# Paradise - A New Beginning



## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

I took down my old scape and am rescaping, Calling it Paradise A New Beginning.

For much of the time the last scape was up, I had algae trouble. I finally figured out what was wrong. The solutions that I was using for NPK were super concentrated. I had not taken into account the molar weights while making the ferts and had actually heated the solution to dissolve the ferts. For eg: KNo3 - I dissolved about 500gms in 3 liters of water. I couldnt figure out what had happened as the APC tool didnot have a warning. I had tried a few times to get chuck gad's calculator however the links that I tried were broken. I finally got chuck gad's calculator and just wanted to check if I was dozing right when it promptly gave me a warning and I figured out what had gone wrong.

About 6 months I spent trying to battle GDA with lights outs and finally stopped fertilizing. I not only had GDA but BBA also. I lost all of my carpet and much of my plants and with lights out and no ferts most of the GDA died out but I could not get the bottom half of the tank rid of GDA. Finally went and got my self the cleaning crew - two bristle nose plecos. What I could not do with lights out and no ferts for 3 odd months - the plecos did in a couple of days. The algae was gone - like magic in two days. 
I went about cleaning the tank out of the dead plants and I had lost all of the carpet. Glossos are demanding and due to BBA and lights out could not survive add to that I was not dosing. I soon realized that a good portion of the substrate was filled with debry and dying plant. I vacumed over 4 weeks and realized that there was too much debry and the moment I touched the substarte, the debry was in the water column and setting all over the leaves of the Corymbosa and the other plants. It was particulate and I could not get it off the leaves as it formed a thick layer and stuck to the leaves.
The tank was a year old, the substrate was incredibly dirtly and not much of help - aquaclay is inert. I was thinking of rescape and well it would be best if I cleaned out the substrate before re-scaping. If I was taking the tank apart, then why not new substarte and why not pack it with nturients and go for a complete system.
I also had to close out the stand to keep the ferts and other aquarium products. I also had he CO2 cylinder outside and wanted it to be hidden..
So there were two things I had to do, cover the stand and fix the substrate so that I didnt have to provide all the nutrients for the plants in the water coulumn.
From the 1 year of reading and being in differnt forums, I knew I wanted to use a combination a nutrinet rich substrate and something that faciliated the absorption and release of nutrients. I finally narrowed in on JBL aquabasis plus which is basically peat with macros and Aqusoil Amazonia from ADA which is one of the most nutrient rich substrates and was available more easily to me. The only draw back is that for atleast the first two years I have to use ADA ferts as it complements the substrate. I am told that I should not have much problems with algae this time and I hope so.

Here are some pics

The Old Tank


























The New Beginning










































Here are the tank details:

Flora:

1. Hemianthus Callitrichodes
2. Hygrophila Corymbosa Stricta
3. Cobomba - Green and Red
4. Ludwigia Inclinata
5. Rotala Macranda
6. Rotala Wallichi
7. Anubias Nana
8. Christmas Moss

Fauna

1. 4 Angel Fish
2. 10 Rummy Nose Tetras
3. 10 Serphae Tetras
4. 11 Lemon Tetras
5. 5 Black Neons Tetras
6. 10 Neon Tetras (Expected)
7. 2 Bristle Nose Plecos

Tank - 43G; 2.5"*1.5"*1.5"
Ehiem 2215
Aquasonic - T5 - 54*4 - 4FT
Ferts - Brighty K, Green Brighty Step1; Special Lights
CO2 - Canister - 2bps

The tank has been cycling for two weeks and these are the readings as of today

PH - 6.6
Amonia - 0ppm
Nitrate - 15 ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm


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## sierramists1 (Jun 22, 2011)

This is beautiful! Love the livestock choices.  Keep us updated!!


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## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

*Battle against Hair Algae*

It must be either sulphur or additional K that was going into the tank. It started on the drift wood. It spread like wild fire, soon it was all over the plants and the tanks. It covered the scape, it was on the substrate, it was every where. It was brown and not pleasant. It was brown hair algae. It covered the leaves of the HC, the corymbosa was affected, it was on the drift wood, the moss.... something had to be done...

Sunday 8:30 AM -The H2O2 was in place. The plan was to nuke em. It was a 20% solution, had to bring it down to 10% so that the plants were not effected. The tank has been cycling and I had only the malaysian trumpets about 10 of them and the bristle nose in there..

9:30 AM - Evacuated the fish and snail population from the tank. Did general clean up. The HM in the tank was not doing well and most of it had melted, they were covered with algae. The corymbosa had a lot of dying shoots in there. Cleaned out the debry.

10:30 AM - It started in wave, focused on the right handside of the tank to start with and slowly moved to the left. Concentrated on the HC and the substrate in front. Sprayed H2O2, wave after wave. The substrate started bubling, the hc started bubling.. soon there were bubbles all over. It went on for three hours, till the whole tank was covered.

