# Overgrowth



## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

OK, I'll explain.

On 7/17, I did a water change, because it had been a month since the previous water change. At this time, it had been about 1 1/2 months since I've had my T5 light, pressurized CO2, & dry ferts all going and the plants were thriving.

For some stupid reason, I decided to siphon most of the gravel during the water change. I think this is second nature from not having plants. My substrate consists of 100lbs of black common aquarium gravel, nothing fancy. Well this caused a bacteria bloom for 3 or 4 days. The water turned cloudy white. It also seemed appropriate to clean out the canister filter, since it had been 1 1/2 months or so.

I tested the nitrates a couple of times a week after the water change. The nitrate level was at 40ppm for the first 2 weeks, then jumped up to 80ppm. I did a 50% water change at this point which brought it back down to 40ppm and I stopped fertilizing all together.

I am partially red/green color blind, so I started having the girlfriend read the nitrate levels for me since they all looked the same shade of red to me. Within a couple of days the nitrate levels jumped up to 80ppm then 160ppm. Maybe they were this high all along, but I just couldn't tell the difference? There's a good chance. Anyway, the since I stopped fertilizing, the nitrate levels eventually began to drop back down to 40ppm and bottom out there.

This past weekend, I trimmed some plants. It's amazing how much growth I got with no ferts and low CO2! I noticed no current coming from the water outtake of the filter. I inspected the filter closely. It sounded like it was pumping water, but it wasn't. I ripped it apart to find out that I didn't set the filter media in properly.  Rookie mistake! It was my first time cleaning the media for a canister filter.

The filter is flowing and there is light, CO2, & dry ferts in my tank again. Lessons learned:

1) Don't make a habit of siphoning the substrate all the way down to the bottom of a planted tank. Mine is all gravel and caused a bacteria bloom. I think I destroyed most of the nitrogen cycle in my substrate as well. Next time I will just siphon all of the poop off the top of the gravel.

2) I cleaned my filter at about the same time as a water change. More beneficial bacteria loss, more damage to the nitrogen cycle.

3) I was busy/lazy and didn't trim the plants for a while. 5ft long pieces of Anachris, 4ft long pieces of Hornwort, & 1/2 a beer case of plant trimmings that were frail and colorless from lack of light, CO2, & nutrients.

There is a happy ending though!










I whacked down the Ambulia forest in the middle. Here is a drive by.










The Glosso suffered the most in this pic. It started to thin itself out over time by whole sections floating to the top of the water. The Amazon Sword on the right is getting huge.

The Basalmica is getting big and stalky. You can't see it from this angle, but it actually hits the top of the water and bends over. The Rotala also hits the top of the water and keeps going.










Here's some good looking Water Wisteria in the back and back left, Red Vals out of control, a runt Amazon Sword, Water Sprite looking beaten, & my last remaining Hygro from "The Big Blackout". I've seen both of my Lotuses melt and come back from the dead. I hope they stick around this time.










Since my nitrates are high enough, I'll be dosing Potassium Sulfate & Plantex until my biological filter is re-established, then I will probably go back to Potassium Nitrate.

I haven't updated my website in a few weeks, so I thought I'd give the club an update. I also thought some would get a kick out of the before and after pics.

My planted aquarium, it's neither planted, nor an aquarium...now talk amonst yourselves.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

That is definately overgrowth. Were you going for the Rainforest canopy look 

40ppm of NO3 doesn't sem too bad being you dosed EI for a month and didn't do water change. Did you continue with your normal dosing or did you cut the amounts back a bit? How were your PO4 levels during this time?

Ahh, the color blindness thing, that is why I ditched my cheapy kits and went with LaMotte kits. I couldn't teel much of a color change between most of the levels and they never seem to match those cards that are supplied with the kits. LaMotte is much easier to read. The next time you are up here feel free to bring a sample and we can run some tests on your water. You may decide you like the LaMotte kits too.

The Ambulia looks very healthy and the Glosso will recover in no time, if you keep the tank trimmed! Life sometimes has a way of interrupting tank maintenance. You can trim the H. balsamica and Rotala anytime. I see a few branches on the H. balsamica and I imagine there are some on the Rotala too. If you plan on uprooting the H. balsamica and todding out the bottom portion, do it before a water change. I imagine that thing has a pretty large root system.

You mention stopping KNO3 dosing but are you going to add KH2PO4 along with the K2SO4? Just make sure you don't let the PO4 bottom out.

Makes me wish I would've snapped a few pics of the growout tank before I started thinning it out! It wasn't quite as dense as yours but plant health was starting to suffer a bit.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

MatPat said:


> That is definately overgrowth. Were you going for the Rainforest canopy look
> 
> 40ppm of NO3 doesn't sem too bad being you dosed EI for a month and didn't do water change. Did you continue with your normal dosing or did you cut the amounts back a bit? How were your PO4 levels during this time?
> 
> ...


