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A somewhat overdue update....

Ferts:
I may not be doing ferts at all now...or if I do, they will be much delayed.
My order of dry ferts and Flourish is MIA. Supposedly it was delivered on Friday but I certainly didn't get it. My regular carrier wasn't working that day so she doesn't know what happened but she's trying to get it straightened out for me. I hope they can find it, I don't want to drop any more money right now! Very sad...

CO2:
Finally got all my parts together. Will begin construction today. I'm worried about my HOB because no matter how high I fill the tank it still makes lots of surface disturbance/bubbles and all that. If I fill the tank all the way to the glass support in the middle it makes the surface on the other side of the tank still. Would it help to put the diffuser on that side?

Plants:
Got my order on Friday. I have hygro corymbosa, more broad leaf luds, water sprite, and a small red melon sword. I tore out all the creeping jenny for use in two other tanks and then.....I rearranged the tank AGAIN! I know...I'm bad. I left some things alone and only moved what I had to, nothing seems to have suffered for it. I really like the new look, it has the fullness I was trying for, but I really don't like the hygro. It was not at all what I thought it would be, and I ordered quite a lot hoping to make it a big part of the display... I doesn't look even remotely aquatic, looks more like someone stripped some branches off a bush. I know giant hygro isn't a true aquatic but I thought the submersed leaves would look....better? It is really bad. I planted it...unhappily....but want to replace it. I want a similar plant with big leaves that will fill a lot of space and get some good height.

Hopefully someone can offer suggestions once you see new pics. I'm scared to post any right now because I am battling a new wave of pea soup water... Why does this always happen when we have company? Instead of "Wow! What a cool tank." I hear after a long pause "Hmm...Your fish tank looks pretty dirty..." even though I've just done a big water change. I can't seem to kick this green algae water. I cut feeding quite drastically, cleaned the filter thoroughly (left one old cartridge in to preserve bacteria), and I stepped up water changes but it is, if anything, getting worse... Actually, all the algae is getting worse. Hair algae is thriving on all plants and equipment. I even got a small outbreak of diatoms after adding the new plants. Ugh.... I have five otos but I don't think they touch the hair algae, which is very unsightly. Any help?

On a better note, all fish are happy and thriving. My water params are all flat-lined at 0.


Pictures later!

My water params are all flat-lined at 0.

And what are your plants supposed to eat if there is no Nitrate?

Basic macros are Nitrate, Potassium, and Phosphates, and then you need a micro mix (dry or liquid).

Your green water is eating it all up, not so good.

You should stop in your tracks right now and combat the algae. Somehow I missed the green water issue in earlier threads, or I may have thought that it is done. How bad is it? Is it still getting worse? Water changes may help temporarily, but not in the long run. If it doesn't stop then you need to take action on it. Remember, all plants need oxygen (at night) and your tank may be deprived of it with the green water.

I never had it, but from what I know you can either have a black-out for a few (4 to 7) days or use a UV sterilizer to combat it (some money involved for purchase, and research on which on is good for your tank, which is made harder by having a HOB). Black-out seems like the better way, but given that you just added plants and they are stressed they may not make it through this phase.

Do not NOT post a picture of your tank in this stage. I don't excite over seeing other tanks suffer, so don't worry about that, but seeing the tank would help quite a bit in evaluating how bad things really are.

And keep your hands out of the tank for the time being, with that I mean of course the constant re-arranging of stuff . It for sure contributes to your current issues.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Do not NOT post a picture of your tank in this stage

You can if you really want to. It would be nice to see how bad it really is and also a way of documenting it once your tank is crystal clear.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

I agree with Ingo & Wings , posting a photo will make it easier for the folks here to help you out
Also easier for newcomers like me to learn about and prevent the same issues from happening in our tanks .
Garry

BTW,

tetratech is the man with the best green water combat experience here, followed by either Matty or NowherMan6, I don't remember exactly which one of the two had it as well (or both).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

tetratech is the man with the best green water combat experience here, followed by either Matty or NowherMan6, I don't remember exactly which one of the two had it as well (or both).

