Journal Frank's Dutch Attempt

[fablau]

View attachment 5156
Here is the riccia in my 40. Stuck through everything. I clear it out every month or so but never get it all. All it takes is one tiny piece.

For duckweed netting everyday like what @SkaleyAquatics said, netting works the best for me. When I had rainbow cichlids they would it all of it, they left other plants alone but present other issues with rearranging the tank to their liking.

Wow, I really couldn't think of Riccia being a pest like that... wondering how to get rid of it!

 

[Burr740]

At least duckweed floats, riccia fragments get in everything

Late '21 I murdered the index finger on my planting hand w/a pair of scissors. Had it surgically repaired (which broke but thats another story) and it was months before I could use that hand again especially underwater

Its amazing the muscle coordination we develop in the planting hand, Id never thought much about it. The first few times I tried it with the other hand it was like trying to write with the hand I dont write with. So awkward and clumsy just trying to plant a stem with tweezers, lol

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Moss can be just as much of a pest, especially if it has time to anchor!

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Yeah the tank definitely looks fuller it looks great. I’m glad you sprung for that anubias it’s a great addition to have.

 

[FrankZ]

Green slime is on the retreat, I think. I have some cyano treatment on hand just in case. I am kind of stumped as to what caused the slime this since I haven’t been uprooting anything.

Growth and color haven’t suffered at all with the reduced light intensity so I might just keep rolling with it since the work load is much less now.

The groups definitely need be topped and replanted shortly. The aerial roots on the persicaria are ridiculous. Rugosa side shoots do not want to cooperate by growing up when the main stem is trimmed out. They just keep going horizontal. I think some patience will fix all - definitely need it for my shoulder since it’s feeling good but I am still not allowed to use it.

 

[FrankZ]

It has been a while since I have updated things here. I have been concentrating on healing and dealing with a green monster that won’t die. I’m certain the issue is in the filter as that is the only thing I haven’t tried yet mainly because I can’t get the hoses off with one hand, maybe I can bribe the kiddos with some Robucks to help dear ol’ Dad fix his 75 gallon slime ranch.



Behold, my pretty, pretty slime! It always starts here and then sloughs off to get stuck on the plants down stream. I clean this off and peroxide it every week but it comes back. The photo doesn’t show it but it actually starts above the water like where that white sleeve attaches to the reactor outlet. It’s not 100% water tight there so a bit trickles out.

see the slime in the downoi? It cleans up easy and will stay gone for a few days after cleaning but always comes back by day 5 or 6 when I go back to weekly water changes.

Looks pretty good from further away. The rotala tulu was looking great in the right corner until I trimmed to expand the group. Now it’s sad and pouting with the bottom leaves turned brown. The rotal florida disappeared into the green slime mess somewhere. I do have it growing emersed in a frog tank so I can try it again once it gains some strength.

The right side needs a moss wall bad but I’m not even going attempt that with the slime issue. The fern and anubias walls are bad enough with collecting the slime, can’t even begin to think how bad moss would be.

 

[Joel Armstrong]

It has been a while since I have updated things here. I have been concentrating on healing and dealing with a green monster that won’t die. I’m certain the issue is in the filter as that is the only thing I haven’t tried yet mainly because I can’t get the hoses off with one hand, maybe I can bribe the kiddos with some Robucks to help dear ol’ Dad fix his 75 gallon slime ranch.

View attachment 5449

Behold, my pretty, pretty slime! It always starts here and then sloughs off to get stuck on the plants down stream. I clean this off and peroxide it every week but it comes back. The photo doesn’t show it but it actually starts above the water like where that white sleeve attaches to the reactor outlet. It’s not 100% water tight there so a bit trickles out.

see the slime in the downoi? It cleans up easy and will stay gone for a few days after cleaning but always comes back by day 5 or 6 when I go back to weekly water changes.

Looks pretty good from further away. The rotala tulu was looking great in the right corner until I trimmed to expand the group. Now it’s sad and pouting with the bottom leaves turned brown. The rotal florida disappeared into the green slime mess somewhere. I do have it growing emersed in a frog tank so I can try it again once it gains some strength.

The right side needs a moss wall bad but I’m not even going attempt that with the slime issue. The fern and anubias walls are bad enough with collecting the slime, can’t even begin to think how bad moss would be.

Only the first pic of the filter outputs are visible to me, the other images aren't visible, even when I click on them.

 

[FrankZ]

Only the first pic of the filter outputs are visible to me, the other images aren't visible, even when I click on them.

Thanks for letting me know! See if that fixes. I copy pasta the post and I think the pictures got messed up in the process. They are showing up double on my phone now.

 

[Joel Armstrong]

Thanks for letting me know! See if that fixes. I copy pasta the post and I think the pictures got messed up in the process. They are showing up double on my phone now.

I can see the pictures now

 

[OmidNiav]

It has been a while since I have updated things here. I have been concentrating on healing and dealing with a green monster that won’t die. I’m certain the issue is in the filter as that is the only thing I haven’t tried yet mainly because I can’t get the hoses off with one hand, maybe I can bribe the kiddos with some Robucks to help dear ol’ Dad fix his 75 gallon slime ranch.

