Can't seem to get enough Co2?

Tom Barr

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Can you try making a CPVC 1/2" or 3/4" pipe spray bar that sits along the bottom rear and sprays towards the front of the tank?

Feed CO2 into the loop that this leads out to.
If you have another filter etc, then use that or a powerhead for some surface movement.

You have a lot of plants and some are very aggressive as far as CO2, and some are not, the A reineckii, the Ammania/Neasea are all wimpy and poor competitors for CO2, so they get those stunted tips.
While the other plants do okay/well.

Looks like a CO2 issue, but current and distribution are part of it, I think the light is fine, 12" ought to be fine for the height for the light.
We have club meter, you can borrow it.

Unless it's BBA, a blackout can clean up the tank some.
Excel likely will not help if it's mostly green algae.

The trickle filter might be part of the issue, seal it up, do every/anything you can to stop degassing through that.
Nothing else knocks growth back more than poor CO2, nothing.

Nutrients are very easy to rule out.
Large frequent water changes, add and dose them.
That;'s the end of that.

Light seems fine to me.
1.6W a gal at 12" above the tank of T5's, that's about what I have here:

resized120Feb16.jpg


I've got lot more space and area for the water to move around though.......

I'd try the progressive method for CO2 increasing, but only if you are around to watch the effects, then try again and add a tough more and so on, wait 3-7 days between adjustments.
Seal the wet/dry issue, good current, consider a good whack to allow for more room for the plants.

My tank is not a lot different as far as filters(has wet/dry), similar tap, EI dosed, good current, more open though............and similar light.

So not too much left other than CO2, some trimming and opening up the tank some more, try the spray bar along the back.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Squidly

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OK I've posted some pics. As you'll see, most of the biomass is now gone. What remains is only the healthiest stuff after a WC and major removal today. The red plant is also gone after looking at the ravaged leaves which were mostly covered with brown crud. You can see the grittier stuff on the pennywort leaves which reside on the surface. Also that same algae is encrusting the rocks, particularly the upper tier. The anubia pic shows how the plants fare after sometime in the water (the nice looking ones are new)

Tank1.jpg


rock.jpg


pennywort.jpg


red plant.jpg


Anubia.jpg
 

Squidly

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Hi Tom,

Thanks for your input on this continuing mess I've made. As I'm in the process of purchasing another XP3 to be used in the reverse of the existing one, I had thought about put a pipe as you mention at the bottom rear of the tank and have both XP3's connected to it forcing air forward. But as I have the one now with the spraybar mounted vertically at the bottom with a koralia pushing the Co2 towards the front of the tank, this seems to distrubute the Co2 pretty well. I can sit below the tank looking up and see lots of bubbles swirling about on the bottom. Hopefully I can do this on the otherside with the new unit so as not to have to rearrange my masterful work of rock art essentially started completely over. (I also considered utilizing 'L' shape output 1/2" pipe feeds from the XP3's that would extend from the back to the front and then with 90's on the end, attach a directional flow tip which could be adjusted to shoot Co2 across the bottom front of the tank. Problem was, I couldn't find any black PVC! Would otherwise hate to look at that white stuff on either end of the tank)

I've since removed the reactor and switched to an atomizer on one end and a rhinox on the other. I turn the Co2 on early, at 4am and have the checker at yellow by first light if not before. Once I have the other Xp3, I'm building two reactors per your DIY thread and will eventually dispose of the atomizers - unless you see this as a better method...? I've also added an airpump which I run at night.

I have the Co2 as far as I can go without stressing the cichlids. After months of experimenting, I always seem to end up near where I started after trying to increase it. The trickle filter return pump provides ample surface agitation keeping the top clear of any film etc. If I lose some Co2 anywhere, it would seem I have as much as I can use regardless. I'm likely wasting something but it does get me there in the end. I can push the Co2 like mad if needbe as my fish will tell you when they starting dashing about sideways ;0 or laying lifeless on the bottom. Still wonder if Cichlids are more sensitive to Co2 than other species?

Anyway, as you can see I have very little biomass to deal with and yet I still have this brown algae going on. It's diminished a bit since raising the light, but not as much as hoped. Do my EI dosing regime (per 100g tank) seem appropriate or do I need to add more? Also with regards to GH booster; since our water is the same, do I want to add 2 teaspoons per each WC or more/less?

Thank you!
 
