Aquascaper 600

[eatyourpeas]

My last plant purchase seem to have brought in pest snails and I havent the heart to tell them theres a reason I'm letting them get established...

Don't! Keep it a surprise!

 

[Wills]

Bit of a trim tonight. Purposely left some of the rotala in the back right long but realised it does not look good. Need it to grow bushier anyway so might chop that off through the week.

Loved the Limnophila in the back left but it needed chopping back it will be back in a week or two I've put some of the trimmed stems in the middle right which looks a bit odd but but wondering if it will help fight the staghorn algae here?

 

[Wills]

going to get fish tomorrow at last! Excited for the trip and to bring this tank to life. Going to have to restrain myself as there are some nice fish around at the moment but the plan is a school of neon rasboras.

My RO unit is fitted and pretty much working now but rather than rush the transition I’m going to get some fish in and very very slowly over a number of months soften the water with RO.

 

[Wills]

Back from a trip to my favourite store, Wharf Aquatics. I got 5 Neon Blue Gobies, I believe they are Stiphodon atropurpureus. I originally went wanting some schooling fish but the species I wanted they had sold out of so it was between three goby species they had which are all on my radar for this tank so felt confident buying them.

People usually keep them in riverine tanks but I feel my tank is a good candidate as I have high flow, lots of algae covered flat rocks and while I don’t have sand it is a soft substrate that they will be able to dig in hopefully not too much but see what happens. I could move some sections to sand over time if I need to.

They do like high oxygen levels in the water, and though I do inject low levels of Co2 my plants do grow and pearl. I will also set up my airstone for on a night.

Ill try and get some good photos later on once they are settled. Still in the bag for now

 

[Advanced Aquarist]

I've put some of the trimmed stems in the middle right which looks a bit odd but but wondering if it will help fight the staghorn algae here?

Where did you get this idea from? I heard it from a lot of people and I never could see the sense of it considering these people also advocate excess doesn't cause algae.

By admitting to this you've indirectly confirm that some fast uptake of whatever nutrients it is, is required. Is that not the conclusion from adopting this?

I'm not saying it's wrong, but it hides a lot of "complications" behind it as a rule of thumb. Another way is to reduce nutrient dosing, but if you are fertilising AIO then you're a bit restricted in what you can control.

They do like high oxygen levels in the water, and though I do inject low levels of Co2 my plants do grow and pearl. I will also set up my airstone for on a night.

One person who I did respect was telling us how he asked one of the top experts on liverworts about their CO2 requirements. Turns out they need CO2 to grow properly and are rather unique amongst plants that required a very high level of CO2. He also stated this was the highest amongst all aquatic plants.

What was this "high" level?

13 mg/l!!!! NOT 30 mg/l (green on drop checker).

So I ask where did you get the idea that your CO2 is "low" and 30 mg/l is normal?

Try 30 mg/l on these gobies and watch them gasp - some fish don't like this concentration and I don't blame them, I seriously doubt it's even seen much in nature.

One scientist calculated that sun light at full blast only required 40 mg/l CO2 for maximum effectiveness to utilise all that light. Or aquarium lights can't even touch sunlight levels - nowhere close!

You DON'T have "low" CO2. You have sufficiently HIGH CO2 - you just don't know it.

What is "low" CO2 then? It's when you DON'T inject CO2 gas into the tank. There is always some CO2 production in a tank with fish and other biological processes.

This 30 mg/l level is retarded, which idiots like George Farmer following Tom Barr and his promoters want to impose onto the rest of us when there are plenty of "low" CO2 tanks with high light that grow plants successfully.

When you are poisoning your plants (and your fish, snails and shrimp) with high levels of nutrients everything behaves perverse and goes into overdrive. By that I mean some plants would die off because they don't like the nutrient levels and other would increase uptake to cope with the toxicity (a strategy known as hyper accumulation which some plant species are known for). Also, strangely enough, some algae die because the nutrient levels are too damn high, this has been observed. High CO2 levels like 30 mg/l and high light are advocated because they want to increase uptake of the excess they are dumping in. And then to cap it all off they can't continue this because it's not sustainable, hence they tell you to do a weekly water change so the fun can start all over again . . . because if you didn't do that water change your tank would be an algal farm . . .

 

[Wills]

My thinking on putting the limnophila at the front was simply that the stag horn does not grow on it else where in the tank and it’s a fast grower where as most of the plants in the problem area are things like crypts.

I stated low levels of Co2 as most people reading this will hear Co2 and think 30ppm. I’m quite happy with 1bps right now and don’t feel it will impact the fish I’ve chosen.

I appreciate some of what’s being discussed obviously riles you up but please can you chill out a bit. I’m trying my best but you just seem to always put me down.

Wills

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Where did you get this idea from? I heard it from a lot of people and I never could see the sense of it considering these people also advocate excess doesn't cause algae.

By admitting to this you've indirectly confirm that some fast uptake of whatever nutrients it is, is required. Is that not the conclusion from adopting this?
...
So I ask where did you get the idea that your CO2 is "low" and 30 mg/l is normal?

