Journal 120 Dutch Ft. Yugang Reactor (Horizontal CO2 Reactor)

[Burr740]

So when my CO2 regulator isn't connect to JBL Proflora my injection is 6 LPH (100 cc/min).
But when I do connect it to the JBL Proflora it drops down to 2.5 LPH (33.33 cc/min) on my flow meter.

Dang thats a big difference. How old is the ceramic? Might be time for a new one. Ive noticed after a couple of years they dont really clean up well. It seems unlikely to me that the check valve would be stuck closed enough to drop it that much, its pretty weak to begin with. All mine stopped doing their job after only a few months. But its possible I guess.

 

[Unexpected]

Your entry is going to score very high. Unless the talent pool drastically increases this year Im willing to be its in the top 3 at least

Main knocks I see is the green Myrio and L rubin could be thicker, and the curtain plants are kinda weak. But man, aside from the AR which could stand to be thicker, the entire foreground is immaculate. Perfect space between groups and trimmed up beautifully.

Im sure some judge will point out that the street is a little under emphasized and the Lily in the focal point would do a better job of commanding attn if it was bigger. But we're just splitting hairs at this point. Thats a damn good Dutch tank

Thank you, seriously! That lily refused to get taller and I was hopping it would but…. I agree with everything you say, if I had a bit more time I could have fixed a few more things but it is what it is as you say . This coming year I will try to have a good templet in place so I don’t have to rush and stress myself.

 

[Unexpected]

So, when you pull all your plants up and reduce plant mass significantly in one day, you quickly get algae and green water!

 

[FrankZ]

So, when you pull all your plants up and reduce plant mass significantly in one day, you quickly get algae and green water!
View attachment 3152

Still doesn’t look bad! I like it. I did the same thing after transitioning my tank to full RO/DI a month ago. Pulled out plants, moved groups around and took it one step further; cleaned the filter before everything calmed down.

 

[Unexpected]

The horror that is my tank.



Should I change what I’m doing or just keep waiting for my plant mass to pick up?

 

[Burr740]

Yeah any time you disturb a lot of the substrate at one time need to do a big water change right after. Thats why its good to always do the big trims and moving on wc days right before. If you do something major need to change like 80%

The GDA will probably be temporary and go away on its own after 2-3 weeks. I dont see a true green water bloom but a UV will knock that out

 

[Unexpected]

Yeah any time you disturb a lot of the substrate at one time need to do a big water change right after. Thats why its good to always do the big trims and moving on wc days right before. If you do something major need to change like 80%

The GDA will probably be temporary and go away on its own after 2-3 weeks. I dont see a true green water bloom but a UV will knock that out

Thanks Joe. I’m shopping UV currently so I should have that going in a month or so. I’ll keep on with what I’m doing and go bigger on my water changes. Lesson learned.

 

[Yugang]

The horror that is my tank.

Thank you for sharing this @Unexpected , there is much value when really good plant keepers share the challenges as well, both the ups and the downs.

It's been nearly a month since you did the reset, and with an established microbial community wouldn't you have expected a slightly better status today? What is your understanding what is going on? Have you indeed reduced ferts dosing (why?), is there a chance that the sump is causing problems with some organics left after the reset, and how about water change and vacuuming? There are valuable lessons from what your tank is going through, what would you do different when resetting and upsetting your tank next time, if anything?

 

[Unexpected]

wouldn't you have expected a slightly better status today

Though it looks terrible, I have noticed the plants are starting to show signs of vigor. Light at the end of the tunnel?

What is your understanding what is going on?

I looked back at my posts and I did predict this didn’t I! A massive sudden drop in plant mass for sure. And the sudden release of substrate organics while assuming I could relax on water changes. I was exhausted from getting the tank competition ready and I’m definitely not changing the volume I was before. I didn’t lower light intensity and kept my nutrients levels the same. I probably created a perfect scenario for GDA. Last week I did lower NO3 a bit. I’m not sure that doing so is a fix for GDA, but in the past, if I saw GDA I’d lower NO3 just a bit and it would go away. I might lower it more just to see what happens.

is there a chance that the sump is causing problems

Interesting you say this. I literally told my wife this morning that we’re pulling everything out of the back to have a good look in there. It’s very possible a fish snuck back there and died and could be the main cause. And as you say, mulm may have found a home.

Going forward, no more whole tank plant pulling. Lesson learned here. Just slow replacements or swaps going forward. I’m also going to focus on maintaining the plants I have. I believe as a newer aquarist, I’m overly eager to try new plants and I should be more focused on the plants I currently have and work more on improving plant arrangement and shaping techniques. Shipping costs are a bit high in the USA so it doesn’t make sense to order a few plants to try versus buying 10 plants to maximize shipping cost.

The good news is the first dose of Levamisol has knocked out the Camallanus. The fish I thought were days away from death have completely rebounded. There’s one that still isn’t eating but hopefully she can come back from the damage. 3 more doses to go.

 

[Unexpected]

I had a good look into the back chamber, found no dead fish and it looked surprisingly clean throughout. I pulled all the media and rinsed everything down.

My wife scraped everything she could reach and we did a 60 gallon water change. The dust resettled everywhere the next day .

 

[Unexpected]

I’m optimistically thinking the tank is turning the corner. I didn’t have green dust algae covering everything two days after my water change. Fingers crossed. I’m running my smaller UV sterilizer and after about a week it seems to finally be doing something.

 

[FrankZ]

I’m optimistically thinking the tank is turning the corner. I didn’t have green dust algae covering everything two days after my water change. Fingers crossed. I’m running my smaller UV sterilizer and after about a week it seems to finally be doing something.
View attachment 3289

Looking very nice! What is the monster grass on the right side? Left of the hygro.

 

[Unexpected]

Looking very nice! What is the monster grass on the right side? Left of the hygro.

Some type of Blyxa that was near dead at the store. Not sure which one it is though.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Looks like Blyxa Novoguineensis

 

[Unexpected]

Do you all think I could post my final shot of the tank? I’d imagine judging is mostly done by now.

 

[BigWave]

Judging for which contest?

 

[Freshflora]

@BigWave the AGA contest. IMO weighing the reasons for and against sharing a pic now, I’d just wait until the results are announced. Like you said, they’re probably very close anyways.

 

[BigWave]

The results will be showcased November 19th I believe. So not too much longer to wait. Generally It is considered bad taste to show your tank early due to publicity and if you were to get say a high ranking it would throw the results off. Some contests like the IAPLC will actually pull your application if you get high ranked and show before the deadline.

 

[Unexpected]

Copy that. I think I’m getting antsy.

 

[Count Krunk]

Well that picture of the tank looked excellent