# Wat Is This and this??!?!?!?!?!?!



## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

Looks like a type of hair algae. I'm not sure if otos eat that or not. :icon_neut


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

I can't tell from the picture if it branches out, or if it's just long strands that look like green hair. If it branches, it's clado. If not, it's hair algae. Otos don't eat either of the two.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, i thot otos do 

i tried over dosing on excel, no wrk

i tried the AtlantaMFR method of 24 hour light, made it wrse, so idk


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## nate_mcnasty (Mar 11, 2008)

this might help

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

woah, now i think its oedogonium


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

otos may eat it (mine did) but not the long threads. once they grow over 1/2" they ignored them.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i hope the lfs has the type of oto i want........


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

different algae i got has been added to the first post.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

the first thing is hair algae and maybe a some brush/beard algae at the base (or some young hair algae). otos eat brush/beard (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH BLACK BEARD/BRUSH).

i dont see any algae in the second pic. either i am blind or you are getting paranoid (happens to us all when algae is involved).


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

no, in the 2nd pic, on the driftwood, there is green, looks like diatom if u ask me


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## nate_mcnasty (Mar 11, 2008)

you need to up your ferts and co2


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

my co2 is too high, im gettin otos tiday, and people tell me to stop dosing ferts, excess ferts are causing growing algae


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## nate_mcnasty (Mar 11, 2008)

then up your lighting


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i have 72 watts over a 20 long, cant get much higher, lol


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

increase surface agitation. that will decrease CO2. 

algae is caused by imbalance. you could acheive balance by lowering the values that are proportionately higher then others, or by increasing the values that are proportionately lower. but in new tanks, the imbalance is just NTS and resolves itself in a bit if you keep the algae from completely taking over. my tank had insane hair algae, and i just did daily manual.


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## nate_mcnasty (Mar 11, 2008)

not that what keep them on longer


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

you mean he should up his photoperiod?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! new tanks usually do much better with short photoperiods that gradually get larger. surface agitation will get rid of excess CO2 and prevent dangerous buildup at night if monitored and regulated well. or he could just decrease the amount of time it is on with the timer.


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## nate_mcnasty (Mar 11, 2008)

but if his fert and co2 is to high won't having a longer photoperiod make it so co2 and the ferts absorbed more?


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

Wow, lots of bad spelling, grammar, and information here.

Whoever told you that 24 hours of light idea is just plain wacky. Turning lights off for three or four days can do wonders for lots of algae problems however.

Having too much CO2 is only a problem if it's killing your fish. Unless they're jumping for the border, you don't have too much. How are you measuring CO2 level? Drop checkers are the best way available, though I don't really like or trust them.

As long as you have more carbon available than the plants need, more Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphates than the plants can use, you are ok. When you limit one of these factors, ie, by shining too much light on the tank, algae can take hold.

Reduce your intensity by raising the light more over the tank, maybe 10" to start. Photoperiod should not exceed 8 hours.

Perform water changes weekly or twice weekly (50%), and manually remove all algae you can see. Keeping the algae disturbed can go great lengths in getting rid of it.

Make sure you have plenty of flow in the tank, and are not overstocked. Ammonia presence is a leading contributor to algae outbreaks. 

Believe me I've grown every kind of algae out there at some point. Achieving balance as I've outlined above will solve your problems.

Hope this helps:thumbsup:


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i cant elevate my lights or do a no lighting trial, i got lights thru my window in the morning and i have a t5 strip lightk, so it jsut comes with some tiny metal mount, i raised it as high as i could, aka like 2-3 inches. i use a drop checker. i have no fish yet and the ammonia is at 0 ppm. i am currently doing a water change right now.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

that just looks like regular GSA. otos will gobble it up!


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

fishman9809 said:


> i cant elevate my lights or do a no lighting trial, i got lights thru my window in the morning and i have a t5 strip lightk, so it jsut comes with some tiny metal mount, i raised it as high as i could, aka like 2-3 inches. i use a drop checker. i have no fish yet and the ammonia is at 0 ppm. i am currently doing a water change right now.


