Hey everyone, I'm new to the game and really excited to learn stuff. Thank god I got algae cause otherwise this would've been too easy...
Here are some pics of the situation followed by all my tank specs and water params. Hoping to get some opinions on where to start experimenting and how to measure for healthier plant growth and less algae.
I hear HC is tough to grow. Mine looks to be doing not so well... plant growth is reaching to the top rather than going sideways and as a result I'm having to continually replant floating pieces. I'm really cranking the CO2 (~2bps for this small 4.6 gallon tank), but maybe there's just way too much light?
Here you can see some stanky brown algae. I haven't gone too crazy with manual removal yet because the moss is so fragile-ly attached I don't want to rip it all off :/
Here you can see some odd cobwebby algae that's just kinda all up in there.
Montecarlo is lookin pretty dece.
This bit of wood never dries out even though its above the water so I am hoping I can have a little bit of emersed java moss here.
Needle leaf java fern in the background.
Tank:
ADA 45f (45x24x16cm)
ADA aquasky G 451 (too much light???)
Shiruba XB-303 filter (very small)
Hydor external in-line heater
GLA GRO-1 CO2 regulator
Lily pipe "spin" outflow
Hardscape/Substrate:
A random hunk of wood that fit nicely
Little bit of ADA power sand
ADA amazonia base layer
ADA amazonia powder type top layer
ADA colorado sand
In the filter:
A sponge that came with the filter
Some bio media that came with the filter
A packet of activated carbon
Flora:
Riccardia Chamedryfolia (not doing so hot)
Monte Carlo
HC Cuba (growing up instead of sideways :/ )
Phoenix Moss
Java Moss
Weeping Moss
Java Fern (needle leaf)
Fauna:
Nothing yet, but just wanna get some shrinps
Water Parameters and Routine:
CO2 on from 9am to 6pm (no drop checker yet so not sure how much but like 2ish bps)
Lights on from 11am to 3pm
Tank is not in direct sunlight, but there are two blinded windows nearby... I don't think they are lighting it up much but I could be wrong?
Water temp 72F/23C (I heard moss likes lower temp)
EI dosing:
KNO3 1/16 teaspoon Mon/Wed/Fri
KH2PO4 1/64 teaspoon Mon/Wed/Fri
K2SO4 1/64 teaspoon Mon/Wed/Fri
Plantex CSM-B 1/64 teaspoon Tues/Thurs/Sat
50% water change on Sunday straight outta the tap
Tap water is soft??? no KH no GH but PH is high (8.5)
When I do the water change I throw in the recommended amount of dechlorinator (Aqueon)
I just added 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda today to see how much KH will change
Overall my flow seems kinda weak :/
Sometimes I see the surface moving in a circular motion but other times I look and nothing is moving at all on the surface. The filter is always moving water though.
Tank has been flooded for about a month
Last time I tested:
PH in tank is between 6 and 6.4
Ammonia is around 1 to 2 ppm
Nitrite is .25 to .5 ppm
nitrate is between 40 to 80 ppm
Here are some pics of the situation followed by all my tank specs and water params. Hoping to get some opinions on where to start experimenting and how to measure for healthier plant growth and less algae.
I hear HC is tough to grow. Mine looks to be doing not so well... plant growth is reaching to the top rather than going sideways and as a result I'm having to continually replant floating pieces. I'm really cranking the CO2 (~2bps for this small 4.6 gallon tank), but maybe there's just way too much light?
Here you can see some stanky brown algae. I haven't gone too crazy with manual removal yet because the moss is so fragile-ly attached I don't want to rip it all off :/
Here you can see some odd cobwebby algae that's just kinda all up in there.
Montecarlo is lookin pretty dece.
This bit of wood never dries out even though its above the water so I am hoping I can have a little bit of emersed java moss here.
Needle leaf java fern in the background.
Tank:
ADA 45f (45x24x16cm)
ADA aquasky G 451 (too much light???)
Shiruba XB-303 filter (very small)
Hydor external in-line heater
GLA GRO-1 CO2 regulator
Lily pipe "spin" outflow
Hardscape/Substrate:
A random hunk of wood that fit nicely
Little bit of ADA power sand
ADA amazonia base layer
ADA amazonia powder type top layer
ADA colorado sand
In the filter:
A sponge that came with the filter
Some bio media that came with the filter
A packet of activated carbon
Flora:
Riccardia Chamedryfolia (not doing so hot)
Monte Carlo
HC Cuba (growing up instead of sideways :/ )
Phoenix Moss
Java Moss
Weeping Moss
Java Fern (needle leaf)
Fauna:
Nothing yet, but just wanna get some shrinps
Water Parameters and Routine:
CO2 on from 9am to 6pm (no drop checker yet so not sure how much but like 2ish bps)
Lights on from 11am to 3pm
Tank is not in direct sunlight, but there are two blinded windows nearby... I don't think they are lighting it up much but I could be wrong?
Water temp 72F/23C (I heard moss likes lower temp)
EI dosing:
KNO3 1/16 teaspoon Mon/Wed/Fri
KH2PO4 1/64 teaspoon Mon/Wed/Fri
K2SO4 1/64 teaspoon Mon/Wed/Fri
Plantex CSM-B 1/64 teaspoon Tues/Thurs/Sat
50% water change on Sunday straight outta the tap
Tap water is soft??? no KH no GH but PH is high (8.5)
When I do the water change I throw in the recommended amount of dechlorinator (Aqueon)
I just added 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda today to see how much KH will change
Overall my flow seems kinda weak :/
Sometimes I see the surface moving in a circular motion but other times I look and nothing is moving at all on the surface. The filter is always moving water though.
Tank has been flooded for about a month
Last time I tested:
PH in tank is between 6 and 6.4
Ammonia is around 1 to 2 ppm
Nitrite is .25 to .5 ppm
nitrate is between 40 to 80 ppm