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55Gl Fw Planter Tank

Test results today

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 10ppm
PH 7.2
KH 4 dKH
GH 8 dGH

Since I have the algae under control I was going to start doing WC weekly instead of every 5 days but with the nitrate up to 10pmm after only 5 days I am going to do the 50% WC today.
 
After 50% WC pH stayed the same and the nitrates are undetectable.
 
tank is looking great so far, glad you got the algae issue under control.   I have a strong feeling it was due to the lighting, coral growth light was probably a bit much for the tank (along with two 10k bulbs).   I've been running 1 10k and 1 5600nm growth bulb in my aquaticlife fixture (had it left over from my SW tank) and it seems to do the job well and not cause any serious issues.   I've had some algae growth, but i didnt take care of it and its completely covered my driftwood, its like a green carpet algae.   weird, but not to the point where I am stressing over it.   
 
 
Keep it up.
good.gif
 
I have an update on the aquascaping. It was bothering me that I couldn't see my Ludwigia puruensis and I love it with the interesting leaves of red to purple. So I separated those out and put them all the left side and took all the moneywort and put all of those on the right. The aquascape seems to me to make more sence this way with all the species grouped individually rather than spread out through the tank.
 
I have also given up on constantly replanting the moneywort in the foreground. I was hoping they would take root by now but they haven't. Instead I am going to just take them out as they come uprooted to the surface and keep an eye out for dwarf hairgrass at the LFS and use that for a carpeting plant. 
 


Mr.Tan said:
tank is looking great so far, glad you got the algae issue under control.   I have a strong feeling it was due to the lighting, coral growth light was probably a bit much for the tank (along with two 10k bulbs).   I've been running 1 10k and 1 5600nm growth bulb in my aquaticlife fixture (had it left over from my SW tank) and it seems to do the job well and not cause any serious issues.   I've had some algae growth, but i didnt take care of it and its completely covered my driftwood, its like a green carpet algae.   weird, but not to the point where I am stressing over it.   
 
 
Keep it up.
good.gif
Click to expand...
Thanks Mr. Tan! I totally agree that it was the lighting causing my algae issue. I think its crazy that the same light that works for corals does not work for planted tanks. But I guess now that I think about the water that corals live in must let in more of the light spectrum than the water that tropical plants live in since freshwater carries a lot more sediment. 
 
Couple of updates
 
I decided that my temp has to go down so I have lowered to 77F. I ordered a 3x5 mat of dwarf hairgrass that should be here on Tuesday to Friday. I did it through Ebay so we will see how that goes. 
 
Test results today
 
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 10ppm
pH 7.2
KH 4
GH 8
 
Did my 50% WC 
 
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
pH 7.4
KH 4
GH 8
 
Ammonia has me concerned so I have posted a thread trying to find out why I had that reading. I have taken out the bamboo plants just in case those were the culprit. Here is the link to that:
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/435819-ammonia-25ppm-in-a-cycled-tank/
 
I am going to test ammonia every day to keep an eye on it. 
 
I forgot to mention that I cleaned the left side filter today. I will clean the other next month. I am going to follow this method of cleaning the filters so they get cleaned every two months. 
 
I got a new tank heater. The one I had was so old you can't read the dial anymore and I couldn't set it at a lower temp. So I got a new one. I have had the old one out for 8 hours and the tank is still at 79.5F down from 80.4F. I am going to leave the heater off all night to see if the temp will go down. My apartment is 72 degrees all day. I have the new heater set at 76F. My target is between 76 and 77F. 
 
 
Test results today 
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 10ppm
Phosphate 0ppm
pH 7.2
 
After 50% WC 
 
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
Phosphate 0ppm
pH 7.4
 
All fish and plants are looking good. I took some of the baby plants from the java fern and planted them on the wood on the left. See if they take off. 
 
Have some pics
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
This CO2 canister lasted 2 weeks. I did forget to turn it off a couple times so it ran for 24 hours twice so hopefully that is why I went through one so fast. 
 
My Amazon sword had a baby! Actually its called an adventitious plant or daughter plant. I just learned that as I didn't know exactly what was going on. I have to wait til it developes its own roots so it is not taking nutrients from the parent anymore. After that I can snip it off and use it to fill the hole behind the bigger dwiftwood. As fast as the parent grows new leaves I probably won't have to wait very long. 
 
Here is a pic as it is today. I want to see how long it takes to mature. 
 
 
I got a 3x5 mat of dwarf hairgrass from ebay the other day. I am letting it settle in the tank for a couple weeks before I take it of the mat and plant it to start the carpeting effect. 
 
I had to prune the Ludwigia repens yesterday and I planted some lower to fill that out and let more light in to the bottom. Looks a lot nicer. 
 
And i got an adorable pic of one of the false julliis. 
 
 
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