Here I grow again

[Lady Hobbs]

I simply repotted a plant 3 days ago and got tossed again into the algae from hell. Three weeks and 3 major blooms.

Today I had it. Sick of moving fish in and out of this tank. I dumped all the fluorite, added new gravel (hey chrona......clown puke is gone) and have put the plants right in the gravel. And here we go cycling again. If the plants don't make it now, they just don't make it and I can simply pull them out without moving the fish all over the place.

I have angels fighting, featherfins fighting, silver dollars hiding and everything stressed out from putting them together each time I have these horrible aglae blooms.

I'm over it!

So......now I need some type of root tabs. What kind do I buy or are the ones for small house plants ok........Jobes?......or do I need a special kind for the tank? I may also try some peat plates but for now needed a break from this tank and need to think of the fish for awhile instead of these blasted plants.

[Chrona]

Flourish tabs work great. You should not need Jobes sticks. In fact, they may leech too much nitrates/phosphates into the water.

[Lady Hobbs]

OKEY-DOKEY

And where is cocoa-pleco? No one has given me the business for 3 days and I'm getting lonesome.

[Drumachine09]

OKEY-DOKEY

And where is cocoa-pleco? No one has given me the business for 3 days and I'm getting lonesome.


Awww, hobbs is going into withdrawl. Aint that cute! lol

[Lady Hobbs]

So, where is the little twip?

I had some excitement last night sitting here at the computer playing Chuzzle. Now, here I am not even 3 feet from my "problem" tank but noticed nothing going on until my feet got wet! I had unhooked the end of my airline going into my CO2 but left the other end attached inside the bubble counters with the airlines hanging out of the tank. Apparently my airstone was pushing the water back up thru that tubing and it was pouring all over the floor as I sat here engrossed in this Chuzzle game. The water level had dropped enough that the pump was gurgling so at least 4 inches. Carpet is still soaked.

I thought for sure the tank had broken so was happy to see all was OK there but had a nice wet carpet and bedspread.

[Drumachine09]

Happy friday the 13th. lol

Dumb plant question.

I have seen lights with x amount of ks. i have seen 2 compact flourecent 6500k lights. Is that good?

[Lady Hobbs]

Yes, that's good.

[Drumachine09]

Yes, that's good.

Cool, because i now have two of them for my saltwater, for a total of 40 watts! yay.

Hobbs, think your having a bad day, listen to my moms story.


My mom was driving to work, and there was this semi in the left lane, and a pickup in the right. SHe was behind the pickup, and he was going from 45 to 50 to 60 and back down to 45mph. She got into the left lane and went behind the semi. When the truck pulled away, she got back in the right lane. Soon a highway patrol man was pulling her over. Apparently, the wichita police department has nothing better to do, but to rig a semi with cameras, and nail people that "were following too close" I would have told them to shove it up their arse and blow it out their ears, but my mom was calm, cool, and collective, and only got a warning.

Then, went she went to Walmart, her debit card said she didnt have any money, but she just put her paycheck in her account today!

Im glad, i wasnt in her shoes.



A quick tip for drying up the water, if you have a carpet cleaner, load it up with one full busket of water, and a half to full bottle of isopropyl alcohol. Then clean the carpet that got wet. The alcohol makes the water evaporate faster. Or you could probobly rub some alcohol into the carpet. i dunno, thats what my mom always done.


Hope your day gets better.

[Lady Hobbs]

I keep walking thru it in socks. I now have 20 pair of wet socks in the laundry but it's drying out. LOL Along with all the wet towels from last night.

I didn't know this light was for a saltwater tank. Not into that so don't know but it doesn't sound like enough wattage for saltwater. Need to ask Chrona or someone that knows more..........which would be everyone but me. Surely compact lights must give you more than 40 watts?

[Drumachine09]

I keep walking thru it in socks. I now have 20 pair of wet socks in the laundry but it's drying out. LOL Along with all the wet towels from last night.

I didn't know this light was for a saltwater tank. Not into that so don't know but it doesn't sound like enough wattage for saltwater. Need to ask Chrona or someone that knows more..........which would be everyone but me.


I have, and 60 watts would be prime, but the lfs has only 1 40 watt light over a full 55 with the mushrooms i want to grow, so i have 4 watts per gallon, where they have less than one. I think i should be ok. If i remember correctly, the guy at the lfs said that 6500k would be good, but 10000k would be better. Sorry for hijacking your thread...

Have fun with the wet sock heap!

[Chrona]

I have, and 60 watts would be prime, but the lfs has only 1 40 watt light over a full 55 with the mushrooms i want to grow, so i have 4 watts per gallon, where they have less than one. I think i should be ok. If i remember correctly, the guy at the lfs said that 6500k would be good, but 10000k would be better. Sorry for hijacking your thread...

