Gaia: High-Tech 20L Journal- Post vacation pics 8/16/09

[CL]

Originally Posted by @marko@

the whitish cloudiness is normal right?

I think so. So why did you decide to get some amazonia II?

[@marko@]

i needed more then 9 liters of substrate, but less then 18. and they werent selling amazonia I in 3 liter sizes, so i substituted with II. i only used half the 3 liter bag, and though i hear II isnt as good as I, i doubt its bad (its still ADA).

[@marko@]

ok, the tank is filled with water all the way and is perfectly clear. filter has been running for a while and i tested the water: kh was 3, ph was 6.4.
that gives me my desired CO2 ppm, which isnt suprising since the CO2 was on the ph controller.
here are pics of the tank and probes, and im off to plant.

[Characins]

Nice piece of driftwood you got there.

I can't wait to see it with plants!

[cah925]

I really like that driftwood too. looking forward to seeing plant pics.

[chonhzilla]

How do you like using that CO2 reactor?

[@marko@]

thanks guys. it was a great find at my LFS. its a very small place nearby with nothing at all, but occasionally have good wood.

CO2 reactor works great IMO. i dont have to wory about my flow to distribute the mist, because the CO2 is weakly bound with the water. and i dont have to put a diffuser in the tank.


well, i planted. the tank is a soupy color, but it should go away. planting crypts is hell.
i had a bunch of extra crypts, lilleaopsis, and ferns, so pm or look in the swap and shop if you are interested. the ferns and lilleaopsis were bleached, but i wont ship anything until wednesday, and adverse affects should be visible before then.

here are some pics:

FTS


downoi


lilleaopsis


nesea


r. rotundifolia


crypts


ferns

[Karackle]

looking good! I agree with everyone else as well, that is a great piece of wood! It has tons of character, nice find!

Looks good with the plants in there too, I can't wait to see a FTS when the water clears!

[@marko@]

thanks. oh and btw, my stargrass came (big thanks to dewalltheway). i gave it a good spot under the lighting temporarily to get it growing and help give it a little head start.

my kh is falling. i dont know what is doing it. it was 3, now its 2. and it is bringing my ph down with it (5.8). it was happening like this in my old tank too, and i have no clue what is doing it.
it cant be bacteria, or decay, not this fast. the colonies cant build up from a washed filter and new unused substrate in under 24 hours.
its not my tap, because i left my ph controller in a cup overnight, and its ph and kh did not fall.
i will use baking soda, but i really want to get my tank to stabilize rather then keeping it up on life support.

[confuted]

Originally Posted by @marko@

my kh is falling. i dont know what is doing it. it was 3, now its 2. and it is bringing my ph down with it (5.8).

It's your aquasoil this time.

[@marko@]

oh, thank god.
now, how difficult will it be to maintain a good kh (3-4) with aquasoil?
what do you reccomend i do?

i just used baking soda, but if im assuming the kh boost from that will be gone in a day or so.

[alexk3954]

I think that AS only has that kH dropping quality for the first fwe weeks and then it stabilizes at a nice spot.

[Karackle]

if the pH / KH continue to fall and/or stabilize lower than you'd like, you can always throw a little bit of crushed coral in the filter (don't put it in the substrate in case you need to remove it). I have really soft water and my pH kept dropping really low, I threw a little but of crushed coral in the filter and my pH and KH have stabilized very nicely.

I've never used AS so I don't know where the levels stabilize at though.

[@marko@]

apparently, it stops lowering the kh and ph when its done cycling. until then all i need to do is keep the NH4 from going above 2ppm, and ph below 6. NH4 was 1, but i already put in baking soda 2 times and the ph dropped to 6 again, so im doing a 100% WC to get it to stay ok for the night (tap is 7.6, and after i add baking soda it goes only to 6.2).
the good thing about this is that it gives the plants a quick start. the constant WC and leaching of organics gives them all the nutrients they need, and the low kH makes the CO2 dissolve easy, so my levels are a bit higher then normal.

[@marko@]

cycling has started for real.
yesterday i had 1ppm ammonia.
i did a waterchange before going to bed, and now it is again 1ppm
but, my nitrites are already inbetween 0 and .25 ppm. its hardly anything, but its still very fast considering that its only been 24 hours since the tank was filled.

im looking into fish choices, and how do you guys think a small group (say 5) of dwarf neon rainbows would do?