120L Eleocharis Parvula tank

[hadjici2]

Hello,

Here are my aquarium specs:
1. Tank – 120L open tank
2. Filter - Tetra EX700 (700 l/h)
3. Lights – 2 x T8 18W each but only one is switched on for 6 hours per day
4. Substrate – JBL Manado
5. Pressurized CO2 with magnetic valve and UP atomizer
6. Estimative Index fertilization regime
7. Large piece of driftwood in the tank
8. Water changes once a week 30% with dechlorinated water
9. Flora – Eleocharis Parvula
10. Fauna – 7 Bosemani Rainbofish, 5 Black Widow Tetras, 1 Glassfish, 3 Ottos
11. Tank is up and running for 2 months but filter is running for a whole year.

Current Situation:
I initially added 3 pots of Eleocharis Parvula in the tank but instead of the using a pressurized CO2 system, I added daily dose of Excel, Seachem Flourish for micronutrients and DIY Macronutrient batch. This did not seem to help the plants which never established in the tank and were gradually removed by the Rainbowfish. Algae is minimal.

Future plans:
My intention is to remove all fish so that I can blast the tank with CO2 from the pressurized system, continue adding the regular dose of Excel (5ml per day), plant 8 pots of Eleocharis Parvula and all these so I can create a dense carpet effect.

Questions:
1. Should I remove all of my fish so that I can increase CO2 levels without any concerns for fauna?
2. Is the photoperiod and light intensity correct?
3. Is the filter strong enough?
4. Should I continue using Excel?
5. How long should I keep the CO2 on for? 24/7 or should I schedule the magnetic valve to start 1 hour before lights on and close when lights are out?
6. Should I overdose when using EI so I am certain that plants don’t have any deficiencies?

Any other advise or suggestions?

Thanks

 

[dutchy]

1. No, not really. You can reach good CO2 levels with livestock, just be careful.
2. The light is enough, with these lights you will have around 40 micromols of PAR, which is enough for low lights plants like crypts, ferns, etc.
3. The filter is ok.
4. Not necessary if you use CO2.
5. Best to turn CO2 off at night, it will put less stress on your fish because they might get problems if CO2 is still high and O2 gets low.
6. EI makes you overdose a bit, and that works great, because no deficiencies will occur.