Stan's freshwater 240 gallon extravaganza. Trials and tribulations of a sunlit aquarium

[Stan510]

Sounds good. I might pickup a few more Danio species. Right now pickings are slim on fish. Common fish like Clown Loaches- Red Tail Sharks are not to be found. LFS guy says "Shipping"..I guess the shipper workers are laid off?

 

[Martyn87]

Yeah I’ve been waiting on some guppy and rainbow fish specials for weeks... still not heard anything further.

 

[Martyn87]

Time to start breeding Stan...your next project maybe?

 

[Martyn87]

Btw I tried the extra iron dosing, I’ve only raised it by 0.1ppm but already plants look greener and growth has improved and algae resistance. My slight diatom issue has been eradicated!

 

[Stan510]

Alright! Once the iron kicks in? It unlocks the plants ability to take up other vitals. You wont see that mentioned in the literature..but has to be as I found,like you, that algae growth just stopped. MEANING,those nutrients had always been there,but the plants could not use them. Iron is more like a liquid Co2 if you ask me,then whats sold as a liquid Co2-ha.
No breeding. I've done all that..Discus,Barbs,Cichlids around the world,Exotic Goldfish. Too many aquariums and all that. Its great if you want many of one kind.. I had Tiger Barb tanks with dozens. One fish i liked to spawn and keep in groups was the Arulius barb. Dont see them for sale.

 

[Stan510]

Some interesting small news. When I went 17 days of no water change? One plant showed a big improvement,Marble Queen Sword Plant. It's been a sitter for a long time,only now it sent out a leaf twice as large as all the others. Plants in aquariums are like plants in the yard..they prefer certain conditions and just like you can't grow cactus in the deep shade or Tree ferns in hot desert sun,its expecting a lot for every plant you like to thrive together. Some to most will. But not all.

 

[Martyn87]

Alright! Once the iron kicks in? It unlocks the plants ability to take up other vitals. You wont see that mentioned in the literature..but has to be as I found,like you, that algae growth just stopped. MEANING,those nutrients had always been there,but the plants could not use them. Iron is more like a liquid Co2 if you ask me,then whats sold as a liquid Co2-ha.

It’s as if the iron inhibits the nutrient uptake, with the extra iron, more chlorophyll, more photosynthesis, more nutrients used up, more growth, less excess nutrients, less algae. Win win.

Shame it took me so long to find!

 

[Stan510]

What am I trying to show here? Sunbeams!..I'm not saying all this is better than LED or Halides..I'm saying its NOT $400 worth of lighting...frugal. 8'x'2x'2' I think you all know how much it takes to light up that much tank to plant growing conditions. Now,I wish I was getting more hours of sun..but,that's the tradeoff over full control of the lighting intensity and duration.
I have some Trident Fern,that appears to not be Trident but possibly narrow leaf Java fern. I have to wait longer,but I've had it before and it was putting out lobed leaves at this size last time.

 

[Stan510]

Also above is the H.pinnatifida that is probably not going to adapt to underwater. Its way too land grown to adapt to a non Co2 aquarium. So,take a nice picture before it disintegrates.
And the Marbled Sword...the only photos of them in a hobbyist aquarium are the ones posted here. Don't know why..but it's true.

 

[Stan510]

I finally saw the Danio's I added. They had spent three days totally hidden in the roots of the Syngonium. Just the opposite of what I told the wife they would do. "They are great because they will constantly go back and forth in the aquarium" I said. An hour later,only saw three,next day two. Then for awhile,none. The aquarium's openness spooked the young fish..light from above,from the window. They felt exposed I suppose.
Today seemed to wear off...feeding them for three days sort of made them realize,its not such a bad place.
I also change the flow from 45degree's to one pump exhaust going the length of the back of the tank and Powerhead still going in what is now the opposite. The result is most of the back plants are not leaning to the right. Most stand upright now, Middle and foreground plants seem the same. I would need to be a hydrologist to say why.

 

[Stan510]

I 've been keeping fish for decades. This though is my first try at plants and smaller fish in the 240. Whats a lesson driven home? Do not mix slow feeding fish with stream fast fish. It sounds like the slow fish would give variety from the fast right?..only in reality trying to get food down to the little eaters is difficult..and that adds up over time.
I've lost some small slow fish..who sort of gave up trying to out compete the Rainbows and Tetras. No matter how much food I put in..or even aimed for them. All I got in the long run was overfeeding and delayed the inevitable.
So now,I get it. Its not what you think looks best..it's better to keep all fish that move pretty much same speed. So,now..Danios,Rainbows, Barbs, Loaches and the like..only.

 

[Martyn87]

Agreed I always have issues getting the food down to my swordtails!

 

[Stan510]

One more truism Marty. Today,I got in and trimmed every bad leaf. Primarily the Sword plant E.grisebachii. What happened is it sent out stolons and flowering stems. What that did was shut down new leaf growth and the old leaves were looking ratty. So,I decided that since I have no need for 2 dozen Swords..I cut the stems,cut all the old foliage but for a few newer ones. Otherwise,it would have stayed looking bad for weeks more.
Leaving old leaves to fill a space is like a bald guy doing a "comb over"..just shave your head. And take all the old leaves with you!

 

[utahfish]

Alright! Once the iron kicks in? It unlocks the plants ability to take up other vitals. You wont see that mentioned in the literature..but has to be as I found,like you, that algae growth just stopped. MEANING,those nutrients had always been there,but the plants could not use them. Iron is more like a liquid Co2 if you ask me,then whats sold as a liquid Co2-ha.
No breeding. I've done all that..Discus,Barbs,Cichlids around the world,Exotic Goldfish. Too many aquariums and all that. Its great if you want many of one kind.. I had Tiger Barb tanks with dozens. One fish i liked to spawn and keep in groups was the Arulius barb. Dont see them for sale.

Could someone explain this iron thing to me. Ive heard and read so many conflicting thoughts that im so confused. I have a 20 gallon. Two rosette swords a bunch of bronze crypts frog bit java fern balanease crypt no co2 i use root tabs and flourish comprehensive i use pure RO water and remineralize it with calcium chloride magnesium sulfate and potassium sulfate and i also dry dose potassium nitrate. I just ordered a bottle of pond flourish iron its derived from ferrous gluconate and im not sure when do dose it or how much or if at all. My plants are doing well i wish my swords and fern were a bit thicker thoughts on the iron would be helpful. Ive asked a few other posters on here and none have replied so i hope i can learn something helpful here from your personal experience

 

[Stan510]

You dose as soon as the bottle arrives!. We all know every aquarium is different. But,for me,Once a week iron seems to work fine. I usually use whatever the bottle says per gallon,and I have though mixed in extra house plant iron..and I did see an even greener look. But,I worry about the fish..as I could smell the iron hours later in the water. So, better to use Seachems Iron gluconate because it causes no worries,it has visible effect in ..2 days?..fast.
Swords are iron pigs. Even Tom Barr has written that. I did get a boost to them with houseplant fert tabs also....but I also saw an increase in algae. So,backed off on that and the Swords, E. grisebachii grew beautiful paddle leaves in a hemisphere.
Iron is so much safer than anything else. I never know what potassium or magnesium will do ...but Iron g. is easy to work with.