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Originally Posted by Erk
I have a co2 indicator suction cupped to the glass in the tank...its the Red Sea indicator? It usually goes green by the end of the night, but is blue almost the entire photoperiod 
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the red sea one is nice, i have one of the same.. easy to read. the reason we use a 4dKh solution is this. There is a direct relationship between co2, ph and Kh, unforunatly for us, all our test kits are pretty inaccurate.. so to get around that, we put water in the checker that we KNOW is 4dKh, that way we know much more accuratly whats going on. The reason we use 4dKh, is because when it goes green, itll mean you have about 25-35ppm of co2, right on the money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erk
I dont add the N and PO4 because those readings are always about the same. The nitrates never go down, and I have seachem phosguard in my cannister, and the PO4 is always at 1ppm. I have tried to increase dosing on K, and Fe to help with this
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unless youve calibrated your test kits, you cant rely on them.. PO4 test kits are famously inaccurate, ignore them and use estimative index, its worked out to provide slightly more than the needed amounts of PO4 and the other ferts, that way you KNOW your not missing anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erk
Would I be able to grow glosso and riccia if I half my lighting?
Eric
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yes, no problem at all, make sure its not shaded though.. if its shaded it wont matter how much light you have it wont be happy.
i have my co2 coming on about 1 hour before the lights come on, to ensure that the co2 is up to good levels before the plants start using it. and going off 1 hour before the lights go off. This allows me to add much more than you would if you were adding it 24/7, as the fish get a break.
Hoppy is right, you have a large fish load for a tank of that size, I didnt notice that before. You have to remember that algae needs very little of anything to grow, plants need alot, if the plants arent growing, theres no competition for ferts, so the algae wins. this is why a large biomass is a good thing to aid you in making your tank stable.
id consider doing a 3 day blackout to rid yourself of existing problems.. it has to be total, no peeking! and it works amazingly.. but make sure EVERYTHING is right for when you turn the lights back on.
once youve read and understood as best as you can EI.. use the calculater downloadable from the link in my sig to tell you how much and when. a 50% weekly water change is totally enough, so youll be spending less time chucking water and more time pruning and gardening, which is what we do it for! Ive not used a test kit in 6 months, and i wont probably again either.