Is my Amazon Sword melting? Also a related BBA/algae question...

[dr_dunno]

I an a newbie in the wonderful world of aquarium and planted tanks. My planted tank is just over 3 weeks old now and is still cycling.

These are my tank details:
Tank size: 84L (~20G) - 60cm x 35cm x 40cm (L x W x H)
Substrate: ADA AquaSoil Amazonia - 9L Normal and 2L Powder-M

Plants in my tank: Amazon Sword, Bacopa Caroliana, Bacopa Monnieri, Crypto Wendtii, Eleocharis Parvula (Dwarf Hairgrass), Java Fern, Java Moss (tied to drift wood) - starting off simple, plan to bring in more demanding plants once tank has stabilized

Livestock: Not introduced YET

Current water changes: 30-40%, once in 3 days

My water parameters are:
pH = Between 6.4 - 6.6
Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = ~ 0.25 ppm
Nitrate = ~ 10-20 ppm
Water temp = 25-26 C
CO2 = 1.5BPS (7 hours) - pressurised tank, regulator with solenoid, connected to a Intense Precision Bazooka Atomizer 50mm
Light period: 7 hours (reduced period because of BBA in the tank)
CO2 drop checker placed diagonally across CO2 atomizer: Green

Lighting: Chihiros LED A601. It has variable light intensity (8 settings) and I use intensity 3 (not sure how to translate this to light parameters) - please assume 1 is the lowest intensity

Filter: Eheim Classic 350
Chiller: Hailea HS-66A

Dosed after each water change: 3ml of Seachem Potassium, 5ml of Seachem Stability (for cycling purposes)
Dosed once a week: 5ml Flourish Excel

I have one Amazon Sword which has been doing well until last week. I noticed that the green of the leaves has been getting lighter and now, the leaves are starting to become more translucent. I do not see any new leaves. (please see attached Amazon Sword photos)

I have been facing algae (not sure which algae) and BBA problems (see below for algae and BBA pictures), so I reduced my photo period to 7 hours.

I am worried that if I increase the lighting intensity and light period, BBA problem will get worse. At the same time, I am not sure if the light is insufficient resulting in the lightening/translucent leaves. I have Bacopa Caroliniana in the tank, which has also become lighter green, but not translucent, though the Bacopa seems to be growing (height) well.

1. What do I need to look into?
2. What could I be overlooking or doing wrong?
3. Am I missing any other nutrients? - besides CO2 during photo period, Seachem Potassium, Seachem Excel and Seachem Stability (not a nutrient), I have not added anything else to the tank since it is a new tank with new ADA Amazonia soil
4. Could I bring in some algae eaters (SAE, Ottos, Black Mollies) to take care of the BBA? This way, will I be able to increase my light period to give the plants more light???
5. Do I need to increase the light intensity up a notch?

Any help or advice to help the Amazon Sword recover and also advice to reduce the algae/BBA (besides going down the chemical/liquid carbon path).

Cheers.

-DR

Amazon Sword - melting?

Amazon Sword - Close Up

Amazon Sword - with light in background to illustrate how translucent the leaves have become - sorry for blur photo

Some type of algae (spots) on my Bacopa Caroliana (same algae is also found on Java Fern and Crypto Wendtii) - Is this BBA or some other algae?

BBA under a Java Fern leaf

BBA under another Java Fern leaf

 

[X3NiTH]

The tufts at the terminal underside tips of the Java fern is not BBA they are actually small aerial roots that may eventually form a daughter plantlet that will grow until it's either displaced in the water current and detaches to find its own niche or can be manually removed and replanted elsewhere. Haven't noted BBA on the undersides of leaves before and I've seen a lot of it.

You haven't stated the KH, are you're measuring it?

 

[G H Nelson]

Hi
Most aquatic plants are grown outside in moist stable conditions....therefore the Amazon sword will take time to adapt to a underwater environment!
Java fern shouldn't be planted in the substrate as the root will rot away....tie to wood or rock or leave the plant free floating...or even let the rhizome rest on the substrate surface!
hoggie

 

[dr_dunno]

The tufts at the terminal underside tips of the Java fern is not BBA they are actually small aerial roots that may eventually form a daughter plantlet that will grow until it's either displaced in the water current and detaches to find its own niche or can be manually removed and replanted elsewhere. Haven't noted BBA on the undersides of leaves before and I've seen a lot of it.

That is good news to me. Pheww!!! I have been worried sick about BBA/algae in my tank.

You haven't stated the KH, are you're measuring it?

I have not started measuring KH yet. Now that you have asked, I will get my KH testing kit today and measure it. I did not take KH seriously because the shop where I get my supplies from told me that water hardness/softness is not a problem in Malaysia. By measuring KH, what would I be looking at and based on the numbers, what would that tell me in terms of tank/water conditions? What would be the best way to raise or lower KH to a good level?

Hi
Most aquatic plants are grown outside in moist stable conditions....therefore the Amazon sword will take time to adapt to a underwater environment!

Hoggie, is there anything I need to look out for wrt the growth/progress of the Amazon Sword? How would I tell whether the Amazon Sword is facing some nutrient deficiency? Also, considering that my tank is only 3 weeks old, when do I need to consider adding in root tabs for the Amazon Sword?

