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Post by devonjohnsgard on Apr 3, 2017 16:19:43 GMT -5
I would just keep waiting. May be like 4-8 weeks. That's fine.
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Post by bettarescue on Apr 4, 2017 0:09:25 GMT -5
Reposted reply from 2/20 (sand the post to Carl)
I would first like to say THANK YOU! On behalf of all us Betta parents. You did a brilliant job getting the new tank established and cycled, it's a fantastically decorated home for Loki that will keep him both healthy and happy for many years! You have taken great care to create an environment that can support the individual specifications of a Betta Splendid. It's really great to see someone who cares so genuinely, so again thank you for all your efforts, it's a win for bettas and keepers alike!
Ok, now to the algae. The two largest contributors of algae are: lighting and nutrients (fertilizer imbalance). Algae needs consistent lighting to grow, so I interrupt its schedule in 4 hour increments. Basically using the Walstad method, leaving the light on for only 4 hrs @ a time (e.g. Lights on @ 8am-12pm. Turn lights off from 12pm-I (Turn lights back on @ 4pm(-8pm) before lights out for the rest of the night at 8pm. Basically only using your tank light for 8 total hrs per day, with a 4 hour 'siesta', or break, in the middle. This does 2 things, 1.) cuts back algae by starving it of the nessisary length of light exposure it needs to grow, and 2.) boosts plant growth by allowing CO2 to build back up naturally during the mid-day lighting break (giving the plants more CO2 to use during the second Photosynthesis period, that starts when your lights go back on for the evening). If you are dosing any liquid fertilizers, try cutting back on the dose used and or frequency of use, as any nutrients in the water that go unused by the plants will go to algae. Also, as your tank ages the algae should slow down and eventually disappear, as most algae problems occur in younger tank/filter setups, and should diminish with aging and maturity of the BB colonies. If the algae is growing from lighting that is too intense, then floating plants can help create shade for the betta, while reducing the algae growth in tank. And finally, if all else fails and the algae has gotten out of control- you can use 5ml at a time in a baby medicine dropper/Pipette of hydrogen peroxide dosed directly on patches of algae. This will not harm your livestock unless you were to foolishly dump a whole bottle in the aquarium, and even so-hydrogen peroxide breaks down and goes inert so fast that even in the above situation no permanent harm would come to the fish. There is of course many forms of algae eating fish and inverts if you choose to go that route as well! I hope this helps!
Ps: edited post. How the two posts merged I will never know. Sorry for such a strange post- I bet this made a whole ton of nonsense! My apologies!
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Post by gonzoid on Apr 10, 2017 13:39:24 GMT -5
Weekly check-in. No change in anything other than GH now creeping above 300ppm. Still nothing for ammonia or nitrates. Algae continues in the one spot of the substrate/floor cave and the hydro sponge. Free snails continue to get bigger, though their numbers aren't at the point of me plucking them out yet. There's some cucumber left in the fridge from the other night so I may set a trap down.
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Apr 10, 2017 16:06:05 GMT -5
Weekly check-in. No change in anything other than GH now creeping above 300ppm. Still nothing for ammonia or nitrates. Algae continues in the one spot of the substrate/floor cave and the hydro sponge. Free snails continue to get bigger, though their numbers aren't at the point of me plucking them out yet. There's some cucumber left in the fridge from the other night so I may set a trap down. I would keep going...
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Post by gonzoid on Apr 17, 2017 13:08:48 GMT -5
Weekly check-in. Ammonia & nitrate still at 0. Snails growing in both # & size. 2nd round of algae still growing but seem isolated to the same spots. Only change is the GH now at 375.9ppm. Looks like I should move to yet smaller WS fragments. This is now above one of the parameters (GH at 100-300ppm) I set for myself on PWCs. Contemplating PWC (no filter cleaning)for that reason & slightly easier snail plucking.
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Apr 17, 2017 15:07:00 GMT -5
It's seeming like you have lots of filtration for the amount thats feed for the tank, so I don't know if you'll ever have ammonia or nitrates... considering you have really dense filtration too. The bacteria could just be consuming the nitrates as well. So, maybe take that as a good thing and just do water changes based on GH readings, or maybe just use the sponge and not all the other filtration. This is a less likely issue problem (if you can even call it that) people have.
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Post by gonzoid on Apr 18, 2017 13:15:49 GMT -5
I had intended to only run the sponge/BioMax included with the tank. Then I remembered I had left over BioHome Ultimate from LT's place and decided to add it instead of using the charcoal that came with the Spec. The HydroSponge was transferred from Loki's old tank to help seed and just left there for redundancy. So I'm likely "over-filtered" for the bio-load provided by a solo betta & some snails. I'll take that "problem" I think. If I'm only doing PWC for GH reduction at this point, how often should I consider actually cleaning the filters/gravel?
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Post by gonzoid on May 11, 2017 18:31:25 GMT -5
Other than an odd ph bump last week all remains stable. I removed the sponge from the outflow last week and turned the pump all the way down. Nozzle is angled up as far as it will go and bouncing off the back of the tank. I used the Indian almond leaf to break up the flow a bit. Loki seemed good with this amount of flow.
Today I moved the Indian almond leaf to the right end of tank, away from pump outlet. It is being held against the airline going to the HydroSponge by the current but shading the entire end of the tank. There is now visible surface current but it appears calm an inch or 2 below. Loki has been exploring the "new" setup. I was under the impression bettas liked still water. Loki has been riding the surface current along the front of the tank every so often on patrol. He's using the current a speed booster. He doesn't seem to be hanging out low in the tank any more than normal so maybe he's OK with the current.
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Post by devonjohnsgard on May 12, 2017 12:18:35 GMT -5
Seems like you may not have to clean the filters if the parameters are not going up. Maybe one a year or never? Just do water changes to reduce GH minerals and replenish.
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