f1ea

Hi all,

As some may remember... i had LOTS of algae problems with my 200G natural soil tank. Turns out i couldnt control the natural light + soil: algae everywhere, KH and GH dropped to almost 0, green water... a real mess. Lost 1 Rainbow shark, 1 Flame gourami and 2 angels and several plants; so i decided to tear it down... had to move all the fish and surviving plants to a 50G.

Dont think there is any problem with the NPT method, but for my conditions, it just couldnt work.

Re-built it, without soil... Added a large driftwood (it sank right from day 1, never leached tannins). Planted, brought the fish back from the 50G, Added silver angels. All the fish have been healthy, no more fish loss EXCEPT for my clown loaches: they were not able to withstand the stress from the moves... only 2/6 remain real pity. I had them for some months in my 50G and they were very healthy... but it was all too much for them.

The tank's been running in the new format for about 1.5 months, there is some algae... but nowhere near the mess i had before. It's a lot healthier, but i have to dose some nutrients and excel daily (quite easy to be honest). I also improved the shading..... Water parameters have been steady, no funny things. Everyone is healthy except for the clown loaches. i'll wait several months before adding clown loaches again...

Here are some pics showing the 'evolution':
1) Initial set up w/ soil (about day 3)
2) TOXIC tank! (about 3 weeks later)
3) A week or so ago

Regards!

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f1ea

And 4) 5) Today

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cojack22

That looks really cool. What kind of lights are you using?

fishyj

I really like it. What kind of substrate are you using?

f1ea

Thanks

The lights are quite simple: 4x 32W T8 (4 ft) + Natural sunlight.
Sunlight has been the toughest thing to manage as i have used plants to shade around the tank, and while they were/are growing things have been difficult. What i've been doing is relying on bio-feedback to have an idea of how much light i really have (plant growth, coloration etc). So far, i think i am at a 'medium light' range. Once i get the full shading, i might get additional bulbs if needed, maybe a couple T5..... we'll see.

The substrate was regular potting soil when it was natural. But because of the above light issues and the HUGE footprint, it was too much nutrients and light. Although I never got an ammmonia reading, and the swords were doing great (the other plants did ok); but got LOTS of algae, a hardness crash and a few fish deaths... so now i just have plain gravel, and fertilize Macros and Excel. Water conditions are now much more stable, and once i finally get rid of BGA i'll be pretty much algae free.

In the months to come i will:
1) upgrade the lights (fixture and quantity)
2) finish the shading scheme
3) develop some kind of automated dosing...

Regards!