geektom's sanity tank
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No major changes this week; no trimming. On a friend’s advice, giving the tank a rest. Did 50% water changes 2 days in a row- fish certainly seem happy about it. Slowly increased CO2 to ~5 bps, which is enough to get the indicator to green.
You can see where I added the mini-Christmas moss on the rocks. It is already growing in nicely. I think it will help the color balance of the tank, eliminate some algae prone areas, and give me a moss farm for the 150 next year.
Pantanal is starting to grow- should have 3 stems to trim and replant soon. The Syn’s on the left side are not doing nearly as well as the ones on the right.
I love the new, darker color of the AR growing in- but the leaves are crimped and not happy.
Bacopa is a champ. I don’t know if it is colorata- it seems to be happy staying green, but I sure like it. You can see in this pic that it is sending runner on the bottom- I did not know it did that.
Shrimp doing their job- the cherries are out much more lately. I can almost always see all 5 at any given time now.
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You can see where I added the mini-Christmas moss on the rocks. It is already growing in nicely. I think it will help the color balance of the tank, eliminate some algae prone areas, and give me a moss farm for the 150 next year.
Pantanal is starting to grow- should have 3 stems to trim and replant soon. The Syn’s on the left side are not doing nearly as well as the ones on the right.
I love the new, darker color of the AR growing in- but the leaves are crimped and not happy.
Bacopa is a champ. I don’t know if it is colorata- it seems to be happy staying green, but I sure like it. You can see in this pic that it is sending runner on the bottom- I did not know it did that.
Shrimp doing their job- the cherries are out much more lately. I can almost always see all 5 at any given time now.
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Just for fun, I was messing around with a picture while I was waiting in the airport. Really interesting to view the tank in black and white- makes the focus all about texture and not color.
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Tank rest update:
50% water change Sun/Tue/Th
No dosing since CSM+B last Thursday (1 week)
Overall, some things in the tank are doing well, others less so:
The repens still have some yellowing leaves, but while the growth is not coming any faster, the new leaves are smooth and green.
AR is both responding and not- leaves have straightened some, but also are losing the intense dark red, becoming greener on the top surfaces, except in the very middle of clumps.
The Rotala whatever *loves* the change, and has grown several inches, with longer leaves
Bacopa continues to do well- doesn’t seem to be doing any better or worse so far. The Pantanal has been continuing to grow in length, and keeping a nice color, but are staying “clamped” throughout the day. L. arcuata continues to grow in millimeters, though as it gets closer to the light, the leaves are getting longer and redder. P. stellata continues plugging along, though not nearly as fast as when I was dosing. The stem on the far left looks stunted, but it actually has 4 new little (1/2 inch) stems growing out of the top of it.
Whatever this mystery plant is (my money is still on dwarf Sagittarius) really likes the changes- all those clean, green leaves are from just the last couple of days.
Ok, by far the *least* happy are the syn’s I got from Dennis- granted, I was surprised they had been doing as well as they had been so far, but they are fading quickly. The belem on the right side (2nd picture) are holding up the best, but are still affected.
It’s been suggested that I raise my light up a bit to help prevent the green spot algae, but I haven’t figured out how to do that yet. I need some kind of DIY solution that will sit on the tank rim securely.
For now my plan is to go the rest of this week without dosing, do another 50% water change on Sunday, and then start over to see what happens. I will do some limited trimming at the same time.
Feedback and comments are welcome, as always!
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50% water change Sun/Tue/Th
No dosing since CSM+B last Thursday (1 week)
Overall, some things in the tank are doing well, others less so:
The repens still have some yellowing leaves, but while the growth is not coming any faster, the new leaves are smooth and green.
AR is both responding and not- leaves have straightened some, but also are losing the intense dark red, becoming greener on the top surfaces, except in the very middle of clumps.
The Rotala whatever *loves* the change, and has grown several inches, with longer leaves
Bacopa continues to do well- doesn’t seem to be doing any better or worse so far. The Pantanal has been continuing to grow in length, and keeping a nice color, but are staying “clamped” throughout the day. L. arcuata continues to grow in millimeters, though as it gets closer to the light, the leaves are getting longer and redder. P. stellata continues plugging along, though not nearly as fast as when I was dosing. The stem on the far left looks stunted, but it actually has 4 new little (1/2 inch) stems growing out of the top of it.
