Algae - Where to start your fight?

[MaterialCrab]

Hi All,

So every few days I seem to be wiping the glass, I'm guessing a it's green dust algae.

I've also noticed a bit of a build up of algae on plant leaves.

The current set up is running a little over a month, the filter was cycled on a previous set up.

I'm running 2 hygger 42W LEDs and it's a 4ft tank. They would be classed as medium light.

I'm also running CO2, the drop checker is dark green by lights on, so CO2 is sufficient but not quite 30ppm and that's the way I intended it to be. A medium set up.

I'm dosing Easy Life Profito weekly
Easy life Potassium weekly
I've added iron daily as I did notice my plants lacking in that department.

My questions are:

How much algae is normal?

If what I am seeing is not normal, where is the first place you start when it comes to the fight?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

If what I am seeing is not normal, where is the first place you start when it comes to the fight?

The most important thing is healthy plant growth and a reasonable plant mass.

I'm dosing Easy Life Profito weekly
Easy life Potassium weekly
I've added iron daily as I did notice my plants lacking in that department.

Are you you saying that you still aren't <"dosing any fertiliser">? (and we still don't know if that iron (Fe) <"is plant available">). From your other thread <"Eheim Vivaline 240 Journal - Medium Tech">.

..... These <"aren't really fertilisers">. Despite the blurb <"EasyLife Profito"> is just a <"very dilute micro-element mix"> and adding potassium (K) only helps if your tank <"was potassium deficient">........

It is really difficult to offer advice if we don't know whether one, some or many of the <"essential nutrients for plant growth"> are missing. Until we've addressed that (<"we know that all 14 of the essential plant nutrients are being added">) it is difficult to go forward.

I'm also running CO2, the drop checker is dark green by lights on, so CO2 is sufficient but not quite 30ppm and that's the way I intended it to be. A medium set up.

The plants can only make use of that extra CO2 if they aren't deficient in the mineral nutrients. That is why I like a floating plant <"as my nutrient canary">, it isn't CO2 limited and has first dibs on the light.

Once you've taken light and CO2 out of the equation that only leaves the mineral nutrients.

cheers Darrel

 

[MaterialCrab]

Hi all,

The most important thing is healthy plant growth and a reasonable plant mass.

Are you you saying that you still aren't <"dosing any fertiliser">? (and we still don't know if that iron (Fe) <"is plant available">). From your other thread <"Eheim Vivaline 240 Journal - Medium Tech">.

It is really difficult to offer advice if we don't know whether one, some or many of the <"essential nutrients for plant growth"> are missing. Until we've addressed that (<"we know that all 14 of the essential plant nutrients are being added">) it is difficult to go forward.

The plants can only make use of that extra CO2 if they aren't deficient in the mineral nutrients. That is why I like a floating plant <"as my nutrient canary">, it isn't CO2 limited and has first dibs on the light.

Once you've taken light and CO2 out of the equation that only leaves the mineral nutrients.

cheers Darrel

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Yes I am dosing the micro nutrients and potassium weekly and the iron is dosed on a daily basis.

From my understanding the fe2 is available to the plants immediately and the fe3 is gradual.

My plant growth is great. Nothing is melting / dying and I have been pruning some of the stem plants as they have reached near surface level. This is all within say 3-4 weeks.

I did buy some Frogbit but they haven't been in the tank very long, just a few days. I'll attach photos.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

From my understanding the fe2 is available to the plants immediately and the fe3 is gradual.

That is what the vendor want you to think is important, but iron (Fe) availability is dependent upon alkalinity, both the ferrous (Fe++) and ferric (Fe+++) ions <"will come out of solution"> very quickly in base (<"and oxygen">) rich water. They aren't lying, but <"they aren't telling the truth either">.

Iron needs to be supplied <"in a chelated form">, unless you have very soft and acidic water.

Yes I am dosing the micro nutrients and potassium weekly and the iron is dosed on a daily basis.

You need to <"dose a complete fertiliser">, you don't need to dose EI levels, but you need at least <"petrol fumes">.

Thank-you for the Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) picture, it is exactly what we need.

This is what healthy Frogbit looks like <"Floaters">.

We can rule out CO2 and light, so your plants are deficient in at <"least one of the mobile plant nutrients"> (the pale older leaves) and at least <"one of the mobile plant nutrients">, the pale yellow new leaves.

Diagnosing nutrient deficiencies of the mobile nutrients is difficult, but the chlorosis of the new leaves is likely to be iron deficiency. Even though the Frogbit plants haven't been in your tank for long you get a very rapid greening when a <"mobile nutrient becomes available">.

cheers Darrel

 

[John q]

@MaterialCrab
You might want to give your CO2 diffuser a clean as it looks like it's getting clogged and producing larger bubbles, these bubbles won't stay in the water column very long, will tend to rise to the surface and in general won't dissolve very efficiently into the water column.
Not saying this will solve your issues, but the clogged diffuser won't be helping.

Clean diffuser pic from your other thread 8th Feb. Fine bubbles.

Picture you posted today. Large bubbles.

 

[MaterialCrab]

Hi all,

That is what the vendor want you to think is important, but iron (Fe) availability is dependent upon alkalinity, both the ferrous (Fe++) and ferric (Fe+++) ions <"will come out of solution"> very quickly in base (<"and oxygen">) rich water. They aren't lying, but <"they aren't telling the truth either">.

Iron needs to be supplied <"in a chelated form">, unless you have very soft and acidic water.

You need to <"dose a complete fertiliser">, you don't need to dose EI levels, but you need at least <"petrol fumes">.

Thank-you for the Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) picture, it is exactly what we need.

View attachment 216051

This is what healthy Frogbit looks like <"Floaters">.

We can rule out CO2 and light, so your plants are deficient in at <"least one of the mobile plant nutrients"> (the pale older leaves) and at least <"one of the mobile plant nutrients">, the pale yellow new leaves.

Diagnosing nutrient deficiencies of the mobile nutrients is difficult, but the chlorosis of the new leaves is likely to be iron deficiency. Even though the Frogbit plants haven't been in your tank for long you get a very rapid greening when a <"mobile nutrient becomes available">.

cheers Darrel

How long would it take to see improvement with the iron dosing?

I've also just ordered Tropica Specialised Nutrition, I'm moving away from Profito.

I'll do a big water change this weekend and start dosing the new fertz to see if that helps.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

How long would it take to see improvement with the iron dosing?

Unfortunately only when <"new leaves grow">. Have a look at - <"Duckweed Index says Nitrogen please?"> & <"Plant deficiencies and the Fe Experiment">.

I'll link in the <"Should i start to fertilize?"> thread as it is relevant to iron and well worth a read. You can also see some healthy Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) in the photo.

The plant can't move iron (Fe) around the plant to new tissue, or store it for a <"rainy day"> - <"Should i start to fertilize?">. Often the first sign you get when iron becomes plant available is a sudden flush of green algae, they don't have any internal plumbing and are reliant on iron ions diffusing through the cell wall.

I've also just ordered Tropica Specialised Nutrition, I'm moving away from Profito.

That should help - <"Tropica Specialised fertiliser - liquid fertiliser for planted tanks - Tropica Aquarium Plants">.

cheers Darrel