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how much nitrate am i supposed to have in my tank. i tested a couple days ago and had zero so i mixed some firtilizer like this:

1/2 litre of water
1 tablespoon chelated trace mix
1 tablespoon MgSO4+7H2O (Magnesium Sulfate)
2 tablespoons K2SO4 (Potassium Sulfate)
1 tablespoon KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate, amount varies, depends on your nitrate)

My tank is 15 gallons. I did a 5 gallon water change and dosed my tank with 6.25 ml (enough for 10 gallons) i was previously using leaf zone.

my reading today are:

phosphate: .5 ppm
nitrate: 5ppm (probably less)
pH: 6.4-6.6
KH: 5

I use a nutrafin/hagen co2 system.
this would put my co2 at around 35ppm.

i am using eco-complete substrate so that might be changing the ph of my water.

I checked the ph of the wate i use for changes and it was the same, 6.4-6.6.

i am using one 55watt 6700K compact bulb

my tank is starting to turn green so something is screwed up. i have had algae problems for a while.

thanks for any help. i need to fix this tank.

You might want to add a bit of a general fertilizer that's got a lot of different things in it... one thing might have bottomed out and the plants can't use the stuff you are dosing.

Most people try to keep nitrates around 15-20ppm...any lower and your risk of BGA goes up, any higher and the fish don't like it and it can go straight to algae

You might want to consider doing frequent large waterchanges, and dose plenty of ferts daily...that way, the plants will never run out of ferts, but nothing will build up either. Somebody around here might be able to give you some details and a schedule... I do something totally different in my tanks (low CO2 (from soda water from work ), low ferts, low-med light, lightly planted )...

What plants and fish/inverts do you have?

Last edited by PoisonWaffle at 16-Sep-2005 15:45

Aim for 10-20ppm.

Double your current dose for after water change.Same dose mid week.

Dose this 2 -3 times a week. Dose about 4-5mls of a good liquid fert like flourish or TMG 3 times a week on days when you don't dose macros. If you still have the leafzone that should be ok.

No need to micro-manage the nutrients. Testing is un-neccessary, certainly don't dose according to what the test kits say. They lie sometimes.Follow the routine. You'll have everything you need. The excess will cause no harm, No3 would have to get pretty high before fish are worried and it will NOT be used by algae !!! A 50% water change each week will keep anything from building up.

Re-check Co2 , something not adding up. The tap water should not be the same pH as the tank water. The co2 should be reducing the pH of the tap to the level of the tank. Re-check the tap pH, give the tap water a good shake or let sit in a cup for a few hours before testing.

Once the nutrients are in place check the plants for pearling and watch growth to ensure the Co2 levels are where they should be.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

thanks for the info.

the main thin i woried about was over dosing. i regularily do about 5 gallons a week for water changes.

i normaly dont test to see how much i should dose. but before now i wasn't really on a system i didn't know if things were right.

i think my co2 is actually about 25 ppm from earlier test. i think the test kit is just messed up.

how often should i dose the macros? when i do water changes. are those the nitrates. or just the complete mixture that i made. b/c that includes the iron that is in the leafzone.


also: will the algae on my plants and the walls naturally go away if i get the nutrients right or is it best to try and remove it.

Last edited by sonic2041 at 17-Sep-2005 01:15

Last edited by sonic2041 at 17-Sep-2005 01:17

Sonic2041,

Do you have any idea what algae it is?

How does it look like?

Where does it sit (like glass, what plants, etc.)?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

green algae on glass and green water

Dose 3 times a week. Macros one day and liquid other days.
MAcro/liquid/macro/liquid/macro/liquid.

Scrape the algae off glass. Good phosphate levels will keep it from coming back.

Green water suggests Ammonia coming from somewhere and possibly too long a lighting period. How long are lights on for, any direct sunlight hitting the tank. This can cause the spots on the glass also so I suspect something going on with the lighting.

Don't worry about overdosing, underdosing is more of a problem.

Last edited by bensaf at 18-Sep-2005 00:32

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

lights on 12 hours a day.

possible sunlight but i think it is bulb strenght.

i could switch to 36 watt compact from the 55

it is more of a slime on the glass than spots

Last edited by sonic2041 at 18-Sep-2005 23:38

it is more of a slime on the glass than spots

Slime sounds like BGA. Not enough Nitrates.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

yeah i think most of my problems are from the lack of nitrates.

thanks for your help