hi, my15 gal needs help!

ishtarbarb · 01-21-2005, 09:23 AM

i'm having a problem with hair algae and brown algae. its covering the sides of the tank and i can't figure out what to do about it. i

Tank Specs:
2ft by 1ft
2 36 watts PL lights
JBJ base substrate
Some german made clay gravel but its kinda big though 0.5cm-1cm
(the guy at my lfs said this was good coz it was light and the plant roots wouldn't get squashed by the gravel)
Tetra optimat co2 system

co2-6ppm
kh-2 degrees
gh-14 degrees
ph-7.4
No2-0.5ppm
nh3-0.5ppm

no nitrate test yet.

Inhabitants:
4 Guppies
3 Platies
2 Amano Shrimp
1 True SAE

Plants:

I dose almost daily with Flourish excel and weekly with flourish. And its a fairly new tank, set up for almost 2 weeks now. So I've been monitoring the nitrite and doing water changes to get it down. I'm keen on growing a carpet of glosso but they all seem to be dying. Then aren't bright green and are starting to look a little brown, not sure if its coz of the light or the brown algae is taking over. sigh... I bought the SAE in hope that the hair algae would be reduced... but so far, no results. I''ve just started the 4hour siesta thing and i'm hoping that will work.

I know that my c02 levels are kinda low. There's this green cylinder at the left rear of the tank which is connected to a co2 cylinder, really small one which i press to fill up the cylinder w c02. I think its too small for my 15gal so i'm thinking of changing. Has anyone heard of the red sea turbo bio-system? its similar to the hagen one in that they both use yeast but the diffuser is different. The red sea one looks better in terms of the diffuser. So which one??

Here's the url
http://www.freshwateraquariumplants....ory_Code=CEDFP

Also, What else can I do to improve on my aquascape?? This tank will be the future dwarf puffers tank. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

**Badcopnofishtank** · 01-21-2005, 02:00 PM

How old is the tank? What temp bulbs (Kelvin rating) are you using? With that much light I would be dosing ferts (Ni, PO4, NO3) much more frequently. I would also consider adding other ferts than just florish. I don't know if Florish has Nitrates, potassium and phosphates that plants have to have to thrive. I think C02 is a must for that much light. I would do some massive water changes coupled with water testing to get you back on track.

ishtarbarb · 01-21-2005, 02:25 PM

i think the bulbs are either 6500K or 6700k. hehe, can't really tell from the bulb

Wasserpest · 01-21-2005, 03:46 PM

For that carpet of Glosso you need to get CO2 levels up there. I don't understand the description of your current setup, but in any case, two sodabottles connected to some reactor/diffuser should do the trick.

Without picture, it is difficult to give you recommendations how to improve your aquascape!

The German made gravel is probably what they use over there for Hydroponics, I think Glosso needs a much finer substrate for the tiny roots to hold onto something.

ishtarbarb · 01-22-2005, 06:26 AM

oh, i forgot to mention what filter i'm using. its an aquaclear50, but i put it to 1/3 capacity. kind of overfiltering. would that affect the c02 levels too?

sorry about the picture. coz i can't attach it and i don't know how to put my picture on a webpage.

i wouldn't mind diy c02 but i'm afraid my connection to the tubes won't be secure, and it looks kind of unsightly. My tank's in the living room. so i was opting for either the red sea co2 system or the hagen one. any suggestions??

ishtarbarb · 01-22-2005, 07:20 AM

this is a pic of the tank. hope it works!
http://sg.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ish...bum?.dir=/e142

Wasserpest · 01-22-2005, 04:59 PM

First thing that comes to mind to improve the appearance would be a background, something solid black usually works best. That way the plants are contrasting better compared to the white wall.

Jdinh04 · 01-22-2005, 06:24 PM

A background would be nice maybe some other type of foreground plant in the front unless you just want a carpet of glosso.

Are you going to add any driftwod?

ishtarbarb · 01-23-2005, 05:47 AM

yeah, i am going to add driftwood. coz the anubias is tied onto a piece of drift wood but i think i'm going to plant the anubias into the gravel instead. and since my gravel pieces are so big, i think i'm going to stick to riccia instead of the glosso. its been almost 2 weeks and still no signs of growth.

I am also going to try n start a moss wall using the mesh, but still trying to think of another way to fix it to the back of the aquarium wall w/o using suction cups. any ideas? will head down to the craft store soon!

Also, is it ok for the anubias to receive so much light as in the pic? its a low light plant right? i was thinking of making it the focal point of the tank.