Whatever this mystery plant is (my money is still on dwarf Sagittarius) really likes the changes- all those clean, green leaves are from just the last couple of days.
Ok, by far the *least* happy are the syn’s I got from Dennis- granted, I was surprised they had been doing as well as they had been so far, but they are fading quickly. The belem on the right side (2nd picture) are holding up the best, but are still affected.
It’s been suggested that I raise my light up a bit to help prevent the green spot algae, but I haven’t figured out how to do that yet. I need some kind of DIY solution that will sit on the tank rim securely.
For now my plan is to go the rest of this week without dosing, do another 50% water change on Sunday, and then start over to see what happens. I will do some limited trimming at the same time.
Feedback and comments are welcome, as always!
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Here is what i am dosing, using ferts from GLA and the rotala butterfly calculator:
K2SO4:
To reach your target of 7.5ppm K you will need to add 22.78 grams (equivalent to 3 tsp + 1/2 tsp + 1/32 tsp + 1/64 tsp ) of K2SO4 to your 180mL dosing container. Add 10mL of that mix to your 20gal aquarium to yield:
Element ppm/degree
K 7.5
S 3.08
KH2PO4:
To reach your target of 1.3ppm PO4 you will need to add 2.54 grams (equivalent to 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp + 1/16 tsp ) of KH2PO4 to your 180mL dosing container. Add 10mL of that mix to your 20gal aquarium to yield:
Element ppm/degree
PO4 1.3
P 0.42
K 0.54
KNO3:
To reach your target of 7.5ppm NO3 you will need to add 16.66 grams (equivalent to 2 tsp + 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp + 1/16 tsp ) of KNO3 to your 180mL dosing container. Add 10mL of that mix to your 20gal aquarium to yield:
Element ppm/degree
NO3 7.5
N 1.69
K 4.73
CSM+B:
To reach your target of 0.2ppm Fe you will need to add 4.17 grams (equivalent to 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp + 1/16 tsp + 1/32 tsp ) of Plantex CSM+B to your 180mL dosing container. Add 10mL of that mix to your 20gal aquarium to yield
Fe 0.2
Mn 0.057
Cu 0.003
Mg 0.043
Zn 0.011
Mo 0.002
B 0.025
dGH 0.01
OK so standard EI. Thanks
Are you dosing 7.5 ppm K from K2SO4? Probably not an issue but KNO3 and KH2PO4 provides over 5 ppm K, so you only need about 2.5 ppm from K2SO4 if you want to hti 7.5. The calculator is giving the total EI amount, it doesnt account for what's in KNO3 and KH2PO4
What's the plan when you resume micros?
Are you dosing 7.5 ppm K from K2SO4? Probably not an issue but KNO3 and KH2PO4 provides over 5 ppm K, so you only need about 2.5 ppm from K2SO4 if you want to hti 7.5. The calculator is giving the total EI amount, it doesnt account for what's in KNO3 and KH2PO4
What's the plan when you resume micros?
Thanks for that clarification on the calculator trying to give the TOTAL amount needed for each element- I thought that might be the case, but when I asked in a different part of the forums here, I must not have been clear. No one seems to talk about the need for sulfur, so perhaps I can add only 1/3 the K2SO4 amount for now?
On micros, I will start with 1/2 dosage and see how everything responds. Having beautiful, deep red AR is really important to me.
This experiment has been a big eye-opener- EI still requires some fine tuning.
Do you measure down to the element from water samples? Or is it *only* making ppm assumptions based on dosing?
I really appreciate the feedback, @burr740
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Not sure I understand the question.
I use "dose to reach a target" on the calculator (under "calculating for") and enter the ppm value Im shooting for
Got it- but you never then test for the element in the water, correct?
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You mean test for nitrates or whatever? Not really. Hobby level kits are a ballpark anyway. I might test N or P if Ive changed dosing and want to see if the water has some, none, or a whole lot. But thats about it, and thats about all hobby level tests are good for imo.
