my new baby... AKA The Café

Mhamilton0911 · Aug 29, 2024

Been super busy and haven't done any WC for my high nitrates. Just tested, and I'm at 68.2, finally under the highest range so I can stop diluting my samples. But I noticed the phos getting really low (compared to what it used to be and in relation to the nitrates), sitting at .11

When should I consider adding phos? What's too low?

Planning on a small WC today. Plus some vodka.

Already removed all the phos lowering stuff, still have a large bag of carbon, and added some capulera and red macro of some sort.

tbrown · Aug 29, 2024

Mhamilton0911 said:
Been super busy and haven't done any WC for my high nitrates. Just tested, and I'm at 68.2, finally under the highest range so I can stop diluting my samples. But I noticed the phos getting really low (compared to what it used to be and in relation to the nitrates), sitting at .11

When should I consider adding phos? What's too low?

Planning on a small WC today. Plus some vodka.

Already removed all the phos lowering stuff, still have a large bag of carbon, and added some capulera and red macro of some sort.

I'd watch it if it starts getting close to that 0.06. I like mine to ride right around 0.10-0.14. 0.06 is getting a little too close to that error margin of 0.03 in my opinion. But my tank also uses 0.09 ppm daily so if I'm under 0.1 I'm really close to bottoming out.

fishguy242 · Aug 29, 2024

the capulera and red macro are going to consume phos

Mhamilton0911 · Aug 29, 2024

tbrown said:
I'd watch it if it starts getting close to that 0.06. I like mine to ride right around 0.10-0.14. 0.06 is getting a little too close to that error margin of 0.03 in my opinion. But my tank also uses 0.09 ppm daily so if I'm under 0.1 I'm really close to bottoming out.

I did lower my feeding once I realized I went crazy with the nitrates. At it's highest phos was .43 and I thought maybe one of the foods was contributing. I'll ramp back up and monitor. I do have brightwell phos on hand if needed

Mhamilton0911 · Aug 29, 2024

fishguy242 said:
the capulera and red macro are going to consume phos

Yes that was the plan since this all started when you and I talked about why my glass was so dirty every day, you said phos, I tested and it was high, started this whole lowering plan. Which included regular testing which I then thought nitrates were bottoming, which in fact I was over dosing relying on a faulty test kit.

Confused Rooster Teeth GIF by Achievement Hunter

Algea came from the dwarf pony tank, the last one expired so I shut down the tank and didn't want to throw away all the capulera and red macro that was in there. I tossed both in the aio section so the fish didn't just eat it all.

Stang67 · Aug 29, 2024

Sorry about the ponies

Mhamilton0911 · Aug 29, 2024

Stang67 said:
Sorry about the ponies

Well, I feel like they lived their life span, I knew they had short lives while doing research, but I'm my case, they never successfully bred, so they didn't repopulate. The last 2 to pass were the babies that were born in transit to me, so they lived about a year.

I think the lack of success was the short height of my tank. The mating dance they need to do I think requires more height to the tank. On several occasions I collected and viewed partially formed eggs. Got a couple pictures with the microscope.

Anywho. I learned a lot. Observed amazing creatures, fed them often and let them be with natural algae and sand instead of bare bottom and plastic decor. I won't do them again however, it was a ton of work on a little tank.