It was about 1:00 in the afternoon, the bubles had settled down. Took the water down by about a third. Looked at the tank again. There were some spots that were brown and hadn't turned white. The onslaught continued. Finally when all the brown was white and the tank had stopped fizzing or atleast bottomed out, filled in water. What do you know, it started fizzing again. It was a sight to watch. I have some photos will post it later. The tank bubbled and fizzed over night releasing the oxygen bubles that had fromed on the substrate and all over.

We are still cleaning out the tank. I reintroduced all the inhabitants into the tank after a day, however the Amano shrimps havent touched or cleaned the algae and the plecos were not interested to start with. So it is back to the tooth brush and manual cleaning.

Well so much for ADA ferts. I was told that if I followed the instructions on the dosing chart, I should not have algae.

Hmm... Well, I have changed the dosing as of now.

It was 8ml of brighty K after a water change, I have reduced this to 5 and also the daily dosing of 3 ml has been brought down to 3ml every two days.

Will post what ever pics I have of the battle soon.


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## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

Here are some pics of the algae fizzing away, when sprayed with H2O2. The impact on plants have been minimal, though I still dont know how to get the dead algae off the HC. I tried the toothbrush, but the HC is getting disloged and they have just started rooting. I dont want to uproot them and want to let them grow. That was the main intention of spraying the H2O2.

Any ideas on how to clean up?


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## manifresh006 (Jul 20, 2007)

have u tried spot treating with seachem excel?


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

Continue dosing and water changes as scheduled, increase your flow. I had the same problems and it cleared up. What cleaners do you have?


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

I also believe you are a bit over stocked


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## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

Hi,

The tank has cleared up and the plants are doing better. I will post pictures over the weekend.

Manifresh006 - I have not tried seachem. I hear it is good for HC and prevents algae. Will give it a try, asked the LFS for a bottle. They dont have it in stock and it will take time.


Bratboy2 - I am not sure what you mean by cleaners. If you are talking of fish, I have 4 amano shrimps in there and also 2 plecos. They have been my cleaning crew through the old to the new scape. I dont have any cleaning devices in there and just stick to the regular water changes and siphoning.

I will be a bit overstocked when I have all the fish in there. Right now I have about 37 fish in there and when I had the algae, the tank was cycling and there were no fish in there. I introduced the plecos thinking it would interest them but had poor response from them. The angels are no in yet and I am waiting on the LFS for the cardinals. 

I do about a good 40% water change every week and the flow in there is very good. I dont think the fish load will be a problem. I have an additional 5 gal in case it gets too overstocked, I can get about 5 to 8 of the tetras in there.

Thanks for looking and the suggestions.


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## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

Its been a week since I dosed H2O2. The tank has cleared up and there is a lot of improvement. The fish are back in the tank except for the Angels, they are still in the temp tank.

THe HC is not particularly doing well. Mostly becuse the fish in the tank keep on uprooting it. They like playing with it. I also hear that Seachem Flourish Excel is good for HC during initial days. Have ordered it, will take time coming.

I had the T5s on earlier and through out there was no signs of photosynthesis. I got the T5s replaced with PLLs 54W*2. Didnot help either, no photosynthesis. I replaced these with the hood that was on the tank till now, Photosynthesis and real good amounts of it!!!

The t5s were 12K Kelvin and 6.5K Kelvin combination. Dont think the 12K bulbs were doing any good. 12K might not have provided good amount PUR for the plants,the intensity being too high.

The 54*2 was about 2.5 watts per gallon and I have best results with about 4 watts per gallon.

I have a tough task on convicing the LFS to take back the PLL which was a replacement for the T5 HO and give me 4*39 PLLs. I think he is going to lose it when I ask for the replacement.

Pic Update:

Front shot










Cobomba



















Alteranthera: Was covered with Algae. Now that the algae is gone, looks in much better condition.










Blyxa Japonica: New addtiion to the tank










Macranda: I believe this is plant that is really doing well in the tank. Has grown well. I am waiting for it grow some more so that I can trim and replant.


















Corymbosa - Doing very well, after the initial hick up where I had some melt and it took time to root.










Red Cobomba: This was the plant that was most affected by the H2O2 treatment. I had a bit of die off after the treatment. Looks like it got singed during the treatment.










Christmas Moss is doing well: Initially it was all darkbrown. I fitted fans on the aquarium to bring the temprature down to 28 degree C and it worked, it is green now but growth is extremely slow. Thinking on taking the green threads off and sticking it with glue. I have heard it can be done but really dont want to introduce chemicals in the tank which might be disastrous. Anybody knows if it can be done? If you have seen instructions please provide the link.










