Lots Of Algae On My Windelow?

[simonas]

I;m starting out with plants and even after a short period of time they are going down hill

The Ozelot doesn;t look as good as when I started now do the amazon swords. The Windelowfern has algae on it like a blanket

I;m running 3 t5 tubbes and they are one for about 8 hours a day. Is this too much? I;m going to buy some food or additives for the plants today, what do you recomend and would it affect the discus or water quality?

just a though I have really poor flow despite the fact I run a fluval fx5 the spray bar I have made makes it pretty static, will revisit that this weekend as I suspect that doesn;t help

Simon

 

[ian]

what is the size of the tank and what is the wattage of the bulbs?

Also have you got a pic of the offender?

 

[lljdma06]

This is the 150g? What's the wattage oh the tubes so I can figure ou the amount you have. You'll most likely have to address the flow as well. How does the rest of the tank look? 8 hours is not unreasonable, but many of us won't start at 8 hours, depends on the system. Some start out with as little as 4 hours, some can go ahead with 8 from the get go.

Poor Simon, the two of us asking the same questions...

 

[simonas]

I will go out to the garage now and tredge through the snow and find out I;m glad you two are up and on here as I;ll bombard you with a few questions!!

 

[simonas]

I lied the lights are actually on for 9 hours, just changed the timer to put them on from 17.00 to 23.45.
Also the bulbs are 54w t5's x 3.

Theres some algae on the sand based by the front middle section. the vallis seems ok and is spreading but the swords don;t look very clever . I;m also getting algae on the glass which I have never got before.

I may switch one of the t5;s off.

Simon

 

[lljdma06]

I lied the lights are actually on for 9 hours, just changed the timer to put them on from 17.00 to 23.45.
Also the bulbs are 54w t5's x 3.

Theres some algae on the sand based by the front middle section. the vallis seems ok and is spreading but the swords don;t look very clever . I;m also getting algae on the glass which I have never got before.

I may switch one of the t5;s off.

Simon

Yes, these are t5s, so you won't need as much. A few things...

How dense is the planting? Are we opting for CO2 or not? What does the algae look like? Pix would be great. Sorry we made you trudge in the snow. I'm going to the Zoo today and it'll be about 26C today. The swords may need some time to adjust from emersed to submerged growth. That algae is concentrated in certain locations of the tank says that there is a circulation issue.

 

[simonas]

well I;ve improved the circulation issue and their is far more flow in the tank

I have also just paid a silly price for 2 bottle of flourish trace and flourise excel?

will these two help to make the plants grow?

I also turned one tube off and reduced the amount of time they are on.

 

[simonas]

well the algae has gone from the substrate now that I have improved the flow

cheers Llj

 

[lljdma06]

well the algae has gone from the substrate now that I have improved the flow

cheers Llj

Good times, Simon.

 

[simonas]

heres the algae on my windelow

not a good pic hoping that since I;ve increased flow it'll reduce like it has from the substrate

also there was algae on the lotus and the ozelot but I wiped that off. The ozelot leaves felt quite flimsy

also a pic of the fading amazon sword leaves