Some Questions About Planted Tank

[GER]

HI all, got the info i needed. need to go dwn to my LFS cause forget the name of the base and gravel im using....well, let me fill in the form first. pardon me if i make any mistakes. still very new to planted tanks.

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units): 4ft x 18inch x 18 inch
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) :
Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : maqum2 ballast PL light 4ft( got from C328 as recommened by the uncle there)
Age of light bulbs :less than a month
No. of hours your lights are on : timer 12 hours ( reducing to 10hr cause my plants are still quite young but they are booming )

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) :1bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) :cylinder type[B]
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : diffusers
Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) :aqua-plant nutrition from otto
Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) :1-2 times every 7-10 days. 30ml per dose ( reducing to 20 ml cause seems to have algae growing but it seems ok now except the plants. more details in the question section)

Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) : root monster

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) : nil

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) :eheim pro2 model 2026
When was the filter last washed : just 3 days ago
Filter media used : as what was given in the ehim filter when i bought it
When was the media last changed : nil(filter a month old only)
What was changed :nil(filter a month old only)
Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : new tank 1 month old
Water change frequency : Did a 50% change 5days back when my neon tetra starts to die around 1-2 per day but dont think it works...neon still dies and my 4 ram cichlid all dead ( 1 per day and the last one died this morning).
Amount changed :info as above

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle. flow from the filter water output tube place around 2 cm below water surface with the co2 disffusers below the tube.
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle( can see the co2 bubbles circulating to different parts of the tank)

Tank Temperature : used to be 29-30 degrees. Just got a fan so now monitoring the water temperature.

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH): below 0,2
GH (dGH):
pH : around 6.5
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------
about the plants, really got problems identifying their names but for the fish i know. around 50 neon tetra, 2 clown loach, 1 siamese algae eater, 2 flying fox i think if im not wrong about the name( got at C328 recommended by the shop owner cause told him need sm algae eater on my plants)

Describe your problem :

1) my plants seems to be booming but i just cannot see any photosynthesis ie bubbling .. is this normal?
2) had chemi-pure inside my filter, is it good for planted tank or its useless?
3) any reasons on why my fishes seems to be dying? they show symptons before dying.....grasping for air for 3-4 hours and its dead..wonder if its gill infection or what. other fish looks happily swimming below.
4) seems to have some brownish dark particles forming on my leaf...is it algae?
well still got tons of questions but think it will be all for now...thanks for taking time to read my questions and welcome any suggestions in improving my tank from the info i have given. thanks alots again. And im using JBL aquabasis as base and super bio gravel from ocean free.

[richietay]

Try placing the CO2 diffuser opposite where the filter water flowing in. Not all plants will show sign of bubbling effect, what plants are you keeping? Consider posting the pictures of the plants you have, the guys here may identify for you.

[Rupert]

Welcome and a lot of questions.. I have put my answers in bold blue below:

HI all, got the info i needed. need to go dwn to my LFS cause forget the name of the base and gravel im using....well, let me fill in the form first. pardon me if i make any mistakes. still very new to planted tanks.

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units): 4ft x 18inch x 18 inch
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : Try to fill this in as it gives forum members a better idea of your lighting and plant growth conditions
Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : maqum2 ballast PL light 4ft( got from C328 as recommened by the uncle there)
Age of light bulbs :less than a month
No. of hours your lights are on : timer 12 hours ( reducing to 10hr cause my plants are still quite young but they are booming ) If your tank is newly set-up 10 hours this might still be too long a duration and the longer the duration [more light] are susceptible to promoting algae growth if other tank conditions are not balanced. Light is an accelerator and more of it means faster plant growth or faster algae formation

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) :1bps Increase this to 3 or 4 bps, higher is better as it promotes plant growth, as the setup is one month old, the plants should have established themselves so keep the CO2 at 30ppm during the photo period.
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) :cylinder type[B]
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : diffusers
Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) :aqua-plant nutrition from otto
Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) :1-2 times every 7-10 days. 30ml per dose ( reducing to 20 ml cause seems to have algae growing but it seems ok now except the plants. more details in the question section) Unfortunately not familiar with this, but more is better than less
Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) : root monster

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) : nil

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) :eheim pro2 model 2026 Ehiem are good
When was the filter last washed : just 3 days ago Don ‘t wash it again as you need the beneficial bacterial to establish themselves, if the water goes milky/cloudy, don’t worry it will go over a few weeks, in my case six weeks

Filter media used : as what was given in the ehim filter when i bought it
When was the media last changed : nil(filter a month old only)
What was changed :nil(filter a month old only)
Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : new tank 1 month old
Water change frequency : Did a 50% change 5days back when my neon tetra starts to die around 1-2 per day but dont think it works...neon still dies and my 4 ram cichlid all dead ( 1 per day and the last one died this morning). ok, your tank is new and might not of completed the “cycling process” before the water change. The water change combined with the filter wash in new tanks can cause fluctuations that kills your weaker fish.
Amount changed :info as above

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle. flow from the filter water output tube place around 2 cm below water surface with the co2 disffusers below the tube.
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle( can see the co2 bubbles circulating to different parts of the tank)

Tank Temperature : used to be 29-30 degrees. Just got a fan so now monitoring the water temperature.

