Need help with new planted tank. Too much or two little light based on type of algae.

[freude88]

I am getting back into the aquarium hobby after a 5 year hiatus. I can't believe how much I have forgotten. I was hoping someone could take a look at the following pictures and let me know their opinion on the following...
To start I have a 5 gallon (HOB) tank with primarily small Anubias, Bucephalandra and narrow leaf java fern. My light is a lominie planted aquarium light bought on Amazon.
I am dosing daily with Seachems Flourish line of products. I use Excel, Flourish, Iron and Potassium.
I have the light on for four hours in the morning with it off during the afternoon. It comes back on later in the afternoon for 4 hours.
I remineralize RO/DI water with Equilibrium.
1- Is the black on the leaves and roots BBA? If so Seachem's algae article says I may have too little light. Should I increase my photo period?
2- I am questioning whether the plants may actually be breaking down because they don't seem to be growing. If this is the case I am worried that it may be my tank light itself that is the problem.
3- Is the third picture diatom algae? Seachem's algae article also alludes that it may be a factor of low light.

What do you think I should do as next steps?? If you see anything else I may be missing feel free to chime in!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Allwissend]

Welcome to the forum and back in the hobby.

I do not see any BBA. I do see some some small clumps of staghorn developing on the roots of the Anubias in the last photo. When the plant will get healthier it would be easier to handle. All in all I would focus more on getting the plants to grow right now as I don't see any major algae issues. The brown on the substrate can be just some detritus or the start of some cyanobacteria. The tank looks rather freshly setup so diatoms are a possibility, especially in the light / nutrient conditions offered.

The listed fertilizers are low in nitrate and phosphate. So you can either get Nitrogen and Phosphorus from the Seachem line, or what I would do is get Thrive or Easy Green. These last ones have all the nutrients needed in one solution and there usually is a dosage for low light / non-CO2 injected tanks mentioned on the bottle. Another option would be to wait till you add fish and let the fish food be the source of N and P in your tank.
Yes Anubias are taking a hit, part of it are the emersed leaves but part of it are the low nutrient / low CO2 conditions. By your plant selection I think most are able to withstand low light levels .

 

[freude88]

It didn’t show it in the picture, but I have a betta fish in the tank. He is hiding…. Anyways do you think there is still not enough nitrogen and phosphorus? Should I wait for more to build up or start dosing?

 

[freude88]

Sorry I meant nitrate!

 

[Allwissend]

It didn’t show it in the picture, but I have a betta fish in the tank. He is hiding…. Anyways do you think there is still not enough nitrogen and phosphorus? Should I wait for more to build up or start dosing?

Ah I see. Either way the damaged leaves will likely be lost and by the time new growth starts going there will be some nitrate and phosphate present. That being said, 1ml of Thrive will provide some level of the nutrients needed so we don't have to guess if they are present or not. And you can do water changes as needed to keep the tank and substrate clean without needing to worry about loosing nutrients. How much and how often do you change the water on the tank?

 

[freude88]

I am changing the water 2x a week. About 35-40%. I like a really clean tank. Maybe that's part of the problem. I could be changing the water too much?
One of the reasons I change it so much is that I have 4 snails. Because of this there is alot of detritus sits at the bottom. I changed the water 2 days ago and it already looks dirty. See attached pictures.

The HOB I am using is rated for a 5 gallon tank. I also have extra filter media to slow the flow of water for the betta fish. He doesn't seem to be struggling to get around.

 

[Allwissend]

Thanks for the reply. Then I would just add 1ml of Thrive (or equivalent dose of other fertilizers) after each water change at 40%. Change as needed, with a small tank it's easy and it keeps you involved in the tank upkeep and able to quickly react to issues.

It does depend a lot on the Betta. The ones that are used to tank life and not kept in a teacup tend to do better. There are plenty of resting areas in your tank if the fish needs them.

 

[SDdave]

I imagine this guy would freak out on my tank that I never clean. But I do that on purpose to insure a natural cycle.

I picked black substrate because it makes the plants pop out and hides fish poop (detritus) never heard of snails generating detritus. Problems I see is high light plants like the lily being there along with low light plants. Which low light plants get covered easily with algae until the high light plants grow enough to shade them. The best way to set up a tank like this, is to plant the high light demand plants first, let them grow and provide shade, then plant the Anubis and other low light plants afterwards.

 

[SDdave]

But I would just get an otocinclus catfish as they would keep the leaves good, and they don't bother invertebrates like shrimp and snails.