When Nitrate And Phosphate Reach 0 - Disaster Strikes

[jimbooo]

Hi everyone.

i thought i;d hold off this thread until i posted in the example tanks pin )

so i went on a weeks holiday a couple of weeks ago. before i went i refilled the co2 and did 25% water change (before EI).

nitrate was about 5ppm when i left phosphate about 0.5ppm

got back to this!!!!

12G (rekord 60)

needless to say the riccia was not very happy and nor was I

40G looked like this (didn't take a full tank shot for some reason)

after a total gutting of the 12G and major backache sorting the 40G were back to normal.

what do you think of the new 12G look, needs to grow out but i kind of like the extra space

thought you'd like to see why EI is so beneficial. the theory is (with EI) your nutrient levels can never drop to levels that would cause the above disaster. with high light tanks it can go horribly wrong very quickly if your not fertalising enough.

hope you enjoyed that, i did not

 

[Bloo]

Crikey Holy Schmoley you really should know better now and not go on holidays anymore () - didn't some similar disaster happen last time either (if I remember correctly)

 

[jimbooo]

oh yeah, totally forgot about that. well remembered.

it's a tent in the garden from now on!

 

[lljdma06]

Had a small algae problem, didn't we jimbooo? Glad you were able to fix it. I am dreading going on Christmas break this year.

 

[Walt]

OucH!

I just went down to Jamaica for 5 days, and while i was gone, i shut off 130watts of my 170watts... ie i only left (1) 40 watt tube running...
Dropping from 3.4wpg to .8wpg worked great....
The tank was perfect when i returned...

 

[emo]

Looks like a candyfloss machine!

thought you'd like to see why EI is so beneficial. the theory is (with EI) your nutrient levels can never drop to levels that would cause the above disaster. with high light tanks it can go horribly wrong very quickly if your not fertalising enough.

So, what would have happened if you went away after you started EI, when you leave the tank without dosing every day?

 

[Walt]

So, what would have happened if you went away after you started EI, when you leave the tank without dosing every day?

Thats what I did.....
I figured if i took away the light source, the algae wouldnt have a chance...
and returing 5 days later, my nitrate And phosphate were at 0, but without the light, it never had a chance..

The plants just figured it was cloudy for a few days.. B)

 

[RYO]

Thats the same algae as im getting in my 60L + some snotty brown stuff that looks like mini kelp.
Glad you sorted it m8.

 

[zig]

i thought i;d hold off this thread until i posted in the example tanks pin

Good idea gf would'nt have let you in to the new thread pretty nasty though, i have'nt had it that bad.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

ahhh !! im going to go on vacation for a week next week !!!!!!

 

[jimbooo]

Looks like a candyfloss machine!

thought you'd like to see why EI is so beneficial. the theory is (with EI) your nutrient levels can never drop to levels that would cause the above disaster. with high light tanks it can go horribly wrong very quickly if your not fertalising enough.

So, what would have happened if you went away after you started EI, when you leave the tank without dosing every day?

sorry, i didn't explain that so well. the above problem can happen any time. with the traditional fert methods the levels of nutrient are very low, just enough to keep the plants happy. my tank eats 2.5ml NitrAte a day so this could happen very quickly with the old method. with EI the levels are much higher so takes longer to run out. obviously in a week both methods would lead to 0 nitrAte. for holiday situations walt has the right idea, turn some lights off. (i wish i had thought of that)

i thought i;d hold off this thread until i posted in the example tanks pin

Good idea gf would'nt have let you in to the new thread pretty nasty though, i have'nt had it that bad.

i figured it was okay as at least i know what happened and how to sort it out. major pain though

 

[Mr Miagi]

it's a tent in the garden from now on!

LOL!

Man, that was NASTy! But luckily alll is good now!
Still good lookin tans though!

 

[jimbooo]

it's a tent in the garden from now on!

LOL!

Man, that was NASTy! But luckily alll is good now!
Still good lookin tans though!

yeah all sorted now, luckily bost of it came out in one go. the only problem was the riccia it was all entwined in it. had to rip it apart and start again. pulled out a few amazon leaves, replanted baby tears and all's good.

you can imagine my expression when i got home at 6am after a night flight!!

 

[littleimp]

It would be expensive but some marine keepers go down this route.

Look on ebay & purchase a few dosing units (same as used in hospitals for dosing syringes & fluid bags etc) You can pick them up between £20-£50

Place chemicals in dosers & set up timers/dose level etc.

Have a great holiday knowing the tank should be okey dokey when you arrive.

 

[Bloo]

It would be expensive but some marine keepers go down this route.

Look on ebay & purchase a few dosing units (same as used in hospitals for dosing syringes & fluid bags etc) You can pick them up between £20-£50

Place chemicals in dosers & set up timers/dose level etc.

Have a great holiday knowing the tank should be okey dokey when you arrive.

Can you give us a link or something ? I wouldn't have a clue what to look for sounds intriguing.
All I found in eBay was this contraption and some dog worming device of sorts