New planted tank - help needed

G

gali

AC Members
Feb 22, 2005
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Lexington, MA
My first planted tank is giving me a headache...

It is a 38g tank, I wanted a low-tech setup, at least to begin with. I got an all-glass triple strip light, 75W which put me at just under 2wpg. I hoped I'd be able to go w/out CO2 and/or ferts. Lights are on for 10 hours a day.

I got the usual beginner plants - java fern, java moss, water sprite, wisteria, anubias nana and frazeri, crypts (wendtii green and spiralis).

It's been almost 3 weeks since I went planted...
The sprite, anubias do great - new leaves on the anubias, nice growth on the sprite. The wisteria is fine. As for the crypts - leaves are turning brown on both kinds. Java moss turned brown - I'm not sure it's still alive, I'll keep it in for a little longer.

And there's the algae - I believe there are at least 3 kinds - from what I read I think it's BBA, fuzz and spot (on the glass). Pics attached - please help identify.

So, I guess CO2 is inevitable. I ordered an yeast-based system, and some excel. Will start with these as soon as they're here, hopefully will kill some of this algae.
Next, I may need some ferts after all. I have flourish, I don't know if it'll be enough but I sure hope so. I'm not quite ready for a high-maintenance tank just yet... I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible.

Any thoughts and ideas welcome!

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I have had great success taming algae using floating plants, such as Duckweed or Water Lettuce. They can out-compete algae for nutrients and are fast growing due to the "aerial advantage". They will take CO2 from the air more than the water, and their growth can impede algal takeovers. They will filter some of your light, but I have not found this to be a problem.

I would suggest to start with CO2 to promote plant growth, but hold off on the ferts if you want to get your algae under control. It has been shown that algae can thrive in a tank only if it there are excess nutrients for it. Adding ferts at this point will only give algae additional advantage over your plants (except for floating or emergent plants) because algae is more efficient at utilizing nutrients than submerged plants.

To encourage plant growth, you may want to extend your light time to 12-14 hours per day. Just keep in mind that this can be a bit of a catch-22 as algae is better at utilizing light than submerged plants as well. Focus on fast-growing plants for now, as they can push out the algae.

Algae eating fish and shrimp may help, but I've found they barely make a dent in the tanks that have significant alga growth.

Oh, and is your tank getting any light from a window?
 
to combat the algae, I recommend NO more than 10 hours a day of lighting... the plants will grow just fine with that amount of light, and the the less time the lights are on, the less the algae will grow. :)
 
I have a 4 bulb DIY unit that is a total of 128w. I run 2 bulbs for 5 hours and then the other 2 come on for the duration of my 10 hour lighting schedule. This has nearly eradicated the algae in my tank, with the exception being green spot algae. However, my plants seem to be doing great with this schedule. Just a thought for others that "may" have the ability to turn off individual bulbs.
 
Thanks for the responses!

Here are my pictures. Not too many plants, or at least not enough. I actually wanted some water lettuce, so that will be added soon. Forgot to mention I have dwarf sag - it's doing so-so.
Any other plants I can try other than those I already have?

Should I cut back the lights to 8 hours?

The tank is near a window, no direct sunlight though. I've always had some spot algae, but all this started after the lights upgrade.

I have 4 ottos - they seem to constantly nibble, don't think they do much.

CO2 + flourish excel will arrive on Tuesday. I'll go from there.

PICT0042.jpg PICT0043.jpg PICT0044.jpg PICT0045.jpg
 
You need alot more plants, at least temporarily until the existing ones grow in. I suggest more wisteria or water sprite. If you want more variety try Ludwigia repens, anacharis, hornwort, Rotala rotundifolia, and bacopa.

CO2 will help but might not be necessary if you bring your plant mass up.
 
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