[chronictyler]

Hello,
I had a 55g low tech tank with a dual t5 light system. I moved and decided to upgrade to a 75g. I also got a 4 bulb power compact light system which put me in the high wpg (3.5wpg). For substrate I have about 45 to 60lb of fluorite mixed with red river clay and capped with regular gravel. I water dose iron and Co2 and use root tabs monthly with plus iron. I have lights on for 8-9 hours. for the first 4 hours i only use the first two bulbs to help with hard spot green algae( my light has two switches so that 2 bulbs are on or all 4 on at once.) from my previous 55g i tried to grow some sunset hygro but it just turned green, when i tranfered everything over about 2 months ago i thought it would change red. But it hasnt its grown alot since then but it only turns pinkish at the top. I bought some red ludwigia to try out the ludwigia hasnt grown much in the 3 weeks ive had it only maybe a inch or two. would i need a co2 reactor to help my plants out? Ive seen them at big als and they run in the hundreds any cheap solution?

thanks in advance, Tyler

 

[HD Blazingwolf]

sounds a lot like more than just co2, but it would be an excellent start.
ludwigia species i have in 3 weeks grow pretty quickly. like 2-3 inches per week for the slowest one

more info on what type of light and bulbs u have would also be helpful

 

[chronictyler]

the light is a coral life deluxe series compact florescent and I'm using the bulbs it came with, which are 6700k each. I dose the water with API co2 ever other day with a full cap which is 10ml.

 

[DerekFF]

CO2 we use is a gas only (can be other forms but not for aquarium use). Your just dosing some sort of liquid carbon source which im not convinced really does anything. 3.5wpg doesnt mean high light either. Light height above the tank, reflector quality effect light distribution. It sounds like the ferts are there, not sure why things arent growing fast as ludwigia species usually grow very quickly. I got a 10lb co2 tank and aquatek regulator for around $120. Runs like a champ

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[steven p]

Diy brew and a Barr inspired reactor? A pump, an elbow shaped pipe and a soda bottle with the bottom romoved. The bottle traps co2 bubbles from the brew and water pours on top from the pump.

 

[chronictyler]

well the light is about 4 inches above the tank, and the reflectors are as good as whatever coral life uses. I've never tried DIY co2, I've heard it doesnt work good for larger tanks.

 

[chronictyler]

here is a photo of the sunset hygro

 

[Evilgrin]

DIY CO2 is not ideal for larger tanks but at the moment you have no CO2 so some CO2 added would be beneficial. While no where near as effective as a pressurized system it costs pennies to set one up and it only adds a few more minutes to your regular tank maintenance schedule.

For larger tanks I would recommend more then 1 DIY CO2 setup, these can all be plumbed into one reactor or multiple reactors if you wish.

 

[R.sok]

If you want to make the most use out of a diy c02 on your 75 gallon I think you should use a reactor, whether it be diy or store bought I believe it does the best at dissolving

 

[R.sok]

I used to run 2 bottles diy c02 via diffuser.It worked great, then I tried making a diy reactor & running only one c02 & the difference was a lot better than using 2 bottles with a diffuser

 

[chronictyler]

so the liquid carbon is no good eh.. I guess I'll try to make two separate 2L yeast co2, one for either side of the tank, what should I use for a diffuser?

 

[R.sok]

What kind of filter do you have on your tank?

 

[chronictyler]

I have an ehiem 2217 canister running right now

 

[HybridHerp]

are you dosing ferts at all though? CO2 is a start but without nutrients you aren't going to be getting good growth either.

 

[chronictyler]

ya I dose the water with carbon every other day, and i dose iron 2 to 3 times a week. I have root tabs in the gravel monthly and I have 50-65lbs of flourite in the gravel aswelll....

 

[HybridHerp]

with the light you are running, honestly, you need to be dosing EI or PPS Pro.

I think a lot of your problems are stemming from the fact that you are not really adding another to the tank in terms of nutrition. The flourite gravel is good NOT because it has nutrients but because it can absorb nutrients from the water column that you add by dosing your aquarium with Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and trace elements.
Since you have high lighting, your plants will be needing a lot of nutrients in order to grow. Take it from me, I started out with just hi-lighting and all it got me was a ton of algae. The plants started doing better once I added a good dosing regime to my schedule, and once I get a solid pressurized co2 system my plants will take off and my algae will hopefully begin to die off.

Root tabs would also be helpful for some plants, but I tend to focus more on the water column than anything.

Btw, what fish are you keeping and what do you have for water movement? I have two ehiem 2217's and then decided that I should add a korelia 750 to get enough flow. I highly doubt that a single 2217 is enough water movement for your tank.

 

[chronictyler]

I have a marine land 550 power head running. Do you test your water for Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and iron levels at all? and what brand of test kit do you use and what brand of nutrients do you use aswell. I was thinking of setting up a DIY reactor or two so I can get at least some Co2 into my tank until I can save up for a pressurized system.

 

[HybridHerp]

Tbh, I don't test, I look at my plants and get a sense of what is needed. I just buy dry ferts from Nicolg on this forum, so much more cost effective than liquid ferts

 

[chronictyler]

dry ferts? so you put the fert directly into the gravel or just in the water

 

[sowNreap]

You dose the dry ferts into the tank (water). You can also mix the dry ferts with water and dose a measured amount that way.

I just use a small jar and add some tank water to it then put my pre-measured dry ferts into it, shake up a bunch, then add to tank. My fish always got excited when they saw the dry ferts that don't dissolve quickly sinking toward the bottom thinking it was food. I swear they gave me dirty looks when they found out it wasn't. LOL So now I just pre-dissolve it and what doesn't dissolve I pour into my HOB to slowly dissolve there.

You can find out more in the Fertilizer forum and this post gives more info including dosing regime's for different sized tanks: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21944

As mentioned previously "nilocg" on the forum sells the dry ferts. Just search for his username in the For Sale/trade forum.