Aquarium Gardening Notes

Cloudiness Caused by Substrate Dust (Part 2)

Here are BEFORE and AFTER pictures to show that substrate dust such as fine particles leached out of the substrate material can be effectively cleaned up in a few short hours with a water clarifier. TetraAqua's Water Clarifier works by binding the small water buoyant particles into larger ones that fall to the bottom of the aquarium.

BEFORE: This picture shows my new 20 gallon aquarium with cloudiness as it looked earlier today. The cloudiness is caused (I believe) by too much clay in the substrate. The fine particles become water suspended, which causes this thick fog. The turbidity is so intense, that I cannot see the plants in the background. Click on photo to enlarge.

WATER CHANGE: This second picture shows the aquarium immediately after a water change. There is improvement. There is still some turbidity and a lot of debris whirled around by the water change can be seen floating about. Click on photo to enlarge.

AFTER: Finally, here the tank appears perfectly clear two hours after adding TetraAqua's Water Clarifier. Platy fish appear happy and water is as clear as its ever been in this tank. Voila! Click on photo to enlarge.

It appears that TetraAqua's Water Clarifier does a terrific job and cleaning up fine dust particles suspended in the aquarium water, with no apparent harm to fish.

Cloudiness Caused by Substrate Dust (Part 1)

I have to write this because I've hit a nerve with a fellow hobbyist who is adamant that water clarifiers are useless.

This is not true in my experience. Although I would prefer to never use any kind of additive in my planted aquariums, I believe it is quite ok to experiment when faced with challenging difficulties.

For starters, cloudiness or what is referred to as turbidity, is simply water that is not clear because of stirred-up sediments, leached substrate particles, green water (single cell suspended algae), chemical reactions and so forth...

There are therefore different causes for cloudiness in the aquarium. I would make the assumption that likewise, there's a different cure for every different type of cloudiness problem.

Situations where water clarifiers are not effective:

In my experience, cloudiness such as green water cannot be cleared up by a water clarifier. Find the cause of the green water, and change the water.

Also, cloudiness may appear temporarily if you use an algae killer. This too cannot be cleared up easily with a water clarifier.

Clarifying substrate dusts:

Recently, I've mistakenly added too much clay in a new tank setup. I mixed an inordinate amount of pure kitty litter clay with potted soil, red flint and EcoComplete. After a few days, the clay dust began to rise up in the water and cause a very nasty "fog".

In order to reduce the cloudiness, I could have dismantled the aquarium and used a new substrate with less or no clay. Instead, I chose to raise the water change intervals. I followed with TetraAqua's WaterClarifier. The water clarifier liquid acts quickly by binding the fine dust particles together. They become less buoyant and sink to the bottom. Likewise, they become more easily trapped by water filters.

This process quickly clarifies the water. In my case, the water did not become 100% clear but the difference was obvious. The dust will continue to rise out of the substrate for some time. Eventually though, the water should be as clear as in any of my other tanks.

I will continue to use water clarifiers. I find them very useful to clear up dusts and fine particles quickly.

10 Gallon Planted Aquarium Slideshow

Brush Algae, not Hair Algae

The algae growth I am seeing in my 20 gallon wide aquarium is referred to as Brush Algae. It forms small 3 mm dark tufts on plant leaves and equipment. This feather-like algae can come in different colors such as the black seen in my tank, and also purple, gray and greenish-gray.

If the literature I found on the topic is correct, this is a type of red algae. Knowing this can help if you are looking for a chemical treatment. There is a variety that produces longer strands and is commonly called Beard Algae. There is also some referred to as Hair Algae, but mine looks more like what is described as brush; small feathery round tufts of short, fine black hairs.

I have no particular idea where the algae originated from. It may have been transported from fish added to the tank, or from store-purchased plants or even from plants exchanged with other hobbyists. It may be that the algae was present in the soil source used for substrate. It's an unlikely cause because store-purchased potting soils are sometimes sterilized. Alas, I have no idea how the algae gets into aquariums. It just does.

So unless you relish this aquarium inhabitant, the challenge is to prevent its growth, keep it under control or eliminate it altogether once it's established.

As far as I can read, algae takes nutrients from the water. Plants may take up nutrients from both the substrate and the water. So in theory, plants have an advantage. Some plants feed heavily from the bottom, while others seem to hardly make any underground roots.

