So I wasn't able to get the sand you recommended, I live in a small town and the Home Depot in it, isn't well stocked... I was only able to get King's Premium Play Sand, it is very soft and its not White sand so i am hoping it will work. I can't believe how much cheaper the play sand is compared to the LFS sand!
Anyways, I think my project for this weekend will be to slowly remove the E-C substrate from the tank and replace it with the sand, however, I am not sure if its a good idea. I don't want to remove to much substrate from my tank is now cycling again...i also don't want to stress the Tetras. Should I wait a week to see if the tank cycles or do you think i could do a water change and remove some of the substrate?
That play sand should be OK. Play sand is the most refined of commercial sands, to make it safe for children to "play" with. I contacted Quikrete about this a while back. And yes, it is inexpensive; I spent $180 for Flourite for my 70g; when I took it out and used play sand, the sand cost me $14 (two 25 kg bags). Aquarium sand might not be as expensive as Flourite, but it is still expensive.
I prefer changing substrates completely at one go, and I have done this many times over the last several years. I now have play sand in all 8 tanks. Remember that with live plants, and some fast growers, you do not worry about "cycling." I would however remove the tetras, so you can do the whole tank at one go in less time. A spare 20g (or 10g here) is worth having for emergencies, and you can use water fro the existing tank, and use the filter/heater in the spare (depending, heaters can overheat small tanks).
Readings from this morning:
pH 7.0-7.2
Ammonia: 0-0.10
Nitrites: 0.25-0.50
Nitrates: 30ppm maybe 40ppm
The high nitrates bother me. With new substrate and fresh water the ammonia and nitrite will (or should) be zero. Nitrate will be zero too, presumably, if the substrate and bacterial substances are the cause. You have tested your source water on its own for nitrate? Though if RO there should be no nitrates there. So it is the other, but I would test it just to be certain.
I added a few flourish tabs around my swords to ensure they get enough nutrients, and I added a few more tabs around my other plant clusters I didn't go over the top though. I also picked up some Seachem Iron and Phosphorous.. With my red leaf plants I know I will need to add a bit more Iron, and the Phosphorous is just for emergencies.
One Flourish Tab next to each of the large sword plants is all you need; Seachem says to replace them every 3-4 months. In my experiment mentioned previously I have been replacing them every 6-8 weeks, but I recently discovered that they are about half dissolved in that time frame, so I have extended the time. They are not inexpensive.
Seachem Iron might be useful; I use this in one tank for my red tiger lotus, and crypts. The crypts do not have root tabs. I tried this when doing two doses of Flourish Comprehensive weekly caused brush algae to increase dramatically. The iron alone seems to help the tiger lotus, without causing algae. But iron overdosed can do this.
You will never, ever need phosphorus. There is more in fish food than plants in a low-tech setup require. This is certainly a cause of algae problems, and in a new tank things are not balanced for a few months so it is even more important to go minimal with additives. I have learned over the past couple of years (in solving a problem in one tank) that we generally use too much of plant additives, in thee mistaken view than more will mean better plants. Not so. Plants' requirement for nutrients is less than we might think (high-tech setups are different obviously) and this is driven by light [I'll come back to this]. And all these additives get inside the fish, and that should be a concern of any aquarist.
I was able to pick up some Water Sprites (2) and Water Lettuce (5) from my LFS, I think I actually might go again and grab a few more later this afternoon (they are on sale), I did end up adjusting my power-heads and filter jets a bit, as my poor Water Lettuce were just getting blown across the surface. Any ideas how I can keep them in one place?
Once the Water Sprite and Water Lettuce are settled, you will have more plants than you can handle. I toss out both every water change. Water Sprite produces daughter plants on the alternate fronds (fronds rather than leaves as this is a true fern) and you can gently pull them off when they are a couple inches as new plants. I usually toss out the huge older plants as the daughter plants grow.
Sounds like you may have too much surface movement. I have my canister filter returns (spray bar on one tank, spigot on another) at one end, opposite the intake, aimed into the end wall so there is some surface disturbance at that end but not elsewhere.
Now quick question about lighting. Right now I have a 48in Single tube (Life-Glo) and a 24in Single Tube (Sun-Glo) currently lighting my tank.. The Life Glo is situated over the back portion where most of my plants are and acts as the main source of light it runs from 6am (when I leave for work) to 6pm (when I get home). The 24'' Sun-Glo I run on a timer which turns on around noon and goes till about 3pm. (Simulate when Sun is highest and most direct in sky). I then also use the 24'' light to simulate dusk. (6-8pm) I switch off the main light and only have the 24'' light on. So my question is should i keep this set up? i.e 1 48'' and 1 24'' as well as the bulbs I am using? Or should I switch to 1 Double 48'' light and mix the lighting (Life-Glo and... recommendations?)
Both lights should be on together, for the photoperiod. Reducing the light is not helpful to plants at all. For one thing, this is minimal light over a 75 gallon (which I will assume is a 4-foot tank much like my 70g); light intensity drivees photosynthesis, primarily red but also blue. The green in the red/blue mix of the Life-Glo does improve plant growth, probably because in nature this mix is present in sunlight and it is stronger. So the only time you are going to have good response from the plants is when both tubes are on; this means plant photosynthesis will slow at other times, and algae may well take the advantage.
"Daylight" being the photoperiod of the full light over the tank can be any duration; six hours is usually the minimum advised, with 8-10 hours suggested. But this depends upon thee tank. I have found that my tanks do best with 8 hours of tank light; my 70g has only seven hours. Any more and I see brush algae increasing significantly. See how your present tubes work, both on together for maybe 8 hours; algae is the key. Changing the SunGlo to another Life-Glo may bee helpful, or maybe it will work as is; twiddling with the duration may be needed, or may not.
You could change to two 48-inch T8 tubes (this is T8, not T5, correct?). This would allow you to change to Phillips or Sylvannia tubes, one 6500K and one 5000K. I use these on my 70g and 90g; they are much, much less expensive, around $12 for a pair at Home Depot, compared to $40 for one Life-Glo at a fish store. I use Life-Glo on my smaller single tube tanks, as it is the only one that works, but with dual 4-foot tubes you have the option of the commercial tubes and they are ideal. I've been using Phillips or Sylvannia on these tanks since 1996; two 6500K or one 6500K and one 5000K for a bit more warmth (red) has a good spectrum and very good colour rendition.
On the dawn/dusk issue, this is a good idea if you can operate the tubes individually, but provided there is ambient light in the room when the tank lighting comes on and when it goes off, you are OK. Sudden light changes are highly stressful on fish, but good ambient room light solves this. The room light should be on for about an hour following tank light ending. And both fish and plants must have a period of total and complete darkness, several hours, each 24-hour period. This means no room light, but pitch black. The circadian rhythm of fish is seriously affected otherwise, and plants have a similar botanical process.
You can adjust the photoperiod to be on when you are normally home to enjoy the tank. When I was working and left here at 7 am, getting home at 6 pm, my tank lights came on at noon and off at 8 pm. Now I am retired, they come on at 10 am (11 am for the 70g) and go off at 6 pm. The latter means I can use daylight instead of room lighting at the on/off times, except in winter when I have a room light coming on at 5:50 for an hour to deal with the "dusk."