tasty algae (3 pics)

[phoenix]

My tank has been up and going for about a month but I've only had plants in it for about 8 days. This is what I've noticed so far: The plants seem to be growing growing growing, long roots have developed everywhere up and down the stems, brown algae is growing on my plants and a green hair algae is growing on the back glass, I have a growing population of snails.

I've read enough on here that I'm not too worried up to this point. I'm follwoing the general guidelines listen in this article on Chuck's page. http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm
The only fertilizers in the tank are some flourish tabs under the flourite, there is 3.25 wpg and around 19ppm co2. Chuck's advice is not to add water column fertilizers until 8 weeks in to this whole process.

Would I be wise to continue along with this plan or should I be taking some other course of action to fight the algae. I'm planning to add 3 oto's to the tank either this weekend or very early next week, will they wipe out all of my brown algae, and need I worry about the hair algae on the glass? If I use my magfloat thingy to wipe the hair algae off, is it ok that it is just sent whirling through the water column of my tank and not really removed from it?

This picture is 5 days old, I will try to post another one tonight showing the growth and spread of algae, but it should give you a good idea of the tank layout. I have ordered some more plants, I'm expecting some dwarf hairgrass, 3 crypts, alternanthera and anubias nana to come in this week from aqua botanic.
http://www.pbase.com/phoenix_dz/image/38077628.jpg

Here is one of the snails who now inhabits my aquarium (came in on the plants I'm sure), I don't know if they pose a threat to my plants, but they really seem to enjoy eating the brown algae.
http://www.pbase.com/phoenix_dz/image/38306653.jpg

:bowing:ANY ADVICE?:bowing:

[Timmain42]

My tank has been up and going for about a month but I've only had plants in it for about 8 days. :bowing:ANY ADVICE?:bowing:


Ditch the Flourish tabs. If you have a Flourite base, you have no need for tabs. Pull them ASAP... if they're dissolving, make sure you get ALL of the tab.
I don't know what your kH reading is, but at 3.25 WPG, you're most likely going to need to push more than 19ppm. If you would test for kH, gH and phosphates, we could better tell you what's going on.
Kill the snails. If you can pick it up and squish it between your fingers, do so and wash the remains down the sink (do this every day for two weeks, and you'll only have to eliminate problems snails when you bring in new plants). Try to find some Malaysian Trumpet Snails to help in your gardening (they look like ice cream cones).
Realistically, you should only wait 7-10 days before dosing in the water column. If you wait 8 weeks, your plants will have extracted all the nutrients from the column and you will begin to have serious problems.
Don't expect the crypts and nana to do well under 3.25 WPG. They're really plants for low-light tanks. The hairgrass should do alright, along with the temple (alternanthera).
Wipe off the glass algae minutes before you do your water change. Everything else is going to be manual or animal removal.

[phoenix]

I don't know how hard it will be for me to find the tabs but I can try to pull em if they are really going to be a problem.

I can tell you that kH is 110ppm and gH is 210ppm, I don't think i had any phosphates the last time i tested but I'll test again after work because i might be thinking of something else.

I don't mind snails if they wont overpopulate or kill my plants, I've been hoping to find some MTS on aquabid or something, but I hardly think that I want to buy 50-100 of them like I see on most of the auctions. How many would you recommend?

I'm going to get my hands on some KNO3, K2SO4 and KH2PO4 for dosing the tank, but all I have right now is flourish and flourish iron. Will it be ok to just dose the flourish until I get the other ferts? And once I'm dosing the other ferts, will a dose of flourish be good enough for micros?

The only reason I got the crypts is because i thought i needed some sort of transition plant between the stems and the hairgrass to make it look nice. The info on tropica.com stated that they were low to high light so i didn't think it would be a problem. What does it do to these plants if they are in high light? I have a 10 gallon that is low light that I could put them into.

Thanks for the info and the quick reply :)

[happychem]

Leave the tabs in but don't add any more, Timm's right, you don't need them with Fluorite. Don't disturb the substrate above them for at least a month. Pulling them out now will just cause more mess than leaving them in, they probably aren't causing any problems right now anyway.

Definitely crank the CO2. Until you add fish, try to get it above 35ppm. No biggie if you can't, but it will help the plants immensely if you can.

I added Oto's to my tank after 2 weeks and started dosing liquids at around the same time, following a similar process as Mr. Gadd's. How big is your tank, btw?

Leave the snails be unless you have evidence that they're damaging the plants. If they aren't and you are looking to add snails anyway, then well, you already got some. Check at your LFS for MTS', if they have some they should be cheap or free.

The low light plants can do fine, just place them in a region where they're shaded by other plants. I've found that crypts are nice fillers in my 33g high light tank because I can plant them in regions where other plants struggle due to the lighting.

