• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Fluval Plant 3.0

Nick72 said:
@REDSTEVEO

There is nothing wrong with the light coming on at 12:30 or even 16:30, if the aquarium is in reasonably dark conditions during lights off.

Unfortunately my tank is in the living room and my family open the curtains by 8am every day - my lights therefore turn off at 17:30.

So it really depends on where your tank is situated.

A one or two hour siesta in the middle of the day can be a good thing - as long as the tank is not getting lots of direct or ambient sunlight during this time.

What I would really caution against is having the lights set really low for several hours in the morning or evening - that's an algae growth plan.
Click to expand...

That's very informative and interesting thank you. My tank is against a wall halfway between the living room and dining room and although there are windows at either end that tank receives no direct sunlight.

So I suppose it may be possible to delay the start of the lighting period. The only other issue I suppose is timing the feeding of the fish, but that could be worked around.

I am having a dig through the cupboards to root out all my dry powders to mix up a batch if E.I. Solution as per Ceg's guidance from previous experience.

On the question of injected CO2, as said previously I have got a cupboard full of every kind of diffuser under the sun. I am thinking of trying the JBL Taiphoon trickle diffuser, set at a really low level to begin with.AAny thoughts on that?

Thanks,

Steve
 
Nick72 said:
Hi @REDSTEVEO

I just setup the Auto settings and leave the light on Auto 24/7.

Why not have the lights come on a 10:30 so you have an even 30 minutes ramp up and ramp down?

If you go to the Rotala Butterfly website, it will provide you with EI dosages of N, P, K, CSM+B, Mg, and Fe, measured for your 400L. What I'm suggesting for your tank without injected CO2 is that you use 40% of the levels suggested by Rotala Butterfly, except for N which you should dose at 25%.

You can use booth these light settings and dosage settings as a base, and if no algae after 1 month push the lights 10% higher. If poor growth after 1 month, increase EI dosage.

You can also test your water for NPK to see how much of your dosage the plants are using per week.
Click to expand...

Hi Nick, I am looking at the Rotala Butterfly website and the calculator😵:angelic::bookworm:

I am impressed with the calculator functions, but I notice it only allows you to calculate one dry powder at a time, plus it's been a while since I used EI so difficult to enter all the information accurately:banghead::banghead:
 
@Nick72 using the calculator on Rotala Butterfly I have entered the vessel size, the dosing amount for each ingredient of NPK and for TMC Trace elements and taken a screenshot of the results.

Grateful if you could look at these to see if you think they are correct before I mix up a solution.

Thanks for taking the time.20200619_124424.jpgScreenshot_20200619-123008_Firefox.jpgScreenshot_20200619-123008_Firefox.jpgScreenshot_20200619-122327_Firefox.jpgScreenshot_20200619-114214_Firefox.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20200619-122538_Firefox.jpg
    Screenshot_20200619-122538_Firefox.jpg
    250 KB · Views: 125
Hi Steve,

While I like CO2 injection I would also be concerned about your juvenile Discus.

I don't know much about them apart from they are sensitive fish, and being juvenile as well?

Hopefully someone here who keeps them can chime in.

Your tank is pretty big, so keeping consistent and good levels of CO2 will be a challenge.

I suspect you would have most luck with inline diffusers or a reactor.

What are you currently using for filtration?
What return do you filters have? Ie. Standard nozzles / spray bar / lily pipe?

As for Rotala Butterfly, yes it's one at a time.

I would suggest you plan to make the following 3 macro bottles. Each 1 litre and dose 40ml 3 times a week.

KN03
KH2PO4
K2SO4

Also make a 1 litre micro bottle with CSM+B including Fe (Iron)

Rotala Butterfly will give you all the measurements if you put in the size of your tank, select DIY, enter the salt, select "a solution" then put 1000ml for container size, and 40ml for dose size.

Rotala Butterfly will then tell you how much to put into your 1 litre bottle. It will say dose 2-4 times a week. So dose three times a week.

I would then add 5 teaspoons of Epsom Salts into your tank twice a week. Premix this in a big cup of tank water before adding.

Most folks put all the macros into on bottle, but I've found it invaluable to keep them separate so I can adjust my dosing over time.

I'm sure once I've got it really nailed down I might start mixing the macros.
 
REDSTEVEO said:
@Nick72 using the calculator on Rotala Butterfly I have entered the vessel size, the dosing amount for each ingredient of NPK and for TMC Trace elements and taken a screenshot of the results.

Grateful if you could look at these to see if you think they are correct before I mix up a solution.

Thanks for taking the time.View attachment 150620View attachment 150622View attachment 150622View attachment 150624View attachment 150625
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with what you have done here Steve.

It is important to keep the micros in a separate bottle from the macros.

Ideally you would dose macro, micro, macro, micro, macro, micro, rest, water change, repeat.

