Hi, I have been running a non CO2 100g bowfront planted tank for the last 18 months
Weekly Dosing:
1.2 tsp KNO3
0.3 tsp KH2PO4
30mls Flourish
3 tsp Equilibrium
1 tsp epsom salts
1.5 tsp Aquasonic Carbonate Hardness Generator (raise KH from 10ppm to 30ppm)
I dose the main 100g tank first then I use 15g of this water to put in my other 2 smaller tanks (for their WC) & then refill the 100g tank with fresh water.
Fish load:
approx 110-mainly smaller fish ranging from Flying Foxes, tetras, halfbeaks, hatchet, guppies, cories, BN, + ghost & cherry shrimp. Filtration is an Eheim 2028 & circulation is a Koralia 2.
50% WC every 2 weeks (water is filtered through whole house sediment & carbon filtration) , 3x39W 3ft T5 HO on for 10 hrs (1100-1600hrs light are off). I gravel clean & trim etc once a month.
Most of the slow growers Anubias, Crypts, Java grow well. Ludwegia Repens grows fantastic for a few months then rots along the stems & branches, same with rotala macranda. Most of the other faster growers do well for a few months then rot away or the leaves grow smaller & paler etc.
Never had a problem with algae apart from some GSA on the rear glass. The last few months I have noticed for the first time some very small tufts of BBA on the Java fern which I manually remove, however it keeps coming back. This coincided with when I started to add KH generator, added new plants, fish load was getting close to current level & UV globe was past the 12 month stage. What could have triggered the BBA?
Finally convinced the big boss (she must have had a moment of weakness) to look at CO2. However, I don't really have more time to spend on the tank (we are expecting our 2nd child & renovating our home) so I guess I will use low light. Can I continue to use the current dosing/lighting regime while adding CO2 to get better looking plants or does it need to be modified?
Weekly Dosing:
1.2 tsp KNO3
0.3 tsp KH2PO4
30mls Flourish
3 tsp Equilibrium
1 tsp epsom salts
1.5 tsp Aquasonic Carbonate Hardness Generator (raise KH from 10ppm to 30ppm)
I dose the main 100g tank first then I use 15g of this water to put in my other 2 smaller tanks (for their WC) & then refill the 100g tank with fresh water.
Fish load:
approx 110-mainly smaller fish ranging from Flying Foxes, tetras, halfbeaks, hatchet, guppies, cories, BN, + ghost & cherry shrimp. Filtration is an Eheim 2028 & circulation is a Koralia 2.
50% WC every 2 weeks (water is filtered through whole house sediment & carbon filtration) , 3x39W 3ft T5 HO on for 10 hrs (1100-1600hrs light are off). I gravel clean & trim etc once a month.
Most of the slow growers Anubias, Crypts, Java grow well. Ludwegia Repens grows fantastic for a few months then rots along the stems & branches, same with rotala macranda. Most of the other faster growers do well for a few months then rot away or the leaves grow smaller & paler etc.
Never had a problem with algae apart from some GSA on the rear glass. The last few months I have noticed for the first time some very small tufts of BBA on the Java fern which I manually remove, however it keeps coming back. This coincided with when I started to add KH generator, added new plants, fish load was getting close to current level & UV globe was past the 12 month stage. What could have triggered the BBA?
Finally convinced the big boss (she must have had a moment of weakness) to look at CO2. However, I don't really have more time to spend on the tank (we are expecting our 2nd child & renovating our home) so I guess I will use low light. Can I continue to use the current dosing/lighting regime while adding CO2 to get better looking plants or does it need to be modified?