New to planted tanks

[Younglim]

Hi Guys,

I'm not new to fish-only tanks but these plants are pretty new to me.

I have a 15 Gallon med light tank(2ft 27w LED) with CO2.

Filter:
Fluval 206 Canister (added Seachem Matrix, Purigen and Azoo Active 4-in-1 Media to original set minus active carbon)

Substrate:
SeaChem Oynx + Flourite

Stocks: 1
4 Different Tetras
2 Panda Cory
1 Pleco
5 RCS

Plants:
Dwarf Papyrus
Hornworts
HC Cuba
Jap HG
Jap Marino Balls
Eriocaulon Polaris
Pogostemon Erectus
Alternanthera Reineckii Mini
Jungle Vallisneria (I think)

[Younglim]

First question i have now is that i have been measuring close to 0 nitrate recently (when lights are on) after dosing Seachem Potassium and Seachem Flourish

I have yet to get a phosphate test kit but can i assume that if nitrates are being used up, the phosphates in my tank would be at the similar level since i dont does them and these are mainly 'produced' by my livestocks?

[SGDiscus]

Seachem Purigen may be removing nitrates from the water. Seachem Flourish itself adds a very small amount of nitrates and phosphates. But you don't need alot of phosphates for plant growth. At this moment, it is very hard to tell whether the nitrates are being used by the plants or by purigen.

But you do have some fast growing plants in there (hornworts). But I don't see any jungle vals. Sadly, I think the dwarf papyrus will melt after awhile as they are not meant to be grown submerged totally in water.

[Younglim]

Hmm... purigen might be removing it, but i only used the 100ml bag for purigen. This thing would be very effective if it is the main reason for the low nitrate.

Do you mean that plants use less phosphate compared to N and K for growth?

[Younglim]

Jungle vals are planted in a row behind the driftwood. As for the papayrus, i didnt know it's nature till i bought it. Dont intend to keep them in the long run. Planning to get some US Fissidens to grow onnthe driftwood instead:P

[Younglim]

Also, anyone using intense bazooka atomizer 45mm version?

i bought mine 2nd hand and regardless of how low my co2 bps is, it causes a 'fizzy' aquarium. Had to get to 1bps to get co2 checker to light green. But whole tank is filled with mini co2 bubbles.

Is this normal? Or is that a faulty bazooka?

[SGDiscus]

Hmm... purigen might be removing it, but i only used the 100ml bag for purigen. This thing would be very effective if it is the main reason for the low nitrate.

Do you mean that plants use less phosphate compared to N and K for growth?

Eh... if the fine words on the instructions read every 250ml treats 1000 litres/US 250gal

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[SGDiscus]

Also, anyone using intense bazooka atomizer 45mm version?

i bought mine 2nd hand and regardless of how low my co2 bps is, it causes a 'fizzy' aquarium. Had to get to 1bps to get co2 checker to light green. But whole tank is filled with mini co2 bubbles.

Is this normal? Or is that a faulty bazooka?

Yes. The fine mist is normal. One way is to pair the bazooka with a Co2 solenoid that can do fine-tuning so that you can minimise it. One such solenoid is the Intense CO2 solenoid. I think there could be other brands.

But the fine mist is a reason why some people don't like to use atomiser.

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[Younglim]

Ohh.. thanks for the clarifications! Thats interesting. So everyone using a atomizer will have a tank full of fine bubbles? My initial though was that the atomizer will create bubbles so fine that they dissolves and dissappear into the water in no time.

Yea. Purigen is pretty efficient in for the amount required.

This is a picture of the mist btw..



also, just got my phosphate test kit and this is what i got. Color seems totally off from the chart. Any idea what is happening?

[SGDiscus]

Ohh.. thanks for the clarifications! Thats interesting. So everyone using a atomizer will have a tank full of fine bubbles? My initial though was that the atomizer will create bubbles so fine that they dissolves and dissappear into the water in no time.

Yea. Purigen is pretty efficient in for the amount required.

This is a picture of the mist btw..



also, just got my phosphate test kit and this is what i got. Color seems totally off from the chart. Any idea what is happening?

The colour do look off. Sorry can't help you there as I use a different brand of test kit.

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[DreamerX5521]

Frm the phosphate test kit color, it should be somewhere less than 0.25ppm. If the ppm is high enough, say 1ppm, you should be able to tell the difference, as the color is not green but more towards bue.
To see if your test kit is working, you can do a small test by premix a small amount of water with phosphate, then perform the same test again. You should be able to see the difference.