Gee thanks

Well obviously I love the UV for that purpose. Unfortunately with an HOB you have to get into pumps and powerheads, etc to run one. Besides from that, the things that aren't going to help this setup with algae are:

HOB filter - small biofilter area
Low plant density - small biofilter area
Substrate - Sand over gravel creates anaerobic activity which only leads to more waste products





My Scapes

Also easier for newcomers like me to learn about and prevent the same issues from happening in our tanks.

So I'm to be an example for you all then?

Well, it has been green for over a week now (before my most current rearrange) and I added more plants earlier than I had intended to in hopes of providing more competition for the algae. I had a green water bloom earlier in my tank's life and managed to kick it completely. It was really clear for a few weeks and now the stuff is back...

I know the plants need nutrients. I really want the ferts! It's not my fault the stuff got lost in the mail. I need to wait until the end of the week to see if it turns up, if not I'll have to reorder... I hate wasting money...

Yes, I mentioned I would post a picture. I've been delaying the inevitable.

Here's the tank. It just looks plain dirty doesn't it? Not nearly as bad as it was last week, prior to the planting. I could hardly see what I was doing so I just had to stick stuff down and hope it looked ok. The setup is not exactly how I envisioned it, with high plants on both sides sloping down to the driftwood and lower plants in the middle (I have a sketch that looks pretty nice). It is mostly the water sprite that is messing it up. I bought that as a last minute purchase. It will stay where it is for a while but future plans (WAY in the future Ingo...) may find it elsewhere. Note that you cannot see my HOB uptake... For a while I was attempting to hide it...seems now I have unintentionally succeeded. Also, please ignore my very ugly CO2 equipment. It needs revision. I will probably replace this temp with a glass diffusor and move it to the other side of the tank. Had a pearl gourami trapped in the bottle this morning! It is bubbling really well though. Hope it helps.

Attached Image:

I had a green water bloom earlier in my tank's life and managed to kick it completely.

Upfront: yup, that's pretty green there.

Now - When you had it before, how did you combat it? How long was it gone for? Whas this picture taken just after a water change or is this as bad as it is?

Green Water is a form of algae and like any other algae it will be there (or come back as in your case) as long as the conditions of the environment have not changed. Now, I remember that we struggled to identify why tetrtatech had green water, but I think he did a lot of research about it and should be able to tell you more, as he is "The Ultimate And Absolute Green Water Expert"

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

When you had it before, how did you combat it? How long was it gone for? Was this picture taken just after a water change or is this as bad as it is?

OK... I refered to my records (I take notes on my tank.. Does anybody else do this or am I strange?) and I'm not sure of the exact onset of the first green water outbreak but aparently it was bad enough on 5/3 that I removed half the peat from my filter in hopes of combating it. I have no note as to the end of the green water but I have a picture from 5/15 with sparkling clear water. So we can assume the last outbreak was probably 2 weeks or less. My tank was probably clear for another 2 weeks or so before it started getting a bit green again. It seems to build slowly because I don't notice how bad it is until it is...bad.

This picture was taken this morning. My last water change was on Monday and it wasn't that big. So yes, this is as bad as it is.

My previous plan of attack was simply taking away any factor I thought might be contributing. I eventually took all the peat out (it is still gone), I cut my lighting from three bulbs to just the two T8s, I know I was overfreeding so I cut down on that, and I did lots and lots of water changes. I have no idea if any one thing helped more than another but somehow the algae went away.

I think this new green water started early last week. It is quite a bit worse than the first time. I don't think I'm overfeeding but I cut it down a little bit anyway. I'm leaving the windows nearest the tank blinded all day. I cleaned the filter really well too. And again, lots of water changes...though I'm probably just giving the algae even more trance elements to feed off of.

