80 gallon high tech tank

PEdwards

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Feb 1, 2017
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Hey folks, figured I'd start a journal over here, but am having some issues with Photobucket getting pics up and for some reason it won't let me delete the thread. Here's a placeholder blurb until everything gets worked out.


Cheers,


Phil
 
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PEdwards

Junior Poster
Feb 1, 2017
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Yeay, the direct copy/paste rather than doing the whole "add link" thing worked out. Sooooo, here we go.


I'm not going to embarrass myself or bore y'all with the previous 6-7 months of slight ups and big downs found in the journal over on TPT. The tank has recently undergone a major change of lighting and complete renovation so that's where I'm going to start this one.


Stats:


Tank- Deep Blue Professional 80 gallon 48x24x16 rimless


Filter- CPR sump with attached reservoir running poret foam of increasing porosity from top to bottom and CS102 overflow


Light- AgroBrite 6x 54w 48" T5HO currently running 3x 6400K and 1x TrueLumen Flora. The middle array is currently not being used, but is another 6400K and TrueLumen Flora.


Substrate- Seachem Aquasolum They sent it to me to test and I've become less and less impressed with it as time's passed.


CO2- 20x4 Cerges reactor on 1 hr before lights on and off 30 min before lights out


Supplementation:


KNO3- 1 tsp 3x/wk approx. 10ppm


KH2PO4- 1/16 tsp (ish) 3x/wk approx 1.3-1.5ppm


K2SO4- 1/2 tsp 1-2x/wk approx 5ppm for a little extra boost


MgSO4*7H2O- 2tsp after WC and 1tsp mid-week approx 5ppm and 2.5ppm, respectively


CaSO4- 2 tsp after WC, approx


Micros- 15mL CSM+B solution for an approx. Fe of 0.1ppm 3x/wk


Will be switching to CaNO3 in the near future, dosing 2 tsp after water changes for approx 15ppm Ca and 10ppm NO3.


On to the pictures!


Right after replacing the 2x Radion XR15FW with 120-degree lens with the T5 fixture














Friday night, 5.12


The lights are now 18" above the water's surface. 170 PAR along the front glass was just a bit too much for my tastes. :D














At this point there's not much of an aquascape going on other than some really vague groupings and shapes. After having to basically put the plants in concentric rings under the LEDs from highest light to lowest light I was finally able to group everything up into something a little more visually pleasing.


There we go, the start of my first Barr Report journal. To be frank, I've been a bit hesitant to put one up here given all the troubles this build's given me. I wouldn't be surprised of rending of clothes and gnashing of teeth starts in the near future. LOL


Regards,


Phil
 

Pikez

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PEdwards said:
Stats:


Tank- Deep Blue Professional 80 gallon 48x24x16 rimless


Filter- CPR sump with attached reservoir running poret foam of increasing porosity from top to bottom and CS102 overflow


Light- AgroBrite 6x 54w 48" T5HO currently running 3x 6400K and 1x TrueLumen Flora. The middle array is currently not being used, but is another 6400K and TrueLumen Flora.


Substrate- Seachem Aquasolum They sent it to me to test and I've become less and less impressed with it as time's passed.


CO2- 20x4 Cerges reactor on 1 hr before lights on and off 30 min before lights out


Supplementation:


KNO3- 1 tsp 3x/wk approx. 10ppm


KH2PO4- 1/16 tsp (ish) 3x/wk approx 1.3-1.5ppm


K2SO4- 1/2 tsp 1-2x/wk approx 5ppm for a little extra boost


MgSO4*7H2O- 2tsp after WC and 1tsp mid-week approx 5ppm and 2.5ppm, respectively


CaSO4- 2 tsp after WC, approx


Micros- 15mL CSM+B solution for an approx. Fe of 0.1ppm 3x/wk

Thoughts on hardware and fert routine:

  • Keep short plants. This may be a blessing in disguise as most weeds need taller tanks. Try more 'Mini' and rosette type plants.
  • Filter and light sounds great.
  • What's your pH drop by the time lights come on?
  • I dose the same amount of nitrate, 2X phosphate, and no K2SO4. Don't need K2SO4, but no harm.
  • CaNO3 is a good idea. I like 15 ppm Ca and 5 ppm Mg. I don't believe in any ratios here but it's just the ratio my tap water has and plants seems like it.
  • Back off on the lights. 170 in a tank with unknown history (to me) sounds like asking for trouble. I don't see anything in your tank that needs even 100 PAR.
  • Trace level sounds good.
You've got the bases covered, it seems. What were the ups and downs? Sorry if we already talked about this during the AGA. I blew a few brains cells in Denver.
 

DutchMuch

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Mar 8, 2017
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Thank gosh for making a journal on here, I was missing your tank! lol, pics show it looks really good :) cant wait to see it in its prime when it truly fills in.


I subbed and will be stalking this thread from now on... Design of the tank looks like it really paid off in the mean time, looks great in those terms
 

PEdwards

Junior Poster
Feb 1, 2017
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Vin,


The pH drop is at least 1 point. It bottomed out my test kit at 6 from an initial 7.


I had been dosing more PO4, but have decided to back off for a while to see if what I'd been dosing was contributing to the problems. The K2SO4 is only there to give a little boost just in case. I'd been seeing signs of chlorosis in just about everything for a month or more prior to the AGA so I'm adding it as a little extra insurance for a bit.


The stupid high PAR was measured with the lights 8-9 inches off the surface, it's now twice that distance (as high as I can get it) but I haven't measured PAR yet.


