riioKen

Hi, I would like to start this new adventure, it's my first journal, I'll update it weekly after maintenance. The aim is to create a sort of diary/note book, where I will write down any updates, things that are working, problems and above all, which is very important, post photos to keep track of the evolution of the aquarium, especially plants. Currently the aquarium is still not established, I don't have a stand for it (should arrive tomorrow). The tank is a 90g 43x19x24 (330 litres 110x50x60h). The idea is to do a nano fish, red plant based tank. Right now I have a 20g running with cpd, pygmy Cory, ember tetra, otos and amano. This tank will be taken down and the livestock will be moved to the 90g. When the stand arrives, i would like to execute the "Dark Start Method", only soil (Tropica Aquarium soil), hardscape and filter, no light and no plants for about 4 weeks. Where I live it's late, it's midnight, I'll update it tomorrow with some photos of the tank.

I removed the media provided by oase, I filled the Biomaster full of Seachem Matrix, put at the top a foam and the Seachem purigen 250ml. Thanks for the tip.

Right now I'm using a inline diffuser for the CO2, do you think that I'll need a CO2 reactor for a 110cm long?

I plan to do a planted tank, based heavily on red colors (rotala macrandra) and some different tones like rotala hra and rotala orange juice and wallichi, and some green ones like bacopa, egeria densa.

I like angelfish but I prefer gourami/apistogramma/ram. Honestly I love Blue ramirezi but they live in a warmer water compared cpd which I already have, and honestly, I'm loving pearl gourami.

Yes. I have an inline diffuser, is it enough or a reactor will be necessary? Well they're a lot for a 55g, considering that mine is almost double the dimensions, shouldn't be problems. But the true questions is... Pearl gourami will live peacefully with other fish that I already have?

Yes, the project that I was doing with the 20g, will be expanded to the 90g, the plants are: rotala marcrandra, rotala h'ra, rotala orange juice, rotala Wallichi, althernathera reickii, Bacopa caroliniana, egeria densa, cryptocoryne flamingo, nymphea red lotus, bucephalandra Kedagang purple, hygrophila araguaia, limnophila hippuridoides. Yes for sure, but honestly I don't know which filter could help me to reach the 10x (if it must be reached for properly filtration) Yes I know, but I'll move hardscape and plants from the other tank, and I'll wait a few months before adding all the fish to the new tank. I plan to complete the tank in 3-4 months due to half cycling and adding fish slowly. Considering the livestock that I have Wouldn't be too much 7 pearl gouramis? I'm afraid of overstocking, the tank is a 110x50x60 (43x19,5x23,5) The tank temp is 24° (75).

Hi guys, I would like to receive a suggestion about which centerpiece fish should I buy for my new 90g scape. Right now I have an 20g stocked with - 12 celestial pearl danio - 10 ember tetra - 5 pygmy Cory - 6 otos - 2 amano All the livestock will be moved to the 90g when the cycle will be completed. The initial idea was to increase each schooling and then add a pair of gourami, but I'm a bit undecided. For sure i'll add 5 more pygmy Cory and 3 amano. I would like to add cardinal tetra and/or rummynose tetra 10 of both. But maybe it'll become too many schooling fish. Then, as centerpiece fish, I'd like to add a pair of pearl gourami or dwarf gourami, but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks. @Mmiller2001 idk If you remember me, but you helped me A LOT with my algae issue. What do you think about my choices? About flow (you pointed out that is one of the most important thing), I plan to add to this 90g a second Biomaster thermo 600, so, in the end the tank will have 2 oase Biomaster Thermo 600 (2500 litres x hour/ 660gph).

Well, it's a forum, we can share our opinions on how to maintain a good planted tank. Offending people who make themselves available for helping others is not nice.

Yes, I'll never thank him (and people like Mmiller2001) enough. If you are referring the one behind the little cryptocoryne flamingo, Althernathera reickii.

