sour 55

[Cornhusker]

tom, i have 55 gal tank that i've not been able to get going good. been set up for over two years.a couple of months ago i added press. co2,diy just did not work.tank now has several crypts and large clump of java fern. algae is minamall. i've vacumed gravel several times.no perling.220 watts compact lighting and flourite substrate.w/c 50% weekly. i add 1/2 tsp so4,and 1/2 tsp seachem eq at w/c. 1/2 tsp kno3 3 times a week and 15ml csm+b (epsom salt added to dry mix) 4 times a week.i checked tap water with lamotte test kit for phosphate,shows 1.0 ppm,so i don't add p04.co2 is close to max by the way fish act.leaves on crypts look bad. in other words everything just sits there looking stupid.should i tear tank down completely and start over?do crypts not like growing too fast?btw fish are very healthy. regards,cornhusker

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: sour 55

Well, you can rule out NO3/K/PO4/GH/Traces............
CO2 is still most likely your issue if things are not pearling good.

Try the internal CO2 reactor and plug the powerhead into the lighting timer.
Crank it good. Have some surface motion on the water's surface also.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Cornhusker]

Re: sour 55

tom, thank you for reply. this brings up a good topic. surface motion versus surface agitation. i thought co2 escapes if surface is disturbed. all my tanks have spray bars about 2 inches below surface of water. i thought you said once to point down back of tank to substrate.do you mean by water motion to have spray bar pointed almost straight ahead to acheive this action you mention? i'll try cranking co2 somemore. btw i have all my tanks co2 powerheads connected to light timers, this works good, allso solonoid to timer to regulate co2. i will be greatly gratified to see this tank responed ,as it is now its an eye sore. regards, cornhusker

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: sour 55

You should have some water motion on the surface.
This will allow you to add more CO2 with less issues with fish.
You can direct most of the current elsewhere, but a little to the surface is good.

I run my spray bars vertically, not across. This allows the holes to give a little surface movement and also the SB not be seen as a plant can hide it better vertically.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[fosteder]

Re: sour 55

Surface motion is definitely a must. I had very little motion, and 30 ppm of CO2 was very easy to achieve (low bubble rate), however my fish were gasping at the surface. I don't know whether this was due to too much CO2 or not enough oxygen. As soon as I added some surface movement it took a much higher bubble rate to achieve a good co2 level, but the fish have never been at the surface gasping and I believe I have a higher co2 level than before.

I never thought about mounting the spray bar vertically. It would be much easier to hide that way.....

 

[matpat]

Re: sour 55

I run my spray bars vertically, not across. This allows the holes to give a little surface movement and also the SB not be seen as a plant can hide it better vertically.

Why didn't I think of this???? Sometimes, it's the simple things that you never think about. I've hated the current generated by my SB's for a long time now and this is a very simple fix.

Thanks Tom!

 

[rrguymon]

Re: sour 55

Haa. I just set my spray bar up from hoz to vert. I like it. It is already hidden. Great idea

Now I just need to make an external reactor and I can remove my internal reactor. Then all I have is the filter tubes but you have to look to see those now.

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: sour 55

To me many things seem obvious but folks think I'm clever or something.

I hate looking at equipment. I want everything to look good and be hidden.
Rock/wood etc plant bunches etc all hide the equipment very well this way.

You can place the spray bar horizontal also, just place it along the very bottom along the rear tank's wall. The plants hide it in most layouts.
You put a vert bar to get the bar down there and then add an elbow to run it across the bottom rear of the tank. In the vert bar, drill a couple of small holes for anti siphon and/or surface movement near the surface.

Both designs will hide the bar.

Also: place the bar and the intake in the same location, this way the same place/plant/wood etc can hide both and since the spray bar is pointing away from the intake, the water does not mix much.

Now you place the CO2 reactor/diffuse stone in this same location(generally down low) and you can not see much in the tank except weeds.


Regards,
Tom Barr