Definitely diatoms... They can come on even in mature tanks...just gonna have let the run their course...you can get an air line tube and keep the sucked off some what so that they don't choke out your plants
Updates ?
Hope algae is gone.
The moment I saw your tank Ammania sp. Bonsai came to my mind. just a suggestion. Some 6-8 stems of it would look great in your tank.
uhg no! I just did the H2O2 treatment Sunday and the diatoms are dying. Every week for the last 6 I have siphoned all the algae out and each weekend it is ALL back. The algae has also killed almost all of the glosso, but the rotala is looking awesome. Hopefully it will bounce back this time. I can post a picture tomorrow. My other problem is co2 diffusion, the atomic diffusers just haven't worked and I don't want to use a reactor because of flow issues. This tank has turned into a headache, I wish I had a little mini m with overkill equipment instead.
The main problem in your tank seems to be less amount of plants and a bit low light. Why dont you go and buy some cheap Elodea and just let them float in your tank. And try to increase the light coz Diatom blooms in low light. This could've happened in a Mini m also. Dont feel bad about it. Algae happens.
Today I did my last water change that I was doing since last 6 days. Spirogyra (which is way worse than diatom) took over my tank when I went on springbreak. But all it took is 6 days. Continuous Excel spot treatment + high C02 worked.
Try to put the diffuser right below your outflow. That helps. Dont know what filter are you using but in my 60-P, even after using 2217, I had to put a small powerhead.
The tank is high light, 2x 24w T5 about 13 in from the substrate. The atomic diffusers haven't worked at all for me, even pushing close to 50 psi. I tried two and neither worked, only a few bubbles would come out. I checked my regulator for leaks twice and it is all good. So right now I am using a cheap glass diffuser.
I have a 2213, which believe me I know is under powered. I did a gph test and it was 66 gph. I bought a mag drive 2.5 (250 gph) and tried running that inline with the filter off and the gph was.... 76 gph. I'm not sure how this is possible, it should have been at least > 180 gph. So now I am running a powerhead in the tank.
I would buy a 2217, but my cabinet is so low it wouldn't fit, and a 2215 would barely fit but with tubes it probably wouldn't.
This is why I am not using a reactor to solve my co2 problems. People say cerges reactors only slow your filter a tiny bit, but because my flow is so dismal I can't afford to lose any.
I think I will try your idea of floating plants to take up excess nutrients. I don't want to dose excel because the one two punch method advises not to dose excel since the algae may become tolerant.
Here are the photos
Still some dying algae left, I'll remove it tomorrow.
Sorry for your glosso. What would be the next carpet plant ? Have you think of using some stem plant as carpet like stauro or hygro var !!
In making an iwagumi with no or very less stem plants, flow plays an important role. Plant load in comparison to the water load in your tank is very less.
Where did you buy your atomic diffuser from ? The atomic diffuser I have works fine at 40 psi for me. Although it's from we bay
Keep us updated. I hope your tank will start flourishing again All the best !
I think that algae is possibly a filamentous diatom called Synedra. Worse than the regular diatoms for sure. Worst I have seen in comparison to other algaes as bad as BBA and thread/string algae.
If you look that up in conjunction with planted tanks you will see many with a similar problem. It is very aggressive and grows back faster than you can remove it, it seems.
It could also be another brown algae called rhizo. I am not sure how you determine if they are different.
Does this one grow in a large strand if left to grow? And get tangled in bunches and have a slimy feel? When H2O2 touches it, does it turn green? Then white as it dies?
Does it beak apart when you try and squish it with your fingers?
I had the same problem and narrowed it down to a few suspects; high light, too much phosphate in water and possibly newly established filter system.
Try floating plants, lower light, more CO2, and try a phos zorb or phos guard in the filter. Also try switching to RO water, as I suspect tap might also be feeding it.
Unfortunately I decided to start over with a clean slate. And got rid of any contaminated equipment because it can spread to other tanks easily and infect them.
I suspect it was introduced to my tank from some plants I purchased somewhere. Where it found conditions to thrive in.
I also suspect I might have gotten a bad bag or batch of Aquasoil Amazonia as it just didn't ever look/feel/smell right. Leading to the algae feeding from the substrate.
Does this one grow in a large strand if left to grow? And get tangled in bunches and have a slimy feel? When H2O2 touches it, does it turn green? Then white as it dies?
Does it beak apart when you try and squish it with your fingers?
Thank you so much, I think it is Synedra! It turned bright green after h2o2 then white, and breaks apart easily. It forms huge strands if left alone and grows very fast.
I asked some questions about PhosGuard as I had heard that it removes silicates from the water, which is a leading cause of diatoms. I didn't buy any because I thought that I needed the phosphates. I checked the utilities website and my water has 17 ppm of silicates when < .02 ppm is recommended for aquariums. When I found that out I started looking at RO/DI units but it turns out they can't remove silicates easily. I think I will buys some PhosGuard and see if it helps and also get some RO water from the store and get some floaters.
I have high Co2 about 30 ppm but high light as I found the diatoms do better in low light because they can out compete the plants easily.
I tore the tank down yesterday. I have been cleaning the tank 2 hours every saturday for months trying to get rid of the Synedra, and I'm tired of this scape. I will set the tank up again once I get new stuff such as a bigger filter, soil, sand, co2 reactor, plants driftwood. My main question is, how do I clean the empty ADA tank? The substrate and algae has stained the silicone.
here is the last FTS. That green thing is a DIY phosguard reactor I made. It has brought the phosphates down to 0.1 ppm vs 0.3 ppm
I needed a temporary tank for my fish so I scaped it. I put the clean plants in it for the fish to hide in, but I'm not expecting this to turn into anything.
How should I clean the empty ADA tank? The substrate and algae has stained the silicone. I heard that I should use a diluted bleach solution, and then vinegar to counter-act the bleach and remove hard water stains.
Tomorrow I'm going to seattle and I would like to get some nice wood for my tank. What stores are the best?
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