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Permalink Reply by Peter on January 24, 2014 at 9:59pm

Its really unlikely its ur ph(not hp) :) . But if u want to lower ur ph u can add co2, driftwood, peat, substrate that buffers ur ph to wat u want it(mraqua soil). On a side note just incase its not ur ph and u need help. Wat lights are u runnig on ur tank? How long do u have them on? Is ur tank dirted? Wat substrate are u using if not dirt? Are u dosing ferts? Are ur fish eating the plants or are the plants melting?

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Permalink Reply by Ben Heeley on January 25, 2014 at 1:38pm

i have 3 t5 sunblasters, my lights are on from 8-10 hours, no timer though ( im picking one up today), i have fluval stratum substrate, i kinda use firts, i stopped since the algae groth is covering some of my plants, and i have shrimp, siamies algae eaters, ( just got them 3 days ago) and amona shrimp, mountain shrimp, and ghost shrimp, and i dont think they eat the plants really.   and the plants did melt, no so much now, but they just dont seem to grow. :/ its weird. 

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on January 27, 2014 at 10:06am

Changing your water means changing your source of water. What good is it to change the water in your aquarium if you're just going to add new water in a week? And you should change it. 

Your PH is basically meaningless and since lowering it usually involves softening the water (removing minerals) it would just make things worse. I doubt PH has ever directly killed a fish or plant in the history of fish-keeping, but changing it is responsible for untold misery. Unfortunately, places like Petco are only too happy to exploit customers' ignorance on the subject so they can sell 5¢ worth of chemicals to you for $10. 

Your water is fine, but the algae covering your plants is one reason you're having problems. Sounds to me like the small size of the T-5s is concentrating your light in too small a space. In other words -- too much light. Maybe you can lift the hood up or remove a bulb. Better yet, floating plants would diffuse the light and kill the algae."Sunblasters" is another meaningless term. What do Sunblasters do? Blast your wallet? Ignore the name and buy a cheap bulb with a color spectrum of about 6500K.

My tanks go outside in the summer. A light that equals the sun would cost thousands of dollars or more. Isn't it funny that the best light is free? Don't be surprised if someone figures out a way to tax the sun. 

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Permalink Reply by J on January 27, 2014 at 4:17pm

How about some pics of your tanks jango

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on January 27, 2014 at 7:12pm

I'm just entering the computer age now. (pretty pathetic I know) But I've committed to a video with aquarimax.com on an Altum breeding project this summer. I'll share some of it with you guys. I may even throw in some practice stuff beforehand. Thanks for asking Jeff. I really do need to get off my rear-end and start utilizing this great tool.

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Permalink Reply by J on January 29, 2014 at 8:06pm

link to the video?

only takes a minute to upload a camera phone picture or digital photo

im especially interested in your tanks when they are outdoors

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on January 30, 2014 at 12:03am

You said, "it only takes a minute to upload a camera phone picture or digital photo"  Uh-oh.  I feel a rant coming on.

It took me 8 hours to figure out how to put a damn photo onto an email and send it, and this was with my sister's help. My background is in legislative analysis where every word has a specific meaning and every sentence works toward a logical construct. Computerese is what the English language was in 1200 AD - primitive babble - baby talk that only other babies can understand. There's no integrated structure, internal logic, or set of rules (grammer). I asked my tutor at Apple what the definition of a computer was and he said, "Well it could be almost anything. Its this thing that can do amazing stuff." Need I say more?

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate this technology as much as anyone and will learn to grunt with the best of them. Just give me some time to get used to the stink.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, that feels better...     now back to subject.

Thanks again for the interest Jeff. Preparations will begin in April and the fish will be introduced in June. First video will be around May. I expect big things but with Altums who knows?

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Permalink Reply by J on February 1, 2014 at 3:39am

They have a camera that can post it to the internet for you now maybe you should check it out makes things really really easy

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Permalink Reply by George Barrett on January 30, 2014 at 1:23am

I use a peat media made by fluval in all my tanks and keep them constantly running. I was worried about water changes and putting my 8.6 ph into the tanks. I have been doing since july and everyone is doing great fish and plants alike. I would agree your algae issue is a priority this means some kind of imbalance. play with your lighting especially if its a new tank and the plants have not had a chance to get going yet. some times looking up the type of algae will help you find the issue faster. just do a lot of reading and you will have a balanced aquarium in no time. but id start with the lighting!!

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