# Need Help, Still Can't Balance 29 Gallon



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

I just upgraded my lights to a dual satellite 2x65 watt, but one bulb is a 50/50, so that gives me approximately 3.30WPG. I have a pretty decent plant load, not real heavy but I'm trying. I've been dosing 1/4 tsp KNO3, 1/4 tsp of Fleet diluted in water (50ml of Fleet in a 500ml of water), so that I could dose equal portions of KNO2 with diluted Fleet to give me 10:1 ratio of nitrate to phosphate. I also dose 1/4 tsp of K2SO4 and on alternate days I add 2 mls of Flourish. 

I am running pressurized CO2 with a Milwaukee all in one (pressure gauge is broken) until I get my new regulator, which aquariumplants.com sent out yesterday. My ph is about 6.6, KH 70, GH 40. I buffer my water with 1/2 tsp of baking soda with every 50% water change, which is once a week. I also add 1/2 tsp of Epsom salt with the water change and add another 1/2 mid week, for magnesium.

I have a pretty decent fish load, a pair of Blue Rams, a pair of Juvenille Apistos, 3 small Kribs, 5 Serpae Tetras and 2 Ottos. I still can't seem to get rid of the algae. After adding a few more plants to the tank last night and thinking it was looking pretty good, I came home today from work to find the tank glass so green, I couldn't see through it! Also, some of the plants have a little brown algea on them, especially my dwarf sags. Looks like someone through dirt on them.

I am really getting tired, I've been trying to balance my tanks for the longest time now and I figured this upgrade would help. After 8 months of thinking I was getting 2 wpgs, I found out that my husband never removed the yellow plastic on my 1x55 watt AH Supply retro fit reflectors, so I'm not even sure I was getting decent light on the tank until I added my new system a week and a half ago. 

Any thoughts, help advice is definetly welcome and very much appreciated!


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Are you getting Green Spot algae or Green Dust Algae on your glass?

If it is Green Spot, increase your PO4 dosing and don't worry about the ratio. I typically keep my tanks in the range of 10-15ppm NO3 and 2+ ppm of PO4. I don't know the exact PO4 amount since my LaMotte kit only goes to 2ppm and it is always darker then 2ppm 

Try dosing your Fleet Enema straight from the container for a week or two. 1ml of undiluted Fleet Enema gives me 0.46ppm of PO4 in my 75g tank. 1ml in your 29g should be about double that. Don't worry if it is off a bit, you will be fine. To limit Green Spot on your glass, try keeping the PO4 levels in the 1-2ppm range. 

When first increasing your PO4 levels, you may want to increae your KNO3 dosing also (try adding 3/8 tsp for the next two weeks or so). I have bottomed out my NO3 in the past while trying to get my PO4 levels into the 2ppm range 

How long is your photoperiod? I have found that by limiting my photoperiod to about 8 hours, I no longer get Green Dust algae on my glass. Since you are not able to reduce your lighting intensity, reducing your photoperiod may work for Green Dust Algae, assuming you have it. 

I would also look into increasing your traces a bit more, assuming you are adding Flourish Comprehensive and not Flourish Trace. I would go with at least 5ml of Flourish every other day on your tank and you may even be able to increase it to 10ml. I have found that when using Flourish Comprehensive, I need to add more iron to my tanks or some plants like L aromatica get whitish tips. Dwarf Sag will also get whitish new growth if iron levels are too low. 

The brown dust on the plants is more than likely diatom algae. This could be brought on simply by the change in lighting fixture/intensity (new bulbs are a bit brighter than older ones). 

Anytime you have an algae issue, the first thing to check is your CO2 levels. Toss your test kits and use the fish as your test kit. When you will be around all day to watch the fish, slowly start increasing your CO2 level. Once the fish begin to look stressed and start to hang out at the surface, slightly turn the CO2 down and you should be near the max level for the fish. The plants should grow nicely. There just seems to be too many variables in the pH/KH relationship to accurately use the chart anymore 

I honestly think you may not be adding enough ferts and or CO2 to your tank. It seems you have been battling this for a while now so what do you have to loose by adding a bit more ferts for the next couple of weeks?

