# Fluval Roma 200 LED



## Douglas Mason (2 Feb 2020)

Hi,

I am finally able to start writing my journal having suffered from a few set backs since purchasing my tank.  

I have kept fish all my life; I started off with a goldfish pond at my parents house then I got a 6' tropical system, 3000 gallon heated koi pond and finally an 8' marine system which I had to close down a few years ago due to ill health.

In August 2019 after a few years without a tank my wife agreed that I could have a new smaller tank that was easier for me to maintain or so she thought.  The only stipulations from my wife was that the tank had to have a lid as she did not like the open topped tanks and the room had to be decorated before I set up the tank.  Before she could change her mind I whisked her off to the local aquatic shop and we purchased the Fluval Roma 200 LED which was duly delivered.




 

As I was quickly decorating the room so I could set the tank and cabinet up I discovered a water leak from the radiator and this had been going on for months and had ruined the floor.  On hearing this news my wife decided to take advantage of the situation and decided to renovate and decorate most of the downstairs.

The tank build had to go on hold  whilst it was on hold I decided to give a planted tank a go as this was something I had not tried before and it looked interesting.  I then decided to start reading more about the planted tanks and decided that I wanted to run a system with CO2 and EI Dosing.  

As Christmas 2019 approached the building work was nearly complete as was the decorating and I was getting ready to set up the tank when I got a serious bacterial infection.  Once again the tank build went on hold whilst  I spent Christmas in hospital.  Whilst in hospital and subsequently at home recovering from the infection I was able to purchase items on-line for my tank.


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## Douglas Mason (2 Feb 2020)

Towards the end of January 2020 I started to feel better and decided to slowly put the tank and cabinet together.



 

 
Having built the tank and cabinet I realised that they both needed some modifications done to them to fit the equipment I had purchased.

Having done a lot of reading I purchased the following equipment:-

Oase 350 Thermo Cannister filter with upgraded media and pre filters

CO2 Art Pro-SE Series C)2 Reactor

Eheim Skim 350

Tunze Nanostream 6015 - 1800l/h

Chihiros Doctor 3 in 1

Elitech Temp Controller

Fluval Plant 3.0 LED Light

Kamoer Dosing Pump for EI Solution

Easi-Dose Containers for the EI Solution.

I have also purchased scissors, EI Salts, Purigen, filter bags, hosepipe and connectors for draining and filling the tank.

I purchased the Tunze Nanostream as the Oase 350 only has a flow rate of 1100l/h and with the change in media I would estimate that this flow rate would drop to around 700 - 800 l/h if not less so I wanted more flow in the tank.


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## Douglas Mason (2 Feb 2020)

Images showing the shelf I made to take the Elitech Temp Controller



 

Shelf in position with the original cabinet shelf behind with the Dosing pump on it.



 

I then turned to the bottom and back of the cabinet and fitted edging to make the cabinet more waterproof.


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## Douglas Mason (2 Feb 2020)

Having fitted the edging I decided to fit a panel to fill the open back so I could use the back for plug bars and to hopefully cut down on any noise.  Once the panel was fitted I cut out a hole so I could get to the power supply.









Image showing the tank in situ with the plug bars fitted to the back panel.


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## Douglas Mason (2 Feb 2020)

So far so good.

I then went to fit the Oase Cannister filter and realised it would not fit in the cabinet due to the shelf at the rear so out came the jig saw and a few minutes later the shelf was cut so the filter would fit.  The open chipboard was then sealed with silicon sealant.



 
Having resolved the cannister filter issues I then turned to the tank, it was obvious to me that the inlet and outlets from the cannister filter would not fit properly through the Roma 200 lid as the so called cut outs on the lid were too shallow.  I had to make these deeper to take the Oase pipework.

Using a bit of brute force I was able to push the plastic surround upwards away from the glass tank and once I had done this I was able to cut the plastic with my jig saw to that the pipework would fit and the lid would close properly.  Not the tidiest of jobs but it works.


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## Douglas Mason (2 Feb 2020)

I then attached some black vinyl to the back and one side of the tank.


