A few more questions

[Tony Volk]

To start with, my tank specs:

So to start with, my tank is 55 gallons - 40" long, 20" tall, 16" wide. I
have two single 15 watt 15,000K fluorescent bulbs (30W, I know its low, and
I leave it on for 14-16hrs/day to compensate), adequate heating and
filtration. I have mixed gravel substrate, rocks, and driftwood in the tank
(all aged,
all rocks non-porous.

In the tank I have a 10" pleco, 4 3" pictus cats, 2 1-1/2" corys, a 4"
Siamese flying fox (the useless kind), 2 1" SAE, a betta, 3 1" Otocinclus
vittatus, 5
1" lemon tetras, 7 small zebra danios, and 5 2" scissortail rasboras. I
have two java ferns, four bunches of val (gigantica and americana) and a
couple of amazon sword plants.

My donated tank recently (over the last two-three months) went from an
old-tank syndrome of nitrate level of over 200ppm to the current 30ppm
(thanks to many gradual water changes). Other water stats are: ammonia 0,
medium water hardness (GH), virtually no temporary hardness (KH), and a pH
of around 6.4 or so. I also had a significant problem with black brush
algae, but I've manually removed most of it from the tanks, and plan on
letting the plants and the SAE oust the remaining parts (plus my pH has
dropped from 7.3 ish). My java ferns are both doing very well, as are my
Amazon swords (after almost being overcome by BBA, the removal of
dead/covered leaves seems to have prompted reasonable new growth). My
questions are:

1- My vals shot up about 4-6" six weeks ago, but now they appear to be in
real trouble. They are developing yellow/brown coloration in the middle of
the leaves, then small holes, and then end up splitting into two (much like
split ends on hair). Seeing as they grew so well before, I don't think this
is due to light problems. I would guess it's one or more of the following:
my Otos (who are always munching around the center of these Vals), a
depletion of nutrients in the tank (I can't yet afford to buy extra Fe or K
kits, but I did initially add Fe fertilizer before I found out about the
old-tank water issues, so I imagine there's a lot of nutrients available),
or it's the water flow from new hang-on-back filter that I placed in between
them to help reduce the nitrate/ammonia levels (but I thought Vals did fine
in a modest current). Any suggestions?

2- I am interested in increasing the light in my tank, but don't have a lot
of free cash (I'd love to just buy double-bulb hoods). It's a rental house
too, so I can't go around mucking with the wiring to put in my own
fluorescent lighting. The inside of the light fixture is white- would
reflective material make a significant difference (any numbers or
percentages)? And would adding an external plant growth light to the top
rear side of the aquarium help (so it shone in from the back of the tank)?
Or would that just promote a localized growth of algae?

3- I would love to add another couple of plants for aesthetics and to help
lick the BBA. Given my set up, I was think of anubias or wendt's crypt on
some of my driftwood to compliment the java fern. Any suggestions?

4- Any suggestions on how to get my oto's turned on to zucchini etc., or do
I just have to wait (currently, they ignore it while the Flying Fox and SAE
munch on it).

Thanks very much,

Tony

[Tony Volk]

So...anybody have any ideas on my questions? Thanks,

Tony

"Tony Volk" > wrote in message
...
> To start with, my tank specs:
>
> So to start with, my tank is 55 gallons - 40" long, 20" tall, 16" wide. I
> have two single 15 watt 15,000K fluorescent bulbs (30W, I know its low,
and
> I leave it on for 14-16hrs/day to compensate), adequate heating and
> filtration. I have mixed gravel substrate, rocks, and driftwood in the
tank
> (all aged,
> all rocks non-porous.
>
> In the tank I have a 10" pleco, 4 3" pictus cats, 2 1-1/2" corys, a 4"
> Siamese flying fox (the useless kind), 2 1" SAE, a betta, 3 1" Otocinclus
> vittatus, 5
> 1" lemon tetras, 7 small zebra danios, and 5 2" scissortail rasboras. I
> have two java ferns, four bunches of val (gigantica and americana) and a
> couple of amazon sword plants.
>
> My donated tank recently (over the last two-three months) went from an
> old-tank syndrome of nitrate level of over 200ppm to the current 30ppm
> (thanks to many gradual water changes). Other water stats are: ammonia 0,
> medium water hardness (GH), virtually no temporary hardness (KH), and a pH
> of around 6.4 or so. I also had a significant problem with black brush
> algae, but I've manually removed most of it from the tanks, and plan on
> letting the plants and the SAE oust the remaining parts (plus my pH has
> dropped from 7.3 ish). My java ferns are both doing very well, as are my
> Amazon swords (after almost being overcome by BBA, the removal of
> dead/covered leaves seems to have prompted reasonable new growth). My
> questions are:
>
> 1- My vals shot up about 4-6" six weeks ago, but now they appear to be in
> real trouble. They are developing yellow/brown coloration in the middle
of
> the leaves, then small holes, and then end up splitting into two (much
like
> split ends on hair). Seeing as they grew so well before, I don't think
this
> is due to light problems. I would guess it's one or more of the
following:
> my Otos (who are always munching around the center of these Vals), a
> depletion of nutrients in the tank (I can't yet afford to buy extra Fe or
K
> kits, but I did initially add Fe fertilizer before I found out about the
> old-tank water issues, so I imagine there's a lot of nutrients available),
> or it's the water flow from new hang-on-back filter that I placed in
between
> them to help reduce the nitrate/ammonia levels (but I thought Vals did
fine
> in a modest current). Any suggestions?
>
> 2- I am interested in increasing the light in my tank, but don't have a
lot
> of free cash (I'd love to just buy double-bulb hoods). It's a rental
house
> too, so I can't go around mucking with the wiring to put in my own
> fluorescent lighting. The inside of the light fixture is white- would
> reflective material make a significant difference (any numbers or
> percentages)? And would adding an external plant growth light to the top
> rear side of the aquarium help (so it shone in from the back of the tank)?
> Or would that just promote a localized growth of algae?
>
> 3- I would love to add another couple of plants for aesthetics and to help
> lick the BBA. Given my set up, I was think of anubias or wendt's crypt on
> some of my driftwood to compliment the java fern. Any suggestions?
>
> 4- Any suggestions on how to get my oto's turned on to zucchini etc., or
do
> I just have to wait (currently, they ignore it while the Flying Fox and
SAE
> munch on it).
>
> Thanks very much,
>
> Tony
>
>