All I really know to do is to be patient and let this thing run its course. I don't know what else to do. UV is out of the question, unfortunately.

The only solutions I've run across on the internet thus far are algaecide (can't use with plants), black out (again, worried about my plants and somewhat doubt the method anyway), and UV ($$ I shouldn't spend).



Any ideas are appreciated. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing...

I really think we need tetratech's expertise on green water, and I mean this in an honest way. You could PM him and point him back to the thread.

The one thing that worries me in your description is "I cleaned the filter really well too" - I am not so certain if that was such a great move. Granted, a planted (fully planted) tank does not need a filter for the biological filtration as you have loads of beneficial bacteria in the tank itself, but your tank was not fully planted, even with the additions made now as they haven't had a chance to settle yet.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I really think we need tetratech's expertise on green water, and I mean this in an honest way. You could PM him and point him back to the thread.

Did somebody call for the "The Self-Proclaimed King of Protist Destruction"?
LF, I've already commented in the thread about 4 or 5 posts up.

My Scapes

I've already commented in the thread about 4 or 5 posts up

I know, but I didn't remember what causes Green Water, and I thought you may be the carrier of that knowledge

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I didn't clean, or even rinse in chlorinated water, the bio wheels or the filter pads. I just scrubbed the gunk out of the parts. Filters get dirty...they need to be cleaned sometime.

Yay! Good news, USPS finally found my package and delivered it to me yesterday. Never fear Little Fish, my plants now have something to eat.

As to what causes green water... Either excess nutrients or excess light. Extra light would be too much intensity, too many hours, or the tank too close to a window. I am trying to cut my hours a little and, as I mentioned, I closed up all the windows. Extra nutrients could be over fertilization, over feeding, over stocking, not enough water changes, letting wastes build up, etc... I don't think I fit any of that though I did note that my fish food is high in phosphorus. It has a minimum of 1.5%. That is higher than any other food I have. Perhaps if I switched to a different food?

Extra nutrients could be ...

Well, it also could be a nutrient imbalance. And I assume that is most likely what it is. As in: having a lot of Phosphates and Nitrates, but no Potassium and or micros. Or any possible combination of the above.

BTW, I am not a believer of the excess nutrient philosophy, as long as all nutrients are in excess. Have you heard about the Estimative Index from Tom Barr? There are quite a few (at least half of all people I know) that have a different opinion though.

Green Water - with my very limited knowledge, once you have it you cannot correct it by stabilizing the tank, a cure is needed, like UV filter or blackout. As others what they think,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The tank got a partial black out this weekend. I was gone for a few days and so left the lights off and the blinds all shut. When I came home the tank seemed even more green. I finally broke down and bought an algaecide yesterday. API and Tetra both had products which claimed to be safe for live plants. The stuff did a great job on the algae water! This morning I can actually see all my plants. The water still has a slight cloud (not bad, a water change should remove most of the dead algae and fix that) and the fuzz and string type algae on the driftwood is still healthy. I hope I can prevent future blooms by fertilizing the plants, I'd rather not use the shortcut chemicals... The plants are now regularly getting K, N, and traces. P is probably plentiful enough from feeding. Also, my second CO2 bottle gets hooked up today. I was finally able to do my kH test and it is 6 degrees. My pH was at 8.0 (usually it is more like 7.6-7.8). Seems like there isn't much CO2 being retained? I will tinker with it some more.

I will post a pic later, the room is too bright this morning and I can't get the color/lighting in the tank to look good.

Here is an interesting link for those who want more info on the relationship between algae/plants/ferts.

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/sears-conlin.html

Hi,
Just to be sure... You did read the instructions,
and you did do a massive water change after
that medication, right?

A massive die off like that will polute the tank and
can turn it into a massive grave.

I only mention it because I did not read that you did
it.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

lioness,

Glad to hear that it worked for you, although I always have my doubt when adding some chemical to do the job (but I did this as well when my tank - a loooong time ago - had some BGA, by adding Maracyn).

