My Dry Start 20l....

Parameters look cycled. Congratulations.
As far as ph what's your normal PH without CO2. You want your PH to drop 1 full point.

 

Parameters look cycled. Congratulations.
As far as ph what's your normal PH without CO2. You want your PH to drop 1 full point.

My normal is about 7.2

 

My normal is about 7.2

Lol not enough CO2. you want to be around 6.2

 

Lol not enough CO2. you want to be around 6.2

I know next to nothing about co2 injection lol thank you for helping. last thing I want is to add one of my fish and kill it.

 

I know next to nothing about co2 injection lol thank you for helping. last thing I want is to add one of my fish and kill it.

I gassed my fish once. Luckily they all recovered.

 

Sorry if I missed it, do you have drop checker? It'll tell you CO2 levels without you having to worry about how much the ph should drop, injection rate, etc

 

Sorry if I missed it, do you have drop checker? It'll tell you CO2 levels without you having to worry about how much the ph should drop, injection rate, etc

I do not, but I'm going to order one on Amazon today. Do you have any reccomendations?

 

I do not, but I'm going to order one on Amazon today. Do you have any reccomendations?

Hmm, probably just to be sure that it comes with a solution and that the solution is 4dkh

 

Hmm, probably just to be sure that it comes with a solution and that the solution is 4dkh

I ordered the NilocG one that has the 4dkh solution included should be here tomorrow

 

Update: Day 18.

I'm really pleased with how fast my monte carlo is carpeting!! I got my drop checker in the mail today so that should help me figure how how much co2 I should be using.

I added a 5th rock and boy does it really show how much the other rocks have turned color from diatoms and algae!

Is it normal/ok that the ceramic part of my diffuser is bright green with algae? Tried to rub it off with no luck.

I put a single piece of Ludwigia palustris from my 10 gallon in there and it caused a hydra infestation. OOPS! But I can't believe how different it grows with c02 than without!

 

Yeah diffusers will get algae build up from time to time. As long as it's still putting out a fine mist your ok. When it gets bad enough larger bubbles will start to form. That's when it's time to take it apart and clean it up.

 

When you do a water change take the diffuser out and soak it in a cup of water+bleach, but make sure you remove tubing/suction cups as the bleach will harden the plastic. When the diffuser is clean empty it, add fresh water+prime, soak a little more, and put back in the tank

 

My drop checker is green during the day when the co2 is on and blue at night when it's off for 12 hours. this is normal right?

 

My drop checker is green during the day when the co2 is on and blue at night when it's off for 12 hours. this is normal right?

Yes with the system off it should turn blue. When CO2 levels are optimal you should get a light lime green.

 

the hydra in this tank is totally out of control. there's at least 2 hydra on every single monte carlo leaf.... there's thousands and thousands of them...

 

Things are going well. My carpet is growing splendidly. I'm thinking about canning the iwagumI method and adding some other plants I have lying around. I just love to watch how they change once introduced to co2!!

Question: Are bettas compatible with smaller tetras like cardinals? I'd like to add my dumbo betta to this tank with a school of small fish if that's possible.

I bought some natural, plant safe hydra treatment from buceplant.com so that should be here soon.

 

Week 6 update!

here's a day 1 vs week 6 photo comparison. I have almost a complete carpet now! I added a small red tiger lotus, ludwigia palustris, and two tiny pieces of dhg, all from a 10 gallon that I tore down.

I'm having a HUGE problem with hydra so I'm using a natural treatment I got from BucePlant.com. So far it's working really well.

I have a ton of staghorn and hair algae, as well as a few tiny spots of bba, so I'm using excel to treat that since I can't do water changes this week because of the hydra treatment. ugh

The pest snails are getting on my nerves!!! I suck up as many as I can with the siphon and I'm hoping the hydra treatment/excel might do some damage.

I'm just happy I have a carpet!!!

 

Impressive!

 

Week 6 update!

here's a day 1 vs week 6 photo comparison. I have almost a complete carpet now! I added a small red tiger lotus, ludwigia palustris, and two tiny pieces of dhg, all from a 10 gallon that I tore down.

I'm having a HUGE problem with hydra so I'm using a natural treatment I got from BucePlant.com. So far it's working really well.

I have a ton of staghorn and hair algae, as well as a few tiny spots of bba, so I'm using excel to treat that since I can't do water changes this week because of the hydra treatment. ugh

The pest snails are getting on my nerves!!! I suck up as many as I can with the siphon and I'm hoping the hydra treatment/excel might do some damage.