That's a really nice snail pic, btw.

[Timmain42]

I don't know how hard it will be for me to find the tabs but I can try to pull em if they are really going to be a problem.You'll prolly be alright this go-around, but don't replace them.

I can tell you that kH is 110ppm and gH is 210ppm, I don't think i had any phosphates the last time i tested but I'll test again after work because i might be thinking of something else.That works out to about 6 degrees kH and 12 degrees gH, about what I get out of my tap. Keep an eye out on the kH levels, your plants will eat it down quickly. You will prolly be able to keep the kH level around 6 degrees with water changes only, but test after every water change for a few months to make sure. You'll want to start dosing phosphates, 1-2 drops every water change. Check the Fert Sticky at the top of this Forum for more specifics.

I don't mind snails if they wont overpopulate or kill my plants, I've been hoping to find some MTS on aquabid or something, but I hardly think that I want to buy 50-100 of them like I see on most of the auctions. How many would you recommend? I started out with 25 MTS three years ago and now I couldn't count them if I tried. :) Happily, you will only have as many snails as there is available food. Or less, if you happen to have a betta that's learned how to kill snails (I do, and it's messy).

I'm going to get my hands on some KNO3, K2SO4 and KH2PO4 for dosing the tank, but all I have right now is flourish and flourish iron. Will it be ok to just dose the flourish until I get the other ferts? And once I'm dosing the other ferts, will a dose of flourish be good enough for micros?
Flourish should be fine for macros. I would suggest that you order some Plantex CSM+B from www.GregWatson.Com , it will relieve you from needing Flourish or F-Iron. Not to mention that Plantex is loads more inexpensive.

The only reason I got the crypts is because i thought i needed some sort of transition plant between the stems and the hairgrass to make it look nice. The info on tropica.com stated that they were low to high light so i didn't think it would be a problem. What does it do to these plants if they are in high light? I have a 10 gallon that is low light that I could put them into.I've heard varied reports of crypts in high-light. I've even had some that did okay in that kind of situation, I'm just saying that for the most part, crypts are low-light plants. Don't be surprised, no matter what happens.

Thanks for the info and the quick reply :) No problem, hth.

[Swimfins]

I think the crypts and anubias will grow in lowlight, but wouldn't growth be superior under 3.25 watts??? I'm a newbie to the planted tanks too, and this makes me curious. I know my anubias has been puting out one leaf every 7 days since I upped the lighting to 2 watts/g Also the crypts that I added are leafing out slowly now. I'm also dosing with 14 pmm co2.

I'll be planting my big tank soon, with approx. 220 watts in a 66g 4ft long tank.
So I shouldn't expect anubias to do well...........waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! :sad
This is my fav. plant.

Edit: Sorry, I just read the part about shading them under bigger plants. A big whew!!!!! Ok I'm learning.

[phoenix]

I'm planning on doing 50% weekly changes so I hope that will be enough to keep my kh stable, I never considered the fact that the plants will be using it up, thanks for the info.

I was planning on getting the other ferts from greg watsons site, I didn't know what csm+b was but after some reading I think it sounds like the way to go for micro's. With the plantex you basically dose it to get the iron right and you assume the rest of the micros will be ok? And with the macro's, I know how to do the calculations and figure out how much of a solution will add how much of the nutrient to my tank, I also think I have a good idea of what the levels should be, but how much is it safe to raise these levels in a day? In other words, if I was trying to keep nitrates at something like 10ppm and they were at 1ppm, would it be unsafe to raise it up to 10ppm in one dosing? Also, is potassium something you just dose "blindly" and add the same amount every week?

P.S. I know what you mean swimfins, i just thought that if it did ok in the shade it would do great in the high light :idea2: I just keep trying to get a grip on all the stuff there is to learn. And thanks again everyone for all of the help, I don't know where I'd be without this place.

[Timmain42]

Yeah, kH will dip during the week, depending on how hungry your plants are. I have one tank where I put in about 3 tsp of baking soda a week (big tank).

Plantex is for both Iron and traces. Traces, despite their name, are an incredibly important part of your fertilization. I started using PlantexCSM+B and got rid of my Flourish, F-Iron and F-Traces all in the same day.

Raising your chem levels suddenly should have no unsafe results. The only fert I would be careful with is nitrAtes, I personally dose that daily in small amounts because I have had problem in the past with scaleless fish and nitrAte spikes. Keep an eye out on your phosphates too, Fleet Enema is a very very powerful liquid (1 drop raises 10 gallons of water from 0.0 to 1.0 ppm).

Potassium is kind of a blind strike, I've never seen a test kit for it. Depending on your plant density, you can actually add a little more than you are supposed to if you have a lot of plants. Potassium is hard to overdose: it can be done, but you really have to go overboard to make it happen.