Dielectric

so i guess i'll make a journal of my mistakes.


today i finally had my co2 tank filled after a week or so of stalking welding & fire extinguisher shops. I located an extinguisher a place that will fill instead of swapping, but the co2 dude is never there. Today was the exception. It was easy to get to, just kind of far.... and in the ghetto.


Anyways, after hooking everything up and testing for leaks etc. it is up and running. right now my ph is 7.5 and kh is 6. and yea, after poking around on this forum and others i finally figured out that its my eco complete causing me problems. i originally bought 7 bags a few months back (yes it was the planted and not the cichlid), 1 or 2 were completely black, and the other had white & greyish pieces mixed in. I really didnt give it much thought. i contacted caribsea and they will replace/ refund if i have a reciept or barcodes from the bags. unfortunately i didnt save reciept or bags. (maybe its just me, but who would save the bags or reciept for substrate for 3 months if they don't know anythings wrong with it)


i'm not really going to aquascape yet, i took all the wood & rocks out. right now i just want to grow plants.

i mixed the pps pro formulas and begin dosing tomorrow.
wish me luck!


oh yea i have 125 gallon with some discus, 2 large amazon swords, 1 oriental sword, 5 crypt wendtii, 4 tiger lotus, some anubias barteri, nana, coffeefolia, and some hornwort i threw in there from a different tank.

zer0zax

For some reason I really like swords and lotus plants, the only down side to them is that it takes a big tank to be able to appreciate their beauty if you let them grow big. Your 125gal aquarium will do these plants justice! Keep us updated through your tank's progress, looking forward to this one!

Dielectric

yea i dont know why, but i really like them too, probably because i can keep them alive.

Dielectric

It has been 8 days since i started pressurized co2 and pps pro. all three swords are growing faster than ever. the two amazon swords have brown algae on the older leaves. the small oriental sword has been putting out lots of whiteish leaves. are they suppossed to be white? some are just started to turn greenish. they also look thinner than the older ones. i havent noticed a difference in the wendtiis. one of the tiger lotus has tripled in size. 2 are suppossed to be green and two pink but they all look reddish.

today is the 4th dose of erythromycin. most of the cyanobacteria is dead or dying. but there is still a few bright green patches. its expensive to treat 125g for 5 days when buying maracyn.

Sunstar

cyanobacteria....scary stuff.

I had it, I vaccumed it off and used peroxide on the affected areas.

Church

Good luck with it all!

Dielectric

so yesterday i was going to do a water change and take pictures... but i woke up freezing and noticed the front door had blown open and both our persian cats were gone. we found one under a car after an hour or so, but poor fritzie is still missing. he has never been outside. he's probably freezing & starving. i'm hoping through all his selective breeding mutations there is still some natural instincts in there. the wife and i took turns canvasing the neighborhood all day and night. it makes me feel sick to think about it, but i keep it to myself because my wife is upset enough for both of us.

even though i am completely depressed i will attempt some tank cleaning today.

Tex Gal

Oh my! I'm so sorry about Fritzie. I will say a prayer for him. I'm thankful that he is persian. That will help with the cold. Did you have a collar with a tag on it? Being a persian I'm sure if someone sees him they will take him in. Hunger will surely bring him toward people. If you can pass out pxs to the neighbors. My sister found her 3lbs Yorkie 2 times that way. Keep us posted.

clearleaf

My Zoe was an outside cat when she was younger, and I know what that knot in your stomach feels like - I pray for the best for you. If you can close the bedroom door (so the one you found doesnt sneak out) and leave the window open (or whatever), try that. A lot of times they are just napping in some hidden spot ten feet from the house and decide to come back when they feel like it. Hope all goes well.

Tex Gal

Have you found Fritzie yet? Any news?