My current experiment is to starve the algae by reducing the amount of available chelated iron in the water. I am doing this by altering my liquid fertilizer solution in measures described in a previous post. I am also going to increase the duration of the light period because more light hours will increase plant growth. Plants compete with the algae for nutrients. If the plants are growing faster and better, I make the assumption that the algae will have less of a foothold.

If this current try-out does not help the situation within a month or so, I will try a last resort method: Copper. There are no crustaceans in my aquarium and the plants I maintain will probably not suffer from a strong dose of copper sulphate. We'll see.

Beta at Play: My First YouTube Video

Flint and Soil Substrates

I've used a number of materials as a bottom foundation for my freshwater planted aquariums. In some, I've used only epoxy-coated aquarium gravel. In others, I've used a mixture of potting soil, clay, red flint, various types of aquarium gravel, Volcanite and EcoComplete.

The aquarium pictured here is an established 20 gallon "wide" with very bright lights, RO water and a substrate consisting of 60% Schultz MoisturePlus Potting Mix from ACE Hardware and 40% red flint from Red Flint Sand and Gravel. The aquarium water is clear. The plants grow well and some are prolific, requiring weekly pruning. This particular aquarium contains WAG platy and a couple of clown loaches. Click on image to enlarge.

I've watched this aquarium grow for several months. When I first set it up, I had no intention of keeping many plants. It was meant as a holding place for cuttings from my other aquariums. To my surprise, the substrate mix of soil and flint has proven more than adequate.

Shown here, the same aquarium with an infestation of Water Lettuce. This shows that the aquarium has enough nutrients (substrate and added liquid ferts) to accommodate fast plant growth. I keep a few Water Lettuce specimens but I don't allow it to grow this thick because it prevents light from reaching other plants.

In the beginning, there was a surge of turbidity which dissipated over time. This initial cloudiness might have been caused by finer particles of dust leaching into the water column. With regular water changes and the progressive growth of plants, the water cleared up.

Currently, there is a slight growth of hair algae. However, I strongly believe that this is an imbalance caused by liquid fertilizers, not the substrate. I have another less established 20 gallon tank that has much more flint and soil per square inch than this one, and there is no hair algae whatsoever.

Picture on left shows aquarium at time of writing. Some hair algae has started growing on smaller plants near the bottom. I am trying to control this by reducing Iron. I am also experimenting with commercial products.

I would conclude with these observations that a substrate made up of potting soil and flint is a cheap and adequate alternative to other expensive commercially made planted tank substrates. I would not hesitate to build another aquarium with a soil and flint bottom.

Benefits of a soil and flint substrate:

#1. Inexpensive.

#2. Provides much needed nutrients for plants that feed through their roots, such as Swords.

#3. Water may not need extra liquid fertilizers.

#4. Overall plant growth seems to benefit.

Cons of a soil and flint substrate:

#1. May leach fine particles that cloud up water after initial setup.

#2. May promote some algae growth over more inert types of substrate due to excess nutrient levels leaching from the soil. I'm currently testing to see if I can control this by reducing certain nutrients in the water column, such as iron chelate.

How to Make a DIY CO2 System for a Freshwater Planted Aquarium

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is an essential nutrient for freshwater aquatic plants. If you are considering bright lights and want faster growing, more vibrant plants, try injecting CO2 in your freshwater aquarium. There are several ways to do this. The most popular is probably by injecting CO2 using a store-bought pressurized CO2 cannister system. Refills are cheap and the setup is low in maintenance. There are also other commercially available implementations that use electricity and carbon blocs. These two methods provide a steady stream of CO2 to your aquarium water.

In this post, I explain a third common alternative, that is, how to make your own CO2 delivery system using cola bottles, yeast, sugar and water. Many hobbyists use this method. This is not a novel idea of mine. I'm just explaining how I put mine together.

A Word of Caution:

I assume you know how to use a drill. If you're underage, please have a parent help you. A DIY system may also inadvertently spill yeast mixture into your aquarium. Experiment carefully and build this at your own risk.

What you'll need:

1. Plastic cola bottles with caps. (I use 1 L (38.8 Fl Oz) bottles.)
2. Airline tubing.
3. Airline check valves.
4. Airline T splitters.
5. Sugar. (Just plain white sugar will do.)
6. Yeast. (I use Red Star Dry Yeast)
7. An air stone or a bubble counter or a reactor chamber. (I'll explain this later.)
8. Epoxy glue. (I prefer J-B Kwik by J-B Weld.)
9. Funnel.
10. Tap water.
11. Tools: A drill, drill bit, sand paper, scissors and a nail or a Q-tip.