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## Douglas Mason (2 Feb 2020)

Having sorted out the tank and cabinet I started to position the skimmer, Chihiros Doctor, Tunze Powerhead and Temp Sensor into the tank to see how they would look.



 




 



 

I forgot to mention earlier that I also extended the spray bar so it ran across the whole length of the tank as can be seen in the above image.


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## Douglas Mason (2 Feb 2020)

Having sorted out the tank and cabinet I also fitted the Fluval Plant 3.0 LED light and now have this running from my phone, I also kept the white LED light that came with the tank so I have additional wattage should this be required.

Now that most of the tank and cabinet have been sorted I need to sort out the hardscape.

It is my intention to bank the substrate up so that it runs from a high point on the left of the tank to the right and then I will have rocks and wood coming from the left of the tank towards the right.

I have been advised to use either Tropica Aquarium Soil or Prodibio Aqua Growth Soil, I know Tropica is highly recommended but has anyone used the Prodibio Soil and if so what are your thoughts on it.

Can anyone advise how many litres of substrate I will need for my tank, 

I would like to keep some shrimp in the tank and I have been advised to cap the soil with the smaller grained powder, is this a necessity.

I am finding it difficult to source any decent wood in the Merseyside area, does anyone know anywhere in the North West that has good stocks of wood and stone that you can go and look at.  I'm worried about buying the wood and stone over the internet in case I'm sent out some rubbish.  

The stone appears to be fairly expensive, can you go to a garden centre and buy some normal garden stone and then give it a good clean prior to putting it in your tank.  

Doug ​


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (5 Feb 2020)

The maiden head aquatics just both of Preston has always served me best for wood and rocks though probably an hours drive for you... you need to be careful when buying stone from a garden centre that it will not raise hardness significantly there is a vintage test you can do and you can swat up on suitable rock types etc before you go. It is definately doable.  Some websites do a what you see is what you get, especially for wood, they will be numbered pieces and you get that specific piece.

the smaller grained Aquasoil is not a necessity but does look a lot better in my opinion and is much easier for planting. Just get one or two bags less of the course stuff and get one of two powder type to go on top. You can figure out how much your likely to need the same way you calculate tank volume. Measure the height you want the slope at its peak and the base dimensions, half the height due to the slope and you have a guesstimate for how much you’ll need - always round up or add a bag.


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## dw1305 (5 Feb 2020)

Hi all, 





Douglas Mason said:


> The stone appears to be fairly expensive, can you go to a garden centre and buy some normal garden stone and then give it a good clean prior to putting it in your tank.


You can. Because you are likely to have <"soft welsh tap water">, you need to avoid limestone, unless you don't mind it <"making your water harder">.

They aren't to every-ones tastes, but I'm a <"rounded cobble fan">, and <"spherical rocks are always inert">.

You may be able to find some <"PYO wood">. Oak is good, and there are some other suggestions in <"British tree.......">.

cheers Darrel


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## Sammy Islam (5 Feb 2020)

Douglas Mason said:


> Can anyone advise how many litres of substrate I will need for my tank​



I just set up a 186l tank with very deep banked substrate, i used 3x9L of tropica soil, so for your 200l i would say 3 bags would be great. All depends how high/deep you want the substrate towards the back or corner if you plan a triangular scape, or if you plan on using sand & gravel for the foreground


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## HafMan (5 Feb 2020)

Looks like this is going to be a good build with the work you’ve put in so far.


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## Dave Y (6 Feb 2020)

I use Prodibio Aquasoil, also in a Roma 200 (will be following this one closely ).
The prodibio is ok, the growth of everything is good but its not the easiest to work with. The soil is the most cloudy i have worked with and the grains feel quite light when planting (if that makes sense). Will definitely be moving to tropica soil next time.


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## Douglas Mason (7 Feb 2020)

Hi,

Thanks for all the comments.  I decided to buy four 9l bags of Tropica, two are the normal soil and two the powder.  I'm sure I'll have enough and if there is any soil left over I will be able to use it on my next set up once I've learnt by my mistakes on this one

Going out over the weekend to check out a few more aquarium shops to see if I can find any suitable hardscape.

