[Aquaman55g]

I am on the verge of not having a planted tank! I have been in this hobby for a while but have reached a point where I ask is it all worth it? Now I will admit that I have not been religious in my upkeep but my 125 gallon aquarium has had healthy plants and fish despite the ever present unsightly BBA. For equipment I have 2 - Finnex Ray II LED fixtures and 1-Finnex Planted Plus LED fixture suspended about 32" from the substrate (a mixture of Ecocomplete black and FloraMax). I have an Azoo CO2 regulator on a 20 lb. CO2 pressurized tank going to the return side of my Hydor Pro 600 canister filter through a mixing jar and there are nearly no CO2 bubbles coming out the spray bar - I also have a Fluval FX6 canister filter running so I know I am over filtering. In addition, have a Cal-Aqua double bowl Drop checker to get my CO2 to the 30 ppm level, 2 - Hydor 300 watt heaters and a small circulation pump. I have really cut down on the amount of food and a while ago I had my LFS check the water for phosphate levels but they were found not at a level that would cause the BBA. I also just recently switched lighting timers to have my LEDs come on for a straight 8 hours with no break, have the CO2 come on an hour before the LEDs and have the CO2 go off an hour before the LEDs go out for the day. I also removed an air stone from the tank and raised the LED fixtures a bit higher. I am still working with my LFS but feel additional advice could not hurt. Thanks to all responding members. :frown2:

 

[RyRob]

How much plant mass do you have? Are you dosing micro and macro nutrients? Water changes? Pictures would help greatly. I'd also advise in gettin some liquid test kits so you can test more accurately at home. It is absolutely normal (and healthy) to have some amount of some kind of algae, it's our job to keep it at a minimum though. Also, what is your maintence schedual like? I slack more than I should also and that's usually the cause of my tank issues, keeping up with maintenance. Also, how long as your current setup been setup for?

 

[touch of sky]

Yes, as RyRob mentioned, pictures would help, along with a description of your fertilizing and maintenance routines. I hope you don't get discouraged and give up. It takes a while to sort out what works for your tank. All tanks are different, and with time, I believe you will get your issues under control.