Journal Art's tank(s)

Well, I'm tankless at the moment due to circumstances so will post a few of my last ones. Nothing near the masterpieces of others but I try.

Had a Dutch-inspired a few years ago when I was trying different techniques. This one had a sump and I ran carbon to minimize water changes.


Then I moved to an apartment so I changed it up with a more fitting UNS 90 with more traditional equipment. I first wanted to go traditional aquascape with stone.


Then I said, forget it. I like the stems too much! Ended up with a Dutch-inspired, wabi sabi combination.


Thinking about what's next for me.

 

[Freshflora]

View attachment 2238
Trying new test kits this time. Anyone use these?

Yup I use the NO3 and PO4 test when I rarely test for it. Much better than API. Set up is looking sweet so far!

 

[Art]

Working on the math. Definitely need a second opinion (or many) on what I'm proposing. Tanks will be heavily planted stem tank but dosing lean.

Below are my initial calculations. I'm automating dosing using a Macro/Micro two bottle method. Each bottle will hold 1,000ml. The Micro will hold Burr's Micro formula and I need to work out with him to dose daily to hit .6 ppm Fe.

On the Macro formula, you can see my nutrient targets in the yellow left side. The right side of the yellow contains what I need to mix into the solution to dose the daily amounts (ppm per dose). A dose for me is 10 ml daily.

What do you think? Anything look off to you? Thanks!!

 

[Immortal1]

Have not seen that version of Salifert before. Interested how well they work

 

[Burr740]

Working on the math. Definitely need a second opinion (or many) on what I'm proposing. Tanks will be heavily planted stem tank but dosing lean.

Below are my initial calculations. I'm automating dosing using a Macro/Micro two bottle method. Each bottle will hold 1,000ml. The Micro will hold Burr's Micro formula and I need to work out with him to dose daily to hit .6 ppm Fe.

On the Macro formula, you can see my nutrient targets in the yellow left side. The right side of the yellow contains what I need to mix into the solution to dose the daily amounts (ppm per dose). A dose for me is 10 ml daily.

What do you think? Anything look off to you? Thanks!!

Looks good to me

To hit .6 ppm Fe per week with Burr Aqua micros add 3.5 ML per day

Math:
Weekly target of .6 divided by 7 doses = .086 ppm per dose
The suggested dose of 2 ML per 10 gal adds .15 ppm. Therefore
1 ML per 10 gal adds .075 ppm
.1 ML per 10 gal adds .0075 ppm
.05 ML per 10 gal adds .00375 ppm
Add those up and 1.15 ML per 10 gal adds .008625

Based on a 30 gal tank thats 3.45 ML per day, which you can just call 3.5 ML

If you wanted to get more technical and dose precisely for 27 gallons it would be 3.15 ML which you could easily just call 3.2 ML

Or you could just go with an even 3 ML per day which would put you at the .53 ppm per week which you have on the chart, instead of .6

That is actually the recommended daily dose for 50% water changes - 1 ML per 10 gal daily. And its fairly rich imo. EI (today) calls for .6 ppm per week, and you arent dosing EI macros...

I think any of the above would be fine but personally Id go with the leaner routine

 

[Unexpected]

Looks good to me

To hit .6 ppm Fe per week with Burr Aqua micros add 3.5 ML per day

Math:
Weekly target of .6 divided by 7 doses = .086 ppm per dose
The suggested dose of 2 ML per 10 gal adds .15 ppm. Therefore
1 ML per 10 gal adds .075 ppm
.1 ML per 10 gal adds .0075 ppm
.05 ML per 10 gal adds .00375 ppm
Add those up and 1.15 ML per 10 gal adds .008625

Based on a 30 gal tank thats 3.45 ML per day, which you can just call 3.5 ML

If you wanted to get more technical and dose precisely for 27 gallons it would be 3.15 ML which you could easily just call 3.2 ML

Or you could just go with an even 3 ML per day which would put you at the .53 ppm per week which you have on the chart, instead of .6

That is actually the recommended daily dose for 50% water changes - 1 ML per 10 gal daily. And its fairly rich imo. EI (today) calls for .6 ppm per week, and you arent dosing EI macros...

I think any of the above would be fine but personally Id go with the leaner routine

It might be time to get your juice added to rotala butterfly

 

[Joel Armstrong]

Working on the math. Definitely need a second opinion (or many) on what I'm proposing. Tanks will be heavily planted stem tank but dosing lean.