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Tom Barr

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I think Crypts over most of the front seems better, then Anubias and Java fern, maybe needle leaf etc in the rocks, stems are not good for this layout IMO.
Maybe in the corners etc, but they seem out of place with the rocks etc.

This would make it easy to care for and less light, but still look good/better.
Cost a bit for some Anubias, but the Crypts/fern are reasonable.

Good O2 I think should give you more fine control and the plant changes would also allow even less light, see if you can switch one bulb at a time(?).
Run one for 5hs/then the other etc.

If not, try 7-8 hours of light.

Turn CO2 maybe 15-30 min before the lights come on, use about 1/2 EI till the plants grow in.
Try hard to tweak the CO2, keep current high, watch fish.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Squidly

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Thanks Tom (again). For what its worth, i originally wanted to grow dwarf baby tears all over the rocks - but discovered in short order that the algae grew better. Eventually I found my way to stem plants and tried getting them rooted in and cutting them just above the rock face. Looked great while it lasted and wished it would've worked. But now that I've got Co2, perhaps I'll try the DBTears again if you think it will grow? Finding plants that will cohabitate the rocks hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be.

I've got the Co2 going on at 4am to ensure it's at 30ppm at lights on. Probably don't need it so early, but couldn't get that before with the reactor until many hours after lights on. I really need to time it but just keeping things alive has taken all my energy. Perhaps with a second XP3 and dual reactors, the vortex that's created will diffuse the Co2 in shorter order and hopefully distribute the flow more evenly throughout the tank and in shorter order.

I covered the trickle filter with saran wrap. I new there was a reason I bought those lifetime rolls at Costco...




No matter what it seems, everyone is shouting 'less light'. Why the heck did I get T5 to begin with? What a PITA if you ask me. Ideally the tank looked best with 4 bulbs running. Cutting it to two and then elevating it took all the joy away. If I have to cut it to one bulb, then I don't see why I shouldn't just to T8 and put the canopy back on to hide all those ugly tubes.

The few crypts I have, the Florida one's on the bottom are struggling although they are alive still. That lousy brown algae is covering the leaves all the way to the bottom of the tank. Your black out routine rids most of it, but it has always come back after two weeks. Jonny insisted I drop the Excel dosing but I'm quite certain that my tank will look like his used to if I do. Does it confuse the feeding habit's of the plants to diffuse both into the water column I wonder? Everytime I've stopped using it, the algae comes back including other varieties.



One thing I've noticed which may be relevant, is that when I purchase the plants as new, there are never any roots. Seems like after a spell in the tank, I've got them growing out the sides of the plants making a real mess of things. Is this the result of something lacking? I just don't see how Florida Farms can grow such wonderful specimens when all I get mostly is algae... argh
 

jonny_ftm

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I understand well your fears about excel, blackouts...

When someone deals with many tanks and don't have time, such interventions could make you gain a valuable time you would spend on removing algae manually, trimming, retopping... But, this must be done in conjuction with solving the root issue of algae

When you have one tank and time as you say, using such products/ways to fight algae is only adding more instabilities and making you focus away of the real cause. If you would use them as a short time targetted intervention, ok, but not as a long term solution. Having to do lots of blackouts in few weeks is too much in my opinion. Plants can't adapt. I personally no longer fight algae, I let them and I just look, look and look again for causes.

Again, decreasing light always helps fighting such a war. Once plants are growing and algae under control, increasing light progressively will keep you out of trouble. Blasting with all your lights while you have alage, will for sure make your plants pearl ang grow for some days or 2 weeks, but algae will soon outpass them. It's only a temporary solution to help you fight algae so plants can win. Often, we don't have patience and can't resist the temptation of launching nuclear weapons on the algae. Ignore them and focus on plants. Increase waterchanges, tweak CO2, dose EI and much patience and luck :)

Above this, I still have to points maybe non relevant, but who knows:
- with the rocks and inaccessible parts in the back, you could have too much organic matter in the tank helping algae
- stems with no roots grow easily in a well stable tank, but they take more time. In a tank with algae, that time won't help them to fight
 

shoggoth43

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Perhaps I have not been as clear on this as I might have. In most cases what we're suggesting is a TEMPORARY reduction in the amount of light to reduce some of the needs of the system to get you to a stable point. Once you have things stable there's no reason why you can't increase light by 1/2 hour every couple days, lower the light down an inch or so at a time or whatever. If in doubt, go with Tom's suggestions. He's been at this far longer than the rest of us. You have a lot of light available. FAR more light than you NEED. NEED being what the plants need for survival, virtually everyone wants to be well above this point so we have decent growth. Can you use all of what you have available? Sure, but not right now. Once you get things stable and working you can work your way up to everything on all the time if you want instead of just the two bulbs you use now. You'll likely be doing far more cleaning/dosing/pruning than you'll ever want to in the long term and the tank will be prone to issues but that's your decision to make. You've got some horsepower, you don't NEED to use it all but if you want to do so it's there for when you're ready to mash the pedal and go. I don't think anyone here is going to suggest you're at that point right now.