Here is a quick plan to try for the next two weeks:

- Make sure your CO2 is in the proper range

- Turn off your filter(s), clean the glass and brush the Diatom Algae off of affected plants. Clean out the filter and prune any algae affected plants

- Do a 50% (or greater) water change and add 1/2 tsp of KNO3 and 2ml of undiluted Fleet Enema to the tank. Add 5ml of Flourish Comprehensive unless you prefer to add your micros on opposite days of your macros

-Two days after the water change, dose 3/8 tsp of KNO3, 1ml of undiluted Fleet Enema, and 5ml of Flourish Comprehensive and continue with this schedule for the next couple of weeks and let us know how it works out for you.


----------



## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

In addition to Matt's suggestions, keep in mind that it may take several weeks before you start seeing a positive effect.

And yes, things sometimes get worse before they get better so have patience!


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

Thank you both, this is very helpful and I will stick to the fert routine that you suggest and see how it goes. It is green dust algea that is all over my glass, I'm talking very thick for only one day, I had cleaned if off completely the day before. 

After I posted this link last night, I noticed 3 little dots of green spot algea on my glass, so I tested my phosphates (I have a Seachem test kit) and they were very low, 0.05 I believe, so I added 3/4 tsp of the diluted fleet last night. I had just dosed my macros the night before too! My nitrates were 20 ppms, I think my fish load and the fact that I tend to feed heavily, due to the different species in my tank and the bigger fish eating the food before the litlte ones get any, has a lot to do with them being at 20 ppm. The high light doesn't seem to be eating through the nitrate as fast as it is the phosphate. I think I might have dose more phosphate than nitrate going forward, could that be possible? I mean, it doesn't always have to follow ratio 10:1, dose it?

You didn't mention potassium, how much of that should I add, or will the amount in with the potassium nitrate be sufficient? I am also curious as to whether or not I might need calcium, where my water is so soft. I do add Epsom salt for magnesium.

Oh, I almost forgot, my lights are on for 12 hours a day, I know that's too much so I intend to shorten that this weekend, would 8-10 hours be better? Since I started getting all this green dust algea, I've been turning off the extra light 50/50 when I get home from work, so that I am only running 65 watts, I've been doing this for the past two night. I think it will be better if I just shorten the time they are on.

I have some very nice plants in my tank and I'd hate to loose any of them.

Thanks again!
Linda


----------



## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

You would be surprised what a shorter photo period would do for you, I struggled balancing my tank for months, because I didn't want to change the photoperiod so I could view the tank as much as possible. I ended up changing it to 8-9 hours, it comes on close to 5pm when I get home from work and goes off sometime between 1-2am, I'm not always up this late but whenever guests are over for an evening I like the tank to be on so its not just this dark box in my living room all night so I figured this would be best. So far its been great, I dont really miss the extra hours and my tank has never looked better. Maybe you will have similar results


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I also find that reducing your lighting period dramatically reduces algae in high light tanks. My tanks are on for about 8 hours. Like Davis, I have the lights on a timer to come on in the afternoon for everyone's viewing pleasure.

-John N.


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

Sounds good, I have both of my tanks on timers, so this weekend, I intend to adjust the time at least on my 29 gallon. It's hard, I love looking at my tank in the morning on the weekends and into the evening but if it's not good for the tank. I'm going to have to decide on a timeframe and stick to it. I do have a moonlight on my tank, so I'll get to enjoy the tank in a nocturnal setting


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

LindaC said:


> The high light doesn't seem to be eating through the nitrate as fast as it is the phosphate. I think I might have dose more phosphate than nitrate going forward, could that be possible? I mean, it doesn't always have to follow ratio 10:1, dose it?


Don't worry about following any ratio! You now know what a lack of PO4 does to your tank (Green Spot Algae) so when you see this show up again, add more PO4. I add about 7 ppm of NO3 to 1 ppm of PO4 when I dose my tank, not that you need to follow my dosing schedule  I like to keep the PO4 high to eliminate Green Spot. Keep an eye on your NO3 levels (you may need to add a bit more) while increasing your PO4. I have bottomed out my NO3 before when increasing PO4 levels.



