Trimming Day

Big clean out of Wisteria today.
Trash pile on the bottom, keepers on top.

Another update

Some progress has been made in the algae war. I have starved them from nutrients and there has been a big reduction in algae, but the plants are suffering as well. I have resumed nutrient supplements now... but I need to order a new kind of supplement to do it right.

Duckweed usually grows like a weed, but not in my tank. It all died off. Maybe the lights are too hot, or maybe my Endler's live bearers eat the roots.

Speaking of Endler's, there are way too many babies in my tank now. Here you can see a few:

My pandas:



My dog, giving me the evil eye:

Duckweed

A good i-friend gave me some good advice on algae control. I cut my lights back to 7 hours a day and got some duckweed from a local pet shop (3 bucks for a small portion!!!) to help control nutrient and light levels.
Cross your fingers.

I Grow Wisteria

A quick little update. Things are heading in a good direction. You can see from the pic, the wisteria is growing like a weed. I have decided to let it as I hope it will out compete the algae.
Here you can also see the crypts beginning to recover on the bottom right of the tank.

Secret Plans (shhhh)

Met with a fellow tank keeper that I met online and he gave me a few plants and fish. He had a really neat tank, a 20g long. I have been trying to make secret plans to get one for myself (but don't tell my wife).

One fish he gave me was a little tiny baby bristlenose pleco (long fin). I hope it is a boy.


No full shots yet... the plants are not well. The crypts have all melted with the addition of CO2 and need more time to recover.

Tank shot - CO2 installed. You can see the white diffuser in the left corner and the drop checker on the right side. I HOPE the next photos will show good plant growth and reduced algae problems.From a distance it does not look so bad right? But up close... blech.The underside of my aquarium... also a mess right now, but I plan to screw the power strips to the side of the wall and do some cable management. Note the yummy looking filter tubes.

Why yes... that chromed CO2 regulator IS sexy!

Oh, here is my dog wondering what I am up to.

CO2 Stuff

Ordered all my stuff today from greenleafaquariums.com. Called the guy on the phone and had a chat about CO2 equipment and his insight was very helpful. Also ordered new T5 bulbs.
Everything should come in next week. YAY!
I'm excited about this step, I have always envied those amazing green aquariums, but wanted to avoid the complexity and cost of CO2 injection. But now with CO2 I should be seeing HUGE improvements.

Giving Up

My low tech planted aquarium has continued to uglify itself despite my efforts to make the low tech approach work. So... rather than having an expensive eye-soar in my room I've decided to give up on low tech and go high tech.
I am currently researching pressurized CO2 injection systems and plan to begin purchasing parts this month. It "should" resolve a lot of the problems I have with algae and slow plant growth.

More to come...

Additions

Staghorn algae is now under control. How did I get rid of it? I have no idea...
I had to remove the Amazon Sword plant as it had outgrown the tank and yesterday I filled in that spot with a new plant. Did a major cut back of the Wisteria as well.

It will take a week to grow back and look filled in:
Also added a new fish:

Make it stop!!!

Planted aquarium FAIL.
Since the last update I have continued to have algae problems. If I am able to clear up 1 type, then another type of algae takes over and round and round we have gone.

Here are some samples of my lovely algae. My tank is sooo purdy.


Good news? Well... at least my plants are still fairly healthy and the fish are all very healthy. So on to plan B. CO2 injection.
Tonight I rigged up a DIY CO2 bottle with a 2L pop bottle, and tubing. My plan is to have a 2 bottle rotation so that CO2 flow stays somewhat steady. If this makes a world of difference I may have to turn my back on low tech and pony up for a high pressure CO2 injection system.

Progress

The tank has made some good progress in the algae battle. With the addition of an internal ultra-violet sterilizer filter the water clarity is much much better. I got pretty desperate with the algae and added "Algae Fix", a liquid that is reported to kill algae but not plants. I tested it in my 5 gallon aquarium first and it did not harm the plants. It did a good job of killing off some algae in my 50 gallon and the plants are no worse for it.