My litlle 250L garden.

[Tom Procko]

i had this to start off with and i read that if u put loads of little plants in like cobomba just let it float because its such a fast growing plant it will require loads of nutritens so that stuff u have growing wont have no nutrients to grow

 

[thomas.bham]

with regards the lighting, i wouldnt worry too much about the spectrum, 2 x 39w also doesnt seem excessive on a 250l tank, but you could try going back to basics and removing the reflectors to help ensure good c02 availability.....that way any fert limitations will also be minimised due to slower growth and resultant reduced demands. Algae also indicates a high light issue compared with c02 availability....it sounds stupid, but even your light coloured substrate (of which there is still quite a lot uncovered) may be exaggerating your lighting by reflecting light back into the tank rather than absorbing it like darker ones.....i think im right in saying that....but dont quote me How do you dose your fertilisers, all in one dose or do you split it into daily doses? I always found i had to at least double dose (daily doses) with the old tropica tpn+, so maybe these new ferts are the same and there is still a shortfall with your current set up....although you stated above that there are no particular deficiencies so maybe this is less likely the issue.....its most likely a light and c02 relationship. I see you have moved away from spraybar configuration, is there a reason for this? Cheerio, Ady

You are quite right about colour of substrate...I was worried that 2 tube could give not enough light but, now I can't see much difference with the brightness I had before.
First 2 weeks I was dousing daily 4 pomps now 7.
I removed spray bar temporary, because when I used it I caused
a typhoon in tank, probably because I have got not much plants now.
With regards the Co2 I'm dousing exactly the same as I was dousing before with double light and a lot more mass of plants.
It would be really hard for me to believe that I have got not enough co2, anymore of co2 would kill my fish :-/

I look at tropica web and there are some sample of various tanks (layouts) run on tropica ferts. All of them use huge amounts of ferts compared to recommended dosage .
For example, tank 100l they add 25ml of premium and 25ml of specialized.

What do you think about it?
If I had to use that much of it, then probably I will make one myself using dry salts.

 

[thomas.bham]

i had this to start off with and i read that if u put loads of little plants in like cobomba just let it float because its such a fast growing plant it will require loads of nutritens so that stuff u have growing wont have no nutrients to grow

You know what, my the fastest growing plant in the tank which is P. Stellatus is growing very well,which surprises me very much.

 

[Ady34]

I look at tropica web and there are some sample of various tanks (layouts) run on tropica ferts. All of them use huge amounts of ferts compared to recommended dosage . For example, tank 100l they add 25ml of premium and 25ml of specialized. What do you think about it? If I had to use that much of it, then probably I will make one myself using dry salts.

thats why i swapped to ei....it was costing me a fortune

With regards the Co2 I'm dousing exactly the same as I was dousing before with double light and a lot more mass of plants. It would be really hard for me to believe that I have got not enough co2, anymore of co2 would kill my fish :-/

its crazy, but every tank is different.....for exampe i run my lighting unit 13" above the water surface on my current set up yet still suffer c02 related issues...my old set up ran with the light directly above the water surface, i had some issues, but growth was good generally . Very small differences in flow, light, co2 have big impacts. If your on the limit of co2 for your fauna you could try supplementing with liquid carbon products to boost carbon availability.
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[thomas.bham]

its crazy, but every tank is different.....for exampe i run my lighting unit 13" above the water surface on my current set up yet still suffer c02 related issues...my old set up ran with the light directly above the water surface, i had some issues, but growth was good generally . Very small differences in flow, light, co2 have big impacts. If your on the limit of co2 for your fauna you could try supplementing with liquid carbon products to boost carbon availability. Cheerio, Ady.

Ok then, I will start dosing carbon.
How much TPN did you have to use?

I am going to make "all in one" using receipt from James' planted tank and see what happens.

 

[Ady34]

How much TPN did you have to use?

in the end i was dosing 15ml per day
extra water changes and filter cleans never go amiss when you get a touch of algae too....

 

[thomas.bham]

in the end i was dosing 15ml per day

wooow

So with my plant mass and light, how much you reckon should I dose it?

 

[Ady34]

well, i think if your not suffering deficiencies then as you are now is fine....just increase with plant mass....to be sure its not nutrient related at least double dose recommended values if your wallet can take it
Did the algae on the plants come with transferred plants or is it new? Are your c02 levels good for lights on, stable throughout photoperiod? most algaes are co2 and or light related, theres a good guide here:
James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[thomas.bham]

well, i think if your not suffering deficiencies then as you are now is fine....just increase with plant mass....to be sure its not nutrient related at least double dose recommended values if your wallet can take it
Did the algae on the plants come with transferred plants or is it new? Are your c02 levels good for lights on, stable throughout photoperiod? most algaes are co2 and or light related, theres a good guide here:
James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide
Cheerio,
Ady.