Doug


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## Douglas Mason (7 Feb 2020)

Dave Y said:


> I use Prodibio Aquasoil, also in a Roma 200 (will be following this one closely ).
> The prodibio is ok, the growth of everything is good but its not the easiest to work with. The soil is the most cloudy i have worked with and the grains feel quite light when planting (if that makes sense). Will definitely be moving to tropica soil next time.




Hi Dave,

Have you started a journal it would be interesting to see how your Roma 200 is getting on.

Doug


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## Dave Y (8 Feb 2020)

No I dont have a journal, I may start one when I have some time. Will be upgrading filtration soon so interested to see how you get on with your combination.


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## Douglas Mason (12 Feb 2020)

Hi,

Over the last week I've had 2 X 9l bags of Tropica Soil and 2 X 9l bags of the Tropica Soil Powder delivered.  I also bought 2 X 2kg Co2 fire extinguishers and some Dragon Stone and  Redmoor wood from a LFS so I could have a go ay my first Planted Hardscape.

I started the hardscape today using the 2 bags of Tropica Soil.   I've got the powdered soil left for when I finally scape the tank. I've taken a few images of my attempt so far and and ask for some critique.  

I still have some stone and a couple of pieces of redmoor wood left to fill the left hand side of the tank but I don't have enough soil to bank the scape up on the left without opening the powder soil and I only want to do this when I do the final scape.  






Right Hand side





Left hand Side


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## Douglas Mason (21 Feb 2020)

Hi,

When starting EI Dosing do you dose the daily requirement all at once or is it best to split the dose up throughout the day.

Thanks


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## Filip Krupa (22 Feb 2020)

Douglas Mason said:


> Hi,
> 
> When starting EI Dosing do you dose the daily requirement all at once or is it best to split the dose up throughout the day.
> 
> Thanks



Wouldnt worry about splitting throughout the day, as long as the micro and macro doses are not in the same day, and even that makes arguable difference.

Fil


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## alto (26 Feb 2020)

Excellent journal to date ...
 though now I’m waiting for the next entry 

You’ve the stone lying very flat so far, I’d angle it for more height and interest 
(when using stone just to elevate wood, you can use any cheap rock, saving your dragonstone for more viewable locations)

Recently Filipe Oliveira has been using lots of dragonstone, so may be worth looking through his FB page and videos 
- when I first saw this scape photo on his FB page I was unexcited (I’m just not a tree scape person) but then was intrigued as he chose one of my all time favourite plants for the “trees”



Really impressed with the dragonstone and forest “floor”


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## Douglas Mason (29 Feb 2020)

alto said:


> Excellent journal to date ...
> though now I’m waiting for the next entry
> 
> You’ve the stone lying very flat so far, I’d angle it for more height and interest
> ...


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## Douglas Mason (29 Feb 2020)

Hi,

Its been just over a week since my last post.

In that time I've been over to visit Fil and his 2000l 'Beast', Thanks Fil, your advice and the plants were much appreciated. 

It was my intention to finally scape, plant and fill my tank last weekend but this had to be put on hold as I needed to get a non return valve for my Co2 system as I had water back flowing from the in-line diffuser to the solenoid.  Its now sorted and the valve has been fitted.

Below are some images showing my scape and the planting that I have done.  Some of the plants came from Fil, others from LFS and some were ordered from Aquarium Gardens (Thanks).  I have done a fairly heavily planted scape and my intention was to have a sort of Jungle with a small valley running through it.


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## Douglas Mason (29 Feb 2020)

Just About Full


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## Douglas Mason (29 Feb 2020)

Tank after initial fill





Over the following days the Co2 was brought on-line and balanced so the drop checker is green when the lights come on, the dosing pump was set up and the EI additives are now up and running and the Chihiros Doctor was set up (not sure if it actually does anything but I like the look of it when on)

Some images showing where I'm up too now, just letting everything settle down and grow.

Any critique gratefully received.


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## Douglas Mason (29 Feb 2020)




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## Douglas Mason (29 Feb 2020)

Hi,

Can anyone please help me identify this plant, I'm not sure where I got it and I would like to identity it so I know where to place it in my tank.