01-21-2005, 09:23 AM	#1
ishtarbarb Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 5	hi, my15 gal needs help! i'm having a problem with hair algae and brown algae. its covering the sides of the tank and i can't figure out what to do about it. i Tank Specs: 2ft by 1ft 2 36 watts PL lights JBJ base substrate Some german made clay gravel but its kinda big though 0.5cm-1cm (the guy at my lfs said this was good coz it was light and the plant roots wouldn't get squashed by the gravel) Tetra optimat co2 system co2-6ppm kh-2 degrees gh-14 degrees ph-7.4 No2-0.5ppm nh3-0.5ppm no nitrate test yet. Inhabitants: 4 Guppies 3 Platies 2 Amano Shrimp 1 True SAE Plants: I dose almost daily with Flourish excel and weekly with flourish. And its a fairly new tank, set up for almost 2 weeks now. So I've been monitoring the nitrite and doing water changes to get it down. I'm keen on growing a carpet of glosso but they all seem to be dying. Then aren't bright green and are starting to look a little brown, not sure if its coz of the light or the brown algae is taking over. sigh... I bought the SAE in hope that the hair algae would be reduced... but so far, no results. I''ve just started the 4hour siesta thing and i'm hoping that will work. I know that my c02 levels are kinda low. There's this green cylinder at the left rear of the tank which is connected to a co2 cylinder, really small one which i press to fill up the cylinder w c02. I think its too small for my 15gal so i'm thinking of changing. Has anyone heard of the red sea turbo bio-system? its similar to the hagen one in that they both use yeast but the diffuser is different. The red sea one looks better in terms of the diffuser. So which one?? Here's the url http://www.freshwateraquariumplants....ory_Code=CEDFP Also, What else can I do to improve on my aquascape?? This tank will be the future dwarf puffers tank. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

01-21-2005, 02:00 PM	#2
Badcopnofishtank Got wood??? (View User Tanks) PTrader: (208/100%) Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Northern Arizona Posts: 1,091	How old is the tank? What temp bulbs (Kelvin rating) are you using? With that much light I would be dosing ferts (Ni, PO4, NO3) much more frequently. I would also consider adding other ferts than just florish. I don't know if Florish has Nitrates, potassium and phosphates that plants have to have to thrive. I think C02 is a must for that much light. I would do some massive water changes coupled with water testing to get you back on track. __________________

01-21-2005, 03:46 PM	#4
Wasserpest Are these real? (View User Tanks) PTrader: (140/100%) Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Monterey, CA Posts: 14,669	For that carpet of Glosso you need to get CO2 levels up there. I don't understand the description of your current setup, but in any case, two sodabottles connected to some reactor/diffuser should do the trick. Without picture, it is difficult to give you recommendations how to improve your aquascape! The German made gravel is probably what they use over there for Hydroponics, I think Glosso needs a much finer substrate for the tiny roots to hold onto something. __________________ All my tanks Autodosing Water Change Temperature Monitoring Cheap Filter The Wasser-Controller

01-22-2005, 04:59 PM	#7
Wasserpest Are these real? (View User Tanks) PTrader: (140/100%) Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Monterey, CA Posts: 14,669	First thing that comes to mind to improve the appearance would be a background, something solid black usually works best. That way the plants are contrasting better compared to the white wall. __________________ All my tanks Autodosing Water Change Temperature Monitoring Cheap Filter The Wasser-Controller

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

01-21-2005, 02:25 PM	#3
ishtarbarb Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 5	i think the bulbs are either 6500K or 6700k. hehe, can't really tell from the bulb

01-22-2005, 06:26 AM	#5
ishtarbarb Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 5	oh, i forgot to mention what filter i'm using. its an aquaclear50, but i put it to 1/3 capacity. kind of overfiltering. would that affect the c02 levels too? sorry about the picture. coz i can't attach it and i don't know how to put my picture on a webpage. i wouldn't mind diy c02 but i'm afraid my connection to the tubes won't be secure, and it looks kind of unsightly. My tank's in the living room. so i was opting for either the red sea co2 system or the hagen one. any suggestions??

01-22-2005, 07:20 AM	#6
ishtarbarb Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 5	this is a pic of the tank. hope it works! http://sg.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ish...bum?.dir=/e142

01-22-2005, 06:24 PM	#8
Jdinh04 Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (85/100%) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: East Lansing, MI Posts: 2,664	A background would be nice maybe some other type of foreground plant in the front unless you just want a carpet of glosso. Are you going to add any driftwod?

01-23-2005, 05:47 AM	#9
ishtarbarb Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 5	yeah, i am going to add driftwood. coz the anubias is tied onto a piece of drift wood but i think i'm going to plant the anubias into the gravel instead. and since my gravel pieces are so big, i think i'm going to stick to riccia instead of the glosso. its been almost 2 weeks and still no signs of growth. I am also going to try n start a moss wall using the mesh, but still trying to think of another way to fix it to the back of the aquarium wall w/o using suction cups. any ideas? will head down to the craft store soon! Also, is it ok for the anubias to receive so much light as in the pic? its a low light plant right? i was thinking of making it the focal point of the tank.