[Michael J Conboy]

Hmm, where to start... Go to www.thekrib.com and read up.

>So to start with, my tank is 55 gallons - 40" long, 20" tall, 16" wide. I
>have two single 15 watt 15,000K fluorescent bulbs (30W, I know its low, and
>I leave it on for 14-16hrs/day to compensate), adequate heating and

Unless your tank is also sitting in a bright window, it has too little light.
Longer light duration won't help this much.

>old-tank syndrome of nitrate level of over 200ppm to the current 30ppm
>(thanks to many gradual water changes). Other water stats are: ammonia 0,

Must have been _very_ many changes! But good.

>1- My vals shot up about 4-6" six weeks ago, but now they appear to be in
>real trouble. They are developing yellow/brown coloration in the middle of
>the leaves, then small holes, and then end up splitting into two (much like
>split ends on hair). Seeing as they grew so well before, I don't think this
>is due to light problems. I would guess it's one or more of the following:

But I bet it IS a light problem, if only that if you have enough light then the
plants can outgrow many other problems. Plants that "shoot up" in low light
conditions might be looking for more light.

>2- I am interested in increasing the light in my tank, but don't have a lot
>of free cash (I'd love to just buy double-bulb hoods). It's a rental house
>too, so I can't go around mucking with the wiring to put in my own
>fluorescent lighting.

Huh? You don't have to mess with the house wiring, just what's inside the tank
hood. Try www.ahsupply.com and others for retrofit kits. You should be able to
squeeze a pair of 13W compact fluorescent lights in place of each of those 15
watters, and you may be able to fit bigger bulbs in general, like 28 or 36
watters. Ahsupply will tell you how much hood fixture space you'll need for each
bulb.

The inside of the light fixture is white- would
>reflective material make a significant difference (any numbers or
>percentages)?

Again, Ahsupply and many other kits come with metal reflectors (which act as heat
sinks too for all that extra wattage). Consider cutting extra vents too in your
hood to liberate the extra heat off the bulbs. A good reflector gives you at
least 60% more light than a crummy, burnt-to-yellow plastic reflector.

And would adding an external plant growth light to the top
>rear side of the aquarium help (so it shone in from the back of the tank)?

ANY additional light will help. Putting the tank next to a bright window would
help.

>Or would that just promote a localized growth of algae?

Any extra light may give you an algae bloom until the plants can outcompete.
Since you were so successful in dropping the nitrates, you could do more water
changes when you get the new lighting and that will help mitigate the algae
issues.

>3- I would love to add another couple of plants for aesthetics and to help
>lick the BBA. Given my set up, I was think of anubias or wendt's crypt on
>some of my driftwood to compliment the java fern. Any suggestions?

First upgrade your lights, then stock some cheap, fast growing plant like
Elodea/Anacharis (which likes iron, BTW), and then when everybody is growing well
consider stocking more expensive and finicky plants. Thekrib lists the
preferences of various plants.

Good luck with it,
Mike

[Tony Volk]

> Must have been _very_ many changes! But good.

About 4-5 5% changes each week. I didn't want to shock any of the fish or
plants!

> Huh? You don't have to mess with the house wiring, just what's inside the
tank
> hood. Try www.ahsupply.com and others for retrofit kits. You should be
able to
> squeeze a pair of 13W compact fluorescent lights in place of each of those
15
> watters, and you may be able to fit bigger bulbs in general, like 28 or 36
> watters. Ahsupply will tell you how much hood fixture space you'll need
for each

Thanks for the link. That actually looks pretty much just like what I was
hoping to find. The other DIY links discussed setting up large flourescent
lights overheard (hence the need to tamper with wiring), or completely
building your own fixtures from scratch (= too much $$$).

