Journal Ben's Plant Pharm

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Maybe I missed something, but have you checked your Oase filter itself? The only time I ever experienced green water was during a crash. I know you already said you came back with 0 ammonia but how are you testing that? Maybe do a good clean of the filter, a good rinse in dechlorinated water

 

[BenB]

Maybe I missed something, but have you checked your Oase filter itself? The only time I ever experienced green water was during a crash. I know you already said you came back with 0 ammonia but how are you testing that? Maybe do a good clean of the filter, a good rinse in dechlorinated water

It has 2 filter cartridges. I replaced one. That way, I kept one with bacteria. However, because of the green water, the new one turned green and ugly within days. I also did a big clean of the uplift tube. Giving the whole filter a good clean is always worth a try. I'll do that.

I tested the ammonia with an API kit. I'll retest that. I had plenty of ammonia and no green water when I first set the tank up, but I had an old light too. The new light is much brighter, but I've throttled it back pretty hard.... almost to the point my plants have stopped pearling.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

I personally am not a fan of the “cartidge” type filters for this reason. When you remove them, you are removing BB. I feel like they become overwhelmed and you experience what you’re experiencing, they get clogged up and it affects flow etc. With a dense high tech, I’d prefer to make sure the water is always moving with a plentiful mechanical form of filtration. Good luck with the cleaning and I hope it frees up the filter of any gunk that’s affecting its operation efficiency.

 

[BenB]

I personally am not a fan of the “cartidge” type filters for this reason. When you remove them, you are removing BB. I feel like they become overwhelmed and you experience what you’re experiencing, they get clogged up and it affects flow etc. With a dense high tech, I’d prefer to make sure the water is always moving with a plentiful mechanical form of filtration. Good luck with the cleaning and I hope it frees up the filter of any gunk that’s affecting its operation efficiency.

Well, the water flows out of it pretty freely. I actually have the flow throttled back a little because it was putting a hole in my substrate. That was early on though when the substrate was new. I might can turn it up a bit more now. I also have a surface skimmer with a decent output as well. So there is good flow. Again though, a good cleaning doesn't hurt anything and it is probably due. We'll see.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Might try looking on Etsy to see if there is something you can throw on the end of the output to smooth out the flow so it goes across the surface and not shoot down disturbing the substrate

 

[BenB]

Might try looking on Etsy to see if there is something you can throw on the end of the output to smooth out the flow so it goes across the surface and not shoot down disturbing the substrate

It was going across the water, hitting the glass, and then going down. That's where it made the hole.

I have the large Oase HOB thermofilter. I'm thinking of sucking it up and getting the small one without the heater and adding one of those flat Cobalt Aquatic filters and sliding it in the back. Right now my heater is off because it was keeping the water at 79 and warm water is one of the causes of GDA that I had before the green water.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Yeah I was gonna say that’s an interesting temperature to be set on. I would have thought 75F was more neutral.

 

[BenB]

Well....

• I'm not even sure where to start. If you read back I have been mulling over and wrestling with gda, green water, and unusual nutrient issues. Things have started to get better.
• I've been trying to get into a solid tank maintenance and fertilization routine so I could figure out where things are going wrong.
• I did a large water change yesterday. Before I do those, I add bicarb so that I don't cause a pH crash with the low KH. Today I measured my pH and it was 7.6. That is unusually high for me. So I assumed there was still KH in the water from the water change. I tested my KH and it was 0. So I looked at my CO2 cylinder and.....
• I'm out of CO2. It hasn't been weeks and weeks because I checked not long ago, but it is at least 1-2 weeks. But, Hey! I know what my degassed pH is now.
• So much for getting things dialed in. The most interesting part though is that my plants look fine. Everying is a weird grey/green color. It makes me think of Sudipta Shaw's presentation at the 2024 AGA where he has great looking plants, high light, and no CO2.
• Additionally a supposedly "difficult" plant Eriocaulon quinguangulare is busting all out on me.
• I've been trying to reconcile all this somehow, but it just doesn't work. The plan is to get a new CO2 tank tomorrow and start back fresh.
• FYI KH 0, pH 7.6, NO3 4, PO4 0.25

 

[BenB]

I have CO2 again
Plants are back pearling. I should have thought to look at the CO2 when the stopped, but I thought at the time there were other issues.
Now, we need to talk about CO2 prices. I haven't bought in awhile. I was shocked. 2 x 5lb bottles was $123

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Oh helllllllllllllllllll no. As in you bought two new bottles to own???? Or that was a refill/swap out?

 

[BenB]

Oh helllllllllllllllllll no. As in you bought two new bottles to own???? Or that was a refill/swap out?

Swap out. I was shocked. I need to double check the invoice. I asked and he said the price has skyrocketed recently because of hazmat fees and other things. I only have one aquarium. I've always liked to have one bottle on the tank and a full one to swap out. I haven't had a tank set up for years until this one, so I didn't have my second back-up one. Got 2 at once.

 

[Kwyet]

That’s a ridiculous price for just swapping, like double what it should be. I’d shop around.

 

[BenB]

That’s a ridiculous price for just swapping, like double what it should be. I’d shop around.

@Mr.Shenanagins

I looked back at my paperwork. He put 10 in the spot for how much I was getting, but that might have charged me for 2 x 10lb cylinders. I'm going back. I'm off again on Thursday. I'm glad I posted.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Yeah that’s absolutely insane. I spend $30 each time I swap a 20lb. Usually the bigger the more value for the money

 

[BenB]

I don't see how other people get good pics with their phone. Its not as bad as this pic looks.
Anyway, green water seems to be gone. I have CO2 now. We seem to be in a reset.

