Problems

defdac

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I moved my 300-litres tank to another smaller room apx 6 months ago. Therefore I don't tend to it as much as I used to. I sometimes forget doses but have managed to get somewhat good results anyway.

A couple of months ago I bought new wood at a local store. It looked very good from a design-point-of-view but I'm pretty sure it is some kind of non-soaked ordinary pine/spruce sand blastered kind of wood.

I didn't pre soak them and held them down with big boulders until they didn't float. No water coloration.

But they have leaked something white where the algae refuses to attach, but everywhere else it's totally infested with fur algae.

The problem is that the pearling is *totally* abscent after water change - where the plants normally pearl like crazy. The tank feels completely dead.

With a totally insane CO2-bubble rate where my fishes gasp by the surface and the pH-test is totally yellow below pH 6.0 (KH around 2,5) I get the plants to pearl reluctantly and previous weeds like H. polysperma Rosanervig and Myriopyllum mattogrossense doesn't grow nearly as good as before. My E. acicularis is very infested with BBA and Cladophora-like algae and I have patches of Cyanobacteria on some leaves.

After wc: 3 tsp CaCl2, 2 tsp MgSO4
Every other day: 1 tsp KNO3, 2.75 ppm-dose KH2PO4 (25 mls of a solution in a 200 ml bottle with 2 tsp KH2PO4) and 0.1 ppm Fe dose (30 mls of a solution in 300 ml bottle with 1 tsp CSM+B equivalent).

This dose is what have worked very good before. The tank is somewhat minimalistic with rather low plant mass (picture after wc with a copule of hours pruning and algae scrubbing):
picture1595.jpg


Is the wood the cause, or do I dose to much with regards to plant mass? Why doesn't it pearl when I do a water change like it used to?

6x36 watts of 10K Philips Aquarelle TLD89 bulbs.
 
F

fishface

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Re: Problems

sorry to hear about your problems...but on the other hand, beautiful tank :rolleyes:
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Problems

Might be the tap water changed.


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Tom Barr
 

defdac

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Re: Problems

Today I removed the driftwood and made a big wc and nutrients as usual and now I have the massive champange-pearling I was used to before the driftwood. Same CO2-bubble-rate as before.

What the heck was the wood doing? Can it release some phenolics or something? *confused* I don't think it was real drift wood but fresh pine or something.
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Problems

Not sure, I have not had issues with wood prior.
I collect a lot of wood and sell it also and have for a long time now.

They might have added something to prevent rot.
Otherwise it should not impact things.

I tend to do larger water changes, say 80-90% weekly when new wood is tank cured instead of bucket cured.

It sounds like it threw off the CO2 measurement and you should eye ball the CO2 to get the results you need rather than stay with the measurement so much.

I've been seeing how well I can use my eyes using CO2 on several tanks I have at home. I have not tested the CO2 for nearly 6 months on one tank except by means of the plants. If the plants don't have O2 bubbles all over them about 1/2 way through the day, I add more CO2.

I know the dosing of the NPK, traces, GH etc is the same............

So all I focus on is plant health and the adjust the CO2 slowly to get the results I want.

Seems to work fine.
But many will get impatient and add too much and kill their fish.
Many folks in Asia do this method(and a few kill their fish).

A mix of both pH/KH + observation works well for general advice.


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Tom Barr
 

defdac

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Re: Problems

Yes I also add more until they pearl, but with the wood(?) the fish started gasping when the bubbelrate was close to insane, only some pearling near the lights and slow growth-rates.

I also do the Krause-thing with the pH-measurement. I breathed down a small glass of aquarium water in 5 minutes and Ph-tested it - when the aquarium measures this color or below it always pearls like crazy in the tank, but not know.

I also have a good feel for bubble-rate in this tank and I'm well over the bubblecount what I used to have so it should be good. The pearling now is awesome.

I will put the wood down in the tank again tomorrow and see what happens with the pearling.
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Problems

If you are after wood, I can always send some that will not do that:)
And it looks better than those beaver sticks you have in there:)
Naw, the tank looks good design wise.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

defdac

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Re: Problems

Tom Barr said:
If you are after wood, I can always send some that will not do that:)
Thanks, a bit far to send them to Sweden - but I can always pick some up if I get to the USA =)

And it looks better than those beaver sticks you have in there:)
*lol* =D