Newbie Planted Tank Help

[Live Forever]

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH): 48in 18in 15.5in
Tank Volume (litres or gallons): 196 litres (220 litres) 52 g (58 g)
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 1x36W 2x18W
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : FL
No. of Hours your light is on : 10 Hours
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : Not yet
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : Not yet
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor): Not yet
Substrate Used : German imported (that's what the LFS boss told me)
How Thick is your base fert : using Azoo, Condensed Additional Fertilizer.
How thick is your gravel : 8cm
Liquid Fertilizers Used : Ototto, Iron Plus. Azoo, Chelated Ferrite Liquid, Sera, Florenette A.
Frequency of fertilization : once per week after water change.
Tank Temperature : 27-28 c
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) : overhead
Filter media used :
How long has your tank been set up : one month
Other equipment : surface skimmer

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
---------------------------------------
Carbonate Hardness (KH): 53.7ppm KH
Total Hardness (gH):
pH : 7.2
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm): 0
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Bioload (Your Fish and Plants)
------------------------------
Fish:
Alga eater.

Plants:
Riccia, Java Fern, Java Moss, Blyxa japonica


Describe your problem :

1.The first main problem will be getting the right tools, i am from Malaysia, the tools for Aquascaping here are not much of brand to choose from.

2.Now come to the tank problem, i am using Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Test kit, some how i just could't get the GH result.

3.Lighting. Are my ligthing enough for my tank? I am using DIY Philip FL.

4.Filter. I am thinking of getting a canister filter, as i know the overhead if not suitable, and the media i use are not complete enough to get the bio. working. I am thinking of getting some Eheim from Singapore but i am tight budget, saw some Taiwan made in LFS, anyone heard of Ototto? or Italian brand Hidro. Are these brand have the quality to do the job coz they are more cost effective compare to Eheim.

5.I notice some brown Algea have started to develop around the Riccia and on the Java Moss. And the plants are not growing well. It's it the problem course by the filter system or the lighting or i never inject CO2? Or maybe is the water condition or the ferterlizer i use?

There you see, I know it's a little long for my first posting. Sorry to bother all the expert here [:] Hope with all of your helps i can slove my problem soon. Thanks

[juggler]

I try to answer q3 and q5.

q3. Lighting is a bit low, especially for your Riccia which need more light and CO2. The lighting is less than 1 W/g. Try to raise to 2~3 W/g if you want to continue Riccia.

q5. Algae. Everyone will say nutrient inbalance. Maybe take care of the CO2 problem first. Try DIY CO2 if cylinder CO2 is not possible. Your overhead filter is already driving out the existing CO2 in the water. If you only have algae eaters in your tank, then there could be lack of macro-nutrients like N,P and K. Does your fertilisers supply these? Looks like more of trace elements.
BTW - Otocinclus are good at removing such browish algae.

BTW - your KH is 53.7? Do you mean 53.7 ppm CaCO3? That means it is 3 dkH according to http://faq.thekrib.com/intro-tables.html

With 3 dkH, 7.2 pH ==> 5ppm CO2 in your tank. No enough.
Can read more from http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

[Live Forever]

Thanks a lot for the reply.

Guess i still have a lot more to learn. Yes, according to the references, it's 3dkH.

Anyway, a bit blur now, will try to surf around to get the answer. Thanks

[Simon]

2.Now come to the tank problem, i am using Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Test kit, some how i just could't get the GH result.
did u test yr tap water? or other tank water? could be that the test kit is faulty

3.Lighting. Are my ligthing enough for my tank? I am using DIY Philip FL.
yr light is slightly on the low side, u getting only 1.2+watts per gal IMO, is low even for low light plants.. but I supposed that shldnt be a prob

4.Filter. I am thinking of getting a canister filter, as i know the overhead if not suitable, and the media i use are not complete enough to get the bio. working. I am thinking of getting some Eheim from Singapore but i am tight budget, saw some Taiwan made in LFS, anyone heard of Ototto? or Italian brand Hidro. Are these brand have the quality to do the job coz they are more cost effective compare to Eheim.
comparing brands is a tough thing to do, many takes in consideration, the reputation of such brands like ehiem, but I believe most cannister works the same way, jus that the parts aint the same, have u considered using internal filters instead?

5.I notice some brown Algea have started to develop around the Riccia and on the Java Moss. And the plants are not growing well. It's it the problem course by the filter system or the lighting or i never inject CO2? Or maybe is the water condition or the ferterlizer i use?
nutrient imbalance, plus u dun have co2 in there, yr plants aint gonna do much without it, for riccia, u defintely dun have the lights for them, them require ard 2.5watts per gal... frankly, i think u shld cut down on yr fertilization till yr co2 goes up.. diy co2?

[Live Forever]

Thanks J & Simon

Okay, after went through some sites, some ideas finally in my head.

Now i will try to DIY CO2 and see what happen next.

As for the test kit (how stupid am i?) hehe will go try on some other water resources.

Now the lights and filter, the biggest problems, $$$ again, anyway i know some money should be spend if you get hook in this hobby, what to do?

Anyway, i am still a fresh graduate, any jobs offer for me [] i am major in IT field.

Thanks...