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125 gallons and SO many questions lol

1K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  SuperGreen 
#1 · (Edited)
OK first off i'm a long time lurker and have seen some beautiful planted aquariums on this board not to mention the wealth of information available. I had a 55g and was given a 125g. So I set this big o' boy up (after i build a DIY 2x4 stand).

Now before I start asking a ton of questions let me start off with what I got.

Equipment:
The 6' 125g aquarium of course. (has a built on the outside, overflow box)
API XPM canister filter from my 55g
DIY sterilite trickle filter w/650gph return pump (all mechanical filtration in it atm)
Pea gravel and pool filter sand for substrate
2 250watt heaters in the DIY filter "sump"
4x4foot T8 DIY fixture (128 total watts)

Stock:
2 Black marble veil Angelfish
2 quarter sized gold Angelfish
4 Panda Corys
12 Neon tetras
10 Cherry Barbs

1 Undulata (grows well)
1 Ozelot Sword (grew well until I decided I was gonna "wipe off" the algae from it)
4 anacharis cuttings (thought they were melting but they've started to show signs of new growth)
8 Moneywort cutting (grow well and I think are rooting based on the visible roots on the stems)

Water parameters
PH 7.5 (I have PH probe)
GH 250 (I may need new test kit)
KH 180 (I may need new test kit)
Amonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10-20 (20 atm)
I do weekly 30-50% water changes

OK so I was thinking low light/low tech with a low fuss mentality towards this tank. Everything was going great till the algae started blooming. It is/was green, small spots, and with hair. So I adjusted my photo period to 6 hours scrubbed everything and have left the timer at 6 hours lights-on. Someone told me that there maybe a fertilizer imbalance happening here but idk, I get conflicting info. So i figured i'd leave a post here and see what y'alls thoughts were.

Many thanks in advance,
Steven
 

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#3 ·
You need tons more plants to start with. Your sword will love you if you give it a root tab every couple months. Other than that it looks like a good start. Check out the 6 foot plus club link in my sig.
 
#4 ·
Heck yeah thx, subscribed to that thread. Kinda embarrassed to post pics to that thread but what the heck, I've already done it here. Yeah im gonna grab a piece of driftwood I spotted too at my lfs as well as some plants. Its a stump shaped one with a branch that come off about two feet. I think it'll look nice with some moss on it. Should I even think about EI dosing with that lil of light and no co2? I have started introducing Flourish Excel tho just to see if it would do anything with the algae and plant growth. The good news is the algae isnt worse, but its still there but not a lot of it.
 
#5 ·
...Kinda embarrassed to post pics to that thread but what the heck, I've already done it here. ...
Here's my low tech 6' (135gal) back in April as I decided to overhaul it after having never dosed ferts or added CO2 and was overran with BBA & poor plant health (med-low light).
Plant Water Pet supply Fish supply Aquatic plant


Here's my tank this morning.
Plant Plant community Pet supply Terrestrial plant Aquatic plant


I however didn't choose the low tech route as I wanted faster growth but I tell you I have a different looking tank literally every 2 weeks. So, I hear ya about the not wanting to mess with it too much. I dose EI, have root tabs, high CO2, & moved to high light via LEDs from BML. I couldn't be happier these days with the results and I've made close to half of my money back from my lights simply from selling trimmings since Aug/Sept !!! Something to also consider.

I have to owe my success solely to this forum though these folks are great. If I were you I'd do CO2 & ferts then you will be limiting your growth to the lights; this will yield healthier plants, not be too much to worry about maint-wise and you'll likely see your algae issues greatly suppressed.

I agree 100% with the other post that you need a ton more plants from the get go & roots tabs will be a must for swords (& all heavy root feeders in general). l also check out this thread for battling algae it saved my tank for sure (also note my posts regarding Algaefix).
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=203684
 
#6 ·
More plants will help a lot with algae problems. As Tom Barr continuously repeats "focus on plant growth and algae won't be a problem". Lots of fast growing stems like rotala rotifundia, ludwigia repens, watersprite,wisteria will help at first. Trimming and replanting will help to fill in the tank somewhat quickly. This is the most recent picture of my 125g. Link is in my sig although I haven't updated recently.
 

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#7 ·
That is a beautiful tank jfynyson! What are the red plants in your aquarium? I kinda wanna do things in stages as to not spend a ton at once. Sounds like I may want to go with Ei dosing ferts and look into a good CO2 regulator. Ferts are cheap, but out of curiosity how much CO2 do you use per a given period? I'm gonna look at my regulator options and see what DIY plans are available and weigh my option on that vs "ready-to-go" setups. I found a few on ebay for 75 dollars but idk if they're worth a crap or not. I want to keep the cost low but not buy junk that'll be trash in no time or worthless from the get go lol. 75.00 seemed reasonable to me though. heres the link [Ebay Link Removed]
 
#10 ·
Thanks !; I've got several plants that give reds but you are probably talking about the ones in front / middle. They are the Alternanthera Reineckii (not mini type) and can do fine in lower lighting as I've read. Yeah read up on DIY CO2 systems and get something cheap but good enough for now and stay away from sugar/yeast set ups especially in large tanks. You need to ensure whatever CO2 system you install it can deliver consistent CO2 otherwise say hello to BBA issues !

Get a bunch of things like water sprite as the other post mentioned they go a long way in helping with tank maint & soaking up excess nutrients.
 
#8 ·
Makes sense, more plants to out compete the algae. One of our somewhat local fish stores (45miles away) has a metric crap ton of plants, driftwood, and other hardscape stuff. I should be good to add plants now without the CO2 and ferts right (will grab some root tabs tho)? Can I start with ferts, add CO2 and then someday go with better lights? Sorry for all the questions and thanks a ton for all the info thus far!
 
#11 ·
I don't run CO2 on my tank but I do dose Flourish comprehensive once a week. I put 10 root tabs throughout the substrate about every three months. My lighting is 4 six inch brooder lamps with 23w cfl 6500k bulbs, on a timer set for 8 hours a day. Growth is steady but not overly fast. I have trimmed this tank 4 times since starting and have had enough plants to fill 3 other tanks.
 
#12 ·
Low tech 125 - yeah algae is just a fact of life. Pick a type you will get it. The trick is to add in a ton of plants and you'll need to fertilize. The best bet is to purchase dry ferts online for the size of tank you have. It costs me around $50 every six months to keep 125 going.

You also might to consider a long term cleanup crew. I've got SAE's for the bba, BN plecos, brig snails, and pond snails for the rest. These usually stay hidden under the canopy and are safe with other fish.

In low tech tanks the object is to keep them all in sort of a happy medium between the algae, plants and cleaning crew. My BN plecos consider it a great environment and keep breeding. I have no Idea how many I have now.
 
#13 ·
Yeah luckily I think I have the algae at a stand still and the long term cleanup crew would do the job. I basically just shortened my photo period to 6hr (was 8) until I run back into town and grab a regulator/tank and root tabs. The ferts I ordered as well, I got the EI kit or w/e it was called lol. Dry ferts seem to be the most reasonably priced option. Found a 10# tank and regulator (no solenoid tho) for 50 bucs on craigs list. Hopefully I get to it before it's sold. I was gonna steer away from co2 injection but if I can get my hands on it for that cheap then ill give it a shot. I'm also gonna make another canopy with t5ho lamps (ill be working on that on the side). Thanks for all the input from everyone, it's greatly appreciated.
 
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