 

[Koan]

I'm out of CO2

Been there.

 

[Art]

• I did a large water change yesterday. Before I do those, I add bicarb so that I don't cause a pH crash with the low KH. Today I measured my pH and it was 7.6. That is unusually high for me. So I assumed there was still KH in the water from the water change. I tested my KH and it was 0. So I looked at my CO2 cylinder and.....
• I'm out of CO2. It hasn't been weeks and weeks because I checked not long ago, but it is at least 1-2 weeks. But, Hey! I know what my degassed pH is now.

I'm sure many, many of us can relate. This is one reason I have an automated pH probe. It will alert me if pH is off which usually means my CO2 tank is empty.

 

[BenB]

I wrote this 4 days ago. I wanted to get a good "after" pic before I posted it, but it took me a few days. I wish my pics showed how much improvement my tank has made. I need to work on photography.

---

A few months ago, I bought a new light and commented at the time that it meant algae problems I had so far avoided, would now be on their way. I was unfortunately very correct.

Situation
I started with terrible green dust algae (GDA). Per Dennis Wong’s site, I decreased my NO3 level to < 5ppm, lowered my light, double checked my CO2 levels, and lowered my tank temp. The algae got worse. Then I started getting green water. The GDA improved, but I had to get a UV filter for the green water. A large water change about this time led me to make THIS post about 50% water changes. Then I found out I had run out of CO2 maybe 1-2 weeks prior. Then the GW eventually improved, but the GDA came back. I was making some progress on that when the GW came back…. again.

Background
Seeking clarity, I started water testing about 3 weeks ago. I had 0 ammonia. So why the GW? I also discovered there was only a trace or 0 NO3, 48 hours after dosing. Theoretically that’s what fixes GDA. As the GW has faded and the GDA has exploded again, it has me thinking that for 20 years people have dosed much higher nutrients than I do, and only get a trace of GDA. I also have dosed much higher levels in the past and not had GDA. Why is it so bad in my tank? “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Sherlock Holmes

Assesment
I decided I’m not dosing enough. My plants are starving. That’s where I am now. Over the last week or so, I sought out journals of people who dosed higher to see what the thinking is these days. It seems basically the same back and forth discussions that we had decades ago. By good fortune, @Ed Wiser updated his journal yesterday. I hadn’t seen it before. He was having a similar-ish experience.

Recommendation
I think I am going to try to front load like @GreggZ does. It would be much easier. I’m going to front load 21ppm NO3 and 7ppm PO4 with a 50% water change weekly. I need to decide what to do about the micros. I’m still reading his journal. I could go back and read @Burr740 journal on the forum that shall not be named, but it’s like 400 pages long. Thankfully, he posted on Ed’s journal.

Before Trim and Clean Up


After Clean Up and Start of New Dosing Regimen

 

[Burr740]

Spiking any macro can cause a brief GDA bloom, just like when we start ammonia or urea dosing. But the bio stuff soon catches up and it goes away. It is not triggered by having excess NO3. Thats a pure freakin myth the Asian community came up with years ago because very time they tried EI thats what happened. But it was the sudden change from their normal lowlevels, not the ferts themselves

Like most algae its triggered by unhappy plants releasing their invisible unhappiness into the water. The worst thing you can do in that situation is start reducing things that make the plants healthy. Thats the time to raise ferts if anything, esp macros. Very rarely are plants unhappy because of too much macros. Unless youre talking ammania specifically, its practically zero

On front loading. Water change volume plays such a huge role in how much is in our water. I dont like front loading the whole week. But when doing big water changes you have to front load most of it or else there too much drop in nutrient levels. Gregg is front loading the week but also changing 70-80% iirc. I did that too for a couple years. It works pretty good. But I found saving a little for mid week works better

For the best consistency (thats what we're going for here) if youre doing 50%, front load 50% of the weeks total. Then do 2 more doses of 25% through the week. Its what Ive been doing for a couple years now, best routine Ive ever tried. And its only macros that need this consistency. Micros are fine 3x week, or daily, regardless of wc volume

The only thing wrong with your tank is being inconsistent and under dosed. You starved the plants, then co2 ran out. The plants became unhappy now there's some algae troubles.

Green water can be from substrate disturbance. You never want to disturb the substrate very much unless youre about to do a water change. Always do a water change after disturbing it. My main Dutch will get it in a heartbeat even yanking just a few stems. My journal here has a post where Id pulled like 7 Penthorum stems to sell. Boom green water. Kill that with a UV and then dont mess with the sub much until wc day

Get the plants happy and stay consistent. Keep things clean and any bad leaves removed. Thats all you gotta do and GDA will go away

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I need to decide what to do about the micros.

I'd highly recommend automated daily dosing for micros! Super easy and simple.'

I front load macros in all of my tanks, and have daily dose micros in all of them, too. I use the Chihros dosing systems. You can get the two-head system for $90-$100. Totally worth it to have many years of daily micro dosing without needing to worry (I've been running mine for over 2 years now without any issues). I use CSM+B from GLA (but might switch in the future? Seems to work just fine for me). I dose around 0.04 to 0.075ppm Fe daily with these auto dosers. I have to replenish the micro solution once every 1.5 months on my really large tank, and once every 200 days on my smaller tanks