Ok, super busy day on Sunday, so water change gets done today, and then adding macros again on the M/W/F schedule, reducing the K2SO4 solution to target a total of 7.5ppm Potassium across all the macros. Going to start with half-doses of CSM+B T/Th/Sat.
Here is pre-trim- you can see that most of the plants did okay after 11 days with no dosing.
Anyone have any tips on trimming/propagating pantanal?
CO2 is up to 5 bps to get the indicator to matching green after ~4 hrs of light.
Light duration is still 8 hrs.
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Here is pre-trim- you can see that most of the plants did okay after 11 days with no dosing.
Anyone have any tips on trimming/propagating pantanal?
CO2 is up to 5 bps to get the indicator to matching green after ~4 hrs of light.
Light duration is still 8 hrs.
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Ok, post trim things are still looking a little raggedy.
Trimmed and replanted 3 pantanal stems, so hopefully I will get some side shoots from the trimmed bottoms so I can make a nice grouping. The quality of the tops took a real beating the last 3 days of no dosing- hopefully they will bounce back.
I have developed a real fondness for the Pogo stellata, but it is just too big and grows too fast for this size tank. I am having to pull them out and trim down to the top 6” every week. The stems at the substrate are almost 1 cm thick by the time they reach the top of the tank again! It would be great in a tank 20-24” high. I need something in that back left corner that will be leafy, but also has stems that can grow closer together to make more of a “solid” wall (can’t see the back of the aquarium through them). Open to any suggestions.
The bacopa is growing well but frustrating me because I want it to stay vertical and not “fan out”. The tops grow significantly larger as they get closer to the surface, and the side shoots are adding to the problem.
Side note: I took my Bacopa trimmings and planted them in an emersed set up just to see what happens.
Trimmed the snot out of the Rotala whatever.
The Ludwigia arcuata is finally starting to grow and seems to be the right color and leaf length. I am going to let it keep going without any trimming and then perhaps pull it all out, only keeping the best tops. I am also considering replacing it with a different leaf shape like L. repens.
Didn’t do anything to the foreground this time- going to wait and see how the syns respond, and if they don’t bounce back, I am going to rescape the front back to a river of repens, and move where the AR is.
I never mention the crypt on the far right- he ain’t fancy, but I like him. I think it helps “ground” the tank on that side.
Ok! I will post new pics as I see things respond to dosing again.
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Trimmed and replanted 3 pantanal stems, so hopefully I will get some side shoots from the trimmed bottoms so I can make a nice grouping. The quality of the tops took a real beating the last 3 days of no dosing- hopefully they will bounce back.
I have developed a real fondness for the Pogo stellata, but it is just too big and grows too fast for this size tank. I am having to pull them out and trim down to the top 6” every week. The stems at the substrate are almost 1 cm thick by the time they reach the top of the tank again! It would be great in a tank 20-24” high. I need something in that back left corner that will be leafy, but also has stems that can grow closer together to make more of a “solid” wall (can’t see the back of the aquarium through them). Open to any suggestions.
The bacopa is growing well but frustrating me because I want it to stay vertical and not “fan out”. The tops grow significantly larger as they get closer to the surface, and the side shoots are adding to the problem.
Side note: I took my Bacopa trimmings and planted them in an emersed set up just to see what happens.
Trimmed the snot out of the Rotala whatever.
The Ludwigia arcuata is finally starting to grow and seems to be the right color and leaf length. I am going to let it keep going without any trimming and then perhaps pull it all out, only keeping the best tops. I am also considering replacing it with a different leaf shape like L. repens.
Didn’t do anything to the foreground this time- going to wait and see how the syns respond, and if they don’t bounce back, I am going to rescape the front back to a river of repens, and move where the AR is.
I never mention the crypt on the far right- he ain’t fancy, but I like him. I think it helps “ground” the tank on that side.
Ok! I will post new pics as I see things respond to dosing again.
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Yes- I am not sure if it needed to get closer to the light, or if it just took a long time to acclimate. The bottom portion is still stunted, with dark olive- green leaves.
I am going to let it keep growing until it reaches the surface and reevaluate.
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