I'm a bit confused about your statement

I figured out why i have this algae bloom. My tank is a 20g (80x30x40cm) and the filter is an oase biomaster thermo 600 (a filter that has 14x stronger flow than tank litres), BUT last time i cleaned the pre filter was almost a month ago... yes im stupid, i was highly focused on the tank due to rescaping, planting and daily water changes (i had a fungal infection spiked that i have resolved in few days thanks to kanaplex in food) that i completely forgot about the prefilter. This morning i decided to do my weekly maintenance, but i saw the biofilm on the surface of the tank, honestly i was a bit shocked, considering that i have a surface skimmer attached to the filter intake, but this morning the water did not flow into the skimmer, but remained outside and the skimmer dry, as if it had no "attraction". From there I understood that the problem was the filter which was very dirty, in fact I cleaned the prefilter, by now I had another planted tank inside the chamber, I rinsed the sponges and also cleaned the main body of the filter (but it was clean) and as soon as I put it back on, the bio film disappeared in 10 minutes and I realized that even the flow in the aquarium was back as strong as before... I know im an idiot, i literally filled my tank with algae... i plan to do 3 weekly water changes (last wc, in the weekend dedicated to remove algae and syphon the substrate) and continue the plan that i have said a few comments ago.

About GSA (which seems related to low CO2 and/or low po4), where I live is summer, I have the tank cooled down thanks to 6 fans, they reduce the temp to 26° from about 32° ambient temp. Due to very high surface agitation, I had CO2 injected at very high rate (6-8 bubbles per second for a 20g, which in return gave me pH 6.4 with kh3), today the fans were off for a long time, as the day was quite cool, it wasn't very hot, the pH dropped to 6.1... I was gassing all the fishies... Luckily I was at home and immediately turned on fans and air pump(which usually I don't use, even at night) and decreased the CO2, so the CO2 isn't for sure too low ahahaha. Now I have prepared a bottle of 500ml with only po4 (K3PO4), with the help of Rotala butterfly, I added 12 grams of K3PO4 to the 500ml bottles, and dosed 5ml (should be 1ppm of po4) directly in the water. I tested the water before, around 0.25ppm po4, after how many hours since dosing should I test water?

That's why my nitrate are a bit higher (usually I had 5ppm with inert substrate, now almost 10ppm) In facts Dennis Wong aim for a "nitrate limitation" About aim for those nutrients, well I should fertilize at recommended dosage no? If I continue with water change 50% weekly, 50% light intensity, and continue my cleaning routine, do you think that I'll be able to fight back the algae? Without messing around with the fertilization? Maybe as I said, I should add pure po4 in the tank due to GSA?

Ok, so for now, even if I have GSA, I shouldn't dose KH2PO4 (rn my po4 test says 0.25mgl with nitrates<10ppm), because the soil is leeching it, I got it correctly?

Seems that I don't have GDA, but only GSA and GHA. I have some EI dry ferts, but I never used them, I have "Phosphates of potassium (KH2PO4), probably I can do a bottle of only po4 this way and dose when needed. Right?

So instead of 2 pump and half (2.5ml), around a pump and half (1.5ml)? And decrease the light to 50% It makes sense because, I had the same problem before without aquasoil (GSA and gha) and inert substrate and the fertilization routine was the same (2.5ml, same light intensity). Then I decided to use an heavy based root fertilization routine and but now I didn't changed the column routine, honestly I would like to use root tabs after 3 months because I want a leaner approach in column (less growths, less trims, deeper colour on certain plants). Tell me If you like this plan: - I'll decrease the light intensity to 50% - decrease fertilization to 1 pump and half (1.5ml) (GSA and gha seems not caused due to lack of nutrients, it's almost impossible to have it with a new aqua soil + column ferts) - I'll continue to dose daily seachem excel at suggested dosage. - wait 1-2 weeks, I'll continue my weekly water change, with vacuum of the substrate with a Turkey Blaster, and remove every GSA from glass and hair algae from hardscape (should I trim affected leaves? or try spot dosing? I'm sure my montecarlo doesn't like spot dosing, a piece turned yellow after the treatment) After 2 week I'll increase light to 55% (If algae are under control), and wait a week for deficiency (probably 1 week is too little time for showing deficiency) if nothing shows up (even algae, I'll continue to increase light), if I see deficiency (holes in leaves, rot leaves, yellowish, and so on, I'll add .5ml of ferts) What do you think?

