# Maiden's 29g "the fringe" journal



## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Hurray! I just got my plants in from aquabotanics and they are awesome! I ordered Rotala indica, Didiplis diandra, HC, Rotala macrandra, Cyperus helferi, Ludwigia glandulosa, and Blyxa japonica. Every thing came in superb condition, except for the Rotala macrandra, but I understand that it is a VERY delicate plant so no worries, I think it should start to heal soon. Well, since this is a journal, I have to list the equipment, so here it goes:

Lighting: Coralife 1x65w
Filter: Rena XP 1
Heater: Marineland Stealth 150w and maybe another 50w that I have lying around depending on the temperature stability.
CO2: 5lb cylinder w/ Azoo regulator
thermometer: coralife digital
substrate: Eco-complete

Ferts: I haven't made up a dosing schedule, because I really don't know how much of Plantex CSM+B, KNO3 and Mono Potassium Phosphate ( I forget the chemical form of this) I should dose. I have a cool digital gram scaler that I can use also. Can anybody suggest a dosing plan for the plants I have above?

Its late and there are bubbles everywhere so I will get pictures to you tomorrow. 

Also, I haven't started dosing ferts or CO2 (need to get the cylinder filled), but will my plants be okay?

thanks

Edit: I also forgot to tell you that I only have 2 bags of eco-complete in there right now as the third bag is sitting in my ten gallon tank, so I need to wash it .


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## longhornxtreme (Feb 20, 2007)

Sounds like you've made a good start!

As far as fertilizing goes, you probably want to look into EI or PPS-Pro. There's LOTS of good information in the advanced substrate forum here on APC. 

I also only have 2 bags of eco in my 29G and I can grow crypts that reach almost to the water line with the substrate that depth. 

I would rush to get your co2 filled and up and running along with figuring out an appropriate fertilizing regime so you don't encourage massive algal problems or kill your plants


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Everything seems to be going good, except my temperature, its at 71.8F. Is this okay for plants and fish?

Anyways, here are the pictures:

right side









left side









FTS









HC









Cyprus Helferi









I have a question about planting my Cyprus Helferi. When I received it, it was potted in some type of water retaining fiber. I just stuck in in there like that without taking off the fiber. Is that okay, or should I take off the fiber?

thanks


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## longhornxtreme (Feb 20, 2007)

I don't have any experience with CH, although I'd probably take off the fiber... maybe someone more knowledgeable out there will chime in. 

As far as temperature goes, I like to run my tanks at 75ish depending on fish.

Hope that helps.


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## helgymatt (Sep 12, 2007)

Sounds like your off to a good start here! Its crazy to me you have that much pearling already with no CO2 and ferts!!???


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Haha, thanks.

I don't know where you see pearling, are you talking about on the walls of the tanks? Those are just air bubbles. 

I was told on the Planted Tank Forum to take out as much of the fiber as possible, which I did.


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## helgymatt (Sep 12, 2007)

Oh I got ya...you must have just filled that tank before the photo.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

I have a question about my lighting time, from 2pm to 10pm, or 8 hours. Is 8 hours sufficient lighting for the plants in my aquarium (ex. HC, macrandra, etc). I only have 65w over this tank so I don't know if I need to bump it up to 10 hours or not.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Hurray! I set up my CO2!


















like everyone else said, the bubble counter that came with the Fosters and Smith CO2 package is crap (its leaking):









I'll be switching that out as soon as I get materials to build one.

tomorrow I'll be dosing ferts.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

what are these thing coming out of my Cyprus?




























are they plantlets?


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Yes, Iron....they are indeed plantlets! You are a Daddy, now!


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

mm.. sexy!

so do I just cut them off the stem, or should I leave them on for a while as I just planted this tank like 2 days ago and just started dosing CO2 20 mins ago, and will start dosing ferts tommorrow. (run on sentence).


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

I just counted my bpm and bps:

bpm: 73

bps: about 1 or 2

I don't know if thats good or bad.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

That is a good bubble rate for a 29 gallon, Iron. You can snip off the plantlets just below the roots and replant them, if you want to grow more; if not, leave them on, or cut and throw them away.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

A little bit of an update:

First, I bought some stems of Red Ludwigia at Petsmart as suggested by people on this board. Things seem to be growing as my Rotala's tips are now a bright green.

But I do have a few concerns:

When I received the Blyxa, it had transparent leaves, those are peeling off and I can now see some healthier looking leaves. I am guessing that this is just a melting stage, right.










My Cyprus Helferi's long leaves are all turning yellow brown, so they are definitly dying, but there are smaller green leaves at the base. I am also guessing that this is just a melting phase, right? Also, on the small baby plantlets, I am getting this white fungi looking stuff on the grain part of the plant.










About Half of my HC plantlets and getting dull and seem like they are dying, but I am not sure. Can someone diagnose this?




























