120L Juwel Lido - 'eternal Cycle'

[daizeUK]

I must have jinxed myself because one of my shrimp is dying this morning.  It's the smallest shrimp which I've rarely ever seen come out.  It just seems to be really weak for some reason.  I only tend to give them algae wafers when I see them out hunting for food, maybe 2-3 times a week, so perhaps that's my fault.  I'll try feeding them more often and I've ordered some vegetable sticks for them as well.
 
Meanwhile I'm getting some algae problems in the tank which I'm blaming on the salvinia natans, since it grew like wildfire and covered the tank!  So much for me worrying about whether it would be able to survive directly under the lights!  I've taken half of it out and I still think there's too much.
 
Also I didn't dare trim the moss for a long time because I was scared of disturbing any threadfin eggs and eventually the moss started taking over the tank and I had to cut it back drastically.  So altogether the tank isn't looking its healthiest but here's a pic update anyway!
 

 

[daizeUK]

This is silly - I gave away some salvinia last and week and took a whole load more out and within a week it's practically covering the whole tank again. 

Looks like I've got no choice but to throw armfuls of it away each week and I hate throwing healthy plants in the bin! 

 

[daizeUK]

This is what the salvinia natans looks like after being left alone for a week:
 

 
I take out a huge cupful of the stuff every week and bin it and within seven days the small amount I left in the tank has at least quadrupled its surface area to cover the tank again.  I thought duckweed was bad but this stuff... wheesh.
 
I'm also battling evil BBA in this tank (and in my 35L as well).  Now I've realised it's my fault because I got lazy with changing the yeast CO2 reactors and I missed a week or two thinking it wouldn't matter too much, so I can only blame myself!  Lesson learned and in future I know I have to keep up with replenishing the reactors every week.  
 
The beautiful moss I once had has been decimated by BBA, I've had to trim it right back to ugliness and I only hope it will regrow healthily now that I've got the CO2 back on track.  The other plants look okay but maintenance is a chore with removing algae and pruning the worst affected leaves every week.  I certainly managed to make a lot of work for myself by getting too complacent!

 

[daizeUK]

I seem to be slowly losing the battle against BBA.  Despite my efforts, it's spreading.  I remove as much as I can during maintenance and I'm now desperately spot treating daily with EasyCarbo.  
 
My once-beautiful moss has been totally decimated and I'm not sure whether it will ever bounce back.  It's a constant battle to stop the rest of the plants from being overwhelmed.
 

 
 
Here's a photo showing how the BBA has spread to my anubias petite, which one of my shrimp obligingly photobombed
 

 

[KirkyArcher]

For whatever reason I've found Easycarbo to be way less effective to the point of not being any use at all at spot treating algae issues, having to apply it in doses that usually lead to plants melting back anyway, getting much better effects from Seachem Excel although it's a little more expensive

 

[daizeUK]

Hmm, interesting, I'd always heard that they were both good algaecides.
I'm reluctant to use too much liquid carbon anyway for fear of causing discomfort to the shrimp.  I'm slowly working up the dosage.  I'm also thinking of adding a fourth CO2 reactor.  Ultimately I'm hoping to avoid a blackout but it may come to that, 

 

[daizeUK]

In the morning, I have the tank backlit by LEDs until it's time for the main lights to come on in the afternoon.  It gives the tank a twilight ambience and allows me to enjoy watching the fish even when the tank is dark.  I love the way the backlighting brings out the colours of the fish, especially the female threadfins who can appear to be a rather plain silver under full lighting, but under backlighting they are revealed in their true golden glory!
 

 

[Ch4rlie]

Beautiful, have to admit have never seen Threadfins displaying these colours before
 
Wonderful pic.

 

[daizeUK]

Thanks Charlie!  I'm pleased with how well my threadfins are doing.
 
Not sure how well it's come out but I quickly snapped a full tank shot showing backlighting after lights out:
 

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ooh, looks dramatic
 
Stunning

 

[daizeUK]

Thanks Charlie!  The backlight is a cheap submersible LED bar I picked up from Amazon, cost around a tenner but I think it works pretty well.
 
This morning here's a backlit pic of my lone spotted blue-eye searching for microfauna in what's left of the moss:

 

[daizeUK]

Can I have honest opinons - do you think this tank looks overcrowded with plants?
I'm starting to wonder if sheer weight of plants might be contributing to my algae problems.
 
This was a pic from last week:
 

 

[Ch4rlie]

No, i really like the plants as they are in that tank. Does not look overcrowded or overgrown at all, just about right
 
Personally I'd love my tank to look half as good as that tbh.

 

[daizeUK]

Thanks Charlie, that's good to know!  I was starting to have doubts that I'm just used to seeing an overgrown jungle
Although I think the needle fern will need thinning out as it's running out of rhizome space.

 

[daizeUK]

Having a nightmare with CO2 leaks at the moment - I've got no pressure through the diffuser and can't seem to find the leak.  When I fix one leak, another pops up 

 
Also the backlight broke.  The plug casing cracked for no reason.  That's what I get for buying cheap stuff off Amazon!  I've bought a quality LED replacement from my local MA and the background is now brighter.