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I've never been much of a green thumb, but lately they've all just really deteriorated. This is mostly in my main tank, a 55 gallon. I only have 80 watts of light on there, since I took off an additional 40 watts that were on there. This seemed to combat some green water I had problems with. I can put that back on if need be.

I dose the recommended amount of trace elements fertilizer stuff. I think that I need to get more/better/different fertilizer, but I'm a little nervous to. I don't want my algae problem to be worse than it already is.

I have tried most of the recommended low-light plants. Hornwort and anacharis just get to be a pain, so I don't have those any more. I do have amazon swords, anubias nana, crypt. lutea, java moss, giant hygro (?), and pygmy chain sword. The only think doing remotely well are the swords and the crypts. The anubias is growing -slowly- but is completely covered in black brush algae. The hygro has completely shed its leaves and distintegrated, and the java moss always looks dirty and never a nice, bright green. Vals, dwarf sag, Hygrophila corymbosa v. 'Angustifolia', rotala indica, and probably others have not survived in my tank.

My nitrates stay at around 10 ppm. The tank might get a little direct sunlight, as there is a large, south-facing window across the room from it. I don't add CO2, as I can't afford a pressurized system, and DIY isn't practical (so I've heard) for this tank size.

What can I do? I need to get rid of the BBA, and I've heard that no water changes, except for top-offs, will kill it. I need my plants to do better to win out over the algae. Should I get my water tested for phosphate and potassium? I'm really at a loss here, and almost ready to switch to fake plants >.<

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They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

Hi,
Actually the plants that should be growing well, are.
The Swords, crypts and anubus are all low light plants
and by your comments are growing well. However, they
are slow growing plants and the sword is a heavy root
feeder. None of these plants will "soak up" the nutrients
from the water column. The stem plants such as the
Hygro are fast growers, but need more light than you are
providing. The floating plants you mentioned Anacharis,
and Hornwart actually need more light as well although
some do get away with low light (low wpg) because they
leave the plants to float at the surface rather than
anchoring them in the substrate (the light is stronger at
the surface, than at the substrate).

I'd slow down on adding the fertilizers. With the low light
you are simply adding nutrients for algae, the plants don't
need it yet, you are not "driving" them to faster growths
with that low light so their demands are not that great.

To get a handle on the algae, I would suggest that you
look at this site: [link=http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html]http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html" style="COLOR: #FF00FF[/link]

And specifically for battling Green Water, at this site:
[link=http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/greenwater.html]http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/greenwater.html" style="COLOR: #FF00FF[/link]

Essentially, it involves regimented, regular, aquarium
housekeeping.

Frank


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

When i had Green Water, i just switched off the tank lights for 4/5 days &amp; stopped feeding my fish. After the 5th day i did a 25% water change &amp; the water was clear again. I also added some Carbon in the filter.


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Light and ammonia is the recipe for green water.

You were adding a trace fertilizer. No need to change brand. It's a classic mistake - traces are only part of the story. There's other nutrients needed.Just using a liquid trace fert is like trying to raise a baby by feeding it only ice cream !

You say you have a steady 10ppm of nitrate ? According to the test kit correct ? I once had a test kit that said I had a constant 10ppm of NO3 then I got another that told me I had zero. My plants also told me zero. Guess which was right ? The test kits are gathering dust somewhere never touch them.

You have a same thing. The test kit says the 10ppm. The plants tell you they are starving by dying. Who you going to believe?

No need to test for Potassium or Phosphate. If you have those things it would be good not bad.

Put more plants in. Something cheap and fast growing.Trim off leaves with algae. No water changes. A weekly dose of about 5mls of liquid, about 1/8 teaspoon of Kno3 and about a half a rice grain sized portion of KH2PO4.NO WATER CHANGES. Just top up. Growth will be slow but you'll have few problems. If this works you can increase the light and keep the routine, but will allow you a bigger selection of plants

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

I don't have the green water any more. At least I got rid of that. Do you guys have any recommendations for additional plants I could try that might help starve the algae? How about some that will grow well in my low light.

I think I'll add the extra 40 watts. That gives me 120 watts, so about 2 wpg.

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They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

You should check out [link=tropica's]http://www.tropica.com" style="COLOR: #FFD700[/link] advanced search option and look for low light plants and get some of the fastest growing low light plants you can. The more plants the better IMO. Maybe when you get things under control with the algae you can try out green hygro again, I think it should do well in your tank and as a fast grower it will help pull out available nutrients. Plus it makes for a nice background plant.

