Moss Growing in My Aqurium
- Thread starter Claire Vaughan
- Start date
Hi all. I'm sorry again to be missing inn action. Th algae is still present, but not a bad. I love the idea of the pothus. I will try that. Joel, The plant boost setting on the lighting mimics the day/night cycle. The high day light comes on around 6 am and starts dimming around 5 pm, turning off with moon light around midnight. I did replace all of the windows inn the house which did change the lighting. My tank is in front and below a east window.
tanks dont need window light, best to move it or cover window ( which no one wants to do) , your best bet if you dont want to move a 125 gallon tank is cover the window- sorry- algea can be trouble. how many lumens are you running , you have a deep tank and if you want live plants you need good lighting - your issue is most likely the window though.keep the algea scraped off the glass, otocinclus are good algea eaters, aquaponic culture of plants help, pothos works well, so will other moisture loving plants- I have heard of some folk using strawberry plants! I have a 90 gallon that sits in the middlle of my living room not near windows, 216 lumens for plant growth, I use pothos arrowhead plant as aquaculture, have otocinclus as well as amano shrimp,clown pleco. I still get growth on glass but no real problem. hope that helps, NOW if you get a pleco you MUST have driftwood for them as they eat driftwood. there is a company called Repashy ( internet sales only) that has superb food for plecos. beware of plecos some get huge, some stay small.read up on them very well before you make your choice. another cause of algea can be overfeeding but we dont want you to starve your fish!!!! so , see if any of this helps
I have some of my tanks directly in front of a large southern facing window and I don't have algae problems with them. They've been in this position for years. I do have to scrub/scrape areas of the interior glass every few weeks.
An algae issue is a sign of some type of imbalance. Too much food being added, not enough water changes, lights on too long, etc.
An algae issue is a sign of some type of imbalance. Too much food being added, not enough water changes, lights on too long, etc.
You are exactly right Freshy it is an imbalance between nutrients and light. (Ps your pic is too small for me, and I can't enlarge it)
There is a catch though I see Claire is from New Mexico, sun intensity differs per latitude and that does make a difference. A tank that would be fine in front of a south facing window in New York could have an algae problem in New Mexico, though this can be corrected.
There is a catch though I see Claire is from New Mexico, sun intensity differs per latitude and that does make a difference. A tank that would be fine in front of a south facing window in New York could have an algae problem in New Mexico, though this can be corrected.
Loach you are so right-- I am in Georgia and have had decidedly more algea growth when my tank was in a window, it was a south facing window as well.I never considered the difference in the sun down here in the south. good point!
I had a tank in front of an east window. The sunlight shines thru the transparent blue background
Full tank shots won't upload
Anyway, I got hair algae at the top in the spring, but it got under control (acclimated to higher light) by summer. I only had one t5 and an LED accent light and that tank was a jungle. I miss the light shining thru and 100% think it helped my plants to grow.
Ok I have to upload large pics to a 3rd party site
Full tank shot
I'm also in Canada tho, sun is not a strong. But it's all about balance.
Full tank shots won't upload
Anyway, I got hair algae at the top in the spring, but it got under control (acclimated to higher light) by summer. I only had one t5 and an LED accent light and that tank was a jungle. I miss the light shining thru and 100% think it helped my plants to grow.
Ok I have to upload large pics to a 3rd party site
Full tank shot
I'm also in Canada tho, sun is not a strong. But it's all about balance.
This.
ponds, lakes, rivers etc likely get more sun, and are not all clogged up with algae.
Not an easy thing to achieve, but if you keep in mind lighting is the gas pedal, and ferts and co2 are the gas, it generally works best.
