Algae Has Hit! New Pics Added 25/04

[sophos9]

Your tank looks great! How many fast growers did you get? I like the drop checker, little bit if a shame about the black sucker cup, you should change it for a clear one

 

[lowee]

Well today i also went to my LFS and bought a bunch of Egeria Densa and a nice big amazon sword. I also added another moss ball. The algae on the glass seems to be under control, I wiped it all off and now is only growing back very slowly, but it has started growing on the plants! Included as a picture of the tank in its current state and a picture of the moss ball.

 

[lowee]

Do you think i still need more egeria densa and other fast-growers?

 

[nry]

Maybe 10-20 (at least!) times that you already have if this is a new-ish tank

 

[Castellop123]

op

 

[Underwurlde]

^ Agreed.

Expensive things plants....

Andy

BTW, why does looking at that moss ball floating there make me laugh?

 

[lowee]

Ok then, looks like i will be buying a fair few more egeria stems!

 

[lowee]

Well, im still having major hair algae troubles! Its growing pretty slowly on the glass, but it growing quickly and all over the plants! For now i have replaced my wood with 4 bunches of egeria, to help fight the algae. I have also ordered an army of 6 Tiger shrimp in to have a go at the algae and today i added 4 tetras. Does anyone else have any ideas on what to do about it? Does it need more egeria still? (there are about 25-30 stems in atm)

And the drop checker is still showing 30ppm, although i suspect it is more like 20-25 ppm as i only have nutrafins running atm, the pressurized is begin refilled. I also included a pretty cool picture i managed to get of the tetras!

 

[lowee]

I was also in the middle of clearing out the algae when the picture was taken, so heres two pictures showing the difference before and after cleaning!

 

[cheesy feet]

^ Agreed.

Expensive things plants....

Andy

BTW, why does looking at that moss ball floating there make me laugh?

I still think you need more stems.I Would try wisteria.So fast growing! I have some in a 20 gal with a 24watt reptile tube and it is setting of new shoots everyday.

 

[lowee]

Also don't forget that the corners are full of rotundifolia, diandra and arcuata

 

[jgray152]

If Mbunas like that algae I wouldn't mind having it

Send some to me! Nice tank! Its got to be hard work to get a good planted tank going.

 

[lowee]

Any other ideas?

 

[sophos9]

At 3.4wpg with 30ppm CO2 I honestly believe you do not have enough plants. Is your tank new?

I went through multiple algae types and I believe I'm getting to the bottom of my errors. In order of appearance

Brown diatoms
Green fuzz
Green hair
Brown hair
Staghorn
GDA
Green water

Milestones have been when I have got the nutrient dosing right and TIME! Any changes made will take a few weeks to reflect. I had to put about 200 fast growing stems in to combat algae growth and that was at 1.5wpg! My tank is clearing up - new posts up soon!

My personal experience is get a lot of fast growing stems in there and ensure the nutrients stable. What nutrients are you
dosing?

 

[lljdma06]

At 3.4wpg with 30ppm CO2 I honestly believe you do not have enough plants. Is your tank new?

Sophos9 is right.

I've addressed this issue before in your journal thread, and I really do hate being right. You need a lot more stemplants, at least 75% of the substrate covered with said weeds. The "corners" of stemplants aren't going to cut it. I don't think beginners in high-tech should initially plant with their final layout, you waste money. Even experts sometimes lose good plants if they miscalculate their nutrients or miss a dosing. Unfortunately, you may loose your hairgrass in the process. I'm sorry I'm ragging on you, but I'm a cheapskate, and the thought of you having to spend more money now to fix your situation irks me a little. It's just me. A little more patience, and you would have saved yourself a load of trouble and possibly some money. Your tanks super new too, all the more reason to have waited on the final scape.

Patience is a virtue.

Good luck to you! I still absolutely adore your wood.
llj