Below are my initial calculations. I'm automating dosing using a Macro/Micro two bottle method. Each bottle will hold 1,000ml. The Micro will hold Burr's Micro formula and I need to work out with him to dose daily to hit .6 ppm Fe.

On the Macro formula, you can see my nutrient targets in the yellow left side. The right side of the yellow contains what I need to mix into the solution to dose the daily amounts (ppm per dose). A dose for me is 10 ml daily.

What do you think? Anything look off to you? Thanks!!
View attachment 2243

Hi Art,

I'm trying to learn as much as i can, and I've got a question if I may.

On your chart, in regard to dGH, calcium and magnesium, how is it that the total dGH is 1.56? As I said, I'm still learning and perhaps I've interpreted your chart incorrectly, but I thought 22ppm CaSO4 and 6ppm MgSO4 would indicate a higher dGH (4.47 dGH) ?

Just curious, that's all.

Cheers

 

[Joel Armstrong]

All good @Art

Cheers

 

[Art]

Hi Joel,

Thanks for catching that. It’s wrong.

 

[Art]

Thanks to Tommy over at Aqua Rocks Colorado, my new light setup has come in. Unfortunately, I need to cut about a 1/4 inch to the aluminum holders before setting it up.

Looking forward to seeing how the Netlea compares to what’s out there.

 

[ryancamaratta]

Looking forward to seeing how the Netlea compares to what’s out there.

I'm looking forward to seeing it set up on your tank!!

 

[BigWave]

@Art is that an ATO Resevoir becide the stand? If so what brand?

 

[Art]

@Art is that an ATO Resevoir becide the stand? If so what brand?

Yes it is. Four gallon Hmahli reservoir.

 

[Art]

Notched out the Chihiros hangers and installed. Now working on hanging the light.

 

[Art]

OK so lets continue with the Nettle AT6Pro unboxing and setup review.

The packaging of the light really does appear premium and I'm impressed. Really well packaged.




The instructions are in English. I really appreciate that as I know the light is mostly marketed internationally and is somewhat new. It's not the greatest instruction booklet I've seen, but it was enough to get me going.



The light itself appears to be solidly built. It's heavy. More than I thought it would be. It's also a nice size. Big enough to span most of my aquarium's foot print. This should result in even coverage for the plants.

A diffusion screen is built in. This should help with color blending and avoiding the disco ball effect.



My hanging situation isn't ideal. As I have the AIO filtration in the back of the aquarium, I'm very limited as to where the hangers can sit. This means that the wire will not be perfectly vertical. I don't think this will cause a problem but it's something I would have love to avoid, if I could.




I would have preferred to have the light badge be in English or say Netlea or AT6Pro. It's in Chinese now. Again, I realize this is new to the US market so understand.



It's bright. PAR measurements will come in the future.


Visually, there are no lower light spots. Looks to be even coverage. This blanket of light is what I was going for.

Setting up CO2 system is next and I have a business trip soon so it may be a bit before I complete the setup. I'm not looking forward to the plant hunt... Worst part of our hobby in the US.

By the way, here's my initial list of plants that I'm hoping to start with. If you have or know someone who has, please let me know. I'm only looking for a small bunch of each as I hate throwing plants away. And, yes, I know it's a lot of plants. I am anticipating some not making it. You have to learn what will grow for you in your environment.

1. Hygrophila chia
2. Eriocaulon quinquangulare red
3. Utricularia graminifolia
4. Rotala Red cross
5. Pogestemon kimberly
6. Pogestemon helferii
7. Nesaea gold
8. Lobelia cardinalis wavy
9. Ludwigia white
10. Syngonanthus lago Grande
11. Ludwiga pantanal
12. Bacopa Salzmanii Purple
13. Rotala ramosior Florida

Thanks!

 

[Joel Armstrong]

OK so lets continue with the Nettle AT6Pro unboxing and setup review.

The packaging of the light really does appear premium and I'm impressed. Really well packaged.

View attachment 2297
View attachment 2299

The instructions are in English. I really appreciate that as I know the light is mostly marketed internationally and is somewhat new. It's not the greatest instruction booklet I've seen, but it was enough to get me going.

View attachment 2300

The light itself appears to be solidly built. It's heavy. More than I thought it would be. It's also a nice size. Big enough to span most of my aquarium's foot print. This should result in even coverage for the plants.

A diffusion screen is built in. This should help with color blending and avoiding the disco ball effect.

