>Andrew, Michael, if the opinion is that this is probably still glossostigma
>I can send you some - if its not I could easily buy a bunch split it and
>send it down. I do know that as soon as I planted it, it took off at a
>tremendous rate.
It sounds like it might be, Bruce would be better qualified to answer on
this than me. If you send me some I should be able to identify it. The Red
Hen should be able to tell you either way.
>Now......HELP!!!
What, after that nasty comment last week?
>greater than 1.0 (deadly it says on the test). I freaked out and did a 80%
>water change but it still measured >.5.
80% is probably too dramatic as you would be removing too much of the good
bacteria at once, esp if you did a filter clean at the same time. Not to
mention the dramatic change in water chemistry which would contribute to
fish stress. You are probably better of doing 30-40% changes every day until
the desired level is reached.
>I know I am carrying a heavy fish load (20 native fish (about 3-4cms long
>and 10 large exotics between 3 - 10cms).
>When I move house in a week or so I will be getting rid of the exotics.
A nice size Barra should help clean out overpopulated waters.
>I have a 120cm jungular tank, with a fluval 303 canister filter
>148w light,
>pH 6.5
PH could probably come up a bit for optimum plant growth, somewhere around
6.8 - 6.9.
>Carbonate Hardness 40ppm
I know weve been thru this a couple of times but 4dKH is the desired level
and Im unsure of its conversion to ppm.
>Nitrate 10 ppm
You should aim for a little less than this, your fish load is obviously a
major contributing factor to this. Can I have some as my tank is nutrient
deficient. Anyone found a supplier of this in Oz?
>feed 2 times a day with home made fish food (about a teaspoon at at time)
Try to reduce this to once a day until ammonium levels are reduced or
perhaps try feeding live worms for a while.
>Fertilise with PMDD 3mls a day
Im not convinced about Daves PMDD mixture. I have finished the samples you
sent me and did not notice any major differences however if you had been
watching the plant digest you would have seen my post re the mixture I
aquired, I think I told you I source some ingredients. Anyway after a week
of this Ive noticed a positive improvement. I have even held the surface
algae off which I have been battling with. I am still however Nitrate
deficient. Im adding PMDD at the rate of 15mls to 400 odd litres every day now.
>and normally do a 25% water change once a week, and vacuum the sand.
A while ago there was some discussion on wether vacuuming was beneficial or
detrimental. The general consensus was that vacuuming should be limited to
sucking up detritus that was resting on the surface and to leave the
substrate alone. Your plants should provide all the circulation your
substrate needs.
>
>My aquarium bloke has just told me to buy some Ammonia neutraliser. He
>also said because I rinsed the filter foam in tap water, the chlorine would
>have killed off any good bacteria in the foam, making the problem worse.
Once again I think this falls into the same boat as phosphate sponges. I
would tend to stay away from using any chemicals and fix it through more
natural applications eg. frequent water changes and lighter fish loads.
>I guess I have to reduce the fish load. How many fish do you think a 120cm
>tank should carry.
i suppose you need to determine what it is you want to keep. If it is
strictly a plant tank then fish should be kept relatively low. At the end of
the day I think you can have as many fish as you like providing your water
chemistry is maintained within the predetermined limits. More fish means
more filtration etc. You need to find a happy medium. Remember each fish is
different and will have different requirements, eg Oscars are messy eaters
which adds to the waste matter.
Gail, did you look at those pictures I told you to ? What did you think.
Andrew
(I intentionally posted this one to the list this time).