Later on, if you want to use all four bulbs, you could consider a noonday burst lighting regimen. That would be the two bulbs you have on now, and then some midday point turn on the other two for a bit. This lets you get your CO2 built up in the tank and the plants already doing their thing before you hit them with all that light. Getting the plants going ahead of time is the key to this, otherwise you just encourage the algae to take off before the plants wake up. The alternative is the siesta where you shut off the lights for a couple hours. This dark - light -dark - light -dark daily cycle seems to put the algae at a disadvantage vs. the plants which weather the "cloudy noontime" better - in theory. It does let you extend your viewing time if you want so that the lights are on for when you come home at night.

"No matter what it seems, everyone is shouting 'less light'. Why the heck did I get T5 to begin with? What a PITA if you ask me. Ideally the tank looked best with 4 bulbs running. Cutting it to two and then elevating it took all the joy away. If I have to cut it to one bulb, then I don't see why I shouldn't just to T8 and put the canopy back on to hide all those ugly tubes."
 

Tom Barr

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Squidly;47598 said:
I covered the trickle filter with saran wrap. I new there was a reason I bought those lifetime rolls at Costco...
One thing I've noticed which may be relevant, is that when I purchase the plants as new, there are never any roots. Seems like after a spell in the tank, I've got them growing out the sides of the plants making a real mess of things. Is this the result of something lacking? I just don't see how Florida Farms can grow such wonderful specimens when all I get mostly is algae... argh


Try duct tape or Gaffers tape for sealing, saran wrap does little.
FAN grows all their plants emergent, that's why they grow fast and no algae, all the nurseries grow the plants this way.

I'd stick with the Excel, but the results are also telling, CO2/too much light.

Once you find a good balance with light/CO2, then it's pretty easy, but not until then.
T8's are good, many do not use them and few are offered in the hobby for sale, they are much more a DIY hood project.

Cheap too.

DBT onthe rock is a bad idea.
Xmas moss? Better.
Java fern? Better.
Petite Anubias? Better

and so on..........

Green Crypt wendtii might be a decent plant for the front also.
Try 8 hours of light also.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Squidly

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You know Tom, I was just getting used to the addition of saran wrap covering the top of my gorgeous wires and tubes and now you've got me wrapping everything with duct tape. Well I guess it can't be all bad, perhaps all those snails will get stuck on it?

My tank, which I purchased secondhand new on Craigslist, came with a 48" T8 dual bulb fixture with plastic hood and a clear protective bottom. I never used it and went straight to T5 after some told me I was nuts to think about using halide. Hard not to be bitter about my choice in hindsight but then 48" doesn't cover 60" very well.

Per Excel and Co2 combined; do I use the standard dosage or should I double it (1 or 2 large caps)?

I'm getting a bit confused about light height and riding myself of algae. (I'll put it back down to 8 hours) Tom says 12", Jonny has me pegged at 25" and shoggoth is reminding me that I need to raise it high TEMPORARILY so that I can view my duct tape work and wires from afar! I've had the fixture running at 18" and didnt' notice a big change in the algae, but did see the pigments disappearing from the leaves and overall little growth aside from the pennywort crawling it''s way across the surface. I worry that if I run it too high, that the plants will suffer more than the algae and end up generating additional organic material which will end up promoting algae... Should I just compromise and run 1 bulb instead of two (TEMPORARILY lol)???

Dang it if all the plants I want to grow, I can't anymore... Haven't I seen DBT wrapped around rocks in photos somewhere? I guess it's hard to get them to stay put aside from tying them down. That hippograss looked awesome when it was trimmed short and growing. Unfortunately the cichlids weren't particularly fond of it blocking their routes and I was daily putting it all back.

