[Immortal1]

Hi Immortal1
Is the added 6 ppm NO3, 2 ppm PO4 and 18 ppm K per aquarium size or per changed water quantity?

Per aquarium water column volume of 66 gallons. If it matters any, I am using MgNO3 as opposed to KNO3.

 

[Edward]

Hi Immortal1
What I meant was subtract what goes out from what went in in one week.

In:
A. ? ppm TDS (premix tested with TDS meter)
B. 15 ppm Ca (for reference only)
C. 6.5 ppm Mg (for reference only)
D. 8 ppm NO3 (per changed water)
E. 2.7 ppm PO4 (per changed water)
F. 24 ppm K (per changed water)
G. 0 ppm NH4
H. ? dKH

Out:
A. ? ppm TDS (to monitor changes)
B. Ca doesn’t change much in a week, maybe – 2.8 ppm, ignore
C. Mg doesn’t change much in a week, maybe – 0.7 ppm, ignore
D. ? ppm NO3, to see if fish waste produces more than plants take
E. ? ppm PO4, to see if fish waste produces more than plants take
F. ? ppm K, if you have a test kit
G. ? ppm NH4, to see NH4 : NO3 ratio due to fish waste
H. ? dKH, to see if something is effecting it

The result could reveal interesting scenarios with your high light, high CO2 and high fish load. Just interesting.

 

[Immortal1]

Hmmm @Edward - sounds interesting.

 

[Immortal1]

Hi Immortal1
What I meant was subtract what goes out from what went in in one week.

In:
A. ? ppm TDS (premix tested with TDS meter)
B. 15 ppm Ca (for reference only)
C. 6.5 ppm Mg (for reference only)
D. 8 ppm NO3 (per changed water)
E. 2.7 ppm PO4 (per changed water)
F. 24 ppm K (per changed water)
G. 0 ppm NH4
H. ? dKH

Out: Just before water change
A. ? ppm TDS (to monitor changes) 111ppm
B. Ca doesn’t change much in a week, maybe – 2.8 ppm, ignore
C. Mg doesn’t change much in a week, maybe – 0.7 ppm, ignore
D. ? ppm NO3, to see if fish waste produces more than plants take Salifert NO3 kit looks like 10ppm looking straight down. Looking thru the side (10x magnification) it is not 100ppm. A little darker than 50ppm so I am guessing the tank is holding around the 6ppm that I am dosing.
E. ? ppm PO4, to see if fish waste produces more than plants take API PO4 test showed 2ppm. I cut the next test with 50% RO water - result looked very close to 1ppm so I better believe the result.
F. ? ppm K, if you have a test kit I do not have a test kit for K. My dosing should add around 18ppm
G. ? ppm NH4, to see NH4 : NO3 ratio due to fish waste API Ammonia test showed 0ppm. Also tested her 40g and the RO drum - all were 0ppm
H. ? dKH, to see if something is effecting it API test kit generated color change on first drop. Suspect I am running less than 1dKH. My dosing of the RO water is intended to give me about 1dKH

The result could reveal interesting scenarios with your high light, high CO2 and high fish load. Just interesting.

Not claiming to know everything about planted tanks (maybe in another 55 years), but I think I must be getting some things right
Rotala bronze right at the surface and right under the light - very high PAR (yes, same green plant behind wood feature in the 12/16/2020 post above)

One of my favorite times of the day is the 15-20 minutes around 9am (assuming no clouds) when the sun actually hits the tanks. Colors just seem to pop alot! Turned on the overhead lighting as well just to see what effects I could generate this morning. Below is a couple of the good ones.

 

[Edward]

In:
A. ? ppm TDS (premix tested with TDS meter)

 

[Immortal1]

In:
A. ? ppm TDS (premix tested with TDS meter)

Was hoping to get the water change in today but the RO system has not caught up yet (morning water change on 40g & 20g tanks). Still hoping to get the water change in before I go to bed.

My last batch of RO measured 80ppm TDS with the CASo4, MGSO4, and K2CO3 added (CA=16ppm, MG=6.5ppm, 1dKH)

 

[ReeferRusso]

Was hoping to get the water change in today but the RO system has not caught up yet (morning water change on 40g & 20g tanks). Still hoping to get the water change in before I go to bed.