View attachment 2301

My hanging situation isn't ideal. As I have the AIO filtration in the back of the aquarium, I'm very limited as to where the hangers can sit. This means that the wire will not be perfectly vertical. I don't think this will cause a problem but it's something I would have love to avoid, if I could.


View attachment 2303
View attachment 2304
I would have preferred to have the light badge be in English or say Netlea or AT6Pro. It's in Chinese now. Again, I realize this is new to the US market so understand.

View attachment 2305
View attachment 2306
It's bright. PAR measurements will come in the future.

View attachment 2307
Visually, there are no lower light spots. Looks to be even coverage. This blanket of light is what I was going for.

Setting up CO2 system is next and I have a business trip soon so it may be a bit before I complete the setup. I'm not looking forward to the plant hunt... Worst part of our hobby in the US.

By the way, here's my initial list of plants that I'm hoping to start with. If you have or know someone who has, please let me know. I'm only looking for a small bunch of each as I hate throwing plants away. And, yes, I know it's a lot of plants. I am anticipating some not making it. You have to learn what will grow for you in your environment.

1. Hygrophila chia
2. Eriocaulon quinquangulare red
3. Utricularia graminifolia
4. Rotala Red cross
5. Pogestemon kimberly
6. Pogestemon helferii
7. Nesaea gold
8. Lobelia cardinalis wavy
9. Ludwigia white
10. Syngonanthus lago Grande
11. Ludwiga pantanal
12. Bacopa Salzmanii Purple
13. Rotala ramosior Florida

Thanks!

Wow Art!

I can't wait to see your tank planted and up and running.

Exciting

 

[Art]

Thanks, Joel! Me too!

As expected, finding the plants is proving to be a challenge. As usual, I will likely have to order from 5-6 different people/places to get the plants. Not ideal and this continues to be my vote for why the plant hobby isn't growing as fast in the US. Oh well, when I win the lottery I will build a nursery and grow all these plants for everyone. Until then, we continue in this fragmented industry.

I thought it might be educational and interesting to think through the fertilization as I wait for my plants to arrive. I'm going with Joe's micro mix at a dose of 1 ml per 10 gals. See above for the math Joe did for this.

I'm deciding on the macro mix now. I am a fan of dosing leaner on the nitrates and heavier on the phosphates initially. This is because I use Aqua Soil that puts out a lot of ammonia early but sucks up phosphate like crazy. Here is what I will be targeting when I use Rotala Butterfly:

NO3 - 10 ppm
PO4 - 6 ppm
K - 18 ppm
Mg - 6 ppm

What are your thoughts with this? Anything look off for you?

Thanks,

Art

 

[Art]

So on May 27, 2023, ammonia was very high. That was day 3.

Almost 30 days later, ammonia remains high.

No water change and no inhabitants. This was just soil and water. I did add a double bottle of Dr. Tim’s about three weeks ago. Filter with biological is running.

Aqua Soil does put out a LOT of ammonia. Will be interesting to see what happens when I plant soon. I will do a roughly 80-90% water change.

 

[BryceM]

Fun! I think the light setup looks great. I spent some time chatting with Tommy yesterday and have some of my own goodies on the way now. Some of this stuff has gotten expensive! But, also more durable, so it's a win overall.

You're on to something with the difficulty sourcing plants. As weird as it sounds, eBay is pretty good, but quality is all over the place. There also isn't a lot of solid information "out there" on species, varieties, plant demands, etc. It's still very much a cottage industry.

You need to dump about 40 stems of Bacopa in there. The ammonia would be soaked up in no time.

 

[Art]

You need to dump about 40 stems of Bacopa in there. The ammonia would be soaked up in no time.

They are on the way!

 

[Freshflora]

They are on the way!

Dosing looks good overall. I recently swapped out my 3 year old stratum for fresh Landen. I didn’t dose any extra phosphate in that tank other than my normal weekly amount (some people dose enough phosphate to register some residual in the water column with fresh aquasoil), and I had zero new tank algae issues. I did do very frequent water changes the first couple weeks though. I’m inclined to believe that new tank algae issues aren’t related to a lack of phosphate in the water column but just the leaching ammonia and immaturity of the tank in general.

When you say targeting, are you saying you’re going to be dosing those amounts per week, or those will be your numbers factoring in accumulation and water changes? Those who mean the second usually use the term “targeting” haha, so just clarifying.

You may want to consider going up to EI levels of 20-30 K. No real harm with doing it, and it’s not something you want to risk limiting.