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Plant suggestions please!!!

1K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  Straight shooter 
#1 ·
Ok.. looking for some ideas to increase my plant load. I'm struggling with a bit of algae and some water cloudiness. I'm speculating that I need more plants for my setup but I'm open to other ideas as well. Pics attached of overall tank and close up of algae.

I run a 10 gallon that I would term "medium tech". It has a Finnex Ray 24/7 that runs for about 14 hours a day on the 24 hour setting(I turn it off at night because it is in my sons room). Penguin filter that runs only at night. DIY CO2.. but it gets changed basically weekly so it stays fairly strong. Dosed once a week or so with Seachem liquid ferts(I travel for my job so maintaining any kind of dosing schedule just doesn't happen).

Current plants.. Giant Hygro on the back right.. unknown crypt and red melon sword front right, narrow leaf sag in the foreground.. driftwood has java moss and an anubias nana that is on the brink of death. Another red melon sword in front of the log and Italian val behind the log.

Overall growth is ok.. but slow. No pearling of plants. When I first got the Finnex I was running it on the max setting 10 hours a day.. growth was more pronounced and definite pearling, but I was really struggling with algae. So this is a balance now.

I am open to any and all suggestions.. my hope is just adding some plants and maybe a little more light I can find a nice balance with clear water and minimal algae... but I'm open to more dramatic suggestions if necessary. I would prefer to avoid pressurized CO2 just because of the expense and space given it is a 10g.. but again open to all thoughts.

Thanks for taking the time!!!
 

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#2 ·
It has a Finnex Ray 24/7 that runs for about 14 hours a day on the 24 hour setting(I turn it off at night because it is in my sons room).

Penguin filter that runs only at night. DIY CO2.

When I first got the Finnex I was running it on the max setting 10 hours a day.

I am open to any and all suggestions.
Photo period is too long IMO.

Filter should always run.

I would cut back to a 6-7 hour photo period to start with.

What Seachem products do you dose?
 
#9 ·
I've heard this as well about anarchis. Interestingly enough, I had it in a tank a few years ago that had a nasty algae outbreak that affected everything except the anarchis. So I believe there is truth to that.

I would suggest altering you light cycle first as others have suggested. You don't need that light at 100 percent at all during the day, I think that's you biggest problem. That light is pretty strong for a 10. I would dim it, and cut the light cycle down to 7 or 8. Also, you need to run your filter 24/7 regardless of off gassing. You will be potentially killing off your beneficial bacteria, thus restarting your cycle every day. You also NEED the flow during the day to move nutrients and co2 around the tank.

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk
 
#4 ·
Your water seems to have a lot of tannins in it, since it looks sort of brown. This can cut off a lot of light. What is your water change schedule? You may need to make more water changes.

You might want to test your nitrate, phosphate, and other fert levels. Sometimes one can be way too high or low causing algae issues.

If I want to add plants to control algae, I usually use some of the fast growing stem plants. The suggestion of sohankpatel is a good one.

I would also use a shorter photo period and run the filter all the time as suggested by Maryland Guppy.
 
#6 ·
You have not mentioned any ferts.
The PAR on that light is above 60 in your tank. This level of light requires injected CO2
and fertilizers.
The DIY CO2 and the fact that this fixture is only in full PAR for a small amount of the
total time it's on when in the 24/7 mode is most of the reason your whole tank isn't
covered/w algae.
Using a Stingray instead of that fixture would be your best option.
Using the fixture that you have but with the dimer and @ a reasonable amount of hrs
like 7 or 8 hrs would also work.
I have very little understanding of why you only use the filter at night but you are
severely reducing it's performance potential.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the great replies.

I'll try and answer all I can and love any more feedback you guys are willing to take the time to provide.

The long photoperiod is due to this lights cycling of low light.. it only comes on "full daylight" for maybe 6 hours total.. if even out of that time.. the rest of the time it is low light with a lot of red and blue! I could also run full PAR for 7 to 8 hours a day.

Perhaps I've misunderstood something all along with filters. I thought with CO2 you didn't want to run the filter during the day? That adds oxygen to the water and defeats the purpose of adding CO2? Multiple people seem to be saying otherwise. So even with an HOB filter I should run it 24/7? That won't completely dilute the effects of the CO2?

