200 GALLON JUNGLE STYLE

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71
ORP: 555mV
NO3: 1.77 ppm
PO4: 0.11 ppm
Fe: 0.12 ppm (08:00)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 3.8
Ca/Mg: 24/44 ppm
dKH: 8.3

Water column iron shows up within the hour after morning dose. Hardness numbers are up and Ca/Mg is inverted again. The reconstitution is running ahead a bit. The 300 gram NeoMag charge will come out, leaving the 500 gram Reef Reactor charge in the loop.

This week's DO trace shown below. The last blackout occurs on Friday, 04/08 (the lights were turned off at 10:15 AM). The DO dip on Monday, 04/11, is a Dr Tim's Waste-Away dose (200 ml). Heterotroph culture was added to the water at 09:30, and O2 usage peaked at 11:15. DO did not fall below 7.5 ppm, saturation was regained around noontime, and peak supersaturation (10.5 ppm) occurred at 18:00. This results from continuous brisk aeration, which will continue for a while. Also shown is this week's ORP trace. The redox has fully recovered and is stable. While this is an indicator of low DOM, I have refreshed the poly-filter in the AquaClear 110 and will leave that on for a while longer to see how quickly it darkens. On Tuesday, 04/12, all the canister filters were changed. All old chem media were discarded. Continuum Catalytic Carbon and SeaChem Renew were installed in one charge only in loop 1R. This will be changed in 4 week intervals. All other canisters are running empty with only mechanical filtration.

http://imgur.com/rT8OXv6

http://imgur.com/WtOACzH

 

[Paul G]

http://imgur.com/lNnA5sU

http://imgur.com/CtBkav0

Getting some growth now and the 'scape is starting to look more natural. I have arrived at the "new normal" light settings. The DADU (Dawn/Dusk) Brightness curve is shown below. It is typical of the curves established for SUN1, SUN2, and SUN3, all of which are set for no more than 24% of capacity. This is significantly down from previous settings. Total peak daytime power input is now 350 watts, down from 490 watts, a 30% drop. The burst of periphyton algae has stopped, i.e. reduced to its normal growth rate. I have not yet checked the PAR at various locations in the tank, but I mean to do this. Judging from leaf and inflorescence production from the Echinodorus, they appear to be okay with the light, but I am hatching a plan for some new Kessil A80s back there.

http://imgur.com/jakE4yR

The Nymphaea has now sent up three floating leaf stems and I expect more. These come in very fast. I hope to see it flower this year, so I will let it keep as many healthy floating leaves as it desires. The crypts that were left undisturbed in the turnaround each had at least one fert pill set nearby. They are showing visible growth, rapid for crypts, and a deepening of color. There were just a few larger leaves that were dying and some that had excessive green spot/dust alga, all of which I pruned off. The Cryptocoryne population is looking as vigorous as it ever has.

 

[SantaMonica]

Are your CA/Mag number X10 ?

 

[Paul G]

Not sure what the question is. There is no order-of-magnitude factoring involved.

The numbers stated are parts per million (milligrams per liter) of CaCO3 and MgCO3. The LaMotte test kit, 4824-DR-LT, uses a direct reading titration burette indicating CaCO3 hardness in ppm in increments of 4 ppm, easily resolvable to 2 ppm if conducted very carefully. The procedure is designed to give the total earth-alkali carbonate (Mg + Ca) hardness in one test, and CaCO3 only hardness in a similar test. The MgCO3 hardness is the simple difference between the two.

What is referred to as GH, general hardness, is the earth-alkali content only that is indicated in this type of titration analysis, expressed as CaCO3 molar equivalent. It does not include other substances in solution. This is also known as "temporary hardness" due to the fact that boiling water causes any CaCO3 and MgCO3 present to precipitate out of solution. Geochemically, Mg substitutes freely for Ca in the CaCO3 lattice structure, so throughout time Mg has been geologically incorporated into the rocks where Ca is found. The strata bearing these limestones and dolomites are contacted in the hydrological cycle. The earth-alkali elements then occur to a greater or lesser extent in practically all natural waters and the hardness they represent has become a parameter of interest in the chemistry of biologically tenable environments. Calcium and magnesium are secondary macronutrients for virtually all macrophytes. Some ++Ca and ++Mg, even in very soft freshwater, is important to making it habitable by just about any living thing drinking it or dwelling in it. This is why we reconstitute RO/DI, to make it biologically friendly.