I'm just happy I have a carpet!!!View attachment 539218View attachment 539219

I’m amazed at how fast your carpet grew! I’ve found that with BBA it’s best to spot treat the algae with the Excel. Just use a little syringe and it’ll clear in days

 

I’m amazed at how fast your carpet grew! I’ve found that with BBA it’s best to spot treat the algae with the Excel. Just use a little syringe and it’ll clear in days

the BBA is only a few pencil tip size spots here and there and I just pull the leaf out. the stag horn and hair algae are taking over the tank

I can't believe how fast it grew either!!! I think it's the soil!

 

Another update: meet my disgusting worm friends!

I have a bunch of these gross worms free swimming in my tank. Probably because it's a total mess. Algae everywhere, dead hydra everywhere, snails galore making a snail poop heaven, and I can't do a water change until hydra treatment is done on Monday! Also here is another photo of my lovely staghorn algae *sigh* at least I'm getting a little bit of red which means its beginning to die!

I've been doing 100% WC every 4-7 days thus far to get the tannins under control. Now that I have, I think I'll do 25% a couple times a week. No matter what I do I just can't keep up with the detritus in this tank and I don't even know where its coming from. It has to be the snails...

After all.....this is a learning experience! Learn as you go!

 

its finally been 7 days after hydra treatment and it feels like its been a lifetime! I did a 100% water change and it felt so refreshing. the water I dumped was so gross. I spritzed my staghorn algae and my rocks with diluted peroxide before refilling the tank and I really hope that works because the excel was causing quite a bit of melt on my monte carlo.

Another problem I'm having is that I have no idea how much Nilocg thrive I should be using. I'm having a hard time balancing my ferts, lighting, and co2. Fluctuating co2 might be what caused my algae blooms because I've been playing with it trying to get to the right level.

 

its finally been 7 days after hydra treatment and it feels like its been a lifetime! I did a 100% water change and it felt so refreshing. the water I dumped was so gross. I spritzed my staghorn algae and my rocks with diluted peroxide before refilling the tank and I really hope that works because the excel was causing quite a bit of melt on my monte carlo.

Another problem I'm having is that I have no idea how much Nilocg thrive I should be using. I'm having a hard time balancing my ferts, lighting, and co2. Fluctuating co2 might be what caused my algae blooms because I've been playing with it trying to get to the right level.View attachment 540815

I usually just dose my thrive once a week, the day after a water change. I also have a 20 gallon so I just do the reccomended 2 pumps. It’s made the biggest difference in my tank, and I think it’s what really helped my plants recover from the BBA I had

 

Update: My newest problem is cloudy water. I think it might be algae because it was a little green before my last water change but I'm not sure. I did a 100% and within 24 hours it was cloudy again.

I got 2 siamese algae eaters a few days ago and they are eating their fair share of the rent

I did get the staghorn algae under control finally!! I drained the tank and misted it with diluted hydrogen peroxide. Within a couple days it was completely dead! WIN!! I got a tiny bit of browning on my MC but I'm not too worried about that.

 

Update: My newest problem is cloudy water. I think it might be algae because it was a little green before my last water change but I'm not sure. I did a 100% and within 24 hours it was cloudy again.

I got 2 siamese algae eaters a few days ago and they are eating their fair share of the rent

I did get the staghorn algae under control finally!! I drained the tank and misted it with diluted hydrogen peroxide. Within a couple days it was completely dead! WIN!! I got a tiny bit of browning on my MC but I'm not too worried about that.View attachment 543822View attachment 543827View attachment 543829

Don’t worry, the SAEs will go to town in your tank! Just be aware they get kinda aggressive as they get older

 

Don’t worry, the SAEs will go to town in your tank! Just be aware they get kinda aggressive as they get older

I have 3 much larger tanks they can go in when they get older if they have to. Thinking ahead!

 

I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I can't get this tank under control. My water is now a murky green/yellow. I added some purigen and I'm doing water changes frequently but within 12 hours its cloudy all over again. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Also, the staghorn is trying to make a comeback. Thankfully the SAEs are keeping all the other algae under control, but the staghorn is back

In other news...I added some glowlight tetras to the tank and they ate each and every one of those dreaded detritus worms. Thank goodness!! It was beginning to look like a worm sanctuary in there!

 

My guess would be lighting. How long do you have it on everyday?

 

My guess would be lighting. How long do you have it on everyday?

9 hours

 

9 hours

I would take it down to 6-8 hours.