KevinVA's 75gal Journey in Planted Tanks

[KevinVA]

Well, crap... the same research on the same forum came up with posts from Tom Barr (who is the go to for planted tanks in the industry). Apparently I've been making it harder on myself, by upping my lights. More light requires more CO2, more CO2 requires more nutrients for plants to uptake the CO2, and this equates to faster growth. However, you can tone down lights, which would reduce the requirement of CO2 and nutrients, which would equate to slower plant growth.

It makes sense to me... that's the balance. More of this, means more of that. That's how you maintain the balance. So, in the beginning I had low lights... dosed liquid + tab ferts and overfed without CO2. That meant algae growth. Then I cut back the lights to 8hrs a day, cut back feeding and still dosed nutrients without CO2. That meant algae growth. Then, I upped my lights to medium lighting, kept with limited feedings, cut back nutrient dosing, and started dosing CO2. This also meant algae growth.

Now what? I still have medium lighting, I've been dosing liquid CO2 on a daily basis, I still limit feeding, I just started dosing w/ trace elements and limit my liquid ferts to once per week, but I still have algae.

According to Barr, light/co2 are the greatest factors in creating a balance in the tank. More light = more CO2... so perhaps I'm not dosing enough liquid CO2 to keep up with the increase in lighting. And since I have 0 phosphates, perhaps the nutrients that are needed to stimulate uptake of CO2 aren't being dosed. I've checked the tabs I use and they both contain some percentage of phosphates, but obviously not enough... otherwise I would be able to measure some in the tests. I'm going to have to play around with the CO2 and phosphate additives to see if I can create some semblance of a balance in the tank. ;/

Edit: Nope, my Total tabs do not contain Phosphate - I got the tabs w/out. Perhaps I'll have to change that up or find some other form, possibly liquid phos. =/

[KevinVA]

Hmm that's really fishy then... I'm sort of OCD about the whole thing.. I'm the type of person who does a head count on all my fish and snails, doesn't like it when plants grow among each other and get mixed up, and even a spec of algae on my walls bothers me.. There seems to have been a difference in your algae since the adding of the SAEs but honestly if I was you, I'd go to some pretty insane lengths to rid my tank of that algae, even as far as using chemical additives or just simply wiping it off everything, almost every day.

Algae killing chemicals would be a bad idea. They've been known to cause stress in fish and have been known to cause deaths amongst fish/inverts. I wouldn't do that. Algae has more benefits than you're accounting for, which is why it's not THAT bad to have in the tank. It's a source of nutrients for fish, which helps with their digestive tract, while it also absorbs toxins, like Ammonia/Nitrates. If it was brown diatoms or harmful BGA, I wouldn't hesitate to scrub it down or dose with BGA Remover (since BGA = harmful cyanobacteria), but since it's not, I'm not too worried about it.

I'm more interested in finding the cause/source of the algae than a quick fix, which would end up creating more work for me on a weekly/daily basis.

[Carapar56]

I guess your right, and I understand the fish grazing thing. I do. My gourami constantly pecks the walls of her tank and the gravel, eating the small bits of algae the Nerites leave behind. Same goes for my molly and polly in their tank. But for me I'd rather add food for them regularly or have smaller bits of algae for them to eat. Your tank would just be too much for me. I couldn't stand the green walls XD

[KevinVA]

I didn't say I liked the green walls. I said there's a benefit to having algae. That doesn't mean I'm not trying to prevent it from keeping a stranglehold on my tank (I still find it unsightly). I've been trying different things as I've learned about them - nothing has taken, yet.

Anyway, I just did some research, as I mentioned previously, last night. Doesn't take long... just need to know what to look for. Anyway, I'm going to attempt the EI Method with liquid CO2. I really didn't want to go the route of a CO2 drip, but if the liquid doesn't work, I'll probably have to do it.

If any method works, the algae should begin to subside/die off, while the plants begin to look healthier and grow faster. Don't you worry, Carapar, by the end of this trial by error phase, you'll see clear walls. ;]

[MandyK]

Heys Kev!

I didn't mean any harm by bringing that up. :) That's just the regular algae right?? You should try using Flourish Excel. Any time I've had issues with any kind of algae that's what I've used. It's also good for your plants.

[Gogi]

Seems like you are trying something new every week Kevin lol. Have you tried stopping all the dosing of all the ferts and CO2 for a few weeks. Kinda like starting with a clean slate.

Do you have watersprite? That is a really good plant to use to battle algea. It grows fast and out competes algea.

[Sandz]

Personally Kev, I like the green background. The sides would be a different story but its an excuse to allow the SAE to go to work. The SAE should take care of it or you could then add a couple otto's to it and they will have a feast.

Flourish will help greatly too.

[KevinVA]

Mandy, no harm done. It's just something I've been battling with since the beginning... 5 months and going strong. It's still a relatively new tanks, I suppose... and this is my first planted tank, so hopefully I'll get the hang of this thing pretty soon. ;P

I bought Flourish Excel not that long ago. I was going to switch over from the API CO2 Booster to Excel, once the API was gone. Maybe I should switch now...

Gogi, tell me about it!

I do have Water Sprite, but you might not be able to see it in the above pics. I have 3 bunches in the back. I haven't tried to stop dosing everything, but I have reduced my dosing liquids ferts to only once per week (with liquid co2 every day). Might be a good idea to start fresh. lol

Thanks Sandz! I wish I could add Otos to this tank, but I think my Killies (and eventually, my Raphael Cat) would eat them. =X Maybe I should give it a shot anyway... Though, we all know how that worked out for my Horned Nerite snails. Assassin treats. Oh, and let's not forget my expensive Killie snacks... the Red Cherry Shrimp.

[MandyK]

You'll get the best results from the Excel if you can put it directly on the algae. Put it in a turkey baster, or something of that nature, and let her rip all over the algae. In a day or so you should be able to just pull it off. Then once you've got your dose regimen going, it shouldn't come back. At least not in such a huge fashion.

[Sandz]

+1 to dosing on the area. I find that feeding it like you would say a Coral in saltwater works best.

I guess thats common sense? Like you dont put neosporin on your toe when you cut your finger lol but we do that to our tanks (I know I am guilty!).