I agree that you should not add any ferts except maybe a root tab near the roots of your sword plant and crypts. Like Frank said slow growing plants don't consume a lot of nutrients and won't need you to dose anything besides what's in your tap water.

I'd also like to add that you should never underestimate what even a little extra CO2 can do. I have a 40 gallon tank and use DIY yeast CO2. It helps a TON. If you do try it out, you might try for a 3 liter bottle and definitely get an efficient reactor or diffuser (some you can make cheaply yourself, especially if you have a canister filter) I'd be happy to help you make one of these .

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I agree with matty, even if you can get 10 ppm CO2 on there you will notice a huge difference in growth. Another option which may be easier but is also a little expensive is Flourish Excel. If you go without CO2 it can be done, growth will just be a lot slower and your plants will need less nutrition. Your lighting is not really *that* low, I keep planted tanks with lower, no CO2. Some plants that work for me:

Java fern
Java moss
Hygrophila polysperma
Anubias sp.
Crypts
Aponogetons - fast growers even in low light
Hygrophila corymbosa v. siamensis
Bacopa sp.
Vallisneria
Hornwort
Hydrocotyle leucocephala (pennywort)
Ambulia

Try other plants as well, your lighting is really not that low.

Sorry - I didn't see you mention you were going to increase light. If you up the light I would add some CO2 like matty said, it will make a huge difference. To be honest you can grow almost anything in about 2 wpg in a tank that size, for now I would just stay away from the *really* picky ones. Search tropica for moderate light, anything on that list should be fine. Don't be too afraid to venture into the higher light plants as well, if you see something you like, go for it. The worst that will happen is it won't thrive and you'll need to adjust a few things.

Like bensaf said, just make sure they're getting adequate nutrition and they will be fine. I just dose KNO3 as needed on low light tanks and some traces, have just started adding a bit of PO4 from KH2PO4 and it makes a huge difference as well (you could just as easily use flourish phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen). Macronutrient deficiency is most likely your biggest problem here with the plants, and as bensaf said green water usually follows elevated ammonia levels. Don't worry about algae, when your plants are thriving it is a non-issue. Just pretend it doesn't exist, correct your growing conditions for the plants and you'll have nothing to worry about.

Btw, I would add the H. polysperma immediately when you replant, as long as you correct the nutrient issues it will grow like a weed. I grow it at about 1 wpg and it does just fine. Try the H. corymbosa varieties as well. They tend to fare really well under low light. Just get a ton of whatever you're planting, plant as heavily as possible and start feeding them what they need.

For ferts I prefer to buy dry chemicals now that I have them, they give you the most control and are ridiculously cheap. Check out http://www.gregwatson.com. From that site I would suggest KNO3 and KH2PO4 for that tank, Plantex CSM+B if you're running low on trace mix. You may want to buy K2SO4 for potassium if you like to "play" with your nutrients a lot but you don't really need it for a low light tank.

If you want to buy locally, just go to your local garden centre and pick up a bottle of Green Light Stump Remover (KNO3) and then stop at the pharmacy on the way home for a Fleet Enema (sodium phosphate). You could also make it really easy and get the flourish products I already mentioned, Flourish Potassium, Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Excel will increase your growth if you're not using CO2, but with increased growth comes higher uptake, which means more dosing, pruning, and water changes for you.

Last edited by trystianity at 16-Aug-2005 14:39

Last edited by trystianity at 16-Aug-2005 14:45

Re, your hygro leaves falling off and dying..

I had a h polysperma forest in only 1 wpg but I did have CO2. ALTHOUGH, it didn't look great and grew this way and that.. You have more light then I did but probably a deeper tank then my 29, affecting how much light getting down to your substrate. Hygro maybe not getting enough light. Is there a reflector in your light fixture ? I'm going to try one myself with foil for now.



The Amazon Nut...

I do have a reflector. Some of the hygro is actually very close to the light, since it has come unplanted. Still, it just disintegrates.

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They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

. Some of the hygro is actually very close to the light, since it has come unplanted. Still, it just disintegrates.

Light is not your issue. I wouldn't consider 2 wpg low light, especially if you're using PC bulbs. I only have a touch over 2wpg and can grow anything. Even those fancy red plants.

Nutrients is the problem. The plants are starving. In Nitrate deficiency the plant will try to move what little No3 there is from old growth to new growth. It practically cannibalises itself.

Provide the nutrients and most plants will do well in that light. They'll do ok without Co2 too just grow a whole lot slower.

Start with a LOT of easy fast growing ones - Polysperma, Wisteria, Potamegeton, Rotalas and work from there.

Last edited by bensaf at 17-Aug-2005 21:35

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.