I have to replace my tank :(

[kazooless]

Hi Tom,

It's been a long while since I've been around, mainly because of the success you've given me with my tank. I've had a few lingering questions, but with a wife and 4 kids, I just haven't come around to it yet.

Anyway, first and most important question is this: My kids were throwing metal magnetic marbles and hit the tank which created a ding on the inside of the tank. They of course didn't tell me about it until I noticed it and asked them. Thank God it didn't burst and leak all over, but I am not going to take any chances. I'm going to go out and purchase a 75 gallon to replace this 55 gallon tank and switch it on Saturday.

Is there anything in particular I need to know? I will buy some new flourite and extra gravel, but I guess the old stuff will all be mixed in with the top gravel and so it might look a little ugly. I have tons of bio-matter, but will probably buy some more to be safe and to weed out leaves with algae.

Which brings me to my next set of questions.

I never get algae blooms. I barely get any glass algae. But, on most of my leaves that get older, I grow green algae. This is especially prevalent on the anubias leaves. As soon as they get big enough to mature, boom, they get covered in algae. I get incredible growth with all my back plants as long as I'm keeping up on my CO2 soda bottles. So, why am I getting algae only on the leaves? (Well, the logs are covered in short moss-like algae as well.

Also, I couldn't get glosso to grow very well in the front and it was covered in algae. I'm thinking the the light in the front of the tank isn't as strong as in the back, and that may be why. My Amazons grow incredibly well, as the valesneria (i think that's what it is, long tall swirly grass).

One last questions, my frills started out beautifully. But over time, they became really ratty. I wondered if it was because of the flag fish and mollies. Yes? Maybe?

Thanks in advance Tom.

kazooless

 

[Tom Barr]

Well, you do not have much light on the 55.

I'd suggets getting 2 54 W T5's for the 75.
This will do perfectly for you.

It can wait but the tank will need more light than the 55.
So you should consder this, you can do some very nice scapes with 54wx2 on a 75 gallon tank. You can also add another 2x40w light if you do not have much $ and keep the 55 lighting.

I'd suggest doing more water changes , maybe 2x a week for the first month that you set up the new tank.

You likely need to add more traces and nutrients.
Some plants are taking a beating. As a sword plant grows, they become the pigs of the tank.

Once their roots establish, they really start hogging the nutrients.
So you have little algae due to good sword growth, but poor plant growth for the other species.

This is a old old observation and story going back several decades with sword plants. Hardly a new thing.

As the tank grows in, you will need to eithe rprune excess added biomass, or add more ferts as the plant biomass increases.

Same deal with CO2.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[kazooless]

Okay Tom. Thanks for the very quick reply. You're the greatest as usual.


I found an acrylic in stock at a local store here in San Diego, so I will probably pick that up instead of doing another glass tank. For budget I will probably just put two more 40w lights on, but I am overdriving the first two and can overdrive these as well. Do you think the OverDriving doesn't do anything? Or did you just miss the ODNA in my sig? Just curious your opinion on that. I am going to ask my brother to help me build a wood hood that will hold the four bulbs and over drive them times two, unless you think that will not be enough light.

Now that I have the basics down, and I have to put in a new tank (cry), I think it is time for me to learn a little about actual scaping and fine tuning to get this algae problem gone for good. I didn't know that about the Amazons.

So, Basically:

1. More Light
2. More CO2
3. More Nutrients

And all thanks to the Amazons being pigs.

Right?

kazooless