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## Douglas Mason (29 Feb 2020)

I've also started to get a little fungus on the wood which I know is normal, is it just a matter of brushing it off as and when I can or is there anything else I can do to help \get rid of it.

Thanks


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## Jason harris (29 Feb 2020)

Hey douglas, i had a load of fungus grow on my DW after a little while in the tank, i did eventually just wipe it off, also my BN pleco took care of the rest and it is still ok after a bout of dodgy hallucinations. The plant looks like a cryptocoryne but the species is a bit difficult to tell. Looks like it needs a bit of TLC to get some new leaves out, maybe then decide where it should go. Keep up the good work.


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## alto (29 Feb 2020)

Unknown Crypt looks to be a “hammered” leaf type, these are usually midground (unless it’s a seriously stunted C usteriana - but the leafs look “wrong”), think C wendtii ‘Tropica’, C wendtii ‘My Oya’ (Aquasabi lists their cultivar as reaching 20-35cm, when I grew the Tropica cultivar, it was 10-15 or 15-20 depending upon conditions)
The present leafs look somewhat damaged and perhaps on the “melt verge”, so I’d trim any obvious damage and monitor remaining leafs (better to remove any likely to melt leafs proactively, as this seems somewhat “contagious” between crypts)

As you’ve no livestock, I’d increase CO2 to a more yellow-green during photoperiod

Wood slime of various origins seems to be fairly tasty to Otocinclus, shrimp, snails so while I’d remove the bulk of it, you can also just leave it (though some have reported issues with nearby mosses) - if you obtained some filter media from Fil, you can add some algae crew fairly early on (depending on water change schedule)

Overall tank looks good
But
I’d separate the grasses into small clumps placed a cm apart (they’ll quickly fill in the space)
I’d thin out that large moss “Pom Pom” and jams bits here and there into rocks etc (you can still leave a good chunk of it behind)

Not sure if you’ve any “fast growing” stems?
Tropica’s Auxiliary plants 

The sword in the back corner looks very close to the glass walls and will soon be pressed against them (if the rosette part is healthy and bulky, I’d remain be any damaged leafs)


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## Douglas Mason (1 Mar 2020)

Thanks for the comments.

I'll look at moving the sword over slightly away from the glass as best I can.

The moss pompom is Fissedens that I got from Fil and it is on a metal sheet, Fil advice me to keep it as one piece so this is what ive done.

I've used  Marsilea Crenata and Marsilea Hirsuta for ground cover which ive split into clumps.  The clumps are a couple of CM apart which is the recommended distance for planting, this may not be clear from the images. I'll see how they grow over the coming weeks.


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## alto (1 Mar 2020)

Douglas Mason said:


> The moss pompom is Fissedens that I got from Fil and it is on a metal sheet


I did suspect as much, but you should be able to quite easily lift some bits off - sometimes it transitions well as is, but I find the lifted off bits do excellent (no cutting required )

The Marsilea looks fine, I really meant just separating the grasses

You can just leave the sword as placed (especially if there really isn’t more room), just keep it nicely trimmed, removing all the original leafs as it generates new leafs


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## Filip Krupa (3 Mar 2020)

Douglas Mason said:


> Hi,
> 
> Can anyone please help me identify this plant, I'm not sure where I got it and I would like to identity it so I know where to place it in my tank.
> 
> ...



Hey Doug!

Tank is looking good so far!

This crypt is in a sorry state, and its from me 
Crypts do not like the beast, not sure why, could be too high energy.

It was originally sold to me by aquarium gardens as albida brown, and looked like it too for a while.
But now its gotten really dark and is melting.

Good luck with it. I might list the rest for free as a "rescue" plant.

