# Jungle cave 29g



## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Been spending the last month or so trying to get my aquascape the way I want it and I finally feel like I'm actually getting somewhere now. 

Love the three below and am trying to incorporate elements from all three of what I love about them in my 29gallon- my inspiration below






And here is what I have come up with so far. Left side has the cave, (right now its just a plastic cup temporarily until i figure out what i want to use to give the cave its structure

Any comments or criticisms are welcome!


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## rick dale (Feb 26, 2014)

*Cave*

Wow! The cave is too cool man. I love it.


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## Drewet88 (Dec 21, 2015)

I like it, the only thing I would change is the cup just because I don't know how long it would last underwater. A pot for a plant would work just fine if you could find one small enough. 

Are you doing a dry start? What do you plan on using to carpet the bottom? Or are you going to do stones instead of a carpet?

Regardless you're off to an awesome start I wish I would've took the time to do it right from the beginning like you are now.


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## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

I would recommend using egg crate and/or plastic pieces to achieve the hardscape shape to give your cave a bigger feel. Legos work great too for smaller tanks!! 

I know the 2nd picture you posted is Dennis Wongs and he used egg crate for that particular scape. I think it will help with the extra height you'll need.

Still looking great though, very excited to see this one fill up with plants! I subbed.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

thanks for the encouraging comments!

not sure what i want to carpet with just yet. I have some dwarf hairgrass that's in another tank right now that i might use.Any suggestions on overall plants?


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## Drewet88 (Dec 21, 2015)

h22prelude2k said:


> thanks for the encouraging comments!
> 
> not sure what i want to carpet with just yet. I have some dwarf hairgrass that's in another tank right now that i might use.Any suggestions on overall plants?


I wish I had some suggestions but I'm pretty new to the planted tank game. I do like the way red ludwigia looks and the red flame sword. I just wish the red flame sword had smaller leaves. 

I say go with the dwarf hairgrass if you already have it on hand.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

replaced the small plastic cup with a larger glass one. What do you guys think? 

Open to plant suggestions as well.


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## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

h22prelude2k said:


> replaced the small plastic cup with a larger glass one. What do you guys think?
> 
> Open to plant suggestions as well.



Awesome! I like the extra height!


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Verrrrry nice! :thumbsup:


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## touch of sky (Nov 1, 2011)

Looks great. I like the larger cave.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

made a couple more minor changes...


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## shhh (Jan 1, 2016)

That looks really nice.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

You could put some white gravel in the valley. It would give the appearance of a dry river bed. 

What light are you using over it? I have my 29g tank setup and still uncertain which light will work for the plants I have. Is this going to be a low tech tank? Injecting Co2?

Bump:


h22prelude2k said:


> And here is what I have come up with so far. Left side has the cave, (right now its just a plastic cup temporarily until i figure out what i want to use to give the cave its structure


Here are my suggestions for the cave:
1. pcv pipe painted with rusteleum spray paint
2. hardware cloth spray with great stuff and painted with rusteleum 
3. Make a mold with Sculpey III Polymer Clay around the cup.

Got a link to the second tank with the cave or the originators name?


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Hilde said:


> You could put some white gravel in the valley. It would give the appearance of a dry river bed.
> 
> What light are you using over it? I have my 29g tank setup and still uncertain which light will work for the plants I have. Is this going to be a low tech tank? Injecting Co2?
> 
> ...


I will be injecting CO2 and I have an aquatic life marquis dual T5 HO light.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Hilde said:


> Got a link to the second tank with the cave or the originators name?


http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...-3ft-high-tech-low-tech-nano-experiments.html


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

took some advice from some of the guys at aquascaping world forum

What do you guys think of this layout?


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

freshly planted dwarf hair grass and dwarf baby tears- going to dry start for a month or two (or until the HC roots)


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## RyRob (May 30, 2015)

Great start! I'd break up that hc a little more. You could probably get 2-3 times more coverage to get that carpet going.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

h22prelude2k said:


> took some advice from some of the guys at aquascaping world forum
> 
> What do you guys think of this layout?


Still nice!

Do you happen to have the link to that thread? Interested myself to hear of the tips they gave.

