# 75gal Fully Planted (A few pics)



## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

I have a 75gal tank which was just fully planted about 3 weeks ago I have been dosing weekly potassium nitrate and csm+b I have potassium phosphate but my tank reads at 5.0 so I havent been adding any. I have also been dosing flourish excel about 10ml after water change. I will post a couple pics of the tank so you can see. but when I planted I planted lots of plants just there small plants some have some slow growth and others the leaves are dying and they don't look to good. I have also been fighting algea like twice a week I clean the glass. So any suggetions on what I could do to get this tank under control.

Tank Pic
View attachment 122254


Pic of my Elong and some of the plants
View attachment 122264


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## tonggi (Sep 5, 2006)

good lokign tank

but u gotta take care of some of the plants


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## jackburton (Nov 25, 2003)

maybe ur having probs because your tank is sparsly planted not fully planted.i would add alot more plants.also it could be ur substrate.


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## HOLLYWOOD (Feb 6, 2003)

Reflection from the sun (first pic you can see a reflection of the sun through the blinds) will only encourage algea growth.


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

jackburton said:


> Reflection from the sun (first pic you can see a reflection of the sun through the blinds) will only encourage algea growth.


Well the sun never shines directly at the tank the blinds are always closed and their facing up so the little light that does get through shines up at the ceiling.


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## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer (Aug 22, 2006)

just find good quality fake plants.

Some of the companies make really good ones that are almost impossible to distinguish real from fake. But you cant ignore the benefits of having a real planted tank.

anyways i dont use live plants becuase my reds always drag my plants and put them were they want.


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## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

Nice tank setup Nick. I'm glad the Elong is still doing great! He looks healthy.


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## HOLLYWOOD (Feb 6, 2003)

nswhite said:


> *Reflection* from the sun (first pic you can see a reflection of the sun through the blinds) will only encourage algea growth.


Well the sun never shines directly at the tank the blinds are always closed and their facing up so the little light that does get through shines up at the ceiling.
[/quote]

The picture clearly shows a reflection. My tanks are not directly exposed to sunlight, but the reflection from the sun on the blinds makes algea grow in that area.


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## werdna (Mar 15, 2005)

hows your elnogs temperment?


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Few things... how much light do you have and what spectrum? 31 plants is not that many for a 75g... in my one 75g I have I would guess close to 100 blxya and then another 10 cyperus helferi.

Also, how often are you doing water changes?

Any natural sunlight at all will cause algae to go crazy... no matter if its the smallest amuont or not, as long as algae isnt on your plants, I wouldnt worry too much, even in my tanks that I take really good care of I cant avoid algae on the glass.


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Brandon Rodgers said:


> hows your elnogs temperment?


Its very aggressive the most aggressive I've ever had.


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

It seems your setup is a new one. That is one thing why you are experiencing some algae problems. All new tanks go through a certain set of algae.

As for the plants, your tank is now no way fully planted. You may have enough plant species there, but you really have to wait (or buy some big fast growing plants) till it is fully planted.

It also seems that the only one big plant (Echinodorus bleheri) still has the emerged grown leaves and some new submerged grown ones too. That plant is a good indicator of overall situation of your fertilization. You did not mention the nitrate concentration (hopefully between the margin of 20-40 ppm), but you have a too high phosphate level. Fine that you are not dosing it more.

Harry


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

harrykaa said:


> It seems your setup is a new one. That is one thing why you are experiencing some algae problems. All new tanks go through a certain set of algae.
> 
> As for the plants, your tank is now no way fully planted. You may have enough plant species there, but you really have to wait (or buy some big fast growing plants) till it is fully planted.
> 
> ...


Yes this tank has only had plants in it for 3 weeks. As for the plants I am very limited on the selection here at lfs so I ordered every plant online. I have some dwarf sag in their and want that to carpet the tank. The lfs sells that so I can go pick some more up. Also what you were saying about the (Echinodorus bleheri) indicating my overall situation with having leaves emerged grown leaves and new submerged grown leaves this is good right? And my nitrates are at 20ppm I'm still trying to get my dosing right I keep having to put more nitrate in. Once I find my happy medium with all my ferts than I think I will be doing better. And how long do you think I will be fighting algae?


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## nemo the piranha (Sep 29, 2006)

2 more months and as long as you dont allown natural sunlight into the tank.


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## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

good looking tank


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

I agree that you need *more plants in the tank, and mostly fast growers.*
How much light will determine if you need CO2 or not.

Looks good, I also agree that a new tank usually goes through an algea bloom of some sort, until you start to learn what the tank is wanting, and needing.
Every new tank has it's own challenges that need to be addressed by the caretaker








What type of algea are you getting? pics of it will help, and more detail about how you are running the tank


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Ok today I bought like 20 more plants so that should help alittle.

