am I loosing the battle against brown algae?

[Sacha]

So theoretically, what is the minimum amount of media you can put in an external filter in order to have sufficient bacteria colonies?

 

[ceg4048]

Yes, always, always, in fuel injected tanks the next problem is only just around the corner. The CO2 consumption results in the excretion of organic waste which accumulate in the sediment and filter media. You have to clean the filters a lot more often than in fish only or in non-injected tanks.

People look at Amano tanks and wonder why he can get away with less flow & CO2 than we advocate, but he has his own army of people looking, probing, cleaning and making adjustments. If you don't have your own personal army, then you have to use these other tools.

The main reason I am keeping them in is in case the internal filter fails and I am relying on the external filter. I wanted to have enough media in there to keep the fish alive,

If your plants are healthy then they do this job. That's the advantage of a planted tank.

Cheers,

 

[ceg4048]

So theoretically, what is the minimum amount of media you can put in an external filter in order to have sufficient bacteria colonies?

Really it's not possible to answer this question, but there are some tanks that don't have filtration at all. There are just too many variables. Whatever the number is, it's a lot less than what people use currently.

Cheers,

 

[Sacha]

Thanks Clive. Maybe I will do something drastic this week and remove all my ceramic media. This will leave me with one blue sponge, some bio balls, and some filter floss in the external filter.

 

[Victor]

Brown algae have something to do with CO2 badly distribution?

 

[Rob P]

Thanks Clive. Maybe I will do something drastic this week and remove all my ceramic media. This will leave me with one blue sponge, some bio balls, and some filter floss in the external filter.

My tetratec came fully packed with media (4 trays) and now just has the coarse sponge, a slightly finer one on top, ceramic noodles and a polishing pad. Oh, and an empty tray. With my fish keeping head on i'd be inclined to reduce your ceramic media a little at a time so as not to shock the system, i'm going to spread my noodles over two trays and gradually remove some over the next few cleans. However I may pop some carbon in from stuff i've read lately on here as well lol 🙂

It's quite amazing how much crap it had gathered in 2 or 3 weeks, but then my growth has really taken off in the last month or so which explains an increase in waste. Less media = less to clean 😀 (but not less often!).

 

[Martin in Holland]

Just looked into my tank and it looks that my brown algae are making a return...I hope that after this weekend when I've changed the inside of my filters I will get a better flow and with that a better algae control...

 

[Martin in Holland]

I made a mistake in calculating the PAR in my tank...I forgot that there are 2 T5's on and this doubles the amount and so my lights where also still to much...I've covered one T5 completely (as I can not take it out while this would stop the other one from working too) and even covered part of the other T5 with aluminum kitchen foil .... now my light should be in the low to medium light ...
still struggling with my tank, but with all the help from everyone here I'm sure I will be able to overcome all bumps on the way to successful planted tank

 

[Martin in Holland]

After cleaning out one of my filters I found tat it started to burb more often when the CO2 came on, so my guess was that it only give out burst of CO2 bubbles which don't dissolve well. Now I've put the CO2 hose directly into the outlet hose of the filter (the one that goes to the spray bar). I can see the CO2 going into the hose being picked up by the water current but don't even see any mist or bubbles coming out of the spray bar, could it be that the CO2 is dissolved already? It's about 20 inches being injected from the start of the spray bar....is yes than way would anyone need a inline diffuser?

 

[ceg4048]

Yes, filters make great CO2 diffusers as long as the flow is strong. If you remove some media to improve the flow the overall dissolution will be better. Again, you'll need to look at the pH profile in this configuration to confirm that there is an improvement.

Cheers,

 

[Martin in Holland]

Yes, filters make great CO2 diffusers as long as the flow is strong. If you remove some media to improve the flow the overall dissolution will be better. Again, you'll need to look at the pH profile in this configuration to confirm that there is an improvement.

