Nano Tanks Are A Pain !

[kenneth_kpe]

my 2.2 gallon nano is full of algae ! i have been battling it for almost a month now and im not winning !! the algae is simply growing alongside with the plants!!! ARGHHH!!! its so frustrating !!

2.2 gallon nano with 23 watts of Cf daylight lighting
substrate is pea gravel with sera floredepot underneath
plants glosso and hemianthus (not the shorter one the longer hemianthus)

algae: fuzzy beardy hairy staghorn algae....

2 guppies and shrimps (5ghost type)
snails
MTS

EI dosing
kno3, fleet and sera florena for traces
kno3 - 10 ppm tues,thurs,sat and sunday during water changes
fleet the same only 2ppm
a few drops of traecs during off days

c02 via a small diy bottle, im now using a really small internal powerhead to diffuse the co2

additional comments: AAARGHHH!!!!!

 

[anvil63]

I truly sympathize. I ran a 5 gallon planted tank for about a year that I had underneath my 55gal cichlid tank. My 55 slowly evolved over to a planted tank and I was amazed to find that I spent less time trying to keep the 55 looking pristine than I did on the 5 gal.

I'll admit that there is something very unique and pleasant about small planted tanks, but due my frustration from past experiences and the fact that my new place has enough space I don't think I'll ever run a planted tank in anything smaller than my 4ft 40 gal.

Good luck and if you get things cleared up post a pic

Carl

 

[kenneth_kpe]

heres a pic of it when it was a bit better

right now its full of algae !!

i know my 13 gal is doing okay now ! im just changing the water every week on it and adding ferts daily ! thats it aside from the c02 with my nano tank ! ARGHH

 

[lljdma06]

I'm sorry, that sucks! Dumb algae! Hope it gets better.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

haha dumb algae like that term have to get the tank really balanced !! dunno how to but i must D

 

[Silly me]

I also have a nano tank, very well planted and have the same if not more algae than plants...

My tank is plastic so I made a hole in the back ( overflow ) and extended the outlet to the garden.. now I just do a 10min water change everyday..
I am not useing any fertilizers. but I do have a small sponge filter to keep everything settled with the water changes. I must say the algae is about 80% gone. I dont think "Nano Tanks Are A Pain !" they just need a lot more attention than bigger tanks

since you are useing a internal powerhead to diffuse the co2. it might be a good idea to for now add a small sponge filter.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

actually i removed the filter ! it helped slow the algae growth a bit because the c02 levels rose, but im thinking it might not need the filtration, right now im chaging the water almost every other day to battle the algae, its not helping, but im only on my first week of water changes.

 

[RYO]

I know just how you feel, my 60l is a pain to keep compared to the 120l. The wpg of the nano (and my 60)is v high so the slightest imbalance is exaggerated tenfold. Ive striped my tank down but within a day or two it looks like the picture from jimbooo's holiday disaster - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=112095
I think my next step is reducing the lighting to around 3 wpg ,not sure if you have that option.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i might not have that option because im trying to grow riccia in it and make it carpet nicely.... before it was running only 16watts, it was a bit easier to take care of that time.....

 

[paul123]

there a chemicals at your lfs, that sell algae removers... i personally dont like using chemicals... so what i would do is buy alot of algae eaters such as bristle nose... gybesseps. or bottom feeders..
this is my personal opinion.

 

[jaoquinz]

Hi!

I'm a newcomer to the planted tank scene and I've started a 2.5G planted tank exactly 22 days ago!

Before that I had the same problem as you, hair algae and green spot all over the tank. I dosed ferts right from the beginning, and weekly 50% WC. I had more algae than plants in the end of a month, so I decided to start all over.

I think the main thing in nano tanks is to main water quality in the first 2 weeks. In the new setup I did 50% WC EVERYNIGHT when I came home from work. That's pretty easy with 2.5 gallons. I just siphon it out and refill it up with a 2 bottles of dechrolinated water. Takes 5 minutes.
Then all I added was 1ml K and 1ml Excel, but that's because I had ADA AS as substrate. I think good soil is important in here because you don't have to dose any extra P or N. For extra measure I tied a bunch of floating plants at the corner of the tank to soak up any extra nutrients. I also had some carbon in the filter for the first 2 weeks.

After 14 days, water was clean, no major visible algae except a few white cotton growth that was easily managed. Day 17 I added some RCS and otos to clean that up.

Now I do 30% WC every 3-4 days, dose K daily and micros with every WC. No more excel because of the shrimps. I am afraid that I may not have enough algae for the otos to eat. Maybe you want to take a look at the journal in the planted tanks journal section? Might be some help.

Most importantly, don't give up! Like Silly said, nano tanks are not really more maintenance, they just require more attention. Because they are small, WC daily is like taking 1G of water out and in, 5 minutes each time. That in a week is 7Gs of water, 35mins total. That should equate to the same amount of time for a weekly 30% WC in a 30G tank.

 

[aaronnorth]

old thread, last post was Oct 2005!