Trevorb101
Seedling
I have had a 4ft tank for 20 years. Freshwater tropical. Always failed miserably to maintain any sort of healthy environment. So, time to start again and do it right. I bought a new Juwel Vision 260. I use both the included Bioflow 6.0 filter system and an external JBL e700 filter. Currently using the two Included Juwel T5 Daylight tubes and I added the reflectors which it says doubles the light intensity. I have them on for about 10 hours. I used the Juwel textured backwalls and filter cover - but I think that might have been a bad idea.
I decided to take things slowly because in the past I think I rushed too fast to get fish in before things had settled. I live in a very hard water area and I am using water that has not gone through my domestic water softener.
I decided to firstly plant up the aquarium. I put a layer of Trpoica Aquarium soil in and topped that with JBL Mandato substrate ( more aesthetically pleasing). I added quite a few plants, all of which were described as "easy".
3 lobelia Cardinalis Wavy
3 Anubias gracilis
3 Anubias hastifolia
3 Anubias nana coin
3 ceratopteris siliquosa
1Echinodorus bleheri
2 Echinodorus ozelot red
1 Echinodorus red devil
7 Valseneria Asiatica
5 Egeria (not densa)
I haven't got a CO2 system but I am about to add a JBL m502 system.
I set this lot up 3 weeks ago or so. I added a bacteria starter every day for first week. I can't remember what it was. I haven't added fish yet.......that was planned for next week . Water measurements every few days. Started with very high Total Hardness. Latest measurement is
Nitrate has gone up to 50mg/l
Nitrite almost 0
KH 0
GH 14
pH 6.4
Chlorine 0
CO2 < 15
Most plants growing well. My problem is that in last 5 days algae is becoming a problem. I am struggling with saying what algae I have but I see threads of red stuff and leaves are getting covered in brown-green stuff.
Help! This time I was trying very hard to take things slowly but before I even put fish in I am having an algae problem. What have I done wrong and will it just get better if I add CO2?
Thanks from Belgium
I decided to take things slowly because in the past I think I rushed too fast to get fish in before things had settled. I live in a very hard water area and I am using water that has not gone through my domestic water softener.
I decided to firstly plant up the aquarium. I put a layer of Trpoica Aquarium soil in and topped that with JBL Mandato substrate ( more aesthetically pleasing). I added quite a few plants, all of which were described as "easy".
3 lobelia Cardinalis Wavy
3 Anubias gracilis
3 Anubias hastifolia
3 Anubias nana coin
3 ceratopteris siliquosa
1Echinodorus bleheri
2 Echinodorus ozelot red
1 Echinodorus red devil
7 Valseneria Asiatica
5 Egeria (not densa)
I haven't got a CO2 system but I am about to add a JBL m502 system.
I set this lot up 3 weeks ago or so. I added a bacteria starter every day for first week. I can't remember what it was. I haven't added fish yet.......that was planned for next week . Water measurements every few days. Started with very high Total Hardness. Latest measurement is
Nitrate has gone up to 50mg/l
Nitrite almost 0
KH 0
GH 14
pH 6.4
Chlorine 0
CO2 < 15
Most plants growing well. My problem is that in last 5 days algae is becoming a problem. I am struggling with saying what algae I have but I see threads of red stuff and leaves are getting covered in brown-green stuff.
Help! This time I was trying very hard to take things slowly but before I even put fish in I am having an algae problem. What have I done wrong and will it just get better if I add CO2?
Thanks from Belgium