I have a growth...

[Dochere]

I have a growth...Updated, New Subject See Below

Hello everyone. I have a question for anyone who can help. I have an artificial plant in my tank that has brown spots growing on it. They do not seem to be hairy and so far AlgaeFix, Algae Destroyer, and Red Slime remover have not been able to kill it. Any suggestions?

Tank has been up for 2 years, 70 gallons, 11 cichlids, 76 deg, ph 9.2, gh/kh roughly 400/600ppm respectively, no ammonia, NO2 is 0.

Pic of the issue can be viewed here:

http://www.quickpres.com/test/plantpic.jpg

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hatter]

If it's an artifical plant, why don't you just take it out and clean it?

 

[Dochere]

I new someone would say that...

I have several times; I am getting sick of it. The way the tank is set up the piece goes through a piece of driftwood. It’s a pain to pull it all apart to get the plant out. I would rather just kill the growth.

 

[Richer]

What kind of cichlids do you have in your tank? How often do you do water changes/gravel vacs on this tank? What kind of lighting does this tank get? (ie. aquarium lighting, room lighting, window, etc. and duration of lighting). We're also going to need to know your nitrate levels.

-Richer

 

[Dochere]

The Cichlids are all African, 11 different types. They are all about 2 to 3". Lighting is 2 65 watt compacts with 6700K bulbs. Lighting is on for 8-10 hours a day. NO2 is 0, As for Nitrate I have no idea, the water is never changed, gravel is not vac'd. 8 fish are the originals, 3 were put in 2 months ago. We have never lost any. There are no live plants in the tank.

Tank is set up with 4 extremely powerful reverse flow PH's - moving so much water that you can feel it being pushed through the gravel like a current. There is an emperor 400, a penguin 330, and a Eheim pro 2128. All media is changed every 3 weeks to a month, wheels about every 6 months, alternating between filters.

 

[Richer]

I think I see your problem. Fish only tanks do not require the amount of lighting you have. They (your fish) only need enough light to tell the difference between night and day. So the ambient lighting from the room or a window should be enough. Only turn the aquarium lights on if you want to see your fish, or during feeding time.
Another problem. Your water changes. Although it seems like your tank is well filtered, you must keep up on water changes. Overtime nitrates in your tank will acculmalate and start to become a problem. Nitrates in themselves are not toxic to most fish in the lower levels, but once they hit the 100+ ppm level, they can be somewhat toxic, and may reduce the lifespan of your fish. I'd suggest you start doing water changes. Begin with changing 10% of your tank water once a week for a month or so, then slowly start to change more water out of your tank once a week until you hit about 40% once a week. Your tank is stocked somewhat heavily, and will need large water changes to keep it in tip-top shape. Although your fish can live with little or no water changes, its in their best interest to live in clean water. Kind of like us humans... we can live breathing in polluted air, but is it good for us? Not at all.

In a nutshell - reduce the amount and duration of lighting on your tank, and start doing water changes to bring nitrate levels (among other potential toxins) down.

HTH
-Richer

 

[Dochere]

I see your point on the lighting, I figured it was too much but it is what came with this setup. I was thinking of switching to a single actinic 420 bulb, 40 watt. As for the nitrate level, I will buy a test kit for that tomorrow but I highly doubt there is any concern there, I will post when I find out. I am consistantly adding bacteria to the tank durring top offs and I use a nitrate reducer and a nitrite eliminator on a consistant basis.

Thanks.

 

[Bremer]

I don't know enough about your fish...could you put Otos in that tank? If that is brown algae (and it looks like it to me), the otos will eliminate that in no time. I had brown algae like that and added 3 otos to my tank and it was gone in 24 hours.

Of course, I'm assuming that is brown algae...

 

[Dochere]

Bought the test kit...

I bought the test kit and my Nitrite level is still 0, my Nitrate level is 20. So I am assuming that this is not the reason for this growth.

Anybody else think this is brown algae and if so what chemical kills it? Also, any clues as to why this is only continually growing on this one artificial plant and no where else in the tank?

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Re: Bought the test kit...

Originally posted by Dochere
Also, any clues as to why this is only continually growing on this one artificial plant and no where else in the tank?

Get rid of the plant