I haven't witnessed any pearling yet, so do you think I should turn up the CO2? Another thing about my CO2 is that the diffused bubbles are cling to the water's surface. I don't know if this is good or bad.

On the brighter side of things, here is an FTS:



















thanks


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Are you dosing enough ferts? Check out the fertilizer sticky. 

Am I seeing new growth or am I seeing dying plants? OR - if this is a new tank maybe you are just getting diatoms on your plants -brown stuff and it can smother them. Can the brown stuff brush off or is it actually the plants that are brown?

You could still use quite a bit more plants.


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## Felf808 (Mar 21, 2006)

Your HC is covered in algae because it's not growing and you don't have enough plants to use up the excess nutrients in the water column, it'll start growing once you setup your co2.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

How many days were the plants in there before you got the C02 running? I would crank the C02 up more. Are you still running the lights 8 hours? I wouldn't do less than ten hours. After ten hours you will see more pearling. 

The Cyperus is grown emersed which is why it has those stalks with seed/flower pods and baby plants. You do want to remove the pot and the rockwool. At least as much as you can. I would also get some fert tabs to put under the Cyperus and Blyxa. Both the Cyperus and Blyxa will take more time to get acclimated before there is a burst of new growth. The stem plants will react much quicker. The more light and C02 you provide will help the plants get thru the acclimation stage faster. I wouldn't add any ferts to the water until you start to see signs of growth in the stem plants. When the Ludwigia and others start to show aerial roots then they are starting to grow. You could add more fast growing stem plants to help get things going. If you do that, just be sure you move the Blyxa more to the front where it is under direct light. If you have it in an area where it gets covered by taller stem plants, it will never recover and you will loose it for sure.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Heres a bit of an update:
I have been fiddling with the equipment and I like it so far. I took off the spray bar like Tom Barr told me to, I moved the heater down, and I took out the diffuser. without the spray bar, I am getting good flow and a 100% CO2 diffusion. I can finally start to see pearling!









some not so good news:
I am pretty sure the macrandra is dead/dying, but thats not a big problem. I am also getting this white fuzz stuff on my cyprus and some other plants.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Well the Rotala was really not the best choice for you under the circumstances. It is a very delicate, sensitive, and extremely demanding plant. I don't see the white stuff you are talking about in the photo. I'm not sure what it would be, but if you are concerned about it, take the plant out and clean it off. Basically you just need to let things settle in now. Why do you have the heater horizontal instead of verticle in a corner? It would be out of sight more in the corner and you would be able to reach it better to ajust it.


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## AKnickolai (Nov 30, 2007)

I saw your post on the Barr report, I think what Tom was trying to say was remove the spray bar and point it at the C02 diffuser. That way you would be misting all the plants with C02. Now that you are running the C02 right into the canister intake I'd probably put the spray bar back on (like you had it before) and point the outlet toward the front of the tank, pointing down slightly. This will help circulate the C02 rich water throughout the tank.

I don't see any fish in the tank, you might want to consider adding some shrimp to help combat the algae that is forming on the HC. You could also try the addition of some flourish excel to the tank, that has helped my HC a lot in the past. My only warning is that not all plants love excel, might want to do a quick search and make sure all your plants will do well with it.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

^oh thanks, I understand now. 

Hopefully I'll to find so RCS tommorrow.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Well, I really was holding off posting an update until my tank looked better, but I think I need help...:



















As you can see I am battling a fairly large algae breakout out. Its a mix of brown algae ( I think diatoms), some type of green algae, and hair algae. I bought 4 baby otto's hoping they would do something, but they really haven't. What can I do to clean this tank up?

On the brighter side, The plants seem to be doing well, I really like the Diandra. My fish are happy as can be and I am slowly (very slowly) stocking it. I am also thinking about upping my lighting by adding a 48w Nova Extreme T-5 Fixture, but I don't really know yet. I really don't like my hardscape, but I want the plants to fill in and the algae to subside before messing with it.

thanks


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## Jeff.:P:. (Nov 20, 2007)

I'd recommend getting a UV filter or some willow branches.


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## leelee (Feb 9, 2007)

I suggest you lay off the fertilizer for a few weeks, scrape all of that off the glass and do a %50 water-change. Definitely don’t add any more light. Is there any algae on the plants at all?


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## tirtha1979 (Sep 28, 2007)

I would like to push a lot CO2 to kill the GHA. If possible, do a big water change and use Excel Overdose for an week (3xNormal Dose) after every alternate day. 
And reduce photo period a bit to get rid of the Geen spots on the glass.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

i learned from my local pet store that adding carbanated water to the tank is co2 maybe try that?


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Well,

after doing a 75% water change to get help my algae problem, the tank water reached temperatures of 82F . All my glowlights died, and so did every other fish except my two platies. pics:


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

well the tank looks bettersorry about the fish...you can get more though


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## AKnickolai (Nov 30, 2007)

Last time I looked at this thread you had the C02 piped directly into the intake for the filter, but from the algae pics I can see that it is back on. You should either move the diffuser under the spray bar and point the spray bar output down 30 or 45 degrees from its current orientation (you should see the C02 bubble blown almost all over the tank), or run the C02 directly into the filter intake w/o the diffuser. That will help get C02 rich water everywhere in the tank. 

