spokanejared Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 (edited) For those of you with planted tanks. How long did it take for your tanks to balance out. I'm doing a 150 gallon planted tank and recently added a ton more high light plants due to my new lighting setup. It produces about 30k lumens at 2 watts a gallon. I fertilize every other day with easy green. I use root tabs upon planting and that's it. I also have co2 injection running 8bps. My parameters are 20 to 40 ppm of nitrate, 0 nitrite, ph of 6.8, water temp of 84 for discus. Zero ammonia, kh of 40 ppm, and a gh running on the high side up at almost 300(tap water issues there). I still have algea growing on certain plants like the Java fern so I've since removed them since I know not all plants will work in every setup. Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated. Edited April 3 by spokanejared 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 (edited) The tank looks great! Sounds like you’re doing everything I would. I have 14 tanks, and honestly most of them have some sort of algae. Not to where it’s necessarily a problem, but to have 0 algae is super hard for me. The exceptions to the rule are basically my Blackwater tanks, and my 6 gallon cube. Those are basically algae free, but the other 11 have some kind of algae on something. I think there’s a difference between balanced, and completely algae free. I also think it’s going to be hard to find a ton of temps that will handle the temp for the discus. Also, time and consistency are a big part of getting to algae free. Keep things consistent, and then give it lots and lots of time. Over time, your plants will grow to a point that they out compete all the algae. And then you do a trim and algae comes back 😂 Edited April 3 by AllFishNoBrakes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 Algae is just another way of planting your aquarium. And, frankly, it is the one that I'm most successful at growing. 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 On 4/3/2024 at 5:50 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: Also, time and consistency are a big part of getting to algae free. Bingo. This is the formula to success for any kind of tank. My planted tank took about a year to figure it out. Every tank is different - just keep monitoring. If things worsen over time - which it definitely can...even in a seasoned tank; you could always add some floaters like Frogbit. Frogbit isn't a high maintenance floater that doesn't care if it has water on top. Just keep a close eye, and if you make any changes - go slow....give that change some time....and wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 (edited) BPS is irrelevant, that said 8bps for a 150 gallon seems extremely low. How are you diffusing CO2? FYI, anything over 75 gallons is going to need a reactor. Hopefully you are using one. For balancing, first thing I would do is triple check you are getting a solid 1 to 1.5 pH drop from degassed to peak CO2. Edited April 10 by Mmiller2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 On 4/3/2024 at 5:03 PM, jwcarlson said: Algae is just another way of planting your aquarium. And, frankly, it is the one that I'm most successful at growing. Same, @jwcarlson, same. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spokanejared Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 On 4/3/2024 at 9:11 PM, Mmiller2001 said: BPS is irrelevant, that said 8bps for a 150 gallon seems extremely low. How are you diffusing CO2? FYI, anything over 75 gallons is going to need a reactor. Hopefully you are using one. For balancing, first thing I would do is triple check you are I are getting a solid 1 to 1.5 pH drop from degassed to peak CO2. I use one of those kits that uses baking soda and citric acid. I added it last month and have been slowly dialing it up since I don't want to rush into any changes too fast. I use the fluid checker to monitor my levels and from what I know if it's in the green it's good. I just use the diffuser that came with the kit and send the bubbles right up to the filters outflow to dispurse throughout the tank. My fluid checker is on the opposite side of the tank since I figured I would get a bad reading on the same side as the diffuser. On 4/3/2024 at 2:50 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: The tank looks great! Sounds like you’re doing everything I would. I have 14 tanks, and honestly most of them have some sort of algae. Not to where it’s necessarily a problem, but to have 0 algae is super hard for me. The exceptions to the rule are basically my Blackwater tanks, and my 6 gallon cube. Those are basically algae free, but the other 11 have some kind of algae on something. I think there’s a difference between balanced, and completely algae free. I also think it’s going to be hard to find a ton of temps that will handle the temp for the discus. Also, time and consistency are a big part of getting to algae free. Keep things consistent, and then give it lots and lots of time. Over time, your plants will grow to a point that they out compete all the algae. And then you do a trim and algae comes back 😂 I agree on time and consistency. All the lights and the co2 are on timers so I can slowly dial everything in. I make one change at a time every two weeks to see what helps and what doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 On 4/10/2024 at 12:12 PM, spokanejared said: I use one of those kits that uses baking soda and citric acid. I added it last month and have been slowly dialing it up since I don't want to rush into any changes too fast. I use the fluid checker to monitor my levels and from what I know if it's in the green it's good. I just use the diffuser that came with the kit and send the bubbles right up to the filters outflow to dispurse throughout the tank. My fluid checker is on the opposite side of the tank since I figured I would get a bad reading on the same side as the diffuser. Lime green is what you are looking for. Checking pH is a better indicator and can be measured in real time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spokanejared Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 On 4/10/2024 at 11:14 AM, Mmiller2001 said: Lime green is what you are looking for. Checking pH is a better indicator and can be measured in real time. Yeah I didn't know that was a thing. My ph is always stable at 6.8. I have never checked it in the middle of the night when the co2 isn't running. I'll give it a try tonight and report back my findings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 My only comments are: @Mmiller2001 Has a gorgeous, award winning, planted tank. Take their advice when it comes to maximizing plant growth. The only thing I can really add is that if you’re in it for the long haul with CO2 consider upgrading to a 5lb tank. I too started with the citric acid/baking soda canisters. They’re fun and it’s a good way to test the waters, but over time I was spending more on citric acid than tank swaps and eventually phased out the canisters. Just my $0.02. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 I have various degrees of balance in different tanks, but have never gotten it right. The tank that is closest to balanced is almost algae free, and also receives the least amount of effort. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spokanejared Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 On 4/10/2024 at 11:14 AM, Mmiller2001 said: Lime green is what you are looking for. Checking pH is a better indicator and can be measured in real time. Ok I checked my ph right before it turns on in the morning and it reads .8 difference degassed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 On 4/12/2024 at 5:44 PM, spokanejared said: Ok I checked my ph right before it turns on in the morning and it reads .8 difference degassed. Get to a minimum of 1 and keep pushing. 1 to 1.5 is what you are looking for. Watch the fish while pushing beyond 1. 1.2 is good target. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spokanejared Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 On 4/12/2024 at 4:47 PM, Mmiller2001 said: Get to a minimum of 1 and keep pushing. 1 to 1.5 is what you are looking for. Watch the fish while pushing beyond 1. 1.2 is good target. Ok I will work on that. I'm worried about my discus since I've been told they can be sensitive to fluctuations like that. I do keep up on my water changes and parameters and so far they are healthy so I guess if .8 isn't causing harm then I should be good...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 On 4/12/2024 at 5:50 PM, spokanejared said: Ok I will work on that. I'm worried about my discus since I've been told they can be sensitive to fluctuations like that. I do keep up on my water changes and parameters and so far they are healthy so I guess if .8 isn't causing harm then I should be good...? PH fluctuations do not harm fish. Keeping GH and KH stable is what matters. Here’s my pH profile for a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spokanejared Posted April 13 Author Share Posted April 13 On 4/13/2024 at 7:02 AM, Mmiller2001 said: PH fluctuations do not harm fish. Keeping GH and KH stable is what matters. Here’s my pH profile for a week. What are you using to monitor the ph like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 On 4/13/2024 at 11:37 AM, spokanejared said: What are you using to monitor the ph like that? Coralvue Hydros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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