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Just overhauled my 10 gallon
It's tempting to jump into the discussion about CO2 regulators, but it
seems that few ppl have any idea what they are talking about, and they
don't let that stop them. I posted my low-cost CO2 system months ago
(incapable of "dumping" even if the regulator malfunctions) and nobody
was interested at the time.
Anyway, now that I have insulted you, :-)
I replaced the substrate last weekend in my nasty 10 gallon aquarium. I
scrubbed the glass, washed all the plants and pruned their roots,
replanted everything in "Profile". My plants in this tank consist of
about a dozen very small sword plants that have not been growing at all
for months, a couple of Apon. ulvaceous hybrid seedlings, and a tiny
piece of java fern. I reused the old aquarium water because I didn't
want to shock the guppy in there with a 100% water change. I ran a
diatom filter for an hour or two to polish the water, and I topped it up
using water from a dehumidifier. After a couple of days, the plants
were starting to grow again. Friday morning, I did a 20% water change,
using dechlorinated tap water. Did I mention that the local water
company adds "polyphosphate" to protect the pipes? By Friday night,
there was visible algae on older plant leaves. Today, there is algae
all over the glass and the water may be turning green.
The plants are growing and even "pearling" a bit, so I'm hoping they
will overpower the algae. I was amazed at how fast a little phosphate
could wreck a lightly planted (but brightly lit) tank. At least that's
what I'm blaming for the sudden algae bloom.
Best regards,
Bob