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.

Algae Battle & Surface Scum

Just a quick update... the algae battle continues as well as surface scum. I hate both of them. The good news is that plants are still doing very well (and the fish too). I am cleaning out algae maybe twice a week now and have to surface skim with a pop bottle almost everyday.

Aquarium Shot
Full Stand/Tank/Hood
Algae Problems

How I Feel About Algae