Trying to ID root cause of Algae in Shallow. Potentially the light intensity?

[Framed Nature]

Hello everyone!

I have a 60CM shallow tank Iwagumi that has been struggling with algae issues for quite some time (almost two months). Some unfortunate circumstances led to me having to do a 4 day blackout which successfully killed a majority of the algae. However, after 3 days, it is beginning to return.

Some key info:

• RO water exclusively
• No Ammonia present
• Amano Shrimps present
• Plants are looking spectacular
• 1-2 times a week 50% water change
• EI dosing with APT e
• Filter is clean as well as equipment
• CO2 stabilized

Now this has left me to believe my light intensity may be too much. I am not too familiar with high-lighting that is customizable (currently using a Chihiros WRGB 2), so I wanted to inquire the community about whether my light intensity is just overkill.

This is a 20cm deep tank, with my light hanging 17cm above for a total of approximately 30-37cm from light to carpet plants. With the Chihiros app, I am running full 100% intensity.

Would you all recommend either raising the light or dropping the intensity? If neither, maybe some areas to look at to identify the root causes?

Cheers!

 

[Tim Harrison]

Please read this and post at least a fts

Please read the guidelines for Algae help!

Dear Member Please give as many details as possible regarding your aquarium set-up, when requiring advice/help! The above will be posted at the start of each help request. Why do we ask these questions? It will stop the member posting multiple times, plus adviser's don't need to scroll through...

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[Framed Nature]

1. Size of tank in litres. - 10G Shallow
2. Age - 2.5 months
3. Filtration - UNS Delta 60 with purigen and activated charcoal
4. Lighting and duration - Chihiros WRGB2 at 100% for 6HRs a day (currently testing with 60% intensity)
5. Substrate - UNS Aquasoil
6. Co2 dosing or Non-dosing - Pressurized CO2
7. Fertilizers used & Ratios - APT e
8. Water change regime and type - RO water 1-2 times a week 50%
9. Plant list + When planted - 2 weeks after darkstart. Plants are Eleocharis parvula, Hygrophilla Lancea, and Blyxa Japonica
10. Drop Checker - N/A
11. Inhabitants - 5 Amano Shrimp
12. Full tank image & Surface image - See Below/Attached

 

[Tim Harrison]

Two things leap out at me from your list. Firstly, light intensity seems very high. Secondly, how are you measuring CO2 concentration ?

 

[DeadFish]

Regardless of CO2, you're driving far too much energy into that tank. Reduce to 50-60% and photoperiod to 6 hours if currently running longer. A little liquid carbon may help as well. Again, this is assuming CO2 is appropriate, but information on your pH drop and KH values would be helpful. Not any fast growing plants nor particularly light demanding plants in this set up.

 

[nijat11]

1. Size of tank in litres. - 10G Shallow
2. Age - 2.5 months
3. Filtration - UNS Delta 60 with purigen and activated charcoal
4. Lighting and duration - Chihiros WRGB2 at 100% for 6HRs a day (currently testing with 60% intensity)
5. Substrate - UNS Aquasoil
6. Co2 dosing or Non-dosing - Pressurized CO2
7. Fertilizers used & Ratios - APT e
8. Water change regime and type - RO water 1-2 times a week 50%
9. Plant list + When planted - 2 weeks after darkstart. Plants are Eleocharis parvula, Hygrophilla Lancea, and Blyxa Japonica
10. Drop Checker - N/A
11. Inhabitants - 5 Amano Shrimp
12. Full tank image & Surface image - See Below/Attached

Definitely light, reduce at least by 40-50% /

 

[Framed Nature]

Regardless of CO2, you're driving far too much energy into that tank. Reduce to 50-60% and photoperiod to 6 hours if currently running longer. A little liquid carbon may help as well. Again, this is assuming CO2 is appropriate, but information on your pH drop and KH values would be helpful. Not any fast growing plants nor particularly light demanding plants in this set up.

(Also reply to Mr.Harrison),

I realized i should have specified that I am using a PH/KH table as well as my PH swings to measure CO2. Bubble counter is set to 2bps, my PH swing is approximately 1.2, trying to run very similar to another 10G tank that has been severely stable for years haha!

I dropped my light intensity to 60% and will see how that goes for the next week. Also ordering a co2 drop checker for future reference as well! Glad that my suspicions are indeed echo'd by the community, will report with how the new settings go as well as drop checker findings when it arrives.

 

[_Maq_]

I have a 60CM shallow tank Iwagumi

I like your tank. Good work.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I realized i should have specified that I am using a PH/KH table as well as my PH swings to measure CO2. Bubble counter is set to 2bps, my PH swing is approximately 1.2

You will have to add a relatively large amount of CO2, purely because of your tank architecture with a large surface area to volume ratio.

cheers Darrel

 

[DeadFish]

(Also reply to Mr.Harrison),

I realized i should have specified that I am using a PH/KH table as well as my PH swings to measure CO2. Bubble counter is set to 2bps, my PH swing is approximately 1.2, trying to run very similar to another 10G tank that has been severely stable for years haha!

I dropped my light intensity to 60% and will see how that goes for the next week. Also ordering a co2 drop checker for future reference as well! Glad that my suspicions are indeed echo'd by the community, will report with how the new settings go as well as drop checker findings when it arrives.

the drop checker will be a good reference point - depending on KH, you might need to get a larger pH drop. And as Darrel said, you're fighting a lot of surface area ripe for gas exchange.