I rescaped the tank the 11 July, almost a month ago (I dealed with the initial nutrients leeches with 20% water changes daily for 1 week, now I'm doing it weekly), then the 21 July I planted the second batch of plants. The plant mass is very close to 80% of the tank (but most of them are still small and adapting probably)

Help needed for getting algae under control. I Rescaped the tank due to hair algae and GSA. I replaced the substrate with a rich one (Tropica Aquasoil), planted alot more densely, I'm injecting alot more CO2 (CO2 starts 1.5h before light goes on, half photoperiod I have 30mgl, at end the photoperiod is around 40mgl) and as ferts I'm using APT 3 complete daily at recommended dosage. Water params: Ammonia/nitrites: 0 Nitrate <10ppm Po4: 0.25mgl GH: 10 Kh: 3 Ph 7.5 pH after injecting CO2: 6.3/.4 Water change at the end of the week: 50% Light: Chihiros wrgb 2 slim60 at 60% for 8h (with 30m ramp up) It's 1 week that I use excel daily at recommended dosage. The filter is oase Biomaster thermo 600 with 4kg of Seachem matrix and 250ml of purigen. New plants bought 1 week ago (some are melting due transition to under water): Rotala marcrandra(some melting, some not), rotala Wallichi, rotala rotundifolia(melting), rotala h'ra, rotala orange juice (melt ended, I see new growth), cryptocoryne flamingo(melting), Bucephalandra Kedagang purple(I see holes in leaves, probably melting slower due to its slowness), hygrophila araguaia, limnophila hippuridoides/aromatica red The one that comes from the old scape: Althernathera reicki (has GSA and hair algae on leaves), nymphea red lotus (has GSA on leaves), egeria densa(the growth exploded), Bacopa caroliniana (sparse GSA on old growth) and montecarlo (hair algae). I was thinking doing 2 thing - cut off in fertilization, and use recommended dosage every other day OR - buy seachem phosphorus and reach 1ppm of po4. Any suggestions?

I'll adjust it now and check closely fish and drop checker. Thanks. No, I know that it will take some time, even months. The idea is: next week I'll buy Tropica Aquarium Soil (around 12-15 litres, the tank is 80x30x40, 5cm substrate should be good or more?), I'll put it in a big container with aquarium water, and do water changes every other day for a week or so. Then I'll move fish out in a 30L tank for a few hours, and syphon the gravel out of the tank. Then I remove every plant that I have, and dip them in a solution with hydrogen peroxide for 15-30m (I don't know if is too much time or not), then I do a deep clean of tank, place the new gravel back in (after it leeches initial ammonia), place the plants, add water, wait an hour or two, put the fish back in. But there are some things that I don't like, how can I acclimate the fish? I use tap water, will the fish be affected about the "new tank water" even if I use Seachem Prime? About colonial bacterial, shouldn't be a problem, inside the filter I have 4 litres of Seachem matrix and 3-4 sponges very large. About dosing excel... I never had any effect, even spot dosing. 0 effects all the time.

As filtration I have Oase Biomaster Thermo 600 (suitable for aquarium 600 litres, while mine is 85), the drop checker is light green). That's true, I have algae on older leaves, but after 1-2 week algae start to appear on top too. This week I did a very intensive trim session, and I didn't fertilize after and cut light 50%, the tank seems "clean" of algae. So you are suggesting to me, that is a waste of time and money change the substrate with an aquasoil? A lot of red plant grower use it, and seems widely suggested ( I didn't have this knowledge when I established the tank)

Hi guys, I'm struggling to keep a clean tank, this week I did 2 water changes 50% BUT still, algae are here remembering to me "who's the boss". After months of okaish result with lean dosing (apt 3 Complete) I have removed salvinia minima from the tank, after that in the tank, I had an explosion of GSA, GDA and Filamentous. After a month of water changes and manual remove I decided to try EI route, and only after 4 days I noticed and explosion in plants growth but at the same time, in algae growth (and all my red plants became green). 2 days ago I did a 50% water change, trimmed all affected plants, and now I'm not using any ferts (but I think there still residue of EI). My tank is full of stems plants. I'm thinking in change substrate (it is inert) to tropica aqua soil, and use apt 3 (or apt zero) due the "leaner" approach. What do you think?

I would like to prepare my own repashy gel, is there a recipe somewhere? In Europe isn't available.

Thank you for the double reply, I mean, the 80cm ones costs me 200€ more. I have a guy near me, that sell the 60cm for 180€, he bought it June 2022, he use it 40% since then. But I'll take it in consideration.

I don't trust AliExpress very much, both for the slowness of shipping and for the quality. No one knows if what you receive is original or a fake. About chihiros, do you think that it's better going for the WRGB 2 Pro 60 (60cm extends to 80cm, 6400lm, around 78lm per litres) or the WRGB 2 Pro 80 (80cm extends to 100cm 8100lm, 98lm x litres)?