Also, I am glad that you are reading around on the web about planted tanks, the more information you gather the better you will understand the topic.

But I must add some warning to possible side effects on reading such info : you will find that rather informed sources sometimes conflict each other (uninformed sources of info should be disregarded anyway). That would be because of different approaches to a successful tank and the battle over which one works (as in "Mine is the best way". In addition, some findings have to be read in connection with their time of creation. The Sears-Conlin paper is one of these. Created at a time when CO2 of 20ppm was considered high, Tom Barr had not yet invented EI, and what not, it is based on providing a "limiting factor" via P. The suggested value is a 10th of what I have in my tab water, not to mention that I add a little more to my tank. Of course I am pushing my own method here (namely EI), but that is what all of us do . Overall, I am glad to read that you study such topics as the Sears-Conlin paper, it reminds me so much of myself about 1.5 years ago (and my dissapointment when others told me about it being "outdated".

Have fun, and show that picture,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Willow branches for sale. $5 a bunch plus shipping.


My Scapes

Well, the paper was interesting reading anyway...

Instructions mentioned nothing about a water change but common sense tells me lots of dead algae=yucky water. The tank did get a big water change which foils my semi-EI fertilizing schedule. Still getting used to this...

I always have my doubt when adding some chemical to do the job

Of course, I don't use chemicals unless necessary. It seemed important to prevent the plants from getting smothered from lack of O2/light. You mentioned that even if the algae did go away naturally it was likely to come back anyway..

Here's my picture. I added a new bunch of wisteria (I only moved one bunch of hygro to plant it! I was good!). Still frustrated with how the pictures are coming out but oh well... No comments on the CO2 thing... The water is very clear now but there is still a lot of hair type algae on the plants/glass/driftwood.

Attached Image:

The water is very clear now but there is still a lot of hair type algae on the plants/glass/driftwood

Hey, what is the color of that hair stuff? Brown or green or white? And - how does it look in detail, like small singular strands (hair algae, strands that branch out (staghorn), or hairs that like to bunch up in groups (diatoms), or what?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

It's all green. The stuff on the driftwood (the piece on the far right) is very dense, like a carpet. It is individual strands under an inch long, very soft and slippery. Can be pulled up but it is hard to grip it. This algae is also present on the amazon sword and on a small patch on the back glass. There is staghorn algae on various places: the heater cord, some leaves, filter intake... It can get quite a few inches long, feels coarser, holds strongly but can be pulled off completely. The algae that is on most of the glass and a lot of leaves is very short single strands but not carpet like. It looks just like the staghorn, but not segmented.

Baoh lioness,

It seems like you have pretty much all algae types collected in your tank, not so good.

The little dense hair mats are often fixed by removing the affected leaves, or if hardware then by taking that piece out and scrubbing it off with Excel.

The other two (if one is staghorn and the other is thread) point to a nutrient imbalance, it brings back memories of the early stages of my 125G. I think once I scaled back on my obsessive replanting, had a steady fert and water change schedule, and removed affected areas things started to turn for the better. If for sure overdosed my micros by a lot at that time.

Break down your current routine, as applied within the last two weeks, for ferts and water change please. If you have test kits, measure whatever you can and post that as well (if you have data to compare from the last two weeks, add them too).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yes, it's very likely a nutrient imbalance. I just started fertilizing last week (the algae has been around, in varying quantities, for a long time). Some of the plants have much less thread algae on them, though it is still presents on a few plants and the glass.

I've been waiting for someone to tell me to trim leaves.. The big sword is such a nice, healthy plant. I hate to do that to it. I can get rid of a few of the worst ones but I think all of its leave have the algae to some degree so that won't solve the problem. The driftwood I can remove and scrub on a bit though it has java fern on it that I will have to be careful of. Should I clean the back glass? I've left it alone for the otos purposes. If I scrub off the fuzz algae on it won't it just drift around and attach somewhere else?

