German Ram 20 long JUNGLE!!!

[Judge Judy]

20 Gallon Long

-Fluval 206
-ZooMed DOUBLE t5H0 48 watt (6700k and 10,000k)
-Flourite Black Sand 15lb.
-Black Gravel
-Flourish Comprehensive
-Flourish Trace
-Flourish Excell
-Flourish Potassium
-API Liquid C02

Inhabitants


-15x Neon Tetra
-1x German Ram (Juvenile)
-1x Otocinclus


Plants

-Water Wisteria [NEED TO BUY MORE ANYTIME DURING MAY-JUNE 2013] PM ME OFFER $$
-Anubias Nana
-Teardrops
-Cardinal Plant
-Red Rubin
-Green Cabomba [NEED TO BUY MORE ANYTIME DURING MAY-JUNE 2013] PM ME OFFER $$
-Ludwigia Narrow [NEED TO BUY MORE ANYTIME DURING MAY-JUNE 2013] PM ME OFFER $$
-Limnophila aromatica 'hippuroides' [NEED TO BUY MORE ANYTIME DURING MAY-JUNE 2013] PM ME OFFER $$

Pics or it didn't happen

[Judge Judy]

Here's the problem I'm having, my water is cloudy I think it might be from me turning off the filter at night when I go to sleep because its too loud. I will be getting a Fluval 106 Canister soon because I heard they are quieter.

I'm not sure if I should add carbon in my filter to help clear the water, Does anybody know anything I can use that won't bother my plant cycle?

Another problem I'm having is this hair algae on the Sag. How do I combat this?
I leave the light on 8 hours a day.

[mitchfish9]

Welcome to TPT!

I like the setup! It has some great potential if you fixed a couple things.

Definitely don't turn off the filter at night, that will cause loss of bacteria resulting in cloudy water. The fluval 106 will be great for the water quality, I have the 206 and it works great. I recommend seachem purigen for chemical filtration as it has made my water crystal clear combined with the canister filter.

The hair algae,(another cause of cloudy water) is caused by the light. You have wayyyy to much light without pressurized co2 and EI dosing of fertilizer. SInce 20longs are only 12 inches high, the PAR at the substrate is extremely high. You either need to raise your current light 12 more inches up, or use a single tube t8 for more appropriate lighting for a low tech tank such as yours.

Hit me up with any more questions!

EDIT- I have my fluval in my bedroom, and I can't even hear it when it is inside the stand. The humming sound is very low

[ACFishTank]

Welcome to TPT!

I totally agree with mitchfish9, having the filter off for extended periods of time is starving the bacteria in your filter of oxygen causing an anaerobic environment. Have you noticed spikes in your ammonia or nitrite levels?

Hair algae is the worst.. I've battled it myself. Either raising the light or diffusing it may help for the time being until you're ready for CO2 injection. Some users have used fiberglass screening to help reduce the light as well.

I have a long fin gold ram myself.. they are a great fish. Can't wait to see more pictures when the tank clears up.

Mike

[ghost shrimp]

That's a Beautiful ram, Tank looks great! Also fluval's are nice but i've had some that are not the quietist canister, If your looking for a good quiet Canister for under a $100 Sun sun or Aquatop's are Great!

[Drewsplantednutz]

I have the same light but 24" takes 2 22" 24w bulbs (assuming you have the 24" or 30" with 2 24watts). The good thing about this light is it has a switch for both lights. So try shutting off one of the bulbs for a week. Like mitch said thats too much light even for my 20 high. If injected co2 is too much for you right now try a small DIY CO2 system, it will help alot and give you a little more knowledge on the planted side of the tank. Search Home DIY CO2 System there is plenty of ideas and recipes out there. Remember sugar/water + yeast = co2

Added: I have a 206 and very happy with it. Super quiet. Good design. Go with anything bigger than the 106 and you wont have to clean it for months.