The Ca,MgCO3 total hardness in ppm can be converted to and from the German scale of degrees of general hardness, dGH, as follows:

ppm CaCO3 = German degree x 0.056

German degree = ppm CaCO3 / 17.85

The German hardness scales have been used extensively in aquaristics for a long time. I like their simplicity of expression and will continue using them. The MgCO3 and CaCO3 hardness numbers represent their respective concentrations of dissociated ions ++Mg and ++Ca in which form they actually occur in aqueous solution. The Ca/Mg, or Ca:Mg, is a ratio of their relative concentrations, showing the way the dGH is comprised, and could be expressed in any unit of measure in any mathematical equivalent. For instance the last reported measure, Ca/Mg 12/44 ppm, can be reduced to the same ratio 6/11, but that cannot then be stated in ppm units. In this case, I am specifying the actual concentrations in ppm of CaCO3 hardness. The LaMotte tests give me this information, so I report it that way. I do not factor it down or up, so there are no multipliers used here.

SIDENOTE: A few popular hobbyist test kits are designed to read out in dGH directly. These don't have precision to yield ppm hardness, but can reliably "ballpark" GH on the German scale and are certainly useful for that purpose generally. It is not especially helpful to attempt a conversion from dGH obtained this way to ppm hardness because the implied resolution is not justified. However, converting ppm hardness to dGH is entirely legitimate, carried to a tenth of a degree at least.

The LaMotte test can be used for seawater analysis and has specific instructions on how to interpret results using certain conversion factors. I don't see any reference to a X 10 multiplier here either.

 

[SantaMonica]

I think that answers it; I was thinking ca/mg was ions, not carbonate.

 

[Paul G]

You are right to notice. The ionic concentration in the solution is related, but not equal, to the CaCO3 hardness figure.
Here are the easy conversions:

ppm CaCO3 Mg / 4.1 = ppm Mg++

ppm CaCO3 Ca / 2.5 = ppm Ca++

So, for the hardness figures given in the example of the last test, the ratio of the ionic concentrations Ca/Mg is 9.6/10.7 ppm.

Since the tests give results in ppm CaCO3 hardness, the above conversions can be applied to obtain the ionic concentrations. These conversion factors, and others, can be found at Nancrede Engineering Co: Conversions and Guides - Water Chemistry CaCO3 Equivalents.

https://www.necoindustrialwater.com/conversions-and-guides-water-chemistry-caco3-equivalents/

My use of hardness figures in reporting the relative abundance of these dissolved salts is misleading. I should report these numbers as ionic concentrations, as discussing these elements in all other contexts will be on those terms, not in terms of hardness figures. In fact, I myself have been attempting to adjust the Ca:Mg ratio on the basis of hardness figures rather than ionic concentrations and I believe that is incorrect.

Your question has occasioned a change. Thanks for making me think this out.

THIS POST EDITED 6 MAY TO CORRECT ERROR IN SCRIPT.

 

[Paul G]

http://imgur.com/pBQi75X

http://imgur.com/eHR6dMy

http://imgur.com/F7xbZAG

The new Crypt volunteer is growing slowly. The Nymphaea has several floating leaves and all the swords are putting out inflorescence stalks. The growth is good generally and the 'scape is filling in nicely now. The Microsorum is in excellent color and resisting algae.