Yeah, yeah, I know, short plants and all that. I just want to grow some nice stems for a little while before going back to a mostly groundcover type design. The upside of that sort of planting is it will let me put the wood back into the tank. <3


The best answer is what wasn't up or down? I haven't had any sort of real control over the system since it started. First is was CO2 dissolution which caused the outbreak of a horrible, nasty, awful alga that looked a lot like stringy diatoms. My wife called it Trump Hair since that's exactly what it looked like once it overgrew the moss and plants. That particular beast has been the bane of this tank's existence. It comes on really fast and gets into places where it's nigh impossible to siphon out. The only times the tank's been halfway presentable are after major cleanings. But even then it's still there lurking and waiting to explode.


We did talk about all this a little, but we were both sort of brain-dead at the time. If you want further details, go check out my TPT journal.


Cheerios,


Phil


Error correction: Ca and Mg are dosed in Tablespoons, not Teaspoons.
 
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PEdwards

Junior Poster
Feb 1, 2017
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DutchMuch said:
Thank gosh for making a journal on here, I was missing your tank! lol, pics show it looks really good :) cant wait to see it in its prime when it truly fills in.
I subbed and will be stalking this thread from now on... Design of the tank looks like it really paid off in the mean time, looks great in those terms

LOL, the other journal is still alive and kicking. It's changed names a couple times recently, but it's still there and active.
 
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burr740

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Nice Phil, glad to see a journal over here too.
 
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rajkm

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PEdwards said:
Substrate- Seachem Aquasolum They sent it to me to test and I've become less and less impressed with it as time's passed.

What issues did you have?


i found it crumbled too quickly and was messier than Aquasoil when uprooting
 

PEdwards

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Feb 1, 2017
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In addition to the troubles you had, I've found that it's very light and compacts easily. The sub gets all jacked up with I replant and I often have to replant the same stem/rosette multiple times even in 3" inches of the stuff. I won't be using it again except in tanks that won't get much, or any, messing around with the plants and in emergent growing containers. Amazonia is the only processed soil sub I'll use in the future.
 

Pikez

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PEdwards said:
First is was CO2 dissolution which caused the outbreak of a horrible, nasty, awful alga that looked a lot like stringy diatoms. My wife called it Trump Hair since that's exactly what it looked like once it overgrew the moss and plants. That particular beast has been the bane of this tank's existence.

Trump Hair Algae. THA. You just named it.


Please post a pic. So we have a visual association. Does it look anything like the logo on this beverage? https://www.celsius.com


That aside, I'd say focus on two things:


1. Get a clear idea of how much the pH drops, preferably by the time lights come on. If you're concerned about spiky CO2 (I am), then leave CO2 on 24/7. As long as it is not nosebleed level, it won't harm fish. I've had CO2 on continuously for 6 months or more in the Kill Tank.


2. Reduce light intensity.


Assuming there isn't anything funky in your tap water or Aqualongum or whatever that soil is called, then you're looking at light and CO2 as culprits. Your nutrients are fully within acceptable parameters.
 

PEdwards

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Feb 1, 2017
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Just tested PAR and it's within acceptable limits: 70ish at the substrate and just at/slightly over 100 at the surface. This stuff will get everywhere if I let it, but it's preferred habitat seems to be finely textured things like moss and aerial roots in areas what don't get spectacular flow but it really explodes when it hits good flow. KABOOM!


167.jpg



That's after being gone just over a week with the wife following my dosing instructions. Everything was the same and the CO2 didn't run out. The tank was clean and doing well prior to me leaving.


As much as I'd like to try it, I just can't leave the CO2 on overnight. It's blowing a shitload of gas already and I can't afford to be refilling a 20 pounder every couple weeks/month. I can up it more, but it's go to stay on the timer. As for testing pH drop, I'll see if I know someone with a pH pen that I can borrow.
 

Pikez

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Glad the light is under control. Once you get a better understanding of pH drop, that'll help too. In the meantime, the THA reminds me of something I see in new tanks or tanks with CO2 or nutrient issues.


Either way, lowering light will help.


Too bad the substrate did not work out, but it looks real nice though...
 

Dennis Singh

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70 par at the substrate is pretty damn high, i'm just saying


and being your substrate being pretty new, i would stop dosing entirely and see or...if you want to do things slowly ease off dosing
 

PEdwards

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Feb 1, 2017
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Pikez said:
Glad the light is under control. Once you get a better understanding of pH drop, that'll help too. In the meantime, the THA reminds me of something I see in new tanks or tanks with CO2 or nutrient issues.

Either way, lowering light will help.


Too bad the substrate did not work out, but it looks real nice though...

Yeah, the THA is something I would expect in a new tank too. It may be that because the tank has gone through several major overhauls in its lifetime that it's still actually "new" as far as that alga is concerned. The substrate does look nice and it's not awful. The plants grow well in it and all that. It's the physical, non-plant, problems that are turning me off. That being said, I'm still using it.


Fortunately, or unfortunately, I can't reduce the light any more than where it's at now without running only the middle two bulbs and then we'll be back in the situation that caused me to get this fixture in the first place and I may as well put the Radions back on. I/we will have to find some way to work with the system as it is, not as it "should" be in an ideal scenario.
 

PEdwards

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Dennis Singh said:
70 par at the substrate is pretty damn high, i'm just saying
and being your substrate being pretty new, i would stop dosing entirely and see or...if you want to do things slowly ease off dosing

The sub's been in the tank since October of last year. I had a good talk with Jim at Seachem about it possibly causing algae issues and he said at that point any of the latent organics would already have been taken care of. I've known him for years and he's never bullshitted me so I would tend to believe him. Now, there could be a whole host of other things going on in there beside recalcitrant organics.


To counter the above, the substrate recently got a thorough cleaning and mixing, and another rinse, and clean prior to planting to minimize dust or weird dissolved stuff that may have been released when I played Mr. Plow. At this point there's not much more I can do as far as the substrate is concerned without doing a wholesale replacement.