Through what I could decipher, I'd put some blinds up in the window, and reduce photoperiod to 6 hours in lieu of raising light or reducing watts. Are you dosing EI and micros? How's your water flow? The GSA you have is likely just low phosphates, increase dosage there about 50% with reduced lighting and it should go away. The hair algae is likely from low CO2 or flow (same thing really)

If you learn anything from this thread, I hope that it is be careful what advice you follow, you'll often get what you pay for it, especially if there are dragons in their signature...



chris127 said:


> that just looks like regular GSA. otos will gobble it up!


Mine doesn't, though I have accused him of being lazy before. GDA and GSA are very different creatures. GDA is eaten by lots of fish.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i do dose EI and micros. many say i am dosing too much. i overdosed on excel b4. i was trying to overdose, 2-3x as most people recommend, but i accidentaly did about 7x, my arm slipped, will that be ok? my water flow is good, i have my fluval running full power, even though full power is recommended for a 40 gallon i believe.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

He has very high light. 72w over a 20Long is 3.6 watts per gallon. That is HIGH. Now add in the fact that a 20Long tank is very short. Only 12" tall. So all that light has very little water to penetrate.

When considering the balance, there is one thing that has a limit, and that's the CO2. You can increase it only so much before the fish start dying. So that's the upper limit that can remain stable.

Bright light with too low of ferts can and will cause algae. The solution is to either lower the light or raise the ferts. If he already knows he's adding too much ferts, then the only thing left is to lower the light.

There are several ways to lower the light. Pull the light further from the tank. Shorten the photoperiod. Put some dead bulbs in the fixture to lower the wattage.

What would be nice is to have some actual details. We know the tank size and the light wattage. Everything else is opinion measured, but nothing factual (no insult intended). Why does he believe he's adding too much CO2? And why does he believe he's adding too much ferts? These have been "given", but the question is whether these things are indeed true.

Fisherman, can you please offer a much more detailed description of your setup.


What ferts are you using, how often do you dose, and how much do you dose?
How long do you leave those bright lights on?
Does the tank ever receive direct or indirect sunlight. If so, how bright is the light and how long is it shining on your tank?
How close is the light fixture to the tank? What type of bulbs do you have? What brand/model fixture do you have?
Is your CO2 pressurized or yeast based?
If pressurized, do you have a bubble counter, and if you do, how many bubbles per minute are you getting?
If yeast based, what kind of setup do you have?
Do you have a drop checker, and if so, what color are you seeing?
Are you using a diffuser or reactor to dissolve the CO2 into the water? Whichever you have, what kind/brand/size is it?
Are you using CO2 tubing or regular tubing (the small tube used with the CO2 source)?
How often do you perform water changes and what percentage is changed (20%, 50%)?
What substrate do you have?
What plants do you have in the tank and how many of each?
What fish is in the tank and how many of each fish do you have?

Only when these types of details come out can any real advice be offered. Otherwise, we can all guess with the scant details we have, but our guesses may or may not be the right answer to the problem.

On first blush, I would guess that 3.6 watts per gallon over a 12" tall tank is extremely high and much too high for a start up planted tank. So I would suggest bring that light down considerably. If nothing else, everything grows slower in low light — including algae — so the lowered light will at least slow down the algae before it explodes throughout the tank. That would buy some time in trying to figure out what is needed to bring the light back up without algae taking over.

One thing I noticed in those pictures is there seems to be some kind of droppings or crud or something all over the driftwood and also caught in the algae. It looks like fish poop to me, but I can't tell for sure. If it is fish poop, then there is a question of what maintenance procedures are being used.

Chances are this is a combination of many things. Cut those lights waaaaay down. If you can cut them in half (if the fixture lets you turn half the bulbs off), then do it. Also/or bring your photoperiod way down.

The first step is to slow everything down which is done by lowering the light. Then using the details can help pinpoint what areas need to be adjusted. Is the CO2 really too high? Is the tank really being over fertilized? Can't tell without actual factual data. But no matter what the solution, cutting those bright lights down will help the situation and possibly prevent an all-out algae explosion.


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

fishman9809 said:


> i do dose EI and micros. many say i am dosing too much. i overdosed on excel b4. i was trying to overdose, 2-3x as most people recommend, but i accidentaly did about 7x, my arm slipped, will that be ok? my water flow is good, i have my fluval running full power, even though full power is recommended for a 40 gallon i believe.


Like when you are cooking, you never measure out what you are pouring over what it is going in. After a water change, it's concentration will be safe for most plants, though moss can be very touchy with excel.

