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Questions, questions....
Howdy All,
A few questions from someone new to heavily planted aquaria. I have had
fish tanks for a long time, but with crappy plants. The tank in question
is a 55, has 182 watts of PCF lighting and co2 injection. My questions
are:
1) I hear a lot about substrates on the group. I have medium gravel
currently. Will this suck? I have no ambition to keep very difficult
plants, and would rather not tear the tank down. How critical is this?
2) About a week after I set up the tank, algae bloomed in a big way. My
LFS recommended a algaecide, and like an idiot, I listened to them (I
live in a really small town, and the LFS is notorious). Not only did it
cloud the water, but it burned the crap out of some of the leaves.
Before I added the dread stuff, the plants would bubble nicely after the
lights were on for a couple of hours. Now, more than a week later, I
don't see much activity. I have been filtering with carbon, and adding
trace and aqua flora.
3) It sounds like Jobs for substrate feeding, but is their a consensus
for a liquid fert/trace choice? I would really rather have one liquid to
add, and want to set up a doser.
4) Even though I limed the plants I put in there, I see snails. They are
small with whitish/clear shells. Should I go to war? There are currently
no fish in the tank, so I have a free hand.
5) Do most agree that keeping phosphates as the limiting nutrient is a
sound anti-algae policy?
It makes me laugh to think how much more time and money I have invested
in plants. Way more than fish. Fish are easy!
Much TIA.
Jonathan Peakall