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Barb Island. its all over.

Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite.

Sounds and looks like youve got it cracked now mate. :thumbup:
Nice gravity defying snail shot too!
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite.

i wouldnt go that far ady, but at least things are looking up rather than down.

I got hamshorns in some plants i guess, slow breeding so not worried but they all do this, i think they eat the surface scum? which is also nearly gone now. Makes catching them easy 😉
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite.

The people who tell you to add more light to get carpet plants to grow horizontally are obviously Klingons in sheep's clothing. Read more about ethylene here=> Ethylene-promoted Elongation: an Adaptation to Submergence Stress

Great post and link Clive, does that hold for true SAM or just those species with adaptations to periodic inundation?

And I know this is a little off topic - but please humour me nevertheless - is that actually a picture of you or an avatar?...always wanted to know but never dared ask.

And come to think of it what are you doing in Stockholm?...That has always intrigued me...Do you work for IKEA?
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite.

Troi said:
The people who tell you to add more light to get carpet plants to grow horizontally are obviously Klingons in sheep's clothing. Read more about ethylene here=> Ethylene-promoted Elongation: an Adaptation to Submergence Stress

Great post and link Clive, does that hold for true SAM or just those species with adaptations to periodic inundation?
Thanks Troi. If by the term "true SAM" you mean the SAMs that spend 100% of their time submerged then I'm not really sure. The whole idea is gas exchange and the promotion of CO2/O2 consumption, so that there are other strategies involved, which would include morphological differences. Ethylene production is accelerated by hypoxia, so if the plant is already well adapted to the conditions, i.e. well developed aerenchyma in roots and stems and well developed lacunae in leaves, which serve as gas reservoirs, this reduces the stress and the need for elongation. Vallis, Cabomba, Egeria, Myriophyllum, although always submerged do grow to the surface. Vallis, at least, has the ability to obtain CO2 from dissolved HCO3. It's no surprise that these constitute some of the most invasive species around. Ironically, the most popular plants are some of the ones that are almost never found submerged in nature, like Anubias and HC. Carpet plants in general are the ones that people complain about all the time having leggy growth.

Troi said:
And I know this is a little off topic - but please humour me nevertheless - is that actually a picture of you or an avatar?...always wanted to know but never dared ask.
:lol: No mate, that's not me. As Alastair mentions, that's just some a random gangsta' rapper.

Troi said:
And come to think of it what are you doing in Stockholm?...That has always intrigued me...Do you work for IKEA?
No, I only dream about having IKEA's financial portfolio. I've never even shopped at IKEA. I just don't get the whole minimalist Scandinavian theme thing. Authorities have labeled me "The Most Dangerous Man Alive", so I'm constantly on the move, picking suitable random locations from which to broadcast my pirate signal and hack into The Matrix. 8)

Cheers,
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite.

Thanks ian, plant health is definitely on the up but not perfect yet!

Added a G6 to replace the pro2 and immediately had a few issues which were baffling me but i think i found the cause for the flow loss... Seems my G6 does not like having the inline co2 on the inlet, rather than diffuse the co2 in the canister it gathers it up and causes the drop, swopped the inline to the outlet and flow went straight to 100%. Sadly im now back to having half a misty tank as the eheim looks to give 100% disolution (to the eye anyway).

Interesting to see how quickly the BBA in the supposed carpet is diminishing now flow is better, its still there but i got its balls in a vice 🙂

Gave the tank a major clean up/trim the other day including a rock scrubbing which also made it very apparent quite how soft mini landscape rock is. Im pretty sure there is no point in me continuing the 50% RO to soften my water as i think the rock counter acts that pretty quickly, makes me feel better for the choc gouramis doing it though.

Must be time to update some pics i guess.
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. What is plan B clive?

easerthegeezer said:
Thanks ian, plant health is definitely on the up but not perfect yet!

Interesting to see how quickly the BBA in the supposed carpet is diminishing now flow is better, its still there but i got its balls in a vice 🙂

well i think i spoke a little too soon, for the first time in a while since i changed the flow set up i was home for a light period and the opportunity to see what is going on. Following the big trim last friday the tennelus is pretty slow coming pack and looks 'weak' compared to the recovery of the trim previous. BBA is still persistent on most of the tennelus, mainly covering the runners and any old leaf that the scissors missed. While the BBA is definitely worst here is is also visible on a some of the boblitus (fluffy edge to the leaves) so i am now wondering what plan B is???