What is the g.p.h. of your filter? Manufacturer's claims of how large a tank a filter can handle are dumb, though most people rely on them. 10x turnover is often good for a well planted tank as a rule of thumb.


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

Complexity said:


> What ferts are you using, how often do you dose, and how much do you dose?
> How long do you leave those bright lights on?
> Does the tank ever receive direct or indirect sunlight. If so, how bright is the light and how long is it shining on your tank?
> How close is the light fixture to the tank? What type of bulbs do you have? What brand/model fixture do you have?
> ...


He's already answered several of these...

All would be helpful though. I'll put money on his sun-like lighting intensity. Any takers?


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

Complexity said:


> He has very high light. 72w over a 20Long is 3.6 watts per gallon. That is HIGH. Now add in the fact that a 20Long tank is very short. Only 12" tall. So all that light has very little water to penetrate.
> 
> When considering the balance, there is one thing that has a limit, and that's the CO2. You can increase it only so much before the fish start dying. So that's the upper limit that can remain stable.
> 
> ...


ok, lots of questions  anyway, i was thinking of hanging my light, but that would be light 7 feet to the ceiling, difficult.

here are the answers in the order listed:

1. i dose dry ferts, every 3 days, i dose the EI recommended amount for a 20 gallon tank.
2. 8.5 hrs.
3. it recieves direct sunlight for about 30 mins in a tiny corner of the tank in the morning.
4. i am using 2 30 inch t5 strip lights from coralife running 2 36 watt bulbs each. so 4 bulbs. 2 bulbs 6700k and 2 bulbs coralife plant-gro. the lights are about 2.5 inches above surface.
5. pressurized
6. i am getting apporximately 3 bubbles per second
7. N/A
8. i am usually at green, not dark not light, right now i cannot tell, i am doing a W/C
9. i use a diffuser that gets bubbles sucked into filter to get diffused farther. the brand is a Rhinox 2000
10. Co2 tubing
11. i do once a week 35 percent
12. I use AquaSoil Amazonia I
13. i have 2 huge cabomba stems, 2 stems stargrass, 4 rotala 'goias' stems, 6 tropica swords (dwarf swords), a huge field of echinodorus tenellus "pygmy" and "micro", abotu 40 plants of red root floater. soon i will get more. i plan on lots of Alternanthera reineckii and possibly more Caobomba.
14. I have 0 fish so far, but i am planning for a pair of Rams, 9 Nannostomus unifasciatus, and 7 Otocinclus vittatus.



eyebeatbadgers said:


> Like when you are cooking, you never measure out what you are pouring over what it is going in. After a water change, it's concentration will be safe for most plants, though moss can be very touchy with excel.
> 
> What is the g.p.h. of your filter? Manufacturer's claims of how large a tank a filter can handle are dumb, though most people rely on them. 10x turnover is often good for a well planted tank as a rule of thumb.


i have a Fluval 204 at 180 gph. it is pretty powerful, but keeps my tank crystal clear.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

nope, no fish poo, it is remnance of manzanita wood fungus, which comes naturally. although my lighting is very high, i know my plants love it. my cabomba grew 2 inches in one day, and stargrass is growing all new leaves. and tenellus is sending runenrs.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

eyebeatbadgers said:


> He's already answered several of these...
> 
> All would be helpful though. I'll put money on his sun-like lighting intensity. Any takers?


I was in the process of writing my post when you guys were posting. So at the time I was writing, he hadn't mentioned using EI dosing or having a drop checker or any of that. It's a result of me spending far too long writing a post and hitting the send button after several more posts were added to the thread without me knowing it.

Or in other words... I hadn't seen your post or his responses when I started my post. 

Nevertheless, I can see he's in good hands as you certainly know your algae much better than I do. In fact, I may be asking for your help when I finally turn my bright lights on! I understand the basic concepts, but do not have the hands on experience with a high tech tank. Only low tech.

So I tried my best to help, but most likely, I'll be doing more learning than helping in this thread.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> 4. i am using 2 30 inch t5 strip lights from coralife running 2 36 watt bulbs each. so 4 bulbs. 2 bulbs 6700k and 2 bulbs coralife plant-gro. the lights are about 2.5 inches above surface.


Follow eyebeatbadgers's advice over mine. He has more experience than I do. So if I contradict him, do what he says and not what I say.