Fil


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## alto (3 Mar 2020)

Definitely doesn’t look like any Tropic C albida brown I’ve had 

I can’t grow C usteriana - it’s notorious locally for melting upon arrival from Denmark, though it may hold leaf for up to 2 weeks if not disturbed in its pot, planting in substrate then signals the plant to dump ALL leaf, truly impressive melt in just a short time 
It will then reluctantly put out the odd leaf that might even manage a respectable 25-30 cm, but a year on, it still looks much the same (I usually dispose of it sooner but I was determined to try properly at least once  ) ... and it will gratuitously melt after the same water change it’s *not* melted through the previous 12 or so times


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## Filip Krupa (4 Mar 2020)

alto said:


> Definitely doesn’t look like any Tropic C albida brown I’ve had



It actually did at first, now its morphed into a weird looking half melty thing haha

Fil


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## Douglas Mason (10 Mar 2020)

Hi,

My tank has now been running for a couple of weeks, over the last few days I've started to see some hair algea appearing on the wood and there appears to be some algea on the plant leaves.  On seeing this i've reduced the light intensity, the lights are on for 6 hours and I'm also doing twice weekly 50% water changes.

Is there anything I can add to the tank at this time to help with the algea (fish/ shrimps) or is it just a matter of letting the algea burn itself out.

Doug


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## Douglas Mason (10 Mar 2020)

Full Tank Shot


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## Douglas Mason (12 Mar 2020)

Hi,

Can anyone give me some advice about the algea issue as the hair algea is getting worse.

Thanks


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## Simon Cole (12 Mar 2020)

How would you feel about adding some horned nerites?
Start with 10 nerites then just keep adding 10 at a time until the algae goes.
Another option would be the glutaraldehyde. Apparently all of the tanks at Green Aqua in Hungary include this algaecide. I don't.
It looks like a matter of days until your tank explodes into growth. It is quite typical for anubias to get algae when it is at this height at this stage.

Your crypt looks more like Cryptocoryne Nurii Rosen Maiden, but I think it has just morphed due to emergent growth. When I was at AG it was interesting to see that their flamingo crypts were green because they went with the pots. I went with the tissue culture and mine are psychedelic pink. My preference for crypts has now shifted back to tissue culture pots.


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## Douglas Mason (13 Mar 2020)

Simon Cole said:


> How would you feel about adding some horned nerites?
> Start with 10 nerites then just keep adding 10 at a time until the algae goes.
> Another option would be the glutaraldehyde. Apparently all of the tanks at Green Aqua in Hungary include this algaecide. I don't.
> It looks like a matter of days until your tank explodes into growth. It is quite typical for anubias to get algae when it is at this height at this stage.
> ...




Thanks for the reply.

I checked my water earlier today and the Ammonium and Nitrate were very low so I decided to start stocking my tank.

On your advice I bought 10 Nerite Snails but they only had Zebra Nerites locally so I bought them.  I also got some Cherry Shrimp and some other shrimp which were described as Algea Eating Shrimp,  They look like Amano shrimp.

Along with the snails and shrimp I also bought some Cardinal Tetra and Ember Tetras.  I'll let the tank settle for a few week then I'll add some more.


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## Simon Cole (13 Mar 2020)

Hooray  fish are in  and the algae eaters.
It's a good set up so I've got my fingers crossed for you.
I order off Ebay... lazy or what.


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## Douglas Mason (14 Mar 2020)

Some images showing fish


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## Jayefc1 (14 Mar 2020)

Hi @Douglas Mason really nice tank couple of things someone else might chip in if I'm wrong

Spray bar across the back.pushes water forward all good but skimmer and power head fight against the flow from left to right you would have a much better all round flow if there facing the same way as your spray bar I think this may be going some way towards your alge on the hair grass at the front as the power head is pushing the water as it hits the glass stopping it going in the circular motion

The other thing is just the hard edges on the wood where they have been sawn off I know you cant do much about them now but if you just saw a little then use pliers to take the smoth edge and make it rough it will look more natural

Have you moved the drop checker around the tank to see if your getting a even distribution

Really not meant to be a negative post as the tank looks really good


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## Douglas Mason (15 Mar 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Hi @Douglas Mason really nice tank couple of things someone else might chip in if I'm wrong
> 
> Spray bar across the back.pushes water forward all good but skimmer and power head fight against the flow from left to right you would have a much better all round flow if there facing the same way as your spray bar I think this may be going some way towards your alge on the hair grass at the front as the power head is pushing the water as it hits the glass stopping it going in the circular motion
> 
> ...



