Algae Advice On Silk Plants

[Tropical_Noobie]

Hi all

I have what looks like algae (Brown spots) on my Silk plants. I have washed these of once befor and they are coming back after aprox 5-7 days.

I have a 60 litre tank with a 15W tube which is on 8 hrs a day.

Q.Is there a set timeline for lights on. e.g. 16:00/00:00 .Only I was reading about fish keepers referring to X amount of lights and timer switches to aquire the perfect light throught the day/night!

Any advice on the above would be great!

Thanks for looking

 

[quicksand]

if you have plastic plants there's no reason for you to keep lights on for 8 hours a day. i have real plants and 6 hours is more than enough, with a similar wattage/liters ratio.

stay off the sun. completely. even a few minutes of sunlight a day can cause algae problems, and the same goes for reflected sunlight, although obviously to a lesser degree.

and finally, dump the synthetics. why did you get an aquarium when you stuff it with artificial unnatural objects that have nothing to do with what an aquarium stands for. i'd feel really uncomfortable staring at something so fake as these plastic plants. just get an aquarium screensaver. same effect, no algae.

 

[Mo1959]

Hi, unlike quicksand I don't see the problem with artificial plants. Especially if, like me, you don't have green fingers or the knowledge to care for real ones. I am sure the fish don't really mind as long as they have something for hiding in.

Too much light will probably be the reason for the algae though I would think. As you don't have real plants you would maybe be better just putting the lights on for three or four hours in the evening for your enjoyment of the tank. I am almost at the stage of getting fish in my cycling tank and will probably go for mainly synthetic plants but with maybe a couple of real plants attached to bogwood and perhaps two or three moss balls. I will probably try to just have the lights on for around 6 hours maximum and see how it goes at that.

 

[Tropical_Noobie]

if you have plastic plants there's no reason for you to keep lights on for 8 hours a day. i have real plants and 6 hours is more than enough, with a similar wattage/liters ratio.

stay off the sun. completely. even a few minutes of sunlight a day can cause algae problems, and the same goes for reflected sunlight, although obviously to a lesser degree.

and finally, dump the synthetics. why did you get an aquarium when you stuff it with artificial unnatural objects that have nothing to do with what an aquarium stands for. i'd feel really uncomfortable staring at something so fake as these plastic plants. just get an aquarium screensaver. same effect, no algae.

Thanks for your advice and feeling on my silk plants quick. The tank has a little sun light in the morning from the kitchen side & nothing from the front room side at all, except the 8hrs from the tube! (changing that now Just for the record I intend to put some life into my tank. I have only been cycled for a little over two months and wanted to wait a short while before adding live plants. I agree live plants are better than screensavers also they are more natural looking. Lol.

 

[mtv8dmarine]

and finally, dump the synthetics. why did you get an aquarium when you stuff it with artificial unnatural objects that have nothing to do with what an aquarium stands for. i'd feel really uncomfortable staring at something so fake as these plastic plants. just get an aquarium screensaver. same effect, no algae.

Really quicksand? You have how much time and presence on these forums...1 post? The OP wasn't seeking to be chastised based on YOUR preference. He/she was asking for help with a diatom issue. So if you can't answer the question and can't be nice, then quite simply don't post.

What you likely have are diatoms. Is your tank recently cycled? Diatoms often occur in these situations. They can be cause by a number of things. Phosphate and silicates in your tap water, too little light, too many nutrients (decaying fish food).

API makes a phosphate test kit for your tap water and a product cause PhosBan if you want to go that route. Diatoms will get better in time. It can go away as fast as it appears or it could take a couple months. It just depends.

I personally don't have an issue with silk plants. Some people are concerned about additional maintenance or scared of if things went wrong with their tank if planted. I started out with them and gradually picked up knowledge here and there and took a genuine interest in having a planted tank. It's not as scary as one may think if you make educated decisions and choose to be better informed about it. It's a personal choice. Quicksand's attitude does not represent the general attitude of the forum members here so I do apologize for it.

Otocinclus catfish are wonderful algae eaters although they can be sensitive with tank parameters at times. For me, they keep diatoms in check and balance things out. When there's no algae though, they do need to be fed algae wafers or similar. They aren't an expensive fish so you might want to try a few.

I should also say that a planted tank will produce some level of green algae in time. Some green algae is a good thing. This algae as long as it's at decent levels is beneficial to the overall biology of the tank. It will also out-compete the diatoms for the food source and starve it out in time.

 

[spectrum]

To get rid of algae from plastic/silk plants and ornaments, soak them in a bleach-water solution, it kills the algae right off. I have to say though, I see no problem with artificial plants, especially in tanks with low light, or plant eating fish. But I bet If you bought some hardy live plants you would not turn back, obviously with low light you can't have a proper planted tank, but even just some moss on wood looks brilliant.

