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 | Cursed tank ... ... Dialup Warning |
JQW   Fish Addict Posts: 869 Kudos: 758 Registered: 09-Apr-2003   | Okay, if the topic havn't scared you away yet, welcome to my cursed 4ft tank. It started out good, until last week. Tank been setup for more than 6 month now, current residents 7 young discus. I havn't tested the water yet, but here are some pics. Main problem is algae, all kinds of algae in my tank. You name it, it's there.      Help  |
 Posted 17-Jul-2006 08:09 |       |
| Two Tanks Big Fish Posts: 449 Kudos: 328 Votes: 13 Registered: 02-Jun-2003   | If you don't have a test kit, I would highly recommend you take a sample of your water to your local fish store and have them test it. What is going on with the fish in the last picture (is he dead)? |
| Posted 17-Jul-2006 14:23 |  |
Needeles Hobbyist Posts: 128 Kudos: 65 Votes: 52 Registered: 19-Jun-2006 | Where do you have your tank setup at? Is it right next to a window with alot of sunlight? If it is next to a window and sunlight is hitting it then you may want to move it. Sunlight will make algae grow in a tank. How often do you do water changes? Try to do a water change every week of about 30%. Live life to it's fullest |
| Posted 17-Jul-2006 18:25 | |
| JQW Fish Addict Posts: 869 Kudos: 758 Registered: 09-Apr-2003 | The bristlenose in the past picture is dead, reason is unknown. The tank is setup in the sunroom, but no direct sunlight. It's just a brightly lit room. I do 15% water change three times a week. The problem with phosphate might be in the water i get out of the tap. I know BGA is caused by high phosphate to nitrate ratio. What about the brown stuff on the leaves? What the heck are they? And how do i get rid of them and stop them from coming back. The water smells fine  , havn't and not going to taste it. |
| Posted 18-Jul-2006 02:02 | |
FRANK      Moderator Posts: 5108 Kudos: 5263 Votes: 1690 Registered: 28-Dec-2002  | Hi, You have the definite makings of a disaster in the works. First. As was said, get to know your tank... Find out what the various values are for things like pH, GH, KH, Nitrate, Ammonia, Nitrite. While tanks take weeks to cycle, they can tank a year or more to settle in. You need more plants, and with what I see, you need to not have more than 2 watts per gallon (wpg) of light and it should be on for no more than 10 hours/day. ba nitrate) you should be doing water changes, religiously, every week. At that same time you should mentally divide the tank into four sections and every week, you should vacuum all the exposed gravel. That way each month, you will have cleaned the gravel preventing a buildup of nitrate. If you increase your number of plants, substantially, then you should allow your nitrates to reach somewhere between 10 and 20. If you stick with what you have, then hold the nitrates between a 0 and 10. Try holding each plant in place with one hand, and with the other, gently place each leaf, one at a time, between two fingers and starting at the stalk, pull the leaf between them and see if the algae or at least some of it comes off on your fingers. Clean each leaf of each plant. If it is "brown algae" then it is a outbreak of diatoms which is normal for a new tank, and a few ottos will make quick work of it. This is caused by an excess of silica in the water (from the new gravel) and can sometimes also be traced to your tap water. Regular water changes will eventually take care of removing the silica and the diatoms. As far as the actual algae, look at the various sites that are specifically for algae such as: http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html or http://www.aquariaplants.com/alqaeproblems.htm or http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9 Read these sites or others you might find and decide what type(s) of algae you have, look for a common problem and eliminate it. That will take care of the source and resolve the algae problem. Frank  -->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<-- |
| Posted 18-Jul-2006 02:20 | |
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