My last batch of RO measured 80ppm TDS with the CASo4, MGSO4, and K2CO3 added (CA=16ppm, MG=6.5ppm, 1dKH)

Ok, I've been following along on this thread as I am attempting to learn as much as I can about planted tanks in every aspect.

The information being shared on this thread is educational as well as interesting, albeit above my head.

I apologize, in advance, for detracting from the spirit of the thread.

What kind of RO system are you running?

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[Immortal1]

Ok, I've been following along on this thread as I am attempting to learn as much as I can about planted tanks in every aspect.

The information being shared on this thread is educational as well as interesting, albeit above my head.

I apologize, in advance, for detracting from the spirit of the thread.

What kind of RO system are you running?

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Probably excessive ;-)

Liquagen 150 gpd 4 stage RO system. Booster pump to raise line pressure from 54psi to 93psi. 650 gph Jabeo pump in 50g plastic holding drum

 

[ReeferRusso]

Probably excessive ;-)

Liquagen 150 gpd 4 stage RO system. Booster pump to raise line pressure from 54psi to 93psi. 650 gph Jabeo pump in 50g plastic holding drum

That's a nice set up and I do not think it to be excessive, at all.

Have you considered adding a second RO filter to increase the output, likely doubling it, while not affecting the water parameters? This may not be a concern as you have the holding tank but it would save you a lot of water.

I presently have my RO system set up this way because I do not have anywhere to place a permanent holding tank and being able to fill my 58g water change container in 6 hours is fantastic. Plus, I like having less waste.

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[chayos00]

That's a nice set up and I do not think it to be excessive, at all.

Have you considered adding a second RO filter to increase the output, likely doubling it, while not affecting the water parameters? This may not be a concern as you have the holding tank but it would save you a lot of water.

I presently have my RO system set up this way because I do not have anywhere to place a permanent holding tank and being able to fill my 58g water change container in 6 hours is fantastic. Plus, I like having less waste.

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When I went RO I went with the BRS water saver kit (dual RO membranes) and I produce about a 1:1 ratio with my pressure at 90psi due to a booster pump. That's a big water savings when making 120g of RO water for me. I'm half tempted to add a second booster pump and another set of dual membranes for my slow 2 day winter time production. I use the Spectra Pure 99% rejection membranes too and usually get a 0-3 TDS output.

Love the copper hardline for the RO water!

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Immortal1]

When I went RO I went with the BRS water saver kit (dual RO membranes) and I produce about a 1:1 ratio with my pressure at 90psi due to a booster pump. That's a big water savings when making 120g of RO water for me. I'm half tempted to add a second booster pump and another set of dual membranes for my slow 2 day winter time production. I use the Spectra Pure 99% rejection membranes too and usually get a 0-3 TDS output.

Love the copper hardline for the RO water!

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Thanks Chayos00 for the info and compliment. The copper lines were a fun little addition to the setup. I very well may look into a second RO membrane as you and Reefer mentioned. Kinda getting tired of hearing the wife complain about how much water is going down the drain :grin2:

 

[Edward]

Hi Immortal1
You have it all balanced so nicely there is nothing to say, except maybe you could do water changes every two weeks. Basically the fish feed the plants with the right amount of nitrogen and phosphorus.

You’ve got pretty happy fish over there.

 

[Immortal1]

Hi Immortal1
You have it all balanced so nicely there is nothing to say, except maybe you could do water changes every two weeks. Basically the fish feed the plants with the right amount of nitrogen and phosphorus.

You’ve got pretty happy fish over there.

Thank-you Edward. Don't know if "I'm" ready for a bi-weekly water change yet - maybe someday :wink2:

 

[NotThePainter]

Was getting ready to go do yard work, looked over at the tank and realized - hey, thats really starting to look like something. Figured I would share. Hope to do some more trimming tomorrow - several groups are getting a bit too tall

Wow!

 

[Greggz]

That Rotala Bronze is a good looking plant.

What is the color like in person? Looks more pinkish than bronze? Trying to determine if I need to clear a spot for it!:grin2:

 

[Immortal1]

That Rotala Bronze is a good looking plant.

What is the color like in person? Looks more pinkish than bronze? Trying to determine if I need to clear a spot for it!:grin2:

Good questions. As for clearing a spot I will probably have to leave that up to you - but I will try twisting your arm a little bit.