Personally I like how the scape is more "upfront"/in focus now that it is sort of "sloped" toward the viewer (not a big pile of substrate up front).

Though I did like the extended "creek pathway" that led from the front of the cave to the back of the tank. Now it looks more like a puddle in front of the cave. And I honestly think the wood reach over the cave entrance is sort of "hiding" the cave, making it more so just appear to be a hill, and now the cave isn't as noticeable in the previous scapes/set ups.

To me, as with the journal name, the cave was the main focus, with the tree and "creek pathway" being extra nice features. But I am no aquascaper though so take my opinion lightly!

Nice work either way! They all look great!


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Added a couple more plants

So far I've got planted:

alternanthera reineckii mini
staurogyne repens
Dwarf Hairgrass
Hemianthus callitrichoides

Also, removed some more water after this picture was taken since one of the guys over at aquascaping world said for a dry start I had too much water in there.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Is the cup still the cave opening?


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Hilde said:


> Is the cup still the cave opening?


Its still a cup, but not the plastic cup I had in my original post. I found a glass cup that was the perfect size and decided to go with that.


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## Drewet88 (Dec 21, 2015)

How is it going? Fully carpeted yet?


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Not fully carpeted yet but definitely getting there! The dwarf baby tears are definitely rooted and pretty deep too, it's been about a month now. There is a few leaves with some yellowing but other than that everything else looks good. 

Question: I am planning on flooding this weekend if all goes according to plan- anything I can do lessen the initial "shock" of flooding the plants that have been immersed the last month or so?


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Progress pics:

HC is growing out nicely

Before:

After:


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Having the CO2 ready to go as soon as it's flooded will help the plants, that's all I can think of. Did you permanently remove the driftwood, because I really liked it hahaha.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Opare said:


> Having the CO2 ready to go as soon as it's flooded will help the plants, that's all I can think of. Did you permanently remove the driftwood, because I really liked it hahaha.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Nope driftwood is still going in. Was having some mold problems with all the humidity and heat in there so I took it out to soak in the a bucket while i dry started the plants.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Would increasing humidity make the transition to submersed, easier or harder for the plants?

Great job on the scape though. Any plans for other plants?


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## TheTankleBox (Jan 26, 2016)

Looking great! If for some reason the Baby Tears dont work out, you could try Micranthemum or "Monte Carlo". Monte Carlo looks pretty much the same as Baby Tears except slightly larger leaves...so if you ever want to achieve some sort of scale or sense of depth (for any tank not just this one), you can use the baby tears towards the back and the Monte Carlo towards the front. I also agree with Opare, have that c02 ready and crank it up! Keep us updated..


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> Would increasing humidity make the transition to submersed, easier or harder for the plants?
> 
> Great job on the scape though. Any plans for other plants?


Thank you!

I do have plans for more plants. Foreground will probably stay the same, but I want to really fill in the back corners especially the back left corner with some frill stem plants


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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

Nice scape! The tree should stay. I also wonder if the right side might not benefit from having a smaller tree that sort of reaches over to the larger one.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

anfield said:


> Nice scape! The tree should stay. I also wonder if the right side might not benefit from having a smaller tree that sort of reaches over to the larger one.


I was thinking of a similar addition as well. Just looking around my LFSs to see if they have any driftwood that would work on the right side


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

so I went ahead and flooded the tank yesterday. What a disaster...

Filled it up with a pitcher REALLY slowly and I still got a ton of disturbed aquasoil dust, by the time I was done the entire tank was so dusty and murky. Not only that, the left side of the tank that I had built up with about 6-7" of ecocomplete collapsed and fell onto the dwarf baby tears. I had to carefully clear off the ecocomplete not to destroy what would be left of the dwarf baby tears. Will take pictures when I get home tonight, hopefully will be clear enough to get some pics. 

I'm sure all the hardscape and the rest of the plants are also covered in the dust. 