LindaC said:


> You didn't mention potassium, how much of that should I add, or will the amount in with the potassium nitrate be sufficient? I am also curious as to whether or not I might need calcium, where my water is so soft. I do add Epsom salt for magnesium.


Do you know your Calcium and Magnesium levels and is the GH of 40ppm you listed earlier your tank stats or tap water stats? Those will be the deciding factor in whether or not you need to add Ca and Mg. I don't think the Mg addition will hurt anything but you may not need to add the Ca.

As far as potassium, I am a believer that you add enough K with the KNO3 but some like to add extra K when they dose. I guess it is a personal thing 



LindaC said:


> Oh, I almost forgot, my lights are on for 12 hours a day, I know that's too much so I intend to shorten that this weekend, would 8-10 hours be better? Since I started getting all this green dust algea, I've been turning off the extra light 50/50 when I get home from work, so that I am only running 65 watts, I've been doing this for the past two night. I think it will be better if I just shorten the time they are on.


8-10 hours would probably be better. I would start with 10 hours and see if that reduces the GDA on your glass. If not, take it down to 8 hours. 8 hours is what worked for me but your situation may be different. I wouldn't use the 50/50 at all but would instead replace it with another light of the color temp you prefer. As a matter of fact, why don't you try not using the 50/50 for a week or two and cutting back the photoperiod to 8-10 hours and see what it does for you.



LindaC said:


> I have some very nice plants in my tank and I'd hate to loose any of them.


I don't think reducing the photoperiod will have any effect on your plants.


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

The Intermatic Timer will allow you to program the lights to go on in the mornings on the weekends. and then in the afternoon for M-F. As long as the plants are getting a straight set light for at least 8 hours then you're okay with doing the weekend mornings thing. I use two of those powerstrip timers without any issues, might actually get another one. 

-John N.


----------



## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

so John, you vary the schedule for better weekend viewing... it doesn't matter when the lights come on as long as photo period length is consistant??? does this affect plant growth for you? I have noticed my stem plants seem to anticipate the light comming on and going off by closing and opening the leaves 30mins or so before each change.


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I do this for one of my tanks in the main living room for weekend viewings.


I'm saying as long as things are consistant for the majority of the week with your photo period plant growth will be fine, and algae will be controlled (all ferts and C02 being properly administered).

I do hear you regarding plant's sleeping and closing up i.e. L.aromatica. I never noticed them closing up before the lights go out. Could have something to do with my photo period being about 8 hours.... But I do notice they close up about an hour after the lights are off . Once the lights are on, they open up as expected.

No noticable difference in plant growth. They looks fine, and still grow well for me using this weekend schedule.

-John N.


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

MatPat said:


> 8-10 hours would probably be better. I would start with 10 hours and see if that reduces the GDA on your glass. If not, take it down to 8 hours. 8 hours is what worked for me but your situation may be different. I wouldn't use the 50/50 at all but would instead replace it with another light of the color temp you prefer. As a matter of fact, why don't you try not using the 50/50 for a week or two and cutting back the photoperiod to 8-10 hours and see what it does for you.


I've already done that, the 50/50 is half daylight 10,000k and half actinic, I removed the light that came with the piece because it was all actinic. I ordered a 50/50 bulb rather than another 65 watt (6500K/10,000K), so I wouldn't have another 65 watts over my tank, only 32.5, which gives me a total of 97.5 watts. If I run just the one bulb, that will only give me 65 watts, I don't think that's enough to grow some of the plants I have, like armomatic and star grass. It would be about 2.25wpg, maybe it would be enough, but I'd like to grow some red plants too, once I get my tank balanced. Would it be possible with lower light?


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

With proper ferts and CO2, I think anything is possible. When I first started out, I grew Rotala macrandra and Pogostemon stellatus with 96w of T-8 lighting and 40w of T-12 lighting over my 75g. That amounted to a whopping 1.8wpg!  It was some of the nicest R. macrandra I have ever grown! It did grow much slower in the lower light though. The P. stellatus was very nice too and never stunted. Both plants took 2-3 weeks to get to the surface versus the 1 week they take with 3wpg


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

Okay, I might try turning the other light off and only running 65 watts, at least until I balance my tank, although now that I'm adding more ferts, maybe I better keep it where it is. 