Today's numbers

pH: 6.74
ORP: 539 mV
NO3: 0.20 ppm
PO4: 0.09 ppm
Fe: 0.18 ppm (09:50)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 4.3
Ca/Mg: 16.0/8.8 ppm
dKH: 8.7

The redox trace for the past week is clearly showing the COD spikes corresponding to the doses of Flourish Comprehensive. The first daily dose is 30 mL spread between 07:01 and 07:28; the second is 10 mL at 12:01; the third is 10 mL at 17:01. While Excel and Advance can be shown to slightly impact the ORP, the reduction effect is almost entirely due to Flourish, and in particular to the ferrous gluconate it contains. This dose rate represents a substantial increase over previous, and exceeds SeaChem's suggested minimal recommendation. I believe I am seeing a benefit to the Microsorum and Anubias, as these are not substrate rooted.

http://imgur.com/QOFuelX

The DO trace is showing that the constant aeration is holding O2 at just above saturation, including over the COD spikes. Plant photosynthesis accounts for supersaturation during daylight, about 11 ppm at 336 watts input. I am not seeing as significant an impact to CO2 utilization as I had expected from all this effervescence. Vigorous aeration does "blow out" CO2, but perhaps I have grown to tolerate the rate of CO2 utilization, as I am finding it quite tolerable. Maintaining O2 saturation is not strictly necessary either if night-time concentration can be kept to around 5 ppm, but I am liking the elevated DO for various reasons that will remain largely subjective for now.

http://imgur.com/p6xbHVW

 

[Paul G]

http://imgur.com/Rn7ZWV6

 

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.74
ORP: 539 mV
NO3: 0.15 ppm
PO4: 0.05 ppm
Fe: 0.15 ppm (@ 08:20)
K: <50 ppm
dGH: 4.59
Ca/Mg: 15.2/10.7 ppm
dKH: 8.0

All NO3 and PO4 derive exclusively from environmental metabolism alone (fully autochthonous), with no supplementary nutrient dosing. This ecosystem is super-oligotrophic. Substrate fertilization represents an emulation of a possible natural inherent characteristic of a stream bed and those nutrients remain largely immobile except for transferences by root systems. Thus, I do not regard fert tabs as allochthonous nutrient sources. The trophic status is determined by transport in and out of the environs by the flow of the water, i.e. it is a condition of the water column.

Jargon dump redux. The subject is planted aquaria specifically.

Eutrophic-tending open natural waters, particularly in temperate zone lentic and low-energy lotic settings, are more densely populated by macrophytes than oligotrophic waters, simply because of the higher nutrient content, the NO3 and PO4 values being larger by more than one order of magnitude at least. This does not translate into a model for aquaristics methodology. Most well-managed aquariums wherein the livestock is fed according to good practices will test at least 10 ppm NO3 and possibly as high as 5 ppm PO4. These are acceptable numbers. But such aquariums are mesotrophic, and while there is no threat of toxicity, that trend to eutrophication flirts with algae stimulation.

It is interesting that a great many biotopes actually observed throughout the tropics are oligotrophic to a large degree, yet support macrophytes in abundance. See KASSELMAN: Aquarium Plants. I am especially impressed by Biotopes 36-39 around Bonito in southwest Brazil which are crystal clear, highly oxygenated spring-fed streams. These are densely populated with fish and plants, featuring forests of large-leaved Echinodorus. Yet analyses show these waters to be super-oligotrophic. Soil analyses also show relative sterility, yet these great assemblages of plants are getting their needed nitrogen and phosphorus from this environment by all possible means. This confirms to me that, in the planted aquarium, if NO3 and PO4 are consistently non-zero, there is nutrient sufficiency. More is not better, and regular supplementation with allochthonous NO3 and PO4, perhaps a common practice among aquatic gardeners, is not necessary if the stocking and feeding are adequate.

The source of the N and P is their introduction to the environment via the food chain. Fully structured complex organics (fish food) are endemic to the biotope (in nature) or supplied by us (in aquariums), and will eventually be processed to states of assimilation or mineralization through ongoing environmental metabolism. Adding supplementary NO3 and PO4 solutions to the water column is analogous with these substances being imported into the environment after having been evolved in the adjacent environment just upstream. We must speak of these habitats as "parcels of environment" in this way because we are actually referring to aquariums, not arbitrarily specified pieces of real nature, and aquariums are glass boxes. No matter how large, they are closed systems and do not operate in ways exactly analogous with large contiguous sectors of lotic natural habitats, essentially open systems wherein the nutrients are highly dilute.