How to build the Do-It-Yourself CO2 injector:

STEP 1: First, you must drill a hole in the cap of the plastic pop bottle. This hole will be used to affix an airline valve into the bottle cap. The valve prevents aquarium water from flowing back into the bottle. The bottle cap hole must not  be larger than the diameter of the valve's input. In other words, drill a hole that is small enough so that the valve fits tightly.

STEP 2: Sand the cap down a bit to remove plastic roughage left over from the drilling. This sanding also prepares the surface of the cap for epoxy glue.

STEP 3: Prepare the epoxy. Most epoxy glues must be mixed. So mix a small amount with a nail or q-tip on a dry piece of cardboard. Hopefully, you purchased a fast-drying epoxy. The J-B Kwik dries in 4 minutes.

STEP 4: Dab a generous portion of epoxy onto the bottle cap. Do not block off the hole you drilled. Likewise, dab some glue on the underside of the check valve. Insert the check valve in the cap and hold it there tightly for 30 seconds or more. Make sure you glued the valve in such a way that the gas flows OUT of the bottle. If you've glued it upside down, get yourself a new bottle cap and a new valve and start over. Let the cap dry out for half an hour or more. You should repeat the above process for 2 bottles. I'll explain why later.

At this point, you're almost ready to pump CO2 into your aquarium. All that's left is to create the yeast mixture and assemble the bottle and tubing.

STEP 5: Grab the plastic pop bottle, the funnel, the sugar and the yeast. Using the funnel, pour one cup or less of sugar into the pop bottle. Then, add 1 teaspoon of yeast.

STEP 6: Fill 3/4 of the bottle with tap water. That is, fill the bottle but leave a couple of inches (5 or 6 CM) of air space at the top of the bottle. Do not shake the mixture. The mixture will expand a little, so do not overfill the bottle because it could cause some of the mixture to overflow into your aquarium, resulting in a disgusting mess.

STEP 7: Cap the bottle with the check valve cap prepared earlier. In the future, remember not to put pressure on the cap itself when removing it off the bottle. Instead, twist the bottle and hold the cap firmly. This way, you will avoid breaking the check valve seal.

STEP 8: Tie one end of the airline tubing to the output of the check valve. Attach another airline to the other bottle you prepared in the same way.

STEP 9: Junction both airlines using the plastic T, so that both bottles send CO2 into one single airline. Tie another airline to the output of the T. This is the final airline that will be sent into the aquarium.

STEP 10: Tie an air stone at the end of the airline tubing and place the air stone in your aquarium. Place the air stone as low as possible, close to the bottom.

That's it. You're done. Within a few hours, the yeast mixture will produce CO2 and you will begin to notice bubbles coming out of the air stone.

Improving the DIY CO2 System:

Now that you've made your own CO2 injection system, here are some tips on improving its efficiency.

Tip #1: Alternate mix replacement. Change the mix in bottle 1 on the first week, then change the mix of bottle 2 on the second week and so on. This is why I showed you how to use 2 bottles instead of 1. This is to keep the CO2 levels balanced on average. The mix in your bottles may last a couple of weeks depending on the type of yeast you use and the amount of mixture you make. So don't change the mix in both bottles at the same time. Alternate.

Tip #2: It is imperative that the CO2 mix thoroughly with the water. Some air stones are quite useless for this. Experiment with different air stones that have smaller holes.

Tip #3: For better performance, use a bubble counter instead of an air stone. A bubble counter is a plastic device that looks like a slalom ladder. The CO2 bubbles are forced to flow slowly through the ladder until they completely dissolve. Nutrafin and others make bubble counters that can be purchased online.

Tip #4: For even better performance, purchase a CO2 reactor. The CO2 reactor replaces the air stone and the bubble counter altogether. It is the most efficient way to mix the CO2 into the aquarium water. There are several models on the market. I use Red Sea's CO2 Reactor 500. This device makes use of a pico pump and a small reactor chamber to create a vortex that thoroughly mixes the gas. The mix is then forced out of the chamber. There are even DIY models too. Search the web.

