Algae and Plants

[oMIKEo]

Hi all,

have a few questions that you may be able to help me with....

1) first off why do my red planets (technical name! ) keep dieing? - had the plant for about 2-3 weeks and now its gone really pale and looks like its gonna need taking out soon...

2) What is the best way to keep onto of algae as i did a water change and cleaned the tank about a week ago and now its starting to cover some of the leaves on the plants (not really the red one though)?

3) Will my high ish PH be affecting any of these? - The tank has a PH of around 8 - 8.5 as the tap water here is around that, im slowly adding PH Adjust to the water to try and lower it a bit to make it better for the Tetras that are in there...

The lights are on for about 10 hours a day, all other water tests are fine.

Also the Tetras that are in there are looking really healthy and happy...

Hope you guys can help.... Mike

 

[Dubby]

Mike:

The red plants are probably dying because of lack of light.

How much lighting do you have? Red plants need atleast 2-3W/gallon, otherwise they turn green or simply fade. Ofcourse the amount of light depends on the plant.

Plants also need adequate minerals, iron, nitrates, fertiliser, co2 etc.to grow well. If the balance between plant growth and nutrients in the water is incorrect then algae takes the opportunity to use the nutrients to grow.

To be able to advise you better we will need more info on what plants you have, substrate, fertilisation etc. And you'll probably get more responses if this is posted in Planted tank section.

 

[paulthegreat]

10-12 hours of light should be enough if it is the correct strength. If it is a new plant in a new tank it will take a while to build up a good root base and the nutrients will take some time to get going. Try not to use chems to adjust the pH use a piece of root wood to lower the pH, roots also look nice in a tank. Coral or coral based sand to raise the pH. The fish will pretty much be fine with any pH between 6-8.5 as long as it stays mostly stabile!!! An algea eater or shrimp or snails will help with the algea and do not over feed. It is OK to skip a day now and then with the rations. As long as the nitrates are fine you should not need to do to much. I do a 30-40% water change with grav vac every week in both tanks. Also try to keep the direct sunlight off the tank. Easier said then done for me since I have 21 hours of sun here in northern Sweden right now. HTH

 

[NottoosureN.Z]

10-12 hours of light should be enough if it is the correct strength. If it is a new plant in a new tank it will take a while to build up a good root base and the nutrients will take some time to get going. Try not to use chems to adjust the pH use a piece of root wood to lower the pH, roots also look nice in a tank. Coral or coral based sand to raise the pH. The fish will pretty much be fine with any pH between 6-8.5 as long as it stays mostly stabile!!! An algea eater or shrimp or snails will help with the algea and do not over feed. It is OK to skip a day now and then with the rations. As long as the nitrates are fine you should not need to do to much. I do a 30-40% water change with grav vac every week in both tanks. Also try to keep the direct sunlight off the tank. Easier said then done for me since I have 21 hours of sun here in northern Sweden right now. HTH

Definatly agree.I had the same problem so I bought two algae eaters and within a few days the tank was looking great again.This also helped with plant growth because the algae was no longer taking over and slowly killing my plants.Definatly try to stay away from chemicals to lower your ph as you will likely do more harm than good.I also have a high ph but some bog wood lowered it slightly and my neon tetras have adjusted nicely and seem to be vey happy.Good luck.