Algae Issues

Kaddock

Hi Stephanie, thanks for the well wishes!

Angel079

Same as I got here, just I don't have the twisted one's I bought the normal tube looking one's you see in the picture. Two - Depends on the size tank you have there!? Like on my 10g I have 2x7w of the one's you see here (otherwise same specs as your link).

Airpump...careful there I thought you had planted tank? That's contra productive for a planted tank as it'll drive out your CO2.

Nitrates are built up out of leaf litter, food and fish waste; only if your bacteria is outta wack for one reason or another will it not break down you NO3 the way it should - How much in mg/l or ppm is your reading?
This can only be caused if you're not doing good enough WEEKLY w/c and / or mess with your filter pads/ sponges - Do you leave these alone???
And yea if you black out now it'll prop stop it for a few days and then grow back unless we figure out what's affecting it.

Kaddock

OK great, I have the ten gallon, so I'll go for 7w+ish.

OK scratch that, no air pump.

OK, I am confused yet again! A: I've removed all leaf litter that I could find B: I hardly ever feed the fish, as there is plenty of algae C: how much poo could 3 inch long fish really make in less than a month of living in this tank? So it must be D: my bacteria is out of whack!

So, it's hard to tell from these color charts, but I would say still 30-40+ppm on the nitrates. I have just done a water change and will keep them up, and the filter was seriously clogged, so I rinsed with luke warm water to get the sludge out... Should I not do that? I have to to make the filter run, even if it does make the bacteria upset.This is the first time I've touched it though.

How often do you recommend a carbon switch?

Angel079

Yea I'd then only get 1 or 2 lower watt one's.

Well see now that's why I told ya what causes it, you're at your tank not me...so you know best what's going on

Honestly I'd not do a blackout on this tank at all for a while. You say "1 months living there" so this tank really only been running for ~4 weeks? Yes your bacteria is outta wack because its not fully established yet! So keep up weekly or 2x week w/c at around 40% until such point your NO3 comes back farrr less or 0 permanent.
The bacteria you HAD established by washing it under tap water you killed it. IFFF your filter is really clogged and you have to clean it, so that when you do a w/c and then clean the pads in the tank water ONLY. And if you have 2 pads or 1 pad 1 wheel - Only clean 1 at a time and next week the other; but really only then when its near clogged not every week and ONLY in tank water so you won't kill the bacteria each time.

Is your tank having live plants? Then no carbon at all...If you don't have live plants; carbon really only works so long and generally used if a tank is medicated for some reason; i'd only then exchange pads when they fall apart and not exchange carbon 1x month or so that's silly IMO.

But that right here explains your issue: Careful how you clean the filter, do weekly or 2x w/c and only feed 1x day or every 2nd day and this algae will soon start subsiding as your bacteria builds up.

Kaddock

Well, the original water was from another tank with relatively stable water in it, and conditioned with stress coat and ph neutralizer and then set up for a week with the plants in it and good water circulation and (what I thought was) good light. I was adding stress zyme and flourish once a week or so. So I'm sure it's still a bit rocky in there, how long should I expect it to take to balance out?

I'll make sure to rinse my sponges better next time, and will definitely take out the carbon and do weekly water changes. When a sponge is replaced, would it be best to add stress zyme to speed bacterial growth?

I will let you know what the results of my experiments are over here.

I curious as to why the Prime did nothing however... Why no change in nitrate levels at all?

iamntbatman

Those bulbs look like they'll be pretty good. Just make sure that your hood has enough room for them, as they're sorta chunky.

Not sure if it works in the same way, but often chemicals that neutralize stuff will still result in whatever it is showing up on your tests. So it could be that the Prime is working perfectly but you're still seeing the detoxified nitrate on your test kit.

Remind me: what's the nitrate reading of the water coming out of your tap?

Angel079

On a side note, what for are you using ph neutralizer in this tank??? These chems cause permanent swings to your fish and that's worst for their health then leaving the water as it is from your tap from the start.
I don't think adding Stress zyme will hurt....but i also doubt how much it'll do for ya as far as bacteria growth; I pers do not use it.

If you read right here, the very last Q&A on the bottom of the page about Nitrate Seachem. Prime FAQ To me that sounds that Prime is doing to Nitrate exactly the same then it does to ammonia - Meaning its not going to magically disappear but get's transformed into a not so harmful form to fish and this form will STILL make you get readings. (Makes lots sense to me)

Kaddock

I will try to get a hold of some peat moss so I won't need to lower the pH anymore... Also going to home depot today for other fun supplies!



I think things are coming together! I did another water change today, added more prime, sucked out all the cyanobacteria I could find. It wasn't as thick this time though, seems like it's pulling back! I'm crossing my fingers on this one. I just added three Black Skirted Tetras today, and they seem to be enjoying the setup.


Here it is in all it's cell phone photo glory, LoL, you might be wondering what's going on in the bottom left corner... yes that is a bird foot in formaldehyde .

Angel079

Neat tank!!!! You'll often find it subside once the tank is stable and starts establishing; patience is really rule no 1 in the tank world

Kaddock

Well, everything is coming together on this tank now! I have a much lower nitrate reading and the cyanobacteria is almost non-existent now. Everything seems to be doing great! I think next I will add some smaller substrate for the dwarf baby tears to root into... Any ideas on that?

I was also wondering: What is the fury black stuff that grows slowly around the outer edges of aging plant leaves? I don't mind it, but it's definitely not attractive. Anyway to eliminate this stuff?



Thanks to you all for all input, I am very happy with my tank now, and have been keeping all of my tanks a little healthier thanks to the urging provided here!