How do I get my tank back on track?

[Richard40]

Hi all, had my tank a while now and have done weekly water changes but somewhere down the line I’ve lost track of the correct amount of CO2 dosage and light intensity so after a week I’ve green algae on the glass which I take off weekly and also BBA on the leaves.
I want to go back to basics, timings of when CO2 should come on, when the light should come on, what intensity etc as I’ve forgotten and just took my eye off the ball.
many help would be grateful.

 

[Matt1994]

Hi Richard40
(By no means an expert, only had my first proper aquascape running 8 months)

I had the exact same issue to be honest, tank was going great for around 6 months . Minimal amount of algae wasn't even noticeable to be truthful.

I was working longer hours over summer and missed my co2 bottle running out, the fluctuating co2 levels etc....
As soon as I realised I got another bottle (now have 2)

I then had staghorn algae appear
It didn't take over by any means but there was a fair bit..
Firstly I spot dosed with seachem excel
Before a water change left it around 20 mins them carried out around an 80% water change
The staghorn over the days turned red and I would remove and syphon during a water change

In the past month I have also had green algae on some of the leaves and hardscape, it's not 100% gone yet but getting better.
I have upped the water changes to 2x a week about 80%
I dropped light down from 80% to 60%
I've been even more thorough on maintanince cleaning hardware a lot more frequent etc and pre filter on my oase 350 2x a week.

I am slowly getting there , this is my personal experience and I'm still learning but this helped me ..

Regarding co2 I waited till I was off work
Replaced drop checker liquid to ensure it was as presice as could be, I then ensured it was light green at lights on, and dialed it in accordingly, i am running about 3bps in my aquascaper 600 (with a decent surface agitation)

I am slowly overcoming my second algae attack

I would maybe try reducing light intensity a bit and no more than 8 hours a day, ensure co2 levels are good and ensure the drop checker is lime green when lights come on


Hope this is helpful even a little , don't let it beat you


Regards
Matt 😃


(Side shot of my tank, as still getting back on track 🤣)

 

[Richard40]

Cheers Matt,

To start I’ve reduced the Twinstars light to 40% and reduced to 6 hours a day. Going to try this for a couple of weeks. If this comes on at 15.45 when should I I start my CO2 input? Currently it comes on at 11.30, or just see what the drop checker shows?

80% water change today. I’ll Cut all BBA leaves off and green algae. I’ll start a Pre filter sponge rinse x 2 per week. I’ve just been on holiday so unsure the plants have had correct minerals going in and at the right times. Need to get some dosing pumps bought ASAP.

 

[plantnoobdude]

healthiest plants are the ones that get the most attention.
basics: good maintenance is key.
cleaning and removing dead leaves everyday
large frequent water changes
a regular fertiliser schedule
stable co2 levels
good flow (maintained well,)
keeping organics low by blasting the detritus out the substrate with a turkey baster while sucking it out
makesure plant mass doesn't get too thick. try keep amount of plants stable. sudden increase/decrease in plant mass can cause issues. trim and replant healthy tops. replant carpet every few months.

co2 should be on how many hours it takes you to achieve the levels of co2 you want before lights turn on. (1.0-1.2 ph drop) or a lime green/ yellow drop checker.
what time the light turns on doesn't matter. just make it so that you can view your tank as much as possible. light intensity very much depends on what you want to do with the tank. let me just say that plants need much less light than we think. Medium light and good co2 yields quite good results. as for the bba keep up regular removal, also start dosing H2O2.turn filter off. 1ml/4l of 3% peroxide dosed into the tank. then let sit for an hour. turn filter back on. Bba likes unstable flow and co2 levels. try figure those out.