Help with Dwarf Sag

[Byron]

Good to know about the EXCEL.. I will certainly look into that. I will probably keep the meter though, I am an engineering guy and I love information and monitoring so im curious about the CO2 cycle in the tank. Also, I dont have enough experience with keeping live plants and having those extra kits that can tell me whats going on with my water has really helped recently. I will increase water changes though because I fell behind on them.

I already knew the light would throw the tank at least a little, Some leaves have gotten a little lighter on the anubias, so im also monitoring to make sure the new intensity isn't burning them. and reduced the light cycle to 8 hours. Are there any CO2 regulating methods that are cheaper than getting a regulator? Perhaps a guide on how to DIY rig a regulator?

Other members who dabble in CO2 will have to answer you. I have never bothered with it because I recognize the natural CO2 and it balances my light. I stay with natural or low-tech systems because the fish are primary, the plants just have to fit in.

 

[Fishguy134]

Be careful with those additives. Without sufficient intensity light to drive photosynthesis, all the fertilizers in the world willnot help the plants because they cannot use them. That means these are getting inside the fish.

The Eco-Complete according to most who have tried it is a waste of money. I set up my 70g with Flourite, a near-identical substrate according to the technical data, and found it useless. Plus, it is sharp (both are), and your loaches should not be over this. Sand is your overall best substrate, a darkish (= never white) smooth sand. Plants will grow as well in sand as they will in any substrate.

About the loaches, I was very concerned at first, because when I first got it I immediately noticed it was rocky volcanic substrate, and I didn't know that at first. it even hurt my fingers a little. HOWEVER, after a month of living with it, the loaches seem to be have no problems digging deep into it. In fact, the little buggers keep uprooting my plants. I frequently observe them and they dont seem to have any damage from digging. I also left patches of pure sand underneath and around their favorite hiding spots so they dont hurt themselves digging caves. I have natural large holes in many of my smooth rocks, and my yoyo loach seems to love these.

The eco-complete is sort of acting as a cap for the sand at the moment and the sand has settled to the bottom. I can't say yet if the eco-complete and sand, (which I selected for higher iron levels for the dwarf sag) is doing better than just the black and white sand. Currently my new growths seem to be because I got a more powerful LED lamp and not much else. I guess time will tell if this substrate combination was a good idea or not.

 

[Fishguy134]

Other members who dabble in CO2 will have to answer you. I have never bothered with it because I recognize the natural CO2 and it balances my light. I stay with natural or low-tech systems because the fish are primary, the plants just have to fit in.

I'm trying not to over diagnose things and accidentally kill everything because I tried to over-engineer my tank environment. I agree with you here, theres probably no reason to mess with the CO2 unless you either dont have enough fish or you have too many plants. I will just watch things and let the BBA play itself out. I'll keep microdosing the minerals that my R/O water denies the plants. I'll be wary of the Excel as well, maybe a last resort BBA treatment, but algae is honestly just a symptom, and its not that harmful to plants unless its covering them. As they say "treat the disease not the symptoms", I've had algae problems in the past die out by just letting the algae propagate, keeping it off of my plants, and doing more frequent water changes.