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Anonymous
Guest
I went away for 10 days and my lovely planted tank turned into an algae covered cesspool! 
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Anonymous
Guest
Better break out the Vortex.
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Anonymous
Guest
Seachem Excel.
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Anonymous
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phosguard
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Anonymous
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Yeah, but the excel will burn off the existing algae. Just use a double dose.
RO/DI - dont even let the cess in there in the first place, ive had mine set up for a month now using RO/DI and i as yet i havn't even had to scrape the glass. Ive even impressed myself, literally NO ALGIE.
P.S. the DI chamber was the big difference, when i was just using RO i still had algie, just softer water. now i have liquid crystal, whooo hoo
P.S. the DI chamber was the big difference, when i was just using RO i still had algie, just softer water. now i have liquid crystal, whooo hoo
Straight RO/DI will need minerals put into it to make it survivable for the fish. Many of the RO mineral supplements that exist also have a hardness buffer in them, but you'd have to review which one you're picking to be certain it's what you want.
I use AB Aqua GH tablets and Kent marine KH+
i know, v expensive way of doing things, but no tap water or algie, which make me beleave there are no phosphates. but my DI resin is starting to run out, and i can see small strands starting to appear, right when my LFS said i would.
I agree with Rover Seachems excel works wonders and try dosing a double dose every other day for about a week. Any more than that an add a bubble wand and keep an eye on your Ph. Also adding a nice or home made CO2 reactor with bubbler. Both will help burn the algae off the plants and help your plants out as well. Also try phoguard and purigen but those are mere ways of stripping food away form teh algae. The others methods work for me everytime some rogue hair algae appears in our marvelous planted 175 bow. Within a week of dosing the hari algea turns a nice pretty pink and then falls away. It really works for that nuissance Iron algae thick black hair algae.
OK, ive got a large ammount of iron rich gravel. ive used both Seachems and the Carribsea versions, and i prefer the Carrib sea, its blacker, packed wet so theirs no rinsing, and it looks like little moon rocks.
I got an RO/DI water supply that i remineralise to 3GH and 4-5 KH with AB Aqualines GH tablets and Kent Marine KH+, this sould give you a PH of arround 6.9-7.0.
I then use my computer/probe/Co2 combo thingy, allong with the Co2/Ph relationship chart, and basically dose the correct ammount by setting the PH on the computer from the recomended level for my Ph on the chart. The Ph would then be arround 6.8 or so.
Ive found the plants are generally happier at a slightly higer KH, but the fish love it softer, and besides, why waste chemicals making the water harder again.
I then dose Potassium, as ive read on the message boards that this is used in conjunction with the Co2 & light by the plants, especially in elevated levels such as the ones ive created.
Ive got 4 T5 bulbs over the tank giving me over 3wpg so i can grow all the small grassy foreground plants and stuff. But i would allways have a HUGE ammount of floating plants to keep the algie away, at least for the start.
With regards to the spray bar, it looks like a cheese grater it has so many holes and i place it as close ot the surface as i can without causing to much Co2 escape.
Plant fertilizer i only use very sparingly as i feel that the Co2/light/mineral inriched substrate and pottasium should be enough. I dont really want to have to fertilise the watercolumn if i can help it.
ive also been using an air pump initially to help with the protien buildup at the surface. hopefully when its a little more mature i can turn it off.
ill get some pics when i can but im still in moving limbo at the moment.
hope that gives you some ideas.
I got an RO/DI water supply that i remineralise to 3GH and 4-5 KH with AB Aqualines GH tablets and Kent Marine KH+, this sould give you a PH of arround 6.9-7.0.
I then use my computer/probe/Co2 combo thingy, allong with the Co2/Ph relationship chart, and basically dose the correct ammount by setting the PH on the computer from the recomended level for my Ph on the chart. The Ph would then be arround 6.8 or so.
Ive found the plants are generally happier at a slightly higer KH, but the fish love it softer, and besides, why waste chemicals making the water harder again.
I then dose Potassium, as ive read on the message boards that this is used in conjunction with the Co2 & light by the plants, especially in elevated levels such as the ones ive created.
Ive got 4 T5 bulbs over the tank giving me over 3wpg so i can grow all the small grassy foreground plants and stuff. But i would allways have a HUGE ammount of floating plants to keep the algie away, at least for the start.
With regards to the spray bar, it looks like a cheese grater it has so many holes and i place it as close ot the surface as i can without causing to much Co2 escape.
Plant fertilizer i only use very sparingly as i feel that the Co2/light/mineral inriched substrate and pottasium should be enough. I dont really want to have to fertilise the watercolumn if i can help it.
ive also been using an air pump initially to help with the protien buildup at the surface. hopefully when its a little more mature i can turn it off.
ill get some pics when i can but im still in moving limbo at the moment.
hope that gives you some ideas.
Hey Mouse-
I replaced most of the water in the tank with RO. I increased the GH with calcium chloride and the KH with Sodium bicarbonate. Hopefully that was correct. I just happened to have that stuff on hand because I had made that home-made 2 part additive from Randy Holmes-Farleys recipe.
Tank is looking better.
I replaced most of the water in the tank with RO. I increased the GH with calcium chloride and the KH with Sodium bicarbonate. Hopefully that was correct. I just happened to have that stuff on hand because I had made that home-made 2 part additive from Randy Holmes-Farleys recipe.
Tank is looking better.
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