And to answer Dippys's question. I don't have any pictures right know but its looks like brown algea its on the glass I have to clean the glass and dust off the leaves at least once a week. I have 1.8wpg and I am dosing micros and macros once a week but having to add a little nitrate after about 3 days, Phosphate still at 5.0mg/l. What else would you like to know? Thanks again everybody for the help.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

nswhite said:


> Ok today I bought like 20 more plants so that should help alittle.
> 
> And to answer Dippys's question. I don't have any pictures right know but its looks like brown algea its on the glass I have to clean the glass and dust off the leaves at least once a week. I have 1.8wpg and I am dosing micros and macros once a week but having to add a little nitrate after about 3 days, Phosphate still at 5.0mg/l. What else would you like to know? Thanks again everybody for the help.


sounds like diatoms

50% weekly water changes, and weekly filter media cleanings (in tank water) and manually disrupt/remove the brown stuff before the water changes.
It will go away after a while


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Ok thanks so do I clean all filter media in tank water or half then the other half the next week? When you say in tank water do I take tank water out and out into bucket or something then rinse filter or just rinse it in the tank? Also I'm goin to get some more plants after work today maybe 20 more. I didn't know what the right number of plants to put in from the beggining I figured what I had was enough but I will have about 70 plants do you think that enough? Again thanks for the help


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

nswhite said:


> Ok thanks so do I clean all filter media in tank water or half then the other half the next week? * (all of it, in a bucket)* When you say in tank water do I take tank water out and out into bucket or something then rinse filter or just rinse it in the tank? Also I'm goin to get some more plants after work today maybe 20 more. I didn't know what the right number of plants to put in from the beggining I figured what I had was enough but I will have about 70 plants do you think that enough? Again thanks for the help


the rule is get as many plants in there as you can get. the more the merrier


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Ok I cleaned the filter and media really good with tank water, cleaned the inside of the glass dusted the leaves offf and did 50% water change. Water looks really clear and clean. Hey Dippy I have a quick question for you I have still trying to find my happy medium with my nitrates and after I did my water change I added the nitrates waited awhile and then tested but was low so I did this 3 times through out the night putting in a total of 100ml I mix it I tablespoon to 250ml of water? DOes this sound right it a 75gal. Thanks.


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## watermonst3rs (Feb 15, 2004)

my plants were dying on me also, till i got a co2 diffuser and they exploded in growth. diffusers like 30 bucks or you can diy.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

nswhite said:


> Ok I cleaned the filter and media really good with tank water, cleaned the inside of the glass dusted the leaves offf and did 50% water change. Water looks really clear and clean. Hey Dippy I have a quick question for you I have still trying to find my happy medium with my nitrates and after I did my water change I added the nitrates waited awhile and then tested but was low so I did this 3 times through out the night putting in a total of 100ml I mix it I tablespoon to 250ml of water? DOes this sound right it a 75gal. Thanks.


100ml????
wow that is a lot!You have the right mix, but there has to be something wrong with your test kit.. or something!!
How long were you waiting in between dosing? you should at least wait 2 hrs. or more.
you certainly have tons of nitrate in the tank now.. Unless you dosed the wrong thing.. That can happen too..lol
pics will help in ID'ing the algea if nothing gets better for you.


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Well I didn't wait 2hrs but I tested the nitrates yesterday which is the day after adding the nitrates and it read 20ppm. But for the fist time since I have started the live plants in the tank I got all water peremeters where they need to be. I finally got my pH down its at 7.5 my phosphates are at 3.0. Nitrates at 20. my kh at 5.0 so that makes my c02 where it needs to be and I'm not sure about the csm+b I cant test the water. But I have been putting in 5ml a week and If I put in 10ml I get lots of algae. But i think I was a little off on how much I dosed It was about 80ml not 100 sorry for any confusion does that sound a little better. I figured it was ok because the test read 20ppm and the nitrate test kit isn't even 4 months old so I'm sure its good. But I was thinking maybe I didn't mix my 250ml of water and 1 tablespoon right. But can I put in to much pottasssium? Meaning can I hurt my Elong from to much? Thanks again for the help Dippy. I will try and get a pic up I have to go to my buddies house and get his camera cause I don't have a digital camera yet. So I will do that this weekend


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

nswhite said:


> Well I didn't wait 2hrs but I tested the nitrates yesterday which is the day after adding the nitrates and it read 20ppm. But for the fist time since I have started the live plants in the tank I got all water peremeters where they need to be. I finally got my pH down its at 7.5 my phosphates are at 3.0. Nitrates at 20. my kh at 5.0 so that makes my c02 where it needs to be and I'm not sure about the csm+b I cant test the water. But I have been putting in 5ml a week and If I put in 10ml I get lots of algae. But i think I was a little off on how much I dosed It was about 80ml not 100 sorry for any confusion does that sound a little better. I figured it was ok because the test read 20ppm and the nitrate test kit isn't even 4 months old so I'm sure its good. But I was thinking maybe I didn't mix my 250ml of water and 1 tablespoon right. But can I put in to much pottasssium? Meaning can I hurt my Elong from to much? Thanks again for the help Dippy. I will try and get a pic up I have to go to my buddies house and get his camera cause I don't have a digital camera yet. So I will do that this weekend


well that sounds ok! Whew! I thought you were going to have like 60-80ppm nitrates!

