lost nitrates

[warrenater]

I will start at the beginning , the tank was set up only a couple of months ago a 180 ltd jewel vision with 600 litre per hour bioflow 3 filter, and lighting = 8 1/2 hours a day

Product Code 46529
Product MultiLux LED 92 cm – 2x19 W
Length 913 mm
Power 1x19 W DAY & 1x19 W NATURE
Kelvin 9000/6500
Lumen 4370 which gives me as far as I can make out just a bit into medium lighting ?
I do use a 1/2 dose of excel from time to time and flourish comprehensive twice a week . I also have easy life root sticks dotted around under the swords and cryptocorynes .
subsoil is jbl proscape ( at the back ) topped with sansibar grey if i remember correctly.
I just upgraded from diy co2 baking soda and citric acid to a fire extinguisher based system with a solenoid because the diy was fluctuating too much for me , that was earlier this week. now it reaches 19 ppm by mid afternoon and looks like lemonade !
I added the plants a few weeks back and it was before the tank cycled fish in ,4 leopard danios water changes every 2 days with bbl denitrol and ammonia and nitrites always under 0.25 .
I had my first 0 on nitrites on 29/9/17. and stocking is now 6 leopard danios and 8 tiger barbs.
the plants i have are valisanaria, amazon swords java moss ,java ferns and cryptocoryn wendtii all chosen to be easy plants . the new leaves on the crytocones are all brown and i have trimmed off the old leaves , i has new leaves and also new platelets growing on the java fern i had to trim the swords cos they grew so much and the wallis has sent out runners everywhere .
I apologise for the long story but here is the thing i did a test before my weekly water change today and 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and no nitrates at all ? Could it be the plants stripping it out ? and should i add any more ? i just did not expect this so soon and with these plants . please do comment .
I apologise for the cloudy water as i had literally just finished the water change also for the less than except-able photography. atb Gary.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5EieML

 

[Zeus.]

Yes the plants could be stripping all the nitrates, that's if the tests are correct. Tests hobbist level aren't reliable which is why most folk use the EI method for nutrients for their CO2 tanks, as it was designed for not testing required. Just plenty of nutrients at non toxic levels. With regular water changes. Well worth a look into most folk use the dry salts as it works out the cheapest. Easy to make solutions up.
The addition of a better CO2 would also be better complimented by a better fert regime too IMO

Sent from Mountolympus via neural interface

 

[HiNtZ]

Regardless of what your fauna and tap add as nitrate, you should still be adding it when running gas and higher than normal light.

Do yourself a favor, and I'll say it before the next person does - "ditch the test kits and just dose". Concentrate on giving the plants more than they need through your dosing method rather than try to calculate the residual already in the water.

Let the tank run for a while then you can start dialling it back. Start high, then come down.... Not low and increasing.

P.s the tank looks great. Get some NPK in there pronto to keep it that way.

 

[warrenater]

I did think about that but thought my lighting might be the limiting factor and worried if that was the case about algae , may i ask what you suggest , nitrogen potassium and iron ? I am just beginning in this planted tank lark . flourish or another method ? Thanks in advance Gary.
oh just to add i used both jbl proscan and ntl aquarium labs test for nitrate and both said 0 .

 

[warrenater]

Sorry to be a pain but i am planning to take your kind advice and start ei dosing but i am no chemist and do not quite understand all the abbreviations so my question : if I buy this starter kit would I need to also add chelated iron to the order and if so how much of it should i dose cheers gary.

 

[HiNtZ]

I did think about that but thought my lighting might be the limiting factor and worried if that was the case about algae , may i ask what you suggest , nitrogen potassium and iron ? I am just beginning in this planted tank lark . flourish or another method ? Thanks in advance Gary.
oh just to add i used both jbl proscan and ntl aquarium labs test for nitrate and both said 0 .

We've all got to start somewhere! I'm 6 years in and still learning

I can completely understand why you would think excess nutes would cause algae, Google is full of old wives tales about it. However, having tested the theory for myself for a few weeks (running way over 100ppm nitrate, 20ppm phosphate, god knows how much K and Fe) and never had a scrap of algae. Plants were doing just fine, and the fish/shrimp too.

I also tried the opposite to prove the point - I starved the tank of everything but kept the same gas and light (i.e a LOT)...... 8 days later I had every kind of algae imaginable. Plants were in real bad shape.

What I took away from this was what I had read over and over on places like here - "imbalances cause algae". It's been well documented on here, as have toxicities. Deffo worth a search as the people who have discussed it in the past are way more qualified than I. I only have my personal experiences.

 

[HiNtZ]

Sorry to be a pain but i am planning to take your kind advice and start ei dosing but i am no chemist and do not quite understand all the abbreviations so my question : if I buy this starter kit would I need to also add chelated iron to the order and if so how much of it should i dose cheers gary.

Sorry, was in a rush earlier.

That kit is fine. It will give everything and more that you need (magnesium is debatable).

K - potassium
P - phosphate
N - nitrogen

You will be adding potassium while dosing the nitrates and phosphates so it's a no brainer - but if you need more you can use k2so4 (potassium sulfate).

Magnesium I find I need, being in London the tap is very low on it. I do literally 1 tea spoon in 150 litres a week and I'm convinced I get a slightly broader leaf. Again, there's plenty discussions on it here - search "mgso4".

As for the trace mix, that gives you your micro elements along with majority iron (Fe). There's some advanced scientific discussions on the site (all of which are above my head) about how the trace elements react in certain tank conditions and with other elements (like phosphate and iron creating iron phosphate which is not then available to plants). Very interesting none the less.

Just go ahead and mix the two solutions as per the instructions that (should) come with the kit.

A mix I like is: 4tsp kno3, 1tsp kh2po4, 5tsp mgso4 to 500ml water and dosing 10ml per 50 litres of tank capacity 3 times a week.

Then 1tsp trace elements (different companies differ in their ratios of elements - yours are the same as mine that I use) to 500ml water and does alternate days to macro elements 3 times a week.

At the end of each week you will do a 50% water change.

That's it. The hardest part is getting the gas and light right. The nutrients are child's play and as long as you follow the regime and keep things stable using the plants, and not test kits, to tell you what they need - you'll be fine.

 

[warrenater]

Thank you so much for your answer HiNtZ thats answered all of my questions , hopefully i won't need to increase the light that ones going to be difficult . I will get the kit ordered now atb Gary.

 

[HiNtZ]

If you can physically raise/lower your lights that's already a level of control.

One thing I read once when someone asked "how soon after planting a new tank should I start dosing?" To which someone replied "5.63 nano seconds...."

There are many dosing methods, EI being only one. Many have success, a few don't. Some like commercial liquid solutions for convenience, others thinkit's a waste of money (it is mostly water after all).

 

[warrenater]

I thought i would just post an update as i have been dosing ei for a few weeks now , also i have upgraded from diy co2 to a fe driven one with solenoid on a timer , I now dose exes daily but i built up to the full dose slowly and I have added some d/ baby tears and more recently some ludwigia repens ? my goodness i did not expect to be trimming back and pruning on a weekly basis ! I have also had to pull out some new wallis plants that were growing where i didn't want them . I am however suffering some algae problems but i can live with it ( i am still trying to get the co2 dosing right so slowly does it ) the baby tears is slowly starting to spread but is getting some algae so i might try a siamese algae eater . this is a picture from today just after another trim and i am well chuffed
I am so grateful for the helpI have recieved here as i would not to have had the confidence without it .
Regards Gary.

https://flic.kr/p/ZSSKbz