Why should I get new bulbs? They are working just fine from what I can tell. Going to see if I can get my CO2 system back up and running. Providing that I do get it back up, how long should lights be on for (I have 216 watts)?
Dealing with algae on a severely neglected tank
- Thread starter kjr928
- Start date
Not sure what type of bulbs you're running or how old they are, but for a planted tank fluorescent bulbs have a useful life of about 12 months before the PAR and temp output degrade might think it looks ok but you would notice things look a bit different after replacing the bulbs.
8-10 hours a day is good.
8-10 hours a day is good.
Even with old bulbs, I think you may have PLENTY of intensity going on. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm also not sure you should do CO2 yet with the plant selection. Over-dosing the tank is possible because the plants may not be able to take it up as fast as you would be putting it out. That's a tough question... I'm speaking scientifically not from experience though. Byron?
I do plan on getting more plants - I'd really like some dwarf HM in there and more java fern. I'm also like the wisteria that you mentioned earlier - might look for some of that too!
Come to think of it - should I deal with the algae before I add more plants or can I do this with plants in the tank? I guess what I'm asking is - will I inadvertently kill new plants in trying to kill the algae?
Come to think of it - should I deal with the algae before I add more plants or can I do this with plants in the tank? I guess what I'm asking is - will I inadvertently kill new plants in trying to kill the algae?
Absolutely not a problem to put the plants in. They will help you deal with the problem by taking up extra nutrients that algae is currently taking advantage of. PM me about wisteria... I can hook you up!
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So I just ordered some GFO from amazon. As soon as I get it in, I will stick it in my filter, black out my tank (for how long?) and start doing all those water changes. I'll also try out the H2O2 treatment. Would like to start everything all at once. I'll probably order some baby tears and some other plants this weekend too.
Any other suggestions?
Any other suggestions?
My $.02
Plecos. 3 of the smaller ones would do fine, or one common pleco at least 6" long. They devour algae. Black out 3-6 days. If should give the plecos time to get the issue under control. Plecos will also see to it that future outbreaks do not happen. Once you have an algae free tank, you will have to start feeding the plecos algae wafers...lol. Plecos wont bother other fish, and generally wont eat regular fish food.
Plecos. 3 of the smaller ones would do fine, or one common pleco at least 6" long. They devour algae. Black out 3-6 days. If should give the plecos time to get the issue under control. Plecos will also see to it that future outbreaks do not happen. Once you have an algae free tank, you will have to start feeding the plecos algae wafers...lol. Plecos wont bother other fish, and generally wont eat regular fish food.
I'm in a similar situation right now. I was pretty ill (read: could barely get out of bed and needed a couple hospital visits) for the better part of four months. Wasn't able to do any tank maintenance in that time. When I finally got to look at my tank again, everything was completely covered in a thick mat of dark green algae and all my plants were dead.
Looking at the tank, I couldn't see any signs of life beyond the algae, so I didn't prioritize cleaning it. It was just such a depressing prospect in my mind that I wasn't quite ready to face it yet. Well, I finally decided to start tackling it this weekend. And to my surprise I seem to still have at least three cory cats and four tetras still hanging on! (Now I feel supremely guilty for not attending to the tank sooner.)
Being that the tank isn't as barren as I thought it was, I didn't want to get too aggressive with the water changes and overall cleaning.
I tried to remove some of the thick mats of algae from the sides of the tank and did about a 15% water change on the first day.
I've also added a couple of Java fern and two anubias to the tank. (Hoping they'll start sucking up some of the nutrients that the algae has been feasting on these last months.)
Changed half my filter media and did a 5% water change the second day.
From here on out, I'm planning on doing daily small (~5%) water changes. As well as trying to add a bunch more plants. Hornwort, by all accounts, grows relatively fast, so I'm thinking that may be my next addition. I'll also try to remove as much of the algae mat as possible. My lights are also about a year old at this point, so I'll be switching those out for new ones within the next week.
Unfortunately I have no idea what my water parameters look like at the moment as I lent my test kit to a friend who was setting up a tank. I didn't think that I had any immediate use for it as I figured I'd just be breaking down my current tank and starting over, not trying to resuscitate it! I suspect that they must be fairly terrible though as the tank had gone for almost half a year with no maintenance.
Once I can get my test kit back and get a better idea of the water parameters, I may consider adding a bristlenose pleco. I've been told that they're pretty good about sticking to eating algae and not going after slime coats or getting too aggressive as they age and I love plecos anyway, so a bristlenose seemed like a solid choice to me. (Tank is 85 gallons so bristlenose should not outgrow it.)
Hoping that if I can stay on top of the cleaning and water changes and get enough plants and some decent lighting going on then I can bring things back under control. I'm sorry that I let the tank go as much as I did, but hopefully the situation is still salvageable. Wish me luck! And good luck with your tank clean-up as well!
Looking at the tank, I couldn't see any signs of life beyond the algae, so I didn't prioritize cleaning it. It was just such a depressing prospect in my mind that I wasn't quite ready to face it yet. Well, I finally decided to start tackling it this weekend. And to my surprise I seem to still have at least three cory cats and four tetras still hanging on! (Now I feel supremely guilty for not attending to the tank sooner.)
Being that the tank isn't as barren as I thought it was, I didn't want to get too aggressive with the water changes and overall cleaning.
I tried to remove some of the thick mats of algae from the sides of the tank and did about a 15% water change on the first day.
I've also added a couple of Java fern and two anubias to the tank. (Hoping they'll start sucking up some of the nutrients that the algae has been feasting on these last months.)
Changed half my filter media and did a 5% water change the second day.
From here on out, I'm planning on doing daily small (~5%) water changes. As well as trying to add a bunch more plants. Hornwort, by all accounts, grows relatively fast, so I'm thinking that may be my next addition. I'll also try to remove as much of the algae mat as possible. My lights are also about a year old at this point, so I'll be switching those out for new ones within the next week.
Unfortunately I have no idea what my water parameters look like at the moment as I lent my test kit to a friend who was setting up a tank. I didn't think that I had any immediate use for it as I figured I'd just be breaking down my current tank and starting over, not trying to resuscitate it! I suspect that they must be fairly terrible though as the tank had gone for almost half a year with no maintenance.
Once I can get my test kit back and get a better idea of the water parameters, I may consider adding a bristlenose pleco. I've been told that they're pretty good about sticking to eating algae and not going after slime coats or getting too aggressive as they age and I love plecos anyway, so a bristlenose seemed like a solid choice to me. (Tank is 85 gallons so bristlenose should not outgrow it.)
Hoping that if I can stay on top of the cleaning and water changes and get enough plants and some decent lighting going on then I can bring things back under control. I'm sorry that I let the tank go as much as I did, but hopefully the situation is still salvageable. Wish me luck! And good luck with your tank clean-up as well!
If your issue is not cleared up yet, I'd try changing out the water a little at a time a couple times a week, shortening the time that you have the tank light on and maybe taking out everything but the fish and plants out of the tank and scrape off the algae and rinse them off and vacuuming the gravel before putting them back.
Less light will mean that less growth, changing out the water will help take the algae out of the system and scraping and scrobing what you have in the tank should take out much of the algae.
It'll take time for the tank to recover but it's worth it. Have you thought about getting a battery backup for your tank to keep the pump working?
Less light will mean that less growth, changing out the water will help take the algae out of the system and scraping and scrobing what you have in the tank should take out much of the algae.
It'll take time for the tank to recover but it's worth it. Have you thought about getting a battery backup for your tank to keep the pump working?