I suggest turning one of the fixtures off completely until you get a better handle on the algae and its cause. Perhaps the second light strip could be used as a noon burst; I don't know. But at least this identifies one way you can cut your light in half very easily.

It doesn't sound like the light from the window is contributing all that much light. Do you see more algae on that corner of the tank?

I'll bow out at this point. You have better people helping you so I can't offer anything above what they can.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

no, less algae there than in the middle, the middle is crazy. i lessened the lighting period to 7 hrs. my dad is going to help me thinkin of a solution to raise lights. but i also have floating plants, about 3/4 covering tank, so lights are dimmed a little. all plants love light, they absolutely LOVE it, but i dont like algae. i got floaters yesterday, all have new leaves already. its crazy!!!!!


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

1. i dose dry ferts, every 3 days, i dose the EI recommended amount for a 

Every 3 days? Doesn't EI recommend every other day macro with micro dosing in between?


3. it recieves direct sunlight for about 30 mins in a tiny corner of the tank in the morning.

I wouldn't be too concerned with that.

4. i am using 2 30 inch t5 strip lights from coralife running 2 36 watt bulbs each. so 4 bulbs. 2 bulbs 6700k and 2 bulbs coralife plant-gro. the lights are about 2.5 inches above surface.

I'd take one of those fixtures, and sell it on ebay. I'd take the other one and raise it so that the bulbs are maybe 8-10" away from the water's surface. Once algae is stopped, then it can come back down. The floating plants will also have the same effect as raising the light, but they can absorb a huge amount of nitrate, so watch your NO3 levels and add more to your dosing regime if necessary.

6. i am getting apporximately 3 bubbles per second

That's a pretty high rate for a 20L, but probably ok given the tank's high surface volume. At that speed, you should have that Rhinox reaaaally spewing some bubbles. Instead of having the bubbles sucked up by the intake, have them blown around by the outflow. This will work much better, I promise. 



11. i do once a week 35 percent

Just do 50 % period. Always, maybe even a little more.

12. I use AquaSoil Amazonia I

How long has this tank been set up?


i have a Fluval 204 at 180 gph. it is pretty powerful, but keeps my tank crystal clear.

Weak. I have a filter rated at 150 gph on my 10 gallon, and it's too weak (though I'm sure it isn't putting out anywhere near that rating). Filters do not perform the same way they are touted to on the box. Even eheims.:eek5: Flow is less, and therefore the potential for algae taking hold is greater.
You probably have enough biological capacity in that filter for the fishload you plan on stocking, but not enough power to move the water around once the plants grow in. You will likely need an additional powerhead in the future, and if you do choose to add one, I'd stick the Co2 line into it, and you are misting CO2!


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

Complexity said:


> Follow eyebeatbadgers's advice over mine. He has more experience than I do. So if I contradict him, do what he says and not what I say.
> 
> I suggest turning one of the fixtures off completely until you get a better handle on the algae and its cause. Perhaps the second light strip could be used as a noon burst; I don't know. But at least this identifies one way you can cut your light in half very easily.
> 
> ...


Please, you're giving good advice that coincides with mine. Your .02 are just as valuable as mine. In fact, the page long questionnaire helped immensely. :thumbsup:


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

well, just cover up that part of the window that it gets direct sun from. but that not the cause. if that were it, the problem would be localized to that part of the tank.

at setup, it can be better to do a lot of water changes. we can all take a cue from CM on that one. 

hey, the only reason some people have lower flow rates on their eheims is because they dont clean the tubing often enough.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

eyebeatbadgers said:


> Please, you're giving good advice that coincides with mine. Your .02 are just as valuable as mine. In fact, the page long questionnaire helped immensely. :thumbsup:


Thank you. I just didn't want to give any bad advice as my understanding comes from reading and listening to others here and by my own basic comprehension of it all, but that's not the same as having real hands-on experience. And the last thing I would want to do is to offer advice that causes more harm than good.

I'm glad my questions were helpful in pinpointing the problem in this tank. Even though I am trying my best to help, I always learn at the same time. So I thank you for helping me learn as you help others, as well.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

according to the EI, all are labeled as 3x a week. i do about 2x, because i dose the dosage of 20-40 gallon tank.

i was thinkin about removing light, but i like the bright light :icon_cry: oh well, i guess it is necessary.

the tank has been set up for 2 months. 

why would it be next the outflow? the bubbles arent super fine like i'd hope, they just raise to the surface and pop. i put it there because i would prefer finer bubbles.