I have been making efforts to correlate times and amounts of fish feeding with numbers yielded by NO3 and PO4 tests. As previously stated, this problem would certainly be amenable to a test procedure with rigorous protocols and assiduous measurements. For the hobbyist attempting something like this, useful information comes in the form of imprecise but highly suggestive subjective conclusions. I test frequently, some stretches every day, and I generally gauge the food quantity by how often I put a specific uniform amount of the same food type in the water. Over time it is easily discerned that NO3 and PO4 numbers tend to rise and fall in a manner corresponding to the generosity of the feeding pattern, in terms of days when two feedings occur at one extreme as opposed to days skipped altogether at the other. The latency period of the effect is hard to pin down, but I put it at a few days to a week. If the numbers seem to incline, I feed every other day for a week and the numbers start to decline. When quite low, as they are today, I will feed extra. I believe I am seeing waxing and waning of the green algae periphyton corresponding to these trends.

The streaming water change regimen, SWCR, is a means of simulating in a small closed system, by the artifice of mimicry, the dilution effect of a large open system. It is imperfect at this, but seems to be doing a fine job of it. The use of chemical filtration is a supporting function, removing DOM. The DIN and orthophosphate are removed by the SWCR and the uptake by large plants in large numbers, thus enforcing oligotrophy, suppressing algae. A complete source of these nutrients is fish food. Minimal non-zero concentrations of NO3 and PO4 are fully adequate to maintain plant health and produce growth. It has helped that more attention is being paid to substrate fertilization.

 

[Paul G]

I have amended the hardness-to-ions conversion unit notations in the 19 April entry above due to error resulting from fog. The conversion factors are correct for hardness figures in ppm CaCO3, not German scale degrees. The ++Ca and ++Mg numbers reported in that and subsequent entries are stated for calculations using the correct units.

Today's numbers

pH: 6.73
ORP: 538 mV
NO3: 0.88 ppm
PO4: 0.15 ppm
Fe: 0.25 ppm (@ 08:50)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 4.5
Ca/Mg: 14.4/10.7 ppm
dKH: 8.5

http://imgur.com/JXElyLK

http://imgur.com/tj3XXiB

 

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71
ORP: 538.5 mV
NO3: 0.10 ppm
PO4: 0.05 ppm
Fe: 0.75 ppm (@09:00)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 4.26
Ca/Mg: 15.2/9.27 ppm
dKH: 8.57
CO2: prox min 40 ppm
DO: current running average: 9.61 ppm, last 7 day minimum 7.7 ppm, last 7 day maximum 11.2 ppm

Today I fertilized the substrate around the Echinodorus with API Root Tabs (NPK = 1:1:3 macro + Fe).

The new Crypt volunteer that I have singled out is slowly getting bigger and producing new leaves.

http://imgur.com/bXR3ubA

 

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71
ORP: 538.3 mV
NO3: 0.10 ppm
PO4: 0.07 ppm
Fe: 0.74 ppm (@ 08:20)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 4.26
Ca/Mg: 14.4/9.76 ppm
dKH: 9.03

Did a 10 gallon "moderate gulp" water change today, scraped periphyton off the front glass, dosed 200 ml Waste-Away, and changed out the intakes. The Hygrophila needs trimming as it has bushed out and reached the surface. All the Echinodorus flower runners are producing daughter plants which are viable size, and this needs clearing out.

