60 gallon planted tank....need advice.

[mathman]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and would like to share my accomplishments with all of you. I am currently using a 220 watt compact light for a 60 gallon tank. I recently added ECO Complete and it has raised my KH to 9. I currently am using pressurized CO2 and it takes more than 4 BPS to maintain a Ph of 7.0. I have about a 28ppm co2 concentration. My plants don't pearl and I have no idea why. I am also using Flourish and Flourish Excel and I just started dosing one cap of each every day. I am here because I would love recommendations from people who have more experience than me. How many hours should I keep my light on everyday? Am I dosing the right amount-One cap of excel and flourish everyday? 50% weekly WC.
Thank you.

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[dutchy]

Pearling is badly overrated as it comes to plant health. It's more of an indicator how much light you are using and O2 saturation in your tank. You can have very healthy plants and good growth without much pearling. It could be a sign though that O2 levels in your tank are kind of low. A good surface ripple could help here.

10 hours of light is enough, plants don't really need more. For the excel etc, just follow the instructions on the bottle, that should be enough.

regards,
dutchy

 

[mathman]

Thank you for the reply. So technically The EI method is not necessary if I'm using flourish and flourish excel? By the way I was told to use a cap of each every day as long as I do a 50% WC. What are your thoughts?

 

[dutchy]

You need to add nitrate and phosphate, just traces are not enough. When using CO2 it's not really necessary to add Excel.
With the flourish just use the manufacturers advice.

regards,
dutchy

 

[jerrybforl]

You should go EI. Its cheaper and your plants will get more out of it. I was just going to say the same thing that dutchy said about the excel. Excel is a carbon source but since you are using pressurized really no need in it. I saw on some of your swords a little tip rot. You have a deficiency of something. Switching to EI does wonders for your plants. Also 4 BPS seems high but if its working for you then great. Hope this helps.

 

[mathman]

Thanks for all of your responses. I will soon write a description of my tank, what I dose, light, substrate, fish load...everything so that I can get a what to do advice. Thank you once again.

 

[mathman]

My Tank Set-Up... Present results and in search for advice. (Pt 1)

As promised here is what I hope to be a detailed explanation of all the equipment I am using for my 55 gallon tank. Before I get started thank you for taking the time to read and for all the comments.

The tank has dimensions of 48inx12inx21in and it is a 55 gallon tank.

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I have a 5Lb CO2 tank with a milwaukee Ph controller and a CO2 splitter distributing CO2 to the main tank and the "hospital tank"

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I have two Eheim Professional 2 filters the 2026 and 2028 model. The largest one has ceramic on the lowest compartment and the other two compartments have all biological media. The smallest filter 2026 has ceramic on the bottom compartment and
the second compartment has three media bags for carbon, Phosguard, and Denitrate.

I have a 5 gallon hospital tank which is housing a small discuss and 5 corys at the moment (trying to grow baby tears on the main tank).

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I have 4x55 watt Jalli light with two blue LED lights (installed them myself) to mimic moon light.
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Over the past month my tank has undergone many changes in terms of gravel and plants. I initially had plain old gravel and I decided to add ECO Complete since I wanted to grow baby tears. I simply placed the eco complete right no top of the old gravel without moving any plants. I understand that this may have some negative result since oxygen will be a bit more difficult to travel to the roots due to the finer gravel being on top. I believe that the right way of doing this is to place the eco complete on the bottom and then add regular gravel on top ONLY if you wish. Crossing my fingers that my plants don't die on me. Here's a pic of my baby tears and the other plants...
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I am currently leaving the lights on for a period of 8-9 hours a day and doing a 5mL dose of FLourish for the micro nutrients (i think) and EXCEL for carbon (not really needed since i already inject CO2...i think?) Lately I have observed that the big Java fern i have on the middle of the tank is getting small holes wich originates with a black dot on the bottom (no new leave i assure you). The leaves look thin and my guess it is some nutrient deficiency. I am already running pressurized CO2 with a continuous concentration of 30ppm. My KH is 9 and Ph is 7 for the most part during the photo period....so I assume i have a constant 30ppm of CO2 in the water. Please continue with part 2......THANK YOU.

 

[mathman]

My Tank Set-Up... Present results and in search for advice. (Pt 2)

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Please help me by providing ideas on what to do. As of this moment my baby tears aren't really growing fast :*( wonder why.

I have already read about the EI method and I am curious and excited to try it. Should I quit dosing Flourish and Flourish Excel everyday and should I remove the phosguard and denitrate from my filter? How long should I keep my lights on? Basically if you had my setup what would you do or recommend? Thank you very much.

 

[dutchy]

Thank you Dutchy. Was buying Phosguard and Denitre a mistake in my part? I purchased it because I was told that high levels of phosphate and nitrates in a tank lead to algae. I have a 60 gallon planted tank and if I need to remove these two things from my filters I am willing to do so. I have already ordered the chemical solutions mentioned on the EI article for a 40-60 gallon tank. Should I start with what it says? Should I leave my 220 watt light on for 8 or 10 hours a day? Should I keep my CO2 at 30 or more?

Well, It's a common misconception that high PO4 and NO3 cause algae. It doesn't, if you take care that all necessary nutrients are available in unlimited quantity. That means not just NO3 and PO4, but also traces and CO2. You can remove the products that are currently in your filters and follow EI guidelines for your tank size.
I'm not sure about your lights. I never used PC's, but 220 Watts sounds an awful lot to me on a 60 gallon. Maybe someone else can jump in here. If you get algae, try to reduce the intensity by less wattage or raising the lights.

CO2....well....30 ppm is about the minimum. I'd go a bit higher if you can. Watch your plants. If you see that leaf length/diameter increases, your on the right track.

regards,
dutchy

 

[mathman]

Thanks dutchy. I just purchased a test kit for nitrates and phosphates both of which are giving me a result of 0 I believe. I am using phosphate and denitre so that is what's keeping it low. My plants are not showing any growth could this be the issue? Also, if both of these are removed is it possible to reach the nitrate and phosphate levels without having to dose these?

 

[jerrybforl]

I would remove the carbon from your one filter as it will absorb all your chemicals you put in there! You might as well through your money in the garbage doing that. Second, try and raise your light a bit off the top maybe six inches or so. That will help a lot. 220watts over a 55 is a lot. When I first started with my 55, I had just 130watts over it. In my previous statement I mentioned that since you have pressurized Co2 no need for excel. Flourish doesn't have everything you need in it. Switch to EI! It is a lot cheaper and will last at least a year. If you look under the EI forum there is a lot of info there about using it. You really dont have to lose light just get it higher up off the tank. Do that along with the EI method and 2-3 bps on Co2 you should be fine. Your timing is fine also. Hope that helps.

 

[mathman]

Thanks for the tip. I purchased the following yesterday: Potassium Nitrate
Mono Potassium Phosphate 1 lb. MKP
Barrs GH Booster
Potassium Sulfate

Is this all I need? By the way I plan to use flourish For my micro nutrients. I already have some and might as well finish it