George's Journal

[George Farmer]

I'll post a few pics in this thread - I'm sure it'll be simple (even for me).

It isn't cheap at £130 but worth it for the easy life! It's all birthday money anyway so the wife can't argue.

 

[iggy01]

Just ordered my pressurized CO2 - will arrive tomorrow. It's like Christmas Eve when I was a small child all over again

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Stop rubbing it in gf!

We're jealous enough as it is!

 

[Jen]

As I'm starting to get more and more into the planted side of things, I've started accepting the higher costs of things - $400 for lights that was a huge purchase - if its something that going to last a long time, and makes so much more sence than the alternative. I have no plans on going to a bigger tank anytime soon (90 is a great size... this could be my tank for life), so why not spend a bit more if I know I can use it for 'ever'?

I've been thinking about going pressurized too. More expensive in the get go, but so much easier, it lasts longer and is inexpensive to refill. Not to mention no more yeast and sugar!

Once I bounce back from the light purchase, I'll probably look into it as well.

 

[houndour]

Sounds good canoechic. I think on a 90 gallon going pressurised is a good thing. You must struggle to get good readings with DIY?

Have we seen pics of your tank?

GF - you know you're going to start a trend in pressurised co2 now! I nearly bought one the day I started out, but thought it was a bit silly spending that much, but now having bought 2 nutrafins I may as well have gone pressurised from the start. Oh well. It'll have to wait as money is going on new tank

 

[George Farmer]

Once I bounce back from the light purchase, I'll probably look into it as well.

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I'd definitely consider it (I seem to remember suggesting it ages ago when you first bought your 90G). Stable 30ppm CO2 combined with your lighting and (soon to be) fert schedule will reward you with awesome results - and no algae!

 

[Jen]

Sounds good canoechic. I think on a 90 gallon going pressurised is a good thing. You must struggle to get good readings with DIY?
Have we seen pics of your tank?

Suprisingly, My CO2 is a little on the high side. I'm getting upwards of 35mg/l, and I've tried 1 1/2 teasp, and 1 1/4 teasp, and the amount hasn't gone down at all. I'm going to try going down to 1 teasp of yeast and see if it goes down any.

Pics of my tank (before the outbreak of cloudy and horribly green water) are seen here - my tank

GF-
Anything to be rid of the algae! Suprisingly, I think I've done pretty well with the algae. I know why I got it, dealt with it and moved on to the next kind. The tank needs a bit more maintenace now pulling out all the affected leaves, but other than than things are looking good. I do have a bit of plant growth going on, but nowhere near as much as I had in the beginning. On advice from a few guys at my LFS I picked up a few CAE's who apparently love hair algae. If they don't do the trick, I may take them back. I need to reserve the space for my angels (I caved and picked a few up)

The co2 wouldn't make the cloudy water go away, right?

I'll just have to look around me to see where I can buy the parts and re-fill the tank when necessary. I really should talk to the guys here at work (I work in a hospital and the engineering guys are my friend - I got a 4 bulb ballast that mysteriously dissapeared. lol.)

 

[George Farmer]

The co2 wouldn't make the cloudy water go away, right?

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I've had a thought - are you still using bi-carb in your recipe? If you are try without (even if your water is soft), I know it's a long shot but the cloudiness may have something to do with the frothing in your DIY CO2. I may be talking rubbish but it's worth a try.

 

[Jen]

Anything's worth a try at this point. The pH is 6.6 right now - last time I tested i think it may have been 6.4. I'm due to change it tonight anyway, so that works out perfectly. I think I'll keep the yeast the same instead of decreasing it as well. Don't want to be tinkering with too many variables at once - then I won't know what worked.

 

[zig]

Just ordered my pressurized CO2 - will arrive tomorrow. It's like Christmas Eve when I was a small child all over again

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Lucky sod, should be great, you will soon forget the poor plebs still mixing and fiddling with diy units, agree with jimboo a few pics and details as to how to set it up would be good for all of us aspireing for the same.

 

[zig]

The co2 wouldn't make the cloudy water go away, right? 

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I've had a thought - are you still using bi-carb in your recipe? If you are try without (even if your water is soft), I know it's a long shot but the cloudiness may have something to do with the frothing in your DIY CO2. I may be talking rubbish but it's worth a try.

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I read somewhere recently on a fairly reputable site that a good way to test if you still have green water is to get a white bucket and pour some tank water in and if it has a green tint to it well then you still have the remenents of green water, but if the water is clear then its a bacterial bloom if your water is cloudy.

Did you ever hear or read anything like that?

 

[George Farmer]

Did you ever hear or read anything like that?

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Sounds perfectly logical - a great idea IMO.

 

[iggy01]

Did you ever hear or read anything like that?

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Yes, I've seen that before too.

Green water doesn't always look green in the tank. Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between a bacterial bloom and an algae bloom. I've always understood if it's green water, the tank will get cloudier as the day goes on. If it's a bacterial bloom the cloudiness doesn't change.

Not sure if the white bucket trick would work in all scenarios though.

I think it would be worth a try though!

 

[Jen]

I read somewhere recently on a fairly reputable site that a good way to test if you still have green water is to get a white bucket and pour some tank water in and if it has a green tint to it well then you still have the remenents of green water, but if the water is clear then its a bacterial bloom if your water is cloudy.

Did you ever hear or read anything like that?

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When I went through my bout of green water (it was visably green), towards the end there wasn't much tint in the water, but I was collecting in a pail (just happened to be white) to wash my filter media in. There was deffinately a slight colouring to it, even when the tank didnt look it. The stuff I have right now has no colour to it at all, but I'll test again tonight when I clean the filter again.

 

[George Farmer]

I'm now pressurized!

It works a treat, the diffuser seems more efficicient than the Nutrafins as I'm getting 30ppm CO2 with just 20 bubbles per minute. I'll post pics soon, setting up etc.

I'm off to the Yorkshire Dales for two weeks tomorrow so I won't be very active on the forum.

Any major issues that need a mod then PM Lateral Line. Hopefully there won't be.

Be good and keep it balanced everyone!

 

[nodding_dino]

can't wait to hear more about the pressurised system! Have a great time away too!