No all algaes are new.
Co2 turns on 2 hours before light switch on and it turns of 1 hour before light switch off.
lightening time is 8 hours.

 

[thomas.bham]

Ok Ady34, I've done some diy tpn+ from james'plantedtank web.
I just mixed micro and macro separately.
I am just wondering whether I should dose standard dosage of macro and increase dosage of micro only?

 

[Ady34]

Im guessing you mixed them seperately as you had no ascorbic acid or potassium sorbate available to do an all in one?
Personally, I'd double the dosage of both and see how you go. I would also remove your reflectors. If you have the patience it may be worth only implementing one change at a time for a couple of week period to see if there is any change due to each variable.....ferts, light, added liquid carbon? I'm not sure on the science/methodology, maybe Clive, ceg4048 could help if you fancy trying to pinpoint your issue.
Cheerio,
Ady

 

[thomas.bham]

Im guessing you mixed them seperately as you had no ascorbic acid or potassium sorbate available to do an all in one?

Yes you're right
But I've ordered them today

If you have the patience it may be worth only implementing one change at a time for a couple of week period to see if there is any change due to each variable.....ferts, light, added liquid carbon?

I will do that way then.

So first change will be new adding new diy ferts.

Cheers
Tom

 

[thomas.bham]

Ady34,
I received E202 and E300, added to Micro and almost instantly changed colour from brown to olive green. is that ok?

Do you know, when you make "all in one" does it matter which order you add ingredients?
Cheers
Tom

 

[Ady34]

Ady34,
I received E202 and E300, added to Micro and almost instantly changed colour from brown to olive green. is that ok?

Do you know, when you make "all in one" does it matter which order you add ingredients?
Cheers
Tom

i have to be honest Thomas, i dont know.....maybe post the question in one of the sponsor forums, or ask the seller.......ive never made an all in one myself

 

[tim]

Hi Thomas, I've been making DIY all in one mix for over a year now and I've always just picked up whichever bag out of my dry salts box added to my bottle then warm water, never any particular order, and always had the same results and also always nice shade of green

 

[thomas.bham]

Hi Thomas, I've been making DIY all in one mix for over a year now and I've always just picked up whichever bag out of my dry salts box added to my bottle then warm water, never any particular order, and always had the same results and also always nice shade of green

Thanks, I was just wondering if you put first Kh2po4, then trace and at the end e202 and e300 wouldn't phosphate damage the iron before putting preserves.
Can you tell me which repice did you use to make all in one?
And does it work well?
didn't you have to add extra iron, K or Mg?

Any way,
I've done 50% water change and put spraybar back
eleocharis mini doesn't grow at all.
All leaves getting brown. I don't have clue why?

Cheers
Tom.

 

[tim]

Hi Thomas , I use recipie from James planted tank page recipie number 3, I put all the salts and preserves in the bottle then add water and I think the phosphate and iron only reacts in solution (water) which the preservatives solve so never had a problem doing it this way, mix works well IMO sometimes I add a little extra iron to see if it improves reds but as of yet my plants all stay more green, the mix contains k & mg so I find no need for extra, from what I've read haven't grown it myself yet eleocharis mini is slow growing and shouldn't need trimming but stick with it, it is a lovely compact grass, brown on leaves could be diatoms possibly, keep up with water changes in my experience sometimes one a week just isn't enough, I've been carrying out at least 3 a week on the 90 cm tank in my sig since setup, hard work but if I don't I start to see algae issues, hope this helps

 

[thomas.bham]

hi guys
Little update.
I took the reflector of, it seems to me a bit dark now, but I had been always using a lot light maybe that is way.
I started using diy PMDD+PO4 double dosage and diy micro almost triple dosage.
On top of that I dose a lot of co2 (water looks like sparkling water)
I put spray bar back too.
Plants doesn't show any deficiencies in my opinion.
Problem doesn't want disappear, green algaes, and some hairy one still present.

Blyxa looks pretty good except old leave infected by hairy algaes.

Java looks not too bad, leave are a bit to bright.
Should I give more micro?

ludwigia seems to me very well. Am I right?

Eleocharis sp. 'mini' is in hibernation

Any suggestion lads?

 

[thomas.bham]

No interest at all :-/

 

[tim]

Thomas once algae appears you need to remove as much as you can whilst trying to resolve the issues that caused it plenty of large water changes trimming affected plants filter cleans etc etc lower lighting has always helped reduce my algae issues hope this helps mate.