My 55g <UPDATE 4/17/10 on pg 5>

[angel]

I also have used tank water to water my houseplants. And when they need a little extra greening, I dump the coffee from my coffee pot, fill partway with water and feed that to the plants. They sprout leaevs seemingly overnight, and the green deepens.

[jeremyh81]

I'll have to try that tonight. On the houseplants, of course.

Going to take pics of my tanks, too.

[jeremyh81]

You can trust me - I even look at the ingredients of fish food before I buy it. That's how I found out there was phosphorus in the Omega One food this morning (in small amounts), but it's probably in all fish foods.

[jeremyh81]

Here it is in its algae-infested glory! ;D



More pics at:

s648.photobucket.com/albums/uu201/jhenson81/Aquariums/55 gallon/

[jeremyh81]

After reading the filter's installation instructions more closely, I realized that the output nozzle is in the wrong place. It's actually supposed to be on the same side as the intake. So I'm going to move it to the far left corner. The problem w/ that nozzle is that any area behind its flow gets no water movement. Hence the majority of the algae on the right side.

There is a spray bar kit for the x04-series that I'm going to research and see if it will work on the 305 (x05-series). Hopefully, Fluval didn't change the hose design between the 2 series. It's a very unique, ribbed hose that may be about 1/2" - 5/8" in diameter.

However, I could just get some standard filter lines that would be compatible with almost any intake/output accessories.

[jeremyh81]

When I "cleaned" the tank last, I didn't get all of the algae. I've been fighting a cold all week and just don't have the strength to do such hard work after I've been working all day. I'll try my best to remove most of it tomorrow.

Last night I found some brown vallis and food stuck in the algae. All of the algae on the right side is covering the plants. So I'm going to have to do a very time-consuming cleaning this weekend. I really don't want to uproot the plants, if I can help it.

Also, if no one has stopped to check out PetFishTalk.com, I think you all should. They have a weekly internet talk show about our hobby. There's even a few special shows in the archive that cover a specific topic. Today, I'm going to download and listen to their cyanobacteria show.

The hosts of the talk show have a combined 60 years of experience in the hobby, with one host being a marine biologist. The other has a PhD in some other field. They also run a large fish hatchery in California, so I'm sure they know what they're talking about.

[jeremyh81]

Looks like the ferts were delivered to my work yesterday. I'll have to check with the mailroom before I leave today.

[jeremyh81]

I'll turn out the lights when I get home tonight. One problem will be that I'll have to place a blanket over the tank for complete blackout because it's in my living room.

For the ferts, I think I can mix them, but would a Tupperware bowl and lid be good enough to store them in?

[jeremyh81]

Not sure yet. I put the tank in total blackout when I got home last night. But I read today that I should have removed as much algae as possible before the backout. Being a little bored right now, I'm about to remove the blanket and start cleaning using the gravel vac adapter for my spare HOT Mag. I have plenty of extra foam prefilters for it, so clogging shouldn't be a problem. Plus there won't be a water change unless tests show excess toxins - I haven't dosed the KNO3 yet.

So when I'm removing the algae, how should I get it off the plants? Basically, the micro swords, windettis, and other leafy plants are completely covered in GHA.

[jeremyh81]

Most of the BGA is in the substrate and the fish have been avoiding it. I know the plecos have been eating the GDA on the glass.

BTW, I only bought the KNO3 and KH2PO4 (1lb of each). I also need to make a run to Critter to get more Flourish Comp (I'm almost out), and maybe a bottle of Flourish Excel until my tax check comes in. That will help pay for a pressurized CO2 system.

[angel]

Guess I'm gonna have to mail you the fluorish that's here for you!

[jeremyh81]

Lol, Angel! And I need to get those hermit crab shells to you. I know your shellies will love them!

If you're going to try your hand at plants, you may need the Flourish that you have now. Especially if you have Flourish Iron.

[angel]

I'm not interested in trying planted tanks to be honest. That's why I offered it to you way back when. It's still yours.

[jeremyh81]

Everything seems ok. I cleaned as much algae as I could, but there's some dead algae that needs to be vacuumed out. There's some noticable growth from the stem plants and the windetti crypts are starting to brighten up. I may get the HOT Mag and vacuum back out tonight to remove as much dead algae as I can.

I did one dose of EI (minus the extra potassium) and nitrates are holding at 5ppm with no stress in the tetras. My lighting period is about 11.5 hours, starting today. I also removed some of the large leaf plants, so ammonia is slowly picking up, 0 nitrites. The tank will be running DIY CO2 during the day and an air stone at night until ammonia and nitrites drop back to 0.

Hopefully, I'll have my W2 soon and I can buy a pressurized CO2 system. Also thinking about getting a Koralia pump for extra water movement - there's still a dead zone to the left rear of the driftwood.

[jon carman]

You should have 0 ammonia, if you still have ammonia I see problems ahead. You need to hold off on all water changes and let the cycle complete, then you will be totally fine and not have any more problems. If you know someone close with a cycled tank I would take some of their filter media. I have never had the instant cycle stuff work.