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Juwel Trigon 190 Aquarium - Need Help things not so good

So Im on day 3, circulation looks good, I can see movmement on all the plants no matter which part of the tank they are in, I have CO2 on for 6 hours as well as the lights (I start the CO2 an hour before the lights come on), I can see pearling which I guess is a good sign

Water Chemistry
Does this look ok, I tested the water before the Water Change today - Guess I should be consistent when I test
Capture.JPG


And the full tank, I will be making changes as Im not happy with layout.

2016-11-14 09.32.32.jpg

Thanks for looking

John B
 
Hi John, (see my previous comment) the Hair Grass that you have planted in three large clumps should be split or divided into as many separate strands or smaller bunches and spread evenly throughout the substrate. Remove as much rock wool as possible before planting.

The water looks nice and clear, how come the Nitrite went from day 2 to day 3 from 0 to 80?

Steve
 
Based on advice I have removed one of the large pieces of slate and provided more planting area, so split the hair grass.

Nitrite reading are wrong - is my poor recording 🙁

I will look into Moss \ Fern for the wood

New picture will be up later along with today's water tests (accurately recorded)

John B
 
Day 5

Removed a few rocks and split the hair grass, I seem to have flow all around the tank ie I can see movement everywhere
Should I be starting to see any changes in the water Chemistry yet.
The tank looks dusty (if thats possible) Im assuming its due to the constant moving around of the substrate - see the picture


Current Chemistry
Capture.JPG

CO2 going In

co2.jpg

Dusty ?
dusty.jpg


Overall view
full.jpg
Thanks for looking

John B
 
Well its day 9 and all seem to be going well, plants seem to be growing which is good news

I dont see any pearling but maybe im being a little obsessive ?

pH goes from 7.6 to 6.8 after a couple of hours of the Co2 going on and the drop checker turns green


As per the Steve Lancashire sugesstion from im going to add Ottocinclus x 6, Amano shrimp x 10 - cant wait


You can see the growth on these (well I can)

2016-11-20 18.04.57.jpg

And on these - not sure why the leaves on the red plant are curled up - but new leaves are growing from the middle
2016-11-20 18.04.48.jpg


and a full shot.


2016-11-20 18.04.40.jpg

Thanks for looking

John B
 
Looking good John, healthy plants means good water quality means healthy and happy fish.

I got obsessive also over the pearling, I always thought if there was no pearling something wasn't right, I had plenty of growth but no pearling, then after a few months the plants seemed to get into a rhythm with the lights, CO2 and nutrients and everything took off. Especially after a water change with slightly cooler water.

Have you still got your temperature at 24 / 25 degrees. This is ideal for plants and some fish, but if you start to bump the temperature up to around 29 degrees to accommodate other fish you will see a decline in the health of your plants, it's a real balancing act.

Remind me what you are doing with your water when changing it, I.e. RO, HMA or just plain old tap water?

Steve
 
Steve

Thanks for the comments, my Temp is a steady 24 accroing to the filter and I have checked with a thermometer
in the tank and it also says 24 so we are good there.

As for water change I use Tap water and then treat with Aqua Safe, the temperature does drop but its back in a few hours.

Will be adding more plants this week and some cleaning crew.

Regards
John B
 
Hi John, Aqua Safe is okay, it does the job but it is fairly expensive considering how much you have to use each time you do a water change. There are better products out there which are more concentrated so you use less, I.e. Seachem Prime, or Easy Life Filter Medium. I use a HMA (Heavy Metal Axe) filter which removes heavy metals plus chlorine and Chloramine and I have plumbed it into the hot and cold water supply so I can mix it to the same temperature.

See the link below on how to do it if you ever go down that route.

http://www.devotedly-discus.co.uk/acatalog/DD-HMA-200.html

Click on the bit that says heated water.

Cheers,

Steve
 
Day 12 - and first rescape

Removed a lot of the stone and replanted quite a bit.

Moved the spray bars up which had an immediate imapct that plants are now pearling and they where not before
Still need to sort flow at the bottom front but real progress.

Water is not clear but will clear up soon

This corner needs sorting.
2016-11-23 18.41.37.jpg


Side View
2016-11-23 18.41.48.jpg


Full View

2016-11-23 18.41.31.jpg

John B
 
Hi John, I know there is a lot of information on this forum on the subject of flow rate around the tank. I've followed it as have many others, with varying degrees of success. But my advice would be not to get too obsessed with flow rates, some of the best planted tanks I have ever seen have been those with virtually still water and a steady flow of CO2 going in constantly 24/7, with the right amount of nutrients and light. Phenomenal growth and massive amount of pearling going on.

So take it easy and spend a bit more time observing what is going on over a period of time before making too many changes.

Remember, the only things that happen quickly in an aquarium are usually bad things.

Steve
 
Steve

Thanks, I think its about there with flow there is now area that does not have movement, never considered 24 x 7 Co2 - must read up on it

John B
 
REDSTEVEO said:
The theory is 24/7 CO2 but at a lower bubble count, constant / consistent level of CO2 without peaks and troughs, therefore static PH, therefore less stress on plants and fish. Simples.
Click to expand...
Which of course is a complete load of completely obvious nonsense.

Even if you supply CO2 at a constant rate the CO2 level will fluctuate (and corresponding pH) considerably. During light hours the plants will consume CO2 and CO2 level fall (and pH rise) and during the night with CO2 being injected and plants (and fish) add yet more CO2 the CO2 level will rise (often to fish fatal levels !!) and pH drop.

Fish encounter quite large daily pH changes in their natural environment (possibly greater than in a tank) and provided the pH changes in tanks is slow (over hours) it is not a problem for fish. After all people have been keeping fish for years in CO2 dosed tanks with pH daily swings of up to 2pH and fish are fine.
 
So day 17

Overall its going well, plant are growing as the pictures show, I have a good circualtion and we have movement everywhere
I dont often see pearling but at the plants are growing I guess its not an issue.
I have lights on for 6 hours and co2 for 6 hours, the Co2 comes on an hour before the lights.
Before the Co2 is on I have a pH of 7.7 and kH of 5 so Co2 of 3.8ppm and midway through the Co2 and lights period I have a pH of 6.6 and kK of 5 so a Co2 of 37ppm

Pictures below and all feedback welcome

growth1.jpg

growth2.jpg


growth3.jpg

Full.jpg


Regards
John B
 
Day 23 and overall things are going well

I have added
Ottocinclus x 6
Amano shrimp x 6

I have a steady 37 ppm of Co2 during the lights on period (6 hours)
I feed as per instructions using Ferropol
50% Water changes every other day

I have circulation in all areas of the tank and using a drop checker i get a consistent Co2 indication

Despite not seen pearling (which is my obsession) i can see good growth on all the plants apart from

Elocharis Aciularis - its getting taller but some of it is going brown ?

Hemianthus Callitrichoides - which looks healthy but seems to do nothing ?

Pictures below and thanks for looking (water change before I took the pictures, its normally clear)


Amano seems happy enough

Amano.jpg

View from one end
End 1.jpg
Hemianthus Callitrichoides
Hemianthus Callitrichoides.jpg
Full view from front
Full.jpg
John B
 
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