New Setup Algae taking hold

[Mark Webb]

Started my 260l tank 25 April with ADA Aquasoil and 2 x 2028 Eheims with Siporax media, water flow quite good with these two running. Left running for 7 weeks and planted 16 June and dosing CO2 at 4bps - this seems quite high compared to what I read others are doing?. Initially doing a 100litre water change once per week. Have now increased to every 2/3 days.

Lighting is 2 x 39w T5's on for 6 hours per day.

No fert dosing.

KH is currently 4 and PH is at 6.6. Using the CO2 chart this is suggesting CO2 at 30ppm.

Fish: 12 Cardinal Tetra, 3 Black Mollie, 5 Flying Fox, 5 Amano Shrimp.
Anything else I should be doing?

 

[davidcmadrid]

My guess will be that the pros here will focus on the imbalance between CO2 / light and the lack of Fertz. Without doing the numbers ( as i understand them ) its quite imbalanced especially the lack of added fertilizers for the co2 you are putting in and less so the light ( sounds about 1.2WPG on the old system if they are t5hos ) . The plants are probably not getting enough nutrients to grow at full tilt yet they are getting enough light and CO2 to grow reasonably fast. Whats not good for plants is good for algae. How are the plants themselves doing , any discoloration in the leaves or areas that are not growing?

As i said others will chime in but in the end i had to take out plants that had been heavily attacked by algae ( some may suggest dosing seachem excel ) and get the balance in the tank right.

 

[Mark Webb]

My guess will be that the pros here will focus on the imbalance between CO2 / light and the lack of Fertz. Without doing the numbers ( as i understand them ) its quite imbalanced especially the lack of added fertilizers.

As I understand it, there is no need to add additional ferts with Aquasoil for the first 6 weeks.

 

[davidcmadrid]

That is new to me and probably where i show my " noobishness " if its the case. In the end though Algae from the best i have been able to tell so far is a sign the plants themselves are not doing well for some reason. I had algae in my new tank and once i took out the algae infested leaves and sorted out the balance and delivery of all the things the plants need , knock on wood it hasnt come back.

Given the substratas been in there for i think about 13 weeks now has that negated the early boost you think you are getting. Id prob best shush now untill i have more time and tanks under my belt

 

[Themuleous]

My guess will be that the pros here will focus on the imbalance between CO2 / light and the lack of Fertz. Without doing the numbers ( as i understand them ) its quite imbalanced especially the lack of added fertilizers.

As I understand it, there is no need to add additional ferts with Aquasoil for the first 6 weeks.

That might be so, but you ran the tank for 7weeks to start with before planting? If so then I'd get some ferts in there, such as EI, as the plants may be missing out.

If you use ADA AS again I would suggest planting it from day one. Half the benefit of AS is that for the first few weeks the NH3 feeds the plants, they love the stuff so get a kick start

In the interim, that looks like staghorn, excel has been known to kill it if you over dose, although be mindful of the fish. I've dosed 3x the initial dose of excel and it has killed it before. This doesn't of course sort the underlining issue, but it may give the plants a break from the algae enough to really get going.

Sam

EDIT - how are you measuring the CO2 level? I've got a 250lt and I pump CO2 in there like there is no tomorrow, 4bps does sound a bit low.

 

[Mark Webb]

EDIT - how are you measuring the CO2 level? I've got a 250lt and I pump CO2 in there like there is no tomorrow, 4bps does sound a bit low.

Thank Sam, I have a drop checker which looks OK, although I must say its none too easy to see the colours.

 

[Graeme Edwards]

Hi Mark.

If the plants arnt moving then perhaps some ferts are needed. Though with using AS Amazonia, I would only be looking to add some trace, but depending on growth some N and P could be added. If your not using tap water, which is notoriously high in P, then think about adding some 'big' food ( N or P ), but in moderation along with trace, i.e. ADA step1 or TPN.

Aim to get your drop checker looking in the yellow, fish permitting.

Remove what you can as well Mark.

Cheers.

 

[davidcmadrid]

I started to read up on this and found this in JamesCs guide :

Staghorn

"
Description Grows in strands that branches out. Looks a bit like deer antler. Black to grey/green in colour and sometimes has a red tint.
Cause Low CO2 and/or poor water circulation. A tank with overfed fish and accumulated mulm. Dirty filter. Also disturbing dirty substrates without doing water change afterwards.
Removal Check CO2 levels and make sure you have good water circulation. Reduce feeding, vacuum the substrate and remove mulm. Overdosing Flourish Excel usually helps."

 

[Dave Spencer]

I can associate staghorn very closely with CO2 problems in my tanks. Either you don`t have enough CO2, or insufficient circulation of CO2. Maybe up the rate, but monitor your fish, improve circulation, or do both.

Definitely forget the KH/pH tables, as it is not only the effect of CO2 that is driving your pH down.

Cool algae pics though.

Dave.

 

[Themuleous]

Cool algae pics though.

I thought that too!

 

[Mark Webb]

Thanks Guys.

Graeme , I have some API Leaf Zone. Is that ok for a start?