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Re: took 2 years, but I did it

> Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 17:42:30 EST
> From: BErney1014 at aol_com
> Subject: took 2 years, but I did it
> 
> Hi Listers,
> I susbscribed to this list and lurked for two years with an
occasional post
> (plea) for help. I can count on three fingers the number of
replies, so I
> guess I just couldn't entice the experts.
> After starts and restarts I had tanks go anerobic to slime
algae covered. I've
> killed tanks of fish and a few plants. Some were natural
disasters, other were
> my remedies that killed the fish and/or plants. 
> I had switched to Flourite when it came out and use 100% as
the substrate.
> Tank worsened. It seemed every improvement caused a worsened
condition in the
> tank. I was truely frustrated but I didn't give up. I threw
more money at it.
> ("money will fix anything", my boss told me before he died) I
added new
> lights, bulbs, electronic ballasts and timers. Bottled co2
with fancy needle
> valve. Every improvement caused a worsening condition. If I
added fertilizer I
> had slime algae blanket the tank like a tent. I searched the
state for SAE's
> and found them. They jumped out of the tank. I tried
different balances of
> plants and fish load. Same or worse.
> A month ago I did some remodeling/designing of the aquascape.
I added a
> cansiter filter to clear the mess. I left the filter in place.
> The plants started to grow and the algae went bye-bye.
> It was poor circulation all along.
> 
> Bruce in NJ
"Don't give up" is the only advice I can give. I've been into
aquariums for a year. Into plants for months. Played with
hornwort and easy growers. Others simply didn't do well. So I
read, read and read books and online reference. Found actwin
FAQ and now thekrib(the best). High tech doesn't guarantee
successful plant growth, neither does low tech. However,
understanding and keeping a balance of light, CO2, nutrients
and trace elements does. Even strictly following the
instructions on fertilizer packages won't work because
conditions vary from one tank to another. Since reading, I've
had more understanding of aquatic plants. In other words, I've
had more success with plants. If your tank hasn't improved, you
might want to consider my advice:

1. Get 3w/g lighting. Use all GE Chroma 50s.
2. Do a DIY CO2. Use Fleischmann's Traditional Active Dry Yeast
available at Safeway and big supermarkets. 1 cup of cooking
sugar and 1 teaspoon of yeast + 3/4 full of lukewarm water in a
soda bottle. Renew contents weekly.
3. for an outside power filter, raise water level to the point
of no air bubbling except for CO2.
4. Use 2-5mm plain gravel + long-term substrate fertilizers
like laterite, Substrate Gold, Tetra Initial Sticks and
short-term one like Tetra Hilena Crypto tablets.
5. Use a liquid fertilizer like Kent Freshwater Supplement.
Divide the dosage in half. And then half it for 2 dosages after
water change and 3-4 days later like Wednesday.
6. Prune and replant anything at surface for closed aquariums.
7. Stock fish half the max. Underfeed them.
8. Get SAEs. Add a glass top. Or get otocinclus affinis. MTS is
good too.
9. Do a weekly 25% water change.
10. Prune aglae-covered leaves ASAP, but leave 50% leaves of a
plant.

HTH. It works great for me. My halved hygros at most take 2
days to recover. Usually 1 day. Others are doing pretty well.
Yet some slime algae on glass. Normal. Leave it alone for otto
cats.

joe
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