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Sorry about your fish Waterloo Kid. Looking at your sig, I think the reason for your pH crash could have been your KH level. There is a high risk of pH swings with a KH of less than 3. Good luck for the future.

You make some good points there littleme! But what's confusing about this hobby is..... what works for one person, doesn't always work for another. And that can be very frustrating! :dunno:

I don't necessarily think the mixture is that critical. I tend to fill to the bottom line with sugar, about 1tsp bicarbonate of soda and just less than half tsp of yeast. Fill to the top line with warm water and give it a good mix. This usually lasts about two weeks. On my 120ltr I have two...

I suppose it is! But at the end of the day... if something works, it can't be wrong! Right?

Sorry for the confusion Sam! :D You have the same lighting schedule as me and I don't have an algae problem. Is your Co2 still at 18ppm? I know a lot of people these days are advised to get their Co2 around the 25-30ppm mark for maximum plant growth. Is there any way you could increase yours?

The worms you see on your fish are probably female. The males tend to die off after mating. The "Y" at the tail of the worm is an egg sack. It's possible some eggs may have been released into your tank. There are medications you can get to destroy these parasites ( they're actually a...

From the limited information given, it is hard to say what they are. Do they look anything like this picture?

Your father gave you some really good advice..... by telling you to stuff the tank with as many plants as possible. Heavily planted tanks tend not to see high ammonia spikes when they are cycling. This article explains why. Good luck!

I've seen this subject covered on various forums over the last couple of years. It seems planted tank keepers are split over it's effectiveness. Some, like yourself, are convinced it is a good idea. While others say it is has no impact on hair ,thread algaes etc. I've seen quotes like " if it's...

Siamese Algae Eaters are not usually aggressive towards other fish. Red Tailed Black Sharks being an exception.This link gives you information on them and also some similar fish that you may want to avoid. Good luck!

I'm not sure where you will get hold of a 9325k bulb. However, Steve Hampton says in the article that is his preference, so I assume it isn't critical as long as you have bulbs within 5000k-10000k range. Regarding not using undergravel filters.......... if you click on the undergravel filters...

Glad to hear it Angry_Platy! :D Constantly trimming plants can be a bit of a bind, but it beats looking at algae anytime!

I don't think your phosphates need to be any lower. Your plants need a certain amount of phosphate to grow. By reducing the phosphate level to 0.mg/l you will be undoing all the good work you have done by adding nitrate. A 10-1 nitrate/phosphate ratio is usually considered ok. Good luck!

Whether you should dose liquid ferts is entirely your choice. You have been given different opinions and only you can decide. I would advise you however to read this article on the Estimative Index and give it some consideration. It isn't a quick fix for algae, more a long term solution. Good...

I totally agree with everything TwoTankAmin says. When we have an algae problem we become obsessed with trying to get rid of it, when we should address the reason it is there in the first place. I've been there myself. Trying to combat algae by neglecting plants doesn't work. Grow plants by...

Ok Houndour! Your nitrate isn't a problem anyway. It's usual though to need to start adding a fertilizer a month or so after setting up a planted tank. Good luck!

With almost 3 wpg and Co2 you will need to start adding a fertilizer. Plants will not grow if the nutrients aren't there. Do you know what your nitrate level is?

This link will give you some info on a lowlight/low maintenance tank. Good luck.

No problem Ob1. I found it quite useful myself when I was fighting cyano!

It's possible that you may have a faulty test kit. Get your water tested at your L.F.S. or contact your water company and ask them what level of nitrate is in the tap water. It's better to have a confirmed reading, before going out and spending money on products you may not need. Good luck!

This article may help you with cycling a planted tank. Good luck!

I don't know what sort of med you are using...... some advise you to increase aeration, which will raise the pH. Have you increased aeration?

Point taken about the lighting! :D Don't worry about 20 ppm Co2. It isn't going to do your fish any harm. If you're still not sure about it, start off with one bottle and go from there. Good luck

No that's not too high! Many people with planted tanks try to keep it in the 20-30 range. You may need more light to grow some of the more demanding plants though!

Cyanobacteria can be difficult to deal with. This link gives you several options to try. If you decide to do a blackout, turn off your Co2....... if you have any. Good luck.

Yes, you might need two bottles.........hopefully someone with a similar set-up can offer you some advice. Do you know what Co2 level you would like to achieve? The water should be lukewarm, 70-80F is usually ok, though some people prefer it a bit warmer.

I think 55 US gallons is just over 200 litres. So 1 tsp of baking soda should raise your KH by about 1 dH. Good luck!

If you have a KH of 2dH, then you really don't need to raise it any higher than to 4dh to get the effect you require. So you only need to raise yours by 2dH. I'm not sure on the size of your tank, but you seem to have it all worked out now. As for a D.I.Y. Co2 recipe........... I think there...

I've never used that site. But I did order 2Kg of potassium nitrate from here last Wednesday and it arrived on Monday.

I think these values are the same for any water, be it tap, distilled or R/O. I could be wrong though, as I haven't any experience with distilled or R/O water ( someone please correct me if I am! ).

Just a word of warning. 1 teaspoon of baking soda will raise KH by around 4 dH per 50 litres of water. You might want to do a calculation before you add it. Good luck!

That's good news then! Hopefully the bloom should go away in a week or two. Just keep an eye on water parameters until it clears up. Good luck!

White cloudy water is usually a sign of a bacterial bloom. However, if you think your filter media may have been washed in tap water, you will need to keep an eye on water parameters. All the good bacteria in your filter may have been killed off. Check ammonia and nitrite readings in particular...

I don't think a bristlenose will touch hair algae. You might be better off with a Siamese Algae Eater ( Crossocheilus Siamensis ). They are known to eat that type of algae. You might be better doing a search on compatability with your other fish first. As far as I know they are compatable...

It could be that since you turned off the Co2 and your plants are no longer growing as fast, the algae is now able to use up the left over nutrients that your plants can no longer utilize. Good luck!

The easiest way would be to ease back on the CO2. I know that's not what you wanted to hear. Another solution, could be to add an airstone to drive off some of the CO2. I'm not sure it would drive off that much CO2 though! You said you were going to get your tank water tested. I think this...

If, before you added CO2 your pH was 7.4 and your KH was 4, it would give you a reading of 5 mg/l of CO2. Which I guess, is probably the reason you decided to add CO2. However, if you are saying your pH is now 6.0 and you were still to have a KH of 4, this would give you 133mg/l CO2 ( too...

If your test kits are correct and you have a pH of 6 and a KH of 4 then you have way too much CO2. Take a look at this chart for optimum levels. Good luck!

Adding CO2 always causes the pH to drop a bit! But not usually that much..... unless you have high levels of CO2. Do you know what the KH of your tank water is? If your KH is below 3 you may need to raise it. Good luck!

I don't think there's a problem with big water changes. Many people with heavily planted tanks do 50% weekly water changes.