# BlackLabel's new 125



## blacklabel (Jun 8, 2008)

ive been out of planted tanks for a year or so, because i was keeping predatory fish and algae got out of control. but now im back, and plan on doing everything right this time.

first some tank specs: standard 125. fluval fx5 and rena xp3 with DIY PVC reactor plumbed inline with the xp3 to take co2 tanks. 120 watts of t-8s with "red" plant bulbs, 160 watts of t-5 with 2 10k and 2 red bulbs. for about 2.2 wpg.

currently the only fish in the tank are 20-25 rummy nose, 3 common plecos, 3 chinese algae eaters, and i believe about 10 otocinclus.

i ordered the "80+" plant assortment from aquariumplants, where they just mix and match and you get what you get, so it was a fun surprise, haha. but i am not disappointed. i ordered around noon yesterday and got them at 10 this morning. all healthy and barely any broken stems or loose leaves. heres what turned up.










and after i took them apart










i really have no idea what any of them are, but they look pretty common. 5 or 6 groups of stems, some vals, and a bunch of crypts mostly. only thing it didnt have was some foreground type ground cover. no carpets or sag or anything like that. also no anubias. any ids would be helpful.

here they are after i got them in the tank. its cloudy because i added some more sand, of which i still dont have nearly enough. im going to clean out the local stores until i have about twice as much as i do now.










left side










right side










any suggestions would be appreciated. right now everythings just plopped in there, no real aquascape whatsoever. just tried to put the stems in the back, but the crypts are still taller, lol. not for long though i bet. ill let everything root, and see what likes the tank and what doesnt. im sure some wont make it for whatever reason, so ill wait a few weeks and see how things go.

i turned all the lights on now (i had only the low light on before i got the plants to keep the algae away), but didnt dose anything. i have several dry ferts leftover from a couple years ago, but dont remember off the top of my head. i think i have everything i need though, ill check on that later. dont have any co2 hooked up either, both my tanks are empty.

what exactly should i do now? full lights, or half? when should i start to dose ferts? when start co2? i have some flourish excel on hand for overdosing algae. should i use it? thanks a lot!


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

You need to begin dosing right away. You could do EI dosing. (Check the fertilizer forum for info and amount on that.) Your going to need to dose extra iron for the red plants. With the crypts and swords you might want to put plant tabs under them. My favorite are the ones from Aquariumplants.com. It's their total substrate pellets. You don't need the applicator, just use tweezers.
http://www.aquariumplants.com/AquariumPlants_com_s_own_SUBSTRATE_VITALIZATION_p/fert.htm

I'd start with my lights on 7-8 hours. Some of those plants are high light plants. You can ease up slowly, keeping check on any algae.

I'd keep the excel for any algae breakout. For sure get your CO2 going. You could use Niko's great little CO2 infusion method. It's great and cheap. You'd need at least 2 for that size tank. Here's the thread:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/diy-aquarium-projects/44053-tiny-super-efficient-co2-reactor.html

Many of those plants have emersed leaves. They will begin to shed them and grow submerged leaves. Just expect it. Make sure that you get any dead leaves out.

Looks like fun!


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## maknwar (Feb 28, 2008)

Bro, what happened to your P's?


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## blacklabel (Jun 8, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> You need to begin dosing right away. You could do EI dosing. (Check the fertilizer forum for info and amount on that.) Your going to need to dose extra iron for the red plants. With the crypts and swords you might want to put plant tabs under them. My favorite are the ones from Aquariumplants.com. It's their total substrate pellets. You don't need the applicator, just use tweezers.
> http://www.aquariumplants.com/AquariumPlants_com_s_own_SUBSTRATE_VITALIZATION_p/fert.htm
> 
> I'd start with my lights on 7-8 hours. Some of those plants are high light plants. You can ease up slowly, keeping check on any algae.
> ...


thanks i set my lights for 8 hours a day and ill get my co2 tanks swapped out as soon as i can. and ill start dosing today. i checked the EI thread, and found how much to dose micros, kh2po4, and kno3. but didnt find anything on the iron chelate or k2so4 (potassium sulfate)i have. any suggestions?


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## blacklabel (Jun 8, 2008)

maknwar said:


> Bro, what happened to your P's?


i sold them to a dude from p fury about a year ago. 4 terns, 4 caribes and a red all aroun 7-8".

pretty sure the guy didnt know what he was doing. i saw a thread he made on p fury where he thought the caribes were breeding because they were dark , but in the pics he posted the water looked horrible and they all had pretty bad ammonia burn. im sure they all died a long time ago.

after that i just kept central/south cichlids. still have a nice jag in a 40 and a big male convict that was the only one out of a batch i bred who made it through living with the ps. cant get rid of him

do you still have any? what tanks do you have up aat the moment?