Have fun with the wet sock heap!

yep, 10000k is better. You need a roughly even mix of 10000k and actinic for corals.

[Rue]

...hmmm...

...these stories are making my 12 year old's and my husband's meltdown at the soccer store a lot less traumatic than it was a minute ago...:hmm3grin2orange:

[Drumachine09]

yep, 10000k is better. You need a roughly even mix of 10000k and actinic for corals.

What exactly is actinic?

EDIT: scratch that. I just read an article that said that corals prefer 5500-10000 k, and it said the actinic blue is for asthetic purposes. Is this true?

[Chrona]

What exactly is actinic?

EDIT: scratch that. I just read an article that said that corals prefer 5500-10000 k, and it said the actinic blue is for asthetic purposes. Is this true?

In a planted tank yes, it's mostly just aesthetics. In a reef tank, actinic light (produces light of a specific wavelength - 420-460 nanometers) is required for coral growth. Corals are normally found in20-30 ft depth, where red light has been all but filtered out, which is why all reef tank lights are bluish (10000k+)

[Drumachine09]

In a planted tank yes, it's mostly just aesthetics. In a reef tank, actinic light (produces light of a specific wavelength - 420-460 nanometers) is required for coral growth. Corals are normally found in20-30 ft depth, where red light has been all but filtered out, which is why all reef tank lights are bluish (10000k+)

So now your saying i wasted 30 bucks?

[Chrona]

So now your saying i wasted 30 bucks?

No 6500k is fine. You do need actinics as well though.

[Drumachine09]

Well, how do i go about getting those. Some incandecent bulbs are colored blue. I could piggy-back another light. Do the blue bulbs mean they are actinic? I pretty much need the cheapest solution possible

[Chrona]

Well, how do i go about getting those. Some incandecent bulbs are colored blue. I could piggy-back another light. Do the blue bulbs mean they are actinic? I pretty much need the cheapest solution possible

I don't think they have actinic incandescents. Perhaps switch a 6500k bulb for an actinic?

Check with reptileguy first though, but I'm almost 100% positive you have to have proper actinic lighting

[Drumachine09]

I don't think they have actinic incandescents. Perhaps switch a 6500k bulb for an actinic?

Check with reptileguy first though, but I'm almost 100% positive you have to have proper actinic lighting


...fudge...

[willisrad]

Sorry to hear your plants are driving you crazy!
I have mine straight into the gravel, and they all took it fine except for my moneywort.

The roots kept on getting rootrot and then the plant wood float to the top.

I have it just kind of sitting in a fishless betta bowl until I either give up, or put them in some other way. They really don't like the little weights though.

[Lady Hobbs]

It's do or die right where they are. I can't keep having all that algae covering everything and the fish like it even less than I do.

[Drumachine09]

It's do or die right where they are. I can't keep having all that algae covering everything and the fish like it even less than I do.


When you say algea bloom, does that mean the algea covers everything? or is it just a little. (from the way you portray it, it sounds like you have quite the problem) Good luck with it.

[Lady Hobbs]

Everything. So slimy the plants were hanging from the weight of it and once again the wood needed scrubbing. Plants can't live in that stuff. They breathe thru their leaves so covering them in goo is of no help.

I just don't get it. I don't know why just moving around a small area to pot a plant can cause such an uproar in the whole tank. I don't care for the fluorite. I don't like the color, I don't like that I can't do anything in the tank without sending up red dust on all the plants, plants coming up from the soil and I don't like this algae problem. My next project will be to try the EcoComplete.

You think I'd give it up but Hobbs is determined to master this yet. I am happy that I took this project on in a small tank, however.

My onion plants are now nearly to the waters surface. They should be used in a much taller tank.

[Chrona]

Everything. So slimy the plants were hanging from the weight of it and once again the wood needed scrubbing. Plants can't live in that stuff. They breathe thru their leaves so covering them in goo is of no help.

I just don't get it. I don't know why just moving around a small area to pot a plant can cause such an uproar in the whole tank. I don't care for the fluorite. I don't like the color, I don't like that I can't do anything in the tank without sending up red dust on all the plants, plants coming up from the soil and I don't like this algae problem. My next project will be to try the EcoComplete.

You think I'd give it up but Hobbs is determined to master this yet. I am happy that I took this project on in a small tank, however.

My onion plants are now nearly to the waters surface. They should be used in a much taller tank.

Was it bluish green? Do a search for blue-green algae and see if that was the cuplrit.

[Lady Hobbs]

It was white the first day but by the second and third day was that color. The fish were all gasping so out they come.