About To Put An Axe Through This Piece Of Garbage.

I still think the bowfronts with the black caulking are cursed. I can grow algae in mine let alone plants. I have changed lighting used thrive etc I swear that caulking has something to do with it lol.

 

I still think the bowfronts with the black caulking are cursed. I can grow algae in mine let alone plants. I have changed lighting used thrive etc I swear that caulking has something to do with it lol.

This is my old 46g bowfront with black caulking so I don't think that's it.... all my tanks have black caulking.


It's a jungle, but one of the best growing tanks I've had.

You've gotten a ton of good advice so I don't want to bombard you, but one thing I noticed is you are trying to grow particular plants instead of letting what wants to grow do so. Your crypts look good. Roll with those! Have you tried a root tab under the crypts? Mine exploded after I added some and are all over my 90g now. You could also try other crypts like sparalis. Try some water column plants like hygros and rotala rotundifolia. Stargrass is another one of my favorites for low tech plants. Some floating plants such as water lettuce or salvinia can help reduce light and cyano.

I had a tank that kept getting cyano. The surface is now covered in water lettuce and I added a powerhead for more water movement. Problem solved! If I get cyano on a water lettuce roots, I throw the whole plant in the garbage.

Water changes! Those dual sponges are great for biofiltration, but mechanical not so much. It's water changes and siphoning that rids the tank of builtup organic matter.

 

I'm confused about the eco complete being dead. How does soil, gravel and sand die? If it's the bacteria in the mix you are talking about that stuff doesn't necessarily matter. Just toss in some root tabs. I have used echo complete for a very long time and have had no issues with anything except my red plants. For some reason they don't stay red. I have done over 7000 hours of research on them and still can't get it. I have never heard of eco complete dieing. All it is, is basically crushed up lava rocks with bacteria that helps break down fish waste to help feed the plants. But again, it's not necessary, root tabs will feed your root feeders. If you run co2 it has been my experience that you need high light and lots of ferts. I disagree with the post about all in one ferts. I use Thrive all in one along with the root tabs and co2 with high light and my plants are doing extremely well. I also only paid about $30 for the regulator. It hasn't quit yet. I also use a cheap defuser and have no issues at all, but I also don't clean anything that goes in my tank with bleach. That's just asking for trouble. You can't ever listen to the pet stores, they always lie just to make a sale. I'm not really sure why because they don't make commission but they usually don't know their a-hole from their elbow. I got lucky and was blessed with a store that employs a couple guys that keep fish themselves, they don't know it all but they definitely do their best. I have even schooled one of them a couple times and he actually researched those things and now knows a bit more. I do agree with everyone else though. Start slow and easy. This is the best place you can be at this point. I wouldn't be where I am without these people.

 

Dan I think the reason eco complete is referred to as being dead is that’s what it is. Out of the bag it’s no better than sand or gravel. It’s really nothing special just lava rock. Nothing grows because of it. Things grow because of the ferts light and co2 added. It’s got some great PR but that’s it .

 

The reason you don't have a "beautiful" tank is because you're not achieving a balance. I've gone over your tank in another thread and my opinion is that you're trying too hard without really thinking about WHY things aren't working.

I'm sorry you're having awful luck with your equipment, but there is a lot of user error going on in this tank as well.

I think that's what worked for me.. finally achieving the "balance", right amount of lighting, right kind of plants, fertilizing ( thrive all in one and fert tabs with supplemental phosphorus and GOOD water circulation. The Aquaclear HOB in the center of tank seems to be almost too powerful sometimes and I add a extra larger sponge filter for good measure. This is no co2 tank and I am now splitting the light timing manually 8 hrs with 2- 3 hours off in between. Regular weekly water changes of 30% and I constantly inspect for decaying anything and remove it. The substrate is mixed small gravel with Flourite and well rinsed play sand. Crypts, Hygro, Bacopa, Water Wisteria, Buce and Dwarf Sag do very well. Crypts are a favorite. Good news is I'm new to plants, so if I can do it, I'm sure you can too!

 

I feel like you’re trying too much at one time, take it slow go on amazon or eBay and buy a decent regular filter whether it be HOB or Canister doesn’t need to be fancy.
This fish tank I’m showing you is extremely basic and simple, it’s just got one 50 gallon HOB filter and a cheap multI spectrum light hanging over it and it’s in the window so it gets direct sunlight and I do less water changes on this one since it’s pretty well off with the plants.

Just take it slowly

 

Thank you everyone for the kind words and advice. Ive posted a new thread called "#letsbuilda 46g" so all my content (and other's content) is all in one place.