 

[Paul G]

Life! Microsorum pteropus getting big, relatively quickly for Javaferns, and resisting black algae. These pictures are the tank today, pre-trimming. I will be reluctant to prune too severely as I delight in giving Nature her freedom. Watching all this growth and health is what I love most about doing this. Fish are ravenous. A hungry fish is a healthy fish. They are converting brine shrimp and bloodworms into plant food.

http://imgur.com/JJzGpcS

http://imgur.com/zkqnbCa

http://imgur.com/tHx05qI

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71
ORP: 535.8 mV
NO3: 0.10 ppm
PO4: 0.03 ppm
Fe: 0.76 ppm (@ 08:37)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 4.03
Ca/Mg: 15.2/8.3 ppm
dKH: 8.29

Iron is persisting at more than sufficient concentration; the dose needs calibrating a bit. I have adjusted the total daily dose of Flourish Comprehensive from 50 mL to 37.5 mL (25% reduction), but the timing of the five dose events remains the same. The +K/KH dosing and GH reconstitution reactor in conjunction with the SWCR are working spot on, yielding ideal numbers.

It has taken awhile getting the system to settle down after the turnaround. I have been experimenting with a schedule of dosing Brightwell Aquatics Freshwater Razor (a new product I have been eager to try) and Dr Tim's Re-Fresh every three days since 5/9. It is recommended that they be used together. There has been a reduction to "normal" in the growth of green periphyton, and a return to a crispy-clean look to hardscape and plant leaves. Results are subjectively adjudged as definitely positive, but that is all I am prepared to say, as there are undoubtedly other reasons that factor in. Specificity would be entirely conjectural and unjustified. I will continue with these products on a 3-day cycle for a couple of weeks more, then revert to the Waste-Away/Eco-Balance schedule.

SIDENOTE: Dr Tim's Re-Fresh is apparently NOT harmful to pulmonate pond snails. I have made a point of observing effects of Re-Fresh on invertebrates, since the label advises caution here, especially with respect to snails and shrimp. The only invertebrates in this tank for which I have a concern are the pulmonate pond snails. These are unaffected by Re-Fresh. Dr Tim's formulae are proprietary so there are things undisclosed about the nature of this product. I understand this but I am curious to know what there is about it that represents this risk of mortality.

 

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71
ORP: 534.9 mV
NO3: 0.3 - 0.4 ppm
PO4: 0.02 ppm
Fe: 0.49 ppm (@08:30)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 4.16
Ca/Mg: 14.4/19.3 ppm
dKH: 8.18
CO2: 48 ppm
DO: 7-day running average 9.59 ppm
7-day min - max 7.1 - 11.2 ppm

For the last few times I have tested, including today, I used the SeaChem NO2/NO3 kit and the results reported, 0.10 ppm each time, are best-estimate, but still pretty much guesses within a range. The LaMotte low-range NO3-N kit was used today and the results reported are best-estimate also, but perhaps with somewhat improved resolution. The color-comparators in these ranges are very difficult to parse, as the NO3 is in the lowest of the low range in either test. I believe the LaMotte is the more accurate, but there is still a lot of room for interpretation. So I think the proper interpretation is that NO3 has recently been at 0.1 ppm minimum to 1.0 ppm maximum, the uncertainty due to measurement difficulty. The important point is: 1.0 ppm > NO3 > 0.

In connection with the PO4 test results, varying, for the most part, between 0.02 ppm and 0.17 ppm, these numbers indicate that nutrient concentration in the water column is exceedingly low; the water indicates oligotrophy, but, importantly, P and N nutrients are non-zero. The numbers are very low, but they persist; thus these are available to the plants and are never fully depleted.

The nutrient content in the substrate is another question. This eludes measurement with the same exactitude as water testing, but it is certain that nutrients are in the root zone because I put them there from time to time. While there is no means to gauge how quickly the plants are taking up rhizosphere nutrient, two things are certain: it is available to the plants, and the SWCR is not removing much, if any, of it. An advantage of substrate feeding is that the materials are buried, so to the extent that it is surplus to needs it exists in reserve but does not pollute the water column. No doubt buried materials do find their way out of the substrate, so I would allow that it may be possible to "over-fertilize" and thus occasion a pollution event. So it won't do to go nuts.

In the current water management scheme, there cannot be deficiencies. Potassium is available for luxury uptake in the water column, delivered as K2CO3, and in the substrate, delivered as K2SO4.

