Co2 working well

I did my water tests last night, and my Co2 showed at 53. My fish seemed fine, so I didn't change a thing. I don't know if I am just seeing things, but the little bit of BBA I had starting seems to be dissipating already.

Went pressurised!

Last night I went pressurised! I got so sick of my home brew not being even, or dying out before the week was up. I got tired of buying 5lbs of sugar every other week, so I setup a pressurised system. I am still using the Co2 ladder, until my bubble counter comes in. I am so happy with the amount of control I have over the Co2, and how even it is.

I purchased an AZOO regulator, and a 5lb Co2 bottle. I just cut the lines going to the DIY bottles, and attached it to the regulator. I then plugged in the solenoid and bingo I was done. A little fussing with the needle valve and then it was sit back and watch it work time.

I highly recommend anyone planting a tank to go pressurised.

Time to clean

OK, I did my water tests yesterday, and my Nitrates were starting to climb. I did a 50% water change, recharged my Co2, and decided to clean my Fluval. Oh man I should have done this a little earlier. Well now I know where the Nitrates were coming from. I could not believe how dirty the filter floss was, and the 2 foam sponges were actually a dirt brown color.

I will do my water tests tonight, and hopefully things will start balancing out.

Housecleaning

I did some serious housecleaning the other day, and now I am a bit worried about having an algae bloom. The plants I had across the back of the tank started looking like a tangled mess. I was going to thin them out a bit to get some light to the bottom of the plants. Once I got started I decided to go all out and pull everything from the back. I then trimmed the good section of the plants, and replanted them. I only used four or five of them, as the rest just didn't look good enough to put back in. I moved my tall grass to the center, and my green crypt to the side. I removed the banana plant because it was showing BBA, and I don't want that to take over.

Once I was done I realised I removed about a third of my plants, and now I am watching closely for algae. I cleaned the glass well, and I have good Co2, but still I am afraid of what may happen.

I also feed the fish blood worms the other day. The Cory cats went nuts over them same as the Betta's.

Anyhow everything is looking great, fish are healthy as horses. I did find a ramshorn snail the other day, but he disappeared before I could catch him. I will be watching close for this guy. I sure don't need them taking off.

Test Results

OK, I have my test results from yesterday.
Am = 0
Ni = 0
Na = 20
Ph = 6.4
Gh = 9
Kh = 5
Po4 = 2
Co2 = 47

The Co2 showed high, but the fish are fine, so I am not going to worry about it.

I put some Java Moss in the tank last week, and the Cory Cats picked it all off the rock it came on, and now I am having a heck of a time cleaning it out of the tank.

Just an update

It has been a while since my last update, but not much has changed. My tanks are all doing well, and everything is growing like a weed.

My new diffuser is working great, and I now feel like I am getting my money's worth out of my DIY co2 setup.

New diffuser.

Yesterday I stopped at Petland and purchased a new diffuser. It is a Nutrafin ladder type. I hooked it up, and after a while it started working. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works, and how inefficient the air stone that I had in there before was. I put it on the right side glass in the back, and it is not the ugly thing I thought it was going to be, but instead it is like modern art. You can watch the bubbles get smaller and smaller until they are almost gone.

My tests for yesterday were
Temp 78
Am = 0
Ni - 0
Na = 5
Ph = 6.8
Gh = 8
Kh = 5
Po4 = 2
Co2 = 23

I added KNO3, and CSMP+B

Had to trim again.

Well the day before yesterday I had to trim the plants again. this time I cleared them so there is more light on the front of the plants, with the hope of them growing more evenly. Now my banana plant (which I don't know the actual name) has a stem that is coming off of it about 4 inches. I have never seen one of these plants as large as this one.

All the plants are pearling, but with the current in the water the bubbles don't stay on the leaves.

I am needing to add KNO3 every other day now, but my phosphates are staying at 2ppm. Tonight I am going to re-do my Co2 with the new bulkhead fittings I got yesterday. I am hoping this helps with the leaks.

I am still amazed at how nice everything looks. I am going to be building a light for my 2.5gallon so I can plant it with some of the trimmings I am getting from the 29.

Just checking in

I know I have not written for a while, but with building the upstairs and all this week has been rather busy.