Nooooooooooooo, more spending? lol, the parents are starting to end the money flow :icon_sad:


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Fisherman, turning off the second light can be only temporary. The highest risk of algae is when you first turn on the bright lights. It is so much light with plants that are not yet matured in the tank, and the dosing of CO2 and ferts is not yet balanced that the extra light becomes a problem.

The goal, as I understand it, is to do all you can to keep the plants healthy. That means working on your ferts and CO2 right now. The more you can do to keep the plants growing and stop the algae when it tries to break out, the better things will go.

Once you get this algae outbreak under control, you can try turning on your second lights again. Watch the plants and increase your ferts and CO2, if needed. Keep working on the balance until things get balanced. At that point, you're in good shape.

So you should be able to have your bright light in the future. Turning it off is only to work on the algae problem for now.

To offer an example... You turn off your second fixture now which slows ALL growth down, including algae growth, okay? You work to get the algae under control. Finally, it seems you've beaten the algae. Now it's time to take a step forward. You might start by turning on the second fixture as a noon burst. Watch for good plant growth, increasing ferts and CO2 as needed. If all goes well, you can increase the noon burst time of your second fixture another hour or so. Keep watching. If two weeks pass and all is good, increase the second fixture another hour. See how that goes. If all continues to go well, keep increasing the photoperiod of the second fixture slowly, an hour at a time, giving at least 2 weeks between changes to see how the plants are handling it. If at any time, you increase the second fixture an hour and algae starts to grow, it's easier to tweak your ferts and CO2 since you know you're only slightly off balance. Keep this going until you get the results you desire.

I hope that helps explain the process. You want to go with lower lighting right now to get a handle on things. Once you do, then you can start increasing the lighting in a slow, methodical process. This will eventually bring you to a full balance with both of your light fixtures running. 3.6wpg is doable, it just takes time to work your tank up to that much light.

I am concerned about your CO2. It sounds like you are pouring in a lot of CO2, but it's not getting dissolved in the water very well. Large bubbles that head straight for the surface and pop is not good. It's doubly bad given that they only have 12" (actually, less, with substrate and all) of water to move through before it pops at the surface. So, basically, it appears you have a LOT of CO2 that's just going from the cylinder to the air above your tank. The CO2 needs to be dissolved better in your tank. And this may be the real issue that's causing your problems. You're dosing CO2, but it's not getting dissolved in the water so that your plants can use it; thus, algae takes over.

I know nothing of the reactor you're using. I just turned on my own pressurized CO2 a couple of days ago, and I'm getting tiny bubbles. But my drop checker shows a nice light green color with only 90 drops per minute (1.5 drops per second). So I'm dosing HALF of what you are, but my drop checker is showing me that I'm getting good results. I'll get even better results when I learn to get those small bubbles to dissolve in the water. At that point, I will probably be able to slow my drops down even further. The more dissolved, the less you need to push into the tank.

It's like salting french fries. If the salt just falls to the bottom of the container, it's not going to be eaten by you when you eat the french fry. The salt has to stick to the french fry in order to get into your mouth. Dumb example, but it lightens the moment even if it doesn't explain things any better. 

My recommendation at this point is to figure out why your CO2 is not being dissolved into the water. Keep the second fixture turned off while you work on your CO2 issue.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i wanted an inline reactor, but i cannot have one, becuz i have ribbed tubing. NOTHING WRKS WITH RIBBED TUBING, IT SUX. nuthin wrks, lily pipes, inline heater, inline reactor, nuthin can be added. i guess i could try another diffuser, this one is kinda old.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Ah, the lovely (not) ribbed tubing from Fluval.

Change the tubing. Tubing is cheap. This is an easy fix.

However, I don't know that this is the cause of your CO2 problems. If nothing else, I'd think the ribbed tubing would cause extra turbulence in the water that would help to dissolve the CO2. But if you don't like the tubing (I don't like it either), then switch it out. Home Depot or Lowes should have what you need. Match the inner diameter of the hose. You can use metal hose clamps (which I like better than what comes with canisters) to ensure a really good connection. The hose clamps are cheap, too.