For water changes...the last few weeks I've been fighting with the algae water so I was doing changes of about 15 gallons every other day. When I started fertilizing last Thursday I quit that, planning to do the 50% weekly EI water change.

For tests...the only nutrient I have a test for is Nitrate. I just got the kit 3 weeks ago (I think) and every test I've done has read zero. I know I'm doing it right because there is measurable nitrate in my other tanks. Just did a test today and it is still not measurable so I am upping my KNO3 dosage.
Regular params (Ammonia, NO2) have been steady at 0 for a long time. The pH fluctuates by a few points but is almost always 7.6-7.8.

For ferts... Flourish 2x week. 1/8 tsp K2SO4 3X. KNO3 daily in liquid form. I have it set up to give me about 1 ppm/dose so as not to stress the fish by raiseing the nitrates suddendly from 0-10 etc.. I'm doubling the dose for this week to see if I can get a reading.. I think it's better to be safe than sorry but should I be more aggressive with this fert? Also, how will I know if I'm over/under dosing a particular fert?

The tank is by no means taken over by the algae. It is noticable only by close inspecation. But I do not want it to spread and thrive and I really don't like it on my leaves. The plants are all growing. Nothing extraordinary but they all look healthy. I suppose I should just keep up on my ferts and stick to the 1x week water change. Also, I have no more rearranging planned in the near future. The hygro will be slowly phased out but that won't be very tramatic to the tank.

I finally got a reading on nitrate! After doubling the dose yesterday and today it is now reading about 5 ppm. Once I have it fairly stable I may switch to the dry EI dosing a few times/week.

The plants look good. After the last week or so of pulling off dead or snail munched leaves, the hygro is finally starting to take off. All the plants are much cleaner than they've been in the past, except the big sword.

On the CO2 front, my pH is finally coming down a touch but after doing the kH/pH to CO2 conversion it is aparent that there is still not nearly enough in there. The two bottles are producing plenty of bubbles...I think I just need a more effective means to get the gas dissolved. Also, my HOB is not helping. A nice canister filter will probably be my next big investment in the tank but I can't justify it for a while, the Emperor is brand new and cleans the water fine. Is there any way I can modify it to make less surface disturbance?

Also! I've added another 40 watt bulb to the tank so now my total wattage is 144 = 2.6 wpg. I also finally got a timer for the lights. I am well aware that I leave the lights on too long and I've needed something for when I'm gone on weekends. Now my plants should be happy.

lioness,

Glad to read that things seem to stabilize

I would be a little careful on the light as 2.6wpg (of a good light and reflector) can bring you in the zone of "the plants want more". Do you have all these lights on all the time or is there a plan to have a "midday burst" ?

Filling a tank really high so that the outflow of the HOB is partially in the water usually helps a little with lowering the agitation.

And sure thing, a canister would be nice

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The 40s didn't work out so I'm going with some different bulbs. It is now to be more like 2.3 wpg. The bulbs are all 6500k. Half are on 12 hours/day. The other half will be a little less, probably more like 8 hours.

While prospecting this weekend I took the opportunity to do some rock collecting. I'm considering replacing the driftwood in the center with a rock structure as I'd really like to see more hardscape. The only plant that might have to be moved for this project is the water sprite. Anyway, the river has a lot of iron in it (aptly named Red River) so a lot of the rocks I got are very red. I love the color and want to use them but will it leach too much iron into the water? Is that going to cause another algae bloom or can the plants handle it? I also got a lot of quartz and a few other types of rock so I can skip the iron rich stuff if I have to. I will boil everything and test for pH altering before putting anything in.

I love the color and want to use them but will it leach too much iron into the water?

Yeah, I would not use them. iron is one of your micro ferts and used in tiny quantities (target is 0.1ppm, if I remember that right). Leaching iron would for sure cause problems, IMHO.

I also got a lot of quartz ...