Thanks for the reply,

With regards to the spray bar the flow from the filter is only about 600 - 700 lph.  The main use of the filter is for some filtration and to get the CO2 from the inline diffuser into the water column.  The main flow in the tank when the CO2 is on is via the powerhead which is 1000 ‐ 1200 lph, the powerhead is only on during the lighting period when CO2 is on.  The flow with the powerhead and skimmer on is from left to right across the tank and this creates an under current running from right to left.  After the lighting up period the powerhead switches off so the flow in the tank is via the spray bar and skimmer.  When the powerhead is on I can see that the flow goes across the whole of the tank.  I see this from the minuscule bubbles created when the Chiriros Doctor comes on, they go all over the tank.

I'll move the drop checker around as you suggest to check the CO2 in the tank.

Good point about the timber, I'll see what I can do to make it look more natural when I do a water change.

Doug


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## Jayefc1 (15 Mar 2020)

Ok it just seems very diffrent to most planted tanks as we are  taught a circular flow motion I'm not sure I see the point of the spray bar if you just had a lilly pipe or similar facing the same direction as the skimmer as power head you would get much better co2 distribution in any case IMO 
Good water circulation 24hrs long is just as important as when co2 is on


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## Douglas Mason (15 Mar 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Ok it just seems very diffrent to most planted tanks as we are  taught a circular flow motion I'm not sure I see the point of the spray bar if you just had a lilly pipe or similar facing the same direction as the skimmer as power head you would get much better co2 distribution in any case IMO
> Good water circulation 24hrs long is just as important as when co2 is on



Hi,

I've taken on board what you have said about the flow.  Whilst carrying out my weekly water change today I removed the spraybar and have used the diffuser type thing that comes with the Oase Thermo Filter.  The flow from the filter now runs left to right across the tank as does the skimmer outlet and powerhead.  With it set up this way you can certainly see the flow coming back from the right in a sort of circular motion.

I've also moved the drop checker to bottom left at the front to see if sufficient Co2 getting into this area.

Thanks again

Doug


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## Douglas Mason (15 Mar 2020)




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## Jayefc1 (15 Mar 2020)

You should now be able to see a little sway from most plants I would imagine with the oase skimmer and power head 

Most people presume that cause there drop.checker is green that co2 being distributed evenly but it's not always the case so moving it around the tank gives you a good indication that your flow is good hence the co2 distribution is good 
I was not being negative about your tank just thought it might help with the alge if you flow was more even see how it goes and if you feel it was better before you can see it I cant


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## Douglas Mason (23 Mar 2020)

Hi,

I've been doing some water tests today and my water has a Kh value of 1.  The water in Liverpool is very soft.

Is it recommended to add anything to my tank to raise the Kh levels.  If it is this what should I use and what level should I aim for.

Thanks 

Doug


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## dw1305 (24 Mar 2020)

Hi all,





Douglas Mason said:


> I've been doing some water tests today and my water has a Kh value of 1. The water in Liverpool is very soft.


 You are lucky you get really high quality <"Lake Vyrnwy"> water. You should be able to get exact figures from your water supplier, "United Utilities" I assume? 





Douglas Mason said:


> Is it recommended to add anything to my tank to raise the Kh levels. If it is this what should I use and what level should I aim for.


You could add a little bit of <"potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3)">. Details are at <"James' Planted Tank">.  

You definitely don't need to go higher than 4dKH.

cheers Darrel


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## Douglas Mason (24 Mar 2020)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, You are lucky you get really high quality <"Lake Vyrnwy"> water. You should be able to get exact figures from your water supplier, "United Utilities" I assume? You could add a little bit of <"potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3)">. Details are at <"James' Planted Tank">.
> 
> You definitely don't need to go higher than 4dKH.
> 
> cheers Darrel




Thanks for the reply.

I may look to add a little potassium bicarbonate as suggested to raise my KH slightly.  I'll also have a read of the link you've given

Doug


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## Douglas Mason (27 Mar 2020)

Hi,

I'm still waiting for my potassium bicarbonate to arrive so I can raise my KH levels slightly.

In the meantime I appear to be getting an algea bloom.  I think I have Diatoms and on my Anubis I also have green algea.  Is there any advice on what I need to do in order to combat this.

