Algae Wonderland

[SuperColey1]

Can't help you there.

Never owned an eheim or even researched them. I have tetratec which Im very happy with at the mo.

You want to look for a filter where the suggested tank size means you are in the lower reaches of it.

i.e. I have a tetratec EX700 which is supposed to be for 100-200L (My tank is 125L max) so I'll be pretty much around the 110L region I should guess.

Andy

 

[Rhea]

Cheers - something to add to my Christmas list!

 

[JamesC]

The rhinox is a good diffuser and should work fine in your tank. When you get into the high light tanks then water movement is so important to get the dissolved CO2 around the tank to all the plants. Not having good flow means that some plants are likely to suffer. Probably the reason you can't get your CO2 levels up high is because you haven't got good surface movement. This I know is contrary to popular belief but is vital IMO to ensure good O2 levels for the fish. The downside of this is that you use more CO2. To give you an idea I use an Eheim 2028 in my 200 litre tank which I think is just about OK. The 2128 is the same except has a heater I believe. Rather than buying a new filter have you got an old powerhead lying around? Put it in and blast it at the diffuser sending the bubbles around the tank whilst at the same time using the outlet from the filter to improve surface movement. See if this improves things.

From the picture of your tank the surface does look a little scummy because bubbles should pop straight away and not hang at the surface . This you do really need to sort out. Good surface movement should do the trick here.

Your list of algaes do suggest to me that CO2 is not your only problem, but also tank maintanance. How much do you feed the fish and do you do any replanting and disturbance of the substrate? Some of these algae appear due to small localised ammonia spikes that are undetectable by hobby test kits. A better filter may help here.

Another problem you may have is that because you have been doing such lean water column dosing your ADA substrate may be exhausted as the plants have only been able to get their nutrients from there.

James

 

[Rhea]

Completely agree that CO2 is not my only problem, I'm not going to change my filter for a few weeks at least as I want to see how the period of lower lighting helps me get my dosing levels right. Since your earlier post I've been looking round the forums trying to find what filters people are running and it does seem mine's a little underpowered. I have a Juwel Rio 125 I'm looking to set up later in the year so I do have another use for my existing filter if I go ahead with the change.

The 2128 is the 2028 with a heater, it's good to see it wont be overkill on a 260 as I've been unable to find a recommended minimum tank capacity.

Whenever I have the lighting on I have bubbles on the surface, think I may have my old juwel powerhead lying around somewhere that I could use to see what the effect is. It will also make it easier to try some different placements of the spraybar as SuperColey1 has suggested.

In terms of maintenance, I try not to disturb the substrate too much, and I haven't done a rescape for a few months. I feed once a day and can't see food lying on the substrate, I've got a team of corys that seem to clean up any leftovers. I'm going to increase my waterchanges to 100l per week to see what that does, hopefully you'll be right and with a bit of hard work this is recoverable from.