Frank's Planted Tank How-To Mini Novel - The Mini S Returns! New Layout

[Francis Xavier]

Mini M in HD:

[orchidman]

looks great! keep the HD pics coming!

[freph]

Screw glosso, I'm just gonna do a hairgrass and riccia tank lol. Much less room for error as long as you keep it trimmed.

[Francis Xavier]

In the Dark, Nature Aquarium becomes particularly striking.

[windfish]

Originally Posted by Francis Xavier

In the Dark, Nature Aquarium becomes particularly striking.

Gorgeous shot.

[FlyingHellFish]

Been a while since I read this thread. That Mini M is gorgeous!

Got a question regarding Green Dust algae, how in the world do you get rid of it?



It's really hard to scrape off and my otos cats can't keep up with it.

[5BodyBlade]

I'm only on page 17 so sorry if this has been answered, but how is the diffuser better than the reactor if the reactor gets close to 100% diffusion?

Originally Posted by Francis Xavier

Day 11:

I went ahead and used airline tubing to remove any left over dead matter from the microsword.

Took the water level way down today:



Allowing the scape to breath in open air for a few minutes (5 or so) every now and again will help prevent algae, since the exposure will help kill any residual algae spores, usually useful for non-serious algae types and purely for preventative measures.



You will notice I switched the diffuser sides.

If you read the flow Charts I posted earlier you will understand the reasoning behind this (if you haven't read it, refer back to page 13 or so, it's somewhere around there).

Basically by manipulating where I put the diffuser in relation to flow I can optimize which plants grow quicker.

You will see me manipulating this variable often and it is why I always recommend against reactors. I want you to start looking at these variables and adopting this habit in your aquarium. Just follow along and watch how I do it and you'll pick it up.

So homework for you tonight is if you've had your diffuser in one spot for a long time, move it to the other side and watch what happens.

And a cool shot to end out the day:



Dosing: Green Brighty Step 1 & Brighty K 1 squirt.
Green Bacter: 6 drops.

[Francis Xavier]

GDA is usually a sign of imbalance in the aquarium - the quicker you get it, the less powerful your biological filtration. It's an excellent metric to see how well your biological is doing.

The easiest short term fix is to get a razor and scrape it off the glass - in the long term, I would try switching your filter media to more about 80% biological, 20% mechanical if you haven't yet. If you have Green Bacter or Bacter 100, dosing either one into the aquarium will help give the Bacteria a jump start if you don't have any power sand under the substrate.

Originally Posted by FlyingHellFish

Been a while since I read this thread. That Mini M is gorgeous!

Got a question regarding Green Dust algae, how in the world do you get rid of it?



It's really hard to scrape off and my otos cats can't keep up with it.

[Francis Xavier]

Originally Posted by 5BodyBlade

I'm only on page 17 so sorry if this has been answered, but how is the diffuser better than the reactor if the reactor gets close to 100% diffusion?

Great question!

The primary advantage of the diffuser is your ability to manipulate the positioning of the Co2 in relation to where the flow is.

To bring it to essentials, plants grow differently based on where the highest concentration of Co2 is, which follows the pattern of the flow in your aquarium. Generally plants closest to the diffuser grow slower / shorter and plants further away grow quicker and taller. So the ability to change sides to manipulate growth and keep things balanced is absolutely critical.

Reactors are good for larger aquariums, such as those that are over 300-400 gallons in size, but typically just don't provide enough saturation in the water column to help plants as well as a diffuser. As well, it ends up forcing you to stick the co2 in only one spot - going with the flow of water into the aquarium. Should you ever have a dead spot of flow, those plants are basically done for. Additionally, if you have the reactor on the inflow side of things, the highest concentration of Co2 hits the biological filtration - oxygen absorbing bacteria - first, which will stunt their growth and keep it permanently lower, which leads to more algae issues.

Alternatively, if you have the Co2 on the outflow side of the filter, which is the better scenario, You're still stuck with being tied to where ever the flow is going in the aquarium. In both cases, you will typically need to use more co2 to get the same efficiency as using a diffuser, again excepting in the cases of very, very large aquariums where the reactor is more suitable.

[FlyingHellFish]

I'm sure this question been answered but I like the way you explain things Frank.

Explain to me how to increase Co2 in relation to O2, as more O2 provides the water column the ability to retain more Co2.

So how do I increase O2 without out gassing the Co2? I don't have the luxury of increasing the surface tension due to my unique tank.

[frrok]

Any update on the MINI-M Frank?

[fahim6801]

i would like to ask a silly question i had in mind for a long time, whats the different between Phyton Git and Do! Aqua be-Clear, and the different between Green Brighty and Do! Aqua Be-Green, we dont have ADA in our country but i would like to bring some with my friends help who is in uk now, so was thinking which one to select

[andrewss]

looking real good

[Francis Xavier]

As you guys know, I've been a bit under the weather this month, but I've got some exciting news:

new layouts will be coming in the fall season;

And I will be gone from Oct. 24th until Nov. 7th for the Nature Aquarium Party in Tokyo, Japan.

Expect a lot of pictures!

[frrok]

Originally Posted by Francis Xavier

As you guys know, I've been a bit under the weather this month, but I've got some exciting news:

new layouts will be coming in the fall season;

And I will be gone from Oct. 24th until Nov. 7th for the Nature Aquarium Party in Tokyo, Japan.

Expect a lot of pictures!

Hope everything is ok Frank. Your health is most important. Thanks for the update. Looking forward to pictures from the party!