New Lighting = Algae... Sheesh

[nicklfire]

I know everyone always asks this one time or another but.. here it goes lol.

I just got my new lighting... i'm about. .at .. 2.5 watts.. for my 30 gallon tank and now i'm seeing algae growing everywhere... kinda spot algae... and the grassy looking stuff.

So what are my options here... I currently do not have c02... if i get that.. will it cut down the algae problem?

2nd ) I'll rip out all my old plants that look like they are dying for some reason... or not doing well... an replace them with Fast growing plants

3rd)... i dont have a third lol

Tell me my plan of action peeps

i think i'm missing number six lol

 

[Jen]

CO2 will help, as will adding more nutrients into the water. Are you putting any fertalizers in the water now? Fast growers will also help right now.

Have you read the pinned articles at the top of this section? Algae in the Planted Aquarium, A Basic Guide to Carbon Dioxide and zig's Estimative Index Article will help out out

 

[nicklfire]

yea i have read those artciles... but new faces and words might be better... those sticky's are like talking heads lolz...but they do work yes...

dont need nutrients.. that substrate i bought.. was 100 Bucks, has everything i need for at least 6 months...



Ok if you could post names of Fast growing plants for me here i'd really appreciate it.. so can go pick some up somwhere... and how many should i have in my tank.. that will actually make a difference for long term...

 

[Jen]

Hygrophilia and Ludwiga are good fast growers.

What is the substrate are you using? what nutrients does it contain?

I havent used plants to combat algae... thats when i got on the nutrient bandwagon.

 

[nicklfire]

hey

well i got three bags of this stuff
http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...products_id=424

 

[zig]

You need to add co2 straight away this is the main reason that you are getting the algae most likely, you will also need to fertilise this tank, the spot algae is because your phosphate levels are to low the hair algae is more than likely a combination of no co2 and lack of fertiliser.

 

[nicklfire]

Hmm c02 strait ahead eh, yea i thought that would be a problem, I suppose i'll get that nutrifin thing, the little one, i wanted to go pressurized but i dont thin i'll be able to do that till christmas and didnt wanna wate money on a small thing... when i could put it towards a bigger one, so yea.... i'll do that i suppose
fertiliers on the other hand.. why do i need that kind of stuff, i have.. that substrate stuff that has all the nutriets that the plants need


Also the plant numbered #1 would it be smart to trim those.... so they arnt covering the top???
let them grow out again and again or what?

 

[zig]

You need fertilisers because plants need food and without it they will starve, how do you know what nutrients are in the substrate? Will the substrate alone provide NPK and trace for the plants? I suggest you read the pinned articles again and reduce your lighting in the meantime.

One nutrafin co2 unit will not be enough for a 30 gallon tank, a 2 liter pop bottle and the ladder by itself for diffusing the co2 would probably be more effective and save you money as well.

 

[nicklfire]

well i suppose your right zig, i thought maybe the fish waste would be sufficient source of food for them but i'll look into ferts.. anything specific?

i'll turn off one of the t5's and work off just a 40watt till i get that co2 and fertz going

where can i find a diy fo the co2 bottle and ladder?
i'll look in the meantime

 

[zig]

The fish waste would be an option but not at 2.5 WPG if you reduced the light to 1.5 WPG or thereabouts you would not need co2 or much fertiliser, its always an option if you dont want the hassle of higher amounts of light and the problems it entails.

Try and buy the Hagen ladder by itself online, and then all you need is some airline hosing and an empty 2 litre mineral bottle, you will then add sugar water yeast and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to generate the co2. You will also need a kH and a Ph testkit to measure the amount of co2 you are generating.

For fertiliser you will need to provide NPK nitrate phosphate and potassium you will also need to provide trace minerals as well, you can read about this in the Estimate Index article pinned at the top of this section, you will also need a nitrate and phosphate testkit.

Anyway there is allways still the option to keep the tank lowlight and skip most of the above

 

[nicklfire]

i turned off 1 light for now... so running at like 1.4 or whatever, i'll build a diy co2 with the procedure you stated above. without a regular or anything do i run into the problem of putting too much in? i know i'm looking for about 30pp correct?? but.. if i just did it without monitoring it.. will it usually go above that range? Just asking for saftey reasons

 

[jimbooo]

hi nicklfire: i'm not going to step on zigs toes as all the advice he has given is totally correct. to clarify the fertaliser point though

when the average fishkeeper or shop assistant is talking about plant fertaliser they are talking about "TRACE" elements. ie iron, magnesium, potassium and a whole load of other nutrients the plants use to grow. these are generally all referred to as "trace elements".

the vast majority of aquarium owners that have live plants just (as you know) stick plants in basic tanks without extra lighting etc...

in the case of that kind of setup all the owner would need to add it the trace ferts. in your case your substrate will contain a high ammount of iron (Fe) plus the other bits and bobs supplying all the trace you need for 6 months, more or less.

the fertalisers Zig is talking about are MACRO nutrients. ie NPK, nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. in the average tank those are all supplied in the tap water and fish waste in adequate quantities.

when you upgrade lighting and co2 (but especially lighting) the growth rate of your plants goes through the roof. sucking up much more NPK from the water than previously.

no general liquid fertaliser will contain NPK (well maybe a bit of K but definatly not N or P).

ideal values of the above in the planted tank are in the region of

N - 10-20ppm
P - 0.5-1.5ppm
K - no test kits available so dont worry, if the above is correct K is very likely to be okay

the EI fertalisation method concerns the dosing of NPK hence the reason why you will still need to add those ferts to the tank. where the thread mentions "Trace" ferts you will probably manage without those for about 6 months.

sorry to butt in Zig but i thought i would lend a hand on that bit.

good luck with the tank, follow the above advice and you'll be fine

in answer to the last question, you will find it very hard to overdose with DIY co2. if you have a KH (buffering capacity) above about 5 you'll be fine. mine is 13, at 30ppm CO2 the PH is about 7-7.5 ish roughly

 

[nicklfire]

oooooo ok, yea.. that clears it up alot for me, i have read that pinned artcle and zig was right i guess i just needed clarrification. I bought this fert a while ago called "plant gro" i dont know if your aware of it.. but it has alot of things in it... i'll go back and read it i suppose to see if it has everything like that. I turned off 1 light and the algae seemed to ... stop for now, so i will go get some ferts (macro) and then put together a DIY co2 thing with the ladder and pop bottles...

Wow you guys are totally helpful, i'm glad i found this site when i did or i woulda been a goner

 

[Jen]

I am glad we have have been able to clear some thing up for you. Just make sure with the Plant Gro that the macro nut's come in the right ratio to what you want. I found that most all in one ferts didn't have enough nitrates for my tank.

Most of us that do dose those nutrients do it themselves - getting dry chemicals and mixing them up according to what your tank needs. It is extremely inexpensive - I bought 1lb of nitrate and phosphate for just under $10 each. I then mixed half of each into containers. I made the solutions in late august, and I have more that half of the phosphate, and 1/4 of the nitrate... and I still have half a pound of each dry chemical left!

Deffinately worth looking into.

 

[jimbooo]

yep as canoechiq says you need dry ferts really. plant grow is a TRACE fert as well. just like the rest of them. dont use it. all you will do is send the iron (Fe) throught the roof and not effect the NPK values.

algae loves iron if the rest is out of balance. adding just plant grow now will make the algae worse. the priority for you is the CO2, get that in ASAP and things should start to clear up. you cant do alot about the algae until you get the co2 in. in the mean time water changes will replace some carbon dioxide in the water. if the algae is getting bad do daily 10% water changes till you get the co2 in place.