On a side note: I tried starting up my C02 today and soon as i plugged in the solenoid, the diffuser seemed like it had a bunch of pressure coming out of it to the point where it was bubbling up the water all the way to the top of the tank and even has some water plop out of the tank. This was with the needle valve still closed. Any ideas on whats going on here?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

h22prelude2k said:


> so I went ahead and flooded the tank yesterday. What a disaster...
> 
> Filled it up with a pitcher REALLY slowly and I still got a ton of disturbed aquasoil dust, by the time I was done the entire tank was so dusty and murky.
> 
> I tried starting up my C02 today and soon as i plugged in the solenoid, the diffuser seemed like it had a bunch of pressure coming out of it to the point where it was bubbling up the water all the way to the top of the tank. This was with the needle valve still closed. Any ideas on whats going on here?


I saw on youtube that a piece of plastic was put over the substrate before filling with water. I do it and it works.

Check for leaks by dumping the entire Paintball Co2 Tank with the ASA On/Off Valve into a container with water.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

I filled the bubble counter 3/4 way full like the instructions said. Keeping the needle valve closed, I plug in the solenoid and soon as i do, it seems like all the water in the bubble counter gets shot out into the tank. and all im getting is air being blown out into the tank causing huge bubbles to the top

What could i be doing wrong?


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

figured it out. The instructions on the GLA regulator said to turn the needle valve adjustment knob counter clock wise to close and clockwise to open. It was the other way around -_-


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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

Pour water onto plastic or paper plates. Can't recall if you did this but any slope has to be supported by hidden rocks or dividers or they collapse when you add water


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Yeah youcan also slowly fill water off hardscape that works for me most of the time. Fingers crossed everything is okay!


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Update picture:

I tried super gluing the java moss to the driftwood but it didnt turn out right. (The super glue dried up bright white, any tips?)


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

What super glue did you use exactly?
You want to use cyanoacrylate gel


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> What super glue did you use exactly?
> You want to use cyanoacrylate gel



Exactly what I used.


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## Mikevwall (Jul 27, 2015)

used way too much. you could chip away the excess. I only use superglue for larger plants (anubias, ferns, buces) that can completely conceal the white dried glue.
Walmart sells mesh in their arts and crafts section for 2 bucks. I would tie it down with mesh (more uniform finished product) or fishing line/thread.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

You can also look into the yogurt method of applying moss to driftwood (shaman has a thread).
If you use thread, you can use 100% cotton sewing thread and it will dissolve slowly (once gone, the moss should have attached to the driftwood).


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Opinions? Suggestions?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

To be honest, I'm not feeling the stems on the right side (unless these are temporary for the tank starting up). They are sort of distracting as the driftwood cave combo is what I feel should be the focal point, maybe more AR Mini would be better served there.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Second person to tell me that, so I'll probably remove it. Think it would look good on the left back corner behind the driftwood?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Yeah stems behind the driftwood would fit, as it brings the height to the focus. Maybe use 2 types the one you have now and maybe something more colourful like Rotala sp. 'H' Ra'. You have Hygrophila pinnatifida in that corner currently right? Also, near the drift wood I think either more HC or Hydrocotyle tripartita would look great cus they will sort of cascade over the rocks.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

changed some plants around and added a few more

How's it looking now?


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)




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## EVANATOOR77 (Mar 2, 2016)

looking good


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Added 12 CPDs, 13 Neon Tetras, 3 Red Cherry Shrimp, 7 Amano Shrimp. Plan is to add a pair of German Blue Rams and a few more shrimp (how many more shrimp can I add in without going overboard?)



My oto pair hanging out on the Hygro.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I would bump up the Oto numbers, to maybe 6 as they are a pretty social fish. To be honest you don't really need to worry about shrimp numbers as their affect on bioload is so minimal, I would get more RCS and just let them breed (at least 10). The tank is looking good especially with the fish! I would just be careful to not add anymore fish too quickly as you might get ammonia spikes if your bacteria can't handle the bioload.

Edit:
Was also going to ask if you're planning to grow anything in the central bare area.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Opare said:


> I would bump up the Oto numbers, to maybe 6 as they are a pretty social fish. To be honest you don't really need to worry about shrimp numbers as their affect on bioload is so minimal, I would get more RCS and just let them breed (at least 10). The tank is looking good especially with the fish! I would just be careful to not add anymore fish too quickly as you might get ammonia spikes if your bacteria can't handle the bioload.
> 
> Edit:
> Was also going to ask if you're planning to grow anything in the central bare area.
> ...