I took some readings yesterday as shown below.  I have a Fluval Plant 3.0 light and this comes on at midday and ramps up over 4  hours to 60% white light, it remains at 60% for  2 hours then drops down over 3 hours to lights out.  I have just over 10x flow in tank and Co2 is being dispersed throughout the tank.

Ph - 6.2
ĶH - 1
ĢH - 4
Ammonium - <0.05
Nitrite - 0.05
Nitrate - 30


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## Douglas Mason (27 Mar 2020)




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## Douglas Mason (28 Mar 2020)

Hi,

I've just checked my Ph using my new ph pen after calibration and my ph is 6.0.

As I currently have a KH of 1 if I'm correct this will give me a co2 level in my tank of 30.

The brown algea which I think is diatoms is getting much worse and is now covering most plants in the rank and is starting to cover new growth within 24 hour.

Do I need to reduce my Co2 input to get a Co2 reading in my tank around 20?

Would it also be advisible to increase my lighting which is currently only at a maximum of 60% for 4 hours, it ramps up and down to this level for a couple of hours either side.

If I increase the lighting with my current Co2 level won't this increase photosynthesis and therefore reduce the algea or am I not understanding this process.

I am dcurrently dosing 35ml of EI Salts on alternative days.

Any advice will be gratefully received in assisting me to try and rid my tank of this algea.

Thanks 

Doug


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## Douglas Mason (28 Mar 2020)

Further to the above I also do about a 75% water change every Sunday, would it assist if I did an additional water change in the middle of the week to assist with the nitrate level until the algea is under control.

Thanks

Doug


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## Andrew T (28 Mar 2020)

Nice tank..I can understand your frustrations with algae. This is a new tank and diatoms are inevitable...some people seem to have better luck than others but still deal with it nonetheless.
Amano used to use carbon in the first month for this reason.
Keep your lighting at 60%. Dont go higher just yet. 
Light accelerates everything...co2; ferts...

Are you dosing full EI? Not needed your soil is releasing lots of nutrients for now. 

The soil in my tank was used for more than a year so when I set up the new tank I had to start dosing from the get go but that’s not the case with fresh new soil.

For the first 2 weeks, you need daily to every other day water changes to keep the excess nutrients in check.
Definitely don’t mess and adjust co2 cuz it’ll bite you. Aim for lime green drop checker in all parts and levels of the tank.
Tropica has a nice app explaining all this + more.


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## Andrew T (28 Mar 2020)

Douglas Mason said:


> Further to the above I also do about a 75% water change every Sunday, would it assist if I did an additional water change in the middle of the week to assist with the nitrate level until the algea is under control.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Doug


Don’t worry about nitrates, phosphates etc
Your soil is leaching ammonia and you need water changes to get rid of it...lots of them.

If a tank is in bad shape with minimal plant mass and lots of DOC then sure, PO4/NO3 will not help the cause. 
It would be a good idea if you could add stem plants to aid with the initial step then take them out when the tank stabilizes if you don’t like them.
Plants soak up ammonia and based on scientific data they even prioritize it over nitrate.


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## Douglas Mason (28 Mar 2020)

Andrew T said:


> Nice tank..I can understand your frustrations with algae. This is a new tank and diatoms are inevitable...some people seem to have better luck than others but still deal with it nonetheless.
> Amano used to use carbon in the first month for this reason.
> Keep your lighting at 60%. Dont go higher just yet.
> Light accelerates everything...co2; ferts...
> ...



Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I will leave lighting and Co2 as it is for the time being.

I am using full EI dosing, do I need to stop this or would you recommend reducing the amounts dosed due to the soil.  If I need to reduce the dosing do you have any recommendations.

For the first 2 weeks I did daily water changes and everything was fine this has only happened in the last 2 weeks.

Isn't lime green on the drop checker a bit high with livestock.  I'm also worried about the PH dropping too low as my KH is only 1 so hardly any buffering capabilities and i don't want my tank to become toxic.

I'll have look at the Tropica app.

Thanks

Doug


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## Douglas Mason (28 Mar 2020)

Andrew T said:


> Don’t worry about nitrates, phosphates etc
> Your soil is leaching ammonia and you need water changes to get rid of it...lots of them.
> 
> If a tank is in bad shape with minimal plant mass and lots of DOC then sure, PO4/NO3 will not help the cause.
> ...



Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

My Ammonia reading is low but it is obviously being produced as part of the nitrogen cycle as my nitrite has gone from <0.05 to 0.5 in the last week and my Nitrate has gone from 20 to 30.

I'll do more water changes over the next few weeks 

What stem plants would you recommend and I'll see if I can get them.

Doug


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## Andrew T (28 Mar 2020)

Lime green is fine and honestly a bit “safer”as long as O2 saturation is on par. What I mean by safer is closer to proper co2 levels.
I’ve had bad experience with in-line diffusers as Co2 readings were off because of micro bubbles finding their way under the checker.
At the exact same infusion rates I used with a new clean atomic in-line diffuser of high quality that was showing yellow drop checker, the DIY reactor with close to 100% Co2 dissolution was showing blue - green.
And here I was wondering why I had algae issues.
The in-line diffuser gets dirty really fast and co2 levels fluctuate as a result.
I’d much rather use an in-tank ADA style diffusers than an in-line if I was to choose between the 2.
I understand reactors cant be implemented in every case but that would be the best...

Tropica app has recommendations on “supporting” stem plants.
Check it out it’s pretty cool!
Good luck!


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## Douglas Mason (3 Apr 2020)

Hi,

I've been ill for the past 4 days with suspected Covid 19.  Although I'm not yet fully functioning as I get out of breath very easily I came downstairs to see my tank looking a bit of a mess with brown algea (believed Diatoms although it does not blow away or rub off the leaves easily) everywhere.  I also have what appars to be pearling but this appears to be coming from the algea.  I ordered a couple of stem plants as recommended and my wife put these in the tank when they arrived to save them.  These new plants appear to be pearling slightly but there is also signs of algea starting on the leaves.

I've reduced slightly the amount of EI dosing I was doing and left my lighting at 60% for the time being.  I'll try and do a large water change over the weekend if able as I'm still very weak.

Any advice on how I can deal with this algea outbreak to either slow it down until I recover more or to assist in getting rid of it


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## Douglas Mason (3 Apr 2020)




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## Douglas Mason (28 Apr 2020)

Hi,

I really need some help and advice to sort my tank out as my plants are dying (being smothered) and some of my livestock has died.

After being I'll my tank was in a bit of a mess with diatoms smothering everything, I've done twice weekly water changes, have stopped EI dosing and have kept my lights at 60% and have added Indian Tree Fern, ludwigia acute and limnophilia hippuridoides but things have gone from bad to worse.

What appears to be diatoms is smothering and killing my plants, I have what I think is BBA on branches and some plants, I can see what appears to be cyno bacteria  and string algea.

I gave my tank a big clean on Sunday, I cleaned all substrate, rocks and branches, used toothbrush on leaves as best I could to remove the diatoms, planted the indian Tree Fern and did a large water change.  48 house later the diatoms are starting to cover the leaves again and even the newly planted tree fern is going brown from the diatoms.  The plants are getting smothered before they even get a chance to grow.

I'm not sure what to do now and would look for some advice.

I've attached some images and you can see how much my tank has deteriorated.

Doug


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## Sara_Notfors (21 Jun 2020)

Hi Douglas,
I’ve just bought a second hand Fluval Roma 200 and your journal is a great source of information! Thank you!

I’m wanting to cover the back abd one of the sides as well and was initially thinking of painting it. However the black vinyl looks much better, what should I be searching for online? Do you know if it’s easy to remove?

I’m just a beginner with planted tanks (this will be my second) so can’t give you much or any advice on the diatoms and algae situation. But 48 hours doesn’t seem like long time for things to turn around. The post was back in April - how are things looking now? Hope they’ve improved?

Sara


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## Filip Krupa (21 Jun 2020)

Douglas Mason said:


> Hi,
> 
> I really need some help and advice to sort my tank out as my plants are dying (being smothered) and some of my livestock has died.
> 
> ...



Hey Doug,

Sorry I missed this post, how are you getting on?
Would have offered some advice but it might be too late 

Fil


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