Sitting here looking at it, there is a mixture of green leaves and bronze leaves. Compared to other green plants in the tank it definitely has a bronze look to it. Now, as it gets closer to the surface (lets say the within 1" of the surface) it really does pink up. If I ignore it and let the water current sweep it a bit to the side, the top 2-3" will pink up. Honestly looks best IMO when you leave it at the surface for awhile, then pull the entire bunch. Cut off the bottoms and replant it. Looks wise, a better option than cutting off the tops and waiting for the stumps to grow back (like in the after pic of post 918 above, just after the trim. Notice on day 8 it's starting to get the bronze color back)



Now that I have enough of it, it does make for a nice color addition to the tank.

Another plant that is really getting my interest is the Rotala Magenta (at least, thats what I am assuming it is). When I first got it from MG they were young side shoots and seemed to take forever to get going. Now that my tank parameters are getting better the plant is getting huge. Somewhat similar colors to the sri lanka bronze, but from the right angle you can see a fair amount of red/magenta.

 

[Immortal1]

Like a few others - this weekend seemed like a good opportunity to not only do the regular maintenance but also remove some excess plant mass.
In my case, the Stautogyne porto velho had gotten a bit out of control. Ended up removing about 50% of what was there. The Eriocaulon Sp Vietnam had become one giant mound. Probably ended up removing about 50% of that one also. The rest of the stems on the left got some good maintenance (bottom 1/3 removed). The Rotala Sri Lanka Bronze on the right had roughly the top 1/4 hacked off and it's still a bit big. Oh well, more trimming

Probably the biggest, project, of today was pulling out the wood hard scape on the back right corner. This thing has been sitting in the same place for a VERY long time. For the last few years I have been growing Anubias nana and some Buce on it. Got to thinking there was a good possibility that corner was probably pretty full of detris along with the interior of the plant. Was a bit intimidating pulling it out but...

from WAY back when The skinny top bar of wood rotted off a few years ago.

This is the side I normally can see

And the side I honestly don't think I have ever seen

LOL, once I had it out I had to fish one of the Amano Shrimp back into the tank.

In other news - my collectoritis has once again got the better of me (damn you @burr740 LOL). These are going to live in the wifes tank for a little while until I figure out what to do with them

One other final note - picked up a Kamoer X1 dosing pump to hopefully give me a little more consistent micro dosing. Not 100% set up - more on that later.

 

[Immortal1]

Learned something interesting today...
So, lately I have found laying something up against the lights when I take a FTS helps the camera on the cell phone "see" more accurate colors (the phone sees more of the intense LED light vs whats in the tank).
Sitting across the room, the wife noticed she liked looking at the tanks better with the covers installed. Then there was the AHA moment...

You can clearly see that the single light on the left is set to a different color than the 2 lights over my tank. I seem to recall @jeffkrol commenting about having a white back drop behind a specific light to help see the "color" of the light. This seems to work pretty well.

The material is corrugated plastic sheeting that the wife uses at her work for making various advertising signs

 

[Immortal1]

So I figured I would finally add some info on my latest hardware addition - a dosing pump. Front loading macros is not too big of a deal. Remembering to add micros 3 times per week based on what day you actually completed your water change, and for which of the 3 tanks gets to be a bit much for my absent mindedness :grin2:

After a bit of research I went with the Kamoer X1 micropump. Still need to prime it with the actual micro solution, but the pics below should give you a good idea of the progress...

Dosing schedule was 10ml, 3 times per week. Now it will be 6ml added on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

 

[ReeferRusso]

So I figured I would finally add some info on my latest hardware addition - a dosing pump. Front loading macros is not too big of a deal. Remembering to add micros 3 times per week based on what day you actually completed your water change, and for which of the 3 tanks gets to be a bit much for my absent mindedness :grin2:



After a bit of research I went with the Kamoer X1 micropump. Still need to prime it with the actual micro solution, but the pics below should give you a good idea of the progress...

Dosing schedule was 10ml, 3 times per week. Now it will be 6ml added on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

Looks like a winner!

I like how you're using a NLS food container as a booster seat. That's exactly what I would use my NLS food for too as none of my fish will eat it. And when I say, "None", I mean none!

Oh, I also dig the candle. Is that to create some ambiance when the fish are feeling frisky?!? ;-)

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