I started the regimine you sent me last night, I'm very interested in seeing how it works out. I've always been very apprehensive when adding ferts, afraid that too much would cause algea. I know differently now! When I got in from work last night, there was so much green everywhere, thought I had green water. I did a 60% water change, cleaned everything I could and then added the ferts, micros and macros. I don't have a problem with adding both on the same day, as long as the plants don't mind. In fact, I think it's easier.

As I was cleaning the tanks, I notced a lot of green spot algea on my dward sags and also on the wisteria, so I test my phosphates just to see and they were at 0.05 even though I added 3/4 tsp of diluted Fleet mixture the night before. Trust me, I will never be afraid to add more than less ferts again!

Many thanks for all your help!


----------



## treepimp (Apr 13, 2006)

had the same problem in my 29 gal. my 2x65 lighting was on 12 hours a day and I could not do anything to control the algae growth. The best thing I did for my aquarium was to use only one 65 watt light for 10 hours and turn the other on during the middle of the day for about 4 hours. Algae stopped and plants are growing great.


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

treepimp said:


> had the same problem in my 29 gal. my 2x65 lighting was on 12 hours a day and I could not do anything to control the algae growth. The best thing I did for my aquarium was to use only one 65 watt light for 10 hours and turn the other on during the middle of the day for about 4 hours. Algae stopped and plants are growing great.


That sounds like a good idea! Did you have the light on a timer so that the second light came on mid-day for 4 hours and then shut off? Did you need a two outlet timer for this? I was thinking of something along those lines, running 65 watts for 10 hours and then when I come home from work every evening, turning on the 50/50 (another 32.watts) for 2-3 hours.


----------



## treepimp (Apr 13, 2006)

I have both bulbs on separate timers so that i can run them idependantly.


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

MatPat said:


> Here is a quick plan to try for the next two weeks:
> 
> - Make sure your CO2 is in the proper range
> 
> ...


Hi Matt,

Regarding this schedule, which by the way seems to be working pretty well, should I keep dosing the 3/8 tsp of KNO3 and the 1ml of undiluted Fleet Enema, every other day until it's time to do another 50% water change or after I dose the 3/8 tsp and 1 ml, should I repeat the first dosage of 1/2 tsp and 2 ml? In other words, should I alternate with 1/2 tsp and 2 days later 3/8 tsp and then 2 days later back to 1/2 tsp, etc etc.?

Thanks so much for your help! I haven't seen any brown algea since I started this regimine. I do still get the green dust algea on the glass and a little on the subtrate but not nearly as much as I was getting.


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

LindaC,

Glad to hear the diatoms have went away. Giving the plants what they need does help. There are a couple of threads on Green Dust algae in the Algae forum that may prove to be a good read for you also 

The 1/2 tsp of KNO3 and the 2ml of undiluted Fleet was an initial dose after the water change to get you into the 20ppm of NO3 and 2ppm of PO4 range. I would continue dosing the 3/8tsp of KNO3 and 1ml of undiluted Fleet for the next couple of weeks and see how it works out for you. If you still have Green Spot, add a bit more PO4.

Try not to complicate fertilizing too much  Dosing via the EI method is very easy and you don't need to panic if you overdose something. A few weeks ago, I screwed up and dosed my PO4 solution instead of my KNO3 solution. I ended up putting 6ppm of PO4 into the tank in one dose. After 2 weeks of having higher PO4 and NO3 levels (I did add a bit more KNO3 to try and compensate for my error in PO4 dosing) there was no algae growth and the plants did fine.

Since you are trying to get your PO4 levels up to 2ppm or so you can dose a little more KNO3 but I don't think you will need to. The initial dose you added after your water change was about 20ppm of NO3. That would be almost a week's worth *assuming* your plants take up 3ppm per day. If you feel comfortable with a bit higher NO3 level, add a 1/2 tsp of KNO3 after the next water change.