I also was suspect of my water changes. I live at altitude(5000 ft) so I get a lot of evaporation(20% a week).. so I usually just do weekly topoffs. But I'm worried that I'm condensing nutrients too much.. that I need to pull out another 20% maybe and then refill.

In terms of dosing.. I do Flourish, Excel, Potassium, Phosphorous, and Iron. I've always had high Nitrates so I don't do Nitrogen.

So.. start with run the filter 24/7, more water changes, add anachris, and shorter photoperiod. Anyone have that light? Should I run 7-8 hours at full PAR.. or 7-8 hours with the 24/7 cycle.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.. hugely appreciated.

Chris
 
#13 ·
How deep is your tank? The 24/7 only provides light at max for about 3-4 hours, however that may have a very high par value at your substrate depending on its height. If you really want to use the 24/7 setting, make sure CO2 is on from at least 10am-6pm. Personally, I would stop using the 24/7 setting and decrease the intensity, at least until the algae goes away. Then you can play around with the intensity (adjusting is small increments)

Do not turn off the filter during the day. Having surface movement is not that bad. It actually helps oxygenate the water benefiting both your fish and the biofilter. Just increase your CO2 (VERY SLOWLY) to offset the amount lost from surface disruption. Also, keep in mind, adding CO2 without water movement is pretty much pointless. You need the water to be flowing so it reaches your plants. Definitely leave the HOB filter on.

Good luck!
 
#8 ·
Or shade the light and leave it on the 24/7 cycle. A single layer of window screen will dim the the light by 40% which would bring the light right where you need it to be. I like the Stingray a lot but you have the 24/7 already and I sure would want to use the ramping feature. Floating plants help dim the tank as well. I like Brazilian pennywort best as the leaves break the water surface and it is very attractive.

My daughter had a 10 gallon tank at college and kept 2 gallon jugs for water changes. One was filled with treated water and left under the tank for the next change and the other was used to drain the tank down a gallon. Since your tank hasn't had regular water changes take it slow and small at first as changes in KH and GH can harm the fish.

Haven't run CO2 with an HOB filter but understand that you can extend the drop to reduce the surface turbulence. You always want a ripple on the water surface as otherwise your fish and bacteria will be half suffocated all the time. The usual reason to avoid turbulence is to avoid offgassing CO2, not to keep O2 from diffusing in. It really isn't a good idea to avoid surface water movement. Better to have low CO2, low light and high O2 than try hard to get high CO2 and restrict O2.

Trim off leaves that are badly colonized by algae, wipe the tank down, rinse out the filter media in old tank water and be sure to get debris off the substrate surface when you do a water change. I just polished the panes of my tank and instantly things looked better, it was amazing how much a little housekeeping helps.
 
#10 ·
I would suggest getting the dry ferts, i personally like GreenLeafAquariums (GLA). A $15 dollar investment will last a few years and save you lots of $. You really need a dedicated fert regime or else you'll always have issues. One suggestion I would make if you are going to be out of town, put the daily dry ferts in one of those days of the week pill containers, so house-sitter/kid/whoever can easily dump into tank.

I'm a big fan of baby tears. Beautiful, small-leafed, bright green plant that is fast growing and easy to trim.

Ditto the HOB running 24/7. Circulation is your friend:) I ran a 10g for years w/ DIY C02, HOB and Elite Mini Filter (another fav product). Very simple to run the DIY Co2 thru the Elite for optimal breakdown & distribution of CO2 w/ the added bonus of circulation!

Good luck!
 
#11 ·
That Elite looks cool.. I have seen videos of that set up.

Did you run the Elite and the HOB full time?

Would that be better than just feeding the CO2 line into the Penguin intake? I've been playing with that.. hard to tell how effective it is since I only slightly trust my drop checker.

I'll look into the dry ferts.. Maybe if I pre mixed everything I could convince my wife to do it when I'm gone.
 
#12 ·
Only ran the Elite during lights on. If you haven't already, get a power outlet w/ timer. Definitely running thru the Elite is better than the HOB for a few reasons; off-gassing & circulation being the most important.

Setting up a week's worth of ferts takes about 1 minute; and all your wife has to do is open the top and dump it in:)

IMO a background would be nice. Can just be something as simple as black construction paper...also, always a good idea aesthetically to keep the water level up. Good luck!
 
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