# Problem I've had for a long time



## mrtank50 (16 Nov 2021)

Hello to everyone
Guys please solve my problem.

I do not know what to do.

Sinobacteria abound.

Plants do not grow.

It has algae problems.

Plants are shapeless.



Tank: 120 liter -   31 galon
Tank setup        :  01.10.2021
Light                 :39*6  T5 Flo   osram 865*3, Osram 830*3   but 3 lights out of 6 are on
Co2                   :40-50 ppm
TDS                   :90-100
GH                    :4
KH                    :0
PH                    :5,5-5,7
Subrast            : Tropica subrast 5 lt+ Tropica Nutrition Capsules 20 pcs-----Neo plants soil and npk 50 pcs----JBL Floropol 700 gram
Soil                  :Neo Soil
Fert                  :tropica specialised nutrition 1 pump daily
Filter                : Sump + eheim ecco pro
Co2 indicator  : Alyaws yellow
Water              :  %100 osmos
GH Booster     :Seachem  equilibrium
Water Change: 30% every 2 days


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## Hufsa (16 Nov 2021)

I think a few additional details will be useful to know:
How long per day are the lights on?
In what manner are you adding CO2 to the tank?
Is the CO2 on with the lights or are you using it 24/7?

Im not a CO2 user, so im sure another more knowledgeable member will help you with that part.


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## mrtank50 (16 Nov 2021)

Thank you for remembering. I forgot


Hufsa said:


> Im think a few additional details will be useful to know:
> How long per day are the lights on?
> In what manner are you adding CO2 to the tank?
> Is the CO2 on with the lights or are you using it 24/7?
> ...


Thank you for remembering. I forgot


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## mrtank50 (16 Nov 2021)

The lights are on 6 hours a day.

I give the CO2 with the reactor. 3-4 hours before lights turn on


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## Wolf6 (16 Nov 2021)

How is your flow?


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## Wookii (16 Nov 2021)

I’m going to stick my neck out here lol . . . way too much light, 120 watts? And way too little ferts!

Take one T5 out, maybe even two, and quadruple your Tropica daily dose as a starting point.

CO2 probably needs looking at too, I don’t see a drop checker in your photos?


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## MichaelJ (17 Nov 2021)

mrtank50 said:


> Hello to everyone
> Guys please solve my problem.
> 
> I do not know what to do.
> ...


Hi @mrtank50.   My first thoughts are poor CO2 application (40-50ppm of CO2, thats high, and how do you know?), too much light intensity and not enough fertilizer (a pump or even 3, of Tropica Specialized per day just wont cut it in terms of NPK for a 120 L high energy tank ).  You don't have any plants or livestock, from the look of it, that require such low GH, KH and pH. Can't tell if you have any livestock at all?

I am going to double down on @Wookii's good advice, and recommend a complete fertilizer such as TNC Complete - for a 120 L tank dose 12 ml after WC and then 12 ml every other day. When you remineralize, target a higher GH, such as 6-7. It will increase your Ca and Mg contents (unless you have livestock that really _need_ soft water).  You could also mix in a bit of dechlorinated tap water to raise your KH as well - no plants really need a KH of 0 - otherwise you can add a teaspoons or two of of baking soda to your WC water (assuming 50%) to drive up your KH to about 4 - which will also increase your pH - unless you have a particular reason to be down in the 5.5 range?

And finally, look into your CO2 dosing situation - should come on 1 hour before lights on, and off when lights off (possibly before?) - your DC should be lime green. Make sure your flow is adequate - Flow is King in the CO2 injected tank.... I am not a CO2 expert, heck, I haven't even tried injecting CO2, but I've read enough CO2 advice around here from the experts to be dangerous and possibly wrong  ... so take my CO2 advice as a proxy for the real deal provided by someone else around here.

In the meantime, until you get the situation under control dial down the light intensity and up the fertilizer, if you keep your 30% wc every two days you need to adjust fertilizer accordingly.

