Shades of Green on Glass & Water Surface

[newtank]

I think should change my previous post to adequate flow rate which can be achieve by adding wave maker for example

ADA ES-1200 (16L/min = 960L/hr) is also recommended for 90x45x45 . Filter flow is also depend on your tank scape. If your scape is Iwagumi scape, then 960L/hr will be like washing machine

Typically for a fresh water tank, you will need to cycle 2 to 3 times an hour through the filter. 200L tank will need 400L/hr to 600L/hr. You need to add some allowance because once you put in your media, 30% of the flow lost. You also need to add allowance for hose length, hose bending, and cleaning allowance (I'm sure you do not want to clean your filter every week to maintain the flow rate )

I agree with Dennerle point 1 but not point 2. Point 2 will imply that those bigger filter are less efficient compare to smaller filter. The bigger the filter the higher the flow rate right. Maybe there is a certain maximum limit, for example 10,000 L/hr flow rate will bacteria to set foot on the filter media.

Yes, I guess the age old notion of every tank is unique stands true even for flowrate this is probably what make the hobby so sustainable

[Puffer]

My guess is you do not have drop checker to measure your CO2 level. Do you use diffuser or reactor? CO2 level is depend on how you introduce it into your tank. CO2 also depend on how fast your plant absorb it. In other word more light will require more CO2. I inject 8bps for my 3ft tank with 150WMH+40WPL. I have to split it into 2 others wise very difficult to count 8bps. My drop checker color is light green toward yellow. I'm using 2217 (1000l/h). For dense planted tank, you need better flow. I have additional 1750l/h powering my chiller.

Robert, I'm using a 4-ball reactor where only 3 balls are spinning slowly. Looks like I've to look for a proper drop checker. Is it better to connect my co2 to this reactor or onto an add-in internal filter/air pump/wavemaker?

[Puffer]

Green water surface is the sigh of green water explosion, the algae is waiting to be explode before your whole tank will turn into green water, the faster way to clear is using UV or do a blackout for 2-3 days. As for the oily think, get some guppies or endler will do the job very well.

Adrian, will a green water explosion be bad for a planted tank like mine - I mean will it cause any harm to my flora and fauna? The oil thingy on the water surface, I'm afraid, is what I fear more as I believe it is the cause of my fauna death.

You may not subscribe to this but I think I may try out using more nutrient-absorbing plants to keep it under control, with less photoperiod duration and increase the flowrate. Few days ago, I saw the Midori display tank where there was an additional long internal filter at the back to keep the flow - I kind of like that!

[ghim]

The balls will spin faster when you inject more CO2. This is due to the space created by the CO2.

Just do the remedy step by step. For now the easiest step will be:

1. Do a water change 20-30%
2. Reduce your photoperiod

[blue33]

Adrian, will a green water explosion be bad for a planted tank like mine - I mean will it cause any harm to my flora and fauna? The oil thingy on the water surface, I'm afraid, is what I fear more as I believe it is the cause of my fauna death.

Green water is good for fauna, provided you need to aerate the water, but it is bad for plant as the light will find it difficult to penetrate into the water as plant need it to survive. The oily thing may cause less oxygen in the tank and less light penetrating also.

You may not subscribe to this but I think I may try out using more nutrient-absorbing plants to keep it under control, with less photoperiod duration and increase the flowrate. Few days ago, I saw the Midori display tank where there was an additional long internal filter at the back to keep the flow - I kind of like that!

Well i've try on my experimenting tank most of it, what you have try i may already try it. Well you havent see Midori tank also had massive BBA attack also when i was there. They properly have change lots of way to make it work best for them.

Infact most of the tank has minimum algae or more, there's no tank in the world got no algae at all, algae is also part of ecosystem, is matter of how you can control to the minimum only. The only problem is when people start to get algae, they do not know what to do with it or leave it.

[Puffer]

The balls will spin faster when you inject more CO2. This is due to the space created by the CO2.

Just do the remedy step by step. For now the easiest step will be:

1. Do a water change 20-30%
2. Reduce your photoperiod

Thanks ghim, these are part of few steps I will do.

[Puffer]

.. Well you havent see Midori tank also had massive BBA attack also when i was there. They properly have change lots of way to make it work best for them.

Infact most of the tank has minimum algae or more, there's no tank in the world got no algae at all, algae is also part of ecosystem, is matter of how you can control to the minimum only. The only problem is when people start to get algae, they do not know what to do with it or leave it.

I was at Midori last Sat. I can't agree more that there isn't any tank which has no algae. I'm just trying to learn how to keep it to the minimum. Now that I've known the type and cause of this speck dust algae, I will definitely learn from advice given here and probably some experimenting to 'experience' it. My main objective of this tank is to keep healthy flora and fauna, like most aquarists do.

[Shadow]

just note that nothing is magic, when you see algae and try to fix the problem either by putting more plant, up the CO2, clean the filter, pruning, etc, it will take a while (around 3-4 weeks) before you see the improvement.

[sandeepraghuvanshi]

It is one thing to have adequate Concerntration of Co2 in aquairum and ensuring its equal availability to all plants is another thing.
Co2 diffuses in water very slowly, many of my friends have posted better results in large tanks when co2 is diffused from both sides of tank.
This ensures somewhat better availiabilty of co2 through out the tank.
I would not like very high current in my tank with high flow rates.
Nowhere in nature are plants surviving in areas of very high flow rates.
Further anubias, come from aquatic bodies where flow is very low.

