[zchauvin]

Hey guys I've been having my mini s running about two weeks and I'm starting to get some slime covering the top. I know its probably from no agitation but I have a Ada outflow that rests on tank lip, with no way to elevate it. Any ideas other than to lower water level? If I did that I would have almost 3 inches from filter and top of tank.

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[zchauvin]

No one?

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[Francis Xavier]

Hey Zach,

That is a typical protein film that is a common occurrence in aquariums.

Using ADA products, my recommendation would be to do a small water change with a cup removing the surface coating. Repeat as it shows up (at the second week i'd do a water change every two days, then every three days on the third week, then twice a week on the fourth, then once a week from then on) and over time it will not show up again.

With larger tanks, raising the lily pipes at night prevents this occurrence, but in the smaller aquariums, changing a cup of water takes about 5 minutes, so it's totally manageable with this method.

Alternatively, to get surface agitation via raising the Lily Pipe model Nano P-1 you can simply raise the pipe, then place an object like a pen underneath the curve of the pipe between it and the rim and it should hold it up over night (you can actually use the pen as a temporary lever between the bars of the Solar Mini S and the rim of the aquarium to get more height. Although this is the 'quick and dirty,' fix to the protein surface.

 

[zchauvin]

Thanks Francis, I did not realize I needed so many water changes for a planted tank right at setup... Yikes

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[talontsiawd]

Thanks Francis, I did not realize I needed so many water changes for a planted tank right at setup... Yikes

Francis is saying that the easiest way on smaller tanks (especially open top), it to do it manually, using a cup. The point isn't to change the water, it's to get rid of the film. Changing water is the side effect of this method.

 

[dinosaurodon]

yeah I get that to, I just put a paper towel in my fish net and just scoop it out :/

 

[zchauvin]

Well soo far so good for the tank. I had a little bit of hg planted and its not doing a thing but the rotala walichi is doing great. It's got tons of new shoots and growth on it. My ug will arrive today. How do I plant it so that it will carpet or so much as grow compared to what my dhg is doing
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[Francis Xavier]

Plant it deeply and talk to Dollface about UG, she knows way better than I on that plant.

For HG not growing well - you're in LA, which is close to Houston, and we've had a massive drought this year. We had to switch to RO/DI water in our planted tanks because the drought caused huge inconsistency with water conditions and a base line of higher concentrated salts in the water (due to evaporation in the resevoir: basically salt levels increase as water disappears and isn't replenished).

Once we made the switch to RO/DI and seachem equilibrium our planted tank achieved balance and speedy growth within about two weeks. I would recommend purchasing some SeaChem equilibrium and 5 gallon jugs of RO/DI water for water changes to prevent against this condition. Unless of course your rain in LA has been higher than our pathetic less than 1/2 inch of rain all year.

 

[zchauvin]

Plant it deeply and talk to Dollface about UG, she knows way better than I on that plant.

For HG not growing well - you're in LA, which is close to Houston, and we've had a massive drought this year. We had to switch to RO/DI water in our planted tanks because the drought caused huge inconsistency with water conditions and a base line of higher concentrated salts in the water (due to evaporation in the resevoir: basically salt levels increase as water disappears and isn't replenished).

Once we made the switch to RO/DI and seachem equilibrium our planted tank achieved balance and speedy growth within about two weeks. I would recommend purchasing some SeaChem equilibrium and 5 gallon jugs of RO/DI water for water changes to prevent against this condition. Unless of course your rain in LA has been higher than our pathetic less than 1/2 inch of rain all year.

Mhm we are good plenty of rain where I am lol and after I said that I got home from a three day trip to see a bunch of new shoots

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