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

I will stick to the regimine you suggested and so far seems to be working out very well. My plants are growing like crazy. I recently added some Ludwigia Inclinata var CUBA and this plant must have jumped about 3 inches this past week, I just had to cut it down. So I am very pleased and will stick to this regimine.


I have another question regarding dosing, I have Plantex CSM+B which I purchased a while back with my other ferts but have been using the Flourish Comprensive to use it up, when it's gone, how much of the Plantex would I add to the tank so it equals 5 mls of Flourish? I know that I have to mix the Plantex with water, I'm not sure if it's 1 tablespoon with 250 mls of water or 500 mls of water. After it's mixed, how much would I add to the tank to equal what I'm currently dosing?

Thank you,
Linda


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

LindaC said:


> I will stick to the regimine you suggested and so far seems to be working out very well. My plants are growing like crazy. I recently added some Ludwigia Inclinata var CUBA and this plant must have jumped about 3 inches this past week, I just had to cut it down. So I am very pleased and will stick to this regimine.


Is everything still going well with the tank?



LindaC said:


> I have another question regarding dosing, I have Plantex CSM+B which I purchased a while back with my other ferts but have been using the Flourish Comprensive to use it up, when it's gone, how much of the Plantex would I add to the tank so it equals 5 mls of Flourish? I know that I have to mix the Plantex with water, I'm not sure if it's 1 tablespoon with 250 mls of water or 500 mls of water. After it's mixed, how much would I add to the tank to equal what I'm currently dosing?


For some reason, I missed this question Linda...I think Greg had some specific info on his site about dosing Plantex in comparison to Flourish but I don't know if it is still there. I would mix 1 tbsp of Plantex CSM+B in 250ml of water and dose 5-10ml either with your macros or on opposite days, however you like to dose it. I would start with the lower amount and see if that is giving your plants enough iron (i.e. no white or light green new growth) and increase the amount you dose if needed.


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

MatPat said:


> Is everything still going well with the tank?


Yes, so far everything seems to be going pretty well. I have a couple of different plant issues but all in all, it looks a lot better.

When I did my 50% water change on Friday, I tested the water because I added ferts to the tank and my nitrates were pretty high, so I turned up my lights in hopes that it would help utilize the extra ferts. I was home for the weekend and could keep and eye on the tank. I pretty much have the idea now.

I have one more question, I purchased a 2x40 watt Dual Satelitte for my 10 gallon tank, which also has Aqua Soil, should I dose a pretty good amount of K and P where I have the Aqua Soil or is there some already in the soil? I do not have power sand with it, just the AS. I also intend to put a Red Sea Turbo CO2 Bio System on that tank too, I really don't want to buy another pressurized system, not for a 10 gallon tank. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for all your help!
Linda


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

If you are worried about the high nitrates (asuming your test kit it right) you can always skip a dose of KNO3. I wouldn't worry about it much and have had NO3 levels over 44ppm (the highest range on my LaMotte kit) with no issues. 

Are you using the undiluted Fleet for dosing your PO4 or the diluted stuff?

I can't be much help on the Aquasoil since I have never used it. How long has the 10g been set up? I see a lot of folks recommending not to dose an Aquasoil tank due to the higher levels of NH4 it contains but again, I have no experience with it


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

I am using the undiluted Fleet, I haven't used the diluted mixture since I started following the regimine you gave me. I actually did skip a day with the KNO3 and cut down a little on the Fleet but now I'm wishing I didn't because I see it in the plants, there was a little brown algea on them when I got home this evening, so I don't think I'll skip it anymore, at least not until I'm a little more sure of myself. Funny, my Ludwigia appeared to be more red when the nitrates where higher, I always thought that less nitrates would promote more red.

The 10 gallon tank has been set up since last December, I only just recently added the Aqua Soil though. I have not yet put the new lights on that tank as I'm waiting for the legs that go with it, they forgot to include them in the package. But once I do put the higher light on the tank, I'm going to have to dose ferts, I'm sure. I will start very low and work my way up I guess, as I don't think there is very much N and P in the soil, I think that's the power sand.


