Dick's Sporting Goods no longer refills paintball tanks, and in response the local homebrew shop jacked their prices to $18 for a 24oz fill !! So this has required I get a "real" CO2 setp. Found a 10# aluminum tank locally and a place to fill for $23. New regulator should be here today, fingers crossed.
Everything I put in the tank grows. Cant vouch for how "well" it grows, but I don't typically see nutrient deficiencies. The only problem is algae and more algae.
Below is a pic of the AR group I have growing. This was recovered from a small sprig that had gone into hibernation when I was running the tank on low light when I didn't have time to deal with maintenance. The leaves are a good size and its growing well, but just like the glass, lower leaves are covered with algae.
I will use this plant as my barometer for success.
Now that I have the auto doser, and seeing good growth/pearling, I'm refocusing on basics. Now that I'm not constantly mixing and daily dosing ferts, I have more time to focus on other aspects. Namely, filtration and flow. (And plant choice)
This tank has two canisters, a hw304b and a 302. While they are rated at 525 and 265 gph respectively, videos show that SunSun filters have less flow. The 304b has measured 300gph, and the 302b probably around 150. So 450gph. On a system with 80 gallons that is only 5x turnover/hour. I should be aiming for 10x/hr from what I've read.
I have another old 302b that can be refurbished and put back into service. That would add another 150gph and additional bio media. Probably should just buy another 304b, or figure out an overflow/sump setup.
I also added a new set of sponge filters so hopefully that will do a better job of filtration.
The angel in the pic was a pandemic "rescue", starving in the LFS tank. Nice looking fish, but topped out at this smaller size. Another angel I bought later in the pandemic and raised exactly the same way has gotten quite a bit larger.
Tank has seven keyholes, two angels, two SAE. Two small feedings a day. I hesitate to feed less although I know that would cut down on organic waste.
I bought a sprig of Willow Hygro with the intent to eventually replace the swords in my tank. Hopefully it will become a fast growing and dense background plant.
TODO
- Add additional filtration for more bio and flow. Stay on top of cleaning. I think the reason the tank has algae is not enough filtration / flow. Look into replacing some of the lava rock with better media.
-Monitor new CO2/regulator system closely.
-Frequent filtration cleaning and media changes
-Purigen
-Grow out Willow Hygro or find another plant to replace the Amazon Swords. (They eventually get too big in a high tech tank and can't be trimmed to a smaller size.( Ive been replanting the plantlets that they throw off and restarting them every six months or so.)