I will show you the pictures from when I first set it up and what it looks like now. I hope I can fix it!
I need help with my 29gal!
- Thread starter cichlidcichlid
- Start date
it looks like you have blue-green algea AKA cyanobacteria. A three day blackout and a treatment of Erythromycin works great to get rid of it
Will a three day black out work without Erythromycin. I rather not add chems to the tank if I do not have to.
I should mention that the tank had a clogged filter for a few weeks when I was away and because of this there is build up in the gravel and is just beginning to reach the top layer of the flourite. The filter is up and running and I have done massive water changes. The plants are still alive but some have been reduced to stubs. The only thing that has been thriving in the tank are the crpyts.
What actually cause the algae was when I ordered ferts from Greg Swatson. I put the recommended doses of potassium nitrate, mono potassium phosphate, potassium sulfate, and plantex.
A week after this I discontinued the ferts and co2 because the algae was out of control.
What would be the best way to fix this?
The stocking is 8 black skirt tetras, and 4 ottos.
What actually cause the algae was when I ordered ferts from Greg Swatson. I put the recommended doses of potassium nitrate, mono potassium phosphate, potassium sulfate, and plantex.
A week after this I discontinued the ferts and co2 because the algae was out of control.
What would be the best way to fix this?
The stocking is 8 black skirt tetras, and 4 ottos.
are you running co2 into the tank? IMO you shouldnt need to dose hardly any ferts in a low tech set up. (i think low tech set ups are actually harder to get right than high tech)
Or if you have too much light and no co2 all of your nutrients including co2 need to be balanced or you will bring on an algea attack
i really recommend the treatment with EM along with the blackout... Cyano is kind of nasty stuff to get rid of and you want to make sure you kill ALL of it or it can come back VERY quickly...
EM is not really a harsh chem its just antibiotics... it will do nothing to your plants and will actually probably help your fish if they have anything bacterial infections going on...
snails will do nothing for cyanobacteria
Before you treat with the EM tho make sure you manually remove as much bga as possible so when the em does start to break down the cyano bacteria it will not give you a spike in your ammonia and create a mini cycle.
then after the treatment also do another vac to remove all old and dead cyano..
you should be good to go after that
What could end up hurting your plants more is trying to give blackouts and being unsuccessful and having to do it numerous times. and also having the cyano cover the plants enough to choke out all the light
o and having a clean filter helps... but dont kill ur bacteria colony by using chlorinated tap water.. im sure you know this
Or if you have too much light and no co2 all of your nutrients including co2 need to be balanced or you will bring on an algea attack
i really recommend the treatment with EM along with the blackout... Cyano is kind of nasty stuff to get rid of and you want to make sure you kill ALL of it or it can come back VERY quickly...
EM is not really a harsh chem its just antibiotics... it will do nothing to your plants and will actually probably help your fish if they have anything bacterial infections going on...
snails will do nothing for cyanobacteria
Before you treat with the EM tho make sure you manually remove as much bga as possible so when the em does start to break down the cyano bacteria it will not give you a spike in your ammonia and create a mini cycle.
then after the treatment also do another vac to remove all old and dead cyano..
you should be good to go after that
What could end up hurting your plants more is trying to give blackouts and being unsuccessful and having to do it numerous times. and also having the cyano cover the plants enough to choke out all the light
o and having a clean filter helps... but dont kill ur bacteria colony by using chlorinated tap water.. im sure you know this
So do you think it is necessary to tear the tank apart if I am having water quality issues. Or do you think just using a gravel vac would be enough? Do you thing the plants are going to be able to regrow even though they are really in bad shape? The blue green algae has taken over some parts of plants but you do see it in the pics because that is after i cleaned it for 4-5 hours just to get it looking like this.
So you think a 55 watt compact in a 29 gallon tank is a low light setup?
Did I use to much ferts, I had a lot of plants in there when I started it just doesn't look like it now because of the fact it has been getting thinned out when I take out the dead leaves.
So you think a 55 watt compact in a 29 gallon tank is a low light setup?
Did I use to much ferts, I had a lot of plants in there when I started it just doesn't look like it now because of the fact it has been getting thinned out when I take out the dead leaves.
that could work ^ it does thrive in low no3 and some claim can fixate to atmospheric nitrogen, but the only bga that will use atmospheric nitrogen is in the HETEROCYST? form
you want to make sure your filters are clean and also have good flow around the tank...
you want to eliminate the algea then fix what is causing it
if you are dosing according to EI you shouldnt have low no3
LOW no3 could cause it but maybe starting over with your tank and dosing with a fresh slate(without bga) can help you have good success..
the bga could have been present before you started to dose and when you started dosing it could have just fueled it
make sure your co2 is good and everything is balanced and you should have good results..
i would say you are on the edge of "low" light and "medium" light you might be able to cut your fert dosing down a bit since you do not have a high intense light...
remember EI was developed for people with high light and co2 injected into their tank..
and remember weekly W/C to remove excess ferts from EI dosing
you want to make sure your filters are clean and also have good flow around the tank...
you want to eliminate the algea then fix what is causing it
if you are dosing according to EI you shouldnt have low no3
LOW no3 could cause it but maybe starting over with your tank and dosing with a fresh slate(without bga) can help you have good success..
the bga could have been present before you started to dose and when you started dosing it could have just fueled it
make sure your co2 is good and everything is balanced and you should have good results..
i would say you are on the edge of "low" light and "medium" light you might be able to cut your fert dosing down a bit since you do not have a high intense light...
remember EI was developed for people with high light and co2 injected into their tank..
and remember weekly W/C to remove excess ferts from EI dosing