As for blackouts, why wouldn't I want to do that now and just kill that algae off? Presuming I have the enough Co2 (don't I now?), EI and lighting (12"), shouldn't things move forward once the cover of darkness is lifted? Wouldn't the end result be the same if all things are in order? I do understand that if things are amiss, that this is a temporary fix at best but things are far better now since I've been able to raise the lighting and provide better Co2 distribution.

Thanks EVERYONE! :)
 

jonny_ftm

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We gave you many opinions of course, but don't think they are opposite. They go same way: keep a same regimen with lower light. Anything between 12-25in, I really don't think it matters. Tom posted many topics showing how plants can grow in very low light, will be easier to deal with CO2. I'm carpetting glosso under 0.9wpg, it grows and perls, it took 6 weeks before pearling and growing faster, for many weeks it was quiet 0 growth, then 1 leave/1-2weeks and now pearling with near 0.5in /week, faster than I'd like. R. Wallichii red under that light and responding with seeds to trimming, no retopping.

For excel dosing, Tom often said overdosing is a killer, but I don't know in what proportions.

For blackouts, yes, they sometimes help. I did them once on my nano for BGA coupled with antibiotics and NO3 dosing after Tom convinced me that fighting BGA without antibiotics and blackouts is a waste.

The most important is focusing on stability: stable light, stable CO2, stable dosing, stable waterchanges. And follow Tom advices, he has a bigger expierience. Just don't be tricky on light, the less is best sometimes
 

Squidly

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Yes I got all that, thanks Jonny again.

I guess I am confused as to why I don't have enough Co2 even when the DC is yellow, and particulary more so since I've adding Excel in excess in addition. If anything I should have too much. While raising the lamp fixture has caused some of the algae to diminish especially the lower tufa rocks, I still have some algae growing and am doing as much trimming.

My thinking is that if this is such a slow process as you (and others) claim, then why not do a blackout for a few days to erradicate the algae and go to a normal operating mode? Seems to me this is shorter torture on the plants as opposed to keeping the lamps 25" above the surface with restricted hours etc.

This now has got me wondering if having a tank full of rocks is a bad idea for plants realizing the flow will be restricted in some areas regardless of what one does. That said, I can see Co2 dancing around all the exposed plants throughout the tank so I have to think I'm not that far off the mark, but having not tried another design it's hard for me to know. I suspect and hope by running dual XP3's at alternate ends of the tank, this will generate two vortex's pulling the Co2 and water through the rock openings. Similar to what was suggested by Tom and Biollante about putting tubes either behind or in between the rocks. I'm almost tempted to tear everything down and put 1/2" PVC end to end connecting to both XP3's and then sending the outflow through drilled holes towards the front. But then I think about all the Co2 that will be trapped behind the rocks and er, well, I would think we'd be back to square one! Seems like this would be another argument in favor of reactors since the diffusion is much greater and can flow better.

SO for now I'm running one measely T5 bulb 12" above the tank top which is probably closer to 14" over the water. I hope this will keep the light Gods happy! :)
 

Tom Barr

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Consider a tank full of wood.
Most of my tanks with a full look use lots of wood.
Lighter, plenty around here, weigh less , can drill holes/screws etc to make them more stable etc.

Fish do not care.

I'd go with a needle wheel diffusion method, plenty of flow there.
12"-16" above the tank should be fine, more than this, seems a bit extreme.

Make some changes, watch and see.
Take your time, be careful with CO2, stop trusting DC's so much etc.

Use the plants, your fish/eyes etc and slow methodical progression.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Squidly

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I'd try needlewheel and wanted to, but space is very limited in the trickle/sump area of the tank. I've got a 4"W x 4"L area to work with (with some fudging as one side is angled). If there is a small version that will fit, I'll give it a go. I have to say though that the misting provided by the atomizer doesn't seem to keep the algae at bay anymore than things were before (even in the area adjacent to the output) so I'm not sure a reactor isn't a more practical way to get things done? Wasn't there a thread on this sometime back in which you and Vaughn tried it out and determined a reactor wasn't the most efficient method? I wish there was a one-stop page to get all the latest info instead of pecking around all over the place!