 

[Framed Nature]

the drop checker will be a good reference point - depending on KH, you might need to get a larger pH drop. And as Darrel said, you're fighting a lot of surface area ripe for gas exchange.

I think this is indeed fair. It should be arriving soon, so hopefully will have some better answers shortly.

My KH is an unsurprising 0-1 due to using purely RO water (as tap water and even filtered water here is notoriously horrid). Was worried about the shallowness of the tank affecting the distribution of the co2, that is why i have been using a jet lily pipe outflow, but may need to consider something with a wider head possibly?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Was worried about the shallowness of the tank affecting the distribution of the co2, that is why i have been using a jet lily pipe outflow, but may need to consider something with a wider head possibly?

I'm not a CO2 user, but do you have CO2 bubbles in the tank (I think I can see them in the photo)? That would tell you a little bit about flow.

Assuming the flow is pretty good, personally I would just go low-tech, where the <"large gas exchange surface works to your advantage">, in terms of the tank water more closely tracking atmospheric gas levels. You might be interested in this post, where a lack of water flow and large algal mass has very efficiently depleted dissolved CO2 <"A question, dissolved oxygen and a pond">.

If you want to remain high -tech, the problem you have is really that more efficient distribution of CO2 is going to lead to more water turn over, which will increase the size of the gas exchange surface, which will increase the rate of CO2 loss to the atmosphere, via <"Henry's Law">. Somewhere there will be a sweet spot, but it is probably going to mean injecting more CO2 than you would expect.

cheers Darrel

 

[DeadFish]

I think this is indeed fair. It should be arriving soon, so hopefully will have some better answers shortly.

My KH is an unsurprising 0-1 due to using purely RO water (as tap water and even filtered water here is notoriously horrid). Was worried about the shallowness of the tank affecting the distribution of the co2, that is why i have been using a jet lily pipe outflow, but may need to consider something with a wider head possibly?

If KH is 0-1 (as is mine) you might need to push the pH drop further. If you're not hogtied to using CO2, Darrel might be onto to something with going low-tech. Unless you were to drastically change the plants, you'd be fine going low-tech and utilizing what you have instead of forcing something to work. You'll benefit from slower growth, less algae, and happier live stock. Whatever works for you, though. I can't do low-tech because I need something to tinker with and something to fix all the time.

 

[Framed Nature]

Reporting back! CO2 dropper is in. I checked right in the middle of my co2 injection at 8:30pm (i start injecting at 4pm, light turns on 6pm, CO2 turns off at 10pm and lights turn off at midnight), seems to be green, indicating optimal levels.

I have the dropper placed in a spot where flow is not very frequent. Are there specific times i should be checking my co2 dropper? I dont mind running experiments across the tank.

 

[Tim Harrison]

Are there specific times i should be checking my co2 dropper? I dont mind running experiments across the tank.

Not particularly, just keep a regular eye on it, especially to begin with, and perhaps move it round the tank to ensure that CO2 distribution is even throughout.
Generally, the drop checker should be lime green at lights on, and remain so all the way till lights off.

CO2 MEASUREMENT USING A DROP CHECKER

CO2 application is the most finicky and ethereal component of all the things associated with a planted tank. In a high tech tank, it is arguably the most critical item and is the cause for more headaches than any other issue. This is because unlike solid powders or liquid drops, which typically...

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[Framed Nature]

After testing the co2 drop checker across my tank through the time my tank has light, it remains lime-green indeed.

Still heavily struggling to ID my root cause. I am considering a complete replant of the DHG carpet, as the remaining algae is stuck to these plants here. Any advice/ideas?

Cheers!

 

[Djoko Sauza]

I can almost guarantee the root cause is too much light. None of the plants you have require that much light, so lower intensity to 30ish% (or lower even, the WRGB2 is powerful and looks deceptively mild to the naked eye) and go from there.

 

[G H Nelson]

After testing the co2 drop checker across my tank through the time my tank has light, it remains lime-green indeed.

Still heavily struggling to ID my root cause. I am considering a complete replant of the DHG carpet, as the remaining algae is stuck to these plants here. Any advice/ideas?

Cheers!

Far too much light!
Reduce the lighting as others have advised.
Chop the DHG down to the substrate.....and let it re-grow!
Siphon as much gunk of the top layer of the substrate as possible.
Get some floating plants to act as a net curtain....a term Darrel uses.

 

[Framed Nature]

Far too much light!
Reduce the lighting as others have advised.
Chop the DHG down to the substrate.....and let it re-grow!
Siphon as much gunk of the top layer of the substrate as possible.
Get some floating plants to act as a net curtain....a term Darrel uses.

I can almost guarantee the root cause is too much light. None of the plants you have require that much light, so lower intensity to 30ish% (or lower even, the WRGB2 is powerful and looks deceptively mild to the naked eye) and go from there.

Looks like thats my next step here. Almost shocked that the wrgb2 is so strong, then again, this is a shallow tank.

Likely wont go the method of floating plants, but going to give the tank a huge cleaning, drop lighting, and move from there. Never anticipated my light was such overkill ha! Will again report back. Cheers everyone and thanks for the ongoing advice.

 

[Framed Nature]

Returning again here!

I replanted the scape, cleaned the substrate and tank entirely. After 5 days the algae returned. Light is at 30% and im really getting mentally exhausted with finding out what is my root cause of this algae.

Backstory, it was running at 100% intensity for 1.5 months perfectly until i had an accident with my RO filter spitting ammonia out without me realizing it. Since then, I have never been able to become rid of the algae that came as a result.

Any additional routes for me to take, or is this game over for the tank?