The tank is still kicking, the plants are going to all need trimmed tonight. I had to treat with KNO3 twice this week, but the PO4 has staid at 2ppm. No algae anywhere, and the fish look great. I am going to be doing a full blown cleaning on the two small tanks, and a 50% water change on the 29 tomorrow. I am going to take some pictures tonight, and I will try to post one or two tomorrow.

New Fry!!!

I was trimming the overgrown plants in the tank the other day, and I noticed something swimming. Yep a fry! Now I know I added 2 female Platy last week, but there is no way this fry could be from them, it is just to big. I am thinking that it may have been a luck Cory egg attached to one of the plants. I am going to keep a close eye for it and maybe I can figure out what it is.

Anyhow I trimmed back everything that has grown to the top of the tank, and thinned out some others. I didn't do a water change, because my tests were all good. I will try and do one tonight.

Water Tests and CO2 changes

OK, yesterdays water tests were
Temp 76.4
Amm=0
Ni = 0
Na = 20
Ph = 6.6
Kh = 4
Gh = 9
Po4 = 2
Co2 = 30

I only added CSM+B, as the Na and the Po4 were already in the upper side.
I am wondering if the fish are keeping the readings were they are.

Anyhow I did change the second Co2 bottle, and I did not do a water change, since I did a big one Wednesday I felt I was good.

Lots of new growth, but I have noticed the Ludwigia repens leaves have doubled in the past few day, I will be asking planted tank forum if that is normal.

Things are growing and growing and . . .

I can not believe how fast things are growing. I did a water change the day before yesterday, and I did not have the chance to check the water today. Fridays are my water change days anyhow, and I will be recharging bottle number 2 tonight.

Algae seems in check, but I am still worried about my PO4. It always seems to be on the rise. This week I am not going to add my KH2PO4. I am going to see if that keeps the PO4 in check.

Little air bubbles

Last night I noticed little air bubbles coming from one of the plants I trimmed the other day. The bubbles were coming from the top of the stem where I trimmed the plant.

Water test kit

OK, I talked about the importance of testing the water, and how much I get into it. Well today I took a couple of pictures while I was doing it just to show how nice I have set it up.

Even my friend who is color blind can do the test. He said it is all about the contrasts.

Anyhow my CO2 is showing high, but I am not going to worry about it yet, because the fish are doing well.

today's tests are as follows

Temp = 76.5, Am = 0, Ni 0, Na = 10, Ph = 6.6, PO4 = 2, Gh = 9, Kh = 5

I fertilized the water the other day, and the plant growth seems to be the same as before. This would have disappointed me, but the plants were growing at an unbelievable rate anyhow. I do think that the ground cover seems a little more green.

After 1 Week

Well 1 week down, and everything is looking good. I received my dry ferts, and I used them last night. I also changed the recipe in CO2 bottle #1, changed 10gallons of water, trimmed plants, removed sword and tall grass stuff, moved the Whistiria, and lastly I spread out some of the other plants.


Here are some pictures.

Water test for Thursday

OK, I tested my water today, and noticed my Gh, and Kh are on the rise.
Amm=0
Ni=0
Na=10
Ph=6.8
Gh=9
Kh=7
PO4=1

I am hoping the rise in Gh and Kh is from the new gravel.

My 29gallon Planted Tank

I figured I would post a picture so everyone knows what I am talking about

Stepping up to the plate

Today I ordered my fertilizers from Greg Watson's (sorry about the spelling). I ordered Potassium Nitrate, Mono Potassium Phosphate, and CSM+P. I am going to use it twice a week at the following dosage.

KNO3 3/8tsp, 1/16tsp of KH2PO4, along with 1/8 tsp of CSM+B. I also found a link to The Fertilator, and I am going to use that to keep me in check.

I am starting to feel like I am getting on top of things.

Well I did it

I tore my tank down over the weekend, and changed the substrate. I am now using Eco-complete. It is very nice to plant in, and the Corys seem to like it. I took everything out, replaced the substrate, and heater, and reset everything in about the same place it was in before I started.

I also started using 2 Diy Co2 bottles. I am still just using an air stone, and it is working well.

Temp 76.5
Amm = .25
Ni = 0
Na = 10
Ph = 6.6
Kh = 4
Co2 = 30
Gh = 6
Po4 = 1

After I got everything going I treated the tank with Bio-Spira, expecting the tank to cycle again.

