I'd like to receive some feedback and advice on people who run a clean (little algae) planted 40g breeder tanks.. I'm in the process of setting up a 40g breeder right now, and I'm just not waiting to receive my light fixture (2x39W T5HO). I have some concerns about having a lot of algae on the glass and plants that will either require me to clean it weekly or disable plant growth.
I currently have a 29g with 36W of T5HO lighting (same brand as 2x39w) with DIY CO2 (~1 bubbles/sec with chopstick diffuser). It's an AquaticLife with mounting legs, so it's even raised about an inch and a half. I get a lot of algae on this tank. The kinds I get are mostly the green stuff on the glasses and some on the gravel floor, along with a little bit of hairy algae. The green algae on the glass can only be removed with a razor, and they persistently come back. I have those magnet cleaners, and while they work a little, it's not that great. Plants were seemed to have been stunned in the first two months (I had a thread about it), but everything (vals, HC, baby tears, riccia, rotala, etc.) started to really take off this past 2 weeks. I'd like to avoid what's happening with this tank with the algae, and I thought maybe I'll be able to get some good advice from others who manage to run a clean 40g breeder aquarium.
If you have a similar lighting setup, what do you do to help your planted tank flourish and stay clear of algae? Pressurized CO2 system is not an option. I do have Flourish (I use it one every week or two) and Flourish Excel (don't use it since I have vals). Thanks a lot! I kinda like the algae on the back of the fish tank, but it's not a pretty sight on the front glass; I can't see my fish and shrimp!!
I currently have a 29g with 36W of T5HO lighting (same brand as 2x39w) with DIY CO2 (~1 bubbles/sec with chopstick diffuser). It's an AquaticLife with mounting legs, so it's even raised about an inch and a half. I get a lot of algae on this tank. The kinds I get are mostly the green stuff on the glasses and some on the gravel floor, along with a little bit of hairy algae. The green algae on the glass can only be removed with a razor, and they persistently come back. I have those magnet cleaners, and while they work a little, it's not that great. Plants were seemed to have been stunned in the first two months (I had a thread about it), but everything (vals, HC, baby tears, riccia, rotala, etc.) started to really take off this past 2 weeks. I'd like to avoid what's happening with this tank with the algae, and I thought maybe I'll be able to get some good advice from others who manage to run a clean 40g breeder aquarium.
If you have a similar lighting setup, what do you do to help your planted tank flourish and stay clear of algae? Pressurized CO2 system is not an option. I do have Flourish (I use it one every week or two) and Flourish Excel (don't use it since I have vals). Thanks a lot! I kinda like the algae on the back of the fish tank, but it's not a pretty sight on the front glass; I can't see my fish and shrimp!!