The Crypt we have been watching is growing very slowly, but it remains healthy. Another smaller volunteer is sprouting next to it.

http://imgur.com/yr4pyfv

 

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.68
ORP: 532.5 mV
NO3: 0.1 ppm
PO4: 0.03 ppm
Fe: 0.97 ppm (@09:30)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 2.80
Ca/Mg: 12.00/4.87 ppm
dKH: 8.12

CO2PRIMARY exhausted last Saturday PM; this 20 lb cylinder lasted 24 days, 580 hours. Solenoid ON time for the period was 123 hours. CO2 was supplied at the rate of 4.7 hours per day. The 24/7 vigorous aeration is blowing out quite a lot of CO2. At this rate, I will go through over 15 cylinders in a year, and I am not much liking the economics of this pattern after all. I am switching back to O2 controller aeration.

GH is declining a bit after 7 weeks of holding around 4 degrees. Today and tomorrow I will perform some maintenance items, and I will look into this.

 

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71
ORP: 532.5 mV
NO3: 0.9 ppm
PO4: 0.88 ppm
Fe: 0.91 ppm (@10:35)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 3.14
Ca/Mg: 12.00/6.34 ppm
dKH: 8.06
CO2: 48 ppm
DO: 7-day running average 7.33 ppm
7-day min-max 5.0 - 10.1 ppm

Having returned to O2 controller aeration, the system is now in normal diurnal mode. Photosynthesis is wholly responsible for the daytime peaks and the air pump does duty only at night with the DO threshold set at 5 ppm.

I switched out the intakes which were slowing sufficiently to affect flow rates. This accounted for the decline in GH. Once corrected, the rate through the hardness reconstitution reactor increased from 71 gph to 82 gph. Magnesium is recovering quickly. In the next few days I expect to see the GH rise back into the 4 deg + territory. I have added 30 mL CaCl2 solution to help this along.

Not really liking the progress of the Nymphaea lotus growing at the front glass. I have removed it.

The little Crypt we have been watching is growing very slowly - it seems not at all. But it remains apparently healthy. However, the tiny new sprout next to it has gained some growth.

The Microsorum pteropus are doing very nicely and are getting quite large. Doing some re-scaping. Pictures soon.

 

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71
ORP: 529.9 mV
NO3: 2.2 ppm
PO4: 0.31 ppm
Fe: 0.33 ppm (@08:40)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 3.0
Ca/Mg: 14.0/4.88 ppm
dKH: 7.73
CO2: 42 ppm
DO: 7-day running average 8.52 ppm
7-day min-max 5.1 - 11.1 ppm

I have had both AquaClear 110s running for five days now, one with 200 grams of activated carbon and one with Bio-Poly-Filter. After the previous several 3-day Re-Fresh/FW-Razor cycles, and now this intensive chemical filtration treatment, the water clarity is excellent and the periphyton algae are well suppressed, and all nuisance algae have finally completely disappeared. The BRS ROX 0.8 Carbon does a fine job; and it is very hard, meaning no powder. BRS has an informative tech talk on their site that deals with how best to use carbon, the big takeaway being: use a little at a time and change frequently. I confess I have used large carbon charges in the main filters expecting long-term adsorption competence. Activated carbon that is really effective for its purpose does not work this way. Carbon is aggressive, then its effectiveness trails off fairly rapidly. The best way to use it is in ad hoc maintenance. I take SeaChem at their word that Renew is the better choice for soft-water planted systems. If less aggressive but more durable than carbon in a four week change cycle, as I believe it is, it is the better choice for full-time main filter chemical filtration, and is not significantly more expensive than premium grade carbons.

I had planned to put in the surface skimmers for a couple of days to remove floating debris, but after running the 110s for five days there is no debris. The 110s churn the water vigorously and provide significant aeration. The DO trace when these filters are running looks exactly like it did when the system was in full-time pump-driven sparge.