Only concern with getting more Otos is them not having enough to eat. As it is with the two, I'm constantly making sure their is some algae for them to eat. I bought some algae wafers but they didnt even seem to notice it in there. They did eat the zucchini I threw in there once. 

For your point on adding too many fish too quickly, I had a 10 gallon tank I had fully cycled that I took the filter media out of and added to my Eheim 2217 filter, hopefully that is enough to get nitrogen cycle going, still testing for ammonia periodically though. 

What do you think would look good in the central bare area? Original plan was to leave it open kind of like a valley, but the substrate evened out. Now, I'm hoping the dwarf baby tears carpet that area


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Yeah I think just having the HC carpet that area would be best. You could just plant trimmings if it takes a while to creep there. 
Zucchini is a good way to supplement feeding for Otos.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Need some help! battling some algae at the moment and having fish die off (lost 6-7 CPDs and 6-7 Neons in the span of 4 days  )

Hair algae all over my java moss and what appears to be green dust algae or some kind of green algae forming on my rocks, glass and substrate

Tested the normal water parameter yesterday and everything appears to be normal:

PH- 7.2-7.4
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0

Dont have phosphate test kit yet, so dont have numbers for that yet

Pics from two days ago below, feel like its slowly getting worse and tank now has a slight hint of green to it all over

I had my dual t5 HO and planted + running between 8-10 hours per day, but now have just the dual t5 ho running for the full 8 hours and then the planted + is set to turn on for three hours midday for a blast of light (need this since I dont think the dual t5 HO is enough light for my HC carpet to thrive)

Anything I can do to counteract the algae growth or prevent it from getting worse?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

h22prelude2k said:


> Need some help! battling some algae at the moment and having fish die off (lost 6-7 CPDs and 6-7 Neons in the span of 4 days  )
> 
> Hair algae all over my java moss and what appears to be green dust algae or some kind of green algae forming on my rocks, glass and substrate
> 
> ...


When did you do your last water change?
Have you checked the Co2 chart based on KH?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I would try and keep light intensity low it was probably a bit too high for the tank starting out, leading to algae. Maybe even reduce photoperiod even more I usually start up with 4-6 then slowly work my way to 8-10.
The fish death could have been Ammonia spikes from too many thing being added in a short space of time, but to be honest there are many possibilities with why it happened.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

At the suggestion of my LFS i changed out about 60% of my tank water to RO/DI water. Anything I should be adding to my tank?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

To be honest I wouldn't add anything and just try and let the tank go for a bit and mature, and who knows algae may receed by itself. I would still reduce photoperiod and intensity though. What's your current fertilising routine by the way


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Opare said:


> To be honest I wouldn't add anything and just try and let the tank go for a bit and mature, and who knows algae may receed by itself. I would still reduce photoperiod and intensity though. What's your current fertilising routine by the way
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I reduced the photoperiod and I already noticed a difference in algae production, which is relieving 

Right now I am just adding Flourish once per week. And excel 3 times per week. Any other fertilizers I should be adding?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Flourish (Comprehensive I'm assuming) is just giving you micros (mainly) and Excel a carbon source. You will also need to dose macros (your NPK), which is what plants need in higher quantities. Check out the EI or PPS Pro fertilising regimes about how to effectively fertilise your tank. I would recommend to use dry fertilisers if you can get them as it's more cost effective. Since you're using Aquasoil you probably do have a bit of time before you REALLY need to start dosing as it will provide nutrients for a while, but I would get started as soon as possible.
By the way, if you decide to go with either of those regimes you can still use Flourish Comprehensive as your source of micros instead of what they usually use, CSM + B, it'll work just as good. This will probably make more sense after you're familiar with the regimes. I would also slowly ramp up the amount of dosing instead of just putting all 100% of what you should, start at 50% (or less) dosing then work your way up across a few weeks.
Also, if you're injecting CO2 you don't need to use Excel regularly, maybe just to spot treat any bad algae patches.


