Sorry to be so needy - but another ? about h2o changes

[ggrowney]

I have no advice to offer in return and have been plaguing this board, but don't have an LFS and the books I have bought are so general that it raises a ton of questions.

My question is that my tank appears to be going through the N cycle process and in the course of it becoming extremely cloudy with nutrients and/or algae. I have been doing 50% changes 2 x per week compared to the recommended 1 x a week just so the tank doesn't look like a cesspool. Is this a bad idea or should I just keep trying. It clouds right up in about 12 hours after the change.

 

[budrecki]

Are you doing a fishy or fishless cycle?

 

[ggrowney]

fishy

2 bronze corys in a 12g nano cube. I have it planted with 2 swords, (Echinodorus tenellus) and 2 crypts. I have 4w/g of 6400K light. There is also a tiger lotus bulb starting to sprout. The plants appear OK as do the fish, but the water looks so dirty it is getting to my psyche and the algae will cover a rock in about 6 hours. One issue may be that I did put in a few ml of Tetra plant fertilizer and that probably didn't help (although the same issues were arising before the fertilizer).

I have been doing lots of changes as recommended by many people, but am doubting myself. I used to keep a 20 gallon as a kid an never did water changes (maybe 2x per year) and never had issues or algae like this.

 

[budrecki]

2 bronze corys in a 12g nano cube. I have it planted with 2 swords, (Echinodorus tenellus) and 2 crypts

First of all, the swords will get way to big for a 12g, just an FYI.

I have been doing lots of changes as recommended by many people

What changes, water?

What are your water parameters?
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

What kind of filter?

 

[IceH2O]

First of all, the swords will get way to big for a 12g, just an FYI.

So will the Tiger Lotus.


4 wpg is a lot of light. With such high light you need to inject CO2. If I were you I'd pull the plants, because they will get to big for the tank and look for smaller low light plants. Is there a way you could lower the lighting to half of what you have? At 2 wpg the need for injection isn't needed. It will also help slow down the algae growth.

Is the cloudiness green or white? White is bacterial and most times happens during the cycle. if its green its an algae bloom and is most likely caused by the high light/low CO2 and lack of plants to use up nutrients.

As stated above the water parameters will help us help you.

 

[ggrowney]

water - lights

water is 6.5ph 80ppm of hardness. My liquid test kit is supposedly on its way so I am getting that from strips (there are no ammonia tests for sale in my town). I used to think I had 24w of light but I have 2 24w bulbs and understand this is = 48W.

yeah, water changes.

The nano cube has its own built in filter. It consists of a mechanical sponge filter which I have been rinsing with every water change (as recommended in the manual) and a bag of ceramic balls (no changes) and rubber pieces (no changes). There is a bag of activated carbon as well.

In lieu of replacing plants which I want to grow and have spent $$$$ on, can I reduce lighting time?

The crypts are a low light plant, I believe according to the specs.

I would say the cloudiness is white but it is really hard to tell with all the algae in the background.

 

[budrecki]

I need you to answer my first set of questions.

I have been doing lots of changes as recommended by many people

What changes, water?

What are your water parameters?
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

What kind of filter?

 

[Rbishop]

Put some of the water in a clear glass and hold it against a white background. You should see if it has a green tinge to it.

 

[TKOS]

Sorry to jump in and throw more advice in the middle of this:

The Amazon Sword will indeed get too large but can be managed. I have had one in a 10 gallon for years. It is obvioulsy stunted but I still need to pull a few leaves off of it each week and then it keeps throwing baby plantlets at me. But still, it can be manged.

Indeed, find out if the water is green, as if it is then you have an algae bloom, which is most likely caused by the excess light and lack of other nutrients. If you don't want to use CO2 then reduce the lights down to 2 wpg if possible, and look for a product called Flourish Excell. It is a liquid source of carbon added a few times a week. It will last quite a while in a smaller tank. Also get the water tested as was mentioned above. Chances are the ammonia is high or the nitrates are low, thus giving algae an advantage over the plants. Read up on the stickies in the plant section, it may help you understand the balance issue.

And for now keep doing water changes as this will help your fish survive the fishy cycle the best. If you have test kits then do a water change everytime the ammonia climbs up over 1ppm or the nitrites climb over 0.25ppm. The algae won't hurt them (assuming it is an algae bloom) but it can be a sign that there are others things that can hurt them.

 

[daveedka]

I have no advice to offer in return and have been plaguing this board, but don't have an LFS and the books I have bought are so general that it raises a ton of questions.

Never Ever let that concern you !!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry to sound harsh, but these boards are here primarily for new folks to learn. We all had our day (And still do) when we need to knowledge and experience of others. I would rather answer questions all day than have folks struggle and get less than they should from this hobby. Those who can answer questions, those who don't want to or don't know ask questions and follow along. we all learn something.


Now back to your issue at hand. I would agree With TKOS on the big plants. Unlike fish Plants can be stunted and managed in most cases without any concern of long term health issues. You may decide to change later, but now would not necessarily be the best time to do that. I Would bet on Green water as it is common in new tanks without good colonies of micro fauna. I would also not be overly concerned about it right at the moment. your primary issue is the cycle and your fish. test info will be very helpful but until you get your test kit, water changes are an absolute must. I personally would reccomend once daily water changes 40%-60% until you have the ability to monitor numbers.

The reason I would not worry about Plants or algea at this point is simply because both plants and algea consume ammonia, and ammonia is your biggest enemy in a fishy cycle. You could make the situation worse for your fish by trying to fight with plant issues and or algea issue right now.

So My personal reccomendation is to identify the coudiness (So you can prepare for later battles) Do frequent water changes, Get you test kits and get some numbers. I would also say that getting some Excell is a great idea as it will improve your plant growth and help with all situations at hand.

No matter how unsightly green water may be it doesn't harm your fish, So grin and bear it. once you know your cylce is complete (Via test numbers) then you can easily kill green water with a 3-4 day blackout. Once that is accomplished, then you can adjust lights, ferts, ect. to prevent the return of the algea blooms.

Dave