[Puffer]

just note that nothing is magic, when you see algae and try to fix the problem either by putting more plant, up the CO2, clean the filter, pruning, etc, it will take a while (around 3-4 weeks) before you see the improvement.

Thanks, I will take note of this point.

[Puffer]

It is one thing to have adequate Concerntration of Co2 in aquairum and ensuring its equal availability to all plants is another thing.
Co2 diffuses in water very slowly, many of my friends have posted better results in large tanks when co2 is diffused from both sides of tank.
This ensures somewhat better availiabilty of co2 through out the tank.
I would not like very high current in my tank with high flow rates.
Nowhere in nature are plants surviving in areas of very high flow rates.
Further anubias, come from aquatic bodies where flow is very low.

Two schools of thought, really. I may like to try out both starting with one on high flow rate first. This is going to take some time.

[blue33]

It is one thing to have adequate Concerntration of Co2 in aquairum and ensuring its equal availability to all plants is another thing.
Co2 diffuses in water very slowly, many of my friends have posted better results in large tanks when co2 is diffused from both sides of tank.

For larger tank, yes is better to have CO2 at both corners, provided both corners have flow running each other, and you need some skill to control the bps from both side, if not you'll be overdose.

I would not like very high current in my tank with high flow rates.
Nowhere in nature are plants surviving in areas of very high flow rates.
Further anubias, come from aquatic bodies where flow is very low.

In nature, the water is living water, water dont stay at the same location, unlike pond, same water is still in the pond, often you see pond attack by algae and not stream nor river. Water in stream or river, underneath it, the current below usually is stronger than the upper layer, lots of time people mistaken and got themselves drown. For stream and river they get constant supply of nutrient and CO2 from mountain(maybe far away or so), these dont happen much in ponds. As for our tank, we want to recreate something like the stream or river and not ponds.

[Shadow]

I would not like very high current in my tank with high flow rates.
Nowhere in nature are plants surviving in areas of very high flow rates.
Further anubias, come from aquatic bodies where flow is very low.

Just a though, maybe it is not that plant cannot survive in areas of very high flow rates. Maybe the plantlet was pushed by the stream and settle down on the less flow rate area.

If that the case then it is totally different story, plant would not die in high flow rate (don't tell me it is water fall ). Plants might thrive in high flow rate if you can some how force them to stay in place.

I think we need to define what is high flow rate, something that can be correlated to the tank volume. For example 10 times your tank volume is high flow rate or something like that.

[newtank]

I think we need to define what is high flow rate, something that can be correlated to the tank volume. For example 10 times your tank volume is high flow rate or something like that.

I agree on this, there has been several differences in opinions regarding high/low flowrate, even for established companies in the business of planted aquariums. However, nobody has really mentioned a flowrate in absolute term, i guess its more about finding an adequate flowrate, and this probably is unique to each tank condition.

[newtank]

I agree on this, there has been several differences in opinions regarding high/low flowrate, even for established companies in the business of planted aquariums. However, nobody has really mentioned a flowrate in absolute term, i guess its more about finding an adequate flowrate, and this probably is unique to each tank condition.

My mistake, I think Dennerle is the only one which has come out and put in in absolute term that the preferred flowrate is 75-100% of the tank volume

[Shadow]

I do not know about you, but if I follow the recommendation of 100% tank volume, I will need 200 l/h for my 3ft tank. That doesn't sound right does it?

[newtank]

I do not know about you, but if I follow the recommendation of 100% tank volume, I will need 200 l/h for my 3ft tank. That doesn't sound right does it?

Well, to be honest Shadow, I have no access to labs and test result to really make a good judgement on this and I really got absolutely no idea if this sounds right or wrong. I guess I have to leave it to companies in the business to give that advise, that is why we pay a premium for ferts and equipments.

Dennerle probably had gone through thousands of tanks to come up with this advise so I am not going to argue with that. On the other hand, companies that advise fast flowrate has probably done the same thing on thousands of tanks.

Like I always said, there is probably 2 school of thoughts in this, and I am going the Dennerle way at the moment.

For me, a simple way to gauge is probably to compare the flowrate of some more reputable filter makers, and after looking at ADA, Eheim and compare that to Dennerle's advise, I think I have a pretty good idea if I want to go slow or fast.

[ghim]

Flowrate to me, as long as the entire tank water has movement, that is good flowrate. Since I am using Eheim's filters,I will stick to what is recommended by them.

For some people, they prefer seeing their plants swaying left and right. For some, they prefer seeing their fishes swimming effortlessly. For some, as long as the algae cannot hold on, they are happy.

For planted tanks, I prefer to look at Eheim's Ecco series. Just saw the new Ecco Pro at seaview last week. Flowrate is upped by 100-150l/h and with pre-filter - there goes your dead leave. Better suggested aquarium size - with a range.

Looks like Eheim is going for high flowrate.

[Shadow]

I choose both long leaf plants swaying and fish swimming effortlessly except in front of the outflow

[blue33]

So long there's no dead spot, any method is ok lar...