Plants inhibition
The aquarium survived my vacation. A challenge was the high water temperature which reached over 30 °C. Besides, the plants reflected growth inhibition and algae started expanding. I removed the algae from the glass on 9/8. It gave me a lot of work.
I changed the water after four weeks on 16/8 and at the same time, I added three tablets of the Tetra Crypto-Dunger fertilizer and the Rataj's Colour Fe+ fertilizer. Due to the plants inhibition I decided to recalibrate the light for a higher intensity with the peak of 3500 lx. When I measured the light with its previous profile, I found out that its intensity had lowered (by about 500 lx), especially at the blue component. It is obvious that the LEDs get overheated, especially in hot summer.
Having increased the light intensity, I observed rapid algae bloom and the plants growth inhibition continued while holes were appearing on their leaves. After two weeks, I shortened the light exposure by 2 hours, it means to 12 h. I found out on internet that holes in leaves and turning black of their edges can be caused by the lack of phosphorus, except for manganese and iron, which I had been supplying.
On 31/7, I bought the Tetra Crypto-Dunger tablets again because they had a positive effect on the cryptocoryne plants. I also bought the Rataj's Makron fertilizer that supplies phosphorus, and the Foskol test to check the phosphorus level. Moreover, I bought an aquarium glass cleaner to remove algae. It happened that I unintentionally picked up a little grain of sand when was cleaning the glass with a sponge and scratched the glass. I didn't want this to happen again, so I asked the assistant in the Sklorex store how they clean up algae from bent glasses. He showed me a magnetic cleaner.
At the opportunity, I bought one Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) wild and a couple of Ram cichlids el. blue (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi electric blue). I bought a Vallisneria corkscrew plant and three pieces of the Eleocharis parvulus plant.
I put the fish and plants into the quarantine aquarium at home. I planted the plants two days later. I left the fish in the quarantine aquarium for several days before I moved them to the main one. Then, some fish were bothering the Ram cichlids from the beginning; but they calmed down after a while.
I measured the phosphorus concentration in the water using the new test and observed that the sample didn't color at all. Therefore, I applied 40 ml of the Makron fertilizer. I changed the water a week later, on 13/8. I added three Tetra Crypto-Dunge tablets again. The amount of iron in the water was on a good level, so I only applied the Bioflor fertilizer and 40 ml of the Maktron fertilizer again.
It seemed to me that the plants started growing again and the algae bloom decreased. The leaves' edges stopped turning black. The roots of many plants got extended.
In the meantime, the CO2 bomb ran out of gas. It remained 7 months. There is a company called Rehas close to the Tesco store in Břeclav. So, I went there early in the morning. An assistant lectured me that the valve nut size was not typical for the Czech Republic, thus he didn’t have the proper spanner. Then, I had to listen to his opinion that my CO2 set was expensive, that he would've managed the components cheaper. How should I have known that? I they'd had such information on the web, I would have not gone to Brno to buy the bomb and I would've rather bought it at theirs. Then, he started to convince me that my aquarium didn't need the CO2 because unce upon a time his father had an aquarium and never used that. What a great customer care. Instead of telling me “Looking forward to seeing you again when you run out of CO2,” he convinces me that I don't need the CO2. Finally, the bomb refilling cost 90 Kč (US$ 4).
