I just went thru a bout with blue green algea, did everything I read about here, 3 day black out, potassium nitrate, worked really good. Have always had a little bit of "black algae", but now seems worse!!!!!! Will attach a pic. I just don't know what to do any more, am ready to give up on planted tank. I have Discus, and my tank is at 86 f. All of the other parameters all good , also no phospates. What the He## am I doing wrong here?Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Help Me Please!!!!
- Thread starter sparky7
- Start date
Starg with your CO2, then once that's good, you'll be fine adding KNO3 and blackout to kill BGA. What you look like you have is BBA.
Low CO2 is virtually the culprit in every case.
Many folks test their CO2 once in the morning or midday etc and seldom realize that the night before the the lights go off is the most crittcal time to measure the CO2 to see if the plants are getting enough.
The CO2 may be 20ppm in the morning and fall down to 10 or less by night.
If the CO2 is the problem, the KNO3 etc and blackout is not going to do a thing for you in the long run.
Trim off the algae etc, re set your tank. Double, triple check your CO2.
Then go back and check it again.
No PO4 is _BAD_. If someone told you this is good, they are dead wrong.
Plants need more PO4 than algae, much more. They will not use the NH4 and the NO3 fast unless it's supplied. Some lower lighting tanks, some tap waters have enough. Most folks do need to add some source of PO4, fish food is not enough.
Adding more fish/food adds too much NH4 and then you get algae and/or a nice bloom. A good wet/dry filter can handle higher fish loads by converting the NH4 to the much safer NO3 form fast. Plants that have good CO2, light, NO3, PO4 etc, will remove more NH4 than tanks with low absent PO4, poor CO2.
Folks with Discus make their lives with plant difficult many times and unneedingly so. Set the temp 82F, don't feed tons of pure live food and get them off those sewer worms. Feed live brine, good frozen foods, beefheart, basically like you and I, a variety of foods, not just one thing.
Folks have bred them just fine in the above conditions many times. If they are breeding, they are pretty happy.
If breeding is your only goal, consider bare bottom tanks, large every other day water changes with soft water and feeding them more etc.
But for the plants, follow the above. Work on CO2 first.
Regards,
Tom Barr
Low CO2 is virtually the culprit in every case.
Many folks test their CO2 once in the morning or midday etc and seldom realize that the night before the the lights go off is the most crittcal time to measure the CO2 to see if the plants are getting enough.
The CO2 may be 20ppm in the morning and fall down to 10 or less by night.
If the CO2 is the problem, the KNO3 etc and blackout is not going to do a thing for you in the long run.
Trim off the algae etc, re set your tank. Double, triple check your CO2.
Then go back and check it again.
No PO4 is _BAD_. If someone told you this is good, they are dead wrong.
Plants need more PO4 than algae, much more. They will not use the NH4 and the NO3 fast unless it's supplied. Some lower lighting tanks, some tap waters have enough. Most folks do need to add some source of PO4, fish food is not enough.
Adding more fish/food adds too much NH4 and then you get algae and/or a nice bloom. A good wet/dry filter can handle higher fish loads by converting the NH4 to the much safer NO3 form fast. Plants that have good CO2, light, NO3, PO4 etc, will remove more NH4 than tanks with low absent PO4, poor CO2.
Folks with Discus make their lives with plant difficult many times and unneedingly so. Set the temp 82F, don't feed tons of pure live food and get them off those sewer worms. Feed live brine, good frozen foods, beefheart, basically like you and I, a variety of foods, not just one thing.
Folks have bred them just fine in the above conditions many times. If they are breeding, they are pretty happy.
If breeding is your only goal, consider bare bottom tanks, large every other day water changes with soft water and feeding them more etc.
But for the plants, follow the above. Work on CO2 first.
Regards,
Tom Barr