I suggested 40ml in a 1 litre bottle because your tank is exactly twice the size of mine and I do 20ml doses in 500ml bottles.

With 100ml doses you will be mixing fresh bottles pretty regularly.

If you drop the dose size down too far you get issues with solubility and also mold through keeping it bottled too long - I think you would find 40ml and 1 litre to be a good compromise.
 
Nick72 said:
Nothing wrong with what you have done here Steve.

It is important to keep the micros in a separate bottle from the macros.

Ideally you would dose macro, micro, macro, micro, macro, micro, rest, water change, repeat.

I suggested 40ml in a 1 litre bottle because your tank is exactly twice the size of mine and I do 20ml doses in 500ml bottles.

With 100ml doses you will be mixing fresh bottles pretty regularly.

If you drop the dose size down too far you get issues with solubility and also mold through keeping it bottled too long - I think you would find 40ml and 1 litre to be a good compromise.
Click to expand...
Thanks Nick, I have made up the solutions, all the macros in one bottle and the micro in a separate bottle. But for the macros I used the 1000 bottle size and a 100ml dose rate:arghh:

But I suppose I could just drop the dose to 40ml, would that work, or is the concentration now too high?

I found with the quantities of dry powders at the 100ml dose ratio, not all the powders dissolve completely. I suppose I could reduce the concentration by tipping out 500mls into a separate bottle then top up with 500mls of water, which should reduce the concentration by 50%.

How does that sound?

Funny how we started on lighting settings and morphed across to EI Dosages and dry powder mixes 🙄🙄
 
Hi Steve,

The doses recommended by Rotala Butterfly should easily dissolve in 1 litre bottles if you selected 100ml doses.

That's only 10 doses per litre.

You might have to swirl the bottles around a bit with the lids on to make it happen though.

If you have made EI levels in those 1 litre bottles and are not planning to install CO2 injection, then I would recommend you only dose 40ml (40%) of macros.

I would then dose 50ml (50%) of micros.

Unfortunately I think this will still be a little too much N, but better that than not enough P.

(Again this might be a concern for your juvenile Discus)

This is why I keep separate bottles.


If you start using CO2 injection, then I would put the full 100ml per dose.

I wouldn't start messing around with the quantities currently in the bottle - it's important that the ppm stay in balance and that you understand what you are dosing.
 
Nick72 said:
Unfortunately I think this will still be a little too much N, but better that than not enough P.
Click to expand...
You can always use K2SO4 rather than KNO3 to increase the Potassium and not dose too much Nitrate! 😉
 
LondonDragon said:
You can always use K2SO4 rather than KNO3 to increase the Potassium and not dose too much Nitrate! 😉
Click to expand...


Yes, but not one you have mixed all your macros into the same bottle.

He could stop using the macros bottle and dry dose K2SO4 and KH2PO4, but then why make the macros bottle in the first place.
 
Evening guys.

Thanks @REDSTEVEO,
And @Nick72 .

I did start a tread about it a little while ago,
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/fluval-plant-3-0-for-high-tech.61339/
I don’t want to take over REDSTEVEO’s post.

A lot of interesting info here.
As for my tank it’s 24 long, 18 front to back and 12 high.

The lights the 24inch plant 3.0, think it’s 32w.
I’ve got it raised about 5-6 inches above the tank, that’s more for the spread then anything else, otherwise it left dark spots at the front and back.

The tanks been running about 6weeks and is full of plants.

I don’t know if I’d say I’m confident of any of it nowadays, if I’m honest, it’s been a very long time since playing with this stuff lol
Any help, thoughts greatly appreciated
Cheers guys 👍🏼
 
Melv85 said:
Evening guys.

Thanks @REDSTEVEO,
And @Nick72 .

I did start a tread about it a little while ago,
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/fluval-plant-3-0-for-high-tech.61339/
I don’t want to take over REDSTEVEO’s post.

A lot of interesting info here.
As for my tank it’s 24 long, 18 front to back and 12 high.

The lights the 24inch plant 3.0, think it’s 32w.
I’ve got it raised about 5-6 inches above the tank, that’s more for the spread then anything else, otherwise it left dark spots at the front and back.

The tanks been running about 6weeks and is full of plants.

I don’t know if I’d say I’m confident of any of it nowadays, if I’m honest, it’s been a very long time since playing with this stuff lol
Any help, thoughts greatly appreciated
Cheers guys 👍🏼
Click to expand...
No problem @Melv85

As long as we get the information in the end. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. I'm re-learning stuff I used to do before.
 
Melv85 said:
Evening guys.

Thanks @REDSTEVEO,
And @Nick72 .

I did start a tread about it a little while ago,
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/fluval-plant-3-0-for-high-tech.61339/
I don’t want to take over REDSTEVEO’s post.

A lot of interesting info here.
As for my tank it’s 24 long, 18 front to back and 12 high.