> First upgrade your lights, then stock some cheap, fast growing plant like
> Elodea/Anacharis (which likes iron, BTW), and then when everybody is
growing well
> consider stocking more expensive and finicky plants. Thekrib lists the
> preferences of various plants.

I'll double-check about those plants and algae eaters. I've read a ton
of stuff at thekrib, and many of the linked pages (including mailing lists),
and books on the topic, etc., etc. I'm just trying to make sure I'm on the
right track before I embark on something so I don't end up wasting my time,
or worse, making a problem that didn't exist before. Thanks for the
suggestions,

Tony

[Margolis]

"Tony Volk" > wrote in message
...
> To start with, my tank specs:
>
> So to start with, my tank is 55 gallons - 40" long, 20" tall, 16" wide. I
> have two single 15 watt 15,000K fluorescent bulbs (30W, I know its low,
and
> I leave it on for 14-16hrs/day to compensate), adequate heating and
> filtration. I have mixed gravel substrate, rocks, and driftwood in the
tank
> (all aged,
> all rocks non-porous.
>
> In the tank I have a 10" pleco, 4 3" pictus cats, 2 1-1/2" corys, a 4"
> Siamese flying fox (the useless kind), 2 1" SAE, a betta, 3 1" Otocinclus
> vittatus, 5
> 1" lemon tetras, 7 small zebra danios, and 5 2" scissortail rasboras. I
> have two java ferns, four bunches of val (gigantica and americana) and a
> couple of amazon sword plants.
>
> My donated tank recently (over the last two-three months) went from an
> old-tank syndrome of nitrate level of over 200ppm to the current 30ppm
> (thanks to many gradual water changes). Other water stats are: ammonia 0,
> medium water hardness (GH), virtually no temporary hardness (KH), and a pH
> of around 6.4 or so. I also had a significant problem with black brush
> algae, but I've manually removed most of it from the tanks, and plan on
> letting the plants and the SAE oust the remaining parts (plus my pH has
> dropped from 7.3 ish). My java ferns are both doing very well, as are my
> Amazon swords (after almost being overcome by BBA, the removal of
> dead/covered leaves seems to have prompted reasonable new growth). My
> questions are:
>
> 1- My vals shot up about 4-6" six weeks ago, but now they appear to be in
> real trouble. They are developing yellow/brown coloration in the middle
of
> the leaves, then small holes, and then end up splitting into two (much
like
> split ends on hair). Seeing as they grew so well before, I don't think
this
> is due to light problems. I would guess it's one or more of the
following:
> my Otos (who are always munching around the center of these Vals), a
> depletion of nutrients in the tank (I can't yet afford to buy extra Fe or
K
> kits, but I did initially add Fe fertilizer before I found out about the
> old-tank water issues, so I imagine there's a lot of nutrients available),
> or it's the water flow from new hang-on-back filter that I placed in
between
> them to help reduce the nitrate/ammonia levels (but I thought Vals did
fine
> in a modest current). Any suggestions?
>
> 2- I am interested in increasing the light in my tank, but don't have a
lot
> of free cash (I'd love to just buy double-bulb hoods). It's a rental
house
> too, so I can't go around mucking with the wiring to put in my own
> fluorescent lighting. The inside of the light fixture is white- would
> reflective material make a significant difference (any numbers or
> percentages)? And would adding an external plant growth light to the top
> rear side of the aquarium help (so it shone in from the back of the tank)?
> Or would that just promote a localized growth of algae?
>
> 3- I would love to add another couple of plants for aesthetics and to help
> lick the BBA. Given my set up, I was think of anubias or wendt's crypt on
> some of my driftwood to compliment the java fern. Any suggestions?
>
> 4- Any suggestions on how to get my oto's turned on to zucchini etc., or
do
> I just have to wait (currently, they ignore it while the Flying Fox and
SAE
> munch on it).
>
> Thanks very much,
>
> Tony
>
>


I don't have a specific answer, but here are my thoughts.

1: too little light, you are correct there. Leaving the light on longer
does not compensate for intensity though. A simple 48" shoplight with 2-40W
bulbs would be a huge improvement over what you have currently..

2: oto's are not damaging your plants, guaranteed.

3: a 10" plecostomus IS a plant destroyer

4: having a kh of 0 is very dangerous for the fish and harmful for the
plants. You need to add some baking soda or some other alkalinity
enhancing agent to bring the kh up to at least 3-4°. Your plants need that
carbon to live, and your fish need it to help keep the ph stable. This is
another big problem.

5: have you put any fertalizer pellets in the gravel around your root
feeding plants?

6: are you dosing any types of liquid fertalizers?



--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq