Dear Forum Wizards,
You will not know me as I have been lurking in the shadows like Little Finger, eavesdropping on your conversations, and taking scrupulous notes all the while. I recently got back in the game after a 14 year hiatus with my first attempt at a planted tank.
Today I have given up on my solo battles with algae, and I am turning to you, Khaleesi, for help. I have succumbed to the relentless pressure from the white walkers and their allies beyond the wall. What I thought was an impenetrable 1000ft high wall of research (YT/forums) has turned into rubble. I stand here, head held low, as I stare at my once beautiful lands laid to waste and all that remains are withering crops succumbing to a forest of algae. I heard you have.. dragons?!
Picture Journal
11/30/18 - Tank start (pre-twinstar / pre-canister filter / pre-co2 / pre-algae)
1/18/19 - Pressurized Co2 added
2/21/19 - Green thread/hair algae taking over
3/2/19 - Bolbitis / Buce Red Mini / Java Moss / Riccia added & after big tank cleaning
Tank Specs
Hardware:
ADA 45P (9.6g)
Oase FiltoSmart Thermo 100 (160gph)
Pressurized CO2 - GLA GRO-2 Aquarium CO2 Regulator (1.25 bps)
* ON 2.5 hours before lights on
* OFF 1 hour before lights off
Twinstar 450EA (1600 lumen, 21W | 43.8 lumen/litre) - 6 hour photoperiod
* 3rd party dimmer (75% = 32.9 lum/ltr which is medium range according to Tropica)
* dropped from 8 hr to 6 hr photoperiod on 2/23/19
Twinstar-II M3 (algae inhibitor) - ordered but not installed
Water Parameters:
pH - 6.4-6.3 | 7.3 degassed after 36 hrs
GH - 6 (100 ppm)
KH - 2.1 (35 ppm)
TDS - 175
CO2 - 23.4 ppm (derived from pH/KH calculator)
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 8 ppm
Temp - 78* F (25* C)
Substrate:
ADA Amazonia
ADA Power Sand
Dosing:
Aquarium Co-op EasyGreen (EzG)
Aquarium Co-op EasyIron (FE, started 2/28)
SaltyBee Shrimp GH/KH+
Seachem Flourish Excel (E)
Fauna:
1 x GBR
5 x Neon Red Rainbow fish (pseudomugil luminatus)
5 x Aldofoi Corys
2 x Otocinclus (bumble bee and affinis)
1 x Leopard Shrimp
1 x Amano Shrimp
5 x Baby Blue Bolt Shrimp (only see 1-2 at a time assuming all still alive)
Flora:
Monte Carlo
Dwarf Hairgrass Mini
Hydrocotyle Verticillata
Cryptocoryne undulata 'Red'
Cryptocoryne Wendtii "Green"
Pogostemon helferi
Cryptocoryne Balansae
Riccia Fluitans
Java Moss
Bucephalandra green wavy
Bucephalandra Red Mini Kedagang
Anubias nana petite
Microsorum pteropus "trident"
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Rotala Indica Green Rotundifolia
Ludwigia sp. Mini 'Super Red'
Bolbitis Difformis
Turns out applying my computer science skills to aquascaping is not so good. With computers I am constantly tweaking code/configurations whereas this hobby requires patience and 2 weeks minimum between changes. And I have made 100s of changes in my 3 months trying to find the balance I keep hearing of; thinking it's a myth at this point .
I have fought my way through diatoms (went away eventually w/ mechanical removal), BGA (UltraLife blue green slime remover), and staghorn algae (excel, still persists though). My anubias and buces have taken a beating with the excel/H2O2 dips. Of utmost concern is the long green hair/thread/filamentous algae that is now dominating my tank (2/21/19 pic above).
Where do I go from here?:
Lighting adjustment - photoperiod (6 hrs) or intensity
CO2 adjustment - bps (0.8) or on/off schedule
Ferts - increase/decrease AC EzG/EzFE or switch ferts (considering http://nilocg.com/diy-ei-liquid-fertilizer/ for EI dosing)
Twinstar M3 - add immediately or wait to introduce this additional variable
Feeding - currently 6 days/week, 1x/day; possibly guilty of overfeeding in target feeding the corys
Trimming - some questionable leaves need trimming but I'm not sure (lmk if like to see more detailed pics)
Root tabs - should I consider this with only 3 months old amazonia
Fauna - add even more algae eaters?
Aquascaping brethren, can you please bestow your wisdom on me? What would you do from this point forward? I've been spending 10 hrs/wk for last 3 weeks in this battle. And I am being.. overrun..