The lights the 24inch plant 3.0, think it’s 32w.
I’ve got it raised about 5-6 inches above the tank, that’s more for the spread then anything else, otherwise it left dark spots at the front and back.

The tanks been running about 6weeks and is full of plants.

I don’t know if I’d say I’m confident of any of it nowadays, if I’m honest, it’s been a very long time since playing with this stuff lol
Any help, thoughts greatly appreciated
Cheers guys 👍🏼
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have got the correct light for the tank size you describe. Now it is just a question of getting the settings to the optimum level for your tank. But I agree with Nick, CO2 and fertilisation with the correct nutrients will be the key to getting things right.

I have tried every type of CO2 Diffuser known to us, Inhave got a box full of them in the garage. Not happy with any of them in the end, so still looking for an alternative.

Currently looking at the Columbo 3 in 1 with bubble counter, check valve and diffuser in one unit.
 
REDSTEVEO said:
I have tried every type of CO2 Diffuser known to us, Inhave got a box full of them in the garage. Not happy with any of them in the end, so still looking for an alternative.
Click to expand...

Hi @REDSTEVEO

Are you able to summarize what problems you have had with the diffusers? If you've tried a lot of different types/manufacturers, it tends to suggest that your chances of finding a better alternative are rapidly diminishing. So, trying to think laterally, how could we improve the ones you've already tried?

JPC
 
Morning,

REDSTEVEO said:
No problem @Melv85

As long as we get the information in the end. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. I'm re-learning stuff I used to do before.
Click to expand...
That’s it mate, we’re all aiming for the same goal lol.


I’m using the same ei ferts I used years ago from apf, does it go out of date does anyone know?
It use to work fine back then.
I’m dosing more now tho, as growth seamed slow, and algae started to form.

I’m running a massive filter Eheim pro3 (2078)
But got it turned down just enough so as to not disturb the substrate.

I actually turned the light up abit a week or so ago, thinking maybe there wasn’t enough to promote healthy growth.
It just doesn’t seam as bright as the old t5’s I use to run.

I’ve had loads over the years too.
I started with Nothing but a power head and diy Co2 years ago.
I use the inline co2art one now.
I used the old up inline one before that, I’ve always liked this sort if you don’t mind the Misty look
 
jaypeecee said:
Hi @REDSTEVEO

Are you able to summarize what problems you have had with the diffusers? If you've tried a lot of different types/manufacturers, it tends to suggest that your chances of finding a better alternative are rapidly diminishing. So, trying to think laterally, how could we improve the ones you've already tried?

JPC
Click to expand...

I have bought so many CO2 Diffusers from so many different suppliers over a period of about 10 years or so when they were first introduced.

I have tried the JBL and the UP inline versions, Glass ADA Diffusers from The Green Machine, Plastic, Ceramic Discs, JBL Pro Flora Taifun, Dupla, Aqua Medic, products from Hong King and China.

Each one has their own defects or disadvantages. The inline ones are a pain due to the fact that they reduce return flow from the filter, they get clogged easily, they have to be removed from the filter pipes to be cleaned or replaced, which means switching off the filter, clamping or shutting off the pipes to avoid the back siphon.

The in tank glass or plastic diffusers with the ceramic discs work for a short time, but gradually decrease in efficiency, the bubbles get larger and less and less.

The turbo types are unreliable, giving inconsistent results. The Dupla Reactor S and the Dupla CO2 Reactor 500 are the best, but these both need an independent water supply pumped via a separate powerhead in the tank, or a line coming off the return pipe from the filter. Flow control through either if these is tricky unless you are prepared to fit taps to adjust flow rates etc.
The bottom line is that none of them are perfect, and I'm not convinced there is a simple solution.

There is an Eheim Diffuser that you can attach to the end of the return pipe to the tank. It has a connection to attach an airline onto it so that as the water is forced through the diffuser it draws air in with it to oxygenate the water. I suppose you could try attaching the CO2 line to the diffuser so that it pulls the CO2 through it instead if oxygen.

The downside if the Eheim Diffuser is that due to the narrow hole on the outlet, the water pressure is increased into a powerful jet, which creates a lot of water flow around the tank. Some might say that is a good thing, but I'm not convinced about the 'flow' argument.

Some if the best planted tanks I have seen in Germany and Holland the water us virtually still.

Until someone produces a disc that does not clog up, there is no real solution.
 
Hi @REDSTEVEO

Although greatly overpriced, I've had good results from the Bazooka ceramic rod diffusers. I have one that has been used for three or four years and is still effective, producing a fine mist of bubbles. Like so many aquarium products, it is let down by substandard suckers that attach it to the aquarium glass. Every now and then, I soak it in a mild acid such as lemon juice or vinegar. The GH of my tank water is around 10dGH and KH is 4 - 6dKH. So, any chalky deposit on the ceramic rod is minimal anyway.

JPC
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top