 

[mtv8dmarine]

To get rid of algae from plastic/silk plants and ornaments, soak them in a bleach-water solution, it kills the algae right off. I have to say though, I see no problem with artificial plants, especially in tanks with low light, or plant eating fish. But I bet If you bought some hardy live plants you would not turn back, obviously with low light you can't have a proper planted tank, but even just some moss on wood looks brilliant.

Actually you can have a proper planted tank. There are many plants out there that are considered low light. Vallis, chain swords, crypto. wendtii, amazon swords, java fern, anubias nana, anubias congensis, barteri var. roundleaf, etc. Low light generally means you won't have to concern yourself with CO2 injection and will have much less troubles down the line with algae.

Low light doesn't mean you're restricted from a nice planted setup at all.

 

[Bignose]

I have had to remove several posts from this thread. Please remember that while different people may have different opinions, we still have to respectful of one another. Please don't require moderator intervention again.

 

[Ashley1991]

hey

if you dont have real plants you only need to put the lights on for your viewing pleasure that should cut down on the amount of algae on your silk/plastic plants (i had the same problem when i had a goldfish tank with silk plant when i thought i had to keep it on like 6-8 hours a day )

ash

 

[mtv8dmarine]

I have had to remove several posts from this thread. Please remember that while different people may have different opinions, we still have to respectful of one another. Please don't require moderator intervention again.

Quite true Bignose but despite our opinions, or quicksand's in this case, tact should still be exercised when expressing such viewpoints. There's no excuse to force your belief or belittle someone because he doesn't like the fact that the OP prefers silk plants. So you remove all posts but the original inflammatory one. It's not what you say but how you say it and the original post should be clipped because it simply lacks etiquette. That is why I brought this to your attention in the first place.

 

[Bignose]

I have had to remove several posts from this thread. Please remember that while different people may have different opinions, we still have to respectful of one another. Please don't require moderator intervention again.

Quite true Bignose but despite our opinions, or quicksand's in this case, tact should still be exercised when expressing such viewpoints. There's no excuse to force your belief or belittle someone because he doesn't like the fact that the OP prefers silk plants. So you remove all posts but the original inflammatory one. It's not what you say but how you say it and the original post should be clipped because it simply lacks etiquette. That is why I brought this to your attention in the first place.

Don't be so quick to read tone into the text. The exact same words can sound either "rude" or they can sound "questioningly". They can be read both ways. Either way, in my opinion there is nothing against the rules that has been left in this thread. It was the over-reactions that I had to remove from this thread.

I see no "forcing", I see someone questioning why they would want synthetic plants in the aquarium. While there is poor word choice there, I don't see anything about forcing.

Furthermore, any issue that you may have had with quicksand, you did exactly the same thing he did with your replies! One may equivalently say that you were being "forcing" and "rude" because you were dressing down someone new to the forum. Do I really need to bring out the cliche "Pot, meet Kettle"?

I don't need you to tell me how to moderate. If you have a problem with my moderation, take it up the admins, Tolak and William.

Now, lets get off of the moderation in this thread, and back on this thread. Else, I will close the thread, since it has taken 2 really ugly turns. A 3rd will not be tolerated.

Thanks

 

[Bignose]

hey

if you dont have real plants you only need to put the lights on for your viewing pleasure that should cut down on the amount of algae on your silk/plastic plants (i had the same problem when i had a goldfish tank with silk plant when i thought i had to keep it on like 6-8 hours a day )

ash

Fish do need light. Like most other animals, a significant source of their Vitamin D is synthesized with light being needed for that synthesis. There is Vitamin D in the food, but light really makes sure that Vitamin D deficiency is never a worry. People get a disease called rickets from a Vitamin D deficiency, I really don't want to know what the fish equivalent of rickets is.

 

[Tropical_Noobie]

Thanks for all your help & advice Gent's! It's just a shame I had to read between the line's!

I would however like to say that I did not find quicksands reply rude even thou his opinions on silk plants were strong! (inwhich he is entitled to have in my book)

I understand what everyone is saying here and will take the advice onboard.

Thanks again.

Peace

 

[Ashley1991]

Fish do need light. Like most other animals, a significant source of their Vitamin D is synthesized with light being needed for that synthesis. There is Vitamin D in the food, but light really makes sure that Vitamin D deficiency is never a worry. People get a disease called rickets from a Vitamin D deficiency, I really don't want to know what the fish equivalent of rickets is.
[/quote]

as long as they get some sunlight from the window then they should be fine mine used to be absolutly stunning actually still are my gf was kind enough to take them so i could go tropical and that tank has no light at all just light from the sun

ash

edit: i still dont know how to use quotes lol

 

[Tropical_Noobie]

Nice Ash,

As far as useing quotes just reply to the last thread if you want the last quote or use fast reply lol...