jprime84

I bought a timer. I have it setup to turn on at 7am, off at 10:30am, on again at 3:30pm, and off for the night at 10:00pm.


My best stocked LFS didnt have Seachem Flourish or Seachem Flourish Excel. I left with Brightwell Aquatic's FlorinMulti

http://www.brightwellaquatics.com/br_base.html

Click Products -> FlorinMulti

Its a multi nutrient additive. I cant find much online about it, but they said that they use this brands products in a lot of their personal tanks. It says it has carbon in it, but there was another product FlorinAxis that said it was a bioaccesible carbon source. I dont know, its frustrating. I guess I will order some Flourish Excel online.

The florinmulti is mostly potassium, with traces of boron, carbon, calcium, chlorine (weird huh), cobalt, copper (extremely small amount, claimed to be a component of enzymes used in redox reactions during photosynthesis), iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum,sulfur, and zinc. You can get all the details on the website.


I took out a lot of the watersprite plant that was afflicted the most. The majority of afflicted areas were old growth that wasnt looking great.

Any advice for me at this point?

Nate McFin

You could plant some floating plants to block a little light out. I would try to get excel if possible. Being that it is not only a source of carbon but also an algaecide it is really a good thing for the algae right now. Long term I really think you will be happier with DIY which is cheap and easy to set up or pressurized which is more efficient and much less maintenance. Once you get the carbon going it will be time to up the fertilizer a little bit as well.
Another option to kill the algae is to uproot the plants and use hydrogen peroxide to spot treat. They will need to be rinsed well afterwords but it is a good algae treatment.

jprime84

I am out of town this weekend, but I think I am going to look into DIY CO2 next week, just to see what changes there are.

jprime84

Well, I decided to just go with a method that I know will get it done. I just bought the kit from http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/co...o2-system.html

Obviously was the most expensive option, but I have a place nearby that refills CO2, and this seems like the best way to get consistent and regulated CO2 delivery both from a timing thing (solenoid allows me to have it on only when my lights are on via timer) as well as a CO2 flow thing (precise needle valve plus bubble counter).

My checking account feels the hit right now, but if this solves my CO2 issue without argument, then it is probably the most cost effective and reliable setup in the long run.

EDIT: updated link

eiginh

The links not working, can you relink it again please? I also have a feeling of going pressurized co2.

jprime84

I also called the company and talked for a good 20 minutes with one of the employees. They were able to give a lot of intelligent advice specific to my setup. This was after the sale had already been made, so I would say they have great support.

eiginh

Daym! Thats a bang for your buck! I was thought you were just buying a regulator w/ a solenoid timer and buying a co2 tank from a local store that also fills it up. Well have fun and I hope to see pics soon! Btw what kind of diffuser do you plan on using?

jprime84

Glass diffuser. I added up the costs, and I couldnt really find a deal. I could spend about $80 less buying a regulator from a local store, but it doesnt have a solenoid for automatic on/off, and it only has a lever to open/close the clow of CO2. GLA's regulator has all of that and a built in bubble counter. As for the tank, its cheaper locally, but then I am paying tax on it so it works out to be about the same.

I am using a glass and ceramic diffuser for starters as those are cheap. If it doesnt work well I will explore other options.

I didnt actually buy a kit, I got components because I didnt need some of the kit. I got the regulator with integrated bubble counter, the tubing, a 5lb tank, seals, diffuser, drop checker, and check valves for a little under $300 shipped.

My main draw was the support and reliability with this product over a DIY, as well as the long term minimal maintenance once I have everything dialed in.

eiginh

Oh I see! Don't forget a drop checker while you're at it! one flaw with diffuser bells are that you need to clean the ceramic disc every once in awhile. Some have two so they just replace one and clean the other in bleach solution mixed with water and let it dry. There are tons you can buy on ebay for cheap prices but if you're looking for something expensive and worth it. Go with ADA.

Nate McFin

Congrats! GLA is great to deal with. I got my drop checker from them as well.
Their Soenoids are great. You will have a system you can trust for years to come.
One option if you end up disliking the diffuser is using a Hagen Mini M in tank filter. Its very small and basically you just have to run the tubing into it and turn it on. It shoots the bubbles through the filter impeller and chops them up into very small bubbles then shoots them all over the tank. It runs $10.00 at petco.com I ended up using this method because I will also gain a little more water movement.
Are you starting a fert schedule as well then?

eiginh

Nate I wanna see your tank/s!

Nate McFin

Its not much at this point. It is only a 20G low tech (no co2 beyond excel)
I just did a huge tearout to eliminate the little algae problem we have been talking about lol. The tank really has been just a long list of mistakes I could have avoided with more planning. (better substrate, better knowledge of ferts, plant types, lighting, fish disease etc. When I am finally able to get the 55 set up I will be much better prepared. I have all the equipment sitting inside the new tank and I get jazzed every time I walk by it. I am actually prepared for this one so if it fails...MY bad. lol I only need a few more things to get it running now but I am still undecided on scape design. I keep bouncing back and forth between an Iwagami style and Dutch style. I like them both and I cant decide!
Anyway here is a current pic of the 20G (cube) it isnt much but it has taught me sooo much. The new stems on the left are rotala Rotundifola. They were just planted about a week before this pic. There is also a bunch of Crypt. Bronze Wendetti behind the rock. The sword in back Used to fill up much of the tank but the algae forced me to trim it back. The plant in the front is Crypt. Walkeri Lutea its my pride and joy luckily the algae didnt affect it at all.

jprime84

Yeah, im going to dose the fertilizer I mentioned earlier as well. I redid the layout of my tank recently, and replaced my background with a black one that would not distract you from whats actually in the tank. Ill get some pics up later.