ADG Raffle Tank - Finally!

[Zulaab]

MB -- if you need to use a chemical to remove the ICH I cannot recommend a better product but Kordon's ICK-Attack. 100% natural, and it kills off ICH in 24 hours, (at least all signs of it) and I just love that stuff.

[Mzungu]

Thanks, Mark. :)

Mike - Yeah, I'm happy the Lace is still there!

[cichlid1409]

BTW...that lace is lookin gooood

[mark razmandi]

good luck on getting the tank back together. it looks better already.

[Mzungu]

nice, you can actually see inside the tank now.
WTF. ich now too
makes you almost wanna throw it all out and start over. ugh.

I know! I asked Geoff, "Can I PLEASE win the 'I can't win' award? I know it's a bit oxymoronic, but please...?"

But like I said, it's a good thing I QT'd these guys, and haven't mixed anything with them, or them with anything.

Who knows how long they've had it. I'm guessing it started showing about when the green water did. That's about when I had my first oto die - I just assumed it was like every oto, and whenever you buy a group of them, some are bound to die, being wild-caught and all...Sigh. Poor things.

[cichlid1409]

nice, you can actually see inside the tank now.
WTF. ich now too
makes you almost wanna throw it all out and start over. ugh.

[Mzungu]

Well, this is just awesome.

Now that I can see my fish, I realized why I've been pulling otos out for the last few days. They've got ich. :aua:

So, I'm off to the local Petsmart to buy a heater and some salt. Sigh.

On a lighter note, this is why we should QT all new fish! I'm glad I did.

[Mzungu]

All right, lights are on! It's only the pink and actinic, though. I'm still going to keep the photoperiod reeeeally short for a while, leave only one set of lights on, and probably do another big water change again in the next couple of days, and keep up with hosing down the micron pads. But, looks good!

[Mzungu]

I really think it was caused by the bacterial bloom/ammonia from all the new fishes. But I agree, covering that window would help Geoff, at least!

I just did another big water change. I will post more pictures when the timer says it's okay to turn my lights on, but it looks promising!

Before I started filling:



After filling:

[cichlid1409]

is that window facing east/west? i would cover it up asap. aluminum foil works well. ) but seriously covering that window might solve all you problems if its letting in alot of light.

[Mzungu]

Here's the progress of the green water, if anyone's interested. At the least, I hope it'll help someone in the future catch this before it takes over.

You can see the bacterial bloom in this picture along with the beginnings of the green water. March 14th:



March 15th:



March 17th:



March 21st, when I tried my first HOB with micron pads and filter floss:



March 26th, my second HOB (bought an AquaClear 70 and some Fluval micro-filtration pads to go along with the micron pads). Pictures are of a big water change and what the tank looked like after the WC:





March 28th, and the addition of the cutest filter in the world, the Eheim 2211:



Edit: Just FYI, most of these pictures are after a significant water change. I don't really have any pictures of the full-blown green water, as there's not much to see except green.

Edit #2: You can see the difference in the growth pattern of the Staurogyne sp. 'Porto Velho' as the days of green water progress. Without enough light hitting it, it starts to grow upwards instead of spreading out horizontally.

[Mzungu]

you think that window is giving it too much light?

Probably! It sure is giving Geoff more chores on the 300 next to it. We were going to put some drapes or something on that window, but just haven't got around to it. But I think that even though most/all of the tank lights have been off most of the time for the past week or so, the window gave the green water just enough to keep going. Hence the junk mail covering. I didn't see the point in a "blackout" with the sun still shining in. )

I don't think it was the cause of the green water, though. But it probably helped it after I lowered and then totally stopped the photoperiod.

[Mzungu]

ive never seen that happen on a tank, you said it was from co2 fluctuations? how big were your fluctuations?

I think the CO2 fluctuations helped, because otherwise the plants might have been able to beat it, but I believe after reading some stuff about others who've had green water problems that it was from the sudden burst of ammonia from the new additions and the ensuing bacterial bloom. Totally my fault, but couldn't be helped because this tank was the only QT I had.

[cichlid1409]

you think that window is giving it too much light?

[mark razmandi]

ive never seen that happen on a tank, you said it was from co2 fluctuations? how big were your fluctuations?