Syphoniera
Fish Herder
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Hi, aaronnorth,
many (sad) thanks from distant Canada for those URLs.
Even if doubling our dollar to match the pound, those are nice prices.
Interesting article, though, and the colour makes such an incredible difference - nice to see the side by side comparisons shown and they really make it evident as to why so many people run two different types of bulbs together, although usable lighting set-ups themselves are in general well out of my range, so I make do as best I can with CFs, which work surprisingly well for my low-tech purposes.
Just have to wait until I win that lottery...
I'd start buying tickets, too, if I thought it'd make any difference to my chances, lol.
Hi, jnms,
glad to hear the problem is diminishing - and nice tank!
I hope to see pics when the new plants have grown in - should be even nicer.
I don't know, of course, but speaking as She Who Knows Nothing, and going by my particular (if rather limited, and hope it stays that way) experience, I suspect the planned removal of the disintegrating plants and any remaining visible BGA may help clear the rest of the problem up.
I'm not sure how well BGA is able to dig into sand, which is rather dense, but I have a somewhat coarse polished quartz gravel in the one tank, which I like the look of but which really only allows crawlers to grow well.
Nonetheless, as I could also see BGA along the glass beneath the gravel line, (everything I'd previously put in there having been repeatedly uprooted, broken or squashed) I swiped some bendy-type cuttings/bits from other tanks and planted a bit of cardamine lyrata in one corner, some tall but see-through aquatic grass in a narrow bit next to some driftwood, (as it would likely survive the dwarf plec's frequent passage,) and some 4-leaf clover to stick in hither and yon, so that there was at least something planted along the front, near where the BGA showed under the substrate, although it certainly wasn't much cover, and I wondered if the BGA would simply creep over the plants as it sometimes did in my problem tank.
For whatever reason, the BGA cleared up in those areas as well, although I also have snails, which help - although the need to dig around to periodically reset 4 leaf clover in some areas may also be a factor.
Did you particularly want that open area left clear?
Because a few low cover plants might also help forestall future problems, assuming those helped in my case, even though the plant types offered very little shade.
I believe it's usually recommended not to rinse filter media more than necessary, i.e., when really dirty, so shouldn't be embarrassed at all.
Might just want to check it once in while - and, as I expect you noticed, aaronnorth didn't specify a time period, as it'll depend on what's going on in the tank.
If having trouble with plant melt, might need a frequent clean, or might be fine for months...
If you can figure out how to efficiently syphon out grunge from a heavily planted area, please let me know.
I've tried (with great caution) pouring a bit of water in behind the bushes (even more of a risk of disrupting sand, I should think, and a disaster if too much substrate was shifted off roots to pile up elsewhere) and that's blown out some bits, but also - in a classic example of different tank conditions - mulm gradually works down under gravel to nourish plants, while remaining on the surface of sand until removed.
I try not to worry about it too much - but I don't have sand in any of my tanks.
You probably wouldn't need to worry too much about brown algae, ugly as it is, as it doesn't typically tend to stay around long, as aaronnorth pointed out above.
If I were in your shoes, I'd take it as a great excuse to get a few otos in, though, delightful (and low bioload) little critters that they are, now that the PH has stabilized.
May all the saints and fairies preserve you from BBA - there are people I'd probably drown, but I still wouldn't wish BBA even on them.
many (sad) thanks from distant Canada for those URLs.
Even if doubling our dollar to match the pound, those are nice prices.
Interesting article, though, and the colour makes such an incredible difference - nice to see the side by side comparisons shown and they really make it evident as to why so many people run two different types of bulbs together, although usable lighting set-ups themselves are in general well out of my range, so I make do as best I can with CFs, which work surprisingly well for my low-tech purposes.
Just have to wait until I win that lottery...
I'd start buying tickets, too, if I thought it'd make any difference to my chances, lol.
Hi, jnms,
glad to hear the problem is diminishing - and nice tank!
I hope to see pics when the new plants have grown in - should be even nicer.
I don't know, of course, but speaking as She Who Knows Nothing, and going by my particular (if rather limited, and hope it stays that way) experience, I suspect the planned removal of the disintegrating plants and any remaining visible BGA may help clear the rest of the problem up.
I'm not sure how well BGA is able to dig into sand, which is rather dense, but I have a somewhat coarse polished quartz gravel in the one tank, which I like the look of but which really only allows crawlers to grow well.
Nonetheless, as I could also see BGA along the glass beneath the gravel line, (everything I'd previously put in there having been repeatedly uprooted, broken or squashed) I swiped some bendy-type cuttings/bits from other tanks and planted a bit of cardamine lyrata in one corner, some tall but see-through aquatic grass in a narrow bit next to some driftwood, (as it would likely survive the dwarf plec's frequent passage,) and some 4-leaf clover to stick in hither and yon, so that there was at least something planted along the front, near where the BGA showed under the substrate, although it certainly wasn't much cover, and I wondered if the BGA would simply creep over the plants as it sometimes did in my problem tank.
For whatever reason, the BGA cleared up in those areas as well, although I also have snails, which help - although the need to dig around to periodically reset 4 leaf clover in some areas may also be a factor.
Did you particularly want that open area left clear?
Because a few low cover plants might also help forestall future problems, assuming those helped in my case, even though the plant types offered very little shade.
I believe it's usually recommended not to rinse filter media more than necessary, i.e., when really dirty, so shouldn't be embarrassed at all.
Might just want to check it once in while - and, as I expect you noticed, aaronnorth didn't specify a time period, as it'll depend on what's going on in the tank.
If having trouble with plant melt, might need a frequent clean, or might be fine for months...
If you can figure out how to efficiently syphon out grunge from a heavily planted area, please let me know.
I've tried (with great caution) pouring a bit of water in behind the bushes (even more of a risk of disrupting sand, I should think, and a disaster if too much substrate was shifted off roots to pile up elsewhere) and that's blown out some bits, but also - in a classic example of different tank conditions - mulm gradually works down under gravel to nourish plants, while remaining on the surface of sand until removed.
I try not to worry about it too much - but I don't have sand in any of my tanks.
You probably wouldn't need to worry too much about brown algae, ugly as it is, as it doesn't typically tend to stay around long, as aaronnorth pointed out above.
If I were in your shoes, I'd take it as a great excuse to get a few otos in, though, delightful (and low bioload) little critters that they are, now that the PH has stabilized.
May all the saints and fairies preserve you from BBA - there are people I'd probably drown, but I still wouldn't wish BBA even on them.