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I was dosing Potassium at the same rate as the phosphates. I stopped because my plants were getting enough in my tap water and the other macros. 

For the chelated iron you can put in 10grams of powder to 100 ml of sterile water stored in a sterilized bottle. Dose the same as Flourish Iron.


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## blacklabel (Jun 8, 2008)

ok thanks!

it turns out i got a hitchhiker with my plants.

a little tiny snail sliding across the glass.

should i remove this little fellow? ive heard that they multiply like crazy. ill get a picture of him in a little.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Well, snails eat algae. If you have one you probably also have eggs that will hatch. Snails are bad when they get over populated. They won't hurt your plants but look messy. You have to decide. It's hard not the have snails. I keep loaches in one tank to eat them. I have assassin snail in my other tanks. Just put them in all tanks except where the loaches are. I'd rather contol algae with balance, amano shrimp, ottos, gobies, etc. I like the look of those better. If you are adding plants from any source you are very likely to always have snails.


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## blacklabel (Jun 8, 2008)

theres no way im going to find that little guy again anyway. oh well, i can always periodically remove them later. as long as they wont leave the tank theyre ok.

i got my co2 going yesterday night, but today when it came on, i never did see my drop checker change from blue???

i turned it up to about 4.5 bubbles per second and it never did change at all that i could tell?

the 4kdh as well as the blue are both a couple years old, but they were stored inside.

im pretty sure i dont have any leaks anywhere. its diffused in a DIY rex grig style PVC reactor plumbed in line with a rena XP3.

i cant figure out what the problem is, other than the drop checker is on the other side of the tank than the xp3 intake and output (but i seriously doubt that would make a difference anyway.)

there is minimal surface agitation...any ideas or suggestions?


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

On a tank that size you will need MANY bubbles per second. I can't even count how many are coming out. I could not get enough CO2 in my tank with the type diffuser you refer to. You may need to rethink your method. You also might need to make sure you have ample flow. 

I had to use 2 XP3's on my 125g tank. I have switched to a Eheim 2262 which is rated at 950 gph. In this same tank I was running a mag drive 9.5 (950gph) which right now is replaced with two Koralia #2 pumps. I am finally getting enough CO2. I'm not done as I have just done this temporarily, but am getting enough CO2. Drop checker is yellow/green.


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## blacklabel (Jun 8, 2008)

its been almost 2 weeks now, and ive decided that i need more light. im going to add 2 more 80 watt t5 fixtures giving me a total of 440 watts (3.5wpg) up from 280 (2.2wpg). i also may add two smaller koralias as my number 4 just died for no reason.

my main problem right now, besides light is my co2.

i am simply not getting enough (if any) using this pvc reactor. i have already used a full 5lb bottle going as fast as it can and ive never seen the drop checker change from blue. what do you recommend as a permanent solution?

also, any recommendations on a bubble counter? the one i have is this one










and frankly its garbage. it always leaks, wasting co2 and allowing the water to evaporate. im hoping to complete my order today before the drsfostersmith sale ends. thanks


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## blacklabel (Jun 8, 2008)

well i did the co2 thing using the hagen mini filter. i would have bought 2 but they only had one in stock.

ive got it hooked up but had to use regular air line as co2 line is too thick and stiff to fit in the opening.

its pretty loud though, sounds like a have a yard sprinkler in my kitchen lol. tss tss tss tss tss tss tss....

anyway ill see if i get any change in my drop checker and if i do it will be worth it, although i dont really consider this a permanent solution, so i guess ill continue to research better methods for large tanks.

my new lights and powerheads come in next tuesday, bumping me up to 3.5 wpg and adding 1200 gph of soft flow.

as for the plants, a few of the stems really took off and are curled over at the water line. some have been slowly dying since i got them but i hope they can hang on till the new lights come. no sign of algae anywhere.


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## blacklabel (Jun 8, 2008)

well the lights and koralias came in and are up and running. maybe it will perk some of them up a little, and give them better colors.

none of the plants have completely died, except for the bright pink one on the right hand side, although it didnt die, it just started putting out green growth in stead of pink. but when i added 6 more bags of sand i stirred it up and lost it, im sure its floating on the top with some others.

tomorrow im going to change water, do a MASSIVE trimming and re planting on the stems (wheres will i put them!?) and possibly move a couple plants around, for a little better scape.

ill also go back to lfs and see if they have another mini filter in stock. ever since i put this one in, the drop checker had been changing to green. although im skeptical that there is ACTUALLY any more co2 in the water than before. it seems to me the drop checker would just react more to the micro bubbles getting trapped in the drop checker, as opposed to the pvc reactor which totally dissolves the co2 in the water. either way ill get another mini filter so i can maybe eliminate some of the micro bubbles while maintaining current co2 output plus a little more.

ill post pics tomorrow if i get a chance


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