Road To Recovery

[ghent_3rd]

Hi there Ste, you are my inspiration!!!

I am just about to start dosing my tank, although not to total EI due to very high phosphates!!

I think I am going to be doing similar doses to yourself in terms of nitrates, trace elements and iron. My pH just seems to be the biggest problem at the minute as it sits between 7.0 and 7.3 most of the time, I am hoping that the CO2 will drop it to about 6.8 with kH of 5.6-5.8 to give me approx. 27ppm CO2.

Then hopfully with the addition of nutrients I might get a tank somewhere along the lines of yours!! Keep it up.

 

[simonbrown403]

WoW it looks lovely and green in here

Whats your dosing schedule now ste?

 

[Ste_J]

Thanks for the comments

Whats your dosing schedule now ste?

50% Water change + 1/2 tsp NO3 + 3/4 tsp espom + 1 1/2 tsp K2SO4 + 2 tsp Bicarb and a smidge of Iron sulphate

every other or other day I add 1/4 tsp of trace when I can remember

NO3 was way too high at one point hence the low amount once a week but since my stock started to change I noticed that the NO3 levels were getting lower by the end of the week - today it was reading 5ppm

Going to give the trace a real go from now on and stick to every other day, but the main thing that I have learnt recently is that sometimes it's better to leave things alone and let nature take over!

 

[lljdma06]

Lovely tank, great job. You are certainly way along in the road to recover. Very nice, I am green with envy.

 

[George Farmer]

Very nice. You have healthy growth and it appears to look algae-free. That's 90% of the battle won.

Aquascaping wise I like it too. The dense jungle appearance looks very lush and will be an ideal home to your fish.

 

[Bloo]

Your tank is looking stunning now !

One question for you though: how do you sandblast wood ?

 

[Ste_J]

Very nice. You have healthy growth and it appears to look algae-free. That's 90% of the battle won.

Aquascaping wise I like it too. The dense jungle appearance looks very lush and will be an ideal home to your fish.

George I wouldn't say Algae free as there is still a need to clean the glass by the end of the week but nothing major. And thanks for the kind words re the scape

One question for you though: how do you sandblast wood ?

Power washer with a sandblasting attachment from B&Q - this will most likely break however as the blasting rod never fits right although you can always take it back for a new one! Works a treat especially on rocks etc and it cleans the wood up nicely with no nasty chemicals needed

 

[vic]

simonbrown403:
Chuck's Calculator is fantastic.
Everybody, have a look if you are interested in flourishing live plants.
This calculator will tell you what the disolved CO2 in your tank water is and thereby give you direction as to the ability of the tank to fourish the flaura. Also gives you an insight as to your possible need for CO2 injection in one form or another. Of course the other component is light. This component has many varying opinions and should be carefully researched in conjunction with any decision to go to CO2 injection.
Thanks again simonbrown403, this is a great tool.
Cheers;