Java fern shouldn't be planted in the substrate as the root will rot away....tie to wood or rock or leave the plant free floating...or even let the rhizome rest on the substrate surface!
hoggie

Thanks for this advice/pointer. As you can see, I am a newbie and I'm still learning. I will move some of my Java Fern and tie it to some rocks or wood - one of them is currently slotted into a gap in the driftwood and the growth seems to be good (will post a picture once I get home). I will also try letting the rhizome rest on the substrate surface.

Some type of algae (spots) on my Bacopa Caroliana (same algae is also found on Java Fern and Crypto Wendtii) - Is this BBA or some other algae?

For this image, what are the spots which are forming on the Bacopa leaves (which are also growing on the Crypto Wendtii leaves)? At the moment, I clean this off during water changes manually by using a thin tube and sucking the growth off the leaves into the water change bucket. However, I see it grow back after a few days.


Now a general question, since my tank is 3 weeks old, how would I know (before signs of plants deficiencies start showing up) when I should start dosing other nutrients (Iron, Phosphates, Trace, etc)?

Looking at my water parameters (besides KH), is it safe to start adding livestock (some algae eaters to start off)? Or should I wait till Nitrites drop to zero before adding fish?

-DR

 

[G H Nelson]

Hi
The brown growth could be diatoms usual when setting up a new aquarium. ..should disappear in a few months!

Amazon swords are greedy root feeders...you could had root tables straight away plus get a fertilizer regime up and running asap!
Purchase some fast growing stem plants
to help cycle the aquarium!
I wouldn't had fish for a least 4 weeks!
hoggie

 

[dr_dunno]

Hoggie, thanks for the advice. I am thinking about bringing in some red stem plants to liven up the scene - considering Limnophila aromatica but need to find a seller in Malaysia. Though, I am wondering if I am being a little too adventurous (as a newbie) by bringing in more demanding plants to a new tank.

Where do I look for info on a fertilizer regime? I am not sure how to start off with the fert regime and how to manage addition of fertilizers and how to know when I have added too much or too little (to be honest, I have been holding back because I have read/heard of horror stories of how ferts result in algae in new tanks due to the substrate still being rich in nutrients).

I did a water test today. These are the readings:
pH: 6.6-6.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10-20 ppm

Looking better and closer to the end of my tank cycle.

I also took your advice and reorganised my Java Fern. Most of them are now anchored to wood or stone. A couple are loosely sat on the substrate. Here is a new shot of the tank.

This is one Java Fern which I had originally slotted into a hole on my driftwood. It seems to be growing well, with new roots.

This was one of my Java Fern leaves with some hairy growth on top of it. Sorry if I sound paranoid - is this BBA or tufts?

 

[G H Nelson]

Yes indeed...it looks like BBA.
As you see this leaf is damaged...l would remove it!
Fertilizers don't cause algae.....just poor maintenance....plus too much light, and poor Co2 distribution....have a look on the Fertilizer Section...or Algae Section for dosing information!
Cheers hoggie

 

[dr_dunno]

It looks like my tank cycling is complete (but need confirmation from the experienced members on this forum).

The water parameters over the past few days have been fairly consistent (this is end of week 4).
pH: 6.6-6.8 (on some days it has dropped to about 6.4)
Ammonia: 0 ppm (consistent over 2 weeks now)
Nitrite: 0 ppm (consistent over 1 week now)
Nitrate: about 10-20 ppm

A question about nitrogen deficiency, if my Ammonia and Nitrite show 0 ppm, and the Nitrate show 10-20 ppm, it could be a sign that the tank has completed the cycle period. Now, how would I know if there is a nitrogen deficiency? Would Nitrates drop to 0 as well? Or would there be any other signs? The reason I ask is because looking at the Bacopa Caroliniana leaves (new leaves mostly) are light green and sort of slightly translucent. Based on the discussions and guides out there, it seems to point to Nitrogen deficiency. Referring to the Aqua Calc Plant Deficiency Diagram, it seems to indicate that "white/yellow tiny leaves" for new leaves (see [2] on diagram) and "leaf transparency" (see [5] on diagram), are due to Nitrogen deficiency. If this is due to Nitrogen deficiency, I do not have fish in yet and so could I use Seachem Flourish Nitrogen instead? Is this recommended/advisable or should I add some fish instead? Any suggestions or recommendations for what I need to look out for here?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[dr_dunno]

(Thread can be closed)

I introduced 4 Otos, 3 SAEs and 4 Black Mollies to my tank about 2 weeks ago. It looks like they cleaned up all the diatoms and algae within days. So that is one problem solved.

With regards to the plant growth, it looks like things have stabilised now. I decided to add Iron, Trace and Phosphates (in addition to Potassium) after each weekly water change. The Amazon Sword leaves seem to be growing well now, and the Bacopa Caroliana and Bacopa Monnieri are showing good progress. The Java Fern leaves have grown loads of roots, which I plan to remove and relocate them to the drift wood and rocks. The Java Moss is also flourishing now.

A timelapse video (just a quick and dirty one) to show the progress...