I use the fish to see how much Co2 I can provide, more so than the DC. When the DC hits yellow, I've tried to turn it up but it always ends up with the fish acting odd which is why I wondered whether cichlids might be more tempermental than other species? As it is, I can't add any more than I have already. Not that I'm not tempted given how those suckers keep digging up my plants! lol

Per wood, I can always exchange some for the rocks but that stuff from Malaysia that sinks is ridiculously expensive. When you say around here, I'm not sure what else you're referring to unless I run down to the A. river and grab a bunch...!
 

shoggoth43

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CO2 and flow are tricky at times. Last night I took a hard look at my biocube as I was starting to see some light green spot/dust algae on the glass over by the right. It's not normal for it to be in that particular location and I KNOW I've got enough CO2 bubbling in there and plenty of flow. Something obviously wasn't right and my blyxa and chain sword has been slowly languishing in that tank for a couple of weeks so it's time to get down to business and figure this out. I cleaned the Koralia Nano again after evicting the bamboo shrimp temporarily. Ok, no more cabomba leaves on it so that takes care of any potential flow problems. I forgot about the filter floss for mechanical, about a weeks worth of stuff, yuck. Oops. Ok, potentially excess nutrients taken care of. That leaves CO2 right?

Yes and no. Plenty of CO2 in there according to the drop checker in the usual spot. I haven't moved it around in a while, so that's a problem. Before I mess with that I need to do some pruning since maybe the blyxa is not getting enough light and I can never find the dozen or so cories that are breeding in there so now on to pruning. I pulled out the usual leaves on the swords and cleaned up/out some stem plants while I was at it. I also pulled out a couple sword plantlets that had been floating around and generally getting underfoot. No biggie but they might be causing a flow issue. Fine. I then went to pull out another of those little plantlets. Which was connected to another one, and another larger one, and a medium sized one over by the filter inlet which had a massive tangle of roots 6-8 inches long and nearly as bushy as the plant all entirely within said inlet, which was attached to another larger one in the substrate which was connected to the E Bleheri in the middle of that tank. In all, I probably tore out 75% of the mass of that particular plant since it was all connected. All this was in there and I didn't even know it because it's so hard to see what's over there. I probably hacked out 50% of the overall plant biomass, much of which ended up going into the other tanks.

So yes, I probably had just enough CO2 and flow had that particular plant not gone berzerk and soaked it all up. Moving the drop checker around more might have told me I didn't have enough CO2 but why bother? I already knew that I had plenty. I also knew the flow was fine since I could see the CO2 bubbles flowing around. I still think the flow is/was fine because of how the sword had taken over that area since the bubbles flow through that area easily enough.

I just thought it was interesting that I saw a lot of parallels to your situation. Not so much the algae per se, but how I have more than enough flow in there and plenty of CO2 but still had issues cropping up despite what I knew to be true. In retrospect, CO2 misting and drop checkers may not be the most accurate way of determining CO2 in an already inaccurate method but that's another matter entirely.

I'm not really sure what you can take away from all this other than maybe for people to consider a checklist with item #1 being to double check what you "know" to be true before proceeding to the other stuff.

-
S

Squidly;47635 said:
Yes I got all that, thanks Jonny again.

I guess I am confused as to why I don't have enough Co2 even when the DC is yellow, and particulary more so since I've adding Excel in excess in addition. If anything I should have too much. While raising the lamp fixture has caused some of the algae to diminish especially the lower tufa rocks, I still have some algae growing and am doing as much trimming.

My thinking is that if this is such a slow process as you (and others) claim, then why not do a blackout for a few days to erradicate the algae and go to a normal operating mode? Seems to me this is shorter torture on the plants as opposed to keeping the lamps 25" above the surface with restricted hours etc.

This now has got me wondering if having a tank full of rocks is a bad idea for plants realizing the flow will be restricted in some areas regardless of what one does. That said, I can see Co2 dancing around all the exposed plants throughout the tank so I have to think I'm not that far off the mark, but having not tried another design it's hard for me to know. I suspect and hope by running dual XP3's at alternate ends of the tank, this will generate two vortex's pulling the Co2 and water through the rock openings. Similar to what was suggested by Tom and Biollante about putting tubes either behind or in between the rocks. I'm almost tempted to tear everything down and put 1/2" PVC end to end connecting to both XP3's and then sending the outflow through drilled holes towards the front. But then I think about all the Co2 that will be trapped behind the rocks and er, well, I would think we'd be back to square one! Seems like this would be another argument in favor of reactors since the diffusion is much greater and can flow better.

SO for now I'm running one measely T5 bulb 12" above the tank top which is probably closer to 14" over the water. I hope this will keep the light Gods happy! :)
 

Tom Barr

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Squidly;47654 said:
Per wood, I can always exchange some for the rocks but that stuff from Malaysia that sinks is ridiculously expensive. When you say around here, I'm not sure what else you're referring to unless I run down to the A. river and grab a bunch...!

