Rescape feedback and advice

[Coryking]

A few days ago, I gave my fluval roma a slight rescape to give my fish more swimming space. I'm just wondering if anyone has any constructive feedback on how to further improve the tank. I think the right side needs something as it looks quite bare.

The current plants include, cryptocoryne crispatula, myriophyllum mattogrossense, limnophila sessiliflora, bolbitis heudelotii, Echinodorus grisebachii, tiger lotus, small amounts of sagittaria subulata and some rotala rotundifolia

My water is quite hard (around 7.5 PH) which has caused quite a few different plants I've tried to die off. I'm currently running a single sansi grow bulb for lighting. I'm not currently using any fertilizers.

 

[Abaddon]

PH refers to acidity/alkalinity, not hardness. GH & KH are what measures hardness. They're related (as in, high pH is often indicative of hard water and vice versa), but not the same. A pH of 7.5 would be considered close to neutral and is perfectly fine for most aquarium inhabitants - it definitely wouldn't cause plants to die, something else is the culprit here. I'm seeing a TON of algae and debris so I'm guessing something else is off, either the lighting or macros (phosphorus & nitrogen in particular). How often do you do water changes & feed the fish? And why is the water this colour...?

I think the hardscape is the least of your worries atm , but if you want any input here I'd add something on both sides to cover the filter/equipment, which is a bit of an eyesore. It could be either some tall stem plants, long-rooted floaters (water lettuce, frogbit etc.) or just plaint old driftwood or rocks.

 

[Coryking]

Thank you for the feedback

PH refers to acidity/alkalinity, not hardness. GH & KH are what measures hardness.

Last I checked my gh was about 17dh. I don't have a KH tester so I'm not to sure what that would be.

I'm seeing a TON of algae and debris so I'm guessing something else is off, either the lighting or macros (phosphorus & nitrogen in particular). How often do you do water changes & feed the fish? And why is the water this colour...?

The algae is mostly due to my lighting. My light is designed for house plants not aquariums so while it does grow the limnophila well, it does cause a lot of algae. The water colour is also due to this. It is crystal clear when I remove it.
I feed the fish twice a day on e In the morning and once at night for my nocturnal fish. Water changes are done once a week. I have two large monstera and some smaller aquaponics plants coming out of the tank, which I thought would help with phosphorus and nitrogen

I think the hardscape is the least of your worries atm , but if you want any input here I'd add something on both sides to cover the filter/equipment, which is a bit of an eyesore. It could be either some tall stem plants, long-rooted floaters (water lettuce, frogbit etc.) or just plaint old driftwood or rocks.

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll look into some floaters or some hardscape to cover the equipment.

 

[AJ356]

I like the natural look you have.
Unrelated observation, seeing that old style Fluval Internal filter brings back good memories. I loved them.Takes me back about 10 to 15 years that does. Is yours a 3 or a 4?

 

[Abaddon]

The algae is mostly due to my lighting. My light is designed for house plants not aquariums so while it does grow the limnophila well, it does cause a lot of algae.

CO2 supplementation would help with getting rid of the algae and making your plants grow like crazy. If you have high light & plenty of nutrients but low CO2, the plants will not grow as well or as quickly as they could and will likely get outcompeted by algae (which is what seems to be happening in your tank). I realise it's not always doable, but might be worth considering.

 

[Coryking]

I like the natural look you have.
Unrelated observation, seeing that old style Fluval Internal filter brings back good memories. I loved them.Takes me back about 10 to 15 years that does. Is yours a 3 or a 4?

The left filter is a 2 plus the right is a 3. The 2 plus is amazing, it's so powerful for the size and can fit a lot of media. Best filter I ever used. The 3 while decent clogs really fast, not sure if it's the media I use or not.

 

[Coryking]

CO2 supplementation would help with getting rid of the algae and making your plants grow like crazy. If you have high light & plenty of nutrients but low CO2, the plants will not grow as well or as quickly as they could and will likely get outcompeted by algae (which is what seems to be happening in your tank). I realise it's not always doable, but might be worth considering.

Thank you for the information. I have looked into co2 before but it seems so expensive. Most budget options seem to be designed for smaller tanks. Do you think a homemade system would be suitable for the tank (it's about 35 gallons).

 

[AJ356]

The left filter is a 2 plus the right is a 3. The 2 plus is amazing, it's so powerful for the size and can fit a lot of media. Best filter I ever used. The 3 while decent clogs really fast, not sure if it's the media I use or not.

That's interesting. All my old fluval internals were great, 1 to 4. Wish I'd never got rid of them