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## MikeP_123 (Aug 31, 2008)

I copied this from one of the posts when I asked for help with algae



> Can I assume Flourish Comprehensive? Not enough!
> 
> With CO2 & that much light any nutrients within the water column will be depleted quickly.
> 
> Recommend a PPS Pro or EI fertilization scheme.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Im looking to start dosing Macros and Micros using EI dosing. Did some research and I am pretty sure I got it down. I am going to be purchasing dry ferts and making my own 500ml liquids

Looking at this dosing chart for liquid, am I reading it right? Do I just Add the corresponding teaspoons to 500ml of RO/DI water and then the liquid dose will be 10ml?


Also I have heard of people having mold issues by premixing the dry ferts and storing them long term, anything I can do to prevent this from happening?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Keep them in a fridge and try not to pre mix too much. You can just mix less and just make more when you need it to avoid having to long term store anything. Alternatively, you could dose the fertilisers dry like it says on the other side of that calculator. Also, your tank's capacity probably isn't 29 gallons cus of hardscape etc. so I would change the calculator slightly to match that. I think 25 gallons would be safe? I'm not sure my spatial perception is awful hahaha.
You can using your Flourish Comprehensive instead of the CSM+B if you wanna save some $$$ by the way.

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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

Updates?


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## sfshrimp (May 24, 2016)

IT looks like a lot of substrate! I would cut this down by 2-3".


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

sfshrimp said:


> IT looks like a lot of substrate! I would cut this down by 2-3".




Why do you say this? You can bank up substrate as high as you want really.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

h22prelude2k said:


>


You have lost the slope.:frown2:


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

h22prelude2k said:


> Im looking to start dosing Macros and Micros using EI dosing.


Have you looked at this thread on it? You have to dose by a regiment. Is that what you want to get locked into?


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Great to see somebody scaping a 29 gallon...love it!


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

ScubaSteve said:


> Great to see somebody scaping a 29 gallon...love it!


Just saw yours, looks great!

Having some bad algae issues, need some serious help here to stop it from getting worse and getting back on track


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Make sure you check out the bottom of the 3rd page, those were the latest pics. As far as the algae is concerned...have you started dosing the ferts yet? Any livestock?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Check out Dennis Wong's video on algae on Youtube any advice I would give would most likely coincide with that. But some top ones to do are try and do water changes to remove organics and reduce light intensity. Maybe put some temporary fast growing plants where there's space in the tank.
I thought about this and your tank isn't that heavily planted so I wouldn't actually ever go to 100% on full EI dosing, unlike what I said earlier. Lean dosing should suffice the plants you have.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

ScubaSteve said:


> Make sure you check out the bottom of the 3rd page, those were the latest pics. As far as the algae is concerned...have you started dosing the ferts yet? Any livestock?


Started dosing ferts but only doing half of the full dosing recommended with EI dosing. Definitely going to cut back even more on ferts and do a 50% water change this weekend to try to get things back on track. Will also add some more plants. 

Livestock is fairly minimal right now

4 Celestial pearl danios
6 neon tetras
5 amano shrimp
1 balloon ram
2 otos
2 nerite snails
1 fancy tail guppy
1 ghost shrimp


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

h22prelude2k said:


> Started dosing ferts but only doing half of the full dosing recommended with EI dosing. Definitely going to cut back even more on ferts and do a 50% water change this weekend to try to get things back on track. Will also add some more plants.
> 
> Livestock is fairly minimal right now
> 
> ...


Make sure to do the 50% water changes every week....what I did to get through my algae stage was take a spray bottle with H2O2 and I would spritz the algae before I did my water change...seemed to help. Also, cut back on your photoperiod and I agree with the previous poster about cutting back on the ferts until you up the amount of plants you have in the tank.

Bump: And also make sure you have enough water movement...


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

ScubaSteve said:


> Make sure to do the 50% water changes every week....what I did to get through my algae stage was take a spray bottle with H2O2 and I would spritz the algae before I did my water change...seemed to help. Also, cut back on your photoperiod and I agree with the previous poster about cutting back on the ferts until you up the amount of plants you have in the tank.
> 
> Bump: And also make sure you have enough water movement...