September 28 Made my decision

Well I decided on what I am going to do with my tank. I am going to tare it all the way down, and start over. I feel like I have been putting this tank together from the top down, and now I am going to turn that around and start from the substrate and work my way up. So tomorrow I am going to take all my hard work, and put it all in a bucket. I am going to pull all the plants, fish, and anything else I find alive in the tank, and stage it in a five gallon bucket. I am then going to take all the gravel out, and put new substrate in. This way I will feel like I am not doing everything half assed.

I am also starting a book on the plants and fish I am keeping in the tank. Gee seems like that would have been a good thing to do from the start.

Also I am going to start a good log book with my water tests and treatment.

Now it is becoming a hobby and not just something in the room.

It took a long time to mess it up this bad.

OK, I admit I have had aquariums on and off all my life, and last year I even worked at a LFS. I set up my latest attempt to house some community fish, and I feel like I am getting in deeper and deeper.

Lets give some background to this tank. I got it in early January, and went all out setting it up. I got 3 different sized natural looking gravel. Twenty pounds of small, five pounds of medium, and lastly two pounds of about half inch sized stones. I also put in some choice rocks that I had lying around. I filled the tank with silk flowers, and a nice piece of plastic driftwood. I over-sized the filter big-time with an Emperor 400 HOB, and used the Allglass heater that came with the tank. I was very meticulous in setting up the tank, making sure everything was just so. I cycled the tank with community fish, and Bio-Spira. I used the Master Freshwater Test Kit to monitor the cycling, and everything was good.

Once the tank cycled it started going from good to bad. I took the advice of my boss, and added a nice red veil tail Betta, and soon I was combating Ich. I don't know if it was the Betta that brought it in, or if it was from him bullying the fish that caused it, that was not important. I was treating my tank with Coppersafe, and was not happy.

In the end of June, or the beginning of July I had to move the tank from one end of the room to the other. I got a nice stand for it, and did my best not to disturb the members as best as I could.

Soon after this it seemed that I was getting a light haze in the tank. I asked the forum I was on and no one seemed to have an answer. I was told that it could have been a bacteria bloom from moving the tank, so I did the worst thing I could have done, I sat back to see what was going to happen.

Well you guessed it, It never seemed to clear up. I continued doing five gallon water changes, and I kept an eye on the water treatment, but the tank just seemed hazy. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I hoped that in time it would clear up. The fish didn't seem to mind.

Well one day I was surfing the net, and saw a planted tank. Oh man this was very nice! I think I am going to give this a try. (This is where I started learning how much I didn't know about fish-keeping)

I purchased a 65watt light fixture, and the day it came in I was at the LFS purchasing some plants. Yep, I did the "I want this one, and that one, and yea this one looks good!" thing, and from there on I have had nothing but headaches.

I found that I need a few things.
Since I have over 2watts per gallon I was told I need CO2
Since I am going to have CO2 I am going to need a Gh/Kh test kit to go with my Master test kit.
I need to download the Ph/Kh/CO2 chart so I know what the test results stand for.
I need a set of pincher's so I can reach the plants in case I need to move them.
I need a long pair of scissors to trim the plants when they grow to big and strong.

So I started ordering these as I was told I needed them. I saw my plants start to grow! One seemed to grow by the inch per day! this is great! I can't believe I never did this before. . . oh man I am starting to see a lot of algae on everything.

Back to the LFS, and I get "Don't worry about that, it will go away as the plants take over" Cool, I can clean the glass a couple of times a week . . . every other day . . . as soon as I come home from work every day. OK, this is not right, lets do some digging and see where I am messing up.

I jump on line, and was told that I should also be testing for Phosphates. OK, order one Phosphate test kit. Wait a week, and like magic the UPS guy brings it to my door. Well he didn't quite make it to the door, I met him half way down the drive.

I open the box, and gaze at the new test kit. Time to go to work . . . I take seven test tubes of water from the tank, filled to the line. My results are as follows.
Temp=76.5
Ammonia=0
Nitrites=0
Nitrates=10
Ph=6.8
Gh=6
Kh=4
CO2 Chart says 19ppm
Phosphates= . . . Oh man!. . .it is reading off the chart. Yep Grater than 10

I did a 5 gallon water change, and since it was almost time I changed my DIY CO2 bottle with a fresh batch.

This is where I am now. Now I am wondering seriously if it would be better to just tare down the tank, and start from scratch.