Currently have a eheim pro3 on one side pointing at the front glass and the G6 on the other, both with inline atomisers and a small 900lph p/h in the middle going towards front glass. It looks from the micro bubbles that the flow is reaching all areas of the tanks and interestingly the plants at the back of the tank with less velocity of flow and very little visable movement, seem to be doing better than at the front ... i think the realistic flow is around 2500-3000 lph as G6 shows 100% (1000lph real flow) eheim rated at 1450 so maybe 900lph odd and a 900lph powehead, so in theory nearly doing the 10x rule even after media reduction etc so should be plenty which leads me towards how to better disperse that flow?

While i like the G6 features i am really struggling with it on this tank. I have never had a filter that builds up gas in the canister like this, it feels like all the co2 injected just builds up so when i move the filter it spits lots of large bubbles out for about 5 minutes. At first i thought this was because the inline was prefilter so swopped it round but seems to have made little difference. The eheim doesnt do this, only media difference is the eheim runs floss....??
I dont know how much effect this co2 retention has on the tank?

I have a full light period at home tomorrow so will do a video and some pics for a better idea of what is going on but thought id get started on the update while im getting paid at work :lol:

To narrow the field:
CO2 on 2 hours pre lights, drop checker pale green by lights on and remains so (wherever i put the DC)
CO2 off 1 hour before lights off. Fairly dark green by lights off.
Full EI dosing KN03, KH2PO4, trace and 10ml excel daily.
I try for Twice weekly water changes with 65% RO but sometimes goes a little longer..
5.5 hrs of 150w MH and 2 x 24w T5 50cm from surface, 2 x T5 1.5hrs after MH off.
Mechanical filter media changed/cleaned once a week.
Temp 25.5C

So the question is what to do..??? More flow, less flow, different flow set up, more co2.... things ive have thought as possibilities:
One option is to change the outlets to two acrylic spraybars across the back as i finally spent some time yesterday with somethingfishy bending some sets (after a lot of crappy ones i think we got somewhere, pics tomorrow)
Another option which ive considered a few times is to ditch the G6 and buy two decent variable control pumps that can run the inline atomisers only and just the pro 3 with lots of media and low flow poppy style outlets for biological filtration only..??

So folks, now i need advise. Im would assume most/all of the problem is flow/co2 but not sure how to move forward. Any input would be gratefully received.

On a side note my biggest chocolate gourami that was beautiful went carpet surfing last night 🙁 genuinely heart broken!!
Also went wood hunting and possibly hit gold, unfortunately didnt realise until on the way out it was on a military firing range that was being used that day 😳 but thats another story... :lol:

Thanks a lot :thumbup:
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B??

Hi Mike. I never noticed, when I had the G6, any build up of gas in it when I ran the diffuser on the outlet. How about trying some filter floss in the middle red tray ? not full of course, but laying on top of whatever other media you have ? I would advise against putting anything restrictive in the top tray though.

With those two filters there is no way you have insufficient flow. Its either down to distribution OR amount of CO2. And I would have thought you had the latter covered and sounds like you should have distribution covered too. Have you moved your DC around to monitor levels all over? I cannot remember if you said you have already done that.

You could consider another option which is to have your CO2 injection using in tank diffusion and do as you say, ditch the G6 in favour of a couple of vortechs 😉 Keep battling though.
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B clive??

Is mike a pet name you have for me 🙂
Yeah quite disapointed with the G6, i ve had a few filters now and never had this issue before. Just reminds me why i like eheims so much! Dunno, maybe its me seeing as the G6 get such good reviews...

I have often wondered why people, myself included, always buy a second filter rather than run one heavily loaded large filter and a couple of pumps or MP10's to deal with flow??

Ill be interested on what people opinions are of the flow after i post a video.... as the tank is 75cm wide a lot of the flow dissipates over that distance to the point of almost no movement at the back yet less algae there.??? :crazy:

I removed most of the glosso as thought it will be easier to focus on one foreground plant and excluding the tennelus the scape is maturing quite well... slowly but surely as i expected with the light so high above the surface and mostly slow growing plants so by no means am i dis-hearted just more frustrated. I have vowed to complete this scape what ever the issues though, i want to crack this tank ready for scape 2 next year 😉
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B??