I was preparing for the Aquascaping contest then backed out. Just kidding!

I dosed PO4 when it reached 1.0. I added some K2SO4 when I thought about it. Plantex I stopped all together, but probably shouldn't have. I want my NO3 at 20ppm. My larger fish are showing signs of stress. I'm back on track now.

I am interested in seeing what the Lamotte kits have to offer.

The balsamica is going to get whacked down to size probably tomorrow.

Another thing, somebody posted about purchasing a 55 or 75 from Jack's. Aquarium Adventure has black trim 55's on sale for 68.88 & 75's for 88.88 thru 8/28.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

rwoehr said:


> I dosed PO4 when it reached 1.0. I added some K2SO4 when I thought about it. Plantex I stopped all together, but probably shouldn't have. I want my NO3 at 20ppm. My larger fish are showing signs of stress. I'm back on track now.


If you want to keep your NO3 at 20ppm I would try and keep the PO4 at 2ppm or better! I am not promoting a ratio but prefer to have my PO4 a bit higher than most. The higher PO4 will keep Green Spot Algae at bay and will also make sure you don't run out. I would also add some K2SO4 on the KNO3 schedule if you're not adding the KNO3. Again, just to make sure you don't run out of K.

The LaMotte kits are nice for those of us who have trouble comparing colors to a chart! Bring up some tank water and we can test it and see if you think they are worth the extra money. Much cheaper to try it out first than to plunk down the extra cash.



rwoehr said:


> Another thing, somebody posted about purchasing a 55 or 75 from Jack's. Aquarium Adventure has black trim 55's on sale for 68.88 & 75's for 88.88 thru 8/28.


I think it was Damon. I hope he reads this before he plunks down a bunch of cash at Jack's! I think AA would save him about $30 on the tank! I am very tempted to go get a 75g for those prices. I much prefer the extra front to back depth of a 75g. Hmmm, but then I would have to get rid of both of my 55g tanks (to keep the wife happy) and build a stand and hood.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

LOL...I about fell out of my chair when I saw that first picture. I can't imagine much light was getting to the lower stems. GREAT RECOVERY!


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## Jack W (Apr 8, 2005)

I'm with Eric, I laughed out loud ( something I rarely do at the computer ) when I saw your first picture. The end result is very nice. You put me in a good mood, thanks.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

That first pic is pretty humorous. Glad I could make some people laugh!  I'll try to stay on my regular trimming & water change schedule from now on. 

My Red Swordtails really benefitted from the overgrowth though. The females were dropping babies like mad and there were tons of hiding places. A piece of Java Moss kind of floated up and got tangled in the Anachris & Ambulia mess at the top of the water. It was like a tree house for the fry to hang out in until they got brave enough to face the gourami. Which didn't take long. Quite entertaining to watch!

I'm pretty sure I will be picking up a 75G today from AA, then no more big tanks for a while! 3 75G's will be enough.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

rwoehr said:


> I'm pretty sure I will be picking up a 75G today from AA, then no more big tanks for a while! 3 75G's will be enough.


Are you going to plant this one too?


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

MatPat said:


> Are you going to plant this one too?


Not immediately. I'm going to take a whack at a rock/driftwood aquascape. However, this tank will be on the bottom shelf of the iron stand w/ a planted 75 above and a 10# CO2 tank. It's probably only a matter of time before a CO2 line splitter is purchased...

The other reason I have 3 75's is to have somewhere to put all of these fish I am breeding or going to breed. Otherwise I could probably get by with just one.

The filter & CO2 reactor are almost set up for the new planted tank. I know, it's taken a while. That should be completed tonight. I'd like to set up the CO2 system this weekend.

Jack W., any advice on connecting the regulator to the CO2 tank? I've never done this before. I think you may have had a discussion about this topic recently, but I don't have time to search for it right now. Thanks.


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## fishmaster#1 (Apr 10, 2005)

That first pic looks like my mom's tank. She won't let me trim it. Great recovery from what could have been a huge loss of plants. I hope you plan on sharing the trimmings with a new hobbyist. (not me I have more then too many)


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## Mnemia (Nov 23, 2004)

Haha, that first picture looks just like how my tank would get if I went even a week without trimming. I finally got rid of the L. sessiliflora because it just grew way too fast (inches per day) and was simply too high maintenance as a result. I'm enjoying the Cabomba and Rotala species I have a lot more for that reason.


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

:-O 

Mmm, OMG! 

And here I was worried about trimming the H. polysperma twice a weeking in my little 7 gallon mini-bow. I am SO glad I ripped that stuff out. At least now I know that you can recover from something like that.


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