As in black and white quartz or something like that? This would be perfect

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yeah, I would not use them. iron is one of your micro ferts and used in tiny quantities (target is 0.1ppm, if I remember that right). Leaching iron would for sure cause problems, IMHO.

Now whats the difference between having some rocks with iron in them and products like Flourite?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

While researching the subject I found conflicting opinions. Here is one take...

Heavy metals (lead, zinc, copper, cadmium, etc etc and even iron) are toxic for fish, inverts, and mammals, including us, when they reach certain-enormously varying-concentrations. In the case of fish, such metals are primarily dangerous in their free ionic form in the water where they are available for uptake by the fish metabolism.

In the form of compounds, such as oxides, they are inert and not free for metabolic uptake. For example water conditioners which 'detoxify' heavy metals actually bind them into compounds which cannot be absorbed by the fish

In water of neutral or alkaline pH heavy metals normally remain locked into such compounds and remain inert.

Acidic water (pH less than 7) on the other hand activates these metals and renders them potentially dangerous.

Iron, the commonest of all metals, is normally present in nature in the form if iron oxide, i.e. rust. It follows that if you have rocks containing iron, betrayed by rusty streaks and patches, it will not normally present a chemical problem for your fish since the rust, iron oxide, is inert, However, if there is enough rusty material it will discolor your water, so rocks that are heavily 'rusted' should not be used. A few patches or spots of rust here and there on rocks is not a problem.

I'm not really worried about the fish. Many natural habitats are very high in iron. Algae is more my concern. I only used a few of the reddish rocks and anything that bleed rust onto my hands was definetly discarded. Now the overall effect is very light, with a lot of white quartz and some other quartz like and granite like rocks of various grey and red shades... (I'm no geologist.. ). Combined with my light sand, it is much too pale and the bright white quartz draws a lot of attention to itself. I want to get some plants growing around and over the rocks to help tone them down. They take up a lot of real estate, which I am not concerned about because I don't have enough plants to fill it all up anyway.

Hi,
Fluorite, a product of SeaChem is actually Laterite,
an ancient (millions of years old) clay. It is formed in
the tropical (Equatorial) jungles and is rich in iron.
The clay is mined, mixed with water, and then baked
(fractionated) into brick like consistency. Then the stuff
is ground up into #2 & #3 grain size for use as aquarium
substrate.
Unlike some other "plant friendly" substrates, the Fluorite
does not loose its iron over a period of time.

Clays particles range in size from 0.00006 to 0.0020mm
and the minerals that make up clays are mostly
silicates of aluminum, iron, and magnesium. A variety of
clay called Vermiculite has a general formula of:
Mg.3[(Mg2.3Al.2Fe3+.5)(Si2.7Al1.3)O10(OH)2]-.5. nH2O
Note the OH Radical, and the H20 molecules. This is easily
broken down by plants to extract the Magnesium, and Iron in
the clay.
The iron molecules in minerals or rock is more
tightly bound, not organically bound and not accessible
by plants. In essence, as the article says, its "inert."

Iron, in minerals, or even in the water, depending on its
form, can stain the quartz gravel that we use.
If the concentration is high enough, its action would look
much like iron rich well water on white porcelain sinks.


Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

An update....

I have good news and bad news.

Good:

Plants are all doing so well! Growth is very impressive as compared to previous no ferts/co2 situation. Ludwigia is a nice rosy pink/green on top and bright red on bottom. Vals are looking gorgeous at long last and are sending out runners (finally!). Dwarf sag is also sending out runners for the first time. There is lots of very nice new growth on wisteria, water sprite, and all swords. Plants are actually pearling at times! I didn't think they would do that at lower CO2 levels but I get little bubbles on the bleheri sword and water sprite. While I am updating plants... I added a marble queen sword(had one baby when I bought it and is working on its second one now) and more ludwigia and removed all the hygro.