Have you considered building your own reactor? Orlando made one for me and if you contact him, he may make one for you, but you can also make one yourself. Take a look at these instructions:

http://www.rexgrigg.com/diy-reactor.htm


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i was thinkin of makin one, and also, the problem is, i dont wnt HUGE tubing, the ribbed tubing has a special adaptor to make it be 1/2 inch instead of 5/8, everything will be very long and more expensive if it is 5/8, i may need an adaptor  maybe home depot has 5/8 - 1/2 hose adaptors. lets hope


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I'll hope for you (on the adapter). Just remember that problems are just obstacles to work around. They teach us not only to persevere, but that those bumps in the road don't stop us from doing what we want.

If they don't have an adapter, figure out another way to get around the problem. If the larger tubing is too expensive, do some extra work to earn money. Whatever the problem, there is a solution. And the more problems you face in which you find a solution, the more you learn to resolve the next problem. 

And there is no feeling like the feeling of having overcome an obstacle. If everything was easy, life would be dull. It's when we accomplish the things we first thought we couldn't do that gives us the greatest joy!

I'm looking forward to hearing how you have worked through every issue you face to the point you have the tank you truly envisioned and wanted, bright lights and all.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

the larger tubes are not the problem, the larger lily pipes, the larger inline heater, and the larger reactors are the problem, jsut more cash to spend. i think i should have started with a smalelr tank, maybe a 5-10 gallon nano iwagumi. much easier. oh well, too late now


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> the larger tubes are not the problem, the larger lily pipes, the larger inline heater, and the larger reactors are the problem, jsut more cash to spend.


So the larger amount of work you do to raise the money, the larger number of people you help with your work, the larger character you build from the experience, and best of all...

The larger the joy you will feel when you get each and every piece you want.

OR you could kick a can, not get what you want, and let life suck.

You get to choose, but I highly recommend the first option. Once you get a taste of how it feels to accomplish things you've worked hard for, you won't ever want to turn back.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i just read a great article on lily pipe and diffuser placement, check it out:



> Hi - we had some discussions about the placement of glasceramic diffusers, and there were arguments for placing them under the spraybar/lilypipe or on the opposite side.
> 
> So i placed my pollen diffuser on the opposite side of the spraybar in my 60x30x30cm CRS tank.
> 
> ...


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

fishman9809 said:


> 3. it recieves direct sunlight for about 30 mins in a tiny corner of the tank in the morning.


It is certainly not going to solve all of your problems but I suggest you find a way to keep the sun off your tank if possible. About a month ago I noticed that I was getting something that looked like staghorn algae on a cryptocoryne pontederiifolia I have in the left corner of my tank. The early morning light comes in the window over my front door and shines directly on that corner of the tank for 30 minutes or so each morning. Once I started blocking the light from hitting the tank the algae went away. I was amazed at how negative an effect a half hour of sunlight could have.

I agree that eyebeatbadgers is giving you good advice...


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

That illustration is nice, and if it actually drove the bubbles down towards the substrate and around the tank it would be great. I'm guessing in your setup however, that the bubbles would still go to the top, just like they are now. Just try moving the diffuser under the outflow of the filter, and see what happens. You may have to look from under the water level (ie, get on your knees and look up at the tank) to see all the bubble's movement. They should be getting blown around the tank. 

Large bubble size is the only thing I have against glass diffusers, other than having to clean them, which is a PITA. Smaller bubbles allow for greater surface area, thereby increasing levels of dissolved Co2 in the water column. When the bubbles are small, and being blown around the tank, they will stick to the plants, and can be used directly in that form. Tom Barr has written many pages of info on that subject, pretty interesting stuff if you ask me, but I'm a geek 

To Marko: Eheims do not perform at the rates labeled on the box. Lescarpentier has proven that in his experiments. Eheims are great filters, no doubt there, but do not give the flow that they advertise, though it is certainly waaaay closer than any other brand's advertised performance.

On the same token, most cars horsepower ratings are rather optimistic to their actual performance on a dynamometer. These things are both ok I suppose, but something to be aware of.

Finally, dose full EI, not 2/3 or whatever you are doing now. Excess nutrients will be removed when you do a 50% water change every week. Excess nutrients, within reason, do not cause algae.


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