Try 30 mg/l on these gobies and watch them gasp - some fish don't like this concentration and I don't blame them, I seriously doubt it's even seen much in nature.

You DON'T have "low" CO2. You have sufficiently HIGH CO2 - you just don't know it.
...
This 30 mg/l level is retarded, which idiots like George Farmer following Tom Barr and his promoters want to impose onto the rest of us when there are plenty of "low" CO2 tanks with high light that grow plants successfully.

When you are poisoning your plants (and your fish, snails and shrimp) with high levels of nutrients everything behaves perverse and goes into overdrive. ...Also, strangely enough, some algae die because the nutrient levels are too damn high, this has been observed.

AA, Wills might be too nice to come right out and say it in his own journal, but your combative, insulting attitude is not appreciated. Everything you said here could have been said in a courteous, respectful way. Please be nice.

 

[Advanced Aquarist]

My thinking on putting the limnophila at the front was simply that the stag horn does not grow on it else where in the tank and it’s a fast grower where as most of the plants in the problem area are things like crypts.

I suspect that limnophila is a hyper accumulator. It takes in heavy metals easily (like Blyxa Japonica). It's not suppose to, but it does as some sort of "defence" mechanism. When people grow it with excessive dosing it reacts and colours up in all sorts of unnatural shades and people think this is "beautiful" when it's really the plant suffering from excessive toxic heavy metal stress, kind of like when you get red faced after drinking a lot of alcohol.

Crypts are much slower growers and have a different nutrient intake profile - but then again so do all plants. There is no one fertiliser suits all because it's all about compromises. This is the reason why Iwagumi tanks are easier to accommodate than tanks with lost of different plants.

I don't have staghorn because I don't give it a chance to grow. I'm sure spores of it are there in the tank but if it's not fed what it needs it can't proliferate. Slow growers or plants with weakened leaves will allow stag horn to begin if the nutrients to support it are there. Strong healthy plants will fight off algae growing on their leaves, weakened ones won't, and again it depends on the species of plants. Limnophila might be resistant to stag horn but I find it is prone to GSA and green filamentous algae if not in optimal condition.

 

[Wills]

I'm not trying to put you down. I rather know where you got all this "advice" from.

It just seems absurd to me how most people accept things just because others say so, follow the crowd because that's what others are doing.

I'm NOT being insulting or combative.

If he doesn't want me to comment on this journal of his then I'll respect that and post no more.

I didn't call him retarded. I said that 30 mg/l CO2 is retarded and I would like to know where he, and others who are having algal issues, are getting that value from. Where?

I'll answer that for you: from following self proclaimed experts whose advice "appears" to make sense.

I find "courteous and respectful" a euphemism for being weaselly and manipulative and self righteous. Wouldn't you rather have honesty and blunt straight talking? Or else you can't call people out when they should be called out because you fear offending them? Hence the backlash against the SJWs and this talk about "toxic positivity" now.

But since you subscribe to this I'll give you a lovely example:

Myself and Mr Badger asked you to be a bit more polite and courteous in just a few lines and you wrote an A4 side in a purely argumentative tone. Hardly anyone on this forum subscribes to using Co2 and those that do are extremely cautious of it, people listen to the famous aquascapers like George Farmer (who I really like btw) because they have objectively successful tanks.



I do find your reactions to my posts pretty rude most of the time. I've listened to what you have said and appreciate the advice, I've toned down my Co2 use, I've installed an RO/DI unit (in the process of transferring to this soon). I've accepted I have algae issues and know where the root causes come from which will get addressed soon. I just dont appreciate what comes across as constant attacks, you say its honest and straight talking but it feels you put effort into belittling me.

 

[Wills]

Right to get this back on track. This is tonight after the waterchange.

Hard to get pics of the Gobies, they are doing well I think. They wont eat in front of me but I've been leaving a couple of pellets on one of the ridges and its gone when I come back to the tank later. I know there is microfauna for them in there and the green algae on the rocks is going down. Hoping they get a bit more colour as they are quite grey at the moment.

Managed to get one of my Amano Shrimp too - they've been much more active since the Gobies joined them. 2 of them are absolutely huge now.

Wills

 

[seangee]

Woohoo. 20 pages in and we have fish. Is that a new record?

 

[Wills]

Woohoo. 20 pages in and we have fish. Is that a new record?

Some of the kids these days get to 20 pages in a couple of hours. I guess the more impressive thing is this journal was started on the 26th of July! So 10 months to get fish in haha. I do blame lockdown though

Still need a bit of advice on how to transition the tank to RO btw

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Still need a bit of advice on how to transition the tank to RO btw

Do you have just tap water in there now?

 

[Wells]

Well done @Wills it's definitely been worth the wait, the whole scape looks fanstastic, lucky fish!

 

[seangee]

Some of the kids these days get to 20 pages in a couple of hours. I guess the more impressive thing is this journal was started on the 26th of July! So 10 months to get fish in haha. I do blame lockdown though

Still need a bit of advice on how to transition the tank to RO btw

I just did a daily 20% change for a week and then switched to my normal weekly routine of 75%.