Tip #5: Experiment with different types of yeast. Some will produce a mix that generates more gas than others. Some will last longer and require less maintenance. There are also chemicals that can extend the life of the mix so that it lasts longer, but I don't remember what those are at time of writing.

Tip #6: You can also buy a yeast-based carbon system from Nutrafin. This avoids the trouble of having to make one yourself.

Tip #7: In case of mix overflow into aquarium, change 70% of aquarium water immediately. Consider putting less water in your DYI bottles to prevent the mixture from expanding too much. Never shake the mix.

I hope you found this post useful.

Think Green Garden Expo 2008

The Madison Aquarium Garderner's Club (MAGC) hosted its first ever booth at this year's Madison Think Green Garden Expo hosted by Wisconsin Public Television.

I must say, this was a fun venture for our club. If the intention was to introduce the MAGC to the community, it certainly did that quite successfully.

Photo shows the MAGC booth at the 2008 Garden Expo hosted February 8,9 and 10, 2008 at the Alliant Energy Center.

My wife and I participated on Saturday morning in tending the booth, welcoming visitors and disseminating information. Many members took part in these activities, alleviating the task load from each other and making the weekend pleasant for all.

Many young visitors stopped to admire the gregarious fishies. The booth was adorned with many photographs of local member aquariums and two gorgeous planted tanks also prepared and cared for by club members.

Many visitors were surprised at the idea of growing aquatic plants instead of using plastic ones. The aquariums in the booth attracted many inquisitive adults. The response was positive and much grander than I had expected. It would be reasonable to assume that this project will bring new visitors and new members to our monthly get-together.

For more information on MAGC and club meetings, please visit the club's website.

Controlling Hair Algae

I've been experimenting with chemicals to ward off a bloom of what appears to be hair algae in my established aquariums. The chemical products have had not effect so far. They have not even started to show any kind of progress as far as the hair algae that is already present in the aquariums.

Shown here is a 20 gallon tank with the beginning stages of a nasty black hair algae infestation. Click on image to enlarge.

I met up with fellow hobbyists this weekend and it was suggested that too much iron may be the cause. My aquariums do not have excess PO4. I use RO water exclusively, therefore, other than food and fish waste, the additives come from fertilizers and the soil substrate.

I must say, that PPS-Pro has worked wondrously for many months without any kind of hair algae. This is a recent problem.

For starters, I've already begun to reduce the amount of Iron chelate I add to the water. Instead of using the recommended PPS-Pro dosage, I re-mixed my drops with 1/5 Micro and 4/5 Macro solutions. I will dose daily with this blend and see what happens over time...

Java Moss

I'm absolutely thrilled with Java Moss. Well, that's an exaggeration but yes, I do like this plant quite a bit. I acquired a few samples of it online and from a local pet store.

The plant usually comes rooted to bog wood or rocks. The online purchased specimen wasn't attached to anything. It looked like a large puff of green hair. I ripped it into several bunches.

The plant is doing very well in all my aquariums. Pictured here, it is shown growing on the water intake of a large Whisper filter. Click image to enlarge.

Several months ago, I wrapped the Java Moss on the Whisper's intake tube. Now, it has started to attach itself somehow, and grow out of the aquarium, up along the filter's tube itself. The plant remains wet because there's plenty of absorption from the water outlet of the filter.

I've attached my Java Moss to plastic tubes using string and affixed it to aquarium walls in some cases, using suction cups. It seems to do very well this way.

My aquariums are doused with very bright light. I use 100% RO water. My PH is always acidic and KH is at a minimum. The plant grows well under these conditions. I'll soon have to start pruning the current specimens. Fish (Platy mostly) love to graze the plant. They don't bring any visible harm to it, except perhaps keeping its growth under control.

The Java Moss is shown here towering up a large Whisper filter intake tube. The plant is growing lovely at the deeper end as well. However, the plant is more prolific at the water surface, where light penetration is at its best. Since this aquarium remains clean, I have not had to remove the intake tube. The plant has not obstructed water from flowing into the filter.

I've also noticed that Java Moss will grow off the bottom of the aquarium. Over time, snippets from the attached specimens have fallen to the bottom and have continued to grow down there. The only problem with this is that the moss might overtake other bottom plants such as Four Leaf Clover and small grasses. I will keep an eye on it in that respect.