Coffeefolia










Will soon post pics of the fishes. They dont stay still long enough for me to get a decent shot of them.


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## manifresh006 (Jul 20, 2007)

Looks like they are doing much better!!

HC takes time once affected by algae, AND sometimes even moreeee when it doesnt have proper light (AM HAVING SAME PROBLEM NOW :/ ) 

If you dont mind me asking what is the other red-clayish substrate in the top?


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## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

Thats Aquaclay 

The substrate is made of 5 layers

Layer 1 - Aquaclay - High CEC - helps in absorption of Nutrients
Layer 2 - JBL Aquabasis plus - Contains Trace and Iron helps in root devleopment
Layer 3 - Aquaclay
Layer 4 - JBL Aquabasis plus
Layer 5 - Amazonia - Rich organic substrate that lowers the PH - the tank is mainly a tetra tank and tetras need soft acidic water.

I layered the substrate so that I would get enough depth in the substrate. I also didnot want to throw away the aqauclay from the old tank as Aquaclay has high CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity), parameter that shows us how a substrate can bind to itself other molecules or simply "nutrients". I have a layer of aquaclay and then JBL plus which is rich in trace and iron and also retains nutrients. The thought was that JBL will hold the nutrients and the Aqua clay will help roots absorb it. This is to help in quicker root development.

So far I think it is working well. I am dosing much below the recommended levels by ada for an aquarium this size. I pulled back the dosing of brighty K specially after the hair algae attack. K in excess does lead to brown hair alage.


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## manifresh006 (Jul 20, 2007)

mmm... never hear of AC sounds good


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## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

The tank has come along well. Most of the plants have grown well. I moved to a new place and moving the tank was one of the things that I worried about but a little help from the plant forum and based on advise there was nothing to worry.

I am still having difficulty growing the HC. The fishes wont leave it alone. I am also wondering if they are getting nutrients in the right amount. Move the Java fern in front to give it a bit more light and I can see new growth.

Anyways here are some pics. There was a bit of spot algae on the glass when I took these snaps. This is before the recent trim. I am yet to take pics after the trim. Will post some more pics next week.


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## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

Its been about a month since my last post. Attempts to grow out the HC in the tank have been futile and therefore planted some Hair grass. The tank has grown out well. The moss on the branch wood has become thicker. I did have some BBA issues but H2O2 and adjustments in co2 have stopped rapid advance and it is considerably less.

Posting some snaps that I took recently. The first one is after the first trim but the plants had grown in again. The rest after a recent trim. Hope you like the pics...














































Introduced 4 German Gold Rams into the tank. One is well adjusted, the others are not eating well or atleast dont eat the flakes that we feed them. Here is a shot of one of them, he is quite pale and doesnot have full coloration even after a week. Any thoughts on how we could get them to eat or help in getting adjusted to the tank?


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## sam22sam (Jul 9, 2010)

Posting some new pics of the tank. The tank is looking better as the days go by. I guess last two months were mating season, I had the rams look really good with a lot of color, which has become less since a week now. Also one of the angels spawned. The first batch was on the corymbosa leaves but the anges were first time parents, they kept on moving the eggs which were in the a sort of tadpole stage with eyes and a longing tail covered by a round outer cocoon. They moved it so much that the eggs fell in the substrate and were lost. The same angel again spawned a second time after we had moved it to a holding / bare bottom tank with some artificial plants but the male angel ate all the eggs. We also found a month old serphae tetra in the tank a couple of days back, though have not been able to take pics of it, I have not seen it yet. My wife is really exceited about it, she says it is amazing that it survived this long in the tank. We have moved the angels to another tank and are planning to make this a tetra only tank. There was a smaller tank that we had with RCS. My wife is put all the RCS in this tank.

Introduced around 13 Cardinals and I have about 11 that made it. The tank also had a case of ich which we treated successfully. We lost 5 of the full grown rummynose but really cant tell the reason. We were treating the tank for ich and we found them dead. These fishes didnot have ich. This was the same time that the angels were spawning the first time and 1 of the other male angel in the tank was acting all agressive and we saw him nip off the tail of one of the harlequins and it eventually died. So the reason is still unclear.

It has been a very eventful month now.

Here are the tank pics. Hope you like them.










The moss has grown in well on the branch wood. I have been dosing CSMB in the tank and it has really helped the moss grow.










Here is the Ram. It is difficult to get a good snap, it keeps on moving a lot and I dont have a macro lens to take real close up pics but this one is good, I think.










The grass has grown in well. I plan to trim it today later in the day. I was told that trimming helps it spread out and become thicker.










Let me know what you think. What you like or dislike about the tank and any scope for improvement that you see.

Thanks for looking.


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