New planted setup, would appreciate any advice [video]

MrSlumpy · 02-17-2013, 12:33 AM

I've had my 36 gallon bowfront for about a year and a half, but I just recently replaced all my fake plastic plants with live ones. (I've never done this planted tank thing before.) I'm running a paintball CO2 system and a finnex Ray 2 for lighting. I am having some algae issues and I have no idea what ferts I should be using. I'm currently dosing it with Seachem Flourish 2x a week but I'm sure I need something else.

I made a video showing a few areas I'm concerned and unsure about, please check it out and let me know what you think. Any and all advice would be appreciated!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu_95QR1rRI

Oh, also a specific question: Regarding the "soda water" effect I'm getting from my diffuser, would an inline diffuser get rid of that or at least minimize it? I also read a comment suggesting putting the diffuser right near my filter intake? Is that a good idea to get rid of some / most of the bubbles? Would the CO2 level improve / worsen?

Thank you in advance!

**kevmo911** · 02-17-2013, 12:53 AM

Firstly, congratulations on the first embedded video I've ever seen on TPT.

Secondly, I like the simple aquascape.

As for the rest, yes, you're going to need more fertilization. Look into EI dosing. Less than $30 shipped should get you enough dry ferts for a year on that tank.

A lot of folks have difficulty growing slow-growing plants (like anubias) in higher lighting due to algae issues. Your algae looks to be mostly BBA, which is very common, and there's no simple cure for algae in general, and BBA specifically. Plenty of ferts, removing badly-affected leaves, good flow, and plenty of CO2 are common suggestions. Your surface agitation is excessive, but that's not a bad thing. It ensures that there's plenty of O2 in the water column, though it increases the gassing-off rate of CO2 (but CO2 is dirt cheap, so that's not horrible). I'd have to check the lighting sticky, but I'm pretty sure the Finnex LED fixtures are in there, so you should be able to identify how strong your lighting really is.

I didn't see a drop checker - do you use one? If you have a dual stage regulator, or a high quality single stage reg, you can increase CO2 to just below the point at which fish start freaking out. If you have one of the all-in-one generic regs (Milwaukee, Azoo, Aquatek, Dici, or any of their clones), don't do this. Stick to a solid green, or even Mountain Dew-colored drop checker.

One last thing - for algae maintenance, Excel or some other gultaraldehyde source might help. And as a last-ditch effort, it can be used to nuke a tank, though you'll experience some leaf die-off.

MrSlumpy · 02-17-2013, 01:29 AM

Thank you, I had heard mention of EI dosing but didn't realize what it meant until I just googled it. That should improve my completely nonexistent fertilization knowledge base.

The Finnex ray 2 in the LED compendium shows 55 PAR at 18" (which is about my distance) so is that high or medium light?

I do have a drop checker currently showing a solid green. Since the time that I made that video i increased the CO2 flow to around 3 bubbles per second and it's still showing solid green about a day later.

Will look into getting some excel as well, I don't mind if I have to trim or even replant, I actually enjoy this stuff so far.

On a good note, the plants seem to be growing pretty well so far. My ludwigia and Anacharis have increased in size by probably 30% since I put them in a week or so ago. And the anubias, despite the black crud, are still sprouting new leaves regularly.

**Hoppy** · 02-17-2013, 02:45 AM

You have medium intensity light, so you definitely need the CO2, and you need to be dosing NPK and trace elements too. I think your surface ripple is a little high, so You could lower the filter outlet a little. The goal is not to have any splashing or "breaking waves", but to have ripple over the whole water surface. I have never been able to avoid BBA on anubias, unless I keep them in either partly shaded areas, or at the end of the tank, where the light intensity is usually a bit lower. Anubias leaves just don't grow fast enough to avoid BBA when there is lots of light.

JeffHerr · 02-17-2013, 02:51 AM

Excel will likely completely melt your anach.

Also, save money and look for metracide 14. It's more concentrated than excel, so take Excel dose x 0.6 for Metracide dose.

02-17-2013, 02:45 AM	#4
Hoppy Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (54/100%) Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 17,215	You have medium intensity light, so you definitely need the CO2, and you need to be dosing NPK and trace elements too. I think your surface ripple is a little high, so You could lower the filter outlet a little. The goal is not to have any splashing or "breaking waves", but to have ripple over the whole water surface. I have never been able to avoid BBA on anubias, unless I keep them in either partly shaded areas, or at the end of the tank, where the light intensity is usually a bit lower. Anubias leaves just don't grow fast enough to avoid BBA when there is lots of light. __________________ Hoppy

02-17-2013, 02:51 AM	#5
JeffHerr Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Valparaiso, IN Posts: 77	New planted setup, would appreciate any advice [video] Excel will likely completely melt your anach. Also, save money and look for metracide 14. It's more concentrated than excel, so take Excel dose x 0.6 for Metracide dose.

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02-17-2013, 12:53 AM	#2
kevmo911 Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (32/100%) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 3,750	Firstly, congratulations on the first embedded video I've ever seen on TPT. Secondly, I like the simple aquascape. As for the rest, yes, you're going to need more fertilization. Look into EI dosing. Less than $30 shipped should get you enough dry ferts for a year on that tank. A lot of folks have difficulty growing slow-growing plants (like anubias) in higher lighting due to algae issues. Your algae looks to be mostly BBA, which is very common, and there's no simple cure for algae in general, and BBA specifically. Plenty of ferts, removing badly-affected leaves, good flow, and plenty of CO2 are common suggestions. Your surface agitation is excessive, but that's not a bad thing. It ensures that there's plenty of O2 in the water column, though it increases the gassing-off rate of CO2 (but CO2 is dirt cheap, so that's not horrible). I'd have to check the lighting sticky, but I'm pretty sure the Finnex LED fixtures are in there, so you should be able to identify how strong your lighting really is. I didn't see a drop checker - do you use one? If you have a dual stage regulator, or a high quality single stage reg, you can increase CO2 to just below the point at which fish start freaking out. If you have one of the all-in-one generic regs (Milwaukee, Azoo, Aquatek, Dici, or any of their clones), don't do this. Stick to a solid green, or even Mountain Dew-colored drop checker. One last thing - for algae maintenance, Excel or some other gultaraldehyde source might help. And as a last-ditch effort, it can be used to nuke a tank, though you'll experience some leaf die-off.

02-17-2013, 01:29 AM	#3
MrSlumpy Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: TX, USA Posts: 80	Thank you, I had heard mention of EI dosing but didn't realize what it meant until I just googled it. That should improve my completely nonexistent fertilization knowledge base. The Finnex ray 2 in the LED compendium shows 55 PAR at 18" (which is about my distance) so is that high or medium light? I do have a drop checker currently showing a solid green. Since the time that I made that video i increased the CO2 flow to around 3 bubbles per second and it's still showing solid green about a day later. Will look into getting some excel as well, I don't mind if I have to trim or even replant, I actually enjoy this stuff so far. On a good note, the plants seem to be growing pretty well so far. My ludwigia and Anacharis have increased in size by probably 30% since I put them in a week or so ago. And the anubias, despite the black crud, are still sprouting new leaves regularly.