Did you get a chance to fix the bubble counter leak? If not you might want to do that ASAP, it could cause C02 fluctuations in your tank. I'd scrape all the algae that is left on the glass off, cover the tank and leave the lights off for 2-3 days. After that, do a 50% WC, dose excel and resume your fert regime. That will kill the algae, but you should try and think about what caused the outbreak in the first place. I wouldn't recommend adding any more light to the tank until you have had it set up for a while and things get going. High light tanks are a lot more work, I have 2x55w from AH supply on a 29 gal tank and it is very high maintenance. I'm thinking of cutting back to one bulb.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

ir0n_ma1den said:


> Well, I really was holding off posting an update until my tank looked better, but I think I need help...:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can you get some rubber lip plecos? They'll clean up most of your algae. Pet Smart usually carries them.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Wow, I haven't updated in a long time.



















Alot of things changed since the last time I updated. I have been battling this brown algae that noone can identify and just got new plants from chadly (thanks!). Hopefully a large plant mass will be the solution to this algae...


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## chadly (Dec 19, 2005)

plants look good in there. They should blow up in the next couple weeks. Generally they are fast growers and I'm sure you'll need to trim them in a month or less.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

UPDATE:

Got some new lights from Catalina Aquariums (2x 65w PC) and they are awesome.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

well that looks ten times better!!!! way to go!


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## Vadimshevchuk (Jul 5, 2009)

im suprised you upgraded your lights, but your tank loks much better. I am gonna folow this thread.


i have a 29 gallon
65w current fixture
2 bags of eco complete
(working on co2 system =D)
good luck on your tank

any thoughts on eco complete? it keeps getting on my plants leaves but i only had it for a week.


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Complete rescape:










I got some pennywort and some micro sword.

Will be getting glosso, peacock moss, and narrowleaf java fern next week.

Looking through this journal, I can see a major improvement in my aquascaping skillzz... it's about time.

Here's my dosing schedule if anyone cares:

alternate starting sunday

MACRO
KNO3 3/8 tsp
KH2PO4 1/16 tsp
K2SO4 3/16 tsp
MgSO4 1 tsp

MICRO
CSM+B 3/16 tsp


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## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Update:

Specs:

65w 6700k PC lighting (10 hour photoperiod
eco-complete
maxijet 400
pressurized CO2
Eheim 2115
Rena XP1 w/o spray bar

25% water change once a week

Dosing three times a week:
• KNO3 1/4 teaspoon
• KH2PO4 1/32 teaspoon
• K2SO4 1/32 teaspoon
• MgSO4 1/4 teaspoon

Alternate three days:
• CSM+B 1/4 teaspoon





































The battle with GSA, Hair Algae, GDA, and the mysterious browish/red algae has improved, but it hasn't ended. I am still getting new growth in the GSA and GDA departments. Hair algae has seemed to stop but that is not a fact. The brownish red algae has also seemed to stop.

I have noticed that my hair algae problem only appeared in the very front portion of my tank which is weird cause that is where it is the highest flow. Then again when I dose, most of the nutrients sink to the front so that may be the cause.

plant growth has been quite slow, especially with my L. aromatica, which has seemed to melt a little. The problem is that that is my only stem plant, and because of the 3 day blackout, I only have about 7 weak stems when I used to have the back crammed full of thick, red stems.

The tips on my NL java fern have turned opaque and weak looking. New growth is not substantial at all.

I have propagated the glosso, but the plantlets still grow vertically and not horizontally.

My crypts (that I really don't want) are doing okay, but some leaves, even new leaves, have developed holes in them and withering away.

A good portion of the peacock moss has been doing very well, while the other half isn't looking so good. It seems to have this light brown fuzz on it. It might be another type of algae that was introduced from where I bought the stuff. I think it may be BBA, but I am not sure.

I'm really tempted to switch back to my 130w just so I can get some good growth in my L. Aromatica, I really don't want that to die. I am willing to do anything to rid this tank of its problems because it gets a little frustrating when your tank doesn't do what you want it to do, right?


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Maiden,

I'm sorry to hear about the problems with algae and growth. I think you'll need to bump up the WPG for the glosso to do what you want (and the Limno as well). If you up the lighting, cut back to 8 hrs (or even 6 to start) and slowly work your way back up by 30 minutes per week.

Your scape looks really good otherwise. Keep up the good work.

-Dave


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## Kamon (Mar 27, 2009)

I'm also having lighting problems with my 29gal. I'd really like to grow red plants but I feel I need a much better light fixture and CO2. 

The Nova Extreme T5HO 2x24w (10,000k and 6,500k) fixture looks pretty good, but I'm not sure if one would be enough.


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