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

LindaC said:


> I am using the undiluted Fleet, I haven't used the diluted mixture since I started following the regimine you gave me. I actually did skip a day with the KNO3 and cut down a little on the Fleet but now I'm wishing I didn't because I see it in the plants, there was a little brown algea on them when I got home this evening, so I don't think I'll skip it anymore, at least not until I'm a little more sure of myself. Funny, my Ludwigia appeared to be more red when the nitrates where higher, I always thought that less nitrates would promote more red.


Lower nitrates will promote a reddish color in some plants. Which Ludwigia are you growing? The brown algae is probably diatoms and is common in newere tanks. In my experience it hs occurred when I increase the light or make a major change to the tank.



LindaC said:


> The 10 gallon tank has been set up since last December, I only just recently added the Aqua Soil though. I have not yet put the new lights on that tank as I'm waiting for the legs that go with it, they forgot to include them in the package. But once I do put the higher light on the tank, I'm going to have to dose ferts, I'm sure. I will start very low and work my way up I guess, as I don't think there is very much N and P in the soil, I think that's the power sand.


I am a believer that you need to fertilize a tank from day one. I have read that Aquasoil, or is it the Powersand, contains HN4. Adding NO3 should not hurt anything and you have already seen the difference between adding enough ferts and not adding enough ferts  Why not start off and add ferts to the 10g from the beginning?

I don't recall but will you be adding CO2 to this tank? With 80w over a 10g it will probably be needed.


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

I have been adding ferts to this 10 gallon tank but not very often, once a week at the most because of the low lighting, I've also been dosing Excel for a carbon source. When I added the AS, a lot of people told me to stop dosing ferts for the first 4-6 weeks, so I did. That time is up now and that is why I asked about dosing ferts, with new lights coming and all, I recently ordered purchased the Red Sea CO2 Bio System, I didn't want to go out and purchase another CO2 regulator and tank, I think this system should be sufficient on a 10 gallon tank.

As soon as I put the high lights on, and hook up the CO2 system, I am going to start dosing ferts again, only I intend to dose a lot more than I have been, just not quite sure of the amounts yet but will most likey dose EI as I have been on the 29 gallon.

I just got home this evening to find green spot algea on my tank glass and also on some of my plant leaves, now I've been adding 1 ml of undiluted Fleet every other day, actually I added a little bit more than that last night. There is also some hair type of algea on my Narrow Leaf Ludwigia and my Rotala Indica. Doesn't the hair algea and the green spot algea contradict each other? I was always under the impression that low phosphates, green spot algea, high phosphates, hair algea, guess I was wrong.

Anyway, should I add 2 mls of Fleet every time I do a water change and then 1 ml every other day? Should I up the KNO3? I'm almost there, I saw great improvement last week, maybe my missing a day set me back some, any thoughts or suggestions? Any idea how much 1 ml is equal to in tsp? 

Many thanks for all your help, you have no idea how much I appreciate your advice Matt, and anyone else who has given me some. 

Thank you,
Linda


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

LindaC said:


> I have been adding ferts to this 10 gallon tank but not very often, once a week at the most because of the low lighting, I've also been dosing Excel for a carbon source. When I added the AS, a lot of people told me to stop dosing ferts for the first 4-6 weeks, so I did. That time is up now and that is why I asked about dosing ferts, with new lights coming and all, I recently ordered purchased the Red Sea CO2 Bio System, I didn't want to go out and purchase another CO2 regulator and tank, I think this system should be sufficient on a 10 gallon tank.


As long as you keep up with the mixture and make sure the output is consistent you shouldn't have a problem. Consistency is the main problem with DIY. The Excel will probably help out too.



LindaC said:


> As soon as I put the high lights on, and hook up the CO2 system, I am going to start dosing ferts again, only I intend to dose a lot more than I have been, just not quite sure of the amounts yet but will most likey dose EI as I have been on the 29 gallon.


If you plan on running both of your 40w lights on the 10g you should be fine cutting the amount you use on the 29g by half. 80w is a lot of light for a 10g tank! I do worry about the DIY CO2 keeping up with 80W of light though.



