I hope there is no problem in me posting this here as I don't know if this is the right section of the forum to do so, but here goes.
Hi, I have a 40 gallon tank that was overrun with just about all kinds of algae imaginable.
Substrate: Schultz Aquatic Soil and Fluorite Mixtue
Pressurized C02: 30 PPM as measure with drop checker
Filter: Overflowfilter + Hagen Submersible for added circulation and UV sterilizer.
Plants: Jam packed with plants, cardamine for floaters(15-20% surface area), rotala indica, hygrophilia polysperma, ton of java ferns, anubias.
Lighting: AH Supply 2 55 Watt bright kit with split photoperiod of a total of 8 hours.
Fish: 3 black skirt tetras, Siamese Algae Eater, Albino Bristlenose Pleco, Oto, Giant Zebra Danio, a whitecloud minnow, and 2 Kribensis.
Fertilization: EI for 40 gallon dosing scheme with 50% weekly water changes.
After a 3 month fierece battle which the algae which included, manual removal, increased water changes, tweaking of ferts, monkeying around with photoperiod and even lighting intensity, adding floaters, 2x dosing with excel, and adding algae eaters. The tank appears to be heading towards a balance and is finally on its road to recovery with the the exception of the nusiance Green Spot Algae. I know I could scrape the Green Spot Algae off with a credit card, but I am afraid to do this. The tank is 9 years old and as weird as it sounds I am scared that if scrape real hard with a credit card to remove the GSA I could inadvertently loosen the old silicone which could lead to a major leak. The tank was custom made by the person I bought it from and I think it may be nearing its lifecycle and I don't want to do anything to speed up the process.
I have heard that spot treatment with a phosphate solution could help with GSA, but no one seems to know the proper amount to mix in a solution of water. Any ideas??
I have read that a nerite snail is known to clean GSA. The problem is my tank does not have a tight fitting lid and the snail will likey escape and end up in my overflow filter media.
One more thing, my P04 calibrated test kit indicates that both my tap and aquarium water have phosphate levels of 5+. I know the tap water is treated with the orthophosphate form of the phosphates, but if I understand correctly plants will also readily utilize this form of phosphates. So, this really puzzles me as it is difficult to explain this being caused by a phosphate deficiency. That leaves c02. I thought that with the circulation being provided by the filters that the c02 drop checker reading of 30 ppm would be pretty accurate. The last thing I want to do is mess with the bubble count or increas c02 levels. The last time I did this, I killed my elderly Siamese Alagae eater due to c02 poisoning and just about all my other fish. I could leave the c02 on 24/7 but am not sure what effect this would have on my fish.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Thanks.
Hi, I have a 40 gallon tank that was overrun with just about all kinds of algae imaginable.
Substrate: Schultz Aquatic Soil and Fluorite Mixtue
Pressurized C02: 30 PPM as measure with drop checker
Filter: Overflowfilter + Hagen Submersible for added circulation and UV sterilizer.
Plants: Jam packed with plants, cardamine for floaters(15-20% surface area), rotala indica, hygrophilia polysperma, ton of java ferns, anubias.
Lighting: AH Supply 2 55 Watt bright kit with split photoperiod of a total of 8 hours.
Fish: 3 black skirt tetras, Siamese Algae Eater, Albino Bristlenose Pleco, Oto, Giant Zebra Danio, a whitecloud minnow, and 2 Kribensis.
Fertilization: EI for 40 gallon dosing scheme with 50% weekly water changes.
After a 3 month fierece battle which the algae which included, manual removal, increased water changes, tweaking of ferts, monkeying around with photoperiod and even lighting intensity, adding floaters, 2x dosing with excel, and adding algae eaters. The tank appears to be heading towards a balance and is finally on its road to recovery with the the exception of the nusiance Green Spot Algae. I know I could scrape the Green Spot Algae off with a credit card, but I am afraid to do this. The tank is 9 years old and as weird as it sounds I am scared that if scrape real hard with a credit card to remove the GSA I could inadvertently loosen the old silicone which could lead to a major leak. The tank was custom made by the person I bought it from and I think it may be nearing its lifecycle and I don't want to do anything to speed up the process.
I have heard that spot treatment with a phosphate solution could help with GSA, but no one seems to know the proper amount to mix in a solution of water. Any ideas??
I have read that a nerite snail is known to clean GSA. The problem is my tank does not have a tight fitting lid and the snail will likey escape and end up in my overflow filter media.
One more thing, my P04 calibrated test kit indicates that both my tap and aquarium water have phosphate levels of 5+. I know the tap water is treated with the orthophosphate form of the phosphates, but if I understand correctly plants will also readily utilize this form of phosphates. So, this really puzzles me as it is difficult to explain this being caused by a phosphate deficiency. That leaves c02. I thought that with the circulation being provided by the filters that the c02 drop checker reading of 30 ppm would be pretty accurate. The last thing I want to do is mess with the bubble count or increas c02 levels. The last time I did this, I killed my elderly Siamese Alagae eater due to c02 poisoning and just about all my other fish. I could leave the c02 on 24/7 but am not sure what effect this would have on my fish.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Thanks.