Input required: my Flourite Black Sand Battlefield:

I redid my tank with Flourite Black Sand last week while my tank kept running, without rinsing it first... You get the idea if you ever used Flourite Black Sand before. The tomato soup went away after some huge water changes, and rinsing the sand on saturday.

Here is the sunday planted battlefield.

Lights: 4x54w
NO3: 20
PO4: 0.5
KH: 4
GH: 7
PH: 6.85
ORP: 330

Off course it needs to grow in...

 

SiO3? Why do you think that is high?

 

good point, didn't know that was related. What is best 50% WC / twice a week or anti-SiO3 filter media? I am guessing the first, will do a massive wc tomorrow evening, reduce PH and measure my PAR.
Shall i reduce my PH to 6.6 (with a KH of 3.5 this should read 30ppm) or do you advise to get a co2 'continue' test?

 

p.s. how do you like my rainbows? Nice colors he?

 

Wel i think that a good redox value definitately helps in keeping your rainbows healthy. With my previous redox of around 100 (deoxidized water) i saw them gasping for air, now with a redox of 480 (just saw it) it is much better off course, much healthier water. The PH was 6.85 and is now reduced to 6.7 (which is kinda a minimum for me for now). I'll buy a co2 endurance test to see better coloration.

 

Tomorrow my redox was 515, so it is getting better and better; PH 6.7 and fish are still very happy swimming about.

 

This is weird...

So my KH is 4, and i set my PH to 6.7 the day before yesterday. This should give a co2 level of around 25ppm (according to 'the tables').

Since Tom always tells us 'you have to little co2' i decided to go out and buy myself a co2 drop checker, just to be sure;



I came home, installed the drop checker, put in the fluid but it stayed blue, meaning had to little co2.
So i upped my co2 from 6.7 to 6.5 and finally it turned green. According to the manual this means i now have 15-25ppm co2 in my water.

This makes me wonder; what to trust more; the co2 drop checker or my aquarium computer measuring my ph...

 

yeah.. although the drop checker is ugly on your glass, this is going to be a stayer. I am thinking of buying a new one, this one:



I am for sure going to make my own 4dKH sollution, but i am unsure to use "zuiveringszout" or "baksoda"..

 

I know, but is that 4dKH fluid?

 

Oke, i scared myself yesterday.

I finally manged to get a glass 'soup' cup. I drilled a hole in it and mounted my Quantum Meter light sensor on it (using the 5mm hole i drilled) so the light sensor stays on the bottom of the tank and not goes upside down due to the thick cord attached to it.

Here is the scary part;
mid-day; i was reading 110mmol with 4x 54w tubes on.

Since the old tubes showed decreased light in the middle of the tubes, i guess that means they where inneficient and old. So i removed 1 tube yesterday evening, cleaned the others including reflectors and changed my lights a bit:

front: 1x Osram 840 (4000k)


mid: 1x JBL Solar Ultra Natur


back: 1x JBL Solar Ultra Tropic


Why JBL? Because these where new tubes i had lying around.

So this afternoon i am planning to dim my lights, but can i do this in 1 go? For instance to 60mmol?