Marko's ADA 30C - B. brigittae photos (6/16/13)

[@marko@]

24/7 regulated by a pH controller.
yup, a lot of the plants need CO2. and with this much light, if the tank did not have CO2 it would have serious algae.

[@marko@]

interestingly, i just realized that this tank has gone since setup with no CO2 and 24/7 lighting. fortunately, no algae (yet). the problem (CO2 nob needle valve was almost totally closed, and light timer was set to manual control) has been remedied.

[@marko@]

the tank is doing good. getting growth on all the plants, and no algae so far. i hope to add fish and shrimp in a week or so.
also switched the side the equipment is on.
pic:

[@marko@]

well the scape you see in the post above failed. and failed speculatively.
SOMETHING was leeching carbonates into the water. i started with a kh of 4, and then a week later had a kh of 13. the endlers i put in, died. the ph controlled CO2 went too high as a result of the kh shift.

anyway i tore it down, and attempted a dry start, using ADA amazonia. unfortunately during the last 2 weeks, it got kinda dry... but nothing died. i only see this tank once a week, so i cant correct problems as quick and easy as i can in my 20 gal or betta tank. but today i filled it up and hopefully it will do well.


ill let the HC fill in, and then add some more low-growers to it. an e. parkeri (i cant seem to do a tank without this plant - i absolutely love it), some riccia, maybe a few c. parva scattered here or there.

[Patson]

Good luck! Have u figured out the source of carbonates? Is it one of the rocks?

[@marko@]

it was not the rocks. a carbonate based rock would have reacted with vinegar and fizzed (2H+ + CO3-- -> H2CO3 -> H2O + CO2), these did not. and just to be safe i put them in a bowl of RODI for a week. a week later the kh was still 0.
it was not the sand, i replaced that with white ADA sand, and my kh still went up.
so i concluded it had to be the MTS, though neither i nor the seller understood why it would have a high carbonate content (i did not add dolomite).

anyway, the ADA AS will pull carbonates out of the water, not leach them in. and the rock im positive were not the source. so problem fixed (i hope).

[talontsiawd]

Originally Posted by @marko@

so i concluded it had to be the MTS, though neither i nor the seller understood why it would have a high carbonate content (i did not add dolomite).

anyway, the ADA AS will pull carbonates out of the water, not leach them in. and the rock im positive were not the source. so problem fixed (i hope).

I am not saying it's your MTS or not. I will say I will never use MTS or any other regular soil on a non-low tech tank. I actually gave up on MTS and will use about 1/8 of an inch of soil or so now, and only on low tech. I know some people have success but it has been very hit and miss for me, about 50/50 (not including the 1/8in of soil in a true low tech). Anyway, it's too iffy on high tech and probably even worse with a nano. Hope your next round goes better.

[denske]

Whatever happened to that giant "petite"?

[@marko@]

its sitting in a 3 gal bucket with water in it.
gonna go in the new betta sorority i want to set up.
dont worry, im not scarping that plant. im very attached to it.

[@marko@]

everything is growing in rather well. the HC is looking a bit less than perfect, but thats cuz the CO2 ran out for a while and was just replaced a week ago.
the tank is also fully cycled and livestock was added last week, and then some more today.
FTS:


endlers:


otos:


amano:


the l. mini is a bit too low, i hope it grows an inch or two taller, or ill replace it with something else.

[@marko@]

swapped out the endlers for 6 b. brigittae. the endlers are now in my 20 long - the move was a bit of a pain as the female gave birth to 9 babies and catching them wasnt easy.
but i love the b. brigittae. they are still smallish, and school very tightly.