Stan's freshwater 240 gallon extravaganza. Trials and tribulations of a sunlit aquarium

[Stan510]

Updated photos from today. Bigger 1200gph pump,Bolbitis now growing well in off center. Cryptocoryne balansae is taller back plant. Syngonium roots to the far left. Java Moss now looking well and spreading. One other change is the center Sword plant. It used to have long petioles and paddle shaped leaves..it then flowered and morphed after that to the typical sword leaf. No,

don't know why it changed.
More Rainbows and older ones larger.better color.

 

[Stan510]

The silvery streaks on the glass? Are air bubbles!..moving too fast from the pump. No cracks!
The egg rock? Its where the two pumps have the strongest flow to the bottom of the tank. My idea was to see if the Pandas would like it..and I was right..they like to attach to it and rest. Other times they will swim to the surface where the flow is really moving and scrape at the algae at the waterline.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Stunning tank, I don't think I've seen pictures of it that aren't back lit from the window, has a completely different look to it. I need more crypts.. was thinking crispulata, to replace a Echinodorus Impai that doesn't seem to want to stay alive for me

 

[Stan510]

Thanks MB. One thing about the lighting...its changing all day. No need for lights that imitate the cycle...The cycle is the rule. I just need enough over head light to balance it all. What I do have would not work alone without the windows help.
But I have learned..low tech and sunlight can get out of hand with algae...so sheer curtains and some overhead shade by potted plants and equipment make for a decent enough growth.

 

[Stan510]

C.crispulata and Ca.balansae are close enough for me to say they might be the best tall plant. No need for Co2 at all to get very large..just light and some ferts.
Crypts in general are God send for low tech. They never seem to die at worst. Stem plants can melt away in seemingly hours!..after all you spent mail order..lol.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Hmmm, I might swap out the vallis in one of mine for some then if it grows tall. The vallis is a hair algae magnet, always has been. Be good to try something new too. Only problem is that I'll have to wait for it to grow and I'm inpatient lol
Do they grow fast? For crypts

 

[mcordelia]

I agree with @mbsqw1d about the tank looking completely different from this perspective! I love how the rainbows really pop and the different colors of them look so cool. very neat

 

[Stan510]

It's now over 2 weeks of Erythromycin with no water changes. I don't see even a speck of blue green color anywhere. I don't even see brown algae..black tufts gone.
I'm really going to hate to see anything return as water changes are made again. I think its asking too much for this near perfection the last week has been. Never had that before!..lol..struggles plenty.

 

[Stan510]

Crypts take time to establish roots. Not especially long though,and try some root ferts when it gets going. That will give you a growth spurt. More light the better for the tall Crypts.

 

[Stan510]

I was going to make a water change today..but then thought,why? No tint,no algae to speak of,water is clear. Maybe go three weeks with no change?
I do though twice a week add about 6 or 7 gallons total to make up for evaporation. Otherwise that big pump sucks in loud amounts of air. Normally you hear a trickle,babbling brook sound.
Three lessons..iron and erythromycin,and a big mofo pump can do wonders for aquariums health. Seen it.
TFF has the best emojis..crack me up!

 

[mbsqw1d]

I was going to make a water change today..but then thought,why? No tint,no algae to speak of,water is clear. Maybe go three weeks with no change?
I do though twice a week add about 6 or 7 gallons total to make up for evaporation. Otherwise that big pump sucks in loud amounts of air. Normally you hear a trickle,babbling brook sound.
Three lessons..iron and erythromycin,and a big mofo pump can do wonders for aquariums health. Seen it.
TFF has the best emojis..crack me up!

Big mofo pump haha, good circulation is indeed key. Reminds me of a Bruce Lee quote; flowing water doesn't go stale, so keep moving... or something like that
What temperature is it keeping at lately? Its cooled down quite a bit now here in the UK, ive recently added a heater to mine to make sure it doesnt drop below 64F for my barbs and danios.
I expect cooler temps have a slowing effect on most things in the aquarium, metabolism of fish, bacteria, algae etc etc..? And so frequency of water changes might change if the temp does drop

 

[Stan510]

I go with 75f -77f(24C) in winters coldest nights,it can drop to 70-72F. If the thermostat sticks on off,it can even go down to 68f and to my arm that feels like antarctica cold.
I really need to order that remote thermostat as hobby heaters are notoriously hard to calibrate,and maintain the right temperature.

 

[mbsqw1d]

I really need to order that remote thermostat as hobby heaters are notoriously hard to calibrate,and maintain the right temperature.

Is that the Inkbird one?

 

[Stan510]

Sounds familiar...somebody here on FF told me about them. You turn your heater all the way up,and the remote digital sensor is set to the temps and turns it on and off. Something like that. $20 isn't too bad.

 

[mcordelia]

don't get the cheapest temperature controller. We had an inkbird on our keezer, and one day all of our beer was room temperature and the thing was set on HEAT (luckily the appliance can't do that...). I think the one we have now is a johnson controls that we got from a friend, seems more reliable.