A good deal of plant matter was removed this week. I had let the Hygrophila grow really big and then took out nearly all. It will come back quickly. A few old tatty leaves of both the Echinodorus and Microsorum were taken. These are robust and thriving. I reached clear to the bottom all along the back and combed out dead and dying leaves and stems. This needs doing more often, as this debris hides well in a densely planted tank and there is always a surprisingly large amount of it. It is a major source of DOM. A few Sagittaria growing in foreground territory were pulled up. Sag populating the background is spreading rapidly. The oldest Cryptocoryne are becoming pretty big; it's taken a long time to see this kind of growth in these plants. They are slow growers but are capable of getting large. I do believe the Crypts have done better with more attention paid to substrate fertilization.

I am resuming automatic daily low-dose NO3/PO4 supplementation. I will try to calibrate the dosing to limit NO3 to circa 2 ppm, and PO4 to circa 0.5 ppm. These values exceed where the system has been recently but still define oligotrophy. I will of course continue with the very generous fish feeding. A veritable cornucopia of fresh frozen foods (and also some dried bottom-feeder preps) are going in daily. I am not concerned about overfeeding. If anything, I worry a little that the many cories and loaches aren't getting enough. I believe virtually all food is being eaten by the fish and is not wasted on bacteria, but in any case it's a lot of N and P.

 

[Paul G]

http://imgur.com/R9Ssai6

Today's numbers

pH: 6.70
ORP: 530.8 mV
NO3: 2.7 ppm
PO4: 0.43 ppm
Fe: 0.30 ppm (@08:30)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 3.02
Ca/Mg: 13.60/4.88 ppm
dKH: 7.84

Fine tuning the dose-rates, I am testing every day and expect to do so for about a month.

Here the AquaClear 110s have been removed and we are ready to finish the re-scaping. I find I have the "problem" of having more plants that I want to see in the tank than I have room in the tank for them. I have at least a dozen small adventitious Microsorum that were recently plucked from their parents and are worth keeping. Having some wood soaking for such situations, I will attach some of these along with some small Anubias and try to find suitable locations for placement. I know eventually things will begin once more to look congested and I will then need to make more hard decisions about what must go.

I have boosted the light intensity just slightly. From the algae control point of view I hope not too much. My eyes can barely see the increase, but the overall effect seems a little more vibrant.

 

[Paul G]

http://imgur.com/jy8agRb

http://imgur.com/wrwXF6g

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71
ORP: 533 mV
NO3: 1.3 ppm
PO4: 0.20 ppm
Fe: 0.34 ppm (@16:00)
K: 40 ppm
dGH: 3.47
Ca/Mg: 11.20/8.29 ppm
dKH: 8.12

 

[Paul G]

Today's numbers

pH: 6.71 (average of pH-L and pH-R 7-day running averages; probe pH-R is CO2 controller)
ORP: 535.2 mV (7-day running average)
NO3: 0.89 ppm
PO4: 0.59 ppm
Fe: 0.46 ppm (@ 09:00)
K: 60 ppm
dGH: 3.81
Ca/Mg: 15.20/7.32 ppm
dKH: 6.95
CO2: 40 ppm
DO: 9.35 ppm (7-day running average; 7-day min-max 5.4 - 13.4 ppm)
Temperature, water column: 76.9 F
Temperature, air at surface: 77 F night, 89 F day
Total Dissolved Solids, habitat: 300 ppm
Total Dissolved Solids, sourcewater: 1 ppm
Mid-day illumination power input: 350 watts

All in-line filters and intakes changed in the last 24 hours.
Porous bio-filtration media (Marinepure, Sera Siporax, SeaChem Matrix) removed, rinsed, replaced.

LOOP1L velocity: 130 gph
100 micron mechanical 1st stage, SeaChem Renew half core charge
25 micron mechanical 2nd stage, no media

LOOP1R velocity: 110 gph
100 micron mechanical 1st stage, SeaChem Renew full core charge
25 micron mechanical 2nd stage, Hardness Reconstitution Reactor (500 g SeaChem Reef Reactor, 300 g Brightwell NeoMag)

LOOP2 velocity: 392 gph
100 micron mechanical both stages, no media

LOOP3 velocity: 397 gph
100 micron mechanical both stages, no media

Nominal tank turnover rate: 5 cycles per hour.
Mechanical Polish: 25 microns