Potassium should be about 20ppm, but you use potassium nitrate, and mono potassium phosphate, so you don't need to add a ton. You should be ok. \
You don't want to over dose anything, but if you are over a bit, you should be much better off than if you were underdosing everything


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Well sunday I will do a water change and make sure I write down how much it takes so I don't forget I will also test my water every 2hrs. Hopefully It wont be as much. I will also be remixing me a new bottle of 250ml and 1tbsp of pottassium nitrate. I will let you know what those come out at after my water change. Also I finally got the dosing right but I still am having algae problems but this time its not on the glass or the plants (yet). The water is green when you look through it greenish a murky (I hope thats spelt right) Do you think this is because I used to much csm+b or not enough? I been dosing csm+b on the day after my nitrates and excel. only 5ml of csm+b and 20ml of excel. Does thats sounds about right? Thanks Dippy


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

nswhite said:


> Well sunday I will do a water change and make sure I write down how much it takes so I don't forget I will also test my water every 2hrs. Hopefully It wont be as much. I will also be remixing me a new bottle of 250ml and 1tbsp of pottassium nitrate. I will let you know what those come out at after my water change. Also I finally got the dosing right but I still am having algae problems but this time its not on the glass or the plants (yet). The water is green when you look through it greenish a murky (I hope thats spelt right) Do you think this is because I used to much csm+b or not enough? I been dosing csm+b on the day after my nitrates and excel. only 5ml of csm+b and 20ml of excel. Does thats sounds about right? Thanks Dippy


read the bottle on the excell. It says 1 cap for every 10 gallons only after big water changes, and 1 cap for every 50 gals every other day or so.
I forget how much light you have.. I have 3wpg of PC lights with reflectors, and I add 15-20ml's CSM+B every other day. (same as Fe)
If your water is green, that is a green water algea bloom. The cure is simple, hook up a U/V filter until it clears.(or a diatom filter) Water changes do not fix that problem


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Is this problem bad for my Elong. I will try to find a diatiom filter or a uv filter tomorrow at the lfs hopefully it dosent cost to much. Is ther any other way to get the algea gone? What did I do wrong I've been doing everything I've been told.


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Well I went to the lfs to try and find a diatom filter or UV filter but no lfs have them. Is this the type of thing I can wait out or is my only option to buy the filter I can find them online.


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Ok today I ordered a 24watt UV sterilizer and I also ordered a rena xp2 canister filter. So it should be here in a couple of days and hopefully it takes care of the green water. I had to order online because I couldn't find them in the lfs. And if I did find it, it was double the price as online stores. So I will let you know what happens. Thanks again for the help.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

nswhite said:


> Ok today I ordered a 24watt UV sterilizer and I also ordered a rena xp2 canister filter. So it should be here in a couple of days and hopefully it takes care of the green water. I had to order online because I couldn't find them in the lfs. And if I did find it, it was double the price as online stores. So I will let you know what happens. Thanks again for the help.


It will work, if it is in fact green water. 
It happens when ammonia somehow spikes in the tank, like uprooting too many plants, or disturbing the gravel bed near root fertilizer tabs, or leftover food in a tank.

The funny thing is, it doesn't start until the ammonia spike dies down


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> It will work, if it is in fact green water.
> It happens when ammonia somehow spikes in the tank, like uprooting too many plants, or disturbing the gravel bed near root fertilizer tabs, or leftover food in a tank.
> 
> The funny thing is, it doesn't start until the ammonia spike dies down


I'm not sure if there was an ammonia spike because I never tested for it but I did move some plants around. I cut back the lighting alittle, for now until the water is better. I always try and get all the left over food out I feed mostly shrimp and always take it out within 30 minutes. But there are always pieces that get by. And I dont use fertilizer tabs. Well the UV sterilizer comes in on monday with the xp2 canister filter I got. How long do you think it will take to filter out all the green water once everything is hooked up? Thanks again


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

that depends on how bad it is. I catch mine early and it never takes more than 3 days.
In your case, a week or so might do it, not sure


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## bob351 (Oct 23, 2005)

awsome elong and awsome tank set up


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