The water got murky, with a brownish tint it is heavily cloudy in a couple days time. I'm assuming this sudden bloom is algae. How can I remove it? I did a 50% water change but the water is still heavily clouded. I haven't turned on the light in 2 days but its been getting indirect sunlight, low light
How to remove algae from the tank?
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Perhaps you could tell our members more about your setup? What is the size of the tank? How long has it been setup? Did the problem just start or been there since startup? What kind of filter do you have? What's your decor? Any wood in there?What about fish? ...
More info will help.
Oh I actually just stopped dosing co2 and leafzone, have it 2 days of darkness or limited light and the water returned to normal after a water change.
Now my question is if I should even be dosing or lighting the tank if it is going to attribute to such an algae outbreak.
I have. 10 gallon. Heated to 79f, fluval c2 filter. 2 driftwood peices, plants, moss ball, Sand substrate. 2 platties 1 dwarf frog and the tank is 1 month 2 weeks old but the filter and substrate only a couple weeks old. The problem occurred only recently.
Another question I have now is my tank is starting to get that aquarium smell. That smell you might notice in a poorly kept fish store. I assume it is a normal smell and it isn't overtaking my room or anything, but it isn't exactly pleasant and I was wondering if that smell only comes from poorly kept tanks(which could be prevented from regular cleaning), or is it pretty common for all tanks regardless?
Now my question is if I should even be dosing or lighting the tank if it is going to attribute to such an algae outbreak.
I have. 10 gallon. Heated to 79f, fluval c2 filter. 2 driftwood peices, plants, moss ball, Sand substrate. 2 platties 1 dwarf frog and the tank is 1 month 2 weeks old but the filter and substrate only a couple weeks old. The problem occurred only recently.
Another question I have now is my tank is starting to get that aquarium smell. That smell you might notice in a poorly kept fish store. I assume it is a normal smell and it isn't overtaking my room or anything, but it isn't exactly pleasant and I was wondering if that smell only comes from poorly kept tanks(which could be prevented from regular cleaning), or is it pretty common for all tanks regardless?
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I would doubt this was algae. An algae bloom is green. Whitish normally means bacterial bloom, and this is caused by high organics in the presence of light.
The plant fertilizer being dosed was LeafZone, and this only contains two nutrients, iron and potassium. The other 15 plant nutrients would have to occur from elsewhere, and likely won't be sufficient to balance. You don't say how CO2 was "dosed," but here again, if the other necessary nutrients are not available, adding CO2 will not benefit.
Fish foods add nutrients obviously, and water changes will help keep them in balance. Be aware that daylight during summer is longer and brighter, and this can be an issue depending upon the balance between light and nutrients, plant load and fish load.
The first nutrient supplement to add to a planted tank is a comprehensive liquid, as this will supply all nutrients in correct proportion. As the balance increases (more plants, higher light, added CO2) the supplementation has to increase to balance, and you might move to a different regime such as dry ferts. But from what you've told us here, you are still at the lower level of balance so something like Flourish Comprehensive Supplement (probably 1/4 teaspoon once a week) is your best additive. Brightwell Aquatics' FlorinMulti is another that works the same.
Byron.
The plant fertilizer being dosed was LeafZone, and this only contains two nutrients, iron and potassium. The other 15 plant nutrients would have to occur from elsewhere, and likely won't be sufficient to balance. You don't say how CO2 was "dosed," but here again, if the other necessary nutrients are not available, adding CO2 will not benefit.
Fish foods add nutrients obviously, and water changes will help keep them in balance. Be aware that daylight during summer is longer and brighter, and this can be an issue depending upon the balance between light and nutrients, plant load and fish load.
The first nutrient supplement to add to a planted tank is a comprehensive liquid, as this will supply all nutrients in correct proportion. As the balance increases (more plants, higher light, added CO2) the supplementation has to increase to balance, and you might move to a different regime such as dry ferts. But from what you've told us here, you are still at the lower level of balance so something like Flourish Comprehensive Supplement (probably 1/4 teaspoon once a week) is your best additive. Brightwell Aquatics' FlorinMulti is another that works the same.
Byron.
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Ditto most of Byron's post. You didn't mention the lighting, I assume it's a stock Fluval light and probably isn't bright enough to warranty dosing CO2. A comprehensive fertilizer would be all you may need... maybe a root tab if you have swords or something similar. You don't mention the feeding schedule, perhaps you are overfeeding a bit and this is adding to the water issue, more organics could easily be the culprit.
That smell is not normal, or at least not anything that I smell unless I've something slightly off in the tank. I do get a small hint of it at low water when there are a fair amount of exposed wet surfaces (water changing). I have another tank with a fair amount of dark algae growth on the gravel and some decor that I need to overhaul (not my tank until now) and that one will smell off, but again, only when I lower the water.
Jeff.
That smell is not normal, or at least not anything that I smell unless I've something slightly off in the tank. I do get a small hint of it at low water when there are a fair amount of exposed wet surfaces (water changing). I have another tank with a fair amount of dark algae growth on the gravel and some decor that I need to overhaul (not my tank until now) and that one will smell off, but again, only when I lower the water.
Jeff.
The lighting is a full spectrum fluorescent. I was leaving it on 10 hours a day but now only 6 hours during the afternoon. I feed flakes for the fish, and about 5 pellets for the frog only once a day in the morning and I use liquid co2 booster 1ml every morning by API.
Also I only notice that smell when I lower the water. At an aquatic store that same smell had overtaken the store and what nauseating. When the tank is full there is no smell except when I sniff directly ontop of the water it smells like grass lol.
Also I only notice that smell when I lower the water. At an aquatic store that same smell had overtaken the store and what nauseating. When the tank is full there is no smell except when I sniff directly ontop of the water it smells like grass lol.
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Agree. I would stop the API CO2 Booster though. This product contains water and glutaraldehyde, which is a strong disinfectant used in hospitals and other places to kill bacteria. Even at recommended doses it will kill some plants. If overdosed it can kill plants, fish and bacteria. It carries a public health advisory about respiratory problems and skin irritation. Considering you have an amphibian, I would never use this chemical. This might be contributing to the smell, I don't know.
Byron.
Byron.
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