# What am I doing wrong?!?



## ihooklow (Sep 20, 2006)

Ok, set up the tank (29 gallon) two weeks ago. We will call it moderately planted - based on the sticky "New tank set up" thread on this forum. Its a bit heavier than the photos Bert uses, but not heavy enough to qualify for his "heavily" planted category.

Plants are:

Crypt beckettii - melting, but some new growth
Crypt lucens - doing ok - no new growth but not melting either.
Crypt wendtii green - melted, I don't expect this to come back.
Rotala indica - growing, but looking a bit leggy in certain areas.
Italian Val - starting to recover from the transplant shock.
Kleiner Bar Sword - new leaves already coming in, and very red
Dwarf Sag - a bit of transplant shock, but going strong and flowering (flower spikes grew 16"+ in less than three days).
Narrow leaf chain sword - just added today.

The Dwarf Sag and Swords put off a constant stream of bubbles. I don't see any pearling on the Rotala, but it is growing.

The rest of the scenario.

Flourite substrate, 2 - 3" deep.
Dosing per the EI schedule using Greg Watson dry ferts, mixed into DI water.
DIY CO2 fed into impeller side of powerhead - spraying microbubbles throughout the tank.
Excel added (per the recommended dosage) for the first time today in an attempt to keep the algae at bay.
Fauna consists of 8 or 9 Otos, and about a dozen small (1/2") RCS.

Lighting = 1x65W PC (6700K), 10 hours / day.

I don't have test kits for PO4, NO3 yet so I just have to assume that everything is in excess per the EI schedule. _ Is this a safe assumption based on the plants above?_

My tap water measures 6-degrees KH. The tank currently measures about 4.5 (just barely yellow at 4, very bright yellow at 5). _ Do the plants really use this much in a week? Or has this settled out somewhere?_

pH is currently 6.6. Was 6.2 earlier in the week but I have started a bit of surface aggitation (just barely) because my Otos were darting to the surface and hanging out near the top.

_These pH / KH numbers give me massive amounts of CO2 if I am reading the chart correctly. 34ppm today (after surface aggitation) and 110+ earlier in the week?!!???!!???!_

I am not too worried about the Crypts melting. I know that this is normal for transplants - especially with my ham-handed planting techniques. Some of them appear to be on the comeback trail already. But...

_Why do I have algae? _ It is not horrid right now. But I have all types. The Dwarf Sag has GSA. The swords have BBA, staghorn and thread.

I never got brown diatom bloom. _When is that supposed to happen? Did I dodge that bullet?_

As mentioned earlier... Otos are acting as if they are a little O2 deficient, but still feeding between trips to the surface. The shrimp are active and feeding and appear to be totally distress-free.

_Could the Excel be causing the strange Oto behavior? Or does it sound like O2 is becoming hard to get? Shouldn't the plants provide O2 at near saturation levels if they are growing well?_

Any help with any or all of the above issues (in italics) will be appreciated.

Thank you all.

- Michael.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

It is very hard to know how much CO2 is dissolved in the water by just measuring KH and pH of the tank water. Unless the tank water is "perfect" - has no other source of alkalinity or acidity except the CO2 and carbonates - that method just doesn't work. But, if you try the ADA style (or any similar style) "drop checker" as discussed here, http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/do-it-yourself/32100-diy-drop-checker-2.html, you can be sure that you have about the right amount of CO2 in the water. Once you have eliminated that as a problem it is a lot easier to address the other possibilities.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

It's not uncommon to have some algae issues on a new tank until it settles in, so don't get too distressed just yet. Get a routine going and religiously stick to it - stability is key. Regarding CO2 measurements, hoppy is right in saying it's not the most accurate parameter to determine. I happen to like the 1pH unit drop from stabilized tank water, then going slightly below that, making sure your fish/shrimp don't show signs of distress. Using diy, you will have issues with stability, but it can be done. If you don't already use it, I would suggest using 2 containers so you can alternate them and always have one which is producing well at any given time. 

You mention you have several types of Crypts. Keep in mind, these are not fast growing plants and as such, probably not the best bet to have in a newly established tank. Don't rush to dig up the root systems of the ones who have melted, they will often come back. 

HTH.


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## ihooklow (Sep 20, 2006)

Thanks to both of you.

Besides the drop checker, is there any way to accurately determine the CO2 level? That way I can test every few days to check the yeast's production? I couldn't find any CO2 test kits on the market.

Or, once the tank is established and (presumably) balanced, will the chart (pH/KH) method work in this regard - showing me changes if not an accurate CO2 level?

I don't know if it is the Excel or not (added for the 2nd time yesterday), but the algae has diminished significantly.

Thanks again.

- Mg


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

All CO2 tests rely upon an equation that relates ppm of CO2 to the KH and pH of the water, but the equation is only meaningful if there are no other sources of alkalinity or acidity in the water besides CO2. And, that is rarely the case. So people using that method almost always have less CO2 than they think they have. The "drop checker" method gets around that problem.


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