How much H202 would you use? What strength and diluted with water?


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Just regular over the counter peroxide. I would put it in a spray bottle full strength and then spray it under the water, so no need to dilute it.

Bump: And I would spray an area 3 or 4 times....you can also spray directly on any plants after you get the 50% point...I had to do that with the moss in my tank. Just don't spray it directly on any livestock and you will be fine.


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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

You are dosing ferts and have decent livestock but not a lot of plant mass. Do you have a test kit? Check nitrate and phosphate levels. How long are your lights on? You might have to cut back on light intensity and/or time period. You can also use excel dosed directly on the algae with dropper. Stick to recommended dosing levels for your tank size though. 

Add some fast growing plants to the mix at least temporarily. They could be floaters.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I would also try and not add any more stock because that will add even more organic waste which is not what you want. Try 50% water changes 2x a week until things stabilise to remove organics from the water.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Progress picture after todays 50% water change and clean up


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

any ideas on what to plant at the front left corner circled in red? Want to fill that in but dont know with what.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I think more HC will offer a more holistic look. How's the algae battle coming along? Growth in the tank looks good.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

How about Echinodorus tenellus? I think it would give the illusion that the side slopes up.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Opare said:


> I think more HC will offer a more holistic look. How's the algae battle coming along? Growth in the tank looks good.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah thats what I was thinking too. I can see the HC slowly creeping up that way, so I may just see how it progresses as the carpet starts filling in the bare spaces little by little. 

Algae battle, meh... Still experimenting with lights, co2 and ferts. 

I increased co2 just a bit and monitoring the fish closely to make sure their not being exposed to too much co2. Kept lights the same. And decreased fertilizer dosing. Macros 3x per week and micros 3x per week but only about 1/4 of the recommended EI dose. If plants stop growing or not looking so good, I'll increase ferts a little bit.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

E Tenellus would look great! 

or some downoi as well, itll be a contrasting green

how's the algae? getting better?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

h22prelude2k said:


> Algae battle, meh... Still experimenting with lights, co2 and ferts.


I wonder if the circulation through out the tank would be increased if you put the spray bar on the side.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Hilde said:


> I wonder if the circulation through out the tank would be increased if you put the spray bar on the side.


Which side, left or right? On the left I already have the circulation pump


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

h22prelude2k said:


> Which side, left or right? On the left I already have the circulation pump


On the right side. Then angle the circulation pump towards the front.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

Still battling whatever kind of algae is plaguing my plants

More pics, can anyone identify what it is and how to get rid of it and whats causing it??


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

It's Staghorn algae. I would reduce lighting, if you can, unless it's already super low. Clean out your filter and continue to do more frequent water changes, like maybe 3 times a week. You can spot treat the algae with H2O2 and Excel.
By the way, for future tanks I wouldn't recommend stocking fish early, I find it can make algal problems worse and harder to deal with as you don't want to harm them. I would wait till the tank matures before stocking like 1 month+. Obviously you can stock earlier, but I find it's safer if you don't. Also if you still have only 4 CPDs and 2 Otos, once the algae has receeded and gone you will need to get at least a couple more CPDs and maybe 3+ more Otos.
Edit: Consider adding some temporary floating plants, they might help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

You need a siesta period. Something like 3hrs on/ 3hrs off/ 3hrs on may help. What is your light period now?

After reading this thread have come to think that Dolomite by KAL would help balance the Eco-system.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

been dosing around 8ml of excel directly on the algae every other day and spraying H202 on the algae directly on the other days for about two weeks now. Been getting good results, no loss of shrimp or fish that I've noticed, only negative is some of the leaves of s.repens and h.pinnitifida have been getting small holes on them


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

h22prelude2k said:


> been dosing around 8ml of excel directly on the algae every other day and spraying H202 on the algae directly on the other days for about two weeks now. Been getting good results


http://s52.photobucket.com/user/idrivealude/media/IMG_2626_zpsxcygi7qe.jpg.html
It could come back if you don't correct the imbalance. 

What is you gh, kh, and ph?


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