Cheers,
Michael


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## mrtank50 (17 Nov 2021)

My flow is fine. I have a head motor that can rotate 3000 h/l.
+ There is a wave engine that turns 800 liters per hour.


Wolf6 said:


> How is your flow?


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## mrtank50 (17 Nov 2021)

Wookii said:


> I’m going to stick my neck out here lol . . . way too much light, 120 watts? And way too little ferts!
> 
> Take one T5 out, maybe even two, and quadruple your Tropica daily dose as a starting point.
> 
> CO2 probably needs looking at too, I don’t see a drop checker in your photos?


Thank you, I will lower the light and increase the fertilizer.


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## mrtank50 (17 Nov 2021)

MichaelJ said:


> Hi @mrtank50.   My first thoughts are poor CO2 application (40-50ppm of CO2, thats high, and how do you know?), too much light intensity and not enough fertilizer (a pump or even 3, of Tropica Specialized per day just wont cut it in terms of NPK for a 120 L high energy tank ).  You don't have any plants or livestock, from the look of it, that require such low GH, KH and pH. Can't tell if you have any livestock at all?
> 
> I am going to double down on @Wookii's good advice, and recommend a complete fertilizer such as TNC Complete - for a 120 L tank dose 12 ml after WC and then 12 ml every other day. When you remineralize, target a higher GH, such as 6-7. It will increase your Ca and Mg contents (unless you have livestock that really _need_ soft water).  You could also mix in a bit of dechlorinated tap water to raise your KH as well - no plants really need a KH of 0 - otherwise you can add a teaspoons or two of of baking soda to your WC water (assuming 50%) to drive up your KH to about 4 - which will also increase your pH - unless you have a particular reason to be down in the 5.5 range?
> 
> ...


There are no live fish in the aquarium, only plants.

The reason I chose low gh, kh, ph is because I have low requirement plants.

Ludwigia Tornado

pandanal

ericanium cinereum

ericanium sp vietnam

crypto. flamingo

ludwigia senagelensis


but if kh reaches 4, wouldn't such plants be a problem?


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## erwin123 (17 Nov 2021)

gH 6-7
kH 3-4
pH 6.1 (with CO2 - 1.1-1.2 pH drop after lights on) 
TDS 160-220

I have the same plants as you, happy to exchange notes!
L. Pantanal
E. Cinerum
E. Vietnam
E. Japan
L. Senegelansis


My tanks still has a long way to go, as I have plants that are struggling, but I enjoy solving problems.  I'm still figuring out how to improve the colour for my Pantanal and Sengelansis. I am using Neo Tabs and Ferropol root as my substrate is old.
Currently I've just started experimenting with an Osmocote clone as the aquarium root tabs are very expensive with very little nutrients (Neo tab is  1.9%/0.64%/1.27% NPK while Osmocote can go up to 15%/15%/15% depending on the formula you pick).


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## mrtank50 (17 Nov 2021)

erwin123 said:


> gH 6-7
> kH 3-4
> pH 6.1 (with CO2 - 1.1-1.2 pH drop after lights on)
> TDS 160-220
> ...


You have a very beautiful aquarium. Congratulations.

What is your fertilization method?


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## erwin123 (18 Nov 2021)

mrtank50 said:


> You have a very beautiful aquarium. Congratulations.
> 
> What is your fertilization method?



Approx 100litre tank, so I add APT EI 2ml a day.  Epsom Salt 4g a week which translates roughly to:
N 12ppm
P 4.2ppm
K 14ppm
Fe 0.45ppm
Mg 5ppm

I also added Ferropol Root Tab and Neo Root Tab to the more difficult plants... but these Tabs are expensive so I decide to try Osmocote clone which is a whole lot cheaper.  However, because of Ammonia and metals/copper, I'm using only a small amount (so it doesn't fully replace Neo/Ferropol tabs but supplements them).


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## erwin123 (14 Dec 2021)

Hi MrTank

How's the Pantanal and Senegelansis doing? updated photo will be great!


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