correctly at 30ppm. Some likely could have, but I would have had to reduced the O2 and the livestock.

Point is, each tank has an optimal CO2 level and this seems best determined by eyeballs and good close careful observation of the fish 1st, then shrimp etc, then algae, then plants etc. DC's and pH/Kh will get you around the right area, then tweak from there.

Only once you have a good well run tank for awhile, then..........you can go back and test CO2 etc.

But by then, pH meters, pH probes are more suited as a relative measure and more precise than a DC.

Understood. I proceeded to inch the CO2 up from what you saw there. However, I did stop just shy of what I will use as my maximum because I'm still stabilizing the tank. It's getting there. But I've been aggressively attacking an algae outbreak which, if not carefully managed, could throw the entire tank into a tailspin. So for the sake of the fauna, I have kept the CO2 just a tad shy of what I intend to dose long term.

Fortunately, I'm beating the algae and things are looking good. I should be on the other side of what I consider the "new tank algae outbreak" at this point. I have more fast growing plants I can harvest from my 90g that can add to my plant mass which will also help. I think after my next water change this weekend, I can start inching the CO2 up to its final setting.

[Complexity]

Okay, I finally took pictures. But it's going to take me some time to get them ready before I can post them. My camera is around 11-12 years old now so I have to take humongous pictures and then resize them down so they won't look so grainy. That takes me forever. I really need a new camera!

Hopefully, I'll have some pics posted later today.

[Complexity]

I finally got some pics! Here's what the tank looks like now. There's still some algae and diatoms, but I'm getting the upper hand on the algae and the otos have done a great job on the diatoms. The plants are showing improved growth. I still have more work to do to get this tank in shape, but I think the tank has finished going through its worst and should only get better from here.

Still no actual scape. My focus right now is on the tank as a whole so the plants are placed where I could fit them in and where I hoped they would have the best chance of growing. Once I've finished the algae and diatom stage and the plants are exhibiting strong healthy growth, then I'll rearrange them so they make better sense. I also have a lot of plants in my 90g that I plant to swap out with this tank.

So here's the full tank shot for starters. Okay plant mass, but still need more. I have some plants growing like crazy in my 90g I want to move over to increase the plant mass in this tank.





This is the best shot I could get of the algae I'm fighting. It's a very odd algae. I've never seen it before. If you look closely, you'll see it has small tufts similar to BBA. It does not grow any longer; it only spreads further out. It is not green spot algae. I looked at it under the microscope, and the cell structure didn't match any of the algae I already knew of. It looked almost like diatoms, but it's bright green. It also loves light and spreads very quickly. It seems the otos like to eat it which is helpful. The H2O2 is only partially effective. Very strange algae. If it didn't spread so quickly and cover the plant leaves, I'd love to keep it. It's actually pretty on the hardscape.



This is the left side of the tank. Lots of Bacopa growing like mad. I also have a ton of Hygrophilia that's growing really fast. I believe this is H. araguaia. There's also some Ludwigia red in the mix. In front of the Ludwigia is what should be Limnophila sp 'vietnam'. Just behind and to the left of the Limnophila is some Clinopodium cf. brownei that's growing pretty nicely. It's hard to see it in the picture since it blends in with the Bacopa. When I scape the tank, I'll be sure to separate them.



This is a better shot of my Red Ludwigia. I'm so happy this plant is doing well. I bought it 4 different times, and this is the only time it survived shipping. It's slow growing for a Ludwigia, but it's definitely making it. I adore the color!



In the middle of the driftwood is Red Tiger Lotus. It's still pretty low so you can't see it very well yet. It'll grow taller once its roots take hold. In front of the driftwood is a thick stand of Hygrophila corymbosa 'compacta'. Talk about a plant that grows and grows! I bought one little pot of this when it first came out, and I've had tons of it in all my tanks ever since. You can also see some of my Blyxa japonica. I have it all over the tank right now. It got hit really hard with diatoms, but the otos are getting it cleaned off. You can still see a lot of black looking leaves which are the ones still covered in diatoms.



Posting this now. I have more pics to post in a minute!