Bpb Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 WOW it's been a while since an update. My substrate became problematic. The amount of organic matter was just uncontrollable. No matter how high I ran co2, how much excel I dosed, how low I ran the lights, or how much much water I changed, the algae was unreal. I grew a full carpet of cladophora algae that I would peel up in mats weekly. The maintenance was ruining it for me. Had to do something. So I sacrificed 7 bags of floramax and tore the entire tank down. Tossed 90% of the plants. Kept only a few stems which I soaked in peroxide. For substrate I laid down 2 inches of black diamond blasting grit. And popped in a grid of osmocote tabs every few inches. Eheim filter also crashed so I replaced it with a sunsun. Also replaced one t5ho fixture with a BuildmyLED Dutch XB strip as well. Brings us to today. I've tossed the AR and a couple other species that just weren't working for me. I'm sticking with what works and the scape is more conservative now. Much to my surprise, dwarf hairgrass LOVES the tank and is growing like mad. The carpet you see started as a single tissue culture pack from petco, planted sparsely. About 2 dozen little crowns. It's filled in a lot. Here 'tis. Growth has been slower but the algae is under control and the plants are ALOT happier. Cannot seem to get red in my rotala though. Either of them Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
world renowned Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Great update! I'm trying to find that balance between livestock, plants, setup that makes my tanks interesting but also enjoyable ...less certainly can be more Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 Tell you what, that got bad enough I wanted to break the tank down and sell it off. Very frustrating. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 Growing and trimming Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BobcatReefer Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Wow! That looks awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 Thanks fellas Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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