Sorry Iain, LOL. Dunno why I call you Mike sometimes. 🙄

I know what you mean about the reviews about the G6. To be honest it, its "just another filter" as far as I am concerned. It does the job but the reviews it seems to get makes you wonder !! Now I have my Eheim Pro3E I would never go back, thats for sure. To be fair though, I don't know that we can fairly slate it because of the way it handles CO2 bubbles, since it is not designed to do that in any case.

Are you likely to try the filter floss as I suggested ? I would be interested to see if it works.

I don't think two filters is a bad thing. Especially if you use lily pipes. I know that Mark E uses two filters and he gets the flow and distribution he needs without having ugly pumps in the tank. Gives you a lot of filtration options too.
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B??

Antipofish said:
Sorry Iain, LOL. Dunno why I call you Mike sometimes.
Probably the same reason youve started calling me Andy??? 😉 🙂

Antipofish said:
I know what you mean about the reviews about the G6. To be honest it, its "just another filter" as far as I am concerned. It does the job but the reviews it seems to get makes you wonder !! Now I have my Eheim Pro3E I would never go back, thats for sure. To be fair though, I don't know that we can fairly slate it because of the way it handles CO2 bubbles, since it is not designed to do that in any case.

I think my G6 is awesome, love it, and thats purely based on the ease of maintanence which for me is the most important thing. On my other externals i used to hate taking off 'quick release' pipework and opening up the full filter to clean foams.... to the point that sometimes i didnt bother 😳 ..... but now its so easy its not a chore at all, plus cleaning the bio section only means a full strip down every 4-6 months :thumbup:
Iain, with regards the 'burping', i used to get a little when i ran intank diffuser, but i could only attribute it to larger c02 bubbles being directly sucked into the filter from the water column. Now i have an inline on the filter outlet and dont seem to suffer the burping at all any more :? So who knows what causes it?
And onto the algae, again you seem to be doing everything right but again who knows whats causing that? Its enough to drive you 😡 .
Looking forward to pics and vid though :thumbup:
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B??

Antipofish said:
I don't know that we can fairly slate it because of the way it handles CO2 bubbles, since it is not designed to do that in any case.

Are you likely to try the filter floss as I suggested ? I would be interested to see if it works.

I don't think two filters is a bad thing. Especially if you use lily pipes. I know that Mark E uses two filters and he gets the flow and distribution he needs without having ugly pumps in the tank. Gives you a lot of filtration options too.

Im not slating it, i think that a filter that tells you whats going on is a good thing and all filters should follow suit with some of those features. Interested if others have experience with the G6 holding onto co2..??

Plan having a day of sorting things tomorrow so will see what happens with the flow side of things.

Absolutely agree, most successful scapes use one or two filters with great effect, i would however suggest that when people are starting out investing money in adjustable flow pumps (with lilys if you like) might be a wise investment as the more flexibility the better until you understand how it all works?? or maybe im over thinking it!

Agreed ady, i do believe the G6 design wise for maintenance is fantastic and gets rid of a chore! Dont get me wrong, i think its a good filter just dont understand why im having the co2 issues with it!?!

Ady34 said:
And onto the algae, again you seem to be doing everything right but again who knows whats causing that? Its enough to drive you 😡 .
Cheerio,
Ady.

Isnt it just! Stupid lower forms of life confusing us :lol: :lol:
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B??

Ady34 said:
....

I think my G6 is awesome, love it, and thats purely based on the ease of maintanence which for me is the most important thing. On my other externals i used to hate taking off 'quick release' pipework and opening up the full filter to clean foams.... to the point that sometimes i didnt bother 😳 ..... but now its so easy its not a chore at all, plus cleaning the bio section only means a full strip down every 4-6 months :thumbup:
Iain, with regards the 'burping', i used to get a little when i ran intank diffuser, but i could only attribute it to larger c02 bubbles being directly sucked into the filter from the water column. Now i have an inline on the filter outlet and dont seem to suffer the burping at all any more :? So who knows what causes it?
And onto the algae, again you seem to be doing everything right but again who knows whats causing that? Its enough to drive you 😡 .
Looking forward to pics and vid though :thumbup:
Cheerio,
Ady.

I dont think the G6 is any easier on maintenance. In fact I found it harder than my current electronic Eheim. The pipes on the G6, along with the hose adaptor and impellor, got very dirty very quickly for me and I found myself having to clean them every fortnight. I found priming to be far more difficult than the Eheim too. The flow dropped quite quickly as a result. The pump on the G6, for all its 2450lph of total rating, can only push out 1000lph and this drops pretty quickly if everything is not kept clean. The prefilter cartridges get dirty quite quickly too, especially with a new or problematic tank where there is a fair bit of plant melt. You still have to change carbon at the same regularity as other filters, and the bio section in mine needed cleaning far quicker than I expected. I suppose each to their own, and everyone's experience will be different, but to be honest I wish I had gone for the Eheim in the first place. For me it is very over rated for the £350 price tag compared to what else is available.

Prefilter maintenance on my Eheim is just as easy;

Move the flow lever across and click the button... pipes released. Lift the head off and remove prefilter tray. Swap floss if used and swap prefilter foam or clean and replace. Takes about a minute. Thats not too much effort for me. Cleaning the bio section can potentially only be required every 6 months also due to the filter's ability to monitor flow and adjust it accordingly. If asked to score the two filters I would give the G6 a 6 out of 10 to match its number and the Eheim a 9.
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B??

I think the key phrase here was each to their own, and i in all honesty am basing my judgement on past experiences with much cheaper models (fluval 204/205) and have never used eheim. I understand eheim are a well renowned name with great filters but the G6 has been great for me.
Antipofish said:
I found priming to be far more difficult than the Eheim too. The flow dropped quite quickly as a result. The pump on the G6, for all its 2450lph of total rating, can only push out 1000lph and this drops pretty quickly if everything is not kept clean. The prefilter cartridges get dirty quite quickly too, especially with a new or problematic tank where there is a fair bit of plant melt. You still have to change carbon at the same regularity as other filters, and the bio section in mine needed cleaning far quicker than I expected. I suppose each to their own, and everyone's experience will be different, but to be honest I wish I had gone for the Eheim in the first place. For me it is very over rated for the £350 price tag compared to what else is available.
I must also admit priming is never an issue for me with a drilled base tank, but as for the pre filters getting dirty quite quickly, that to me just shows how effective they are, and i would much prefer to get the dirt out. Obviously chemical filtration is going to be the same, but again this comes in the quick to remove cartridges. I fully appreciate your preference for the eheim but i think the G6 is great. I never get a substantial drop off in performance and clean the pre filter weekly. £350 is very steep for any filter, but now i have it i dont think about the money anymore as i love how easy it is to use.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B??

Ady34 said:
I think the key phrase here was each to their own, and i in all honesty am basing my judgement on past experiences with much cheaper models (fluval 204/205) and have never used eheim. I understand eheim are a well renowned name with great filters but the G6 has been great for me.
Antipofish said:
I found priming to be far more difficult than the Eheim too. The flow dropped quite quickly as a result. The pump on the G6, for all its 2450lph of total rating, can only push out 1000lph and this drops pretty quickly if everything is not kept clean. The prefilter cartridges get dirty quite quickly too, especially with a new or problematic tank where there is a fair bit of plant melt. You still have to change carbon at the same regularity as other filters, and the bio section in mine needed cleaning far quicker than I expected. I suppose each to their own, and everyone's experience will be different, but to be honest I wish I had gone for the Eheim in the first place. For me it is very over rated for the £350 price tag compared to what else is available.
I must also admit priming is never an issue for me with a drilled base tank, but as for the pre filters getting dirty quite quickly, that to me just shows how effective they are, and i would much prefer to get the dirt out. Obviously chemical filtration is going to be the same, but again this comes in the quick to remove cartridges. I fully appreciate your preference for the eheim but i think the G6 is great. I never get a substantial drop off in performance and clean the pre filter weekly. £350 is very steep for any filter, but now i have it i dont think about the money anymore as i love how easy it is to use.
Cheerio,
Ady.

Absolutely right Ady :thumbup: And with a drilled base priming would be sweet for you. The chem cartridge is only effective as a quick swap if its a suitable size. I wanted to run Purigen and Carbon and there was not enough space for me so the Purigen had to go in the bio section anyway. I would love you to try an Eheim Pro3e to see which you preferred. I will say though, the G6 sure looks the part in your setup, which almost commands a sexy looking filter. 🙂
 
Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. So what is plan B??

easerthegeezer said:
oh yeah, G6 wins the style prize 8)

I'm tempted to say all style and no substance :evil: but that would be taking it too far, hehehe. Anyway have you formulated a Plan B ?
 
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