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH): below 0,2
GH (dGH):
pH : around 6.5 & KH of 2.0 then CO2 is about 20… to low during the photo period

NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------
about the plants, really got problems identifying their names but for the fish i know. around 50 neon tetra, 2 clown loach, 1 siamese algae eater, 2 flying fox i think if im not wrong about the name( got at C328 recommended by the shop owner cause told him need sm algae eater on my plants)

Describe your problem :

1) my plants seems to be booming but i just cannot see any photosynthesis ie bubbling .. is this normal? Yes photosynthesis is occurring plants give off o2 and only an excess is seen as bubbles, usually under a lot of intense lighting and when no more can be absorbed by the water, so don’t worry.
2) had chemi-pure inside my filter, is it good for planted tank or its useless?
3) any reasons on why my fishes seems to be dying? they show symptons before dying.....grasping for air for 3-4 hours and its dead..wonder if its gill infection or what. other fish looks happily swimming below. I don’t think that your tank has finished cycling and you have quite a few fish already, so the weaker ones perish first. Concentrate on promoting plant growth and the situation might stabilize over the next week or so.
4) seems to have some brownish dark particles forming on my leaf...is it algae? Yes focus on the plants, however probably algae as your photo period was too long in the beginning and CO2 now is not high enough, so up the CO2, reduceing the lighting to 9 hours, dose so that there is not nutrient limitations and use the search function as there is a wealth of info on the site. Post a picture if you can?
well still got tons of questions but think it will be all for now...thanks for taking time to read my questions and welcome any suggestions in improving my tank from the info i have given. thanks alots again. And im using JBL aquabasis as base and super bio gravel from ocean free.

good luck and looking forward to some pictures in the future

[|squee|]

1) It is normal. To see bubbling/pearling on plants you have to raise your CO2 up a little more, have moderate lighting (what is your wattage? Is there a way to find out?) and sufficient plant mass. This way enough oxygen will be produced to saturate the water and start forming bubbles.

2) I do not use filter media like Chemipure, but imho it is not necessary when your tank has matured.

3) You might have to try acclimatising them over a longer period. Read

I hope the rest has helped you on your questions!

[michael lai]

Hi GER,
I think Rupert more or less answered your queries. For the plants, if it's light loving, the 4ft PL which I'm assuming it's 4 x 36W might not be enough for them if it's ferns, moss and nanas, then it's fine. Remove the Chemi Pure, you can polish your water later and no activated charcoal please. Rupert is correct about the fish, don't add anymore until maybe 2-3 weeks later. Have fun...

[Justikanz]

If it is Maqnum 4Ft PL, it will be 55W per tube.

Bubbling need not be present for good plant growth. I never had bubbling before! But contrary to what my pictures show, my plants are healthy and growing!

Try not to have chemical filters, since you would be dosing in a planted tank...

If the fishs' gills are reddish, they are most likely burnt by ammonia, caused by the fact that the filter is not establised... Don't wash your filter so soon. Be patient...

Try to get a picture of the brown stuff... Most likely its brown algae.

[PeterGwee]

1) my plants seems to be booming but i just cannot see any photosynthesis ie bubbling .. is this normal?
2) had chemi-pure inside my filter, is it good for planted tank or its useless?
3) any reasons on why my fishes seems to be dying? they show symptons before dying.....grasping for air for 3-4 hours and its dead..wonder if its gill infection or what. other fish looks happily swimming below.
4) seems to have some brownish dark particles forming on my leaf...is it algae?
well still got tons of questions but think it will be all for now...thanks for taking time to read my questions and welcome any suggestions in improving my tank from the info i have given. thanks alots again. And im using JBL aquabasis as base and super bio gravel from ocean free.

1) Depends on the intensity of light hitting the leaves. More light energy, more splitting of H2O during the light reaction cycle with a by product of O2. (You still need to keep the CO2 and nutrients in good shape or else everything would slow down.)
2) No water changes for 5 years? Haha...
3) Probably ammonia or N2 getting to the fish/critters. You shouldn't have that issue if you do a planted tank right. Add "mulm" aka dirt from an established tank would seed the tank with live bacteria as well as planting heavily and then then taking care of the plants needs.
4) Diatom algae?

Regards
Peter Gwee

[GER]

dont know is it dalcom algae. tried cleaning the leaves with my fingers and the stain will be gone but kinda tedious. its seems to melt away leaving a dark brownish water stain on my fingers. anyway learn alot and hopefully i can post a picture of my tank as soon as possible when its presentable...:P. again thanks alot guys for the advice and suggestions.