View attachment 5449

Behold, my pretty, pretty slime! It always starts here and then sloughs off to get stuck on the plants down stream. I clean this off and peroxide it every week but it comes back. The photo doesn’t show it but it actually starts above the water like where that white sleeve attaches to the reactor outlet. It’s not 100% water tight there so a bit trickles out.
View attachment 5450

see the slime in the downoi? It cleans up easy and will stay gone for a few days after cleaning but always comes back by day 5 or 6 when I go back to weekly water changes.
View attachment 5451

Looks pretty good from further away. The rotala tulu was looking great in the right corner until I trimmed to expand the group. Now it’s sad and pouting with the bottom leaves turned brown. The rotal florida disappeared into the green slime mess somewhere. I do have it growing emersed in a frog tank so I can try it again once it gains some strength.

The right side needs a moss wall bad but I’m not even going attempt that with the slime issue. The fern and anubias walls are bad enough with collecting the slime, can’t even begin to think how bad moss would be.

What's your maintenance routine? What's the ferts routine? above all how is general plant health and growth?

 

[FrankZ]

What's your maintenance routine? What's the ferts routine? above all how is general plant health and growth?

4.5/1.5/6 NPK, I do a double dose on water changed day. Then two single doses every other day

Micros are BurrAqua 0.15 x 3 times per week.

50% water change every Friday with 35/7 Ca/Mg added. Water is RO/DI. No alkalinity added. I vacuum the substrate all over and go heavy with it when I uproot. Canister cleaning was every other month haven’t been able to do it since late April.

CO2 is 1.2-1.3 pH drop with @Yugang reactor.

Above all plants are growing great! So is the slime. The slime started right around mid June. It’s not terrible by any stretch it just won’t go away with normal husbandry. I need to clean the filter somehow.

 

[OmidNiav]

4.5/1.5/6 NPK, I do a double dose on water changed day. Then two single doses every other day

Looks like someone has talked to Joe

I know life gets in the way but doing twice weekly maintenance for a couple of weeks makes things improve. The more frequent you remove the algae and spores and organics the better the overall health of the tank. Even if you just quickly remove 50% water and replace/dose without vacuuming it would help. Filter maintenance could also be a factor here but I do it maybe two/three times a year!

Best of luck

 

[FrankZ]

Looks like someone has talked to Joe

I know life gets in the way but doing twice weekly maintenance for a couple of weeks makes things improve. The more frequent you remove the algae and spores and organics the better the overall health of the tank. Even if you just quickly remove 50% water and replace/dose without vacuuming it would help. Filter maintenance could also be a factor here but I do it maybe two/three times a year!

Best of luck

Yep. I bought his pre made ferts before my surgery to avoid extra arm strain. I was doing two or three water changes a week towards the end of June. It certainly helped but as soon as I went back to weekly it does this. I’m gonna McGyver something to get the hoses off one handed tomorrow.

 

[OmidNiav]

Yep. I bought his pre made ferts before my surgery to avoid extra arm strain. I was doing two or three water changes a week towards the end of June. It certainly helped but as soon as I went back to weekly it does this. I’m gonna McGyver something to get the hoses off one handed tomorrow.

OR.... if you are physically unable to do that get some sort of hose attached to your outputs and run the filter while shaking it. It will drain the water from the tank that would count as a large water change and at least empties some of the gunk from your filters. Repeat!

Of course it is not as good as a proper filter maintenance but should count for something!

 

[OmidNiav]

Another thing that could help would be an inline UV unit for a while

 

[FrankZ]

Got the kids to help get the hoses off the filter and carry it to the driveway. This FX4 is quite heavy when full of water. They earned their allowance today.

It was filled with brown slime that looked just like the green slime in the tank. I should have taken pictures of it. Boy was it a nasty mess. The filter is completely clean of the gunk now.

Got in another round of vacuuming and general maintenance after we got the filter going again. Fingers crossed that was it.

Since I use a pH meter almost daily for work I always do a spot check when I change water. Oddly enough it has come up 0.4 since cleaning the filter. It was sitting at 5.6 consistently after water changes now it’s sitting at 6.0. I’m going to keep an eye on that for the next few days.

 

[FrankZ]

This slime is a real go getter. 3 days after a water change and it’s almost totally covered the fern. It’s thick on the downoi and wrapped around the Sal Paulo stems as well. Kind of at a loss.

Plants are growing great they just are getttitng smothered in this stuff. Probably going to do MWF water changes for a few weeks if I can swing it time wise to see if that helps.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Something is definitely off. But strangely your plants seem to be growing quite well regardless. Odd indeed, but btw those pink tops on the Hygrophila look awesome

 

[Art]

Is it cyano?

 

[FrankZ]

Is it cyano?

It could be. It doesn’t stink and is pretty string like even though it grows in sheets. Feels very silky to the touch. If that is even a word.