Tombstone Tank

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

i decided against it. we have to do a gravel vac basically every week as i get a ton of algae, no idea why. when we gravel vac, the big rocks that were the tombstones and paths went everywhere and were under the regular gravel and everything.


unless anybody knows any water-safe glue i can use? like glue them all together maybe and then put them on the bottom?
it took me an hour to do that the first time and how ever much i like my fishies, i don't want to spend an hour a week just redecorating the 10g.

 

[stang1]

That's such a shame, I know you were really looking forward to having that theme for your tank.

 

[rdd1952]

You can buy aquarium-safe silicone at most fish stores. I know Petsmaet and Petco have it. Just be careful how big you make the piece. You don't want something so big that if you lift it to move and it slips out of your hand, that it goes through the bottom of the tank.

You don't necessarily have to vacuum up every piece of waste. Those of us with planted tanks can't possibly get into the plants to vacuum. We get what we can and leave the rest. If your bacteria colony is good and you have a good maintanence routine, you won't have a problem.

As for your algae problem, the 2 main causes of algae are: 1) overfeeding and 2) too much light. Generally it's a combination of the 2. Cut down on how much you feed (will also cut down on the amount of waste you have to vacuum) and the time your lights are on (10 to 12 hours is plenty for a planted tank).

 

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

it is planted, i already have to replant everytime we clean it because even there there's algae. the algae's not just on the sides, its all throughout the gravel.

as for light, i turn it on when i get up to feed and then i usually turn it off unless i'm out of it and forget. then the sunlight comes in my window and lights up my room so they get that light without it being directly on the tank and without their light being on.
i only put a bit of food in until they gobble it all up and then just a bit more, just so they get it all.

thanks for the silicone idea. the pieces will be rather small, just stones glued together in small old-fashoned tomb shapes.

 

[rdd1952]

It sounds like you have the dreaded blue-green algae. Does it look like this or this?

 

[celaeno]

you'll get algae no matter what you do, as long as you turn on the light for more than a few hours a day.

 

[rdd1952]

you'll get algae no matter what you do, as long as you turn on the light for more than a few hours a day.

Not true. A properly maintained tank, with the proper nutrients, good filtration and a normal stocking load should never have algae. My 75 gallon has been running for 2 years now and, other than the normal brown algae that comes with cycling, has never had any algae. Algae is the end product of something that is wrong: over feeding, too much light, too many fish, direct sunlight to name a few. Look at some of the tanks in the Member's Aquariums and Fish Pictures Sections. You won't see any algae in those tanks.