Bad:

Ugg... More algae... I have new varieties too. A dark brown (BBA?) algae is present on the older leaves of wisteria, swords, and water sprite. Mostly along the edges. My poor anubias nana has finally been attacked and is now being covered by the brown and green algae. There is still plenty of fuzz algae, on the swords mostly and also a little on the glass. I've been cutting off lots of sword leaves as they become covered but I don't think it is helpful. The worst news... I believe I have spotted BGA. Saw some tiny spots on a few leaves and on the gravel in a small patch at the front of the tank. Upon further inspection, found similar looking algae on the glass all along the front under the substrate. I removed the few leaves and any sand or decor that had it. It is a bright green, slightly blueish slime. There was very little but it seems to indicate more to come. No green water at the moment. I suppose the new algae could be the result of adding the rocks. I did boil and scrub them all thoroughly. Only one piece had visible algae and it was subjected to a bleach soak and extra scrubbing. I thought that would be sufficient but perhaps not?

What am I doing wrong?! I am so sad and frustrated. I feel helpless as I have been trying hard and I really don't know what the next step to take is. I dread a tank crash.. I have been fertilizing regularly with K, Flourish, and enough KNO3 to keep the Nitrates around 10 ppm. Approx 50% water change and light surface gravel vac once a week. 2.3 wpg 12 hrs per day.

The only things I can think of are high phosphates or perhaps insufficient circulation (though algae is present throughout the whole tank, not just the low circ side). Would a phosphate remover be a worthwhile try? A phosphate test at least? What should the phosphate number be? The water is pretty warm too. About 78, which is room temp (the heater is set at 72 and never kicks on anymore). Could that be contributing to anything?

My poor tank. It looks so pretty. I really don't want to lose it. I've been longing for this setup for years and really wanted to do it right. This is my first try at a big tank, I've only had 10 gals before. Never in my 10 years of fish hobbying have I had so much trouble with algae (though admittedly, my old tanks were much lower tech and few had live plants). This is discouraging.


As a side note, I have another tank going at the moment. It is a 10 gal, low tech, no ferts/co2, heavy fish load, well planted. Growth is moderate, all plants healthy. There is not a speck of algae visible, nor has there ever been in the few months since I started it. Maybe a 55 is too big for me...

Lioness, don't get down on yourself . We all have algae at one time or another . The trick it seems is to get balance in your particular environment.
Not easy , trust me I'm having lots of issues in both my tanks at the minute . I'm just trying to see it as a learning experience .
Thats part of the fun and challenge .

Persevere , and when you win you will feel a greater sense of achievement. Enough of the pep talk .

I would go to the Seachem site and have a read about ferts .
I would certainly get a bunch of test kits and try to find out whats going on , but thats me, others will say just go with the EI method and make sure all your Macro's etc are there in excess .
From my reading it will probably be something missing rather than an excess of something thats letting the algae outcompete the plants .

Hope this helps , stiff upper lip (as the Poms say ) and you will win in the end .


Garry

Thank you for the encouragement Garry.

I have been roughly following the EI method. I'm going to cut down on my Flourish just a touch and I'm also going to get a Phosphate test kit today.

If any of you read my post in the Hospital, my fish are now infested with leeches. Such joy....

Pictures of various things to come.

Here is one of my poor infested Pearls in the hospital tank...

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Some nice new leaves on the red melon sword. Note the nasty algae coming up on the older leaves.

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Water sprite. One of my favorite and fastest growing plants. The new growth is so beautiful on it, but you can see the ugly brown parts of the plant. Not rotten leaves, just algae.

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Was called Rosette Sword by the LFS. Very nice plant. You can see all the stumps at the bottom where I have been cutting off the worst algae leaves. All my swords look like that now. Also note that the leaves are ruffled. I don't recall them being that way when I first bought it. Water issue maybe?

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A baby val! (off center right) You can see the runner coming from the plant on the left. The vals are finally free of the hair algae they had and they are all growing so nicely now but some of them are getting the brown algae...

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