[Mr_Bubbles]

Hey everyone,

I'm so frustrated right now with my tank, I just want a tank that looks nice, minimal algae and good plant growth. Despite all the reading i do, everything i buy for this tank, i seem to have no luck.

I was wondering if maybe someone who has a 75 gallon setup and successfully has grown plants with minimal algae could tell me what they're doing. I'm having a hell of a time with BBA, and getting pinholes in some plants, brown algae on others and minimal growth. I've been dosing EI but slightly higher for excess nutrients (idea was to make sure nothing was lacking), 2 t5ho bulbs 10- inches above tank (tank is 20" tall), pressurized co2 w/atomic diffuser, fx5 filter and maxi-jet pro powerhead. I plan to buy some excel to kill the BBA but clearly it will just come back unless i want to dose this all the time? I have a good ripple of water for surface agitation but my fish are still breathing heavy, however, everything i read says most algae comes from low Co2 and that weak plant growth would be the same. I'm ready to pull my hair out, I feel like i'm constantly battling to find harmony and never can just enjoy the tank.

Any help or suggestions would be great. Feel free to ask any question.

 

[jasa73]

May I ask which plants you are trying to grow and what your photo period is?

 

[Mr_Bubbles]

i have my lights on for 8 hours, from 4pm - midnight, i have the co2 come on 2 hours beforehand.

The plants I have are : Eleocharis parvulus, Eleocharis vivipara, Limnophila huppuroides, Ludwigia inclinata, Anubias barteri var. barteri, Java Fern, Hemianthus glomeratus, Hygrophila corymbosa, hygrophila polysperma, Sagittaria subulata, Ludwigia ovalis, Java Moss. (I think that's everything)

here is a picture of the tank from a week ago :

 

[1987]

Do you know what your water has in it? My water is high in phosphates, so I barley have to dose it. I only have a few 55 not 75, but I was where you are at for a few years. What is your dosing schedule?

 

[Mr_Bubbles]

i looked at a water report from 2 years ago (only one i could find) didn't seem like anything much was in it (city water), but based off info i've read from tom barr, excess nutrients aren't an issue.

 

[audioaficionado]

What color is your drop checker?

 

[Mr_Bubbles]

by the end of the day, light green, almost yellowish

 

[Mr_Bubbles]

when lights first come on it's more of a darker green.

 

[audioaficionado]

I had the same problem with fluctuating CO2 levels from day to night. I now just leave it running 24/7 and it's been stable at limeish yellow. I have lots of surface agitation and turnover and the fish are fine.

It sounds like your CO2 might need to be slowly bumped up higher.

 

[Jadenlea]

I think your tank is pretty!

 

[Mr_Bubbles]

i considered doing co2 24/7, wondered if this would keep levels stable, but i worry about the fish, before the co2 comes on i find the fish are breathing normally, but half way through the day their gills and mouth are moving much faster, i then decided ok, this must be a lack of O2, so i increased surface agitation, with no change in their breathing. This is why i don't dare bump the co2 more, i already had it going high, more BPS then I could count.

 

[Mr_Bubbles]

Jadenlea : thanks, this picture was after trimming everything and trying to start fresh, only to be hit harder then ever with BBA, my hair grass has BBA on it, some on the glass and equipment, on gravel, a lot on the wood. From a distance stuff always looks better too, up close, not so great. haha

 

[ldaniel]

I was having issues with BBA before and tried the Excel treatment. Found that it worked for a little while but then the BBA would come back and in stronger force. I replaced my diffuser with a reaction chamber off my 405, dropped the bps down to ~ 1 from 3 - 4) I also added a few Otto’s and now leave the CO2 running 24/7. I have not seen any BBA since. Any algae at that. Maybe changing to run 24 hours with your CO2? Change the photo period to shorter and see if you can get things balanced.

 

[audioaficionado]

Your drop checker is slow at best for an indicator of your levels. Try lowering your bubble count, but leave it on 24/7. Slowly over days get it to yellow green and see how your fish like it.

You are using fresh 4dKH solution in the drop checker?

 

[jmowbray]

I wouldn't waste my money with excel. Get a syringe and a bottle of H2O2 and go after it full force. Do a section every couple of days. It will go away but mine has also came back after a year.

 

[Mr_Bubbles]

yes i use new 4dKH for the checkers, doesn't have any affect.

I considered H202 but it sounded like i was more likely to hurt my fish with this then excel. thoughts?

in regards to using co2 24/7, wouldn't that just be more rough on the fish at night given the plants would then be giving off co2? though i'm guessing that might be minimal in comparison to a diffuser anyways? In which case the surface agitation would help anyways.

 

[audioaficionado]

Surface agitation will insure adequate O2 levels at night. Your CO2 will reach an equilibrium and not cycle up and down every day/night. My fish don't have it rough. They are fat and happy.

 

[Mr_Bubbles]

ok, i will try this, i will lower the bps and leave it on 24/7 and see if i find an improvement from this.

Even after an hour of the co2 being off, i notice the fish seem much better, no more heavy breathing and such.

 

[Bettatail]

gravel?

get some real substrate, and stop the EI, keep the parameters stable, make sure the bio filter foam/pads has healthy bacteria culture.

And go for EI later if you want the maximum plant growth.

 

[londonloco]

How long has the tank been set up? I find my new tanks go thru a "settling in" period. If I keep up with wc's and removing the algae, after the 4th month mark, it seems to level out and algae is not a problem anymore.