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some algea problems

I know what you mean, they all want to make you think their products have some magical properties :lol:
The Dennerle DC has been advised on a dutch forum, I assume it's 4dkh water with bromo blue, but I don't know for sure. I did a search for the 4dkh water and bromo blue because it's probably alot cheaper then the ampoules, but I probably have to order them from one of the ukaps sponsers.

The links definitly helped, thank you very much. 🙂
It's bit difficult to remember it all but it's very informative, I'll read them through a couple more times


After having some problems with attaching the spraybars and planting some plants because the depth of the substrate, I decided to empty the tank yesterday to add more substrate and to remove the background and substrate heater I didn't use. I thought it was better to do it now. I think I'm on the right track but it will probably take some time untill I get the co2 right.

I also cleaned the spraybars, but after I reinstalled them the flow wasn't 100% even, I think it's because they aren't the best quality. 3 spraybar holes next to each other had a different water exit velocity. After I changed that spraybar section with another one it didn't change. I probably shouldn't have bought the cheapest 🙄
 
Hi,
Yes you are definitely on the right track. Another alternative while you have everything disassembled, is to simply port each of the two filter outputs into to a half length spraybar capped at each of the two ends which meet in the middle. That will give you stronger velocity into each half and you will still cover the distance along the back wall. This would be much less complicated.

Cheers,
 
Wouldn't that lead to a more uneven flow in the tank? As the eheim pump probably produces double or even more flow as the jbl filter. I thought one long spraybar that injects co2 enriched water would be the best? I don't have much plant mass yet so the flow seems good to me at the moment , although most of the bottom leafs don't look healthy (drooping and breaking). But I think this is due poor co2 injection but I could be wrong.

As I'm having problems with the co2 ending up to high and being to low at lights on. I was thinking of buying a second co2 set attached to the same reactor. So I have one set to ramp up the co2 untill lights on and the second one with a lower bubble rate to keep a stable co2 during the photoperiod. I don't mind spending money on it as it seems alot easier.
 
Well, if the outputs of the two filters are vary greatly then the stronger pump should have the longer bar, so instead of meeting in the middle you could offset the lengths which will lower the exit velocity on the longer bar and increase the velocity on the shorter bar. There are a lot of combinations that can work.
Yes, two reactors each feeding it's own bar would be the way to go. You can simply split the gas with a "Y" or "T" and send each outlet to it's own reactor. The problem with this is that the gas flow is never even because the flow in each tube depends on the downstream resistance and back pressure.

The idea is to get the most out of your injection, so although you do need to increase the injection rate you should always be thinking about how to optimize the distribution so that you minimize the amount of injection necessary, which gives you more margin of error for the fish.

Cheers,
 
I've bought a second co2 bottle, solenoid and regulator which I attached to my reactor with a T piece. I use one bottle with a very high bubble rate to ramp up the co2 and it shuts off when the lights go on , the other bottle switches on at lights on with a lower bubble rate to keep the desired co2 level stable. I've have it running this way for over a month although I can keep the co2 level stable throughout the day, I had to readjust the regulator often especially after I did a WC. I think the surface scum was the problem so I installed a skimmer last friday. as expected the degassing of the co2 is quicker, and I'm now having problems to reach the desired co2 level , I've already upped the bubble rate and reduced the surface agitation a bit, but I'll have to wait untill tomorow to see if these changes have any noticeable effects on the co2 level.
 
I finally got rid of all the algea but the plants are doing very poorly. I'm pretty sure I can't increase the co2 level anymore.
I increased the bubble rate a little bit today and I almost gassed my fish, luckily I noticed it in time.
Still the plants show co2 deficiencies, and my P. Helferi slowly melted over time. The distribution seems good to me. I can see tiny bubbles that escape from the reactor being pushed around the tank, and the dc was yellow everywhere I putt it.

I still use the same amount of light ( one 54 watt t5 tube for 7 hours) and the same amounts of ferts ( 30 ppm No3, 3 ppm Po4 and 30 ml of my trace mix)

I'll make some pictures tomorrow of the setup and plants, because it's probably a bit unclear.
 
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