You will not know me as I have been lurking in the shadows like Little Finger, eavesdropping on your conversations, and taking scrupulous notes all the while. I recently got back in the game after a 14 year hiatus with my first attempt at a planted tank.
Today I have given up on my solo battles with algae, and I am turning to you, Khaleesi, for help. I have succumbed to the relentless pressure from the white walkers and their allies beyond the wall. What I thought was an impenetrable 1000ft high wall of research (YT/forums) has turned into rubble. I stand here, head held low, as I stare at my once beautiful lands laid to waste and all that remains are withering crops succumbing to a forest of algae. I heard you have.. dragons?!
Picture Journal
11/30/18 - Tank start (pre-twinstar / pre-canister filter / pre-co2 / pre-algae)
1/18/19 - Pressurized Co2 added
2/21/19 - Green thread/hair algae taking over
3/2/19 - Bolbitis / Buce Red Mini / Java Moss / Riccia added & after big tank cleaning
Tank Specs
Hardware:
ADA 45P (9.6g)
Oase FiltoSmart Thermo 100 (160gph)
Pressurized CO2 - GLA GRO-2 Aquarium CO2 Regulator (1.25 bps)
* ON 2.5 hours before lights on
* OFF 1 hour before lights off
Twinstar 450EA (1600 lumen, 21W | 43.8 lumen/litre) - 6 hour photoperiod
* 3rd party dimmer (75% = 32.9 lum/ltr which is medium range according to Tropica)
* dropped from 8 hr to 6 hr photoperiod on 2/23/19
Twinstar-II M3 (algae inhibitor) - ordered but not installed
Water Parameters:
pH - 6.4-6.3 | 7.3 degassed after 36 hrs
GH - 6 (100 ppm)
KH - 2.1 (35 ppm)
TDS - 175
CO2 - 23.4 ppm (derived from pH/KH calculator)
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 8 ppm
Temp - 78* F (25* C)
Substrate:
ADA Amazonia
ADA Power Sand
Dosing:
Aquarium Co-op EasyGreen (EzG)
Aquarium Co-op EasyIron (FE, started 2/28)
SaltyBee Shrimp GH/KH+
Seachem Flourish Excel (E)
Fauna:
1 x GBR
5 x Neon Red Rainbow fish (pseudomugil luminatus)
5 x Aldofoi Corys
2 x Otocinclus (bumble bee and affinis)
1 x Leopard Shrimp
1 x Amano Shrimp
5 x Baby Blue Bolt Shrimp (only see 1-2 at a time assuming all still alive)
Flora:
Monte Carlo
Dwarf Hairgrass Mini
Hydrocotyle Verticillata
Cryptocoryne undulata 'Red'
Cryptocoryne Wendtii "Green"
Pogostemon helferi
Cryptocoryne Balansae
Riccia Fluitans
Java Moss
Bucephalandra green wavy
Bucephalandra Red Mini Kedagang
Anubias nana petite
Microsorum pteropus "trident"
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Rotala Indica Green Rotundifolia
Ludwigia sp. Mini 'Super Red'
Bolbitis Difformis
Turns out applying my computer science skills to aquascaping is not so good. With computers I am constantly tweaking code/configurations whereas this hobby requires patience and 2 weeks minimum between changes. And I have made 100s of changes in my 3 months trying to find the balance I keep hearing of; thinking it's a myth at this point .
I have fought my way through diatoms (went away eventually w/ mechanical removal), BGA (UltraLife blue green slime remover), and staghorn algae (excel, still persists though). My anubias and buces have taken a beating with the excel/H2O2 dips. Of utmost concern is the long green hair/thread/filamentous algae that is now dominating my tank (2/21/19 pic above).
Where do I go from here?:
Lighting adjustment - photoperiod (6 hrs) or intensity
CO2 adjustment - bps (0.8) or on/off schedule
Ferts - increase/decrease AC EzG/EzFE or switch ferts (considering http://nilocg.com/diy-ei-liquid-fertilizer/ for EI dosing)
Twinstar M3 - add immediately or wait to introduce this additional variable
Feeding - currently 6 days/week, 1x/day; possibly guilty of overfeeding in target feeding the corys
Trimming - some questionable leaves need trimming but I'm not sure (lmk if like to see more detailed pics)
Root tabs - should I consider this with only 3 months old amazonia
Fauna - add even more algae eaters?
Aquascaping brethren, can you please bestow your wisdom on me? What would you do from this point forward? I've been spending 10 hrs/wk for last 3 weeks in this battle. And I am being.. overrun..
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