Foothills are loaded with Manzanita, commonly sold for $$$ on line for driftwood.
Vile brush weed/fire hazard here though.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Squidly

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Very informative Shoggoth, and thank you. The only thing I can add is that I've had two DC's in the tank at opposite ends and the result was always the same.

My situation is a bit different though. Until very recently, I had the T5 lamps 2, sometimes even 4 running, installed under the canopy hood and all this before I started EI'ing. I can't tell how many varieties of plants I've been through that initially were growing wonderfully, but then would get covered with the brown crud and die off. Like all those stems you see in the original photos not so long ago which are all gone now except for a few shoots of hippograss. I don't have any large masses of hidden growth as most of the root structure of the stems decayed completely. The only thing left is the Java fern which does make a mess of things if I don't cull it regularly which I do.

Thanks again to all.
 

shoggoth43

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Is the brown crud algae or diatoms? If it wipes off easily it might be something you can easily deal with by adding in some Ottos or Nerite snails ( these only breed in brackish so you shouldn't get the population explosion ).

-
S
 

Squidly

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Wipes off easily on the acrylic portions, but gets gritty on the rocks and anubias making it difficult to remove. Looking at it closely on the glass, it doesn't appear to be diatoms as there are no patterns as I've seen in other photos. When I do WC's, there is quite a bit floating on the surface upon refill - a lot of which ends up falling back to the bottom of the tank before the filters can suck it out. It may well be brown due to lack of light and/or infusion of Excel. I had all the other types before I started with Excel.

I have 3 otto's, 2 of which escaped into the sump area to get away presumably from the cichlids. I had a ton of pond snails, particularly when the wisteria was growing normally before now but they have disappeared and I know the cichlids love to eat them too.

Wondering about emergent plants now and decking out the upper 1/3 of the tank so as to have flowers etc. coming out the top to block all those nasty wires and tubes. Probably should start another thread on that though as this one is growing exponentially long.
 
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Squidly

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There is a ton of really thick beautiful manzanita in and above Woodside if you're keen on it. Grows very red and healthy (even into trees) there I think more so than in the foothills that I've seen anyway. Not sure how long it would take to cure that stuff after removing all the bark etc.

I'm keen on that dark malaysian stuff that sinks but darn if they don't charge a fortune for it.Thinking I could remove some of the upper tier rocks and put in wood allowing for DBT and other growth. If I could come up with some nice emergent type plants that flower, perhaps I could grow them from that level which would help hide the tubes/wires and presumably make the tank healthier?
 

jonny_ftm

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I'm still old school. I love EI and all the CO2/light theory as it really works, but I believe in plants needing time and stability to adapt. If you use excel like an algaecide, soon or later you end with problems, you select algae that resist and most plants will decay in long run. If you want to dose excel, do, but in recommended doses, do not overdose it, so use it as a CO2 source in a regular manner, so no fluctuations too. If green algae comes, instead of increasing excel to kill it, just optimize your CO2/light balance and make water changes more frequently.

Blackouts can help, but once you're at the 3rd or more in few weeks, you have to question it. Yes, blackouts make algae regress (it doesn't kill them, just makes them asleep), but also plants don't grow an inch in the dark too. After some blackouts, their enzymes will never be able to stabilize at some CO2/light ratio (I understand it as this at least). This adaptation takes weeks. Meanwhile, algae turn from dormant state to 10x their mass in 2-3 days. Plants can't win at this yoyo game, plants will win in the long run.

If you lower light abruptly, most times it will stunt your plants growth for 2-4 weeks or more sometimes. After this, plants adapt and grow again if other conditions are good. Same if you increase light suddenly. They will respond with a rapid growth for about 2 weeks usually, but this will be at the expense of all the resources of their environment. Once they lack resources in water, they will use their stocks and finally stunt and die. That's why, most people see a fantastic growth during 2-3 weeks sometimes when increasing light, then, they don't understand why after such a fantastic growth, they die and algae replace them. High light drives a fast growth and needs fuel (CO2, micro, macro...). If fuel lacks, plant uses its spared nutrients before finally stunting and decaying. At lower light, light becomes the limiting factor, so easier to manage other nutrients.

All this doesn't give you a miracle receipt to get rid of algae, but just a way to understand how plants work/react to our interventions.

As Tom said, focus on plants and fish and make it slowly