[Mxx]

With an enriched soil substrate like that, and with noise being an issue you might even consider a different filtration setup altogether. A canister can be quiet if you keep it inside a stand or box underneath. Alternatively, you could use just a circulation pump/powerhead or a powerhead connected to a plug-in sponge filter. Those are visible in the tank of course, but can be very quiet. The quietest should be Tunzes.

Not sure what caused the cloudiness, it might have something to do with how you prepared your substrate. I'd leave it alone and it should go away eventually. Otherwise stuff your HOB with fine filter floss and that should remove it as well.

If you use Flourish Excel at double doses, that should help the plants get the plants established in a healthy manner and rooted while controlling your algae as well. In a month or two you could hopefully stop the Excel and your plants will be able to combat the algae themselves, though as mentioned you might want to still adjust your lighting if necessary.

[Judge Judy]

The electric blue ram had ich and he died I should have set up a hospital tank before since it is an expensive fish but oh well I learned from my mistake.





this is what the tank looks like now, its a mess. getting those 3 german rams out was such a pain in the ass and to think i wouldnt have had to go through all this trouble if i just set up a quarantine tank.

i noticed the amazon swords are folding in the stems i assumed ti was from the temp so i lowered it to 79.

theres a lot of poop getting stuck to some of my myrios and cabombas anyway to deal with that?

i turned off the 6.7k bulb so right now its only 10k 24watt lets see how it goes.

as far as the c02 goes thats gonna wait a few months so far im upgrading my light from a 24 inch to a 30 inch and after that im getting a FLUVAL 106. once i get those two things ill look into pressurized c02.

i have some excel ill try that.

thanks a lot guys for the help ill be posting more info on how everything goes.
i really appreciate the help.

[Judge Judy]

My plan right now is to get my hands on some water wisteria and place it all over the foreground until theres no empty space

It will look something like this


Anubias, I wanna get a lot of those and attach them to the wood.

Anyone know any plant safe ich medications?
Or any methods of treating ich wtih plants. Salt? temp?

[Mxx]

I researched Ich treatment, and just raised my temperature to 85 and kept it there for two weeks. Ich was gone, plants were fine, no residual chemicals. A breeze.

[@marko@]

if its been going for a while you need meds, not just temp.
i would dose malachite green (its an ingredient in maracide), and maybe CuSO4 (coppersafe or any other brands copper med).

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

I would try raising your temp first, and if th Ich is still a problem go to the meds next! Also when you raise your temps you will need to add a air stone! With the higher temps there will be less dissolved oxygen in the water and the fish will get stressed out even more! So I ALWAYS add an air stone or 2 with high temps!

Also I would test you tank for ammonia and nitrites! If you were turning off the filter at night for the first few months the tank was setup you probably don't have a very good bacteria population, and even with the plants in the tank, you might not be all the way threw a cycle yet! Which will stress the fish and cause them to get Ich among other problems!

I REALLY LIKE the Fluval Canister filters! I have had a few different brands, and have worked with MANY when I ran the Aquarium Cleaning Service for my good friend that had a local fish shop, and the Fluval has been at the top of my list for years! I am running 3 Fluval 205s and 1- 204, and other than changing the impeller and shaft in the 204 it has been running problem free for 6+ years!

Just be sure when you add the Fluval to put any filter media from the filter you have now into the canister!!! That way the bacteria will establish itself in the new canister quickly and you shouldn't have a ammonia/nitrite spike!

Hope this helps ya out!
Drew

[Judge Judy]

The ich is all taken care of and the fluval 106 is on its way and i ordered API water softener pillow ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...3475&subref=AA )


i ran tests and all the levels couldnt be any better i got slight cloudyness but im hoping the fluval will take care of it.

[LyzzaRyzz]

Looks good! Love your driftwood. What're you going to be stocking the tank with if the rams are gone?

[Judge Judy]

Neon tetras, I would keep two rams I just need more plants to cover the open areas, especially the middle. I got the conditions perfect i just put in a API water softener. supposed to be really good.