Beautiful algae pics...

Bleach dipping is not necessary for string or hair algae.
A black out will probably deal with it effectively. Number one is to ID exactly what you have.
Check the algae sticky at the top of the Plant page. I think there is a link to pictures of the different types.

Edit: I didn't see a link for the pictures, so use this one. It will show you different types of algae and also has more good info. on algae eaters:
http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=4006090712&f=8796060812&m=3256098022

Len
 
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Mid week update...

Well here are my water readings as of today....

pH - 6.8
6 dKH
11 dGH
Nitrate - 5.0 mg/L
Phosphate - 5.0 mg/L



Looks like I need to dose N but I don't know what to do about the phosphate.....its been this high for a long time now. Would it make sense to do a water change now since my tap has more nitrates and less phosphates? Should I put phosphate sponges in my filter? I have some new ones on hand?

I also added the Mg and K on Monday as suggested.

bartman - BBA is black beard algae and is what was growing on my plants in the first set of pictures in this thread.
 
What kind of test kit are you testing your P levels with?
You have a completely re-set tank, scrubbed clean, and 1.5ppm/P out of the tap, as of the last time you checked it on Sun.
There are only two reasons why you should be getting 5.0ppm/P in the tank, that I know of. Either your tester is bad, or you are over-feeding your fish. Maybe I'm missing something here, but that's all I come up with. No reason for a rise like that in 3 days.
Two questions:
How long has this tank been set up, with the substrate in place?
What are the P levels in your ten gallon?

Len
 
The Phosphate test kit is made by Hagen (Nutrafin) with an expiration on 2/29/2008. I have used this same test kit to measure my tap water and my 10 gallon tank. The tap water measures in at 1.5 mg/L while my last 10 gallon test read 0.25 mg/L. For at least a month now, the 55 gallon tank has been coming in at the highest reading of 5.0 mg/L.

As for feeding, I have barely feed the fish for the last month because it was suggested to me that I may be overfeeding. I feed about every 3-4 day a lot less than they can consume in 5 minutes. So I dont think its from overfeeding.

This tank has been set up for over 10 years. Flourite was added about 8 years ago to the existing gravel. I tried to try to grow plants at that time. I added terra-pur fertilizer cones to the substrate. I was not very succesful with plants at that time. I had one java fern that grew out of control and was never pruned. Eventually, the tank was neglected and the java fern died. The tank remained a community tank with a few moves over the years. Proper pH 7.0 was used for a while to regulate my pH. I say this because I have found out that Proper pH is basically phosphate. I no longer use it. Until about a month ago, my Nitrates were off the charts also, 160 ppm. I did daily water changes until the nitrate readings leveled off to where they are now. The algae persisted which led to me buying the phosphate test kit. And the readings in the 55 gallon tank have never been below 5.0 mg/L even a few hours after 50% water changes.

It seems to me that my substrate is causing the problem but I am not sure why......

Help.
 
'It seems to me that my substrate is causing the problem but I am not sure why......'

That's why I asked the question. I believe the same thing at this point.
I don't believe that substrate 'goes bad' per se, but I do believe that over time, things collect within it that can become toxic. Especially in a tank that has been up and running for that length of time. It's certainly not the case in many tanks. Some run fine for years and years with no problems. Some don't.

In my view you have two choices:
>Pull the fish and plants, put them in buckets, and clean the substrate, by stirring and refilling repeatedly until it comes clear.
>Drain the tank and pull the substrate and replace it with Flourite or similar material.
As I said, I don't think the substrate is bad....just what's trapped within it, but I don't know how much residual buildup will stay in the Flourite and gravel you've got now. It may take a while to get rid of that, which will require more water changes until the levels balance.

If you do either, save your filter media and keep it wet to aid in re-establishing your bio colony.
And especially if you opt to completely change over the substrate, before you put it in, lay down a dusting of ground(fine) peat moss on the glass before laying in the substrate. By doing that, and with all the plants that you now have, it should not take long for the tank to age up.

I would not want to do something so drastic with any of my tanks, but I would do this if I had the same issues that you are experiencing.

Please let us know what you decide to do.

Len

EDIT: I just wrote Tom Barr an e-mail detailing this thread and where we are.
I asked him for some feedback on the situation.
Tearing up the substrate is a last resort and I wouldn't want to find out later that there is a better way to handle this than that.
He may respond directly here. If he replies to my e-mail I'll pass on any info. I can get from him........stand by. Len
 
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OK, I got an answer from Tom which pretty much leaves us where we were.
Either the kit is faulty, which I don't think it is, or you are using or have used at some time, a ton of buffer, ie. Proper pH, or similar.
I would refer back to your two options in the last thread and make a choice on which way you want to go.
I was hoping that there was something I was missing, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Len
 
WOW.....this kind of sucks!!!

First of all, thanks for the feedback and for taking the time to contact Tom! I really do appreciate that....

Now it looks like I have a big job ahead of me....and I thought that bleaching everything was a PITA....lol

If I am going to pull everything from the tank I will replace the substrate so that I have little chance of this happening again. It will probably make sense to replace the whole tank at this time since the scratches on this one are pretty nasty looking. I am going to do some research on available substrate before I do anything. I will follow your suggestion on the ground peat at the bottom. Looks like I'll be real busy this weekend...

I will let you know what I plan on doing...

Leaning towards Shultz Aquatic Plant soil....
 
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I think you made the right decision. No telling how long it would have taken to water change the residue out of the substrate.
Schultz is good material. I use it in a few of my tanks. I mix it with Flourite to save a few bucks, and also, the Schultz has a very high CEC rating which means it's very porous(good), but also very light. This makes it prone to being sucked up in your siphon tube when cleaning, and also somewhat difficult to plant in. There are some plants that I've had a difficult time keeping in the substrate with it alone.
So, if you have the bucks, I suggest that you think about mixing it with Flourite at a ratio of about 60(Flourite)/40.
Lay down the dusting of peat. Lay down about 1/2 - 1" of substrate.
Squeeze out the filter pads from your 10 gal. and siphon the mulm over that thin coating and let it sink down. Then lay in the rest of the substrate over it.
Put a bowl in the tank and fill it slowly, letting the water over flow it and run into the tank. That will cut way down on dust from the Flourite in the tank, and settling time.

Len
 
X-14

I pulled all of my decorations out put them in my bathtub and sprayed them down with X-14. Rinsed them thorougly. Emptied the tank completely and cleaned with glass algae cleaner. Now the tank is sparkly clean and the fish are happy.
 
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