A Battle With Lighting...

hondaman

hondaman

Quisiera ser un fish!
Dec 15, 2005
260
0
0
New Jersey
Hi guys,

its been awhile since I started using real plants in my tanks now the ones I have are generally Amazon Swords and Java Ferns.

So here is my situation...

The twin-strip that came with my 46g was not good enough for a planted tank. It has 2 25w Bulbs, so (not having money for a cf) I purchased another twin-strip and put in 1 30w AquaGlo and 1 25w bulb.

Now according to my calculations thats 2.28wpg. Now I thought that would be fine but I was wrong, the plants kept dying. So I added 1 Hagen Plant Grow Natural System w/ CO2. That helped but then it hit.

GREEN WATER! So in order to get rid of it, I turned off one of the strips.

This has happened to me a few times in the last few months, I keep the strip off, no green water but the plants die. Turn it on, green water but the plants live.

I looked into a cf but im figuring the added wattage will cause the green water again. Then I thought of getting a UV Sterilizer but id rather not spend the money.

So here is my problem...

I want to keep live plants so what should I do?
 
The green water will go away if you put some faster growing plants in your tank. I think the consensus is that there is too much nh04. So you need more plants and preferably faster growing plants to take up the extra nh04.

That is a bit of a simplification. But it is the gist of the matter. Fertilization also should be put into the mix. The algae won’t be able to compete with the plants if they are healthy and growing.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50118
 
CFs are just T5 flourescents bent in half, a CF isn't going to cut down on the algae in any way.. they emit the same kind of light a normal flourescent does, just more of it.

You might have too many phosphates in your water. That is one of the first places I look whenever there is an Algae outbreak. Phosphates wont do a lot of good for your plants so you should remove them if possible.

You can pick up a cheap UV sterilizer for $20 or $30 at some of the bigger pet stores ,that should kill off every bit of algae. I'd look into the spectrum of light you're using on the aquarium but for the most part, if it helps algae grow it will help your plants grow.

I agree with everyone else.. you're using either too much or too little of everything (nutrients in the water, CO2, lights). Either add some more plants or remove some lighting and add some low lighting plants if you don't want to mess with everything else.

still, check into phosphates. Best move I ever mae to get rid of all algae problems was to buy a phosphate sponge.. even a small media bag in a small filter got rid of all phosphates and in turn, algae, within hours.

edit: some fast growing plants like Java Moss and .. well, I forget the name btu it's a plant that looks like grass? spreads and grows just like it too.. anyways, add some of the faster growing plants and it will help.
 
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I thought that phosphate as a cause of algea was proven to be a big myth long ago? Most planted tanks take 3x weekly dose of phosphates (I dose phosphates in my 75g). Having excess of one thing and a lack of another is usually what causes algea, and normaly it the lack of the one thing that causes it more so than the excess of the other, for a heavily planted tank anyhow. Phosphates are a macro nutrient that plants need. If memory serves phosphate to nitrate ratio should be 1:10. This is all for heavily planted tanks. if your low tech or just have a few plants then thats a different story.
 
After doing a quick search (using the forums search feature for "green water") it appears lack of phosphates has been attributed to causing green water. UV is the typical treatment, and us most often very succesful. Seems almost like a no-brainer to me, though I have never had GW myself so this is just from what others have said in the past.
 
I would almost bet on it that a lack of phosphates doesn't cause green suspended algae. It might shoot to 0 but that's only because it's being ate up so quickly. I battled suspended algae myself with my reef, it only took 6 hours to starve it all out with a phosphate sponge.

The problem is that nitrates are federally regulated (at 10PPM), phosphates are not. So there's a good chance your water has a higher number of phosphates than any aquarium should, even if it is planted.. a lot of midwestern states with farming average 5-10PPM of Phosphates, that's a dangerously high number for any aquarium owner.

I recommended java moss because it takes its nutrients through the water itself where the apparent imbalance is. It will starve out the green algae over time, better than any plants who take the majority of their nutrients through the substrate.

however, I still agree that a UV system would be the easiest, quickest and best for long term.. They're really becoming mainstream right now, I remember a year ago I had trouble finding one my poor self could justify buying.

these are your choices.

1. Balance the chemistry of your water by adding more plants, using different disolved solid absorbing sponges (phosphate remover, for example.. but test for phosphates first)
2. UV Sterilizer (best 'quick fix', it will be gone over night with one)
3. use RO or DI water so you can start from scratch, picking exactly what you want your water chemistry to be.

Something I just recently learned (took me long enough). If you want a nice planted aquarium you might have to spend a little bit of money, at least initially.. I promise you will eventually get to the point where you can sit back and enjoy it all
 
I forgot I was going to inlcude this link but on AC you cant modify your post after 30 minutes or whatever :mad:

Anyhow, here is a good explenation of the phosphate myth:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...sion/36659-so-why-do-we-dose-phosphates.html?
And in that discussion Tom Barr even sights how the myth was started in 1978 lol. Although I have read were it was suggested (not proven) that lack of phosphate might trigger GW, I was mixing it up with GSA were lack of phosphates is quite proven to be the culprit behind the green spot algea.

I do agree though if your plants CO2 or light requirements are not being meant then you dont really want to have a surpluss of nutrients in the tank. And you may be able to kill it with phosphate pads but that doesnt mean they caused it, its a nutrient, plants and algea use it (make that need it to survive). Algea just takes advantage of it when the plants arent growing well (read-lack of some other nutrient, light, or co2, or multiple). If you elimanted phosphates in a plant tank you plants would eventually die as well. But plants have reserves whereas algea does not, so the effect with algea is much quicker.
 
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You have light, you have a small amount of CO2. What about the rest of the nutrients?

Take a few minutes and read my Guide.

For what it's worth the only tank in my house that has ever had a GW problem is my hard water African tank.

The idea that phosphates in a planted tank cause green water is a total myth. The whole idea of limiting one major nutrient to limit algae is so old that it's practically from the dark ages.

On your 46 BF I would personally head over to www.ahsupply.com and get a 96 watt upgrade kit.

Remember money spent once wisely is much better than money spent several times foolishly.
 
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