LindaC said:


> I just got home this evening to find green spot algea on my tank glass and also on some of my plant leaves, now I've been adding 1 ml of undiluted Fleet every other day, actually I added a little bit more than that last night. There is also some hair type of algea on my Narrow Leaf Ludwigia and my Rotala Indica. Doesn't the hair algea and the green spot algea contradict each other? I was always under the impression that low phosphates, green spot algea, high phosphates, hair algea, guess I was wrong.


How many days last week did you run both lights on the tank? Also, when turning on both lights did you increase the CO2 compared to the amount you put into the tank with only 1 light running? Anytime you increase the lighting you ned to increase the CO2 and ferts.

The hair algae was more than likely brought on by either low ferts or low CO2 (possibly from running both lights), not an excess. Since you also have Green Spot, I would say low PO4 may have been the issue. You may want to increase the Fleet dosage by 1/2ml or so and see how that works. As Laith said earlier, any changes you make will take some time to notice so be patient.



LindaC said:


> Anyway, should I add 2 mls of Fleet every time I do a water change and then 1 ml every other day? Should I up the KNO3? I'm almost there, I saw great improvement last week, maybe my missing a day set me back some, any thoughts or suggestions? Any idea how much 1 ml is equal to in tsp?


1ml of Fleets would be equal to 1/5tsp. That is pretty hard to measure but since you may need to up it a bit, why not try adding 1/4 tsp (1.25ml) of the Fleets 3x a week. 1ml adds roughly 0.8ppm of PO4 to your tank so 1/4 tsp should add about 1ppm of PO4. I would not worry about dosing 2ml of Fleets after each water change. Once you add the higher (1/4 tsp) amount for a week or two you should be able to maintain PO4 in the 1-2ppm range without adding a high dose after a water change. Play around with the ferts and add a bit more of KNO3 and Fleets for a week or so and see how it works out.

Also, don't rely on your test kits too much. You already know how much KNO3 (3/8 tsp ~12ppm 3 x week = ~36ppm) and PO4 (1ml = 0.8ppm 3 x week = 2.4ppm) you add each week and a 50% water change at the end of the week removes half of what you dosed (not including anything your plants use).

If you look a the numbers above, you can see that you should be adding plenty of KNO3 to your tank, however, up the KNO3 dose if you feel comfortable with it. I don't think you need to unless you plan to run both sets of lights all of the time. If you do plan on that, replace the 50/50 with a more plant friendly bulb and prepare to increase your ferts, especially the CO2.


----------



## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

I know what I did now, last week I ran 65 watts for 8 hours and when I got home in the evening, I would turn the othe light on, giving me 32 more watts, which seemed to work out great! Then over the weekend for 2 days, I ran both my lights in reverse (both lights on 8 hours and then turned off for the last two), thinking that I'd would add a little more light now that my tank was doing better, big mistake I guess. I won't be doing that again, I do not seem to get better plant growth with higher light, in fact, the stems on my Bacopa Australis just about disentigrated and then the leaves all melted. So for the time being, I will only run 65 watts over my tank, that seems to be more than enough light.

As for the new lights for the 10 gallon 2 x 40 watts, I only plan on running one light. I'm pretty sure that 40 watts, Aqua Soil and ferts will be more than enough for decent plant growth. I didn't consider the CO2 system I purchased to be DIY, it should work okay with 40 watts though, at least I hope it does. If not, maybe I'll go out and buy a small CO2 tank and put my Milwaukee all in one regulator on it, even though the pressure gauge is broken, it still works pretty well, at least I can get a consistant flow of CO2 out of it, but I'm hoping I won't need to do that.


----------



## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Linda, check out the thread about aintball tanks for CO2. I use a 12oz paintball tank with a single gueage beverage regulator (same regulator as aquarium ones but less pretty and way cheaper) Since you already have a regulator, that seems like a good option. You can get a 12oz paintball tank for $20-30 dollars depending on if you buy it locally or order online. Also, you can buy replacement guages or have a welding supply shop replace your guage. New guage is about $10 plus shipping online. You may have to remove the bubble counter since paintball tanks have the valve on top rather than at 90degrees.

As for your 10 gallon, 40watts PC is more than enough, especially with aquasoil. I had a very successful 10 gallon with 1x36watt pc and crappy reflectors, Eco-Complete substrate.


----------

