So...The Journey Begins.......

[limz_777]

is the outlet pipe nearby ?

[David]

Not exactly but in the direction of the flow path.

[limz_777]

by the way , where is the male whiptail ? he should be guarding the eggs

[David]

He guards them when the lights goes off. He moves away (but never far away) when the lights are on.

Just ask my son and he says all still there though. Hopeful they hatch on Sat or Sun...if not I will not be able to do scrapping or water change

[David]

Don't think the fries will survive with 2 pairs of aspitos? But then again the two males are too busy fighting each other and the two females are also catfighting.....

[limz_777]

yes , hard to survive , with altums looking for a tasty snack too

[David]

Six week in....adding the S7 was a good and bad thing....

The plants are definitely getting on well. non stop bubbling plus bigger bubbles coming from the substrate...The down side to it when I came back from Malaysia is freaking green spot algae...an unbelievable amount of it...Part of the reason was that the wife and kid forgot to top-up water and it dropped below the skimmer...the thick swirling layer of protein.....YUCK!!!

Out came the scrapper and 30% water change (could not go beyond 30% due to the Whiptail Catfish eggs sitting on the glass) and this has to happen....bacteria bloom....AGAIN!





I think it is a bacteria bloom and not green water...cannot really see clearly because the plants are green in nature and the water has a slight tint of tannin due to the wood. What do you guys think? On hind side its probably a bad idea to have the water from tap to tank knowing that its now NewWater and the Chloramine knocked off my biofilter or is it my fanning of the substrate stirred up access nutrients left behind from fish poo?

Anyway got myself 8 Nerite Snails and placed it in my tank. Hardworking fellas and I hope that they don't either become suicidal and crawl out of the tank or becoming escargot meal for the altums....Got some Hornwort to float in the tank to take up access nutrients?





Any pointers...anyone? Really like to hear some opinions on this issue.....

[AQMS]

oooh man......
It look like green water to me.

[kohanson]

Looks like green water, maybe can try switching off the lights for 3 days in a row and wrap a black cloth around it. Ensure that no light seeps into your tank during thiseriod. This will kill off the algae.

[li_gangyi]

If it's bacteria or green water, if you can loan or buy a cheap UV filter and put it on for a few days, it'll probably clear everything up... I haven't had any luck with clearing green water any other way.

[thebaldingaquarist]

What I did to settle green water in one night...
Daphnia! 50 cents. Settled my tank in one evening.

But you have Altums, so probably need $1 worth if daphnia.

[troyz]

it looks sweet David...nice planted tank with Altums n the lightset too...
old timer at its best...its been along time since I spoke to you, if I am not wrong 6years back..
that time you are selling your stuff right...

[milk_vanilla]

Pull up your light, around 11 inches +
Your MH + fully yet cycle tank are reasonable common culprit

[milk_vanilla]

Other day water change, reduce light window length

[David]

@Zero.....shut up (joking)....!!!

@kohanson...Yes I have to agree with Zero and you that its green water which confirms my fear. I did consider the light out period but as I am not in Singapore Mondays to Fridays, not such a good idea. Getting the wife and kiddo to go beyond feeding and topping up water is going to be a feat on its own....!!!

@li_gangyi...My Teco chiller does come with a UV filter built in. Problem is, the instruction says its an optional part that can be purchased and placed in. I did try turning it on when I first got it. Problem is, instructions says that if its installed, the LED on the front panel lights up..if its not installed it will not light up...my is blinking....!!!

@Erctheanda...thanks for confirming that Daphnia eats single cell algae. But as mentioned, I have Altums in my tank and will $1 worth of Daphnia be enough to clear a 120x50x60? before they get polished off by the Altums?

@troyz...its as sweet as the green water gets!!! !!! Old timer at the most embarrassing moment you mean...!!! The purpose of this thread I started is the journey of a planted tank and I want to share the actual going on till the end of its first year. Hopefully this will help the new people coming into the hobby....you coming for the excursion this August?

@milk_vanilla...I did pull it up to 12in ....wifey was making so much noise about stray light that in order to save my ears, it came back down again. I cut photo period from 8 hours to 7 hours. I did consider 6 hours but I noticed that the plants optimum photo period is on the 7th and 8th hour.

I still cannot get to do large water change because the Whiptail Catfish eggs are not hatched..ARRRGGHH!!!!

Thanks guys for all the inputs....looks like I got a fight worth the fight....I could have kicked myself for dosing the tank with S7 a week ago. Against my better judgment I whacked a full dosage!!

[David]

I just found out that a cockanathan of a contractor who come to the house turned off my substrate heater to use the electrical point and did not put it back! There goes my secondary filter....

[thebaldingaquarist]

@david, I have a tank that's a tad bit larger than yours, but have 4 endlers in it only. I took 50 cents of daphnia and sieved them in. The next morning, no more green water.
I have a planted tank too. I guess it helps. Though your altum's feed cycle will be screwed up for the day or two.

[AQMS]

Ka!ka!ka! cockanathan contractor....
So what is your next action?
Light out and 2sgd daphnia...????

[David]

Just bought the UVC kit for Teco. 15 watt lamp. And bought a spare bulb...at a whopper cost of 400 bucks....the Whiptail Cat eggs should be hatching any time now as its the 6th day. Do a 50% water change and turn on UVC...cut lighting duration to 7 hours.

Decided not to go the Daphnia way...I saw the amount of Daphnia at $1...IT'S ALOT!!!! I am afraid it's going to be a hairy issue as I am leaving for KL.

[Ingen]

Where to get daphnia? I can't seem to find any at Clementi (both shops) anymore.