Cheers,

As I am limited in material for testing PH here in China and also have a bit of trouble with the language, I have to look at my plants.... when my plants where going well I simply had 2 cheap diffusers in my tank (at the front glass)....so I am thinking of switching back to this, because now even some easy plants are struggling...

The CO2 is not going through the filter at the moment (don't know if you got that part)

 

[ceg4048]

One should always be careful when looking at the tank retrospectively. It's very easy to get tunnel vision and to pick our favorite factor when things were going well. Should the earlier success be attributable only to the fact that two cheap diffusers were being used at the time? Are there no other possible factors?

Can't you find a pH pen on-line in Hong Kong and have it shipped?

Cheers,

 

[Martin in Holland]

I have a PH pen, but with my KH being 2 to 3 it's not very useful and, like you where saying before, I don't want to put lime into the water as of yet...if there is no other way than of course I will.

I won't do anything drastic...let's wait and see for a few weeks first

I just want to do it right with my tank and be proud of it, like everyone else 🙂

 

[Martin in Holland]

I am still not happy with the growth (and algae) in my tank.....I changed the way of diffusing CO2 (2 inline diffusers 2 /separate pressure bottles/ manny bubbles per second)...changed the lights (now have 1 T5 about 80cm hanging above the plants/ on for 5.5 hours)...I have 2 filters with each an output of 1550 liter per hour (only some carbon and 1 layer floss in them/ spray bars along the back of the tank facing to the front)....do WC twice a week 50% ....dosing EI and Excel....Temperature is set on 25 celcius
My tank is 120 long x 45 heigh x 55 deep. What else can I do to get it better?

here a picture of one spray bar to let you guys judge if the outflow is strong enough (keep in mind that my tank is 55cm deep)...plants are waving all over the tank though.

 

[Martin in Holland]

I'm slowly thinking in changing to low tech...but I also want to know what I am doing wrong...I want to succeed in doing it right...but I need help

 

[ceg4048]

That looks weak. The jets should impinge on the front glass.

Could it be that you are using filter hoses that have too small a diameter, or kinked hoses? They should do a better job than that, especially if you have minimal media in them.

I advised some time ago that a pH profile check was the best way to perform an analysis.
Your response was that you did not want to raise the alkalinity just to be able to get an accurate pH reading.

So now you are contemplating changing your entire methodology? And that is more desirable than adding a few teaspoons of Bicarbonate for a few days?

Cheers,

 

[Victor]

My water jets is like this in Martin's tank. But my holes on spraybar are bigger and numerous. So, it's ok? Or should I decrease the holes diameter to water reach the front glass?

 

[Martin in Holland]

I'm going to order some Bicarbonate and do a good check on my pH.
Would it be good to change the spray bar holes (making a new one with smaller holes) or would that only be working against the whole flow system?
I've checked my hoses for kinks...negative on that...they are the hoses which came with the filter (16/22).
I also still have a wave maker with an output of 3000 liter per hour which I could place in the middle of the tank (between the 2 spray bars), would that be good or to strong?

 

[Martin in Holland]

How many grams of CaCO3 should raise the KH by 1 degree in a 280liter tank?...or is K2CO3 better to use?

 

[ceg4048]

Well, 1 degree of German KH is about 18mg/L CaCO3.
So the calculation is pretty easy:
(18mg/L) x (280L) = 5040mg
That's about 5 grams, which is about 1 teaspoon.
Probably you only have 80% of that as actual volume, but you can work all that out, and it really isn't that important. 3 or 4 teaspoons a week at water change time is so easy it's ridiculous. There's no reason to fear this powder. People drink it and bath in it every day. What's the big deal?

My water jets is like this in Martin's tank. But my holes on spraybar are bigger and numerous. So, it's ok? Or should I decrease the holes diameter to water reach the front glass?

Yes, you just have to experiment with different hole sizes using cheap PVC piping. Again, you may not need to do anything with the bar. Check the pH profile and see if an injection rate increase or a different timing of the gas solves the problem. You have to take a holistic approach to CO2.

Cheers,